Accountable

 September 26, 2016

Jeremiah 4:1-4

“If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return.  If you remove your detestable things from my presence and do not waver, and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.”  For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.  Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”

Yesterday, we looked into the subject of “Free-Will” the freedom to choose, it’s a gift that each of us has been given to manage and be responsible for, and one that many in and outside of the church refuse to take ownership of.  But that does not remove one from being accountable for each action no matter your background or circumstance.

So God speaking through the prophet Jeremiah tells the people; If you remove your detestable things from my presence and do not waver, and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’ in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him and in him shall they glory.”

When we enter into worship, it is an agreement that God, you alone are the I Am, and I’m willing to be made willing to all that is revealed to me in Scripture by the Holy Spirit.  So our first job is to ask; Dear Father, what act or actions of my life are detestable to you?  Your list may not be as long as mine, but it is not my list you should reflect on, for each of us have a list that needs attention.  As we apply the action of removing things that are detestable from our lives, our Father, His blessing, His truth, and His Love will go out to others, and nations will awaken to His glory.

” For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.  Circumcise yourselves to the Lord; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”

Fallow ground is a life that is uncultivated, an unplanted life, a life that has never asked direction for God’s will.  Have you ever ask the question why me, what’s my role, why did God put me in this place at this time in history?  If not, today is a good day to ask such questions but be quiet and open to the thoughts God is putting in your mind and heart.  In the book of Esther, we find a Jewish girl picked to replace Queen Vashti, and I have no doubt she was clueless of why she had been made Queen to King Ahasuerus who ruled with an iron grip over Persia and Media.  Her people hated by a man who the king favored named Haman and he had the plot to kill all the Jews in the kingdom, not knowing Esther was Jewish.  Her uncle’s name was Mordecai, and of all the Jews he was the number one target of Haman.  It was Mordecai that gave Esther this counsel: “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Is your life unseeded, as one who gardens I’ve learned much time and effort must go into the soil prep, the seeds going into the ground must be planted at the right time and depth and the ground must we watered and the weeds must not be allowed to compete with the seedling?  The same holds true in your life both in the natural and spiritual, for a fallow ground does not produce.  Today is a great day to begin; it matters not where you find yourself, for our Father is into restoring and creating, and He has put you here for a time like this.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice