Hosea 13 - Follow Ephraim Into More Sin

"When Ephraim spoke, people trembled;
    he was exalted in Israel.
    But he became guilty of Baal worship and died.
Now they sin more and more..." (Hosea 13:1-2a NIV)
  
I've said it. You've said it. Our children and our grandchildren have said it. We've told others that the times have changed. This is how we do things today. Everyone does it. It starts with one or two people. We might call it a fad. It explodes and it appears that half the world begins to do what they ought not do. Ephraim was exalted. People listened to him. They followed him. He built worshipped the false god, Baal. The people followed and turned away from god to trust this worthless idol.

I'm not just talking about one thing. I'm talking about all the worthless idols gods we have built up for ourselves. Sports figures, actors and actresses, musicians, politicians; the list goes on and on, even to inanimate objects like money, and television. In many cases we, ourselves, have become our own false gods. Yes, we are one of our biggest false gods.

How much life has been lost in the pursuit and the worship of these false idols? How has our relationship with God and one another been damaged by our pursuit of our own happiness according to our own desires. Happiness, even joy, cannot be found in false gods. It cannot be found searching endlessly after things. It can only be found in a right relationship with God and with one another through Jesus Christ, our LORD.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Jeremiah 17 - Life, Liberty And Pursuit of Happiness or Wealth?

Jeremiah has a lot to say in this chapter,,,

     The hearts of the people have sin engraved on them. They trust in things of this world. They lust after and trust in wealth. They will do anything to get it, depriving the poor, spending their very life and breath in the pursuit of wealth and happiness. The sooner we learn that the pursuit of money does not equate with happiness, the better off we will be. In the end we will lose any and all ill-gotten gain.

     Who can blame them? We all desire some joy and happiness in our lives. But, the truth is that these things do not come from wealth. They do not come from having "stuff." Real joy comes from being in relationship with others, with God. I have always appreciated that Thomas Jefferson changed John Locke's pursuit of life, liberty, and property, in the U.S. Constitution to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Property does not necessarily equate with happiness. Just think about the upkeep that goes with more property.. and, the taxes! Think about what happens when greed pervades society! All kinds of sin accompanies greed. Yet, multitudes have hearts so hardened like stone that greed and envy are engraved deeply into them. And... they are miserable! They desire more, but they do not know what that more is. 
   

Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
    are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
    and in the end they will prove to be fools.

A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
Lord, you are the hope of Israel;
    all who forsake you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water." (Jer 17:11-13 NIV)

     In Ezekiel 36:25-27, God promises that He will remove our hearts of stone so that sin will no longer be engraved on them. "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws."

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer 17:7-8)
 There is an answer to our loneliness and sorrow. The answer is Jesus Christ, our LORD, who loves us so much that He was willing to die for us. May God bless us with hearts filled with His love for Him and for one another.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Ecclesiastes 2 - Everything Is Meaningless

It's sounding like Solomon feels like a lot of people in the U.S. today. He's not pleased with the prospect of having his wealth being redistributed. But, Solomon is concerned with having it redistributed after he dies. People today are concerned that they will have to work hard and have the government redistribute the fruits of their hands to others while they still live.

Our politicians come up with such grand plans to save the country, to save the world. But, it appears to me that these great plans are nothing more than attempts to please themselves and the lobbyists, to please egos, not God. And, when the planning is over and we are through planning and try to implement so many of these great plans we see that "everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." (Prov 1:11b NIV)

Everything is meaningless. In the pursuit of wealth, there will be no joy. There will be no happiness. There will only be much hard labor, with the end result being that we die. We will leave this earth and we will leave all our things to another.  But, the wisdom of Solomon tells us that even though the same fate takes us all "wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness. The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in the darkness. (2:13b-14a)

In the end Solomon finds that enjoyment can only come from the hand of God. He writes: "A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God.  (Prov 1:24-26)

May God bless you with peace of heart and mind as you pursue the plans He has for you. Pr. J

Psalm 49 - Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Property

I went shopping with my son and grandchildren last night.  It was a rather pleasant experience.  I never heard this once:  "Buy me ......" I think I should go with my son more often.  Either his presence keeps them from asking me for stuff or maybe they're asking him!  Of course, there is always the possibility that there is nothing left to "buy" them. There is nothing left that they really want.  That would be a really good thing.  Is it too much to hope for?

I have spent many a year trying to get them to understand that wasting one's life in the pursuit of having everything that all of the neighbors have is really a waste of one's life.  There are many more fulfilling things to do with our lives than to fill our homes with clutter that we don't really want - stuff that will just sit on shelves in need of dusting.  Things... stuff.... clutter... they will not bring you happiness.  It is much better to seek those things which will.  Seek ye first the kingdom of God.

Hopefully, we have all heard the phrase: "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," found in the United States Declaration of Independence.  But, did you know that Thomas Jefferson's draft was actually "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Property"?  In their wisdom, our forefather's changed it.  Someone must have figured out that happiness is far better than property and that property does not necessarily lead to happiness.

What can property buy you?  Only more things and in this world today, higher taxes.  Actually, owning property is not a bad thing in and of itself.  It depends on how it is used.  Rich or poor, is it used for the glory of God? 

But, the constant pursuit of wealth, simply because we want what our neighbors want is not a good thing. Psalm 49 warns us that no matter how much money we have, it is not enough to save our lives.  There is not enough ransom that we can pay to redeem the life of another.  Everyone will die. Rich and poor alike will die.

"This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself. Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them." (vs 13-17 NIV)

Money will not buy you happiness.  Money will never buy you eternal life.  It cannot be used as a ransom for your life.  One more scripture for to think about this morning concerning the one and only who is able to ransom your life - who is able - when you die - to rise you up in the morning.

"Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  (Matt 25-28)

Do not trust in money, in property, in your own power or prestige.  For happiness, for joy, for peace that surpasses all understanding, (Philippians 4:7) trust in the LORD, your God.  Trust in you LORD, Jesus the Christ.  There is only one way to eternal life.  Money cannot buy it.  Jesus is the way. Your life has been ransomed by the precious blood of Christ.  Seek first His Kingdom!

God's Peace be with you. Pr. J