Monthly Archives: October 2015

Daily Bible Study

October 12, 2015 Bible Study — Do Not Repay Evil With Evil

For today, One Year Bible Online links here. This coming weekend I am going to be away Friday night through Sunday (October 16-18). I am going to try very hard to have my studies for the weekend done in advance. My plan is to publish Saturday’s and Sunday’s studies Friday evening before I depart. I hope this does not cause anyone a problem/

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Proverbs 25:9-10

    Don’t betray another person’s secrets in order to win an argument. If you do, you will earn a reputation as a gossip and it will be difficult, if not impossible to get anyone to trust you again.

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Psalm 82

    God declares to the rulers of this earth, who think that they are mini-gods, that they need to stop handing down unjust decisions which favor the wicked. He tells them that they will die like every other mortal. If they do not want to be subject to God’s judgment they must give justice to the weak and the fatherless, and uphold the rights of the poor and oppressed. This is what God demands of those whom He has given power on this earth.

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1 Thessalonians 5:4-28

    Paul tells us to be clear-headed and alert since we live in the light of God where we can see His truth. He then goes on to tell us what that means: don’t be lazy, encourage the timid, take care of the weak, be patient with others. Most importantly, never repay evil with evil, instead we should do good to our fellow believers and to everyone else, even those who do evil to us. This is perhaps one of the hardest things for us to get our heads around. We are never justified in doing something to harm others, no matter what they have done to us. If we are truly followers of Christ, we do not claim to have a right to revenge.

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Jeremiah 19-21

    This passage begins with Jeremiah’s prophecy that the people of Jerusalem and Judah would be shattered like the jar of clay he had just smashed in front of witnesses. And why was this going to happen? Because the people of Jerusalem and Judah were slaughtering their children as sacrifices to their idols. Our nation is doing the same thing. As a nation, we are sacrificing our unborn children through abortions to the god of convenience. If we, as a people, do not turn from our sins, especially this one, God will do to our nation (and not our nation alone, there are many nations on this earth which are following the same behavior) what He did to Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah’s day, and worse. Pray for our nation, pray for our neighbors, that they will repent of their sins and turn to God.

Daily Bible Study

October 11, 2015 Bible Study — Live In a Way Which Pleases God

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 25:6-8

    The proverb writer reminds us not to try forcing everything to our maximum advantage. On the one hand, honors are greater when others bestow them upon us in recognition of our good deeds than when they are given because we point out that we deserve them. On the other hand, things we think put others at a disadvantage to us may turn out to be less than we thought.

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Psalm 81

    I will make a joyful noise to the Lord (and if you have ever heard me sing, that is truly what it is), because He has lightened my burden. I will listen to God when He speaks and I will not worship any other gods.

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1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3

    We are called to live in a way which pleases God. It is not possible to do so if we allow ourselves to get involved in sexual sin. It is very hard to avoid sexual sin because our society today teaches that sexuality defines who we are as people. Those who reject Biblical instruction on sexual sin are not rejecting man-made rules, they are rejecting God. In a large part this is why sexual sin has such devastating consequences for society. If we truly love others we will avoid sexual sins, because all sexual sin involves treating others, and ourselves, as objects. Of course this also shows us how we can free ourselves from sexual sin, the more time we spend acting out our love for others the less time we will have to treat them like objects.

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Jeremiah 16:16-18:23

    Jeremiah’s prophesies are directed at the people of Judah, but there are themes which apply to every people living in every land. At the beginning of this passage Jeremiah tells us that God said that the people of Israel had defiled His land. In this context, it is referring to the land of Israel. Yet, in truth every land is God’s land and the prophecy applies to the people in those lands who have done as God accused the people of Israel. God will punish those peoples as He punished the people of Israel. However, in the same way, if those people turn from their idols and worship God, He will bless them as He has blessed the people of Israel.
    Those who put their trust in humans rather than in God will be like shrubs in the desert, stunted and bitter. However, those who put their trust in God are like trees planted by a river. They will not be bothered by the heat, nor suffer when the rains do not come. I believe that in this metaphor water, in its various forms, refers to love. If we do not look to God for His love, we will be constantly seeking love from those who do not love us. However, if we learn to trust in God’s love, we will know that we are loved and be able to love, even when everyone around us is seeking only to use us for their own advantage.

