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In Christ, Mark
In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
“Get yourself ready! Stand up and
say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will
terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar
and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah,
its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against
you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares
the Lord.
Jeremiah
1:17-19
This ends today’s reading from God's holy
word. Thanks be to God.
The work of any of God’s prophets was not easy. They were
typically being sent before people who had been wicked in God’s sight to
deliver His words of conviction and the associated punishment once the
conviction had been announced. If the people were fortunate, sometimes the
prophet would be sent to warn them of God’s displeasure and what would happen
to them if they failed to stop sinning in His sight.
Either way, the prophet usually met resistance from people
who were so attached to their sinfulness that they weren’t willing to stop, no
matter what God said. That resistance sometimes turned dangerous and the
prophet’s very life could hang in the balance minus any protection and rescue.
You might say the prophet needed some encouragement as they
stared down these challenges and as we see in today’s scripture, the Lord was
more than willing to offer words of support to Jeremiah and to us as well as we
go forth to do His will and way according to the purposes He has called us to.
Look at these closing verses from Jeremiah 1:
“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you.
Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have
made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against
the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the
people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for
I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah
1:17-19
Note here the Lord’s call to preparation. Jeremiah was get
himself ready and be geared up to face whatever came his way as he went forth
boldly to be God’s messenger. As we go forth to do the Lord’s work, we need to
get ready as well for the difficulties we might face in going forth to make
disciples of all nations. Not everyone is going to receive God’s message of
salvation through Jesus Christ with open arms.
So what do you do after you prepare yourself for the Lord’s
service, carrying out His will and way?
Look at what the Lord called Jeremiah to do. He directed His
prophet to stand up and say whatever it was that He commanded. Jeremiah wasn’t
going forward on his own accord but rather as a representative of the Lord God
Almighty Himself. When we go forth to do what He calls us to do, we need to
stand firm and obediently carry out what we’re called to do. Like Jeremiah, we
are the Lord’s representatives sent out to do His perfect work as He directs us
to do it.
So the Lord tells us today to first get ready and then
stand up and carry out His calling. He adds a third command as we look at the
remainder of today’s passage.
Jeremiah was told to not be terrified of anyone he would
encounter because God was with him and had taken away his vulnerabilities in
their midst. The prophet would be like “a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a
bronze wall to stand up against any opposition, even the powerful kings of
Judah who would try and fight against Jeremiah but find their actions fruitless
because the prophet would overcome whatever they brought his way. He had God on
his side who would rescue him from any potential danger.
Friends, we need to always keep in
mind that the same God that was with Jeremiah is alive and well and with us
this very day. As we get ready to do His work and stand up to whatever
opposition comes against us, we need to remember that we are overcomers because
God is with us always, our ever present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1),
our rescue from any and all danger as we carry out His work.
Thanks be to God for these blessed
assurances that set us free to go forth boldly in carrying out what He has
purposed us for, knowing that we are never sent out alone but rather protected
by God while we carry out His glorious callings, no matter how dangerous the
environment may be.
Amen.
In
Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com
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