Scripture
From the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem I shall banish all sounds of joy and gladness…for the whole land will become a desert.
~Jeremiah 7:34, REB
Quote
“Christ is not valued at all unless He is valued above all.”
~Augustine
Jeremiah had a difficult task; he preached to a people who did not want to hear anything he had to say. Had he been a local pastor like myself, he would have been fired but he was a Prophet and on no one’s payroll. Jeremiah said, “To whom will I speak, to whom will I give warning? Who will hear what I have to say? Their ears are blocked: they are incapable of listening; they treat the LORD’s word as a reproach {scorn, indignity}; it has no appeal to them.” Jeremiah sternly warned them: If you want to stay in this land, you must amend your ways: [1] Deal fairly with one another [2] Stop taking advantage of the helpless [3] Stop shedding innocent blood and [4] Stop chasing other gods. Jeremiah also explained to them that God wanted OBEDIENCE not religious observance. The Jews were very religious; they stood in the Temple and chanted, “The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord.” They were in to rite and ritual but they had no relationship. History bears witness to their abstinence, they ignored Jeremiah and even persecuted him for speaking the truth. Jeremiah said, “This nation will not obey the LORD or accept His correction. TRUTH has perished; it is heard no more from their lips.” {Jeremiah 7:28}
The LORD’s response...“I will banish all sounds of joy and gladness.” I can just hear the Jews scoffing at this warning–How can the LORD do such a thing? I know we don’t want to face the truth but America is a lot like Judah. We are guilty of practically everything on Jeremiah’s list; especially shedding innocent blood {abortion]. We are long on religion and short on obedience and we do not have proper respect for God’s word. Do you think God can banish all sounds of joy and gladness in America? I am with Luther on this one–You better believe it–He stopped all sports in a heartbeat. If someone had told us back in January: God is going to shut the NBA, NFL and all sports down. There will be no sports in American: no NASCAR races, no golf tournaments, no Kentucky Derby, no nothing, we would not have believed them? Yet, the LORD did it and without working up a sweat. Folks, we live at His mercy: He has the power to shut everything down. He can turn a paradise into a desert or a desert into a paradise and He can do it in an instant. He can do what He pleases because He has ALL the power.
I came across a little poem in STREAMS IN THE DESERT yesterday morning: I had to work on it a bit but it does resemble the original… {Slightly}
Can you still a troubled heart,
Make the fear and doubt depart?
You cannot O helpless man,
You cannot but Jesus can.
Can you paint the clouds at eve,
All the sunset colors weave?
You cannot O impotent man,
You cannot but Jesus can.
You can plant a flower so,
But can you make that flower grow?
You cannot O wretched man,
You cannot but Jesus can.
Day 21 of the Covid-19 shut-down. There was an increase of two cases in Morgan County since yesterday but I do not think that is bad. We have seen no exponential growth and that is what we want to avoid. I believe we will see some restrictions lifted in the next couple of weeks.
Joe David and DBC gave me and idea and we {Grace Point Monday Ministry Team} just delivered 21 Papa John’s pizzas. It was fun. We may do this every month. Unfortunately, one of our widows lives in Huntsville and all she got was a phone call. She is a sweet heart and she understood. She has ordered a bro jack apple pie and LORD willing, she will get it.
Don’t be worried about the weather and the Sunday DRIVE-IN CHURCH. Don’t be putting downers on FB or Social Media…The LORD is in charge of the weather and may His will be done. He has a plan, so lets go with it.
Have a great day!