Day by Day

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"Bush in the Wastelands?"

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man … He will be like a bush in the wastelands.” Jeremiah 17:5
   

Our town features a botanical conservatory. One walks from a seasonal display room through a tropical forest into a desert with barren terrain and cactus. The contrast startles. Jeremiah stoutly addresses a wicked Judah with the real possibility of eternal life in a wasteland.

He writes against their idolatry: “Cursed in the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands: he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives” (Jeremiah 17:5-6). How stark and hopeless these words are for those who trust in themselves.

Would Jeremiah describe you as a bush in the wastelands? You may be seeking prosperity, fashioning success with your own hands, and gaining praise from people in the world. But if your heart turns away from the Lord and you depend on flesh for your strength, you will be like an isolated bush in the wastelands, with no hope for the future.

Shocked to attention, we realize our pride and our foolishness. We look to the One tempted in a wilderness to depend on flesh for strength by changing stones into bread and to turn away from the Father by bowing down and worshiping Satan. But we know how Jesus overcame these temptations. On our behalf He was willing to hang, so to speak, on a lonely tree in the wastelands, where He fully paid for our sins. Because He thirsted and died, we need not dwell alone as a bush in the wastelands but can sing His praises forever in heaven.

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"Living Water and Broken Cisterns"

“They have forsaken Me, the Spring of Living Water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13
   

Jeremiah speaks to a sinful Judah with powerful imagery. Precious water meant life to ancient peoples in the dry Near East. Attacking military forces laid siege to walled cities and tried to cut them off from their water supply. Now Jeremiah suggests Judah’s twofold foolishness. First, they have forsaken Him, their “Spring of Living Water.” Second, they have dug their own cisterns, which turn out to be broken and unable to hold water. Their own efforts have failed miserably.

Don’t we often try to construct our own cisterns to hold the water of this world? We want wealth, pleasure, success, happiness, recognition. But these cisterns don’t hold water. All the while we have forsaken the never-ending Spring of Living Water provided by a loving God. Confession time.

Jesus refers to Himself as Living Water which will forever quench our thirst. Our selfish attempts to trap water for ourselves fail in broken cisterns. But He offers us Himself. He lived, died, and rose again for us. In the waters of Baptism we receive Him as our Spring of Living Water. The Spirit flows forth from us as we regularly use His Word and sacraments. Broken cisterns abandoned, we come in faith to God’s Spring of Living Water, where we invite others to drink as well.

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"Jeremiah’s Call: God’s Words in My Mouth"

Then the LORD reached out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put My words in your mouth.” Jeremiah 1:9
   

The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, announcing his call. He learned that he was set apart as a prophet to the nations. Doubts rose within him that he could not speak and was only a child. God’s assurance came with the words, “Do not be afraid of them” (Jeremiah 1:. Now the Lord provides Jeremiah with the words he will speak as a prophet. “Then the LORD reached out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘Now I have put My words in your mouth.’”

That Word consumes Jeremiah. He later writes, “…His Word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9). He simply obeys God and speaks powerfully against Judah’s sins. Sometimes he illustrates the Word with symbols of God’s message. But always he communicates God’s message. The result – God’s Word of judgment is vindicated in the destruction of Jerusalem, and His Word of promise materializes in the new covenant ushered in by Jesus Christ, the Crucified One.

What a powerful description of God’s call! He specially entrusted Jeremiah with His very own words of judgment and mercy. He also gives His Word to called and ordained servants as they publicly preach the Word and administer the sacraments. They are to speak God’s Word, not their own message. He also touches the mouth of each Christian and puts in His words. We are touched by the Word in Baptism and made new creatures in Christ. We feed on that Word as proclaimed by pastors. And we share that Word with others in our daily calling. Yes, Jeremiah’s call has much to teach us about God’s call in our lives. And His word holds the answers.

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"Jeremiah’s Call: God’s Assurance"

"Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 1:8
   

Real doubts about his ability to serve as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah hears the call and knows that God speaks. Afraid and uncertain, he needs reassurance. The Lord declares, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.” Words of promise and comfort. Jeremiah takes the assignment and begins to speak God’s Word of judgment and mercy. How he will need those words of assurance as he repeatedly faces kings and priests with a message of repentance! They plot against his life. They arrest and imprison him. They beat him and leave him to die in an open cistern. He wants to die. He complains against God. But he keeps speaking the Word of the Lord. And always there are those words of assurance for him: “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.”

