Redemptive Justice

Readings for today: Ezekiel 29-32

Many years ago, I had a long discussion with a dear friend. Someone I loved and respected. A fellow clergy person, though he was a Muslim and I was a Christian. For months we debated the nature of God’s justice. We probed the differences between Islam and Christianity. We wrestled over the problem of evil in the world and why God allows it. It was a wonderful discussion that challenged both of us. At the end of the day, I am not sure we moved the needle much for each other but we definitely came to a more clear understanding of how each of our respective faith’s define the justice of God.

I found myself thinking of my friend as I read these passages from Ezekiel. He would have appreciated them. For him, they describe God’s retributive justice perfectly. God deals with evil by sending it to hell. He deals with those who commit great evil by punishing them and sending them to the underworld. All those who attacked God’s people get their due. All the pagan nations finally meet their fate. God gives none of them a pass. He refuses to relent until he has utterly broken them. There’s something deep in all of us that can appreciate what God does here especially when we consider some of the horrific crimes committed against humanity throughout history.

God, however, is not in the business of retributive justice, even for the enemies of His people. What God wants is redemptive justice. A justice that restores rather than destroys. A justice focused more on rehabilitation than on punishment. A justice that expiates the guilty rather than condemns them. This is where Christians part ways with our Muslim friends. Islam has no mechanism for redemptive justice. All justice is ultimately retributive unless Allah decides - arbitrarily - to show mercy. Christianity, on the other hand, offers Jesus as a substitute in our place. Jesus makes atonement for our sin by enduring the full measure of God’s righteous judgment on sin and evil. He suffers the just penalty for sin by dying the death we deserved.

In today’s reading, the seeds of redemptive justice are sown. Over and over again, throughout this section, we see the purpose behind God’s judgment. “Then they’ll realize I am God.” God wants the nations to acknowledge His Lordship. He wants them to set aside their idols and submit to His rule and reign. He wants them to bring an end to oppression and abuse and greed and exploitation and instead, walk in His ways. He wants the same for us as well.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 33-36

Intercession

Readings for today: Ezekiel 21-24

One of the commitments I made to the Lord when I became a pastor was to become an intercessor for the people I served. Someone who would stand in the gap for them in prayer. Someone who would lift them up before the Lord. Someone who would present their needs to God and ask for provision. Someone who would present their hurts to God and ask for healing. Someone who would call on God continually to fill them with His Spirit, sanctify them with His presence, and send them in His power to proclaim the gospel to the world. I am the first to admit this hasn’t always been easy. As a pastor I get pulled in a lot of different directions. It’s all too easy to substitute a whole bunch of activity for the discipline of prayer. Furthermore, the community I served has grown. It takes me about a month to pray through our directory. But I try to do it faithfully and regularly because I believe in the power of prayer. And I believe God is looking for people to stand in the gap in prayer for His people and for the world.

Perhaps that’s why I love this line from our reading today. “I searched for a man among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land so that I might not destroy it, but I found no one.” (‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭22‬:‭30‬ ‭CSB‬‬) It’s a sobering reminder to me of the importance of prayer. The importance of intercession. The importance of putting oneself at risk for the sake of the community and call on God for protection. In the ancient world, the most dangerous place to be was at the point where a wall had been breached. This is where your enemies would mass to invade your city. Those caught in these places would be in harm’s way. Their lives would be at great risk. Their chances of survival were slim. And yet, it was also where they were most needed. If a wall broke down, the only hope a city had was the brave soldiers who would rush in to fill the gap and protect the lives of those they served.

The tragic reality of our readings from Ezekiel is that Israel’s leaders had abandoned their posts. Spiritual breach after spiritual breach had occurred as they forsook the faith of their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As they abandoned the covenant God had made with them. And no one was left to stand in the gap. There was no Moses to intercede on behalf of God’s people, calling on God to spare them from destruction. What about us? What about our homes? Our families? Our churches? Our communities? Have we abandoned our posts in a similar fashion or are we willing to take our stand in the gap and intercede on behalf of those we love and serve before the Lord?

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 25-28

God’s Name

Readings for today: Ezekiel 17-20

One of the hardest things for us to get our minds around when we read the Scriptures is the absolute authority and sovereignty of God as king. We don’t like kings. We fought a rebellion to get rid of kings. We pride ourselves on living in a democracy where everyone gets to have a say through their vote. We believe fundamentally that our leaders are elected to represent the “will of the people” which makes it challenging when we start to read the Scriptures and realize the Kingdom of heaven doesn’t work that way.

God is king. His authority is absolute. His sovereignty is unchallenged. His glory cannot be compared with anything in earth, over the earth, or under the earth. He is not the same as us. He is not the best version of us. He is not a projection of us. He certainly doesn’t work for us or represent us. He rules over us. He reigns over all He has made. He sits on a throne in heaven even now and, as such, He has every right to judge the earth. Every right to judge those who live on the earth. Every right to call us to account for all we have done. We may not think it fair but then God begins to recount all our misdeeds. Every sinful thought. Every careless word. Every selfish action. And we realize we are without excuse. God’s judgment is just. His sentence of death is righteous. And we are without hope.

The only thing that keeps us from death and destruction is God Himself. From eternity, God made a decision. He decided He would have a people to call His very own. He freely bound Himself to a particular people in a covenant of grace. And by doing so, He puts His reputation on the line. This is why He relents over and over again from putting an end to Israel. How many times do we come across these words in today’s reading…“But I acted for the sake of my name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭20‬:‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬) God refuses to let His people go because to do so would betray the very covenant He made. And to betray that covenant would be to profane His own name among the nations. They would assume God is unfaithful to His own promises. Powerless to overcome sin and evil. Impotent when it comes to ruling His own people. And God simply will not allow this to happen. So He remains faithful despite the unfaithfulness of His people. He judges them in righteousness and disciplines them in His wrath. He brings them to their knees in repentance and then He restores them to the Promised Land. God does all these things to make His name known on the earth and make His name great among the nations.