Daily Bible Study

October 10, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 25:1-5

    I interpret the first of these proverbs as telling us that it is an expression of God’s glory to have created this world with mysteries and it is to the glory of those in government to support investigations to solve those mysteries (investment in scientific research). A government will be secure if the wicked are removed from it.

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Psalm 80

    Turn us again to Yourself, Oh God, that we might be saved. It will only be then that we will be able to prosper once more. Let us pray that God turns the people of this, and every, nation to Him. It will only be then that peace and justice will reign on this earth.

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1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13

    Paul commends the Thessalonian believers for accepting the Gospel as the word of God, which it is. There are those who think the Gospel message conveyed in the New Testament contains many good teachings, but they, also, believe that it was composed by men. Therefore they believe that they can pick and choose which of its teachings to follow.
    Troubles will come for those who choose to accept the Gospel, in its entirety, as the word of God. This fact is why so many attempt to pick and choose which parts they will accept. Of course those same people are the ones from whom many of the troubles arise for those who follow the will of God.

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Jeremiah 14:11-16:15

    As Jeremiah prophesied to the people of the coming disaster, they refused to listen. Instead, they listened to the prophets who told them that peace and prosperity were just around the corner. Jeremiah calls them false prophets to whom God has not spoken. If we spend a little time looking at what was going on in the world at the time of Jeremiah, we can see why God held the people accountable for listening to the false prophets. Anyone who looked at the world around them could see that peace was not on the horizon. Things were getting worse and rather than turn to God in repentance the people were doubling down on their sins. I fear for people today because I see people doing much the same thing now.

Daily Bible Study

October 9, 2015 Bible Study — Pray Constantly

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:30-34

    If you do not take the time to get your job done and to take care of the details, poverty will quickly overtake you. I find proverbs like this a challenge. I know that I am lazy and love sleep more than I ought. This reminds me not to procrastinate, but get things done when they need to be done.

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Psalm 79

    When trouble stalks the land, let us cry out to God. Let us serve Him so that when He acts to save us He will be glorified.

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1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8

    Prayer is clearly the topic God is after me about. Yesterday, in the passage from Colossians, Paul’s instruction to devote ourselves to prayer struck me. Today, the first thing to strike my eyes was Paul saying that he prayed constantly. As a result of his prayer, the Holy Spirit reinforced Paul’s words with power giving those who heard assurance that he spoke the truth. If we fill our lives with prayer the Holy Spirit will give us joy, even in the midst of suffering.

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Jeremiah 12:1-14:10

    We were made to cling to God the way a loincloth is made to cling to a man’s waist. If instead of doing so we follow our own desires and worship things other than God, God will rot away our pride and bring destruction upon us. God desires that we act to bring glory to His name by living lives which respect Him. Let us abandon our pride and give glory to God before it is too late.

Daily Bible Study

October 8, 2015 Bible Study — Devote Yourselves To Prayer

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:28-29

    Do not lie about your neighbor (and remember who Jesus said your neighbor was) in order to get back at them for perceived slights.

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Psalm 78:56-72

    If we do not follow God’s commands there are no rituals, there are no symbolic items that we can turn to in order to avoid the consequences. But no matter how badly we screw up, God will still love us and give us another chance. If we but turn repent of our sins and turn back to God He will redeem us and welcome us back to His arms.

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Colossians 3:18-4

    As Paul concludes his letter to the Colossian believers, he reiterates his instructions about relationships. The wording here is similar to the wording he uses elsewhere on this topic. It is important to read what he says here in light of what he says elsewhere on the same topics. Wives are supposed to submit to their husbands, but husbands are obligated to love their wives with the same self-sacrificial love that Christ has for the Church. Children are told to obey their parents, but parents are told not to aggravate their children. Those on the “power” side of a relationship are called on to seek what is best for those over whom society has given them power.
    The most important part of today’s passage is just one sentence long.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

At least that is the most important part of today’s passage for me. I know that I fall far short of praying as much, and with as much focus, as I should. I will continue to strive to allow the Spirit to bring me to prayer with ever greater frequency and fervor.

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Jeremiah 10-11

    We should not allow the signs in the skies to frighten us, even though those around us are terrified by them. Over the years, I remember reading time and again about some disaster we needed to look out for and be frightened by it. From the “Population Bomb” to Global Warming, some people have made predictions about coming disaster. Jeremiah tells us that these people are foolish because they worship creation rather than the Creator.

Daily Bible Study

October 7, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:27

    Plan for the future and make the preparations to meet your needs before taking the time to make yourself comfortable.

