Tuesday, July 6, 2010

What is Wisdom?


SCRIPTURE

Jeremiah 8:4-13 (NRSV)

Call to faithfulness

You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord:
When people fall, do they not get up again?
If they go astray, do they not turn back?
Why then has this people turned away
in perpetual backsliding?
They have held fast to deceit,
they have refused to return.
I have given heed and listened,
but they do not speak honestly;
no one repents of wickedness,
saying, "What have I done!"
All of them turn to their own course,
like a horse plunging headlong into battle.
Even the stork in the heavens
knows its times;
and the turtledove, swallow, and crane
observe the time of their coming;
but my people do not know
the ordinance of the Lord.

How can you say, "We are wise,
and the law of the Lord is with us,"
when, in fact, the false pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie?
The wise shall be put to shame,
they shall be dismayed and taken;
since they have rejected the word of the Lord,
what wisdom is in them?
Therefore I will give their wives to others
and their fields to conquerors,
because from the least to the greatest
everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
from prophet to priest
everyone deals falsely.
They have treated the wound of my people carelessly,
saying, "Peace, peace,"
when there is no peace.
They acted shamefully, they committed abomination;
yet they were not at all ashamed,
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time when I punish them, they shall be overthrown,

says the Lord.
When I wanted to gather them, says the Lord,
there are no grapes on the vine,
nor figs on the fig tree;
even the leaves are withered,
and what I gave them has passed away from them.


DEVOTION

The wise shall be put to shame, they shall be dismayed and taken; since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what wisdom is in them?

It makes me so sad that SIN is rejecting the word of the Lord and God's wisdom.

The Word of the Lord says that the greatest commandment is to "Love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves."

Yet, again and again, we sin--failing to love God and neighbor.

When we sin and fall short of the glory of the Lord, we are indeed rejecting the word of the Lord.

Today's scripture teaches us that we are acting without wisdom when we go astray, backslide, act deceitfully, tell lies, and act shamefully, carelessly, and in ways that destroy the peace.

Lord, have mercy upon us for we know that the wages of death are sin, but the gift of God is eternal life!

I don't know about you, but Jeremiah 8 makes me happy-glad about my love relationship with Jesus! Because God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to make atonement for our sin and gift us with eternal life, we don't suffer the terrible consequences promised to the sinner in today's reading.

Because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, when we fall, we are able to confess our sin and God who is faithful and just forgives our sin and cleanses us of all unrighteousness!

SIN is nothing that we could have taken care of by ourselves, but glory to GOD that Jesus took care of it once and for all on Calvary!

If you have not put all of your hope in Jesus, I invite you to do so today. God loves you more than you could ever hope, dream or imagine. There is NO-thing that you have done, or could ever do to make God stop loving you. You can't out sin, outfox, or out run the love of God that has been revealed to us in Christ Jesus!

Today, I invite you to walk into the outstretched arms of Jesus! You'll be glad you did.


Won't you pray with me?

Loving God, thank you that your Amazing Grace is enough to forgive all of my sin. Thank you for allowing Jesus to die on the cross to atone for my sin and gift me with eternal life. Today, I put all of my hope in him, asking you to forgive my sin and fill me with your Holy Spirit. I love you and I look forward to my new life in you. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.


SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today you are a Christian! I would be so honored if you would take a moment to let me know that you put all of your hope in Jesus today by clicking YES in the upper right hand corner of this blog in answer to the question, "Did you put all of your hope in Jesus today?"

I also pray that you will tell a Christian friend about your decision, so that s/he can help you find a good Bible believing church to attend where you can be baptized and grow in your faith.

Congratulations! Your salvation is our good news. Please share the good news with someone today!

No comments:

Post a Comment