Sunday, July 20, 2014,
7:26 p.m. – the Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “As the Deer.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Jeremiah 10 (NIV).
Ways and Practices
Hear
what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. This is what the Lord says:
“Do
not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
For
the practices of the peoples are worthless;
…their idols cannot speak;
they
must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do
not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good.” ~ Jer.
10:1-5
What are some of “the ways of the nations” which we might be
tempted to follow with our lives today? For one, I believe it is be consumed with
television, movies, the internet, social media sites, games, and/or electronic
devices, etc., which have the potential to distract us, and to fill up a lot of
our time with a bunch of meaningless stuff, or with us finding enjoyment and
entertainment in what is sinful. For another, through such mediums as these it
is possible for us to be easily deceived, manipulated and duped into believing
things to be true which are really just clever deceptions and dramatizations -
pure fabrications for the sole purpose to deceive and to distract. Another is
the likelihood; again via such mediums as these, that we might adopt the notion
that life should be one big party and that we are just to have fun all the time,
i.e. that we should be consumed with self-pleasure.
The sad reality of this whole thing is that the majority of
evangelical Christians and churches today in America, by all appearances, has
learned and has adopted “the ways of the nations,” and they have infiltrated
the church. The church is following “the ways of the nations” by turning the
church into big business and by marketing it just like a business of mankind. The
church uses gimmicks, tricks, deceptions and manipulations of various kinds to
try to draw in large crowds of people from the world around them. They also
dilute the gospel message to make it more appealing, palatable, and acceptable
to the world so the cross of Christ is no longer an offense to those who are
perishing. “The ways of the nations” have replaced the ways of God and his
word. The teachings of humans have superseded the teachings of Christ and the
apostles. And entertainment has supplanted true worship.
Senseless Shepherds
The
shepherds are senseless
and do not inquire of the Lord;
so
they do not prosper
and all their flock is scattered. ~ Jer.
10:21
The shepherds are our leaders in our homes, nations, and in
the church. Many are senseless because they do not inquire of the Lord, but
they do inquire of humankind. Some of them spend hours upon hours reading books
on how to grow their churches and how to market their businesses so that people
will want to come to their meetings; and in attending business meetings to
discuss such plans for making the church more attractive to the world. Numerous
ones among them are so busy with all the fluff, and with all the gimmicks and
entertainment, and with the plans of humans, that they have precious little
time for prayer or for the study of God’s word so that they can lead their
people to follow Jesus Christ, instead of leading them to be followers of
humankind. In fact, countless ones of them have adopted “the ways of the
nations” themselves, and so they are caught up in being distracted and/or in
finding pleasure in what is sinful, too, so that they are not able to lead
their people in the way of holiness.
No One Like You
No
one is like you, Lord;
you are great,
and your name is mighty in power.
Who
should not fear you,
King of the nations?
This is your due.
…But
the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God, the eternal King.
When
he is angry, the earth trembles;
the nations cannot endure his wrath.
“Tell
them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish
from the earth and from under the heavens.’”
But
God made the earth by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his
understanding.
When
he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the
earth.
He
sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his
storehouses. ~ Jer. 10:6-7a, 10-13
No one or nothing can compare to our God. There is no one
like him. No plans of humans, no marketing schemes, no edifices built by human
hands, and no IPads or smart phones or computer equipment or software can even
begin to compare to him. He alone is the creator of the world and all that is
in it – that which was created of him. He created humankind, so he knows us
inside and out. His knowledge and his wisdom are beyond human comprehension. He
is our living God, our eternal King. There is no one wiser or more powerful
than him. He always existed. He is more awesome and more beautiful than the
best symphony or the greatest work of art. His way of holiness and his plan for
our lives far surpass any ways of humankind or any thinking or reasoning of
humans. The joy and the peace which he gives us far exceed any temporal
happiness we may feel in this life. So, he deserves all of our honor, worship,
praise, adoration, awe and respect.
Not Our Own
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. ~
Jer. 10:23-24
You know, I think we would all do well to commit verse 23 to
heart, and for the reality of what is taught here to truly sink into our
brains. We were created for a purpose. That purpose is to worship God as our
only God. As believers in Jesus Christ, we were bought with a price, so our
lives truly are not our own. We are to honor God with our lives. It is not up
to us to direct our own steps and/or for us to follow the ways of other humans.
We should daily inquire of our God as to what plans he has for us, and what
steps he wants us to take. Much of his will for our lives is made plain in
scripture. The problem that exists here is not that people don’t know the will
of God so much so as it is that they don’t do what they know. Jesus died so
that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave himself up for
us (See 2 Co. 5:15).
Jesus said that he disciplines those he loves. He said that
if we are not disciplined of him, then we are not his. His discipline can come
in many forms. He allows us to go through various trials in our lives. We get
sick. We face persecution. We may be hated or falsely accused. We may face
financial hardships or the loss of a loved one. Our house may catch on fire. We
may be the victims of a robbery or of a hurricane, tornado, earthquake or
volcanic eruption. We may live in war-torn countries. We may have to go through
famine. His purpose in the things he allows in our lives is to purify our
hearts, to make us holy, mature us in Christ, teach us perseverance, develop
within us godly character, move us to obedience, and to draw us closer to him
as we learn to call upon him in our suffering, etc.
Sometimes he must discipline us for our good because we have
forsaken him as our “first love” and we have run after “other gods” which are
not gods. And, we need to learn that he is to be our only God. He doesn’t do
this because he wants to spoil all our fun or because he wants to make us
miserable. He does this because he knows what is harmful for us, and he knows
what we truly need, and what is best for us, and he wants what is best for us.
It grieves him that so many who profess his name are following “the ways of the
nations” and are making created things or man-made things their gods in place
of their one and only true God. And, so divine discipline might be the best
thing for us to get us back on track, to get us walking in the way of holiness,
and to get us to truly long after God/Jesus and to make him our only strength
and the desire of our hearts.
As the Deer /
Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth
for the water
So my soul longeth after You…
You alone are my
strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
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