BIBLE PASSAGE:
Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.
You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees.
(Psalm 119:67-68)
MEDITATION:
Satan wants to destroy our relationship with the Lord; he wants to
distort our thinking so we will turn further away from our Savior.
He tries to feed us lies, but God’s Word dispels his efforts and gives
us truth.
One of Satan’s weapons is to convince us that we have
“crossed over the line” in our disobedience. He wants us
to have a feeling that we have reached a point where the
Lord wants nothing to do with us anymore.
The Israelites turned their backs to the Lord and pursued other gods.
They had become so decadent that their worship services evolved into
a kind of ‘fertility cult’, which included all kinds of sexual permissions.
Their centers of worship were so vile that people would go there to have
intercourse with ‘sacred’ priests and priestesses.
Imagine the disappointment and anger in the Lord for these kind of
actions! He wanted to bless them, but their bad choices stood between
them and what God had for them (if they would return to Him).
“I myself said, ” ‘How gladly would I treat you like
sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful
inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call
me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me.
(Jeremiah 3:19)
The Lord reminded them that they were part of His family when
He said, “call me Father”. When we look at their actions, we may
wonder…
“Had they ‘crossed over the line’ and caused God
to ‘write them off’ as a hopeless group of people?
Had they lost all hope of ever being restored in
their relationship with God?”
Even though their choices upset the Lord, He assured them that
He was merciful and would not remain angry with them forever.
However, if they sincerely wanted to reestablish their relationship
with Him, they needed to make new, and more obedient choices.
They had to obligate themselves to “return” to the Lord; after
all, He didn’t move away from their relationship, they did!
Go, proclaim this message toward the north:
” ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD,
‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’
declares the LORD, ‘I will not be angry forever.
(Jeremiah 3:12)
Their actions had not gone unnoticed by the Lord, and they
needed to confess their rebellion, disobedience, and betrayal
of their relationship with Him.
Only acknowledge your guilt – you have rebelled
against the LORD your God, you have scattered
your favors to foreign gods under every spreading
tree, and have not obeyed me,’ ” declares the LORD.
(Jeremiah 3:13)
Look at the remorse the people felt, when they realized their
actions had caused a break in their relationship with the Lord.
A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping
and pleading of the people of Israel, because they
have perverted their ways and have forgotten the
LORD their God.
(Jeremiah 3:21)
Not only could their relationship and fellowship with the Lord
be reestablished, but there were additional benefits awaiting
them, if they would have a desire to return to Him, they were
willing to make changes, and they would seek Him with all their
hearts.
The Lord promised to give them new leaders who had a heart
for Him, and who would lead them in purifying their minds
(with a new knowledge and understanding).
“Return, faithless people,” declares the LORD,
“for I am your husband. I will choose you – one
from a town and two from a clan – and bring you
to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my
own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and
understanding.
(Jeremiah 3:14-15)
Take a moment and just imagine the magnitude of the
Lord’s involvement in your own thoughts and actions.
The Lord also promised to “cure” them of their faithlessness,
if they would choose to change the direction they were going.
“Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.”
(Jeremiah 3:22a)
How did they react to His promises? They responded in the only
way that makes sense.
“Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God.”
(Jeremiah 3:22b)
They were aware of their weaknesses and how easily they could
be swayed when they listened to the wrong voices in their heads.
They realized they were destined to repeat their bad choices,
unless the Lord intervened, and purified their minds.
ACTION:
Have you allowed Satan to convince you that you are too far
away from the Lord to ever return to Him? Remember the
Lord’s desire for the Israelites whenever they drifted far away
from Him – He has the same desire for you.
He didn’t stop loving them, nor did He abandon them. Instead,
He reached out to them and implored them to return to Him.
God wants what is best for His children, and He wanted to bless
the Israelites.
He wants to bless you too, BUT, you must turn from the direction
you are going. You are never too far away from the Lord to return
to Him. What voices are you listening to? Who is in control of the
things you think, do, and say? Is God filling your mind with things
that are righteous, or is Satan filling your mind with unrighteous,
sinful, and disobedient ideas?
Don’t think about returning to the Lord, and say to yourself,
“I need to do that someday”.
Make a commitment to return to Him today! It might be difficult
to wrap your mind around His mercy and controlled anger, but
rather than trying to figure it out, just accept the fact that He is
God, and you’re not.
He wants a relationship with you, and He want to bless you in ways
you cannot imagine, if you are obedient to His commands. Look what
His Word tells us about the benefit of being obedient of His command
to tithe.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may
be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty,
“and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and
pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough
to store it.
(Malachi 3:10)
God doesn’t ‘need’ our tithe, right? So, it must be a command He has
given us for our benefit, right? It is an opportunity for us to prove that
our faith and trust in Him is genuine. And, when we do that, it gives us
more confidence that we belong to Him.
If we choose to ignore this command from God, we can make all kinds
of excuses and we can rationale our decisions all we want to, but plain
and simple, it is disobedience and rebellion. God gave us a command
and we have chosen to ignore and disobey what He asks of us.
Even worse, when we disobey Him in the area of tithing, we are breaking
one of His ten commandments (“You shall not steal”). We aren’t stealing
from another person, but we are stealing from God, Himself!
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.”
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. You are under a
curse—your whole nation—because you
are robbing me.
(Malachi 3:8-9)
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, when I look at the dirtiness in my life,
I know how unworthy I am to be a child of Yours. But,
when I read Your Word and see how You didn’t abandon
others who turned away from You, it reminds me that You
are a God of mercy and forgiveness. I have allowed Satan
to distort my thinking and lure me away from You, but today
I am making a commitment to return to You. I know it won’t
be easy so I pray that You will help me in my efforts to break
the chains that have been wrapped around me for way too long.
No matter how dirty I am, I know from the scriptures that You
not only want me to be clean, but You can help me to remain
clean by curing my faithlessness. Forgive me for the sins of
my past, and help me to look forward to the blessings of my
future, with You.”
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