WATCHWORD:
‘26-27 Like a thief, the only shame that Israel knows is getting caught. Kings, princes, priests, and prophets—all are alike in this. They call a carved-up wooden post their father, and for their mother they have an idol chiseled out from stone. Yet in time of trouble they cry to me to save them! 28 Why don’t you call on these gods you have made? When danger comes, let them go out and save you if they can! For you have as many gods as there are cities in Judah. Jeremiah 2:26-28
Meditation:
Made to Worship
We are made to worship. Who or what is worthy of your worship? Who or what actually receives your worship? If we follow the trail of where we spend our money and time, we likely will arrive at a few of the things we worship. Where does that trail lead you? Perhaps things show up like entertainment, achievement, technology, clothing or the stock market. Any one of these things can become “the forbidden fruit” in our relationship with God.
It is how we use the innovations of our time and the gifts of the Holy Spirit that speaks to whether we are enslaved to them as idols, or a slave to Christ. God is able to use all these tools for his glory, and he has chosen to do it through hearts that are surrendered to Jesus. The internet cannot atone for your sins. The credentials you hold do not qualify you for grace. Worship Christ, he alone is worthy.
Do you remember those months of isolation, curtesy of the pandemic? What a gift from God, what a blessed time-out, right?. Is that how you looked at it? I recall that early on it was difficult, adjusting to the changes, the separations. As time went by, I believe we all became hungry for human contact, conversations, leaving our homes for a dinner or a show. And, yet the threat was still there, we just didn’t know where.
One time I impulsively made arrangements with my daughter to meet her at the cemetary to pay our respects to our departed loved ones: My wife, her mother, and others. It was a trip I had made many times over the years. Then, the day before, in conversation with a neighbor, I was confronted with, ‘Is that wise, Stan?’ Common sense kicked in, and I regretfully canceled.
I thought about that and the influencers that lead us to make decisions. It makes me wonder about my tendency to be impulsive on choices, and often gets tempered with what you might call common sense, which is more like the Holy Spirit, whispering, nudging, the Lord pushing me in the direction of wisdom.
I started this with who or what we worship, and what we value in our lives. We love our families, broadened and extended, our partners. But those people in our lives are not idols that we worship, they are relationships that we value and love dearly. But, God is in His heaven, and our faith and trust in Him is our foundation, is our Rock, and His graces fall upo0n us all the time if we are paying attention, listen and feel His touch. God is in charge and God loves us and God’s plan is for our good. Worship Him, and only Him. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Ironic – “Father of Traffic Safety” William Eno invented the stop sign, crosswalk, traffic circle, one-way street, and the taxi stand—but never learned how to drive.
Sign of Our Times – On a McDonald’s Restaurant: “Open 24 Hrs. 10 lb. Ice $1 Add bacon for 39 cents.” I’ll have my bacon on the rocks.
Closing Prayer:
Almighty God, We bless you for our lives, we give you praise for your abundant mercy and grace we receive. We thank you for your faithfulness even though we are not that faithful to you. Lord Jesus, we ask you to give us peace in our mind, body, soul, and spirit. We ask that you heal and remove everything that is causing stress, grief, and sorrow in our lives. Guide our paths through life and let your peace reign in our family, at our place of work, businesses and everything we lay our hands on. Let your angels of peace go ahead of us when we go out and stay by our side when we return. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
