Taking up our cross daily means that we acknowledge God as the Author and Creator of each one of our lives; it means that we are faithful and that we have no other gods before Him…
The Bible tells us that ONLY God is the Source and Creator of ALL things in Heaven and Earth…
Colossians 1:16
“For in Him (Jesus) ALL things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through Him and for Him.”
God created a beautiful lush world and a garden called Eden, and eventually Man started worshipping the creation rather than the Creator.
Romans 1:18-23
The Message
Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral
18-23 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth.
But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is!
By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being.
So nobody has a good excuse.
What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives.
They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life.
They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
Hear what Jeremiah had to say on the subject:
Jeremiah 10:11-16
He (God) has made the earth by His power,
He has established the world by His wisdom,
And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
When He utters His voice,
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”
Everyone is dull-hearted, without knowledge;
Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.
They are futile, a work of errors;
In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things,
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
The LORD of hosts is His name.
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So who was Jeremiah and what was his assignment to the House of Judah:
As we look at Jeremiah chapter 10, God starts out by warning Israel not to learn the ways, customs and religious practices of the Gentile nations.
The fact is most people would like to know the future.
Decisions would be easier, failures would be avoided, and successes would be assured.
The people of Judah wanted to know the future, too, and they tried to discern it through reading “their future in the stars.”
Jeremiah’s response still applies today:
“God made the earth and the heavens, including the stars that people consult and worship” (10:12).
No one will discover the future in made-up charts of God’s stars.
But God, who promises to guide you, knows your future and will be with you all the way.
He may not reveal your future to you, but He will walk with you as the future unfolds.
Don’t trust the stars; trust the One who made the stars.
Those who put their trust in a chunk of wood, even if it is carved well and looks beautiful, are foolish.
The simplest person who worships God is wiser than the wisest person who worships a worthless substitute, because this simple person has discerned who God really is.
In what or whom do you place your trust?
Scripture and creation itself both broadcasts these attributes of God, in surround-sound and vivid color, for all the world to stand up and take notice.
God is “from everlasting” (Psalm 93:2) and the “everlasting King” (Jeremiah 10:10), “incorruptible” (Romans 1:23), “who alone has immortality” (1 Timothy 6:16).
The heavens and the earth will perish, “but You [O God] are the same, and Your years will have no end” (Psalm 102:27).
You will more quickly measure the salt of the ocean than measure the existence of God because “His years cannot be counted” (Job 36:26 NLT).
“Trace the tree back to a seed. Trace the dress back to a factory.
Trace the baby back to a mommy.
Trace God back to . . . to . . . to . . . No one.
Not even God made God.
“From eternity to eternity ‘I AM that I AM’ is God” (Isaiah 43:13).
God alone is from all eternity. His greatness is unfathomable.
Remember who you ultimately live and work for—the King who will reign forever.
No one is like Him!”
(From It’s Not About Me by Max Lucado)
We are instructed in the Bible to have no Idols in our life, and whereas today we may not bow down to wooden statues, but an idol is anything that you place of more importance in your life, than God.
You can make an idol of anything, even your family and your children.
Part of Jeremiah’s assignment was to pronounce judgment on the House of Judah, and in the process of fulfilling his assignment he became known as the “weeping prophet.”
Why was that?
Jeremiah was chosen by God before birth to be a prophet to the nation of Judah (Jeremiah 1:4–50).
He spoke the words of the Lord during the reigns of Kings Josiah (2 Chronicles 36:1), Jehoiakim (2 Chronicles 36:5), and Zedekiah (2 Kings 24:18–19).
Jeremiah grieved over the wickedness of his people and the impending judgment the nation’s sins had provoked.
Jeremiah’s warnings went mostly unheeded, and he responded to Judah’s rebellion with tears of mourning (Jeremiah 13:17).
It is because of these things that Jeremiah has been dubbed “the weeping prophet” because of the often gloomy nature of his message and the grief he expressed for his people.
Jeremiah the weeping prophet stood alone declaring God’s words while his beloved nation continued to reject the path of life.
That ongoing rejection and personal isolation cost him greatly, as many in ministry understand.
Those who heed God’s call on their lives may suffer many abuses from an ungodly world.
A. W. Tozer wrote,
“Always remember: you cannot carry a cross in company. Though a man were surrounded by a vast crowd, his cross is his alone and his carrying of it marks him as a man apart”
Jeremiah’s cross to bear was obedience to his role as Judah’s prophet, and he bore it with courage as the weeping prophet.
However the record of scripture shows that the Lord never leaves His people hopeless.
In judgment there is mercy. Even in our rebellion, God offers an open door (Revelation 3:8).
There is a season for everything, including weeping (Ecclesiastes 3:1–8).
Though we may weep now, a day will come for God’s people when He will “wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Revelation 7:17; cf. 21:4).
Although Jeremiah was a weeping prophet during his faithful ministry on earth, he is now comforted for eternity.
He has discovered, as we will, too, that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5).
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Sunday, May 29
Inspiration Ministries
THE ONLY WAY
“LORD, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps. Discipline me, LORD, but only in due measure – not in your anger, or you will reduce me to nothing.”
— Jeremiah 10:23-24
To people around him, Jeremiah seemed confident. But his writings reveal that he was very human and often insecure.
What was different?
God called him, and he was willing to obey Him even when he did not understand the messages God asked him to deliver.
Jeremiah had learned that God had a plan for his life, established before he was born.
His interests might have taken him in other directions, but he learned to follow God.
Jeremiah knew that many people did not have this level of trust. But God had shown him that He was the master Potter.
He alone understands our nature and knows our potential and purpose.
He alone knows the best way to shape our lives (Jeremiah 18:1-6).
Think about the opinions you hear, the feelings of family members and friends, opinions expressed through social media, biases that subtly shape TV programs and films, the promises of politicians, and answers proposed by entertainers and experts.
In the face of so many options, is it possible that there is only one truth? Is it possible to know the right way?
The Bible tells us that there is only one right way, one truth, one path to life – to follow Jesus and make Him our Lord (John 14:6). And there is only one way to find fulfillment and direction – to trust completely in God. Let Him direct your life!
PRAYER
Father, I surrender my life to You. Direct my path. Lead and guide me. Use me to impact lives for Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Today’s Bible Reading
Jeremiah 10
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