Jeremiah 19-22
Jeremiah preached the words God gave him to preach, but
those very words brought him ridicule and persecution. Jeremiah grew tired of
the attacks even from his so called friends. He did not want to bring the news
of coming disaster to the people of Jerusalem, but that was the task God had
for Jeremiah. Jeremiah could not help but continue to proclaim the words of the
Lord. "But if I say, “I will not
mention him or speak any more in his name,” his word is in my heart like a
fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I
cannot." (Jeremiah 20:9, NIV)
Friends waited for Jeremiah to mess up. They wanted to see
him fall so they could ignore the words he was proclaiming and live as they
wanted without guilt and fear of judgment hanging over their heads. But God
watched over Jeremiah and though he faced persecution, God protected his life.
There are people who are offended when we share the word of
God. There are people who do not want to think about the consequences for their
sin. There are people who want to continue on the path they are traveling and
do not want to know that the path leads to destruction. But we have a word from
God that we are called to share. His word should be like a fire in our bones
that we cannot contain as we see people headed for eternity in hell.
If people reject us because of the word of God, they are not
really rejecting us, they are rejecting God. People will examine our lives.
They will wait to see if we are legitimate or if we are hypocritical. People
want us to fall so they can condone their own sin, but they also want us to
succeed so they know there is hope for their lives.
We have a message to share, the message of Jesus. "“The time has come,” he said. “The
kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”" (Mark
1:15, NIV) The Good News is that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of
our sin. He came to give us eternal life. We receive that gift when we turn
from our sin and turn to God and accept that Jesus paid the price for our salvation.
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