I fear it is so for the U.S.A.

Jeremiah 7:29-34

Will this be the history of your nation, is your nation following the footprints of Judea and Jerusalem?  I fear it is so for the U.S.A. and I pray that I am totally wrong.  So let us look into the Scripture listed above, and see if there is a similarity between our nation and theirs?  ‘‘Cut off your hair and cast it away; raise a lamentation on the bare heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.”  What is that all about, this I learned that Judea is being addressed as a former virgin or bride of the Lord.   Nazirites were required to cut and burn hair when the term of their vow was fulfilled and all the people of that time would have understood that.  Now Judea is being told to do the same, but not because they fulfilled a vow, but because they totally disregarded the pledge to love God and to put Him first.  So God has proclaimed that generation to be prostitutes both physically and spiritually. (Thoughts took from HCSB page 1249.)

Now we do not have Nazirites that I’m aware of but have we not broken the vows and has not the Church been the prostitute both physically and spiritually?  Moving on to verses 30-34, and let us look and ponder on verse 30, and ask the question, have we also been guilty of such actions? “For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the Lord. They have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, to defile it.”  Do not be so quick to answer; are you not the temple of the Lord?  Look at 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.”  Now maybe after more thought, you can answer the question.

 I’m sure your nation or mine has never done anything as evil as we find in verse 31. “And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.”  I learned that Topheth is referred to in the Aramaic as a fire pit and it was located in the Valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem.  It was Kings Ahaz and Manasseh of Jerusalem that instituted pagan sacrifice here, including the offering of Judah’s children to the god Baal or Molech.  God made it clear in Leviticus 18:21; 20:2-5 and in Deuteronomy 18:10 that such things were forbidden. (Also taken from HCSB page 1249)

I do not know about your nation but in the U.S.A. the total number of abortions in the United States 1967-2016: 59,400,000.  And you might ask why would a country kill their babies, it simple, they were going to be an inconvenience.  And I do know that it is reported the number of babies aborted each year worldwide -- 50,000,000.  So maybe God is not all that happy with your nation, I’m sure we are under judgment in the U. S. A.

As you read in verses 32-34, it is about a time to come.  And the land will fall silent and become a desolate waste, but to my younger friends that are having the smoke of global warming or climate change taught to them, it will not happen, but God’s judgment you can bet your life on, He has spoken, and it will come about.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

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Ignorance in the ways of God

October 25, 2016

Jeremiah 7:17-28

Have you ever looked at all the books titled “for dummies”?  I’m not writing to dummies, but to many who are ignorant in the ways of God, and to those who are just beginning this journey called following Jesus.  Also, to those like myself who often forget in our busy life that the Scriptures are living and active as stated in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints, and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

So if it is living, then it must be applied to today, to our lives, and we must recall that God does not change He is the same today as He was yesterday in Jeremiah’s timeline.  In Numbers 23:19, it is made clear that God has not nor can He change; "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?”

So with that backdrop shall we change a couple of words with no fear of not being faithful to the Scripture, but first Jeremiah 7:17, “Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?”  Now let us replace for this paper Judah, and place your nation and the city you live in and not Jerusalem.  How is that going to read, what are your country and city worshiping, are they placing God, the “I Am” as the object of their worship?  If so, please write me back I want to be part of a nation that is doing that.

We the followers of Christ must return to right worship, not music as the only source of our worship but a heartfelt desire to obey our Lord and Father in all areas of life.  The people of Judea and Jerusalem were allowing rituals, such as going to church with the wrong heart attitude as a sign of worship, but God who sees the heart was repulsed by those acts, then and now!

Picking up the account in verses 27-28, we have God telling Jeremiah what is going to happen when he addresses what God has said about how the people do not have ears to hear or eyes to see, and they were going to experience judgment, as a people and a nation.  The words of Jeremiah 7:27-28, “So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.”

