Jeremiah 2:4-5 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
Oh my Friends, that’s a very good question, to which I don’t have an answer, and apparently neither did the Lord when He put those words in Jeremiah’s mouth. He must have been rather puzzled and mystified by Israel’s sudden change of heart. He surely never expected such ingratitude after all He’d done for them; bringing them out of bondage in Egypt, guiding them safely through the wilderness, providing food and water until they came to the Promised Land, a land of milk and honey, reaping benefits for which they had not laboured. None of us in His position would expect it either and would certainly want to know why. Look at how aggrieved we feel when people we help turn against us or are ungrateful. Can you imagine the Lord’s quandary then? And sadly my people, it’s the same question He’s asking of us today: What injustice has He done that we all have gone astray, forsaken Him, and foolishly turned to following pagan idols? Back then the Israelites actually made physical idols of stone, wood and metal like the pagans and worshipped them. Today though, our idols are more mental than physical, we are driven by things like wealth and power, pomp and pride, celebrity and social status. Our lust for these things manifest themselves in outward ostentation; fancy, expensive clothes and jewellery, more and bigger houses, cars, yachts, businesses etc. Keeping up to the Jones’ has become our reason to live, for if we don’t, we’re considered of no account. It’s now all about who can have the biggest and the best. But remember Friends, we pointed out yesterday that that attitude is suicidal, cause it leads us to do unwise things. And a perfect example of that is the economic mess our world’s now in. It all stemmed from the powerful lust to have more, to attain the devil’s playthings, and was fuelled by greed, lies and consumption above and beyond our means, until the status quo was no longer sustainable. But as we also noted yesterday, the wicked will always undergo destruction, whether it’s now or later, because the Lord has decreed it. Now since the foundation of our economic success was built on a bed of sinking sand, held aloft and afloat only by mirrors and sleight of hand, it was only a matter of time before it became top heavy and crumbled, both literally and figuratively. As Jeremiah says later on: ‘Forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like thee. But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.’ (Jer.10:7-8) Yes Friends, those who consider themselves wise in their own conceit are really dullards, and the idols they worship and adore are based on worthless teachings. I don’t know why the human animal always thinks he’s different and won’t suffer the same fate by doing the same nonsense that others did before and perished. Jeremiah posed the question to Israel. Some time later, Micah did the same: ‘O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.’ (Mic.6:3) And Friends, though I’m no prophet, I’m asking the same question: Why have we turned from God to mammon? Our society was once fairly obedient to the Most High God Jehovah, considering Him enough to put His Word in our schools and public places. But over the last few years we’ve been more concerned with removing Him from our lives rather than as a source of upliftment and strength. Is it because we’ve let those of other beliefs enter our society and water down our God? That’s one of the reasons the Lord warned the Israelites about intermarriage and dwelling with strangers. He knew that pagan artefacts and culture would eventually filter into or infiltrate the godliness of His people. (2 Kings 17:15-17) Please remember, as Jonah did in the whale’s stomach: ‘They that observe lying vanities, forsake their own mercy.’ (Jon.2:8) Yes my people, when we focus on worthless idols, we are doing ourselves a grave injustice, for by so doing, we cut ourselves off from the LOVING kindness of our merciful, forgiving God. But Friends, our weak stand against the tearing down of our faith is not the sole reason for our current demise. Added to that was our prosperity and success which tends to breed complacency, laziness and indolence. It’s been experienced by all the great societies. Another instance where we didn’t learn from the mistakes of others. We figured we’d arrived at the pinnacle, so there was no more reason to work hard and be productive. But that’s exactly when we need to be up and about, not resting on our laurels, since a society, or a person only remains at the top of their game by doing the same things, expending the same energy that originally brought them success. You can’t stay at the top if you slack off or get into bad, unproductive habits like we did. But there’s good news Friends; it’s not too late to turn it around and get back into God’s good graces. Jonah provides an excellent example. ‘When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came unto thee, unto thine holy temple…But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.’ (Jon.2:7,9) My people, when Jonah finally acknowledged the Lord, the whale vomited him out on dry land. So too, if we rededicate ourselves to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He will be merciful and turn our sorrows into joy. Friends, let’s seriously consider doing that nuh. We have nothing to lose and lots to gain. So let’s ardently LOVE our God, and LIVE our Faith. Many blessings will follow. Much LOVE!…in his heart…the fool said…I am wise…
