EMMDEV 2011-01-18 [Jeremiah's Journey] Passionate Call

2 "This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD's house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. 3 Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. Jeremiah26:2-3

Today we look at the passionate call that was extended to Jeremiah. Tomorrow we'll look at his passionate response...

You might argue that this passage does not seem so passionate. If you read it in isolation it doesn't seem too intense, but it is just another brick in a big wall of texts that portray God as very reluctant to bring wrath and very eager to forgive a repentant Israel.

The whole of Jeremiah's call is a desperate outreach to a people that many would consider "long gone" and "dead on arrival" and yet Jeremiah is sent to desperately attempt to resuscitate the faith of the people of God.

This time Jeremiah is sent to the courtyard of the temple. This is the centerpoint of the nation's religious and political life. Jeremiah was doing the equivalent of the country bumpkin preacher who suddenly demands to be on prime time TV with all the notoriety that could earn him.

Not only is Jeremiah called to rush in where angels fear to tread, but he is sent with an uncomfortable message - a call to repentance. It's a call that could endanger the messenger's life, but there is a fervent longing and hope: that Israel would _turn_ (the Hebrew word is "shoev" and is repeated with metronomic regularity through Jeremiah)

Here is a picture of powerful and relentless love - a God who would send Jeremiah His servant all the way to the temple courts and who would send His one and only Son into the world and to the cross.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@gracepresby.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-01-14 [Jeremiah's Journey] The LORD our Righteousness

5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD,
"when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
6 In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The LORD Our Righteousness. Jeremiah23:5-6

We do not generally associate Jeremiah with Messianic prophecies, but there are a few Jeremiah passages that foreshadow the coming of Jesus the Messiah. This is one of the most significant.

Jeremiah lived in a time of puppet kings, fallen kings, defeated kings and evil kings. The history that he recounted to Israel as their "fall from grace" was littered with the stories of corrupt, greedy and godless kings.

This makes the longing and beauty of this prophetic passage even more poignant.
The king Jeremiah forsees will be righteous, wise, just and a saviour who provides security. He will be called "The LORD our Righteousness."

Jesus fulfilled these hopes but not quite as the average person expected:
- His Kingdom is not an earthly Kingdom but transcends earthly regimes which come and go.
- His life was an awesome example of closeness to God (wisdom) and love for people (doing what is just and right in the land)
- He paid an incredible price to save us and offer righteousness to us.

Righteousness is a tough Old Testament word. It was a high call and, as history proved, people were not up to the call. Evil kings didn't attain it and even the good kings fell short. Not only did Jesus live righteously but He died for our unrighteousness and then shared His righteousness with us - therefore saving us.

So here we have it - some 600 years before Jesus would go to the cross as our King of Righteousness - God has already whispered this hope into the heart of His prophet. What a God and what a Saviour!

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Theo Groeneveld theo@gracepresby.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2011-01-13 [Jeremiah's Journey] Far and Near

Greetings and a very blessed 2011 to you!
After a long break we start the eDevs again. We're going to carry on picking up some nuggets from Jeremiah.
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23 "Am I only a God nearby,"
declares the LORD,
"and not a God far away?
24 Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him?"
declares the LORD.
"Do not I fill heaven and earth?"
declares the LORD. Jeremiah23:23-24

For most of us the question is not if God is a far away God, but if He is a God who is near! For us, the question is "Does God care?" for Jeremiah the question was "Is God able?"

Jeremiah lived in a world where the "effectiveness" of a nation's god was measured by their military success and divine "turf wars." If your nation was defeated by another nation and you were taken into exile into their god's "turf" was there any way that your nation's god could be with you? To contemporary answer was "No way!"

God brings an amazing comfort to Jeremiah: No distance and no circumstance can prevent God from being with His people. He is not a local god confined to Palestine or a Jerusalem temple. His plans are not effected by the unfaithfulness of people or the schemes of nations.

Although Jerusalem and the temple have been destroyed and although Israel's leaders are in exile in Babylon, Yahweh (the Hebrew name for the God of Israel) is not a local or limited God. He is the God of the near and far.

