Friday, April 8, 2011

Often we Christians try to present a godly life while in reality we are living a lie. Judah did the same thing during the time of Jeremiah. They were stealing, murdering, committing adultery, swearing falsely, worshipping idols but they would come to the temple and present themselves as godly people. Jeremiah 7:1-15 declares this truth. In fact, Jeremiah 7 - 10 gives evidence of God's accusations that Judah takes comfort in the temple while breaking God's commands (Jeremiah 7:1-8:3), rejecting the law (Jeremiah 8:4-17), living deceitfully (Jeremiah 8:18-9:9), grieving the prophet (9:10-26), and engaging in idolatry (Jeremiah 10:1-16). The Church is no different today. We come to church smiling and pretending that everything is great. When asked we say, "everything is fine." However at home our marriages are drowning in anger and deceit, our kids are sexually active and we hide our heads in the sand, and our finances are stretched to the limits. We lie to ourselves, to our loved ones, to those who could help us. Most importantly we try to lie to God. God called Judah to amend their ways and their deeds. He called them to be honest with themselves and not to take advantage of God's goodness. He tells them that if they don't amend their ways He will remove them from the land He gave them. Which He did. God calls us to amend our ways. To be honest with Him. To repent. Jeremiah 11:3-5 states: "Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, that I man confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day." These words say to us to "keep the Lord's Word, listen to my voice, and do all I command you in my Word so you will be blessed in all your ways." It is time for a moral inventory. How are you doing in your spiritual life? Are you doing what you know to be right? Are you keeping the Lord's commands? He is patient, but only for a time.