Jeremiah 39

Three different characters
Three different outcomes
Dependent on the different choices they made
And the eventual action they took

Zedekiah made king
But he chose not to give heed
Neither did the people listen
To the words of God through Jeremiah

Zedekiah instructed Jeremiah to pray for them
He secretly asked for the word from the Lord -
Once, twice.
But he has his fears
He chose to hold on to them
And chose not to heed the advice
He did not put his trust on God

The Chaldeans came
They took him captive
Gouged out his eyes
Set the city on fire
According to what the Lord had said,
it has happened
Because he has not heed the word he has heard

Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian enunch
He heard about Jeremiah’s plight
He knew Jeremiah as a prophet of God
He sought the king’s permission
He rescued the prophet
And he was not forgotten

The word of the Lord came for him
The promise of the Lord
Of deliverance, and comfort,
For he has put his trust in Him

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
Many times he has spoken
In tears he pleaded
So that the people might live

Yet he was thrown into prison
He was misunderstood
He was cast into the dungeon
He sank in the mire

The Chaldeans came and besieged the city
According to the words he has spoken
According to the words God has spoken through him
Jeremiah chose to speak God’s words
And eventually was freed from prison

God remembers His people
He delivers those who seek refuge in Him

The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying,
“Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass,
And as I have purposed, so it shall stand (Isaiah 14:24)

Three different stories
Depending on their faith in God and their trust in His words

Beyond the fear that lies in front of you, 

What would you choose?
What would be your story?

Jeremiah 29

The unbeliever
The Lord has caused us to be taken captive to a foreign land
Into the hands of our enemy; O Why would He care?
Would it bother Him if we live or perish?
We might as well “curse God and die”,
For why should we suffer humiliation as captives,
I’d rather stay put and be merry.

The believer
We must heed His word! We must go!
The Lord has promised He will come again
We must have faith
He will gather us from all the nations
And bring us home to Him
Though seventy years is not short
It will come to pass
He has taught us how to lead our lives
And how to have peace
We must not be led astray
We must preserve ourselves
We must be multiplied!

The unbeliever
Seventy years is a long time..
Why should we suffer
when we follow God?

The believer
We have first done wrong…
and God has executed justice
Yet He has given us a way out
He will come back for us
 Are we going to stay put and
incur the wrath of the Lord
 or are we going to learn
to heed the word of the Sovereign?

 -----

It is sometimes difficult to walk on the path that God has called us to tread upon, especially when the road seemed rough, and the way not easy; especially when we find ourselves without the freedom to pursue or do what we really desire to do, it almost feel like we are in captivity.

Why have I been led to this place?
Why are we called to suffer?

We need to examine ourselves first to see if sins has crept into our lives and led us away from God. God desires to be close to each of us and sometimes it takes more than a nudge to bring us back to Him.

And even as we have acknowledged our wrongdoings, and have turned back to God, this seventy years might still feel like a long time…

However it is a period of training. God did not allow us to slacken. He said to build houses and plant gardens. He said to take wives and be married. He said to multiply, and not diminished!

During this seventy years, there might also be prophets and diviners out to deceive us but the Lord had not sent them. We need to be vigilant and hold on to God’s word.

While we are here on earth today, we need to go about our Father’s business. We have to do what is in our duty to do and multiply! For Jesus is coming soon to gather us from all over the nations, and bring us home to Him.

We must have faith in the word of God, for He has said, 

After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

I will be found by you, and I will bring you back from your captivity;

I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

Amen.

Psalm 145

A praise song of David.
Of God who eternally is.
One of whom generations would pass on to the next generations,
Concerning His greatness, His compassion, and His righteousness
Yet, though generations after generations may have passed,
He reminds the same.
The same God at the beginning of time, the One David praises, is the same God we worship today.

How is it that David can write an entire psalm of praise so seemingly easily,
while I struggle with a 300 word impression?
How is it that words of praise are so abundant in the life of David,
while it seems so sparse in ours?

Every day
I will bless You....

I will bless... I will kneel before You.. I will adore You...
We must consider the level of our adoration for our Lord Jesus today.
When our mouth utter words of praise, does our hearts resonate with the same awe towards our Almighty?
While it is easy for us to recite the entire Psalm 145, do we actually "amen" to every verse?

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works.

Spiritual nurture... Quiet time.. Reflection...
Why is it that we find ourselves with no praise on our lips?

Have our lives gotten so busy that we find no time for quiet reflection?
If we do not first hush our surroundings and keep silent, how do we expect to hear the still, small voice and how will we bring to remembrance the difficult times He carried us through?
And if we do not take time to consider the wonderful works of God, how will we remember His awesome creation?

If we live life in a constant rush; if we do not take time to smell the flowers, or play in the rain; if we are constantly on the go, or on-line, surrounded by people, work, play, entertainment,... how shall we experience the divine?

How will we experience God...

if we do not first stop,
and close our eyes,
and meditate on the glorious splendor of His majesty,
And remember how He has created the earth out of nothing, man out of the dust of the earth,
And remember how He has delivered His people from the time of old 'til today from the clutches of sin
Just so that we can be His children, and enjoy the blessings of being one.

How will we experience God's awesomeness and praise Him if we do not stop, and be still?

Be still, and know that I am God... (Psalm 46:10)

If we do not do this everyday, we will forget.

Every day I will bless You...
Every day I will meditate on Your majesty and wondrous works.

Psalm 135

Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good: sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant. (Ps 135:3)

In the previous chapter, we were reminded to praise the Lord every day. When we bless the Lord, we not only kneel before Him, the Almighty, but we also give thanks to Him for His goodness.

When we sing praises unto His name, the Bible describes it as "pleasant", meaning delightful, lovely, or like a sweet sounding song. The Bible often uses "incense" (cf Rev 5:8) as an analogy for prayers. Just as the people in the Old Testament would burn incense as an offering to God, today, our prayers also ascend up to heaven, and God receives them all. 

Let my prayer be set before You as incense,

The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. (Ps 141:2)

This also reminded me of a song by Don Moen - Praise looks good on you.

When you lift your hands up high

And you sing a song of praise to Me

It brings Me great delight

Such a lovely sight

And yes it is true

Praise looks good on You

Morning night and noon

Your praise ascends to heaven

Like the smell sweet perfume

Filling every room

And yes it is true

Praise looks good on You

Indeed, in our everyday prayer, have we missed out on this important aspect of prayer - giving praises to God? Have we been bogged down by the everyday needs and wants and only know how to make requests in prayers?

God delights in our praises to Him, for it is in our praises that our love for God and our faith in Him can be seen.

Would someone grumbling about God sing praises to Him? Surely not. Would someone who has lost faith in Him praise Him? I don't think so. Would someone who feel that all that he has today is solely by his own effort give thanks and praise to God? Tough.

Therefore, God delights in our praises to Him. It is a pleasant thing. Through our praises, God sees our hearts of reliance and humility, and we in turn, learn to rely on Him. 

If we have forgotten how and what we should praise God for, today's psalms gave us two examples.

For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure. (Ps 135:4)

Isn't it amazing that out of the billions of people in the world, God chose you? Just as He had out of His sovereignty chose Jacob, He has also chosen you and me today. Something to be amazed and praise God for!

For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. (Ps 135:5)

Our Lord is the omnipotent Almighty. Just as the song goes, My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do! When things do not go our way, we need to have faith to know that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). We need not fear. Surely He can do anything, if He is willing.

In our prayers today, don't forget to offer God the praise that He deserves! May our praises be as a sweet smelling aroma to the Lord.