THE WEEPING PROPHET. Jeremiah 7:34.

Image: The wedding of Andy and Christy in the spring of 2020. Due to COVID-19, family and friends could not travel from out of the country and watched on a livestream.

Read these verses—don’t they sound like the year 2020?

“I will remove from the cities … and the streets … the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the groom and the bride.” Jeremiah 7:34.

What could be happier than a wedding? Yet, the “shutdown” due to the pandemic postponed many weddings, and changed others from massive parties in giant halls to intimate gatherings in backyards. Sports were put on hold for months. Children did not roam the streets on bicycles or go on play dates. Birthday parties resembled drive-by shootings—all the children could do is drive by. And should you have the misfortune of being admitted to a hospital, it would be the loneliest time of your life. Loneliness was actually blamed for many patients’ deaths.

Jeremiah, “the Weeping Prophet,” wrote of these things, and they broke his heart. But THEY ALSO BREAK GOD’S HEART:

“My joy has flown; grief has settled on me. My heart is sick…. I am broken by the brokenness of my dear people, I mourn. Horror has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead? … If my head were a spring of water, my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night over the slain of my dear people…. Lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land, for they proceed from one evil to another, and they do not take Me into account…. Should I not punish them for these things?… Should I not avenge Myself?” Jer. 8:18-22;9:1,3, 9.

God punishes sin. But He grieves for those He punishes. The year 2020, with all its disappointments, was also a judgment and a sign, begging the world to turn back to God: to repent, to speak truth, to seek God FIRST.

Dear God, please turn our family back to You. Help us to make good choices, to put You first, to please You, worship You, and glorify You in our words and actions every day. And please send repentance, humility, and brokenness to our nation.

ΑΩ

Jeremiah’s Nickname. Jeremiah 9:1.

Scholars suggest Jesus must have exuded joy or children would not have flocked to Him. In fact, Hebrews says Jesus was more joyful than anyone else. WHY was Jesus joyful? Because He was obedient.

“You loved righteousness and hated wickedness, therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy above all your companions” Hebrews 1:9.

God gives joy to the obedient. But what if you are disobedient?  Sin is always fun—for a season. But if you love God, you will eventually feel sorrow over your sin.  (And that sorrow is a gift because it helps you make changes!) Those who feel no sorrow over sin, likely do not know God, because serious sin brings tremendous sorrow. In fact, the sorrow spreads all around—not only will the sinner suffer, but everyone close to him will suffer too.  For example, look at what alcoholism or adultery can do to families. Sin brings sorrow to families, communities, churches, and even pastors.

People love a warm, smiling preacher like Joel Osteen. Osteen’s manner can be effective at times—I know a Jewish trial attorney who told me he watches Osteen to become better at talking to juries. But the Bible covers such a breadth of subjects, a preacher committed to effectively teaching the word of God is going to be forced to confront some unpleasant topics. Jesus was joyful, but His messages were not always happy and encouraging (you don’t encourage sin). He called the Pharisees snakes and hypocrites.

Which brings me to Jeremiah. Do you know his nickname? Jeremiah is called “THE WEEPING PROPHET.” (Imagine having that captioned under your name in the yearbook.)  Jeremiah wept over the unrepentant sins of Israel—and the wrath of God the nation was about to endure.

“My joy has flown. Grief has settled on me. My heart is sick” Jeremiah 8:18.

“I am broken by the brokenness of my dear people. I mourn. Horror has taken hold of me. Is there no balm in Gilead?” Jeremiah 8:21-22.

“If my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, I WOULD WEEP DAY AND NIGHT over the slain of my dear people … They are all adulterers, a solemn assembly of treacherous people.” Jeremiah 9:1-2.

I smile. I love a firm handshake, a warm embrace, dancing eyes, and laughter. And I enjoy the same from my pastor. But God is holy. When men are blinded by their rebellion against God, their circumstances may require more weeping than smiling.

Dear God, forbid that our pastors are so busy trying to be warm and winsome that they never preach tough messages about the law, sin, and judgment!

ΑΩ

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW. Jeremiah 2:19.

Could there be a more universal principle, both literally and figuratively? When you plant an apple seed, an apple tree will grow. And when you plant seeds of sin, sin will grow. You can plant seeds in your children—of self-discipline, forgiveness, and reverence, or of laziness, selfishness, and rebellion. You can also plant seeds in your own life.