We need those words also. We hear God’s call and know that He speaks to us. We also see the world in which we live – immorality, cheating, scoffing at religion, power plays, social climbing. Real doubts grip our hearts when we try to proclaim the Word of the Lord to our age. But the Lord declares, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.” We see the Lord come into a world that rejects Him. We hear the taunts and feel the whip gouge His back. We observe His faithfulness on the cross and hear His loving Word of forgiveness. We experience His forgiveness in our lives and dwell on His continuing Word of comfort. We falter. We speak hesitatingly. We wince at rejection. But we keep speaking His message, for those words of assurance continue, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you.”

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"Jeremiah’s Call: Doubts Expressed"

“Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” Jeremiah 1:6
   

The Word of the Lord speaks. We hear. “Set … apart … as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). A tremendous challenge for Jeremiah. A difficult application for us as modern-day proclaimers of Christ’s love. We hear. But now what?

Jeremiah expresses serious doubts about his own ability to answer God’s call. He responds, “Ah, Sovereign LORD, I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” He trembles. What good is a prophet who can’t speak? Echoes of Moses by the burning bush! (see Exodus 3). How can an immature teenager (which Jeremiah may have been) stand before kings and princes? Good questions. Serious doubts. And Jeremiah would indeed be tested beyond human endurance – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He would suffer rejection after rejection. But assurance and maturity would come from God’s words and His steady presence. But for the moment Jeremiah’s doubts remain.

Do you have serious doubts about your ability to speak God’s Word and stand boldly as a Christian in difficult situations? Do you feel like a child in your spiritual maturity even though you may have gray hair and a solid standing in society? Like Jeremiah, we can also expect stiff tests of our faith as we answer God’s call to service – possible rejections, day-by-day temptations, and flagging zeal. “Ah, Sovereign LORD, I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”

Serious doubts. But God will supply the words to speak, and His forgiving presence in Jesus Christ, the Crucified, to mature us. The call stands.

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"Jeremiah’s Call: Set Apart as Prophet"

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart: I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5
   

We listen to the Word of the Lord, addressed to us for our lives. What do we hear? God’s Word to Jeremiah issues a jarring call – set apart as a prophet to the nations. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart: I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah lived in a troubled time, much turmoil for Judah, with mighty nations seeking to control and destroy her, much wickedness within Judah, including idolatry, injustice, and reliance on political manipulation rather than on God. Jeremiah a prophet of God in such a time? A prophet to Judah? Overwhelming. A prophet to the nations? Impossible. Yet the Word of the Lord clearly tells him of his call to be a prophet. And God reveals that he has been set apart for this role even before he was born. He has been appointed and prepared all his life for this prophetic ministry. What a call indeed!

And your call? Not exactly like Jeremiah’s. Different historical situation. Different person. Different calling. Yet before God formed you in the womb, He knew you. He knew you with His tender love as Creator and with His forgiving love as Redeemer. Christ’s death and resurrection avails for you. And before you were born, He set you apart. That’s what “holy” means, set apart for God’s purposes. Baptized in the triune God, you have been set apart. He has called you in a sense as prophet, as one who “speaks forth” His Word in daily life, and yes, as proclaimer to the nations with a “making disciples of all nations” (see Matthew 28:19) scope. What a call, indeed!

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"Jeremiah’s Call: The Word of the Lord"

The Word of the LORD came to me, saying …. Jeremiah 1:4
   

What is God calling you to do with your life? How can you best serve Him? How do you know whether you are responding to your own desires or to His purposes for your life? These questions challenge every Christian. In the next several devotions we will examine Jeremiah’s call into prophetic ministry. While he as an Old Testament prophet received God’s call directly from Him, and New Testament ministers of the Word receive their call through the church, we will seek guidance in Jeremiah for every Christian’s calling.

Living in a definite historical setting, “the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah, son of Amon king of Judah” (Jeremiah 1:2), “Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth” (Jeremiah 1:1), received a definite call from God. Not Jeremiah’s personal whims, not a carefully worked out vocational plan with the help of guidance counselors, not a radical vision of his own making, but the clear, simple, direct Word of the Lord. That Word, as we shall see in subsequent devotions, provided both the direction and the power to answer God’s call. Ultimately, "The Word [of the Lord] became flesh and made His dwelling among us...full of grace and truth" (John 1:14), namely, Jesus the crucified and risen Savior.

