Jeremiah 5:30-31

An appalling and horrible thing Has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love it so! But what will you do at the end of it? NASB

The people of Jeremiah's day were in a very dangerous place. They knew God, knew about His commandments and the consequences of disobedience, and yet they continued in their ways, believing the lies of the false prophets and enjoying the double life. This really bothered God. He didn't like that they represented a relationship with Him in a false way to the world. According to their example, it was ok to cheat, lie, steal, murder, and do horrible things, so long as you made your sacrifices and observed the feasts. This made people turn away from God and that really bothered Him. Because of this, God allowed Judah to be captured by the Babylonians and Jerusalem destroyed. However, the most interesting point in this verse is not that, but the last statement: what will you do at the end of it? Where will you follow and what will you do? This is the real heart of it all; others might be doing the wrong thing, but what will you do? I pray your answer is to follow the Lord and serve Him in truth and love.

Job 25:5-6

"How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman? If even the moon has no brightness And the stars are not pure in His sight, How much less man, that maggot, And the son of man, that worm!" NASB

When we are confronted with our sinfulness and willful disobedience, it can seem like there is no possible way that God could love us the way He says He does. Being confronted with God's holiness, love, and grace should produce this attitude in us, but it shouldn't end there. We need to remember that God's grace allows us to stand before Him, regardless of our lack of worthiness and holiness. It is not by our great deeds or perfect life that God accepts and loves us, but by the suffering of Christ and the work of the cross. This is a gift and we cannot earn it. Don't let yourself try to add to the work of the cross by saying that you need to add anything to enter into God's presence. Even your attitude needs to be as Paul described in Hebrews 10:19, with boldness and confidence, not in ourselves, but in the completeness of the work of Christ. Realize the reality of your personal status in God's eyes, but don't forget that you are also a beloved child of the Father! Run into His arms and enjoy the love He has reserved for you alone.

Psalm 37:8

Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

We all can agree that anger isn't usually a good thing and that wrath tends to lead to mistakes of judgment. However, did you know that fretting is just as bad in God's eyes as anger and wrath? Fretting, or worrying, makes us do silly things sometimes. It messes up our health and makes us miserable. Not only that, but it is a result of us being disobedient to God! He tells us to worry about nothing and pray to Him. Why? Because He is GOD! If there is a problem, He can fix it, no matter how hard. So then why do we worry? Is God too small to handle our problem? We need to put God back in His proper place in our lives and, like a small child, trust Him to take care of it. Every day has it's problems, but every day God is God. Trust Him to handle everything. Listen carefully to what He asks you to do, then do it. Trust Him with the rest.

1 Sam 12:20,22-25

Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear. You have committed all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart... For the LORD will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the LORD has been pleased to make you a people for Himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way. Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.

Samuel, a mighty prophet of God, was about to demonstrate the anger of the Lord in the people asking for a king, but before that he wanted them to know that God might not be pleased but He still desired a loving relationship with them. Also, Samuel wanted them to know that he would continue to pray for them and that if they repented, he would seek to teach them the path that pleased God. This is just one example how Samuel was a godly judge. We have a far greater Judge in heaven who makes constant intercession before the Father on our behalf; Jesus. Though God is righteously angry over our sins, the redemptive work of Christ pays for those sins. They are now and forever forgiven and we are set free to live a life led by the Spirit. To do this, we need to seek the teaching of Jesus and allow Him to show us the good and right way. Don't wait another day if you are not yet doing this. Start now and allow God to restore and renew you.

Genesis 49:28b

(Jacob) blessed (his sons,) every one with the blessing appropriate to him.

Jacob was dying and, as was normal in those days, he blessed his sons from his death bed. As the verse above notes, he blessed them not with a general blessing, but with a specific, individual blessing designed just for them. This means that he spend time and energy on making each one special for that son, custom fitted to match them and their personalities. That took a lot of time and effort, but it was the best way to show his love to his sons. What's interesting is that this is what God does for each of us. God does not give us all the same blessings and gifts for this life, but those which are suited best for us. We might look at others and see how blessed they are and feel jealous, or maybe try to convince or force others to be like us, but this shouldn't be. God made each one of us differently with different talents, traits, and gifts, and we shouldn't try to fit into someone else's mold or make others fit into our mold. To truly be blessed and a blessing to others, we should seek to set people free from that pressure to conform to our standards and encourage them to enjoy being the person that God created them to be. Celebrate their diversity, accept them for who they are, and allow them to serve God in the way He made them to.

1 Cor 9:2

If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. NASB

People have a habit of criticizing others, especially when they are doing something well. Paul was facing just such criticism from Jewish Christians trying to turn the Corinthian church against him and into legalism. Paul's defense is basically this; look at the fruit of my work in your life and decide for yourself who is true and who isn't. As Luke 7:35 says, "Wisdom is vindicated by her children." We shouldn't feel the need to defend ourselves to critics if we are following the Lord's calling and our relationship with the Lord is solid. There will always be people who are convinced they know more then you and they will love to tell you so. Your job is not to make them "see the error of their ways" but to be faithful to the calling God has called you to and love them, no matter how they might abuse you. Then, the results of your work will speak for themselves. Yes, it is hard at times to do this, but Jesus knows all about that pain. Call out to Him when you experience things like this and He will give you strength and endurance to get through it.

Mark 3-4a

And Jesus said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?" NASB

The religious leaders of Jesus' day were upset with Jesus. While Jesus never sinned, He didn't obey the man-made rules the Jews had made to keep themselves from sinning. He didn't need them. In the end, the rulers sought to kill Jesus because of this and the threat He proved to their power. In this specific example, Jesus sought to set someone free from a crippling disability. This is good by anyone's definition, but the Pharisees were upset because Jesus "worked on the Sabbath." They had so wrapped themselves in rules and regulations to keep themselves from sinning that they lost sight of the heart of God! They saw this act as a sin, not as a miracle! Don't let your relationship with God become like the Pharisees. Don't become so obsessed with rules and legalism that you forget to help people who are sick and suffering!