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Psalm 78:32-55

    It is human nature. Time and again, we turn from God and sin. When we suffer the consequences of our sin, we turn back to God and beg Him to save us. All too often, our repentance was shallow and as soon as our troubles passed we returned to our sin. But God is gracious and merciful, He continues to offer His forgiveness and will welcome us home if we ever truly turn from our sins (and not just from their consequences).

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Colossians 3:1-17

    Paul writes about how our faith in God should change how we live our lives. Every time he writes about this, he follows a similar pattern. First he writes that we should completely avoid sexual immorality, lust, impure desires, and greed. Repeatedly, Paul lumps various sexual sins together with greed. In addition, he makes clear that greed is a form of idolatry. Greed is the worship of material wealth. The reason Paul emphasizes these sins is because they little by little fill our time so that gradually the efforts we make to do God’s will are undermined by these sins.
    I want to point out again how Paul lumps greed in with sexual sins. He writes about sexual immorality, lust, evil desires, and impurity. The latter two are not exclusively sexual in nature, but are certainly related to sexuality. Then he adds greed to the list. Greed is not a sexual sin at all, but it goes along with it. If we look at society around us we will notice that those who are caught up by greed are usually sexually immoral as well. And those who are caught up in sexual immorality are often greedy as well. These are sins which tend to travel together. It is worth making this focus because there are all too many people who want to separate challenging sexual sins from challenging greed. There are those who preach against sexual sins while ignoring greed, and there are those who want to ignore sexual sins while challenging greed.
    I try to keep what I write short, but I need to make one more point. All too many of us, in our attempts to call people away from the sins above give in to anger, rage, and slander. There is an entire second “constellation” of sins for which we need to watch out. These are all related to anger. We need to be careful not to give into them. We often forget that if we allow ourselves to be justifiably angry it can easily lead us into sinful behavior. We are called to work for the good of others. Anger encourages is to work for against the good of others. If we are angry with someone, we will seek to “punish” them. This will cause us to act maliciously, or say things to cause others to think badly of them, or do other things which detract from doing God’s will.
    Having written about what we need to avoid, Paul goes on to tell us what to do instead. If we focus on filling our lives with virtues we will not have time for the sins he mentioned. If we act with humility, kindness, compassion, gentleness and patience we will not be easily sucked into those sins Paul had just written about. We are not to pursue these virtues for their own sake. Rather, these virtues should grow out of our love for one another. If we truly love others we will treat them with these virtues. All together Paul clearly shows us how we can judge our own behavior and act according to God’s will.

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Jeremiah 8:8-9:26

    Oh how this passage strikes me as applying today. Those who are supposed to teach us about God’s word twist it to say what they want it to say. They offer superficial answers to problems which require hard answers. They assure us that there will be peace when there is no peace. They are proud of distracting people from the real dangers of the world, rather than being ashamed. The common people and the leaders are equally guilty. They lie without a second thought. They deceive and cheat one another and then wonder why the economy is doing poorly. The people have refused to obey God’s commands so the time is coming when God will punish those who are “circumcised” in the body, but “uncircumcised” in the spirit. Those who make a pretense of doing good while selfishly seeking their own interest will suffer.

Daily Bible Study

October 6, 2015 Bible Study — Being Culturally Relevant

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:26

    An honest answer is a better indication of care and respect than a kiss.

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Psalm 78:1-31

    The psalmist reminds us of the importance of teaching the stories of our past to each new generation. When I was growing up, my family, and many others in my church, had a book called “The Martyr’s Mirror”. This book was an account of Christian martyrdom from the first century through the 17th century. By reading this book I learned the price that many have paid for following Christ. Furthermore, I learned that they paid that price joyously.

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Colossians 2:8-23

    When we came to Christ we were figuratively circumcised in that our spiritual nature was cut away from us. In that sense we died with Christ when we were baptized and were resurrected with Him. Our sins, and our sinful nature, were nailed to the cross with Christ. Now, God has raised us spiritually with Christ to a new life. We should not allow people to convince us that we need to follow certain dietary rules, or observe particular rituals, or hold celebrations on specific days in order to be saved. The Gospel message is not one of “do not do this and do not do that.” The Gospel is not a set of rules which govern our behavior. Instead our behavior is guided by our love of God and of others.

