FreshBread

Today’s Reading is Jeremiah 14-17

Take a moment and re-read Jeremiah 17:5-10. God is asking us to check where we place our trust. Some people trust in men and others trust in the Lord. Trusting in men will always lead to disappointment because people will always let us down. This is not to say that there are no faithful people in this life, however there are times when even the most loyal can fail. There are also no perfect people on this earth, only our Lord reached that end.

However, Jeremiah also warns us that just trusting God is not enough either, for God knows our motives. Some people follow God with wrong motives. I am reminded about a book that I read several years ago that took the teachings of Jesus, removed all spiritual direction and applied Jesus’ ways to the business world in order to make people rich and successful. The motives were not to walk in a deeper relationship with Christ but to use God to gain a foothold in this world. God warns us that our motives will be rewarded in kind!

Think for a moment of your motives in seeking God….are they to make your life better or to deepen a relationship with Him? This might be worth talking to a spouse or friend about today! Have a great day!

Scott

Today’s Reading is Jeremiah 10-13

So what are you going to do today? Do you have your to-do list ready? Who wrote that out? If you are an organized person you have probably spent hours pulling your to-do list together! Let me ask you this question again…. Who wrote your list?

Well Jeremiah reminds us that our life is not our own and that God directs our steps…. In other words, you might write your to-do list, but God is going to lead you in what will actually get done.

There are times when I get so discouraged because I don’t get everything on my list done! But that is because God had other things in mind! We need to learn to get up each day and look to the Lord to order our steps. God loves us and knows what is best….Let Him order your day!

Take some time in prayer today, asking God to order your steps. Write down His to-do list on your heart and allow Him to direct your steps!

Have a great day!

Scott

Today’s Reading is Jeremiah 7-9

When I was a young kid I had a paper route. It was fun to gather with a bunch of friends and fold newspapers together before heading out to deliver them. On Sundays, we had to arrive at 5:00 am to get our papers. Many of the guys were Catholic and therefore did not have to go to Mass later with their family because they went to 5:30 Mass.

Wanting to be with my friends I went many times with them. After having grown up in the home of a Protestant minister, boy was the Catholic service confusing! I would watch my friends, stand and sit at special times, and then knell.

Many times I would ask, “What does this or that mean?”

I always got the same answer, “I don’t know, you just have to do it.”

Come to think about it, many times it was that way in the Protestant church too. We had no idea why we were saying various things, we just did them!

Jeremiah is warning the people today that just doing things out of religious obligation does not cut it with God. God wants us to obey Him. Our obedience must flow from the heart and not from obligation! Israel was caught up in the right actions but not for the right reasons. God is not interested in spiritual robots, but in people who want to enter into loving relationships with a Holy God!

Take some time with your spouse or children and discuss…
What religious obligations do you feel are a must?
Do you know why you do them?
Are they done with the right motive?
How does a relationship with God change your motivation?

Scott