  

Can you see that God’s hand of protection is removed from your nation can you see that Judgment has begun?  I believe it has in the United States of America, and that most who go by the title of Christian have no understanding of this fact.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Fear cannot live with Faith

Jeremiah 7:16

Scriptures tell us that fear cannot live with faith, and in the book of Isaiah 41:10, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.”  But as I read Jeremiah 7:16, I am also reminded of Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” 

So let us explore Jeremiah 7:16 with this in mind, God is the same today as in Jeremiah’s time, and in that fact alone we have a nation that is in big trouble.  Listen to God’s instruction to Jeremiah, “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you. Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger. Is it I whom they provoke declares the Lord? Is it not themselves, to their own shame? Therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.”

Now if that does not bring a tiny amount of fear into your soul, that God would tell His spokesperson to stop warning, to stop praying for them, for He has a gut full of their sins and disobedience.  Has your nation passed the point of no return, Judah had, and God would no longer listen to intercessions on behalf of the people of Judah.

Ask this question about your nation; what is the focus of our worship?   The probability of it being the queen of heaven is very slight, but it might be wealth, power, and control to deceive the poor and unlearned, and the highly educated that believe they are too smart to believe in a God who has authority over them.  Those are the ones that come up with stuff that requires more faith than I can muster.   The queen of heaven worship was the Assyrian – Babylonian goddess Ishtar and was introduced by King Manasseh, a very evil man. 

When you look up God’s attributes anger is not one that is going to jump off the page, but when the people of God turn from Him and begin to worship anything other than Him, those people are in for a look into this attribute.   We who go by the name Christian often look and act as if we believe God does not see the greed and dishonesty in our dealings with others?

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice

Your Private World

 Jeremiah 7:8-15

What kind of world do you live in?  I’m talking about your private world the one that only you believe is private.   Now President Trump’s private world turns out to not be so private, and an act of 11 years earlier became very public.  You are thinking he is running for the highest office in the land and sure people are going to expose him for political reasons, and that would be true.  But let me share a truth, not one thing in your private world is private, you have a vast audience of evil and good watching your every move, and they cannot read your mind, but God can, so even your thoughts are not private.

As we journey into Jeremiah 7:8-15 you get a snapshot of a nation who believed God was not involved in their private world.  Verse 8-10 give us this insight; “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations?

Stop, please stop and learn, for we are a people of deceptive words, our media is full of deceitful messages, the ads on radio and T.V. are designed to make one desire or feel fear, they are deceiving.  Often the message coming from preachers is unreliable and even worse it is false, based on human thoughts that are not in agreement with the Scriptures.  Many in all offices of government are at best phony, pretending to work for the good, and it is all about personal gain and power.  And what about you, are you reliable or just a pretender when it comes to your private life?

Moving on to verses 11-14, what happen at Shiloh, by Wayne Blank; “While the Israelites remained faithful and obedient to The Lord, they lived peacefully and perfectly secure. Over time, however, they became careless and disobedient in their relationship with Him. They became complacent, taking far too much for granted. They assumed that The Lord would protect and put up with them no matter what they did. A big mistake in their time - or ours.”  You can read the account in 1 Samuel chapter 4, they lost the Ark in battle with the Philistines and 34,000 men were lost, plus Eli and his two sons.

One must ask, has the denomination you refer to as the church, become evil, have you conformed to a world standard and are playing a game called church?  Do you hold to what Scripture teaches, or have you let someone else tell you what it said?  Verses 11-14, “Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord. Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.”

Is this the epitaph that God is writing in your life?  “And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim.” 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

What is a Christian?

Jeremiah 7:1-7

What you believe has everything to do with how one lives life, and as a person who no longer understands what the general public means when they claim to be Christians, I find myself moving from that term.  What is a Christian? By Mattson: "Are you a Christian?" I once asked an acquaintance. She creased her eyebrows and thought about that.  "I'm not really sure," she said. "What is a Christian?"  I was impressed with her honesty and the profundity of her question. She knew very well who Jesus was. As I talked with her, I found that she had grown up in the church. Yet she didn't really know what a Christian was. And I could hardly blame her.

