What to Do Now?

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O Israel! This is what the Lord says:
“Do not act like the other nations,
who try to read their future in the stars.
Do not be afraid of their predictions,
even though other nations are terrified by them.
Their ways are futile and foolish.
They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
They decorate it with gold and silver
and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
so it won’t fall over.
Their gods are like
helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.” -- Jeremiah 10:1-5

I've put off writing on this blog for months now. On one hand, the reasons are many: time, technological problems, deciding what to write about, etc. But at core, I think there was one basic reason I wasn't writing: fear. Since leaving full-time ministry I have been, for lack of a better word, "lost". I don't mean lost in the salvation sense (though I suppose that's a possibility too) but lost in the vocational sense. I don't really know what I'm doing...who I am...or why I'm bothering to do it. This identity crisis has not covered every area of life. I know who I am as a husband and father, for example--but in what I think of as the third major relationship of life, "Who am I in relation to God?" I really don't know. I still feel like I want to be a minister...but I don't feel the same level of passion...or perhaps the better word is "trust" that I once did. I'm currently pursuing yet another degree in a non-ministry related field in the hope that it will not only provide more stable employment, but will perhaps create some space in which I can discern "the still small voice" and rediscover who God is calling me to be.

I realize this is a little philosophical...and perhaps too "whiny", but I wanted you to understand the context from which I approached the first five verses of Jeremiah 10 this evening. I realize that Jeremiah was talking to a corporate group, not an individual. Yet, as I read it, I could not help but hear the following paraphrase applied to my own life:

Do not act like other people.

Who try to read their futures. Who try to control their lives and have everything planned out and scripted according to their timetables.

Do not be afraid of the predictions they make about your life...or the predictions YOU make about it, because neither of you are really in control of anything anyway!

Even though others are you are terrified at their future prospects...afraid the economy will never recover...or this is the end of civilization...or what not, don't let yourself get sucked into that.

All such things are foolish and futile. Despite all the preparation and energy you've put into your plans for life this far, what has it really accomplished? The things you planned didn't pan out, and best things in your life were completely unplanned (at least by you) anyway. That should tell you something.

All this stuff that you, and everyone else, is worried about and afraid of is ultimately helpless. At the end of the day, it's not what you should trust in...and its not really something you should fear either. Deep in your heart, you know Who fits both of those bills.

So stop worrying about your future and where you'll be used tomorrow, and how you'll get there "for the pagans run after all these things". Instead, seek out where the Kingdom is today...and go there. And let tomorrow worry about itself.

-- Justin

It's Someone Named "God" on Line One...

The first chapter of Jeremiah includes what’s known, in biblical studies, as a “call narrative.” Basically, this is the story of how a prophet becomes a prophet. Classic literary criticism teaches that the call narrative was intended to legitimize the prophet in the eyes of his audience.

While I think call stories probably functioned in this capacity on some level, I don’t believe it was their primary purpose. There were tons of false prophets running around in Jeremiah’s day (we’ll see him have to contend with them repeatedly) and they, no doubt, produced their own “call stories” to impress the people. Ultimately, there was no way for the average Israelite to verify whose call stories were true and whose were made up.

Consequently, rather than being for the audience, I believe that the call experience was primarily for the prophet himself. It was an event he could look back on and draw strength from, during times of rejection and persecution. This would have been important as Jesus Himself said that rejection and persecution were almost universal experiences among God’s prophets. (Matt. 5:12; 23:29-37; Lk. 6:22-23; 11:47-49; 13:33-34)

That being the case, God used Jeremiah’s call to anchor the prophet—from the very beginning—in the truth that, though he will minister to the people, he does not work for them. Ultimately, Jeremiah is God’s servant; And therefore can be no one else’s. This idea may not have been as obvious as we might think. Jeremiah’s world was full of prophets-for-hire who say whatever you wanted to hear…for the right price. Not surprisingly, most of their “prophecies” ran something like this:

Thus sayeth the LORD: Thou art awesome. Everything thou doest is great. Thou has nothing for which thou needest to repent nor make recompense. Thy only problem is that thou hast not enough money and power. Thou needest more…nay, thou deservest more. I, the LORD, hath spoken.

As always happens when the Word of God ceases to be a Truth to be taught and becomes instead a commodity to be marketed, the people of Jeremiah’s day began to “prophet-hop” in the same way that some church-hop today. As his career unfolded, Jeremiah would be ridiculed, imprisoned, put in stocks, and left for dead. The temptation to take the easy way out and simply give the people what they wanted must have been tremendous. I suspect that during those dark days of his ministry, Jeremiah recalled the words God initially spoke to him:

“…You must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you… I have put My words in your mouth! Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant…Get up and prepare for action. Go out and tell them everything I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make you look foolish in front of them. For see, today I have made you strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar or a bronze wall. You will stand against the whole land—the kings, officials, priests, and people…They will fight you, but they will fail, for I am with you, and I will take care of you. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Jer. 1:7-10, 17-19)

-- Justin

Memory Verse

The Calling of Jeremiah coloring page

Almond Branches & Boiling Pots coloring page

Before I Formed You in the Womb

Additional Thought/Discussion Questions from Chapter One

1. God told Jeremiah, “Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as My prophet to the nations.” (1:5) Parents, what if you knew God had a similarly important destiny in mind for your child/children? If this knowledge would motivate you to do anything differently, why aren’t you doing it differently right now?

2. Are you hesitant to speak up for God? Jeremiah said he was “too young,” (1:6)what excuses have you used not to speak God’s words? What do you think is a good excuse for not standing up for the truth?

3. God said Jeremiah was being called to “destroy and overthrow…build up and plant” kingdoms.(1:10) How incredible is this!? Do you normally think of individuals with no real money or power at their disposal as being capable of such world-transforming work? What does this tell you about your own ability to change the world?

4. Why do you think it was important for people in Jeremiah’s day to know that God was “watching” (1:12)? Do you believe that He’s still “watching” today?