Even when we have hidden in the secret places of sin and failure He can see us and He can save us. He does care - He sent His Son for us and that is what we celebrated at Christmas. And He is able to save us - no matter how far we have wandered - He is the God of far away too!

This is awesome comfort for 2011. Not only does He care, but when we were far from Him - He came to us! As He fills heaven and earth, may He fill your and my 2011!

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Theo Groeneveld theo@gracepresby.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV Two Christmas thoughts

Dear eDev friends,
I wrote these two pieces last night and thought I'd share them with you...
Click here  ......
God bless and Blessed CHRISTmas to you!
Love
Theo

EMMDEV 2010-12-03 [Jeremiah's Journey] Plans

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah29:11

Jeremiah was left behind in Jerusalem when the Babylonians dragged the "cream" of Israel's leaders off into exile. But God had Jeremiah write to them, encouraging them to make the most their situation at the "rivers of Babylon."

The unthinkable concept in his letter was that God had a plan for them. Could that be possible? Could they come back from exile with a revived and revitalised faith that was not centred on the temple but the Word of God? Between Jeremiah (in Israel) and Ezekiel (with the exiles) God transformed His people and brought them back after 70 years.

Could God have had a plan with an unlikely people?
History says He did.

Does God have a plan for humanity?
Yes He does!
It was revealed in a babe born in Bethlehem.
But Nathanael wasn't sure: "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" (Try the Saviour of the World!...)

Philip (just NOT getting it) said "Just show us the Father," and Jesus said "If you've seen me, You've seen Him."

God works in unlikely and unusual ways - may your hearts be open to Him this Christmas. For Christmas truly is an "Advent" in that it sneaks up on us with stories of stables, journeys, gifts and the earthy way in which it all takes place. But there is wonder for all who would open their eyes to His great love!
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That brings us to the end of the eDevs for this year as I will be on leave next week.
Hope the eDevs have been a great blessing and help to you this year!
Have a blessed CHRISTmas!
God bless and Much love
Theo

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Theo Groeneveld theo@gracepresby.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2010-12-02 [Jeremiah's Journey] True Wisdom

This is what the LORD says:
"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom
or the strong man boast of his strength
or the rich man boast of his riches,
24 but let him who boasts boast about this:
that he understands and knows me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,"
declares the LORD. Jeremiah9:23-24

Isn't it interesting how our gifts (wisdom, strength and riches) which are really gifts and blessings from above are the very things that distract us from Him?

Why is this? Did God make a mistake in blessing us with gifts? No! We can't blame God's generosity, but rather our lack of humility and gratitude. Even my talents are from Him!

Jeremiah gives us three measures for boast-worthiness: kindness, justice and righteousness.

Think about it: These are the things that really matter.
Kindness = love, graciousness, compassion
Justice = how we treat others (equality, fairness, protect the weak)
Righteousness = all about internal integrity

All three of the above are needed if we are to be of any substance.

There are two kinds of boasting: The kind where people take credit where it isn't due, and the kind where credit is given to the one to whom it _is_ due. When it comes to the measures of kindness, justice and righteousness there is only God who remains standing.

We do better thinking highly of Him than thinking highly of ourselves!

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2010-12-01 [Jeremiah's Journey] Fun-spoiler or Protector?

18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes of bread for the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger. 19 But am I the one they are provoking? declares the LORD. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame? Jeremiah7:18-19

Sometimes we kick against God's laws and requirements because we suspect He is out to spoil our fun... Jeremiah gives us another perspective:

The Queen of Heaven was Ishtar, a Babylonian idol. As the Hebrews worshipped her, they descended into immorality and decadence. It was an affront to the holiness and glory of the one true God.

But is just that God is dishonoured by idolatry - it is us who are harmed! High on God's agenda is His loving desire to protect us from the consequences of giving in to our sinful nature.

When we
- worship false gods, we take on their values (fear, excess, greed)
- commit adultery, we damage trust, loyalty and self-image and risk health
- abuse substances, we damage our bodies
- refuse to rest, we risk break-down
- don't honour our parents, we become unhealthy members of society
- desire other people's stuff, we become unsatisfy-able.
and so on.