What is a Christian, anyway? Someone of European descent?  A persecutor of Jews? Someone who votes for only the most conservative Republicans? At times all of these answers have seemed plausible. Some use these definitions to this day.  In Christian circles the answers are no clearer. A Christian is sometimes said to be someone who has made a decision; sometimes, someone who belongs to a church; far too often, someone who confesses the right creeds. Which brings us right back to our question: What, really, is a Christian?”

 

For many years I’ve been in agreement with that young lady, for I’ve come to understand from a book called the Bible that it never lies, it is living and sharper than a two edged sword, and when it speaks I must listen and obey.  Jesus’ Brother James has this to say in James 1:22-25, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”  If you do not plan on doing so, would it not be smarter not to read God’s Word in the first place?

The Lord has this word for Jeremiah to speak to all of us, many of us have not stood at the gates of the LORD’s house and been faithful to that voice, we have been quiet at home, and in the market place, and many are asking “What is a Christian?”  It is time to stand and share what you are and if you have or are becoming a follower of Christ.  Are you abiding in Christ, are you living in faith or fear, for faith cannot share space with fear?

Listen to these words from our great God and Father in verse 3-7, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

“For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.”  Now, remember this book never lies.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

How is your medal?

Jeremiah 6:22-30

What if on this Sunday morning a man stands before the nation, and he’s not just any man, he is a man of integrity who has walked with God and he proclaimed on all the countries media the following: “Thus says the Lord: 

“Behold, a people is coming from the North Country, a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.  They lay hold on bow and javelin; they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!”  But he does not use the word Zion, it is replaced with your nation, what are you going to do, what is your battle plan?

Many who have resources will do as the Saudi’s did when Saddam’s Iraq was about to attack them.  They got their gold and wives and got on their private jets leaving for Europe, until the U.S.A. under President Bush’s leadership stopped the invasion with our military might and a coalition of nations, then they returned.  Some in your nation will do the same, but most will do like the general population of Judea and say as they did in verses 24-26, “We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.  Go not out into the field, nor walk on the road, for the enemy has a sword; terror is on every side.  O daughter of my people put on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.”  That sounds like a people who have lost hope, they no longer trust the leadership, or the military, they are living in total fear, for they long ago looked to only the little gods, the false gods of materialism and pleasure and when they fail all hope will fall with them.

We, as Americans, are still looking to the little gods; sports, material goods, sex, and the most corrupt of governments but a time is coming when they will not bring hope, and then who will you turn to?  I would hope it is a wake-up call for a nation like ours, to return to the only God who has shown grace to this country, but it is clear to many of us that His hand is being withdrawn and judgment has began.

This was the message to Judea; “I have made you a tester of metals among my people, that you may know and test their ways.  They are all stubbornly rebellious, going about with slanders; they are bronze and iron; all of them act corruptly.  The bellows blow fiercely; the lead is consumed by the fire; in vain the refining goes on, for the wicked are not removed.  Rejected silver they are called, for the Lord has rejected them.”  Jeremiah was God’s appointed assayer of His people.  He was not testing medal but the quality, the integrity of His people.  The evil people were the dross and they could not be separated from the others, for all were evil.  How is your medal, how will your tests go, not before man, but an all-seeing God?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Those ancient paths

October 13, 2016

Jeremiah 6:16-21

Yesterday, we looked into verse 16 and the answer to moving from fear and unrest, to rest for our souls, and today we will look at how to find those ancient paths, where the good ways are and how to walk in them.  Jeremiah whose title was the weeping Prophet because the leaders, the people, and the nation of Judea would not listen to the message the Lord had given him.  Now God is telling us by the pen of Jeremiah that He set watchmen over them.  These men were the prophets, and their words were like the ram’s horn to warn of pending trouble, but the people did not have ears to hear or eyes to see, they put faith in little gods, like their leaders, the military, and the culture.

I believe it is important to see and learn from the Scriptures about what a Holy God does when His people who are called by His name will not obey His instructions and His commandments.  “Therefore hear O nations, and know O congregation, what will happen to them.  Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people, the fruit of their devices because they have not paid attention to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.”  Now their disaster was the Babylonians, but what about those who go by the title of Christian, who have said in their hearts, “We will not pay attention” for that is the ancient path, and it is not relevant to our day or our culture.

