Jeremiah 49-50: Forgiven! The vilest offenders forgiven by the Loving Heavenly Father. Sins counted against them no more!
Jeremiah 50:20 “In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, iniquity shall be sought in Israel, and there shall be none, and sin in Judah, and none shall be found, for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.”
“NONE shall be found!” Did you see that? Because God will pardon. Oh my friend. God did not just pardon the sin of Israel, He has offered us that same pardon. What have you done with this offer of forgiveness? It is not based on merit or worth. It is based on the Son’s gift of love toward us, a sinful nation. He loved us and gave His life to be our pardon. Glory! How can one not receive so great a salvation!

Jeremiah 41-44: Are you a person with good intentions? I know that describes me many days. I intend to get the grass cut but something comes up. I intend to change the filters but I get busy with something else. I intend to invite a friend over for a meal but … well I think you get the picture. When the remnant of Judah found themselves without a leader they had good intentions as well. They told Jeremiah they would do what God said to do about where to settle.
42:6 “Whether it is good or bad, we will obey the voice of the Lord our God to whom we are sending you, that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the Lord our God.”
If we don’t follow through, good intentions are worth a thing. That is what happened with the people of Judah as well. God told them to stay in Jerusalem but their fear caused them to disobey and flee to Egypt trusting in the power of the Pharaoh rather than God. Their good intentions did not result in life preserving obedience.
This story may resinate with you if you have promised God you will obey Him and follow His plans but your good intentions have not resulted in obedience. The road you are traveling might have gotten more challenging or even led you to a dead end because you did not heed His words. It is not too late. Turn around and head in the direction He has for you. Don’t allow fear to hold you captive to disobedience. Step out in faith today.

Jeremiah 33-37: God longs to speak to you. He desires us to take time daily to be still, spend time with Him not just talking to Him telling Him our needs and hearts desires, but He longs for us to listen and hear His great and mighty plans. Here is how Jeremiahs put it.
Jeremiah 33: 2″Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”
It begins with us acknowledging who He is. Then as we call out to Him and we listen we will hear His reveal to us great and mighty things.
In Jeremiah’s case He sought the Lord and God revealed to him what was to come for God’s people. Some things were hard to receive, but there was promise that after a while God would return them to their former glory.
God’s plans for us are good as well. It may take a while and we may go through hard times before we get there, but God’s plans for are good and in the end He will be glorified. He is for our best and loves us beyond words. Our job is to come to Him, listen to His voice and follow in obedience.

Jeremiah 17-20: As I taught on not living in fear this weekend over and over God reminded us that the reason we don’t have to live in fear is because He is with us. He is our God. He is our strength, our help and He holds on to us with His righteous right hand. He will be whatever we need Him to be, our provider, our shield, our defense, our creator, our sustainer, and so much more. Our problem is much more manageable when God is the one handling it. That is probably why this verse jumped out at me.
17:7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.”
It is not just that we trust in the Lord, He is trust itself. Just as He is love, or forgiveness, He is trust as well. It is His character, and as we live abandoned to Him our natural default will be to know whatever the circumstance He can and will be trusted in it. It is running back to His Sovereignty which is just a big word that means He is in control of everything. When we really believe that, trusting Him in whatever we face is not difficult.
Just as we learned this weekend. As we do this daily in things from small to large, it will become easier when things are huge. Laying a foundation of trust allows us to go to the natural default of believing He can do immeasurably more than we could ever dream or imagine according to His power through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Ephesians 3:20)

eremiah 13-16: Are you useful to God? God told Jeremiah to go and get a loin cloth and wear it. I thought that very odd. Then he told him to take it and bury it down by the river. A few days later He told Jeremiah to go and dig it up. The cloth was ruined and no longer useful. God said, this is a picture of my people. They once were ready to be used but now they have chosen to bury themselves in the things of the world and are no longer useable. Ouch! Have you ever thought about how being so much like the world that you are no longer useable to God? We must remember we are called out ones. We are holy to God. Therefore as His children we aren’t like the world and do not do life like everyone else. We truly are an example of one who does life God’s way which means saying no to some of the things that others don’t find offensive. We speak differently. No cursing or vile talk. We live differently not even shading the truth with a lie. We treat others with love even when they are not acting lovingly. It is a High Calling! but it is also a High Privilege. May we all strive as much as possible to remain cleaned from the world’s influences and usable to God. May He find us faithful!

Jeremiah 9-12: What do you boast in? I recently saw a sticker on a car. I was like those that you see where parents are bragging on their children for being honor students. This one was a paw print that said, “My dog can lick anyone”. I laughed thinking to myself how we feel we need to compare or be better than others. We boast in our children, our homes and possessions even our animals. Yet God says, you are missing it!
Jeremiah 9:23Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
The reality is that all of the things we boast in can be gone in a minute. A job, a home, even a loved one can all be gone. Yet God who is with us always is who we should boast in. Knowing Him, loving him, seeking His best for us and our families, that is what we should be most proud of.
So today I am boasting in the Lord. He has and is bringing us through some hard days. We wondered by in May when Les’ salary was taken away if we would make it to this point. Glory hallelujah we have. We have had plenty to eat, we have been able to pay our bills, we have kept the lights on, and tonight we will have about 35 women here tonight to study God’s word for a weekend retreat. We have so much to praise Him for!!! I boast that I know Him deeper and know I don’t need to fear but to trust, walk right in Him and see His provision. Hoping it will be very soon that we will have more money coming in, but until then we rest in Him knowing our Provider is in control.

