Jeremiah 12:5-6 (MSG) “So, Jeremiah, if you’re worn out in this footrace with men,
what makes you think you can race against horses?
And if you can’t keep your wits during times of calm,
what’s going to happen when troubles break loose
like the Jordan in flood?
what makes you think you can race against horses?
And if you can’t keep your wits during times of calm,
what’s going to happen when troubles break loose
like the Jordan in flood?
It's okay to be different!
Everything we do, we do in His Strength anyway. So be different! Jeremiah was different yet he was exactly what God called him to be.
It's not too late to register for this years Women of Witness Conference 2016 "Running With Horses". This year the Intensive begins before we even arrive at the beautiful location. When we really want to be with someone and we want it to be a special occasion we play far in advance. We know what we want to eat and what we want to wear. We make sure we are rested. We make it a priority. This is how I feel about this conference. It is a time set apart for His arrival. A time set apart for intimacy with Him.
We are skillful at the art of making excuses, aren't we? "I don't know how." "I didn't understand." "I couldn't find the right tools." "The voices told me to clean all the guns today." "I threw out my back bowling." "I have a Doctor's appointment." "There's been a death in the family." "The hazmat crew is here and won't let me out of the house." "I have a relative coming in from Hawaii and I need to pick them up at the airport." And, my all time favorite: "When I got up this morning I accidentally took two Ex-Lax in addition to my Prozac. I can't get off the john, but I feel good about it."
In the Christian world, we can find all sorts of excuses not to obey God's voice: "It's the preacher's job." "It's not my gift." "I've already served, let someone else do it." "I'm too busy or too tired or too old or too young."
It has been said, "Excuses are tools of the incompetent, and those who specialize in them seldom go far." Ben Franklin wrote, "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else." Gabriel Meurier stated, "He who excuses himself, accuses himself."
Jeremiah had every excuse ready when God called him to be a prophet. His excuses are often our excuses for not heeding God's voice when he calls. Countering each excuse was a promise from God.
The rest of this series we will look at some excuses and then the promise that counteracts that excuse:
The excuse: The task is demanding. Jeremiah was called to be "a prophet to the nations" (Jer. 1:5), not a priest like his father and his grandfather. A prophet was a chosen and authorized spokesman for God who declared God's Word to the people. We often think of prophets as people who can tell the future. But a prophet spoke messages to the present that had future ramifications. They were forth tellers more than they were fore-tellers, exposing the people's sins and calling them back to their covenant responsibilities before God.
Being a prophet was more demanding than serving as a priest. The priests' duties were predictable. Everything was written down in the law. The prophet never knew from one day to the next what the Lord would call him to say or to do. The priest worked primarily to preserve the past. The prophet labored to change the present so the nation would have a future. Priests dealt with externals - rituals, sacrifices, offerings, services - whereas the prophet tried to reach and change hearts. Priests ministered primarily to individuals with various needs. Prophets, on the other hand, addressed whole nations, and usually the people they addressed didn't want to hear the message. Priests belonged to a special tribe and therefore had authority and respect, but a prophet could come from any tribe and had to prove his divine call. Priests were supported from the sacrifices and offerings of the people, but prophets had no guaranteed income.
Jesus, too, was called to be a prophet. He traveled from place to place challenging the people to change so that their future in heaven would be guaranteed. Jesus spoke to the hearts of people. Most did not accept his message of repentance, for they did not want to change.
The promise: God may assign you a demanding task, but his call keeps us going when we don't want to go and are ready to quit. We have the promise of God's purpose. "I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born'" (Jer. 1:5). The verb know has much more meaning than simply being aware of. It carries the idea of recognition of the worth and purpose of him who is known. God knew Jeremiah, chose Jeremiah, and appointed Jeremiah. He was known by name, hand-picked by God, and commissioned to serve. Those acts give one a great sense of purpose. The promise of God's purpose allows us to let go of our own plans and to receive God's plan without fear. Like Jeremiah and Jesus, we need to accept that our future is not our own.
We are God's.
He has a distinct plan and purpose for our lives.
We are skillful at the art of making excuses, aren't we? "I don't know how." "I didn't understand." "I couldn't find the right tools." "The voices told me to clean all the guns today." "I threw out my back bowling." "I have a Doctor's appointment." "There's been a death in the family." "The hazmat crew is here and won't let me out of the house." "I have a relative coming in from Hawaii and I need to pick them up at the airport." And, my all time favorite: "When I got up this morning I accidentally took two Ex-Lax in addition to my Prozac. I can't get off the john, but I feel good about it."
In the Christian world, we can find all sorts of excuses not to obey God's voice: "It's the preacher's job." "It's not my gift." "I've already served, let someone else do it." "I'm too busy or too tired or too old or too young."
It has been said, "Excuses are tools of the incompetent, and those who specialize in them seldom go far." Ben Franklin wrote, "He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else." Gabriel Meurier stated, "He who excuses himself, accuses himself."
Jeremiah had every excuse ready when God called him to be a prophet. His excuses are often our excuses for not heeding God's voice when he calls. Countering each excuse was a promise from God.
The rest of this series we will look at some excuses and then the promise that counteracts that excuse:
The excuse: The task is demanding. Jeremiah was called to be "a prophet to the nations" (Jer. 1:5), not a priest like his father and his grandfather. A prophet was a chosen and authorized spokesman for God who declared God's Word to the people. We often think of prophets as people who can tell the future. But a prophet spoke messages to the present that had future ramifications. They were forth tellers more than they were fore-tellers, exposing the people's sins and calling them back to their covenant responsibilities before God.
Being a prophet was more demanding than serving as a priest. The priests' duties were predictable. Everything was written down in the law. The prophet never knew from one day to the next what the Lord would call him to say or to do. The priest worked primarily to preserve the past. The prophet labored to change the present so the nation would have a future. Priests dealt with externals - rituals, sacrifices, offerings, services - whereas the prophet tried to reach and change hearts. Priests ministered primarily to individuals with various needs. Prophets, on the other hand, addressed whole nations, and usually the people they addressed didn't want to hear the message. Priests belonged to a special tribe and therefore had authority and respect, but a prophet could come from any tribe and had to prove his divine call. Priests were supported from the sacrifices and offerings of the people, but prophets had no guaranteed income.
Jesus, too, was called to be a prophet. He traveled from place to place challenging the people to change so that their future in heaven would be guaranteed. Jesus spoke to the hearts of people. Most did not accept his message of repentance, for they did not want to change.
The promise: God may assign you a demanding task, but his call keeps us going when we don't want to go and are ready to quit. We have the promise of God's purpose. "I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born'" (Jer. 1:5). The verb know has much more meaning than simply being aware of. It carries the idea of recognition of the worth and purpose of him who is known. God knew Jeremiah, chose Jeremiah, and appointed Jeremiah. He was known by name, hand-picked by God, and commissioned to serve. Those acts give one a great sense of purpose. The promise of God's purpose allows us to let go of our own plans and to receive God's plan without fear. Like Jeremiah and Jesus, we need to accept that our future is not our own.
We are God's.
He has a distinct plan and purpose for our lives.
RSS Feed