It is interesting that they tried to buy God’s favor by burning offering, but God was telling them it is not your religious acts, but your obedience that I seek.  I’m not sure that all the rebellious acts of the people of Judea comes close to what is happening in many buildings called churches by our culture, but they have not noticed God has withdrawn from them.  It is as if we do not believe the written Word of God who changes not, have you not read Judgment would begin at the threshold of His Church.  If we who follow Christ will be judged, what awaits unbelievers who pay no heed to the gospel of Jesus Christ?

“Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will lay before this people stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble; fathers and sons together, neighbor and friend shall perish.”  1 Corinthians 1:22-23, came into my mind as I read Jeremiah 6:21, “For the Jews ask for signs, and the Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Self-Examining

Jeremiah 6:16

One of the greatest issues we face as followers of Christ is self- examining!  When we hear the sermon or read the message, we have a tendency to think of others that it would apply to, not giving thought to what is being said at all.  Jeremiah 6:16 and the verses that follow are an excellent example of this.  Anytime one hears these words; “Thus says the Lord” or reads these words they should go to the mirror of their soul and ask; Lord Jesus, am I following you or am I following what I desire you to say?  Look with me at verse 16, “Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.” I’ve read that “the ancient paths were the ones followed by Noah and the Patriarchs; they believed God’s promises and walked with God.”  (Taken from page1247 in the HCSB)

Am I standing by that road, and am I asking for the ancient paths, am I walking on them and is my soul at rest?  I’ve never seen so many in and out of the church as fearful, so anxious about the upcoming election for the President of this United States of America.  Could it be we do not believe the promises of God?  Let’s begin in Romans 13:1 – “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.”  In the book of Daniel 4:17b, we read that “the Most High [God] rules the kingdom of men” and that he, God, “gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.”

As one who is searching for truth I have encountered evil men and women who God has allowed leadership for His purpose, often it is for judgment.  Explore with me some of these; “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Romans 9:17)  And what about King Nebuchadnezzar, one evil man and this is what Daniel had to say in regards to his dream;  ^“Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.   He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.”  (Daniel 2:20-22)

Now let’s look to Jesus, the one we claim to follow at what seems a low point in His earthly life, He is standing before the governor Pilate, and Pilate tells Jesus;

 “Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him; “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:10-11a).

In closing, I must share this opinion; It is my right to have an opinion and a duty to love my country, but it is time we follow the model and teaching of Jesus.  It is wrong for you or me to bring shame on the name of our LORD by not “Standing by the roads, and looking, and asking for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

And like Them

Jeremiah 6:1-16

As a citizen of the U.S.A., I have not yet experienced in my lifetime an army landing on our shores, but it has happened, and it will happen again.  The people of Jerusalem believed they were ready, and they had a walled city, and yet Jeremiah was sent by God to proclaim what was about to happen.  These folks had eyes to see, but they did not see, they had ears to hear, but they did not hear.  One wonders, are you and I more like them than we realize, are we blind to what is happening, have the shepherds and their flocks been pitching their tents all around us, but we don’t have eyes to see or ears to hear?

These shepherds and their flocks were the enemy troops and while Jerusalem was sleeping and secure the Assyrians and the Babylonians were busy carrying dirt in baskets, pouring it against the city walls.  They also were building towers from the trees they had cut down so they could build towers to hurl massive stones and firebrands against the walls.  The most frightening thing is they, like us had no fear of God, they like us were evil, violent and had no regard for the life of the young or the old, their society did not believe they were evil any more than ours.

Jeremiah was instructed by God to make sure that everyone heard the message and had a chance to repent.  Never have we had more men standing and proclaiming God’s message and like Jerusalem, we also have the false teachers telling us God loves us too much to harm us.  And like them, “the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them – they find no pleasure in it.”  Verses 11-15, “Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord; I am weary of holding it in.  “Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the gatherings of young men, also; both husband and wife shall be taken, the elderly and the very aged.
Their houses shall be turned over to others, their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord. 