You can INVEST in yourself. How? By studying the word, by memorizing it, by “hiding it in your heart.”

Galatians 6:7 says “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Jeremiah says it another way:

“Your own evil will discipline you. Your own apostasies will reprimand you” 2:19.

Sin itself will punish you for sinning. That is how connected sin is to its consequences. It is like a bola, the Argentine throwing rope with stones on each end. As soon as you grab one end, the other comes along and trips you. When you sin, the consequences are attached. You can’t have one without the other, because “your own evil will discipline you.”

Jeremiah comments about idolatry specifically:

“They followed worthless idols and BECAME WORTHLESS THEMSELVES” Jeremiah 2:5.

What do you worship? If you want your life to matter, to have VALUE, be sure what you worship (from “worth-ship”) has value! You must worth-ship the God who is priceless. He will then make sure your life is not worthless.

If you have been unfaithful, return to the One True God.

“Return you faithless children. I will heal your unfaithfulness” Jeremiah 3:22.

Turn to God and He will remove your unfaithfulness, He will forgive your idolatry, and He will wipe away the consequences, the weeds that you have reaped because you sowed bad seeds.

Now worship Him and SOW GOOD THINGS! —And remember, reaping comes AFTER planting. Sow good things today, but be patient while you wait for them to grow and enrich your life with a wonderful harvest. Serve God faithfully and be patient.

God, help us love You deeply and serve You faithfully. Give our lives worth as we ‘worth-ship’ You.

ΑΩ

JESUS HEALS ADDICTION. Jeremiah 3:22

God used Jeremiah to confront Israel about its idolatry and unfaithfulness. The book prophecies destruction and judgment for 52 chapters. At one point, God reminds Israel of its own addictions, that the people are not faithful to God, but continue to be seduced by every new stranger or idol that comes along. God argues that He is Israel’s husband, but Israel is an adulterous wife, addicted to pursuing every new man that comes along:

“But you say, ‘It’s hopeless; I love strangers, and I will continue to follow them.’” Jeremiah 2:25.

Can you relate to that kind of addiction? It can leave you powerless—and it shames you, as the next verse explains, “so the House of Israel has been PUT TO SHAME” v.26. But God understands—He knows it is hopeless. God knows Israel is an evil, faithless wife that can’t stop cheating on God even after all He has done for His chosen people.

“As a woman may betray her lover, so you have betrayed Me, house of Israel” 3:20.

But God offers a solution. He is still the Rescuer. God is still ABLE.

“Return, you faithless children. I WILL HEAL YOUR UNFAITHFULNESS” 3:22.

God is the answer. That’s right—the very same God that we betray, the One to Whom we seem incapable of remaining loyal—He is the One Who can HEAL YOUR SIN. Jesus is the answer to your sinful choices and raging addictions. You can’t fix yourself by yourself. Take it to Jesus. Give Him the sinful thing that shames you the most. Because He is the only one who can HEAL your unfaithfulness.

Dear God, we confess our sin, we repent of doing our own thing, and thinking we can be holy on our own. We need you. We need your forgiveness, and we need your power. Help us love you and hate evil. Give us the power to say no, and to rely on Your strength not our own. Help us to DESIRE holiness, to “Be holy, as You are holy.”

ΑΩ

THAT TIME WHEN TWO UNBORN CHILDREN GREETED EACH OTHER. Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:15,44.

We love to think we control our lives. And God gives us free will. But God has plans. Plans that began before YOU began. Consider what God says about people BEFORE THEY WERE BORN:

Pregnant Rebekah suffered as her baby kicked non-stop. God said they were twins, and HE ALREADY KNEW THE BOYS and had a plan.

“The Lord said, ‘Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you shall be divided.’ “ Genesis 25:22-23.

An angel said Samson would be on a diet—and the diet would begin IN THE WOMB!

“Behold, you shall conceive a son. So drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for THE CHILD SHALL BE A NAZIRITE FROM THE WOMB” Judges 13:7.

God chose David before birth:

“You took me from the womb … From my mother’s womb you have been my God.” Psalm 22:9-10 “In your book all my days were planned, before I was born” 139:13-16.

God chose Isaiah before birth:

“The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name” Isaiah 49:1.

