June 9

Jeremiah 4
Yesterday I had phone calls at the church from three different single mothers seeking financial assistance for their dilemma. One said that her money had been stolen; another said that her grandfather had died and that she had taken time off to mourn, as a result her minimum-wage-job pay was not enough to make ends meet; another had health problems that had her in and out of the hospital for at least six months; additionally, she had a daughter who was disabled and another daughter facing cancer. They all sounded desperate. It always seems that the most vulnerable are the ones that are most preyed upon. How do you speak the love of the Lord Jesus Christ into despair?
Jeremiah 4 is a good example of how the Lord works with us. When things are going well we ignore Him. So it was with Judah. Jeremiah tells the nation of a ravaging enemy that is coming to destroy them. The enemy is coming at the command of the Lord. In our peaceful environment in the USA, we often don’t appreciate the peace and prosperity that we enjoy. Oh sure we see pictures on our televisions of unrest in the Middle East, in Egypt, in Libya, in lands where people are tired of suffering under the hands of a dictator. But we don’t really feel the desperation because we are not in the situation. The Lord, speaking through Jeremiah, pleads with the nation to repent lest He not hold back the ravaging enemy.
He calls them to circumcise their hearts. Now there is an interesting word picture! How in the world do I circumcise my heart? Every male of Israel was to be circumcised on the eighth day after their birth. Why? It was to be a sign of the covenant with the Lord. Every time a male urinated, bathed or had sex, he should have been reminded by the circumcision that he was supposed to be in a special relationship with the Lord. Like a household repair that is long left undone, the physical sign became invisible and unheeded. God pleads with them to circumcise their heart. He wants them to do whatever it would take to bring their heart to the point that their greatest desire is to walk in relationship with their God. He wants them to remember that they are His people, but they will not. Instead they continue to seek the finest clothes, to buy the best jewelry, to put on the best make up, to make themselves fair for their lover, the world. All the while, the One who truly loves them, they ignored. Their hearts were not circumcised.
Observe the words used to describe the emotions of the Lord as He brings this devastation:
fury like a fire
fierce anger
a wind to strong to come (sirocco)
by His fierce anger
These words describe His passion for His people. He will not be left for a lesser lover. So He designs that which we would call evil in order to drive us back to Himself in order that we might experience His passionate love rather than His passionate anger. Will we delight in His passion? Will we delight in His pleasure? So how do you speak the love of the Lord Jesus Christ into one in despair? You tell them the truth. God designs to allow our circumstance to sour so that we might circumcise our hearts. When our hearts are circumcised, we are passionate about our relationship with Him. When we are in relationship with Him, our circumstances become of lesser importance. Nothing is as important as experiencing His pleasure and His passion. That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john