“For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.  Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush.  Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the Lord.”

I leave this note for those who have ears to hear and eyes that can see. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Hearts that have no fear of the Lord our God.

Jeremiah 5:20-31

My hope is to be writing to the wise not the foolish, and a wise man or woman would read this, and the fear of the Lord would enter their hearts.  My Prayer is you are wise, for the Lord has declared and this thing will happen to any nation that has a stubborn and rebellious heart, hearts that have no fear of the Lord our God. 

God is making it clear the system is rigged, and John 10:10 tells us the enemy has come to kill, steal and destroy.  The enemy has found a home in the heart of many in leadership the United States of America, but also in the hearts of many in the business world, and the church.  But you do not have to be a victim, you can choose this day who you will serve, for we also find in John 10:10, these words from Jesus; “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah: “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.  Do you not fear me?  declares the Lord.  Do you not tremble before me?  I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass; though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; though they roar, they cannot pass over it.  But this people have a stubborn and rebellious heart; they have turned aside and gone away.  They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’  Your iniquities have turned these away, and your sins have kept good from you.  For wicked men are found among my people; they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. They set a trap; they catch men.  Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek.  They know no bounds in deeds of evil; they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend the rights of the needy.  Shall I not punish them for these things?  declares the Lord, and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?”

An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

The tongue is a Fire

October 6, 2016

Jeremiah 5:14-19

My pastor taught on James 3:1-12 and that is a lesson all of us need, and James tells us in verse six; “And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.  The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, set on fire by hell.”  I’m tempted to share more on the tongue for it has got me in a lot of trouble over my lifetime.  This morning as we explore God speaking to Jeremiah and He had this to say to him. “Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: “Because you have spoken this word, behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire, and this people wood and the fire shall consume them.”  I found it of interest that a man who allows God to control his tongue or mouth could be used to bless or curse a people or nation.  In James 3:5, “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.  How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

God has plans for Judea’s rebellion, and they have become the wood, and Jeremiah's tongue is the fire that God is going to use in bring judgment.  Now here is the judgment found in verse 15-17, “Behold, I am bringing against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, declares the Lord.  It is an enduring nation; it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language you do not know, nor can you understand what they say. Their quiver is like an open tomb; they are all mighty warriors.  They shall eat up your harvest and your food; they shall eat up your sons and your daughters; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; your fortified cities in which you trust they shall beat down with the sword.”  Jeremiah is God’s Paul Revere warning the people that the Babylonians are coming, but they will not accept the message till it is too late.

And the unhappy end of this was a message of hope, not all of you will be destroyed.  As we look at verses 18-19, that message is very clear.  “But even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not make a full end of you. And when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”  Wake up U.S.A., wake up Europe for the message is clear, yes we have experienced grace, but judgment is coming, and yet we still have the same choice as Nineveh.  Will we be as wise as those evil people?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

How Long?

 Jeremiah 5:1-13

In that my income came from being in sales I’ve known what it is to embellish.  That is what Jeremiah is doing in verse one; “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look and take note!  Search her squares to see if you can find a man, one who does justice and seeks truth, that I may pardon her.”  He would have to be excluding himself and his scribe Baruch, but the fact is that both the leaders and the ordinary people had their hearts set on evil.  It is amazing what God will do.  We must recall Genesis 18:22-32, Abraham asking God not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there are 50 righteous people in the city, and he kept lowering the number down to 10 people, but they could not find that many. 

As we look at verses 2-3, the United States of America comes to mind, and one must ask how much longer Father will you allow this nation not to be destroyed?  Verses two and three, “Though they say, “As the Lord lives,” yet they swear falsely.  O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?  You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.” 

