Jeremiah 52 - In and Out of Exile and Captivity

We have come to the end of the Book of Jeremiah with Chapter 52. Chapter 52 is basically an encapsulated history of the Babylonian Captivity to ensure that we and all who read or hear Jeremiah understand that the Word of the LORD prophesied through Jeremiah was fulfilled. It is a remembering of their history.

It is good to remember the history of the children of Abraham, so that we do not repeat it. Sadly, I think we do continue to repeat it. We follow in the footsteps of Abraham's children, into the wilderness of sin. As we are  strengthened by the hardships, we return to the LORD and to the promised land. And... once, safe in the land, we take for granted the LORD, our God, and back to the wilderness, in exile, we go.

"When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath." (Deut 4:30-31 NIV)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 120 - Too Much Drama!

Some people just like drama! I don't know why. But, some people just can't seem to live without it. So, when the drama is on the decline they will make things up, usually about other people, just to get the drama going, again. Maybe their lives are so empty that they are trying to fill them up.  It's kind of like they have to have their own personal soap operas going and they are the star. Personally, I have never made a habit of watching soap operas. I don't have the time. I have a pretty full life already and don't need to observe someone's fake life on television daily. There are way better things to focus on in life than this kind of drama.  The outcome of a lot of this drama is that the deceitful tongue that often goes with it hurts others and then it boomerangs and comes back on the one with the deceitful tongue. Everyone gets hurt.

You want a life? Skip the drama. "Live Life" in peace - in the peace of Jesus Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 120 (NIV)
I call on the Lord in my distress,
and he answers me.
Save me, Lord,
from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.

What will he do to you,
and what more besides,
you deceitful tongue?
He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,
with burning coals of the broom bush.

Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!
Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.

I am for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.

Psalm 20 - Relief From Distress

"May the LORD answer you when you are in distress." (vs 1 NIV)  So often we wonder, what can I do to be relieved of this distress I'm in?  There is no formula that works all the time, for everyone.  There is no formula to be found in this world that will endure. 

There is only one place that we can go to; there is only one to whom we can turn so that our distress is relieved.  It doesn't do us any good to trust in the strength of this world or ourselves to relieve us of our suffering.  As verse 7 tells us:  "Some trust in chariots and horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."  God is the only one who can truly deliver us from our suffering.  He is the only one who can grant us true peace. 

The bottom line is that for those who follow in the way of the LORD, this peace, this reconciliation with God our Father, through our Saviour, Jesus Christ, is the desire of our hearts and it is the answer to our distress.  No matter what is going on around us in this world, as long as we are reconciled to God, through the blood of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will know His peace and we will shout for joy over the victory won for us through Jesus Christ, our LORD.

May the LORD fill the desire of your heart and grant you His peace.  Pr. J