2 Kings 21; 2 Chronicles 33: Have you ever heard someone say, “Well they will just have to get to the bottom before they turn.” You may have even said it about someone you loved or cared about who just would not turn from their destructive ways. Manasseh was certainly like this. He was the king who was so bad he even burned his own children as sacrifices to gods. He desecrated the temple by putting altars to foreign gods in it. He created places to worship gods all around the city of Jerusalem. The end result was that Jerusalem fell and Manasseh was led away with a hook in his nose into captivity. He had hit the bottom! While in captivity he remembered the Lord and turned back to Him. In time Manasseh was returned to Jerusalem a very different man. He tried to correct much of what he had done by removing the altars to foreign gods. Though he turned back, there were scars to his disobedience not just on his own life, but on the city of Jerusalem.
You probably have someone in your life that is headed to the bottom. You have tried to encourage them and point them in the right direction but as of yet they are not turning. Be patient with them. It may take a while but as you pray for them and still love them they may hit that bottom level. When they do they will need someone who can help me turn around. Your prayers will be invaluable. They may also need someone to speak love and truth to them. The most important thing may be to love them beyond their scars. Bad choice bring about deep scars. Manasseh could not bring his children back to life. He had created much chaos and harm, but when he turned he needed much grace. You may know a few of those Much Grace Needed people as well. You may be one of those Much Grace Needed people. As we love people where they are still holding them accountable we may find they like Manasseh make a huge turn around. Praying for the many Manasseh like people in your life!

Isaiah 54-58: We live in a throw away society. We use throw away plates (I love them personally) throw away diapers, pans we can throw away. These things are good. We throw away appliances, broken toys, and other things that are just too much trouble to fix. That can be more challenging. We throw away relationships and marriages. These are the most detrimental of all. If it gets too hard, rather than fixing it we just get rid of it and go looking for someone or something else. I am so grateful God does not throw us away because we are too much trouble.
Isaiah 54 says 10 “For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

I am so grateful that God is willing to work on me and with me to help me become who I need to be. He tests me and tries me to show me the areas I need to work on. He is a loving Father and as the scripture calls Him in this passage, a loving Husband who will not throw us away. Israel had been disobedient and ungodly. God allowed them to be captured and taken into captivity, but Isaiah is reminding them that He still loved them and would bring them back. Glory! Thank you Jesus for loving us and taking us back. Thank you for not throwing us out with the paper plates and paper towels. Thank you for considering us keepers!

Isaiah 46-49, Psalm 135: As I begin to study this morning for some upcoming retreats God reminded me that He is with me. He is carrying me. Listen to how Isaiah 46 says it.
3 “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all the remnant of the house of Israel,
who have been borne by me from before your birth,
carried from the womb;
4 even to your old age I am he,
and to gray hairs I will carry you.
I have made, and I will bear;
I will carry and will save.”
As I read these scriptures it is a gentle reminder that even when I feel alone or overwhelmed, He is not just with me. He is carrying me.
I am at the end of a week and a half of having my grandchildren with Les and me. The first half I had one grandchild that turned 2 while I was with her. Then the second half I had 3 grands 5,3 and almost 2 years old. All of them at one time or another wanted to be held. It usually came when they were tired, hurt, afraid, or just needing reassurance. Our arms were open waiting and willing to hold, comfort, encourage and reassure. Isn’t that like God with us? He is always there. It is just a matter of coming to Him. It is a matter of acknowledging that at times of fear, discouragement or just not feeling wanted or loved, He is here. He has His arms open wide and He longs to carry us as we rest in Him. My grands always teach me much about my relationship with my creator. I am so grateful that even though my hair is turning gray and my years are many now, I still can rest and abide in Him.

Isaiah 43-45, Psalm 80: The second week in August I am doing a women’s retreat at our home. The theme is Fear Not. There are so many people who live in fear. The Bible speaks often about not being fearful. Today’s passage in Isaiah twice instructs Israel and us to not fear. Check out how God tells them not to fear but then follow that with a statement that says “I am”.
Isaiah 43:1″Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
According to these verses why should we not fear? We don’t have to fear because He has made us His own. Jesus died for our sin and He has made a way for us back to God. No matter what happens here on earth our eternity is secure in Him. No matter what happens on earth, floods, trials of various kinds, anything that may seem to consume you, He is with you right by your side. Glory!!! Now here is the I am part, For I am the Lord Your God. That name alone reminds us of who God is. If you skip back to the beginning of verse one it says “I created you, I formed you.” God has all authority because He did create us. He did form us and we are His! He knows how we function best! He knows all we are created to be! He can be trusted, so we can know we have no reason to fear.