If there is one thing that I have learnt over this summer, it is that there is No life apart from God! If you don’t have Jesus, you don’t have anything! I am just a college student, but luckily God has opened my eyes to his beauty. He has shown me that you can have all you want in this world, and still be as lost and going to hell. "Fulfillment" in life isn’t riches, or promotions, or pleasure...It is Jesus in your life!
Speaking of Life, throughout the Bible, the Lord is depicted as Life. He is not a God that is dead, or in the grave. Nor is he some pole or statue that you bow down to. He is alive...He is real...personal, and Totally in love with you!
Rev 22:17 says “And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come! And Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely”
God offers eternal life, thru Jesus, to WHOSOEVER wants it. The ONLY predestined thing is that you have to make a decision. God will let anyone come to Him if they please!
In John 10:10 we find that Jesus gives us Eternal Life.
John 10:10 “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly”
That word abundantly means overflowing. Jesus just doesn’t give us a little bit of life...He give us so much that it is overflowing. So nail it down, there is NO life apart from JESUS, The Holy Spirit, or God the Father. You can never substitute anything for God’s presents. Nothing will fill the void but him.
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How God Loved Israel
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Jeremiah 2:1-4 "Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 3Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD"
What God is saying here is "I remember you." How and what you once were. The Kindness towards God when they were young. How your love for me...it was pure and real. You were my bride and you sought me daily. I was your delight because you delighted on me! And when you sought me in the wilderness...a land that had not food...You trusted in me and I provided for you. You were my people. I protected you. I provided for you. You were Holiness...set apart for Me only. A holy nation you were. In fact, you were the first fruit of all nations...I choose you and set you before all other nations. Your enemies were mine...Well they were mine too! I destroyed them and brought disaster upon them."
But O Israel, How I long for you. How I wish it were still the same. But You, you have forsaken ME! Lets read verse 13.
"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."
A fountain is a place that holds water. This wasn’t your ordinary fountain. This fountain produced Special Water...It was Living Water. It was Fresh Water! It was Pure water. The best part about it is that there was an unlimited supply of it. But no, they didn’t know of that water anymore. They had forgotten about it.
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This Was Total Abandonment From God
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That had: left, deserted, withdrew, given up...
Thrown in the towel...called it quits...packed their bags...and forgotten about God.
They did two evils.
1. They abandoned the very one Who gave them life. (Living water)
2. They became an idolatrous nation.
You see, instead of going daily to the fountain for fresh living water, they went and tried to make their own fountain. That is basically what a cistern is.
"Cistern- A receptacle for holding water or other liquid, especially a tank for catching and storing rainwater" (www.dictionary.com)
These people were...
1. Going to settle for rainwater, instead of fresh water. Cisterns would collect only rainwater. We know that rain water only comes when it rains. These guys were going to settle for nasty rainwater. They were selling themselves short for the REAL thing!
2. They were also unsuccessful in their cistern. They were broken and use-less. Basically what had happened is their “little gods” were turned into nothing. They were Broken, Useless, ineffective, pathetic, and a waste of time!
As a result, the children of Israel were left with nothing...But a God who was extremely Jealous and angry.
Jeremiah 2:4-8 "Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: 5Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 6Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? 7And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. 8The priests said not, Where is the LORD? And they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit."
God is saying, "What have I done to You? How have I hurt or even harmed you? Why are you sinning? Have you forgotten what I did for your fathers in Egypt? Even your priest, the ones who should be in love with me, have forsaken me! They have turn away and started following other gods. I can’t believe this!"
Lets stop and analyze...These guys Headed to Judgment. Hmmm...Don’t think this isn’t relevant for today. Wait, This describes America
1. We have forsaken The very God upon who we founded this nation on. What was our nation really founded on? Is it money like my college professor tried to twist it?
2. We have idols in our lives. America is land of the free and home of the IDOLS! Look at these idols:
Money, sports, TV, Internet, houses, cars
Listen, Anything You Have or Do is an Idol if It comes for The Lord. If you go to a friend for advice before the Lord it is idolatry! I am not saying that friends are bad; it is just that YOU MUST GO TO GOD FIRST! That is the way he wants it. Look for the Big Picture. The Lords wants all of you, not just apiece. It’s All or None. O how he wants your love and devotion.
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The Lord is Longsuffering and Patient
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Jeremiah 3:12-14
"Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. 13Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. 14Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:"
"Return, Repent, and Remove your idols." That is the message here. O how it amazes me that Every time God is getting ready to judge a nation, he allows them to repent first. Sadly, they don’t always repent.
But in this passage the Lord is giving his people another chance. He is saying, "Lets get back together. I am married to you. You may have played the harlot with this world, but I am still madly in love with you." How can you Not see the love that God has for his people?
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God loves you, and will not give up on you
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1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” Our atonement, substitute
You can do nothing to cause him to love you LESS! For example. A father’s love for his son. When a 5 yr. old boy does something that upsets his father, does the father kick him out of the house? Does he send him out on the street with all the other 5 yr. olds? NO! And neither does our Heavenly Father! When We do wrong against him, We need to just seek His forgiveness, and out of his love He will forgive us.
We are to be set apart for Holiness.
Get back to your First Love Folks. Lets get back to "In God we trust" not only in our lives, but in America. There is hope for our nation. God is telling us, "Repent, for I am your groom, and you are my bride. We are meant to be together!!!"
Seek Him with all your heart!
Prayer: Holy Spirit, make us tender to your love. Let us cast down our idols. Let us put you first in our lives and hearts. Teach us not to forsake you! Love us, and make your presence known in our lives! In your name I pray, Amen.
E-mail me at carrclint@msn.com
*Most text was taken from the King James Version Bible. The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
