Mark 12 :30. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The Lord Jesus said that this is the most important commandment (Mark 12:29)
The second is this: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:31.
I am the Lord , and there is no other.
Apart from me there is no God.
Isaiah 45:5
Wisdom from Proverbs 8.
Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say,
I open my lips to speak what is right.
My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.
Proverbs 8: 6-7
Return, faithless people, I will cure you of backsliding. Yes, we will come to you, for you are the Lord our God. Jeremiah 3:22.
When we seek forgiveness and repentance, there is restoration and healing.
The relationship with God is not like a servant and master, or father and child. It is much more than that. It is described in Jeremiah 3 as similar between husband and wife. It is about a deep spiritual intimacy with God.
Return, faithless people, ' declares the Lord, for I am your husband. I will choose you, one from a town and two from the 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.
In Jeremiah 3, the word 'return' is repeated 7 times and the word ' faithless' is repeated 6 times.
Go, proclaim this message to the north. 'Return, faithless Israel', declares the Lord, 'I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,' declares the Lord, 'I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt - you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favours to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me,' declares the Lord. Jeremiah 3:12-13.
Obedience to God before sacrifice and offerings .
For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, but I gave them this command: obey me and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you.
Jeremiah 7:22-23
How do you show that your faith is authentic and of value?
If you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other Gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors forever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
Jeremiah 7: 6-8
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure , who can understand it?
I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind , to reward each person according to their conduct , according to what their deeds deserve. Jeremiah 17:9-10
The Lord looks at the heart. External appearances and circumstances are secondary to what is inside us. This is an encouragement to us as believers. If we are led by the Holy Spirit He will guide our hearts and will lead us through difficult valleys. We are often affected by the desires of the heart, some of it may be good and some not so good. Thus we need to seek the Lord's help in moulding and changing our hearts.
The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7
Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Jeremiah 7:2-3.
The key phrases in verse 2 hear are: hear the word and worship the Lord. This is what we do when we go to church or spend our quiet time. Whilst this is important, verse 3 is what we need to do in response to the word and worship. The Lord says that we need to reform our ways and actions. A good verse to help us re-examine what we do in our lives. Do we glorify God in our actions and in our relationship with others? It is good to reflect on this.
You are always righteous, Lord
when I bring a case before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the wicked live at ease?
You have planted them
and they have taken root,
They grow and bear fruit
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts
Yet you know me, Lord
You see me and test my thoughts about you.
Jeremiah 12:1-3
Do not be a terror to me
you are my refuge in the day of disaster. Jeremiah 17:17
Help me to be secure and faithful in you, Lord, especially during the days of disaster. You, Lord are my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress. Jeremiah 16:19.
Heal me, Lord, and I shall be healed,
save me and I shall be saved,
for you are the one I praise. Jeremiah 17:14
May I remember this truth always, written on my 45th birthday.
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream
It does not fear when heat comes
Its leaves are always green
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit
Jeremiah 17:7 -8
May I remember this during times of drought and heat. Lord, help me keep my eyes on you and to put my trust in you, especially during dry seasons.
This is what the Lord says: 'Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.' Jeremiah 17:5
If we turn away from God and follow our own way and rely on our own strength, it is a recipe for disaster happening in our own lives. Those who trust in the Lord will be kept safe ( Proverbs 29:25). God will always show us a better way even if we can't initially see or understand it. Let's wait upon Him, pray and trust Him.