God wants us to grow into all that He created us to be.
Sin deforms and destroys us - it drives God crazy because He loves us.

The last point here is the very sad picture of the whole family being dragged into this: children, fathers and mothers. How many families will go Christmas shopping on a Sunday morning instead of being in church? It breaks God's heart when this happens and He wants to protect us and our families from ourselves.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2010-11-30 [Jeremiah's Journey] Revisionist?

This is what the LORD says:
"Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, `We will not walk in it.' Jeremiah6:16

Some of you will probably cheekily suggest that I am showing my age here, but I think today's topic is well worth considering and I think there are fine-balances and plenty of baby-and-bathwater issues around this subject!

A wise person once told me: "Tradition is a stream we walk beside and not a stagnant pool. Sometimes the stream is shaped by the countryside and sometimes the stream shapes the countryside."

I see a lot of unhealthy revisionism going on today where it is a case of "out with the old and in with the new" simply because people think that "new is better."

Jeremiah had to challenge the people to go back to the ancient paths. Why? Not because they were ancient, but because they were *good*. There are old ways that are not good and we should learn from the mistakes of others.

Isaac Newton said "we have come this far because we have stood on the shoulders of giants." Unfortunately today we are so determined to "do it _our_ way" that we don't want to stand on the shoulders of the wisdom others have already gained in the school of hard knocks.

Proverbs 22:28 offers a similar sentiment: "Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers."

Here are some ancient good paths that are sadly neglected today:
- Loving but firm discipline of children by parents
- Teaching our children to wait and work for what they want instead of just giving them what they want.
- The value of reading
- The importance of marriage, and waiting for marriage
- The importance of living simply and within one's means
- Respect for privacy for loud in-your-face sensuality in our tv shows, newspaper headlines and tabloids.

Most importantly we seem to have forgotten the centrality of the "old old story of Jesus and His love." We seem to have forgotten the value of regular church attendance, Bible reading, prayer and service.

As a nation we are at a cross-road - may it be that we will look for the good ancient paths.

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2010-11-25 [Jeremiah's Journey] Looking in the wrong places

"If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Jeremiah12:5

Jeremiah had to repeatedly call an unrepentant Israel to "shoev" (repent): it was a tough call and a tough congregation.

In ch.11 he experiences resistance from his own people who plot against him to end his life and silence him permanently. They confront him and threaten him: "Be silent - or else!"

This shakes Jeremiah to the core and he's ready to give up on them. His attitude is "Drag them off like sheep to be slaughtered!"

Surprisingly God does not comfort Jeremiah, but confronts him. Jeremiah had his eyes too closely on the audience. Jeremiah had pinned his hopes on the people's positive response and their readiness to accept his message.

God warns him: "Do you think it's going to get any easier?"

The point of God's question is that Jeremiah can't compete with horses. No man can. And no-one's skin is thick enough for the thorny thickets of Jordan. He will need help.

The only way to survive is to enter the battle with God's help. The only way to manage is to realise that I can't depend on people or my charisma or even my expectations. There will come a time that I have to admit that I need help

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/

EMMDEV 2010-11-23 [Jeremiah's Journey] Ignoring what is right before them

22 Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD.
"Should you not tremble in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they have turned aside and gone away.

24 They do not say to themselves,
`Let us fear the LORD our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'
Jeremiah5:22-24

One of the first signs of spiritual decline is that we lose our sense of wonder.

God's people had lost a sense of His divine presence in the world around them.
- Sunsets didn't wow them.
- The ocean's restrained power didn't impress them any more.
- They weren't taken with the wonder of the seasons
- And they weren't deeply grateful for the miracle of harvest.

This loss of wonder meant a loss of perspective.
Their lack of observation led to a loss of spiritual perception.
They were caught up in themselves and what they wanted.
They "turned aside and went away."

We can learn a lot from their mistake....
(So let's be sure not to repeat it!)

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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/