Oh my Friends, that’s a very good question, to which I don’t have an answer, and apparently neither did the Lord when He put those words in Jeremiah’s mouth. He must have been rather puzzled and mystified by Israel’s sudden change of heart. He surely never expected such ingratitude after all He’d done for them; bringing them out of bondage in Egypt, guiding them safely through the wilderness, providing food and water until they came to the Promised Land, a land of milk and honey, reaping benefits for which they had not laboured. None of us in His position would expect it either and would certainly want to know why. Look at how aggrieved we feel when people we help turn against us or are ungrateful. Can you imagine the Lord’s quandary then? And sadly my people, it’s the same question He’s asking of us today: What injustice has He done that we all have gone astray, forsaken Him, and foolishly turned to following pagan idols? Back then the Israelites actually made physical idols of stone, wood and metal like the pagans and worshipped them. Today though, our idols are more mental than physical, we are driven by things like wealth and power, pomp and pride, celebrity and social status. Our lust for these things manifest themselves in outward ostentation; fancy, expensive clothes and jewellery, more and bigger houses, cars, yachts, businesses etc. Keeping up to the Jones’ has become our reason to live, for if we don’t, we’re considered of no account. It’s now all about who can have the biggest and the best. But remember Friends, we pointed out yesterday that that attitude is suicidal, cause it leads us to do unwise things. And a perfect example of that is the economic mess our world’s now in. It all stemmed from the powerful lust to have more, to attain the devil’s playthings, and was fuelled by greed, lies and consumption above and beyond our means, until the status quo was no longer sustainable. But as we also noted yesterday, the wicked will always undergo destruction, whether it’s now or later, because the Lord has decreed it. Now since the foundation of our economic success was built on a bed of sinking sand, held aloft and afloat only by mirrors and sleight of hand, it was only a matter of time before it became top heavy and crumbled, both literally and figuratively. As Jeremiah says later on: ‘Forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like thee. But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities.’ (Jer.10:7-8) Yes Friends, those who consider themselves wise in their own conceit are really dullards, and the idols they worship and adore are based on worthless teachings. I don’t know why the human animal always thinks he’s different and won’t suffer the same fate by doing the same nonsense that others did before and perished. Jeremiah posed the question to Israel. Some time later, Micah did the same: ‘O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.’ (Mic.6:3) And Friends, though I’m no prophet, I’m asking the same question: Why have we turned from God to mammon? Our society was once fairly obedient to the Most High God Jehovah, considering Him enough to put His Word in our schools and public places. But over the last few years we’ve been more concerned with removing Him from our lives rather than as a source of upliftment and strength. Is it because we’ve let those of other beliefs enter our society and water down our God? That’s one of the reasons the Lord warned the Israelites about intermarriage and dwelling with strangers. He knew that pagan artefacts and culture would eventually filter into or infiltrate the godliness of His people. (2 Kings 17:15-17) Please remember, as Jonah did in the whale’s stomach: ‘They that observe lying vanities, forsake their own mercy.’ (Jon.2:8) Yes my people, when we focus on worthless idols, we are doing ourselves a grave injustice, for by so doing, we cut ourselves off from the LOVING kindness of our merciful, forgiving God. But Friends, our weak stand against the tearing down of our faith is not the sole reason for our current demise. Added to that was our prosperity and success which tends to breed complacency, laziness and indolence. It’s been experienced by all the great societies. Another instance where we didn’t learn from the mistakes of others. We figured we’d arrived at the pinnacle, so there was no more reason to work hard and be productive. But that’s exactly when we need to be up and about, not resting on our laurels, since a society, or a person only remains at the top of their game by doing the same things, expending the same energy that originally brought them success. You can’t stay at the top if you slack off or get into bad, unproductive habits like we did. But there’s good news Friends; it’s not too late to turn it around and get back into God’s good graces. Jonah provides an excellent example. ‘When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came unto thee, unto thine holy temple…But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.’ (Jon.2:7,9) My people, when Jonah finally acknowledged the Lord, the whale vomited him out on dry land. So too, if we rededicate ourselves to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He will be merciful and turn our sorrows into joy. Friends, let’s seriously consider doing that nuh. We have nothing to lose and lots to gain. So let’s ardently LOVE our God, and LIVE our Faith. Many blessings will follow. Much LOVE!…in his heart…the fool said…I am wise…
SCRIP-BITS 