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Jeremiah 6:16-8:7

    God has offered people guidance. He has told us to follow the old way, the good way, but people have responded, “No, we want a different way. We don’t want to follow the path followed by the godly men and women of the past. They were fuddy-duddies. We want to follow the new, cool path. We need to be culturally relevant.” God has sent us watchmen who tell us to respond to the sound of the trumpet, but people have declared, “We have more important things to do. We will not listen for the sound of the trumpet, let alone respond to its call.”
    God warns us that He is raising up an army in a far away land. That army will be a destroying army and it will march upon us. There is no force that will stand in their way. Yet, even now, there is still time to turn from our sins. There are those who look at what is happening and are saying, “That cannot happen here.” Do not be fooled. It most certainly can happen here. It will happen here if we, as a people, do not start treating each other with justice. God is calling us to stop exploiting foreigners (think about why the Chamber of Commerce does not want immigration laws enforced), widows, and orphans.
    Do you really think that you can cheat and lie, steal and murder, commit adultery and other sexual immorality and never suffer any consequences? All of those actions have consequences and if we do not turn from them and start doing good, we will experience those consequences. Let us look at what has happened to other nations which were once mighty. The consequences of their evil came upon them and they were destroyed. I will pray for the people of my nation that they may turn to God.

Daily Bible Study

October 5, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:23-25

    Those who show favoritism when they pass judgment are wrong. If a teacher punishes one child for actions that he lets another child get away with is making a mistake. A judge who declares that the guilty are innocent and sets them free brings harm to society.

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Psalm 77

    When your problems seem overwhelming and God does not seem to answer your prayers, look back over your life and remember what He has done in the past. And not just what He has done in your life, but what He has done throughout history. When you look at the wonderful and mighty deeds which God has already done, you will realize that solving your problems is but a small thing for Him. Further, you will see that He does not act until the time is right. Do not focus on your own troubles, rather, focus on God’s mighty acts in the past. You will soon realize that God’s love is never ending, His promises never fail.

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Colossians 1:18-2:7

    God chose to reconcile all people and all things to Himself through Christ’s death. This includes you, no matter how far away from God you were (or are). He brings us into His presence making us holy and blameless as we stand before Him. It is God’s action which makes us without fault as we stand before Him. Whenever I read this I wonder if Paul is saying that God makes us holy and blameless despite our actions, or if he is saying that God transforms our actions so that our actions are holy and blameless. The more times I think about this the more I come to believe that Paul’s message is a little bit of both: God makes us holy and blameless despite our actions AND by doing so He transforms our actions so that our actions become holy and blameless. However, as Paul said in his letter to the Philippians, I am not saying that God has completed this process, or even that He will complete this process in any one of us while we yet live. This transformation is a lifelong process. I have observed that those who seem to be the closest to being completely transformed seem to be the ones who are most aware of how far they fall short of God’s holiness. Let us work to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us ever more closely into the likeness of Christ.

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Jeremiah 4:19-6:15

    I am struck by several different things in this passage. Jeremiah felt deep pain for the suffering he foresaw coming upon the people of Judah. He did not confront them about their sins because he hated them. No, he confronted them because he hoped that they might turn from their sins and avoid the suffering.
    Jeremiah tells us that God searched for an honest person among the people of Judah, but did not find one (I would like to note that I believe that Jeremiah was intentionally using hyperbole here and was not actually telling us that no one in Jerusalem was honest…after all Jeremiah was in Jerusalem at the time). Jeremiah first looked among the common people and did not find any who were honest. His first reaction was to say, “Well, they are ignorant and untrained. They do not know any better.” So, next he looked among the elites, among the leaders of the people. Even there he found none who were honest. The elites and the leaders refused to be bound by God’s commands. I believe the message here for us is that someone must choose honesty. If the common people are greedy, selfish, and sinful, we should expect their leaders to be the same. On the other hand, if the elites, the ones from whom the leaders are drawn, are greedy, selfish, and sinful then we should expect that the common people will be as well. No matter what part of society you find yourself in, if you want others to be honest and upright, you must choose to be honest and upright. Let us choose to be honest and upright and call on those around us to be likewise.

Daily Bible Study

October 4, 2015 Bible Study — The Gospel Changes Lives or “At Last We Are Free From God”; Your Choice

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:21-22

    The proverb writer advises us to fear both God and the government. This is certainly sound advice, as is his advice to not join in rebellion against either. Both have the power to make your life miserable. However, there is a difference. while both may want what is best for you (God certainly does, and oftentimes government officials do), only God actually knows what that is.

