Ideal World

We are walking down our driveway treading gingerly over icy patches. And as the brisk air turns cheeks to rosy red, we dialogue. It's just the two of us, mother and daughter, surrounded by pine trees enclosed by gray sky.

My mind is full. Thoughts dart back and forth like a confused colony of bumblebees. I feel as though my life is falling apart, yet I remind myself that it is not. It just feels like it.

And as I expound on my feelings to my patiently listening mother, she starts to smile. I've always been a perfectionist, and this is no exception. But somehow I've lost perspective.

Her words gently bring me back to reality as she articulates those very things I need to hear.

I want to live an ideal life in an unideal world. And I realize that what I think is "ideal" really isn't realistic. Yet there is perfection in every step of the journey, and I must learn to love each chapter of life He brings.

So I am seeking to simply do my best and not rake myself over the coals wishing I could have "done better" when in reality I have already done my best. Because this is just another one of the devil's traps, convincing me that I am compromising when God says perfection is in the journey. It's easy to forget experientially, but I'm learning.

God looks at the heart, not the checklist.

And when He is in my life, my world is ideal.

Qualifications for Mercy

{Jeremiah 44}

It’s a scary thing to have God set His face against you. More than scary… It’s absolutely frightening.

Utter destruction, utter desolation was to be their just reward. Not a cheery prospect.

Yet one small glimmer of hope was still offered.

To those who escaped the sword and returned to Judah would be extended mercy. 

Mercy again? Yes… My God delights to show mercy. There are qualifications though.

“Shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”*

My mind instantly jumps to Revelation. It’s a similar expression.

“Here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”**

Two simple things. In essence they sum up the entire plan of salvation. They are an indicator of our spiritual vitality.

When final destruction imperils the world, I want to be found eligible for mercy.

* Exodus 20:6

** Revelation 14:12

Broken Promises

{Jeremiah 42 & 43}

A handful remains­. The destitute, the impoverished, the rejected.

They are pleading for guidance, asking Jeremiah to beseech God on their behalf.

They chorus in unison, “Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God.” 

My mind instantly goes back to a previous group of people. Wanderers in a wilderness. It’s a familiar line.

“All that the LORD hath spoken we will do.” 

Another futile promise quickly broken. Good intentions. Yet even the best of intentions have no power in themselves. Only the strength of Christ behind them can give power to fulfill.

Jeremiah conveys God’s instruction merely to be immediately reproached as construing the words of the Lord. Their promise, only 10 days old, is broken, and they will reap the consequences of disobedience.

Their foolish choice is hard to breeze-over. Yet when I pause to ponder, I realize that I have often been just as foolish.

I beg for God’s guidance and tell Him I will follow whatever He says, yet when His revealed will differs from my perceived ideas, I sometimes struggle to accept. It all boils down to my commitment though. The best of intentions will fail, but if I avail myself of His power, I have no option of failure.

Among Few

{Jeremiah 40}

The choice was offered to the prophet. 

Would he prefer to remain with the poorest of the poor that even the king of Babylon spurned? Or would he decide to accompany the captain to Babylon where he would be generously cared for?

Jeremiah chose the path of privation, of hardship, of adversity. Why?

Because status and wealth on earth has no effect upon God’s estimate of your value. The orphan child or penniless widow are held in equal esteem with the kings of nations. Nay, perhaps more. Because the hearts of poverty are often receptive hearts. 

And so Jeremiah remains among the few. Because here he knows his hearers will be more open-minded.

Never despise the poor, the few. It may just be where God is calling you.

Mercy Twice-Over

{Jeremiah 39}

After almost two years of seige, Jerusalem fell into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, proving that the countless prophecies of Jeremiah could not be ignored. Although Zedekiah had listened to the counsel of the Lord, he had neglected to follow His commands. Now he was to pay the consequences—bitter consequences.

Yet in the midst of terrible slaughter and captivity, God still shows mercy. Still…

My mind is baffled by such unquenchable Love. My heart is drawn by His compassion. This is the God I adore.

Mercy twice-over. 

A simple act of kindness by a foreign eunuch. 

Ebedmelech, a Jewish stranger, is rewarded with life—life temporal and life eternal—because he placed his trust in Him. God takes notice of the littlest acts of love.

A life of resolute obedience to the voice of God.

Jeremiah, the Hebrew seer, who has been insulted and despised for the cause of God, receives incredible favor from a heathen king. Liberty and safety was granted him. Imagine being told that whatever you say, the captain has been commanded to obey. God never forgets His servants.

Mercy twice-over. Two men rewarded for faithfulness. 

One God who always works all things together for good to them that love Him. Always…

Of Rolls and Rulers

{Jeremiah 36}

Yet another chance, another token of mercy, another gift of grace, another opportunity for forgivenness. How many times can God show His longsuffering? I am filled with awe and amazement at such a God. Humanly, I know I couldn’t bear with such blunt defiance of laws and love. But He delights to show mercy…

It was a roll this time, a scroll containing all that God had declared to Jeremiah, yet another strategy to try to arouse the little bit of piety that might be residing in some hearts. When the king heard, he was driven into satanic fury, cutting the roll into pieces and throwing it into the fire.