 Many blame it all on the progressives, the Liberals and the under-resourced and also the uneducated, but look at verses 4-6, “Then I said, “These are only the poor; they have no sense; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.  I will go to the great and will speak to them, for they know the way of the Lord, the justice of their God.”  But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds. Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them.  A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.” (Note: the young lion to them was the Assyrians and later at this time the Babylonians.)  Today it would be Russia, China, or Muslims, the followers of the religion of Islam.  But it is not only a religion, its goal is to make by the power of the sword all nations and people to submit to its rule.

Verses 7-9, is a clear message from our God to us as it was to Judea: “How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods.  When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores. They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife.  Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?”  I’m fearful for a nation who turns from God, but it reminds us of this truth, judgment will begin with His church, have we also lost all fear of a pure and holy God?

As we end today, ask this question; why not my nation, are we not like the house of Judea and the house of Israel?  Verses 10-13, “Go up through her vine-rows and destroy, but make not a full end; strip away her branches, for they are not the Lord's.  For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly treacherous to me, declares the Lord. They have spoken falsely of the Lord and have said, ‘He will do nothing; no disaster will come upon us, nor shall we see sword or famine.  The prophets will become wind; the word is not in them.  Thus shall it be done to them!’”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Misguided Faith

 Jeremiah 4:23-31

It is almost as if the Lord has allowed Jeremiah to revisit Creation, in verse 23-25, but that is not the real picture and verses 26-29 tell the story of what is taking place.  The Babylonians are coming, and Jeremiah gives a visual overview of the utter desolation about to visit Palestine. 

This once beautiful and fruitful land is going to look like a desert, it is destruction.  But this vision was not just about the coming of the Babylonians, but the final battle after Satan has been released and God’s entire fury against sin.  Anytime we read prophecy as a history book and do not look for more than one meaning we are in danger of mishandling the Word of God.

As the people got reports of the Babylonians closing in, they fled the cities and hid in the thickets and the rocks, and the cities were without people.  But in Jerusalem, they put trust in walls and armies.  When that looked as if all was without hope the women got dressed in the best they had and took time at the spas and the beauty parlors to prepare for new lovers, but the Babylonians were not into taking lovers, but into taking life.

That’s not a picture any of us want to focus on, it is death and destruction.  Not once did the people of Judea repent with a broken and contrite heart, they tried to fake a love for God, but their hearts were full of self and had no room for God as their King.

In America, we have in God we trust on our dollar, but it is not the God of the Bible, but like Judea, it is little gods, gods that cannot see or hear.  We are people who trust in government, military, the dollar, and none of those have the ability to save us.  Foolish men and women, who have lied and deceived us, have led our nation, all in the name of they know what is best, and we are allowing them to do so.  It is not too late to humble yourself and ask the Father for mercy and to confess first, your sins and then the sins of our nation. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice

Ingratitude

 Jeremiah 4:19-23

Jan and I are very blessed we have a beautiful daughter, who now is a mother and the wife of Byron and two boys John Mark and Zachary David.  Being an only child and the apple of her dad’s eye we enjoyed much together that is until about the age of thirteen, and for many of those teenage years she preferred her mother's company, and there was a separation of our intimacy.  To say that was not painful to this dad is an understatement; it was anguish, having that bond broken, not to be the hero and one you run to with any need.

But have you ever given any thought to God being in anguish over your separation, you are breaking the intimacy of the Father and child relationship?

In Ephesians 4:30, we are given this counsel; “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”   I wanted to see what Bible scholars had to say on the subject, and after reading a few, I decided on this from Barnes: “We are not to suppose that the Holy Spirit endures "grief, or pain," at the conduct of people. The language is such as is suited to describe what "men" endure, and is applied to him to denote that kind of conduct which is "suited" to cause grief.  The meaning here is, "do not pursue such a course as is "suited" to its own nature, to pain the benevolent heart of a holy being. Do not act toward the Holy Spirit in a manner which would produce pain in the bosom of a friend who loves you.”

Now let me share today's Scripture found in Jeremiah 4:19-22, “My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the walls of my heart! My heart is beating wildly; I cannot keep silent, for I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.  Crash follows hard on crash; the whole land is laid waste.  Suddenly my tents are laid waste, my curtains in a moment.  How long must I see the standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?  For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding.  They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!  But how to do good they know not.”