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Psalm 76

    None can stand against God when His anger at evil bursts forth. God is slow to anger because He loves each and every one of us, but He will only allow oppression and other evils to go on for so long before He acts to bring judgment against those who are guilty. This is the reason I honor and praise His name.

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Colossians 1:1-17

    The Gospel changes lives. It has changed mine and it can change yours. In order for this change to happen you need to understand the truth about God’s grace, that we cannot earn His love, but He loves us nonetheless. When we stop doing good in order to prove our worth and instead begin doing good because we love God and others. At that point we begin to allow the Holy Spirit to enter into our lives and remove the desire to sin.
    The Holy Spirit will give us knowledge of God’s will if we open our minds and hearts to receiving it. The more we are willing to do and follow God’s will, the more He will reveal it to us. There is a feedback loop pointed out in this passage: the more we pray, the more spiritual wisdom we will gain; the more spiritual wisdom we have, the more we will pray. I am earnestly seeking that the Holy Spirit train me to pray more.

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Jeremiah 2:31-4:18

    I was struck by the first verse of this passage. Day after day I read the comments of people who are crying out, “At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!” Yet, problems escalate and get worse. They seek one solution after another, but refuse to turn to God. Our society is killing the innocent and the poor, even when they were not caught breaking into their neighbors house. We have videos come out of people profiting from killing the unborn, and others respond, “Well, what’s wrong with that?” We have civilians killing each other in the streets of our cities, many times the deaths are innocent bystanders, and people are protesting about criminals killed by the police. We have a tragic incident of a man shooting up a community college and our politicians call for more laws.
    It is time, and past time, for people to stand up and declare, “Turn to God and beg His forgiveness. Repent of your sins and follow His commands.” We can seek on solution and another, but the only answer which will change us so that these tragedies stop happening is if we seek know God and follow His will.

Daily Bible Study

October 3, 2015 Bible Study — Rejoice In the Lord Always. I Will Say It Again: Rejoice!

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 24:17-20

    The writer warns us against epicaricacy, against taking pleasure in the misfortune of others, even if those others have been our enemies. God offered love and forgiveness to us when we were His enemies, let us do the same to those who oppose us. We are also warned against envying the wicked and wishing we were in their shoes. The wicked have no hope (whether they know it or not) and will be snuffed out as if they had never been.

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Psalm 75

    God has a plan, when the time He has chosen arrives He will judge the wicked. When turmoil strikes around us, when the nations of the world are shaken as by an earthquake, God provides a firm foundation. This image provided by the psalmist offers me such hope as I look at the world today. For most of my life, the world seemed politically stable, but recently there have been disruptions all over the world. The psalmist reminds us that even in turmoil like we see today, God will provide a firm foundation. The wicked seem to be rising to dominance in many parts of the world, but God will bring them judgment. The proud and wicked may shake their fists at God, but He will bring them to judgment in the fullness of time. In the meantime, I will praise Him, and rest secure on the foundation He has provided.

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Philippians 4

    There is great advice in this passage that fits together into a nice whole. Paul tells us that we should, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” He then tells us how we can find that joy. When we find ourselves worrying about something, we should pray about it. And not just about what we are worrying about, but about everything. Let us go to God and tell Him what we need, but at the same time let us thank Him for what He has done for us. If we faithfully do this, God’s peace will fill and guard our hearts and minds.
    There is one more step in finding the joy which God has to offer us. If we fill our minds thinking about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, we will not have time to think about the things which worry and depress us. Just as if we fill our time doing good, doing the things God wants us to do, we will not have time to sin, so if we spend our time thinking about the aforementioned things we will not have time to think about things which trouble us.

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Jeremiah 1:1-2:30

    The first message of this passage is that when God calls you to speak His words do not say, “I am too young,” or “I am too old.” We must go where God sends us and speak the words He gives us. God will put His words in our mouth and we must stand up and proclaim it in front of those whom He sends us.
    Those who were supposed to teach God’s ways ignore Him. The spiritual leaders do not even ask “What is God’s will?” The prophets prophecy in the name of idols. Look around, people are trading the true God for worthless idols. People are no longer ashamed of doing evil. They are only ashamed of getting caught. If people do not repent and return to the Lord, His judgment will fall upon them in devastating fashion. Let us pray for God’s mercy upon our land.