But it doesn’t end there. In the ultimate act of love and faithfulness, God sends His only, eternally begotten Son to become one of us. He sends Him into the world to live among us and serve us and suffer for us and die in our place. He then raises Him to new life in a glorious resurrection to give the world a foretaste of what will one day come when He comes to make all things new. Make no mistake, Jesus was sent to make God’s name known and make God’s name great among the nations. It’s why Jesus’ last command is that we would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 21-24

Whitewash

Readings for today: Ezekiel 13-16

I remember trying to paint a fence when I was younger. Rather than do the hard work to prep it by scraping off the old paint and sanding it down so it could receive a new finish, I just tried to slather a thick coat of paint over it with the hopes it would hide the imperfections. The result was a mess, of course. I had just made the job that much harder because I now had to go back and undo all I had done in addition to the original work I should have done so I could get it right.

How often do we make this same mistake in our life with God? Rather than surrender to Him and let His Spirit tear our old lives down to the studs, scraping off all the sin and corruption, and sanding us down to get us ready to receive the new life He offers; we try to justify ourselves by our own effort. We try to sanctify ourselves by trying and working harder. We try to show how virtuous we are by living one way on the outside but refuse to address what’s really going on inside our hearts. The result is a mess. The same thing happens if we try to live a double life. Trying to have it both ways. Loving the things of God and the things of this world. It just doesn’t work and I can’t tell you the number of conversations I’ve had over the years, trying to help people see that simply whitewashing their lives with a little Jesus isn’t what the Christian life is all about. It’s about total and complete surrender.

This isn’t a new problem, of course. Ezekiel faced this same issue when talking with God’s people as they went into exile. They were asking all kinds of hard questions. Why had this happened? How could God let Jerusalem be destroyed? Had God’s promises somehow failed? Had God abandoned them? The answers to these questions were not easy to accept. God was actually behind the destruction of their entire way of life because it had become so corrupt and so sinful, the only solution was to essentially scrape it all and start over. The only way forward to begin anew. “Since the false prophets have led my people astray by saying, “Peace,”  when there is no peace, and since when a flimsy wall is being built, they plaster it with whitewash, therefore, tell those plastering it with whitewash that it will fall. Torrential rain will come, and I will send hailstones plunging down, and a whirlwind will be released. When the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, “Where’s the whitewash you plastered on it?” So this is what the Lord God says: I will release a whirlwind in my wrath. Torrential rain will come in my anger, and hailstones will fall in destructive fury. I will demolish the wall you plastered with whitewash and knock it to the ground so that its foundation is exposed. The city will fall, and you will be destroyed within it. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭13‬:‭10‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Then you will know that I am the Lord. The ultimate goal of God’s discipline is never destruction but repentance and restoration. God is always faithful. He is faithful in love and He is faithful in justice. He is faithful in grace and He is faithful in law. He is faithful in mercy and He is faithful to call us to account. The Lord disciplines those He loves in order to bring them back into a right and righteous relationship with Himself. Stop trying to whitewash your life. Stop trying wallpaper over your sin. Trust God’s promise. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Readings for tomorrow: No devotionals on Sundays

Return

Readings for today: Ezekiel 9-12

In our current frame of reference, material wealth and physical health and overall prosperity are all signs of God’s blessing on our lives while material poverty, mental and physical health issues, and failure, struggle, and suffering are all signs of God’s judgment or God’s curse upon our lives. But what if our frame of reference shifted to a more biblical worldview? One where seasons of exile and judgment and suffering are not curses but actually part of God’s work to refine and sanctify us? Would we then be willing to go where He leads?

The reality is we often take the Lord for granted. We act as if He’s “trapped” in a relationship with us. As if God is “bound” by His unconditional love for us. We falsely believe our thoughts, attitudes, and actions don’t matter. We falsely believe we can reject holiness as a way of life. We falsely believe God’s primary goal is our personal happiness. Nothing could be farther from the truth. God does love us with an everlasting love. God does love us unconditionally. Nothing can snatch us out of His hand. Yes. Yes. And yes. But make no mistake, God is not “bound” to us or “trapped” in this relationship. He is not co-dependent on us nor does He allow our whims, our feelings, our desires to shape His will for our lives. We sin at our own risk. We run ahead of God at our own peril. We stubbornly refuse to follow Him to our own detriment. And this leads to God’s judgment on our lives, our communities, even our nation.

Thankfully, even in the midst of overwhelming judgment, Ezekiel sounds a note of hope. Presumably, God could have chosen to leave His Temple and head in any direction. However, He went east. East to where the exiles lived. East to Babylon. East to find His wayward children. East to be with them in captivity. East to comfort them in their diaspora. East to provide for them and make them prosper. East to join them so they never would be alone. Friends, God’s glory doesn’t need a Temple or a house made with human hands or a sanctuary covered in gold. The Bible declares that we are temples of the Holy Spirit. Our hearts have become the residence of God Himself. This is why Ezekiel declares, “Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.’ “Therefore say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’ “When they arrive there, they will remove all its abhorrent acts and detestable practices from it. I will give them integrity of heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove their heart of stone from their bodies and give them a heart of flesh, so that they will follow my statutes, keep my ordinances, and practice them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” (Ezekiel‬ ‭11‬:‭16‬-‭20‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 13-16

Justice

Readings for today: Ezekiel 5-8

God is just. It’s a fundamental attribute of His divine character. He will not let the guilty go unpunished. He will not let evil escape judgment. He will not let those who commit crimes get off. He is fiercely committed to enforcing His Law. And, in the abstract, I think everyone expects God to be just. We want Him to judge the guilty. We want those who commit great evil to get their due. We just don’t ever want it to happen to us.