These are human emotions being stated in a way this dad can understand, but I would not dare to claim they are not the feeling of our Father.  For in the book of beginnings we are told in Chapter 1:26-27; Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."  God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”

It is my understanding, it is not a physical image but a spiritual image, and the amazement of our great and mighty God is to redeem us from the control of sin.  His Son, His only Son, took on flesh and identified with us in all ways but sin, for His seed, was placed into a virgin by God’s Spirit, so He was sinless.  Jesus the God-man got angry, He got hungry, He got sad, and Jesus wept over the death of a friend, and He showed love and kindness. 

As one who has lived on planet earth for 74 years, I’ve known sadness and joy, and I’ve often allowed my desires driven by the flesh to not listen to the quiet voice of the Spirit of God.  I believe these actions bring grief to my God and Father.  Now, the last word from Barnes; Ingratitude: "We" feel ingratitude more than almost anything else; and why should we suppose that the Holy Spirit would not feel it also?

From the Back Porch, 

Bob Rice

A Word to the Wise

September 28, 2016

 Jeremiah 4:5-18

 Observations from a not all that educated person and yet one who by the standards of this world was considered successful.  Some of the advice I would offer to a person asking about success; find a job that you enjoy and work to be the best at your trade.  You will make mistakes but if you want to be the best, you will learn from them and not repeat them.  No one owes you anything, and yet each day you have a choice, choose to be kind, thoughtful and forgiving to everyone you come in contact with, and it will not only bless them, but you will also find favor with both God and men.  I discovered that the borrower is a slave to the lender, so dream big, but hold off buying till you can pay cash.  By doing this, you will be defeating one of the tools used to apply pressure to your relationship with your spouse.  I believe the two things that destroy families, communities, and nations are greed and fear, and if you can understand how the deceiver uses them, then you would not fall victim.  But this is the most important, seek a relationship with God’s Son, and ask the Father to give you a hunger and a thirst for righteousness so that you can experience satisfaction.

So how does that have anything to do with Jeremiah 4:5-18, I’m not sure but let me try to connect the dots.  Beginning with verses five and six; “Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!’  Raise a standard toward Zion, flee for safety, stay not, for I bring disaster from the north, and great destruction.” 

Now it is of the utmost importance for a person to understand who is crying fire, or wolf, and in this case, Jeremiah is saying this is God speaking to me and it’s coming out of my mouth.  He is not the guy on radio and television selling the fear package on gold; it is not the one on the internet trying to buy a smart car to save the world, nor is it a voice of fear.  Fear is easy to sell, even the fear of someone who is a Christian, or trying to sell you on not using fossil fuels to save the planet.  No this is the Creator of all things, who is all knowing giving a warning of what is about to take place!

Do you recall the account of Paul Revere riding his horse on the evening of April 18, 1775, to warn patriot leaders and surrounding townspeople that there was an impending British invasion in the town of Lexington, Massachusetts?  The British were coming, and the patriot leaders and townspeople needed that information to protect and engage the enemy.  Jeremiah was warning the leaders and people that the Babylonians from the North were bringing God’s judgment.  A loving God was begging His people to repent and to leave the area in time to find safety.

God is declaring the courage of both king and officials and the priests, and the false prophet will fail, and they will be astounded.  Now they are blaming God for not protecting them, as if, He was not aware of how sinful and rebellious they had become.

As we look at these words in verses14-18, take inventory of your heart, and the sin of your nations, and ask this question, is it fear based when God is the spokesperson?  O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil, that you may be saved.  How long shall your wicked thoughts lodge within you?  For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims trouble from Mount Ephraim.  Warn the nations that he is coming; announce to Jerusalem, “Besiegers come from a distant land; they shout against the cities of Judah.  Like keepers of a field are they against her all around, because she has rebelled against me, declares the Lord. Your ways and your deeds have brought this upon you. This is your doom, and it is bitter; it has reached your very heart.”

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice