Be Still And Know

Jeremiah 29:4,5,7 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the captives he has exiled to Babylon from Jerusalem: “Build homes, and plan to stay. Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce... And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.” To cut a long story short, God’s people refused to listen to Jeremiah. They continued in their sinful ways and, in 597 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded Jerusalem and took more than 3,000 people into exile. This was total humiliation for the self-confident, godless people of Jerusalem. To be transported to a foreign country, over 1,000 miles from home, was a horrific form of punishment. But Jeremiah wanted the people of Israel to know that God still had good plans for them. In his letter, Jeremiah told the people to accept their new home. They needed to settle down and bring up their families there. And as they did so, they

Jeremiah 18:1-4 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. I am sorry to inform you that my own attempts at pottery were a miserable failure. When I saw my teacher doing it, it all looked so simple. He simply threw the clay onto the revolving wheel and within moments he was shaping a beautiful pot. What could possibly go wrong? But as soon as I had a go, the clay seemed to acquire a mind of its own. I never did manage to get the hang of it. On a number of occasions, whilst I was sitting at the wheel with my hideous misshapen pot, he would put his hands round my hands and, incredibly, a wonderful pot would emerge. How did he do it? I never found out! The sight of a potter sitting at his wheel would have been a familiar one in Jeremiah’s day. Go

Jeremiah 17:21-23 'This is what the Lord says: Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day. Do not do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to your ancestors, but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline.' We were reflecting yesterday on the importance of maintaining good spiritual rhythms. Today’s passage reminds us of the most important of them all – the Sabbath. One day in seven set apart for God; this was the order of things that God observed in creation. For six days he laboured and then, on the seventh, the all-powerful God rested. From that time onwards the pattern of a weekly day of rest was established, and God pointed out through Jeremiah that the people’s failure to observe the Sabbath was at the heart of their problem. It was a clear sign that they were only concerned with their own interests and had no time for God. The early Church soon moved their special day

Jeremiah 17:7-8 'Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.' We’ve all got a choice. We can rely on human beings or on God. Jeremiah is typically robust in his language on this subject and says that those who rely on mere humans are cursed. He compares them to stunted shrubs in the desert with no hope for the future (Jeremiah 17:6). They stand in marked contrast to those who root their life in God; those people are in a completely different place. They can look to the future with confidence knowing that they can withstand the hottest summer. They can be sure that whatever happens they will keep producing fruit. Of course, we all want to think that we are like trees planted along a riverbank. Who wouldn’t? We all want to believe that

Jeremiah 14:14 The Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts.” Jeremiah had some very harsh things to say. He needed everyone to know that if they didn’t change their ways, they would receive God’s judgement. This was not what people wanted to hear. The Israelites wanted prophets who would tell them that everything was fine and they had nothing to worry about. They wanted to listen to prophets who told them that because they had the temple of the Lord, nothing could possibly go wrong. Jeremiah continually battled with these false prophets whose comforting words were simply wrong. The truth is that it is very easy, at any time, for someone to make a statement prefaced by the words: “thus saith the Lord”. But the question is, did those words truly come from God? This has always been a challe

Jeremiah 13:16 'Give glory to the Lord your God before it is too late. Acknowledge him before he brings darkness upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the darkening mountains. For then, when you look for light, you will find only terrible darkness and gloom.' It may just be me, but I suspect that we are all good at putting things off. It may be filling in our tax returns, making it right with an aggrieved neighbour or buying Christmas presents, but I would guess that there are some things that we love to delay. We tell ourselves that have other, far more important things to do but, eventually, we can no longer delay. Jeremiah was desperately concerned that the people of Israel were putting off the most important thing of all – following the Lord. They were happy with the way things were and had no intention of changing. And the sad truth is that they never did change. Eventually, judgement fell upon them in the form of an invasion from the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. The apostle Paul had exact

Jeremiah 10:12-13 'The Lord made the earth by his power, and he preserves it by his wisdom. With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens. When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.' The fact that God created the world is the foundation of the Bible’s understanding of who he is. The opening chapters of Genesis tell us how God did this, and then the rest of the Bible points back to this fundamental fact. Here in Jeremiah, the prophet laughs at the uselessness of the idols that the people were worshipping. He draws attention to the fact that, unlike the God of Israel, the idols have never created anything. They are a complete waste of time. We need to make sure that our thinking about God is continually shaped by the fact that he is our creator. Creation should be the springboard for our daily worship. The vast scale of what God created should surely make us

This is what the Lord says: “Do not act like the other nations, who try to read their future in the stars. Do not be afraid of their predictions, even though other nations are terrified by them.” If you have ever had a look at a horoscope you will probably have concluded that it is all a lot of nonsense. They may have told you that today is a good day to make friends, avoid puddles or plan your holidays. However, horoscopes are nothing new. For more than 4,000 years, people have taken astrology very seriously. They have developed sophisticated ways of reading the stars in order to guide their lives. In the time of Jeremiah, the Babylonians were particularly committed to this way of predicting the future. But the prophet was clear that this was not the way to seek guidance. His confidence was in his God, and he refused to be swayed by astrology, however much others were influenced by it. We are, of course, all immensely interested in the future. Inevitably we wonder what is going to happen, but I seriously dou

Jeremiah 9:23-24 The Lord says, “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone; that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord.” I wonder what you boast about? What are the things that give you most pride and pleasure? For many people it’s their family, for others it’s their education, their achievements, their influence or their wealth. Almost certainly, the answer to the question will be found in the things that you are keenest to talk about when you have a chance! You just can’t wait for the opportunity to talk about those things that mean so much to you. In these verses, God was not saying that wisdom, power and riches were bad. There is much that can be very good about all three, but they should never take pride of place in our lives. All three of them are of passing significance, but the Lord is different; our knowledge of him is something with enduring importance.

Jeremiah 8:21 'I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief.' The power of Jeremiah’s prophecy lies in the fact that he didn’t stand at a distance from the people. He completely identified himself with them. Their hurts were his hurts; he described himself as being heartbroken and having grief beyond healing. (Jeremiah 8:18). But Jeremiah knew that the Israelites were suffering in such a dreadful way because they had abandoned God’s way and followed other gods. As a result, they were about to be defeated by an enemy who would come from the north and overwhelm them. Jeremiah was in such a state of distress that he cried out: “If only my head were a pool of water and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for all my people who have been slaughtered.” (Jeremiah 9:1). The leaders of God’s people should never stand at a distance from those they are serving. If they are to be faithful to their calling, they will share the joys and the sorrows of the people among whom th

Jeremiah 7:5-6 I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Most of the time we probably think of justice as being something which is in the hands of other people. We look to the police and the law courts to handle issues of justice, and we wish them well as they do so. But these verses make it clear that justice is something which involves us all. We all need to think and to act justly, and that is a challenge every day of our lives. Continually, we have to make judgments about what is just, whether it’s in our family, business, school, college, church or sports club. And God was clear that he would only be merciful to his people if they were willing to take their responsibility for justice seriously. The fact is, we live in a deeply unfair world and, although massive strides have been mad

Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.” To be honest, I struggle to remember the days before I used satellite navigation. However, I drove for many years before the luxury of these amazing devices, and I would often come to a crossroads and wonder which way I needed to go next. I ministered in Devon for a number of years and very frequently found myself travelling down beautiful country lanes and getting completely lost. Then I would come to a crossroads with helpful signs and have to make a decision. God spoke to his people and told them to do just that. They needed to stop and reflect on which way they needed to go next. They had the power to go whichever way they chose but he advised them to choose the old, godly way; that is to say, the way that God had shown them through Moses. From time to time, we all face decisive moments. We can’t dither any longer. We hav

Jeremiah 3:22 “My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” Jeremiah went to great lengths to show just how far people had wandered away from God. He used incredibly strong language which might make us blush at times. He talked about them acting like a prostitute running after many lovers, and pictured them sitting by the road waiting for customers (Jeremiah 3:2). Israel had totally abandoned the one true God and had explored every other god on offer. But, amazingly, God hadn’t given up on them. He still reached out his hands of love and offered to welcome them home and to heal their wayward hearts. The lavish generosity of God’s forgiveness is a prominent theme throughout the Bible. Although humankind has repeatedly rebelled against him, he has always been ready to offer his welcome to all who will turn to him. The parable of the Prodigal Son is the most beautiful expression of God’s fatherly love. The son acted in a completely irresponsible way. It was bad

Jeremiah 2:13 The Lord says “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” In a country like Palestine, cisterns are a wonderful way of storing water for the long, hot, dry summers. The porous limestone rock needs to be lined with plaster in order to make the cistern watertight. A cistern with a cracked lining is completely useless and Jeremiah used this powerful image to tell the people that the gods they were worshipping were a complete waste of time. Unlike the fountain of living water that God offered to provide for them, their false gods could never satisfy their needs. This reminds us of Jesus’ encounter with the woman of Samaria. He offered this needy woman living water which could completely satisfy her deepest needs. She never needed to be thirsty again. Our society is full of cracked cisterns. It offers the lure of possessions, philosophies and entertainments which h

Jeremiah 1:9-10 Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, “Look, I have put my words in your mouth! Today I appoint you to stand up against nations and kingdoms. Some you must uproot and tear down, destroy and overthrow. Others you must build up and plant.” Being a prophet was a tough job and Jeremiah was just about to learn how demanding it was going to be. We all love sharing good news and saying nice things about people, but much of Jeremiah’s job was almost the complete opposite. He had to declare words of judgment to a nation that had abandoned God’s way. It was going to be a hard road for him and so he needed to be absolutely clear that what he was passing on was from God himself. In a moment which reminds us of the call of Isaiah, the Lord reached out and touched his mouth as he gave him his marching orders. God’s words are always full of love, but they are often tough both to share and to hear. It is always tempting for a preacher or prophet to say what people want to hear. People a

Jeremiah 1:6-7 “O Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I can’t speak for you! I’m too young!” The Lord replied, “Don’t say, ‘I’m too young,’ for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you.” Excuses, excuses! Jeremiah followed in the well-worn tradition of trying to avoid doing what God was calling him to do. His words remind us of Moses who responded to God’s call from the burning bush with a long list of reasons why he was a most unsuitable candidate to lead God’s people. Now Jeremiah tries the same approach. He felt that his age was the decisive issue. Even if everything else about him was suitable, his age, he felt sure, was the reason why God would need to look for someone else. His words were, of course, absurd because he was addressing them to the creator of the world! God had formed Jeremiah in his mother’s womb and, even before he was born, had set him apart to be a prophet. Times haven’t changed that much, and people are still offering God reasons why he has chosen the wrong person. When va

1 John 5:21 'Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.' Every day we are all being bombarded with influences. Family, friends, television, internet, advertising, books, social media and radio are all trying to claim our attention and suggest different ways in which we should be thinking. Much of the time we don’t even notice it’s happening, but the truth is that we cannot stop the process. Most of those influences are not inherently bad, but they all have the potential to distract us from serving God. Idols come in many shapes and sizes. They will never announce themselves as such, but they are anything that takes God’s place in our hearts, as this verse so clearly states. Anything at all. It could be your family, your hobby, your football team, your garden or your job. Anything which takes first place in our lives pushes God into second place at best. Don’t misunderstand what I am saying. Our families, our hobbies, our sporting interests, our gardens and our work

1 John 5:14-15 'We are confident that God hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.' Prayer is of absolutely crucial importance to our lives. It has been wisely said that you and I are as strong as our prayer lives and no stronger. Every part of our lives depends upon prayer, so it is really important that we are clear about the Bible’s teaching on this subject. One of the most important things to recognise is that prayer is never a matter of simply saying certain words to God. Bishop Ryle said: “We have learned a great lesson when we have learned that ‘saying prayers’ is not praying.” Prayer is all about a relationship with God in which we talk to him and open our hearts so that he can work in our lives. The Old Testament prophets often observed that people said prayers that were completely unacceptable to God because their lives showed that they had no interest in serving God. God sp

1 John 5:11-12 'This is what God has testified: He has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.' Sooner or later, everyone is bound to ask what life is all about. Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, one of the most successful rock groups of all time, asked the question in one of his last songs: “Does anyone know what we are living for?” It was a genuine cry from the heart. In human terms he had everything. He had money and fame on a colossal scale but, shortly before his death in 1991, he admitted that he was desperately lonely. He said: “You can have everything in the world and still be the loneliest man, and that is the most bitter type of loneliness. Success has brought me world idolisation and millions of pounds, but it’s prevented me from having the one thing we all need – a loving, ongoing relationship.” John would have totally agreed with Mercury. A “loving, ongoing relationship” is what we all need

1 John 5:4-5 'For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.' We need to be clear that whenever John talks about the world in this passage, he is talking about the world without God. When humankind rejects God, the world is a terrible place, full of sin, death and destruction. We are all called to live in such a world, but John wanted to make it clear that we don’t need to be scared of it – because, in Christ, we have the victory. We are Easter people. On Good Friday, Jesus died as the evil world unleashed its worst. But that wasn’t the end. On Sunday morning, Jesus rose from death and proved that he had the victory. This has very practical implications for us. It affects our daily lives in a very profound way. Day by day, we head into a world where God is not respected by most people. The news is full of accounts of abuse, violence, brokenness and disorder. On