Friday, September 23rd

Friday, September 23rd

Jeremiah 13:15-27
15 Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken. 16 Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings the darkness, before your feet stumble on the darkening hills. You hope for light, but he will turn it to thick darkness and change it to deep gloom. 17 But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, overflowing with tears, because the LORD's flock will be taken captive. 18 Say to the king and to the queen mother, "Come down from your thrones, for your glorious crowns will fall from your heads." 19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up, and there will be no one to open them. All Judah will be carried into exile, carried completely away. 20 Lift up your eyes and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock that was entrusted to you, the sheep of which you boasted? 21 What will you say when the LORD sets over you those you cultivated as your special allies? Will not pain grip you like that of a woman in labor? 22 And if you ask yourself, Why has this happened to me?" - it is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated. 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. 24 "I will scatter you like chaff driven by the desert wind. 25 This is your lot, the portion I have decreed for you," declares the LORD, "because you have forgotten me and trusted in false gods. 26 I will pull up your skirts over your face that your shame may be seen - 27 your adulteries and lustful neighings, your shameless prostitution! I have seen your detestable acts on the hills and in the fields. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean?"

Chaff (noun):

1. Trivial or worthless matter.


2. The destruction of the wicked and their powerlessness.


3. Abortive wickedness.

Weep (verb):

1. To express emotion, such as grief or sadness, by shedding tears.


2. To mourn or grieve.

Accustomed (verb):

1. To familiarize, as by constant practice, use, or habit.

Lot (noun):

1. Something that befalls one because of or as if because of determination by lot.


2. One's fortune in life; fate.

John 11:35 Jesus wept.

I wanted to include this scripture as well, because I see how Jesus’ heart was, so soft, so open, and so humble. The response when those who saw him crying was this:

36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

My love for others can have an impact. What impact will it be? I guess it begs the question of what am I accustomed to? Because whatever it is that is my habit, so will be my lot. Now that I am a Christian, my habits of old need to be behind me. So what is a habit?

Habit (noun):

1. A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.


2. An established disposition of the mind or character.


3. Customary manner or practice.


4. An addiction.

Well, I am in the practice of having my quiet times. That is good. “Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” It just sounds like a doomed statement. But I have hope.

Acts 2:38
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Repent (verb):

1. To feel remorse, contrition, or self-reproach for what one has done or failed to do; be contrite.


2. To feel such regret for past conduct as to change one's mind regarding it.


3. To make a change for the better as a result of remorse or contrition for one's sins.

Repenting gives me a clean slate. I change the practice of evil and customize myself with doing good. If I continue to practice evil, I cannot do good. Those in the scripture above were doing evil and being prideful about it. They weren’t repenting. And so God was set about to humble them. What am I accustomed to? What habits to I have that do not please my Lord? Good questions I need to ask myself on a routine basis. Johnny Out.