PRAISING GOD (PART 2)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them.”

Jeremiah 32:18a

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In this nine part devotional series, based on words from the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 32 of the book named after him, we find distinct reasons to praise God.

Yesterday, we saw in Part 1 that we should all praise God for His amazing power placed on display through creation as everything in and on the heavens and the earth were formed by His almighty hands. And as we recognize His infinite power, a power that no one else possesses, we realize that there is nothing too hard for God. We understand that no matter what we’re going through, God is greater.

Truly, this is reason to adore and revere the Lord God Almighty but we have a lot more reasons to look at. Take today’s half verse for example. Look again at Jeremiah’s words:

“You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them.” Jeremiah 32:18a

Here we see two more reasons to praise God, reasons that could not be more opposite from one another for on one hand, we praise God for His love but we also praise Him for His judgment.

Let’s look at both separately, starting with the matter of God’s love.

Perhaps there is no other attribute that best represents the divine, omnipotent Creator and Master of all things than love.

Out of love He made all things, including each of us.

Out of love He protects, nurtures, and sustains us.

Out of love, He gave up His only Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for sin to save us from destruction.

Out of love, He longs to live with us forever if we simply receive and accept His salvation offer.

Yes, as the scriptures profess:

God is love. 1 John 4:8

God is also the Judge of all things. He created all and He is Lord over all as a result. Therefore, everyone falls under His authority and judgment. Everyone.

Indeed, no one is excused or exempt from coming under the scrutiny of God regarding the way they live. We are all under His watchful eye and if we choose to sin in His sight then we can expect to suffer consequences because God despises it. And note that it’s not just an individual who can end up suffering the consequences but their ancestors as well. When God’s famous ten commandments were delivered to the Israelites by Moses, God warned that a violation of His order to not worship false gods and idols would not just impact the sinner who committed the act but their children “to the third and fourth generation”.

And just in case you think that’s unfair, here’s what the scriptures have to say about God in regard to the justice He administers:

God is not unjust. Hebrews 6:10

This should bring us to a point of praise because God will not punish us for anything we don’t deserve. There is no unfair treatment of others when it comes to the way God doles out His discipline. And as for the fact that He corrects us at all, we should give thanks that He puts deterrents in place to keep us from sinning in the first place. After all, if you really thought that your sins could hurt not just you but your children and their children and so on and so forth until you get to the third and fourth generations, I think you would be less likely to allow yourself to fall into transgression.

In other words, we should praise God that He will judge us if we choose to sin.

Yes, we serve a God of love, a perfect love that is unlike any other and we only know how to love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). That love needs to be extended to God in our praises.

We also serve a God of judgment who will not turn a blind eye to sin if we choose to commit it. Because of this, we praise Him because He holds us accountable to Him for our actions and, in doing so, drives us toward righteousness and away from wickedness.

In the end translation, two more reasons why Jeremiah praised God and why we should as well.

We’ll add to the list tomorrow in Part 3.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark
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