Because of the mediatorial work of Christ, we are able to approach God’s throne with confidence. Christ is our Advocate and our Great High Priest, who continually stands before the Father on our behalf. We can have confidence that every prayer prayed in Jesus’ name is heard by the Father.
they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezekiel 2:5 ESV).
Ezekiel was thirty years old when God called him to be a prophet. God cautioned him not to base his sense of success on how the people responded, but on whether he was obedient to speak the Word to them. We can’t control whether others “hear or refuse to hear,” but we can determine to obey and share God’s Word ourselves. God doesn’t call us to be successful. God calls us to be faithful.
Jeremiah lamented over the fall of Jerusalem and the dire condition of his people. He described their hunger and homelessness, but most of all their spiritual brokenness. He lifted his lament up to the Lord that He might show them mercy and “restore” them. Where do you put your grief and pain when a time of mourning comes your way? Jeremiah knew how to give it to the Lord and ask for renewal and restoration. Cry out to the One who can turn your mourning into dancing again!
Jeremiah’s lament for Israel’s condition turned from complaint to calling. He invited his people to join him in repentance. “Test” your motives. “Examine” your actions. Where either are out of alignment with the Lord’s, let us “return!” Our criterion is Christ and His Word. Wherever we have moved or acted contrary to Christ, let us repent and return to Him!
The fiery strife of gossip and intrigue quickly goes out when the wicked “whisperer” is removed. Contentious talebearers must be treated as incendiaries. We must refuse to listen to their gossip, correcting them for such talk. And if they refuse to stop such inflammatory backbiting, we must break fellowship with them. Strife soon ceases and peace follows when those who fuel quarreling with their words are silent.
As Paul gave Titus final instructions on supplying the needs of visiting ministers before sending them on their way, he gave this instruction concerning a believer’s readiness “to help cases of urgent need.” In Paul’s day, there were no civil emergency workers, no firefighters, no paramedics, and no 911 to call. The members of the early church learned to be ready to help with urgent needs. It was this combination of the gospel message and gospel compassion that turned the world upside down and increased the spread of the gospel. When plagues, persecutions, wars, famines or even hurricanes came, the gospel was carried in the same hands that carried help for those in need. In this day of tight schedules and busy-ness, are we learning to “devote” ourselves to this kind of readiness to help those with an “urgent need?” Our readiness to help is often the key to their readiness to hear.
In the midst of God’s revelation to the prophet Jeremiah of Babylon’s future destruction, He revealed yet more of Himself. God is not just a local god, standing watch over little Jerusalem. No, He is the God over all creation. He is the omnipotent One who not only created the earth but the whole universe with divine understanding, so that even the stars are ordered according to His will. And not only has He created all, but with His omniscient wisdom, He sustains all. Our God is both Creator and Sustainer, holding everything together. The Lord expanded Jeremiah’s understanding of Himself, so that he might worship and trust Him more fully. Those who realize both the size of the universe and this revelation of God’s great power and wisdom are able to lift their eyes from their tiny perspective and trust in this great God.
Seventy years later this prophecy was fulfilled as Cyrus came from the North and destroyed Babylon. The latter part of the prophecy, that no one would live there again, is still true over 2,400 years later. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, but now there is only desert in its place. It is said that Saddam Hussein planned to rebuild Babylon anew in his modern Iraq, yet the sand still blows over the supposed site. God’s Word continues to stand, but Babylon has fallen never to rise again.
Paul wrote to Timothy that he should preach while the people were receptive, for a day would be coming when they would not “endure sound teaching.” In many cases, this time is already here. Many pulpits already pour out a feel good gospel that is no gospel at all. Yet, do not despair. There are still true preachers and there are still those ready to hear and obey. So preachers, keep preaching, “in season and out.” And hearers, keep supporting the preaching of the gospel that calls all to repentance and salvation in Christ Jesus.
Amidst prophecies to the Jewish remnant and the nations surrounding Israel, God gave Jeremiah a message for Baruch, Jeremiah’s assistant and scribe. Jeremiah may have been God’s mouthpiece, but Baruch was his pen, and it had left him saying, “Woe is me” (Jer. 45:3). So, God gave a specific word to Jeremiah for Baruch: “Don’t seek great things for yourself. Be satisfied that you have been given your life.” You see, God doesn’t just address kings and nations, he also speaks to individuals. Baruch, who had written down chapter after chapter of Jeremiah’s prophecies, received one little chapter (Jer. 45) all to himself. As you read God’s Word, do you ever feel that a certain passage was written just for you?