God told Jeremiah:

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you” Jeremiah 1:5.

Paul says God set him apart before he was born, Galatians 1:15.

The angel told Zechariah about his yet-to-be conceived son, John:

“He will be a joy and a delight to you and many will rejoice because of his birth, … And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and HE WILL BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, EVEN FROM HIS MOTHER’S WOMB” Luke 1:15.

Elizabeth knew the baby in her was filled with the Spirit, because the UNBORN child REACTED to another UNBORN child. How? The Holy Spirit in unborn John recognized the Holy Spirit indwelling unborn Jesus when he heard Mary’s voice through Elizabeth’s ears!

“When the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy” Luke 1:44.

John ALREADY knew his job was to point people to Jesus.

God knew you before you were BORN!

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Hydrate. Jeremiah 2:13.

There are fashions with words as with clothing. Buzzwords are in style today, but will sound old-fashioned tomorrow.  There are so many buzzwords surrounding nutrition and exercise, including the pseudo-scientific verb, “hydrate.”

“I need to hydrate.” –What an odd thing to say.

Of course, you must drink or you will die. You may be able to hydrate your hair with creams and nutrition—but there is only one way to hydrate your body, and that is by drinking.  So why not just say “drink”?

Water does so much for us.  It QUENCHES thirst, it FEEDS the body, it COOLS the skin, it CLEANS everything, it SMOOTHS rough stones, it LIFTS and PROPELS everything from surfboards to ocean liners, it ENTERTAINS people in pools, waterslides, beaches, and ski resorts, it even HOUSES fish, turtles, frogs, and igloo dwellers).

And Jesus promised to provide us LIVING WATER.

“Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink! For the scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart’” John 7:38.  Similarly, Jesus told the woman at the well that if she drank His water, it would become a “bubbling spring within” her, giving her eternal life” John 4:14.

Talk about HYDRATE!  Yet, people reject His living water.

“They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot hold water” Jeremiah 2:13.

Consider the people around you, your friends and associates. Why would they reject the living water Jesus offers? We think that somehow we have found a way to do for ourselves all the things water is supposed to do.  We ignore God and His word and His people, and rely on our own water source. We plan to dig our own well.  But look at your heart. Look at that fragile, sensitive soul inside you. Do you really think that YOU can provide all the things your soul needs? Will you find your own way to quench, feed, cool, clean, smooth, lift, propel, entertain, and house? Can you really ignore God’s ways and expect all your needs to be met? 

Only the Living Water of God can meet the needs of your soul.  NOTHING ELSE WILL SATISFY.

ΑΩ

LIVING WATER. John 7:37-39.

Mom drug a sleeve across her forehead. Sweat dripped as she cooked. Everyone loved the Feast of Tabernacles—seven days of camping in shelters made of poles and branches. But this year it was so hot. Fall began last month, but summer ruled the dusty valley. The dry season was longer this year. Six months they’d gone without rain. Dust covered your hair, your eyes, your food. Nothing ruined a meal faster than grinding your teeth on sand.

All week her children had whined about carrying water. When they cried, tears made clean little lines down their cheeks. Rivulets. Mama stopped cooking to take the baby into the shade under the shelter of branches. The kids had been so thirsty, the family never had enough water to get through the night. Naturally, Mom did without.

At the trumpet blast, everyone assembled to observe the priest. Day seven concerned water: for 40 years, Moses struggled to find water in the wilderness. Mom tried to explain to her oldest that the words of Joel were connected to this ritual, that just as God would pour out rain ending the drought, God would also pour out His Holy Spirit:

“The pouring of water and of God’s Spirit—it’s the same pouring,” she said. “Joel said, ‘After this, I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind. And your sons and your daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.’” [Joel 2:28.]

When the priest prayed for water, Mom joined him. When he finished, the air was windless. Silent. A dead calm, every flag and banner limp, unmoving. A sense of choking, dry thirst hung in the air, its weight a burden on the people.

Suddenly the man Jesus stood and spoke, His echoing voice commanding attention:

“If anyone is thirsty, come to Me and drink! The one who believes in Me, as the scripture says, will have STREAMS OF LIVING WATER FLOW FROM DEEP WITHIN HIM.” [John 7:37-39.]