God’s justice is a common theme in the prophets. God’s people have been stockpiling sin for generations. God has graciously withheld His righteous judgment to give them ample opportunity to repent but eventually justice must have it’s day. Ezekiel lives in such a time. Israel is finally going to pay for her sins. She is going to pay for all the abuse of power, arrogance and pride, violence, oppression, exploitation, and idolatry she has committed. There is no question of her guilt. God sees all and knows all. Not a single crime escapes His notice. His ledger is full and detailed. As harsh as it may seem, they’ve earned all they’re going to get. The destruction of Jerusalem. The suffering and death of so many at the hands of the Babylonians. God refuses to relent until every last sin is paid for in full.

I recently came across a thread on social media from a well-known, very progressive rabbi. He spends a lot of time harshly critiquing the Christian faith. One of his main critiques is the lack of justice in our faith. He simply believes a God who forgives is unjust. He is not worthy of worship. Yes, he knows atonement theology. He knows we believe Jesus became our substitute and took God’s judgment on Himself. He just simply cannot bring himself to believe it. In fact, he gets angry when anyone presses him on it. He believes such an act makes God unrighteous. How could a just God punish the innocent in place of the guilty? What he misses, of course, or simply cannot accept, is the fact that Jesus is God Incarnate. God Himself taking on human flesh and becoming one of us in order that He might stand in our place. God didn’t just choose some random person to pay for the sins of the world. He didn’t sacrifice a prophet or good, moral teacher in our place. He laid down His own life to satisfy the demands of divine justice so that He, in turn, might show us mercy. That’s what the gospel is all about and it continues to be a “stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”

I know it’s not easy to read through passages like the one we read today. The blood and violence and righteous anger of God is disturbing. And yet, it should remind us yet again of the unbelievable sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf. It should fill our hearts with gratitude for all Jesus has done for us. Jesus took my place. Jesus stood in my stead. Jesus paid the price I had earned. He endured the punishment I deserved. He did this so that I might be washed clean, set free, and live with Him for all eternity.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 9-12

Unlikely Places

Readings for today: Ezekiel 1-4

God shows up in the most unlikely of places. Though we tend to associate Him with beautiful cathedrals and magnificent churches, God makes His dwelling with the humble and lowly of heart. Ezekiel was such a man. Born to be a priest, he was carried off into exile with the other leaders of his people. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah and must have heard his preaching. Jeremiah often preached to the ruling class in Jerusalem. He may have even known the man personally. But now Ezekiel finds himself in exile. He lives with his people in a refugee camp. And he spends days down by the local water source, pondering all that happened. He must have felt the deepest of despair. He must have felt separated from God. He must have felt abandoned and alone and afraid. That’s when God shows up.

It’s a striking vision. One that has inspired all kinds of fantastical art throughout the centuries. Ezekiel sees a vision of God on His throne coming to be with His people in exile. And as stunning as the creatures are with their multiple heads and wheels within wheels, what would have struck Ezekiel the most is God’s faithfulness. After all, Ezekiel had been trained from birth that God’s dwelling place was in the Temple. The Temple was holy ground. The Holy of Holies in the Temple is where God’s glory dwelled. There was no precedent for God leaving the Temple. No historical record of God coming and going from the most holy place. All of Israel assumed that if one wanted to meet with God, one had to show up physically at the Temple and have the priest intercede for them. But now Ezekiel is in the worst possible place in the world. If you haven’t been to one, refugee camps are some of the worst places on earth. He’s living in abject poverty on the brink of starvation. There is nothing holy about his condition. No sacred ground for him to stand on. And yet, God is willing to meet him there.

Now think about Jesus. God could have sent Jesus to be born of a virgin in a palace in Jerusalem. God could have sent Jesus to emerge bodily from the Holy of Holies at the Temple. God could have done any number of things to reveal Himself to His people but what did God do? He came to a poor couple living in a backwater town in rural Israel. He met them in a common home and his first crib was a manger among the animals. His attendants were shepherds from the fields. Despite what you may have been taught, the wise men didn’t show up for a couple of years. In Christ, God was willing to meet us in the midst of everyday life in the most ordinary of circumstances.

Now think about your life. If your life is anything like mine, God often shows up in the most unlikely of places. He comes at the most unexpected of times. Just when I think I’ve reached my limit or hit rock bottom, I find Him there waiting for me. I don’t have to go to some special place nor do I have to touch some sacred relic to find communion with Him. I simply open my heart to Him. I open His Word and He speaks. I obey His commands and I sense His abiding presence.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 5-8

What’s Next?

Readings for today: Lamentations 3:37-5:22

What comes after lament? That’s a question I often deal with as a pastor. I walk with people through crisis. I sit with people in their grief. I do my best to comfort them as they mourn. I help them process their pain. After making space for all of the heartache, what comes next? After walking through the valley of the shadow of death together, what happens when one gets to the other side? Honestly, in my experience, this is where the hard work really begins.

I think of a woman I once knew who was married for decades. On the outside, things in their family looked good. He was very successful in his business. They were able to travel the world together. Pursue whatever their hearts desired. But after he passed and the funeral was over, the real truth began to emerge. Alcoholism. Abuse. A life of torment and fear. As the widow and I met to process what she was feeling, we talked about her need for healing. Her need to recover. Her need to be patient and give herself time to work through all the emotions she was experiencing. We also talked about what life would look like on the other side. Her desire to be married again. Her desire to pursue some of the dreams her husband had denied her. Her desire to reconnect with their estranged children and recover some of the years they had lost. This would require a lot of introspection and self-reflection. Owning what she needed to own and disowning what she needed to disown. Thankfully, she had the courage to walk the road faithfully before the Lord. She took up hobbies like horseback riding and cooking. She renewed her relationship with her son. She began dating a good man who treated her with the love and respect she deserved. It was beautiful to watch.

We catch Jeremiah at a much earlier, much darker place in the journey. He is still very much processing his pain. The heartache is real. The emotions are visceral. Though the reading is hard, it is good to know we can be raw and real before God. At the same time, we see the stirrings of a new season begin to emerge as well. Jeremiah calling for the people of Israel to think about what comes next after lament. Once they’ve fully grieved, they will need to take some time to reflect and repent and renew their faith and trust in God. “Who is there who speaks and it happens, unless the Lord has ordained it? Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High? Why should any living person complain, any man, because of the punishment for his sins? Let’s examine and probe our ways, and turn back to the  Lord. Let’s lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven: “We have sinned and rebelled; you have not forgiven.” (Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭37‬-‭42‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Jeremiah knows what comes next. He knows the people of God must return to Him if they are to experience the healing and restoration their hearts so desperately long for.

Anyone who has ever walked with grief knows the journey well. It begins in deep darkness where it’s hard to see any light at all. Momentum begins to pick up as we take our initial steps and the darkness doesn’t seem as deep. As we continue walking the road, a light does appear at the end of the tunnel. Eventually, as we keep doing the work, we emerge into the bright sunshine of a new day. God is faithful! He will walk with us through the valley of the shadow of death and as we turn to Him - lifting up our hearts and hands in worship - He promises to cast out all our fear and bring us to green pastures and still waters, to places where we will find our souls restored.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 1-4

Lament

Readings for today: Lamentations 1:1-3:36

Lament is an invitation from God to bring Him our grief and sorrow, our pain and suffering, our doubts and confusion, our fears and anxieties. Prayers of lament can be focused on the individual or the community. The Book of Psalms contains plenty of prayers where the Psalmist cries out to God for example. The Book of Lamentations, however, is one long prayer of lament from Jeremiah over the death of the holy city of Jerusalem. It is not an easy read. The language is raw and real. The pain and grief is right at the surface for the prophet as he weeps over the destruction of his people and his way of life.

Lament is also a prayer of hope. A prayer prayed from the deepest, darkest recesses of our souls to the only One who can deliver us. It’s a primal cry. When life is stripped down to the studs and we have nothing left. It’s a cry made when we’ve reached the end of ourselves and are sitting in the dust and ashes of what’s left of our lives. When everyone has abandoned us, even those closest to us, and we find ourselves feeling all alone. In such moments - and I’ve had such moments - we find God waiting for us there. It’s powerful. It’s transformative. And it’s why in the midst of our lament, we begin to find hope.

This is what happens to Jeremiah. As he literally sits in the dust and ashes of the city he loves, surrounded by the death and destruction of the people he loves, having witnessed firsthand the horrors of war, rejected by everyone; he finds God waiting for him there. He finds God more than willing to meet him there. He finds God sitting with him in that place and his hopes are renewed. “Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord…For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if he causes suffering, he will show compassion according to the abundance of his faithful love. For he does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind.” (Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭22‬-‭26‬, ‭31‬-‭33‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Hope for the believer is not wishful thinking. It is not blind to reality. It does not close its eyes to all the evil and injustice and suffering and pain in our world. It simply looks beyond those things to God. To the One who is faithful. To the One who pours out new mercies every morning. To the One who is good. To the One who rewards those who seek Him. To the One who answers those who wait for Him. To the One who shows compassion and steadfast love to the thousandth generation. This is why Jeremiah holds onto hope and it’s why we can have hope as well.

Readings for tomorrow: Lamentations 3:37-5:22

Suffering

Readings for today: Jeremiah 51, Psalms 137

Today’s reading from Psalm 137 is a gut-wrenching one. It is a song sung from the perspective of those recently exiled to Babylon. Force-marched over 900 miles, they arrive at the Euphrates. Held captive and enslaved, they have lost all hope. They had just witnessed the destruction of their entire way of life. They come to the waters of Babylon and they sit and they weep. Their cries fill the air. They share their memories of better days when they walked the streets of Zion. They are so heartbroken, they long to hang up their instruments and sing no more but their captors force them. Adding insult to injury, they mock them saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.” Sing us one of the songs of deliverance. Tell us stories about the God who abandoned you in your hour of greatest need. It is an incredibly heartbreaking scene. 

It reminds me of a book I once read titled, Conversations with God: Two Centuries of Prayers by African Americans. Scholars have uncovered a treasure trove of prayers going all the way back to the days of slavery and it is powerful to read them. To place oneself in their shoes and imagine their pain and suffering. To hear their hearts as they cry out to God for deliverance and healing and freedom. It is not a book you can read dispassionately. It brings tears to your eyes at times. The raw emotion is moving. It’s also what informs so many of the negro spirituals. Songs like Go Down Moses, Give Me Jesus, and Wade in the Water. Their music and prayers rose out of their pain and gives them an unmatched gravitas that moves hearts to this day.

Psalm 137 ends with a terrible request, “O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed, blessed shall he be who repays you with what you have done to us! Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!” (Psalms‬ ‭137:8-9‬) It is horrifying and yet it is as honest and real as it gets. By including it in the canon of Scripture, God is not promising to answer such prayers as much as letting us know He listens to them. No matter how dark our prayers become. No matter how angry we get. Even if we lace our prayers with profanity and frustration. God hears them. God welcomes them. God is a big boy and can handle all we can throw at Him. He is not afraid to get down into the muck and mire. He’s not afraid to dig through the manure pile that our lives can become. He is with us in the midst of the deepest heartaches and terrible tragedies. It doesn’t matter whether we find ourselves in Jerusalem or Babylon. At home or in exile. Feeling blessed or cursed. God is there. We can talk to Him. We can share our deepest thoughts and emotions with Him. We don’t need to be ashamed. We don’t need to hide. He is our Father and He understands our fears. 

Readings for tomorrow: No devotionals on Sundays

Confidence

Readings for today: Jeremiah 49-50

There is nothing like knowing God is on your side. With God, you can endure every hardship. You can overcome every obstacle. You can persevere through every trial. With God, the battle is already won. The power of sin is already broken. The defeat of evil has already been accomplished. With God, no weapon that is formed against you can stand. No scheme of the enemy can prevail. No attack against you will succeed. God is your strength. God is your redeemer. God is your protector. God is the strong warrior who stands at your side.

Consider all Jeremiah has gone through in his life. He has been to the mountaintop and he has lived in the valley of deep shadow and despair. He has been imprisoned. He has been beaten. He has been ostracized by society. He has been persecuted in so many ways. But as he watches his beloved city fall and his beloved people get carried off into exile, he is preserved. God protects him. God keeps him safe. Not only that but God gives him a promise. One day, the Babylonians will fall. One day, they too will be overcome. One day, the Lord will bring His judgment against them and deliver His people yet again. One day, God’s people will return. Why? God is faithful. He is faithful to His promises. He is faithful to His covenant. He loves Israel with an everlasting love. And He loves us the same.

How do I know the God of Israel stands at my side? Jesus Christ. He literally came to earth to show me He is with us. To show me the lengths He is willing to go to save us. Like Jeremiah, Jesus spoke the truth. Like Jeremiah, Jesus was beaten. Jesus was betrayed. Jesus was imprisoned. But unlike Jeremiah, Jesus was not saved. He went to His death in accordance with God’s perfect plan. He laid down His life in order that we might be redeemed. Listen again to how Jeremiah describes it and rejoice in God’s faithfulness…

“This is what the Lord of Armies says: Israelites and Judeans alike have been oppressed. All their captors hold them fast; they refuse to release them. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of Armies is his name. He will fervently champion their cause so that he might bring rest to the earth but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭50‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 51, Psalms 137

One True God

Readings for today: Jeremiah 45-48

Over the years, I’ve been blessed to have friends from many different faith backgrounds and life experiences. Some of my friends are not believers. They are agnostic or atheist. They don’t think there is anything beyond this world. Some of my friends are deists. They believe in a higher power of some sort but not necessarily a Christian one. In fact, many of them would argue all gods are the same. Some of my friends are Muslim. They believe in Allah and what the Prophet Muhammed taught. Some of my friends are Hindu. They believe in a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Some of my friends are Buddhist and their desire is to seek enlightenment. Their god isn’t personal per se though becoming one with him is the very definition of enlightenment. When we have conversations about faith, I often hear my friends say something along the lines of “that’s okay for you Christians to believe, it’s just not for me.” Essentially, you do you and I’ll do me. And while that sounds nice and the epitome of tolerance, it’s actually dangerous. Why? Because Jesus Christ isn’t just the “Christian god.” He is the God of the universe and everyone will one day appear before His judgment seat.

Consider our reading from today. God exercises His judgment over the nations. Each of these nations had their own gods. They each had their own belief systems. They each had their own religions but all of them are still subject to God. They live and move and have their being under His sovereign authority. They exist at His pleasure. They are subject to His righteous judgment. Pharaoh, Philistia, Moab…none of them shall escape. They shall all fall before the Lord. The same will be true with Babylon. It’s the same for every nation on the earth. Every nation that has ever or will ever exist. All of them are subject to the Lord of hosts. This is the mistake so many make when they pursue other religions or worship other gods. They make the same mistake the ancient pagan nations made. They fall into the trap of believing all gods are the same and belief in god is a matter of personal choice. They are wrong. There is only one God who holds all authority in heaven and earth and under the earth and all of us will one day appear before His judgment seat.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 49-50

Responsibility

Readings for today: Obadiah 1, Psalms 82-83

Life is a product of the choices we make. Yes, I fully understand there are circumstances outside our control. Yes, I fully understand there are forces beyond our control. Yes, I fully understand there are things that influence us one direction or another. But we are not powerless. We are not victims. We are not helpless or hopeless in the face of such things. We all get to make choices. Every single day. Choices that determine our quality of life and quality of relationships. I have met many people who had nothing but chose joy. I have met many people who have everything but choose despair. I have met people who have faced great adversity and overcome. I have met people who faced great adversity and were crushed. I have met people who dealt with their grief and pain and suffering by turning to God. They became lights in the midst of the darkness. I have met people who dealt with their grief and pain and suffering by turning to substance abuse or some other self-destructive pattern of behavior. They were overcome by the darkness. Not all of us are dealt the same cards in life but all of us do get to choose how to play them.

What’s true for us as individuals is also true of nations. God could not be more clear. The nations will be judged by the same measure by which they judge others. They will be treated in the same way they treat others. Jesus Himself said, “For with the measure you use, so it will be measured back to you.” Perhaps He was thinking of these words from the prophet Obadiah when He said them, “For the day of the Lord is near, against all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; what you deserve will return on your own head.” (Obadiah‬ ‭1‬:‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Every individual makes choices. Every nation makes choices. Will they choose to serve God or will they choose to serve themselves? Will they seek the good of those around them or will they exploit them for their own benefit? It’s not like God’s will is a secret. He clearly communicates what He expects. “Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and needy; save them from the power of the wicked.” (Psalms‬ ‭82‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬) The main question is…will we do it? Will we obey Him? Will we follow Him?

From the moment you wake up, you are making choices and your decisions will determine the course of your life. You make decisions regarding your physical health. Mental health. Spiritual health. Emotional health. You make decisions on how you will treat those around you. Those you live with and among. You will make decisions on how you spend your time and money and energy. Most importantly, you will set priorities that will govern how you decide and when you decide and what you decide. Are your priorities aligned with God’s priorities for your life?

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 45-48

Hope

Readings for today: Jeremiah 41-44

There is nothing worse than losing hope. It depletes our strength. It saps us of all motivation. It drives us to despair. I have sat with so many over the years who’ve lost hope. It could be a medical condition like cancer or Alzheimer’s or ALS. It could be a business loss or a job loss or some other financial disaster. It could be a broken marriage or a broken relationship with a child or parent. It could be a general feeling of hopelessness when one looks at the world around them. Human beings don’t deal with the loss of hope well. We tend to turn to self-destructive behaviors.

Another thing I’ve found is that hope is only as good as the object on which it rests. The reality is what a lot of people call hope is actually nothing more than wishful thinking. I think of the parents who spend thousands of dollars “hoping” their kid gets a scholarship to play sports in college even though only about 7% of high school athletes actually achieve this distinction. I think of the businessman or woman who leverages all they have, “hoping” to score the big deal or hit on the latest “get rich quick” scheme. I think of the many people I know who “hope” they’ve been good enough for God to let them into heaven. It’s all a roll of the dice and that’s not hope. Not in the biblical sense at least.

Jeremiah understood the difference between hope and wishful thinking which is why he called God’s people to place their hope in the Lord. He knew going to Egypt was a roll of the dice. He knew there was little chance they could stand against the power of Babylon. Furthermore, the Lord had revealed the future to him. He knew what would happen if the people fled to Egypt. Babylon would pursue them there and Nebuchadnezzar would set up his throne in the very place where they sought refuge. As always, the people had a choice. Place their hope in God or trust their own instincts for self-preservation. Listen to how God puts it to them yet again in our passage today. It’s a remarkable statement of mercy and grace to a people who had done nothing to deserve it. “If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you, and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you. Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear; don’t be afraid of him - this is the Lord’s declaration - because I am with you to save you and rescue you from him. I will grant you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭42‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

I am with you to save you. I am with you to rescue you. I will grant you compassion. I will ensure your return to the Promised Land. As crazy as it sounds, this is not wishful thinking because it comes as a declaration from God Himself. A statement of fact about the future. And God is always true to His promises. I love how Romans 4:21 describes faith as “being fully convinced God is able to do what He’s promised.” This is the faith that was credited to Abraham as righteousness and it is the faith that is credited to us as well if we place our hope in God.

Readings for tomorrow: Obadiah 1, Psalms 82-83

Death

Readings for today: 2 Kings 24-25, 2 Chronicles 36:1-21, Jeremiah 52

Warfare in the ancient world was much different than it is today. There were no Geneva Conventions. There were no “rules” of war that empires generally followed. There was no “international court” to appeal to for war crimes. No quarter was given to the local population. No steps were taken to protect non-combatants. No thought was given to those caught up in the conflict through no fault of their own. Prisoners were often tortured and executed in the field. Entire cities were razed to the ground. The goal was the complete annihilation of a culture. The eradication of the conquered kingdom from the history books.

We see a terrifying example of this in what happened to Judah when Babylon invaded. Judah had faced enemies before. In fact, the Egyptian armies had just defeated them in battle and levied a tribute but they left the kingdom of Judah largely intact. Babylon took a much different approach. They “burned the Lord’s temple, the king’s palace, all the houses of Jerusalem; and burned down all the great houses. The whole Chaldean army with the captain of the guards tore down all the walls surrounding Jerusalem.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭52‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬) It’s hard to wrap our minds around the complete destruction visited upon Judah by King Nebuchadnezzar and his armies. They left nothing standing. Not the Temple. Not the palace. Not any of the great houses. Not the walls. One gets the sense that there was nothing but rubble left by the time they were finished. Again, their goal was the complete and utter destruction of the Jewish way of life. They not only burned God’s Temple to the ground but they took everything associated with it to Babylon. All the furnishings. All the utensils. Everything the priests used to conduct any of the prescribed religious ceremonies. All gone. Not only that but they took the high priest and religious leaders and put them to death. The hope was to erase even the memory of God from the earth. They burned the king’s palace which was the seat of government. They took all the political and governmental leaders into exile. They took all the military men and leadership. They tore down the walls so as to leave Jerusalem completely defenseless. They wanted to make sure she never rose again to prominence in the region. The only people left were the poorest of the poor.

Why would God allow such a thing? Why did God not step in to save as He had done so often throughout Israel’s history? The answer is clear. Israel refused to turn to Him. Israel refused to trust Him. Israel refused to acknowledge His Lordship over their lives. Exile was therefore God’s righteous punishment. The wages of sin is death, whether personally and individually or corporately and communally. God allowed Israel to die so He might raise her once again. God allowed everything that marked Israel as a nation to die in order to turn her heart to Him again. God stripped away all she once held dear so that she would learn to treasure Him once again. This is the point of death. It’s not an end. It’s not final. It’s a temporary punishment that leads us to an ultimate reward if we look to God.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 41-44

Disappointment

Readings for today: Jeremiah 38-40, Psalms 74, 79

Have you ever been disappointed with God? Ever feel like He let you down? Ever wonder how His plans for you could be good when so many bad things are taking place? I imagine that’s how King Zedekiah felt in today’s reading. He hoped against all hope for an 11th hour rescue. He simply could not believe God would abandon His people. Abandon His city. Abandon His Temple. He fundamentally could not bring himself to believe things had gotten that bad. He knew his history. He could look back and tell you story after story about God relenting from disaster at the last possible moment. But then he watches in horror as the Babylonians storm a breach in the wall. He tries to escape only to be captured and endure unbelievable heartache as his sons are executed in front of him. It is the last thing he will ever see as his eyes are the next things to go. He is then shackled in chains and carried off to exile. It’s a tragic ending to a tragic story.  

But we’ve seen this before, have we not? After Adam’s fall, God raises up Seth only to watch as humanity descends into chaos. He raises up Noah and rescues him from the flood only to watch Noah’s descendants rebel and build a tower to the heavens. He scatters them and then raises up Abraham only to watch his descendants end up in slavery in Egypt. God raises up Moses and delivers them from bondage. Brings them to a land flowing with milk and honey only to watch them forget Him and do what is right in their own eyes. So he raises up David. The man after God’s own heart and sets him on the throne. But now David’s descendants have followed the same path and ended up in the same place as those who’ve come before. In each case, I am confident the people of God believed God would never leave them or forsake them. I am confident they believed God would remain steadfast, loyal, and true. And I imagine they were incredibly disappointed when judgment came.  

The reality is our disappointment with God is often grounded in entitlement. We make the mistake of taking God’s grace for granted. We treat His commandments with disdain. We presume on the unconditional nature of His love. We fail to acknowledge the seriousness of our sin and refuse to take responsibilty for the selfish choices we make. Bonhoeffer called this “cheap grace.” Grace without cost. Love without sacrifice. Relationship without rules. Unfettered freedom which isn’t really freedom at all. This is what Zedekiah believed that led to his destruction. This is what Israel believed that led to their destruction. And this is what far too many of us believe if we’re honest.   

Friends, we cannot blame God for the consequences of our sinful choices. We cannot blame God for our rebellion. He has warned us over and over again what will happen should we choose to reject His ways. We cannot claim to love God and not follow His commands. The two always go together. Yes, we are saved by grace. Yes, Jesus loves us with an everlasting, unconditional love. Yes, God’s forgiveness is always within reach. But only for those who repent. Only for those who confess. Only for those who acknowledge their sin and who actively seek to turn from their self-centered ways. This is the truth of the gospel! Grace and demand hang together. Only those who believe obey and only those who obey believe. Or as the old hymn puts it, “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus.”

Readings for tomorrow: No devotionals on Sundays

Incomprehensible

Readings for today: Jeremiah 33-37

I have this image in my head of a scene from the movie, The Princess Bride, where Vizzini keeps saying the word, “Inconceivable”, every time he fails to kill the Dred Pirate Roberts. Today’s reading doesn’t quite have the same ring to it and certainly doesn’t have the same intent but when I read these words from Jeremiah, it was the first thing that popped into my head and made me chuckle.

“The Lord who made the earth, the Lord who forms it to establish it, the Lord is his name, says this: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:2-3 CSB) Great and incomprehensible things. When you hear those words, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? What do you expect God to reveal in the subsequent verses? Fiery judgment? Harsh condemnation? More violence and suffering and pain as the people of God pay for all their unfaithfulness? I think about all Jeremiah has endured over the course of his life. I think about all the words God has called him to say. I think about the many times he has put his life at risk as he spoke God’s truth to power and defied the king. I wonder what Jeremiah expected when the Lord spoke to him of great and incomprehensible things.

I have to imagine he didn’t expect God to sound a note of grace. A note of compassion. A note of healing and restoration. The shift in the text is jarring. So jarring, in fact, that I’m sure there are some scholars who believe this wasn’t original to Jeremiah. The sharp right turn in the text signaling a potential different author has arrived on the scene. At the same time, isn’t this what makes grace so radical? So extreme? So illogical and nonsensical from a human perspective? Why would God continue to turn and forgive? Why would God continue to heal His people and their land? Why would God restore them to their former glory? Isn’t it all about grace? And hasn’t God told us He is gracious over and over again? Hasn’t He revealed His grace and mercy to a thousand generations? Perhaps the turn in the text isn’t so radical. Perhaps this is exactly what we should expect when God talks about “great and incomprehensible” things.

“Yet I will certainly bring health and healing to it and will indeed heal them. I will let them experience the abundance of true peace. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and of Israel and will rebuild them as in former times. I will purify them from all the iniquity they have committed against me, and I will forgive all the iniquities they have committed against me, rebelling against me. This city will bear on my behalf a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the prosperity I will give them. They will tremble with awe because of all the good and all the peace I will bring about for them. This is what the Lord says: In this place, which you say is a ruin, without people or animals, that is, in Judah’s cities and Jerusalem’s streets that are a desolation without people, without inhabitants, and without animals, there will be heard again a sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride, and the voice of those saying, Give thanks to the Lord of Armies, for the Lord is good; his faithful love endures forever as they bring thanksgiving sacrifices to the temple of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as in former times, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭6‬-‭11‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Friends, God is still in the business of doing great and incomprehensible things. He is still showing us grace upon grace upon grace. There is no end to it. There is no limit to it. There is no restrictions on it. It is ours and it is free. It is ours and it is abundant. It is ours and it is eternal. Rest in the great and incomprehensible grace of God in all you do and say today.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 38-40, Psalms 74, 79

The City

Readings for today: Jeremiah 29-32

“Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB)

I have reflected on this verse for many years. It is one of the main reasons I am so passionate about local missions. I love where I live. I believe God planted me here to make a difference. I believe our church should be a blessing to our city. It’s why we work so hard to partner with community organizations like the Parker Task Force, Douglas County School District, Parker Town Council, Parker Chamber of Commerce, etc. In fact, our church is the only church I’ve ever even heard of who got the “Business of the Year” award from our local chamber! Not only that but we were the only church to help sponsor the celebrations around the inauguration of our mayor this past year and we are routinely the church our chamber invites to host a city-wide worship center during the annual Parker Days Festival. I don’t share these things to boast but simply to illustrate our heart to serve. We love Parker, CO. We consider it a privilege to serve. And we want to do all we can to seek the good of our town because we believe our welfare is bound up with her welfare.

Jeremiah believed much the same though his circumstances were much different. He was writing to exiles. He was writing to those who had been taken captive and carted off to captivity. He was writing to those who lived as strangers and aliens in a foreign land. His words most likely would not have been received well. God’s people were living in enemy territory. Why in the world would they seek the welfare of those who had destroyed their homes, cities, and nation? Why would they pray to the Lord for those who built their empire off of conquest and violence and war and suffering? They were God’s chosen people, how could their welfare be wrapped up with the welfare of their pagan neighbors? Surely Jeremiah’s letter would have been met with suspicion and yet, when cast against the backdrop of God’s great salvation plan, it does seem to make sense. God had called Israel to be a light to the nations. He had called her a chosen race, a holy nation, and a royal priesthood. God’s expectation is that Israel would intercede for the nations. Teach the nations. Bless the nations. In fact, one of the main reasons Israel found herself in exile is because she had forgotten that call. Jeremiah reminds her yet again of why she was chosen in the first place.