But there were a few who were still seeking, a few whose hearts were still open. They pled with the king not to burn the scroll, but his heart was so hardened that he would not listen to them. His life was a sad tale of continued disregard of God’s law.

In fact, the king was not content to just destroy the roll; he determined to destroy Baruch and Jeremiah too. And suddenly we see the hand of God saying, “Here, but no further.” I love this phrase…

“But the Lord hid them.”

And no action of the king could quench the flame kindled in the hearts of these men. They wrote yet another scroll; this one was even deeper and more complete than the last. The enemy can never prevail.

--

This is not just a story from ages past. It is going to happen again, soon. Yes, we will have persecution, but the hand of God will be there saying, “Here, but no further.” Nothing the devil can do will quench our fire.

Nothing.

Undeserved Grace

{Jeremiah 32}

Disobedient. Idolatrous. Defiant. Back-slidden. An abomination.

They didn’t deserve grace.

God had promised “to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” And now His hand of judgment was raised.

Yet after listing all their sins and the punishments which were to be meted out, the tenor of His words change.

“I will bring them back again. I will cause them to dwell safely. They shall be my people. I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way to know me forever. I will make an everlasting covenant with them. I will not turn away from them. I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me. I will rejoice over them. I will plant them in this land with my whole heart and my whole soul.”*

I will. I will. I will.

Why is God so willing to do all these things for an ungrateful, contemptible nation?

I find only one answer.

Love.

Love always wins. Consequences may come, but Love will always prevail.

True, the nation of Israel didn’t deserve grace, but neither did we…

Remember No More

{Jeremiah 31}

“And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”*

A quote from Hebrews with direct correlation to Jeremiah 31. Paul mentions this verse twice within two chapters.

no. more.

Let that sink in for a moment.

In the Greek it’s a double negative, in the sense that it’s strengthening the force of denial. 

Not at all. By any means. Ever. From this moment on.

He cannot even bring it to mind. It’s gone forever…

And yes, there’s a myriad of other details in this chapter that justifiably could be mentioned, but I think these three words say it all. Because when God forgives and makes you clean, the truth of absolute pardon can change your life forever.

He remembers no more. Your sinful past is obliterated. 

And He means it.

*{Hebrews 8:12}

Found!

{Jeremiah 29}

After seemingly endless declarations of His people’s heartless rejection, it’s a breath of fresh air.

A herald of restoration. A token of forgiveness.

My face breaks into a smile. 

“Ye shall… find Me.”

There is always a tenor of jubilation when something, or someone is found.

But to find Him? There is no greater joy…

We may discover Him through a variety of means, yet only by earnest seeking can He truly be found.

So seek, and you will find…

He promises.

"You Shall Call Me, Father…"

{Jeremiah 3}

Christ’s chosen bride, His beloved, has utterly violated the sacred vows of marriage—despite the fact that an incalculable dowry had been given to claim her as His own.
Time after time she has renounced her promise to faithfulness and fallen into a life of whoredom and harlotry.

See the tears running down the face of the Bridegroom as He watches her turn from the path of righteousness up a winding path leading to groves of trees waving on the hilltops.

“My beloved,” He cries, “Return unto me, for I am merciful and will not remain angry with you. Only acknowledge your sins and return unto me, for I am married to you…”

Still married after such absolute desecration of sacred trust? How can that be possible?
No earthly marriage patterned after such disloyalty would endure.

Yet divorce is not an option for Christ. He will ever remain faithful to His bride.
And the Father, watching this abomination to His Son’s reputation, what will He do?

He claims her still, as His daughter.
“You shall call me, Father…”

There is no greater love.

no. greater.

Invested in a Promise

Spectators thought he was crazy.
Crowds of jeering people mocked him on every side.
Nobody believed a man would invest the entirety of his possessions in a promise.

The thought of such an immense body of water, called a flood, seemed ludicrous. Rain was an abstraction.
Yet Noah never doubted the promise of God.

Faith beyond the conceivable.

. . .

Would you stake your complete livelihood on a promise?
Be willing to yield everything in the trust of its fulfillment?
Endure ridicule, rejection and contempt when there is no tangible evidence of that promise?

I hope so.

Because we have a promise too…
The promise of eternity.

And though nations may scorn our faith in the intangible, we must trust the promise.
Regardless of appearances we must exercise faith beyond the conceivable.

. . .

Noah made an entire investment. He ventured everything in his possession for that promise.
Are we willing to do the same?

Staked for Fulfillment

Glory. Honor. Heaven. All at risk of being nullified. And by what? A promise of faithfulness… And to whom? Unworthy, sinful beings who call this blighted earth home.

Just as Christ risked all Heaven when He stooped to uplift fallen humanity, He yet again puts the whole of eternity on the line.

“The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfillment of His word unto us.” {Christ’s Object Lessons, 148}

Everything is staked on the fruition of a promise. If His word fails, even once, the entire plan of salvation will be obliterated forever. Yet Christ will jeopardize the honor of His throne merely to offer us the choice of eternal life.

This sacrifice cannot be taken lightly. He has pledged the entirety of heaven’s resources to secure our deliverance. Will we not risk every earthly loss for heavenly gain?