God's Warning to All the Earth-Jeremiah 6

When most people ready Jeremiah 6 they see God's warning/pronouncement about the impending destruction of Jerusalem. Have you ever considered that the words He gave to Jeremiah were also a warning to the entire earth? I had never thought about it in this light until today.

If you take a look at verse 19 God says "Hear, O earth:behold, I am bringing a disaster on this people....because they have not listened to my words, and as for My law they have rejected it." God is telling the world two thing in this passage. First, that He is in control of all things. He is the one that allows nations to become powerful and He is the one who allows them to fall. Second, He is giving notice that those who do not follow Him will have a price to pay. For many of those nations who did not follow Him it was there complete and total destruction.

I believe this message is still right and good for us today. God is still in control of all things and there will be consequences for not following Him. For those who do not believe that Jesus is God's son and that He died on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins then Hell will be their eternal punishment (along with a lack of true joy and peace while here on earth). For those of us who do believe our punishment will be varied and only temporary.

Are you following after God? Are you walking in His ways? If not why not? If so, what is it like? What is He showing you as you walk with Him?

God's Anger and Grace

Have you ever considered how fierce God's Anger can be?

In Jeremiah chapter 4 we get at least a glimpse of what God's anger can be like. The picture that is given to us in this chapter is an anger that is like a consuming fire. This consuming fire is not consuming Him (like our anger typically does) but it will consume the nation of Judah. There is no stopping this kind of judgment except for total repentance. God was using Jeremiah to warn His people that their judgment was coming. God makes it clear that their destruction was of their own doing. It was their unrighteousness and idolatry that has brought God's wrath upon them. This prophecy begs the question of 'Does God's anger still burn against His people when they turn from Him?'

The simple answer to this question is yes. God does not change. It is foolish and arrogant of us to think that nothing bad will happen to us if we turn from God. I know I have seen this in my own life. In fact, early on in my life with God had to remove certain people from my life so that I could I begin to focus my attention on Him and not some girl. This was a difficult process but it is one that I had to go through if I was truly going to be a changed man. This does not mean that every time we disobey that God will look to strike us down. God's grace and mercy allows us the time to repent and begin anew our walk with Him.

I hope that the message of Jeremiah will serve as a warning to us today. We must wash our hearts of the evil that so easily entangles us.

Set Free For a Purpose

Set Free For a Purpose

Did you know that when God sets us free He does so for a purpose. We see this theme through out Scripture but today I wanted to write to you about Jeremiah 2. In this chapter God speaks to Jeremiah about the sins of Judah. In particular, He gives him the words he is to speak to those who will hear in Jerusalem. What we find in these words are three basic ideas.

First, that God has repeatedly provided for His people. He is the one who lead them through the wilderness (v.6), who brought them up out of Egypt (v.6), and the one who gave them a fruitful land(v.7). He has been there for them through all of the good times and bad. He has loved on them in spite of their sins. He has given them a multitude of opportunities to turn from their evil ways and return to Him. Despite these efforts they have continued to turn away from the love of their youth.

Second, God is their judge and that His judgment will be swift and absolute. However, He is not the cause of their misery and punishment, they are. It is because they have forsaken God that their trouble has come (v.17). They abandoned God in all things except for the their most desperate times. They would worship rocks and trees and until things got rough and then they would turn to Yahweh (v.27-28). This kind of relationship with God was born out of their arrogance. They saw themselves as innocent and the chosen people. They knew they were free and they took that freedom to mean that they could do whatever they wanted to (v.31, 35)

Third, the freedom God gives is given for a reason and a purpose. God desires us to use the liberty He gives to serve Him and others. God sums up His people's rejection of Him in verse 20 where we see the Jews refusing to serve. He removed their yokes and bonds so they would serve Him.

The same is true for us today. When we accept His gift of salvation, He sets us free. He takes our burden on Himself. In return, we are called to serve Him and others. Are you following thru on what He expects of you? Are you serving Him? Are you going after His will for your life? If not, why not?

God's Calling-Jeremiah 1:1-10

Jeremiah is one of my favorite historical figures because we know he struggled with many of the same issues that I have dealt with in my own life. He like Moses before questioned God's decision to chose him. In Jeremiah's case he basically says to God that I am to young. God's response is to basically say that no you are not too young and you will do My will and go where I tell you to go. He goes on to tell Jeremiah that He is to have no fear when he goes out to speak to the nations.

Those word should still ring true to us today. God has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and courage. God has called each of us to go out and speak the truth to the nations. God has touched our lips and He will provide all that we need as we follow after Him with the passion and strength He gives us.

God Sized Dreams

For the last few months I have been sharing my thoughts and ideas with you. Now I would like to hear back from you.

What dreams do you have? What are some of the things you want to happen more than anything else? What are somethings that only God could make happen?

We are truly loved!!

I just wanted to let the world know how warm and fuzzy it made Angie and I feel to see this


This was only the beginning of their expressions of love...


Once again. Thank you to all of you who helped out with this. It still brings a big smile to my face.

Reorganizing My Plate

I love the fact that God has called me to be in full-time vocational ministry. I love my job. I love my students. I was thrilled to see that they had "decorated" my house with toilet paper and forks while I was gone to Texas for a week. For the first time in my life I actually look forward to going to work. I love doing it so much that I have had a hard time keeping from being two busy. I have come to realize that I have bitten off a lot more than what God has wanted me to bite off.

This realization first came to the forefront of my mind during a conversation with Mark Lydecker of the North American Mission Board. He basically said that he focuses on about 5 keys things/areas and the rest of it will just have to wait or get done by someone else. From this conversation and others I have concluded that I have a lot more than 5 things on my plate and that I am in serious need to getting rid of those things that are keeping me from being able to focus on what matters most.

Over the next 2 weeks I will be prayerfully considering two major items. First, what are the five basic areas of my life that I need to concentrate on. Second, what 5 areas of student ministry do I need to focus on. Once, I have a clear understanding of these two items I will begin the pruning process. It is my hope that others will begin to step up and continue with those ministries that I will no longer be able to place energy into. As this process begins to unfold more and more I will post updates and keep you informed.

I would also like to challenge you take a long hard look at your own life and ministry. Are there areas that you need to prune? If so why haven't you done it?