The same holds true for us. We are blessed to be a blessing. God gives to us so that we might give to others. God is generous with us so we might be generous to others. God is gracious to us so we might be gracious to others. God has forgiven us so we might forgive others. The gospel call is not just about what God wants to do to us, it also includes what He wants to do through us. And one of the major reasons God plants a church in a city is to bring about blessing. Bring about hope. Bring about joy and peace. Every church should seek the well-being of the city where she is located. Every church should pray regularly and faithfully for the city where she is located. Every church should understand the intrinsic tie between her welfare and her city’s welfare and respond accordingly. This is God’s call on our lives.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 33-36

Deaf

Readings for today: Jeremiah 25-28

In the Ancient Greek myth, a priestess of Apollo named Cassandra was given the gift of seeing into the future but the curse of never being believed. She prophesied the doom of the city of Troy but no one took her seriously. Some versions of the myth suggest it’s because she rejected her god’s romantic advances, others suggest it’s because she betrayed Apollo. Either way, she was doomed to prophesy and never be believed and was considered insane by her own people.

I imagine Jeremiah can sympathize with a woman like Cassandra. He too was doomed to prophesy and never be believed by God’s people. Throughout the reigns of several kings, Jeremiah faithfully preached the Word of the Lord. He faithfully delivered the messages God gave him. He obeyed God’s call to speak God’s truth but was rejected over and over again. He spoke in the streets. He spoke in the Temple. He spoke in the royal courts. Still no one believed him. In fact, they imprisoned him. Some even sought to put him to death. Thankfully, there were faithful people like Ahikam who protected him much like Frederick the Wise would do for Martin Luther centuries later.

However, as bad as we might feel for Jeremiah and his plight, the greatest tragedy is that God’s people refused to believe God. They refused to listen to God. His pleas for obedience fell on deaf ears over and over again. Even when He raises His voice and “roars from on high” or “roars loudly over His grazing land” or “calls out with a shout” and the “tumult reaches the ends of the earth”, God’s people still plug their ears and close their eyes. Even when He forces the nations to drink the cup of His wrath, they reject Him. It’s painful to read. It’s even more painful to witness.

The reality God is still roaring from heaven. He is still calling out to us with a shout. He is still making His voice heard across the earth. He wants us to believe. He wants us to trust. He wants us to obey. He knows what’s coming if we refuse to turn and repent. He remains the righteous judge who will not let sin and unrighteousness and oppression and injustice persist forever. There is coming a day when God will bring an end to it all.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 29-32

Life and Death

Readings for today: Jeremiah 21-24

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a matter of life and death. It’s not just a philosophy. It’s not just a set of abstract ideas. It’s not just a solid ethical system. Our life and the lives of those we love and the lives of those we live among in our communities rest on whether or not we believe in the truth of Jesus, follow the way of Jesus, and receive the life of Jesus. Our problem, as Christians, is that we too often forget this fundamental fact. We too often believe the gospel is an accessory to our lives rather than the very thing on which our lives depend.

Jeremiah understood this fundamental fact. He knew the reason why Judah found herself in such dire straits was because they had abandoned the Lord. They had forgotten the covenant. They no longer walked in God’s ways nor did they follow God’s commands. As such, they had lost their distinctiveness. They had lost their exalted position among the nations as God’s chosen people and treasured possession. So God treats them like He does any other pagan nation. “I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a strong arm, with anger, fury, and intense wrath.” (Jeremiah 21:5 CSB) These are hard words. Harsh words. Words that disturb us because we don’t like to think about God in this way. We don’t like to think about God’s judgment. We simply do not take Him seriously enough.

Thankfully, even in the midst of His terrifying judgment, God provides a way out. He provides a way of escape. “But tell this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war.” (Jeremiah 21:8-9 CSB) The way of life and the way of death. This is what God offers His people and it’s what God offers us as well. There is a way to escape the judgment. There is a way to escape the violence, famine, and plague. The people of Judah must humble themselves and surrender to their enemies. For us, the way is through faith in Jesus Christ. Through faith, we escape eternal judgment and damnation. We escape the fires of hell where a fate much worse than what Judah faced awaits all who reject the Lord.

God doesn’t just provide a way of escape. He also provides a way forward. A pathway to the future. A highway full of hope and promise. ‬‬“This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from his oppressor.  Don’t exploit or brutalize the resident alien, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place. For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses, they, their officers, and their people. But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by myself - this is the Lord’s declaration - that this house will become a ruin.” (Jeremiah 22:2-5 CSB) The way of life begins today. It begins this side of eternity. It begins right here, right now, in our day to day lives. Everyday we have the opportunity to treat others with justice and righteousness. To rescue those who have been oppressed. To comfort those who have been exploited. To care for and advocate for the alien, fatherless, and widow. If we are intentional about following God’s ways then He will hear and see from heaven and renew our lives and our families and our communities and our nation. But if we choose to turn a blind eye or walk away or not step into what He is calling us to then we will experience ruin. Again, the gospel is a matter of life and death.

Jesus, of course, believed the gospel was a matter of life and death. It was the reason for which He came and this is the hope Jeremiah points His people to even in the midst of all the death and destruction. “Look, the days are coming - this is the Lord’s declaration - when I will raise up a Righteous Branch for David. He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. This is the name he will be called: The Lord Is Our Righteousness.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭23‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭CSB‬‬) The great news of the gospel is that Messiah has come! The Christ is here! He lived. He died. He rose again. And He now lives and reigns in glory until He comes again to judge the living and the dead. Believe the truth of Jesus! Follow the way of Jesus! Receive the life of Jesus! This is what it means to be saved!

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 25-28