Something clicked and suddenly Mom understood—Jesus would fill her with a stream of water that would never run out—the water of God’s Spirit.

Have you felt those streams? Jesus is LIVING WATER. When you spend time with Him, you are HYDRATED, WASHED, and FILLED from the inside-out.

God, fill us with Your living water so it overflows and blesses those around us.

ΑΩ

JOEL: HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO ADVERSITY? Joel 2:12-13.

What do you do when trouble comes?

Joel writes of desperate times: grapes, figs, pomegranates, dates, and apples are dried up, “indeed, human joy has dried up” 1:12. Then a Ninja-style army invades: “They scale walls, each goes on his own path. They dodge arrows, never stopping. They storm the city, run on the wall, climb into houses, enter through windows….” 2:6-9.

What do you do in the face of destruction and death? You go to God like never before.

“Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. REND YOUR HEART AND NOT YOUR GARMENTS, and return to the Lord your God” 2:12-13.

God says COME TO ME. Tear your heart and NOT your clothes. Fast. Weep. Mourn. GRIEVE your sins and your focus on your SELF, your SELFISHNESS, SELF-centeredness. Turn to God, truly, wholly, humbly. Give Him everything and He will deliver you, restoring the things you have lost:

“I will repay you for the years the swarming locust ate, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust… You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied” 2:25-26.

Then God will bless you spiritually:

“I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters will prophecy. Your old men will dream dreams and your young men will see visions” 2:28.

The question is not IF you will face adversity, but WHEN. And when you do, SEEK GOD. Repent of sins and selfishness. Fast. Pray. Weep. Mourn. Beg God to change you. –And He will. He will restore what you have lost, and He will bless you with His Spirit, with dreams, visions, and purpose. He will give you a hope and a future, when you seek Him with all your heart.

God, remind us not only to pray for an end to our struggles, but to pray for selflessness and holiness. Convict us of sin and make us more like You. Make us willing to die to self and live for Christ.

ΑΩ

Pass the Baton. Joel 1:3

Tell your children about the Lord, and let your children tell their children, and their children the next generation. Joel 1:3.

This is your duty: to bring them up in the faith. Do you know how? Are you prepared? Are you studying? Do you know the Word? Can you defend the faith and answer the hard questions?

—Best verse I read today.

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REND YOUR HEARTS AND NOT YOUR GARMENTS. Joel 2:12-13.

I remember fighting with my brother as a small child. Mama stopped us from squabbling and insisted that we apologize to each other. We grumbled something. “Now say it again, and this time, say it like you mean it.”

So we would apologize a second time, much more sweetly.  We were learning a valuable lesson—one she would teach us over and over for years. You must know how to humble yourself and admit when you have behaved badly. Your future relationships depend on your ability to genuinely apologize when appropriate.

(Let me say that again: your future relationships depend on your ability to genuinely apologize.)

The Book of Joel takes apologies to the next level. The people who turned to idols are now suffering punishment.

“What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten, what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten, and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten … The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered. The pomegranate, the date palm, and the apple—all the trees of the orchard—have withered. Indeed HUMAN JOY HAS DRIED UP” Joel 1:4, 12.

Then an army arrives: “A great and strong people appears, such as never existed in ages past and never will again … a fire destroys in front of them, and behind them a flame devours” Joel 2:2-3. What can Israel do in face of total devastation? What should we do when our lives fall apart or when we realize we are facing an eternity without Christ?

REPENT.

“Turn to ME with all your heart, with FASTING, WEEPING, and MOURNING. Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and HE RELENTS FROM SENDING DISASTER” Joel 2:12-13.

Do you know how to apologize? When was the last time you offered someone a genuine apology? Did you actually state what you did wrong, or just toss off a quick, “I’m sorry”?   

More importantly, have you repented to God? Have you confessed your lifetime of selfishness? Do you know how to repent? When the people of ancient Israel were upset, they tore their clothing. But God says, “rend your heart and not your garments.” 

The passage above includes five action verbs for the idol-worshiper (or SELF-worshiper) apologizing to God: 1)Turn to God with all your heart, 2)Fast, 3)Weep, 4)Mourn, and 5)Rend your heart.

I encourage fasting. Nothing draws me closer to God—or Him to me—more effectively than fasting.

ΑΩ