In our specific historical situation, with our own personal background, we turn not to our own whims, or to a carefully contrived plan for reaching the top of the corporate ladder, or to frenetic visions for overcoming mid-life crisis. We simply seek the Word of the Lord speaking to our heart. In that Word, received corporately among God’s people and individually in our solitude, we find both direction for daily service and power flowing from the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word-Made-Flesh. Yes, Jeremiah’s call and ours begin with the Word of the Lord.

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"A Key to Miracles: Accepting His Authority"

The centurion replied …”But just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority.” Matthew 8:8-9
   

A Roman centurion comes to Jesus at Capernaum on behalf of his servant who suffers paralysis at home. Jesus offers to go with him and heal his servant. The centurion has demonstrated a genuine compassion. He cares but realizes that he needs outside help, from Jesus.

Now comes the remarkable part of the story. The centurion tells Jesus that he is not worthy to have Jesus come under his roof and adds, “But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” He explains that he is under authority and has soldiers under him to whom he can issue orders. In effect the centurion is saying, “I believe that You, Jesus, have authority to speak the word and heal my servant. I accept Your authority.” He then obeys by accepting Jesus’ word and returning home to a healed servant.

How often we challenge Jesus’ authority like the scribes and Pharisees. We value our own authority over others but question our obedience to Him. Consequently, we also doubt His Word. Then we wonder why we seem to be ineffective Christians.

The key to miracles – accepting His authority. Jesus Christ accepted the Father’s authority and lived as a servant. He exercised that authority by reaching out to others. He preached with authority, cast out demons, stilled the storm, and defeated Satan on the cross by His humble obedience.

Jesus likewise healed us, His servants, by paying for our sins, and now He empowers us to trust and obey Him. We accept His authority in Word and sacrament. We help those under our care. We live effective Christian lives as instruments of God’s miraculous power. We accept both His timing and His authority as we tell the world about Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord!

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"A Key to Miracles: Accepting His Timing"

“Dear woman, why do you involve Me?” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you.” John 2:4-5
   

Jesus changes water to wine at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Notice how Mary accepts His timing. First, she recognizes and admits a need. The wine supply is short. Jewish wedding celebrations lasted for a week, and hospitality dictated an abundance of wine. Mary admits the need for more wine and feels inadequate to handle the problem. Though we claim self-sufficiency in our public and private lives, we come to the point where we must recognize and admit our need for help.

Then Mary brings her need to Jesus. She trusts Him to help her. She simply says, “They have no more wine” (John 2:3). We need to bring all of our needs and problems to Jesus, the One who died for our sins and asks us to come to Him. Personal, church, and vocational needs all can be handled by the Forgiver and Healer.

But Jesus seemingly rebukes Mary by saying, “My time has not yet come.” He wants her to learn to accept His timing. He is saying, “Let Me handle your problems My way and at My time.” His action in this instance relates to His whole mission on earth, ultimately to His greatest hour, being glorified on the cross. Led by the Spirit, Mary humbly instructs the servants to do whatever He tells them. She accepts His timing in faith.

We hear the same words from Jesus, “My time has not yet come.” He wants us to participate in His plan of salvation and uphold His cross as we humbly trust Him to meet our needs. By faith we accept His timing.

And Jesus changed water into wine in a magnificent way, giving glory to God. We, too, witness God at work in a miraculous way in our lives as He brings many to faith and uses us to point others to His redeeming love.

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"Living on the Growing Edge"

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. Luke 2:52
   

Although we know little about Jesus’ childhood, we do have the story of His visit to the temple at the age of 12. Luke tells us at the end of that story: “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”

On the trip to Jerusalem He no doubt grew in many ways. He heard more of the Word of God, which He had been studying. He learned to relate to adults on the pilgrimage and then teachers in the temple. He was challenged to question the teachers and to speak the Word as well. He was being prepared for His public ministry of salvation for the world. If Jesus grew in his relationships to His Father, Himself, others, and His world, should we not also be growing every day?

Bruce Larson in his book “Living on the Growing Edge” describes a favorite teacher who year after year produces classes of children who are motivated to achieve and develop their potential. Her secret: She tries to meet them on their “growing edge,” where they are ready and able to learn – not too challenging and therefore discouraging and not too repetitive and therefore boring.

Are you living on your growing edge? What is God teaching you right now? Are you growing “in wisdom … and in favor with God and men”? Do you find yourself in a boring rut? Or are you frustrated with too great a challenge?

God knows your needs and has a plan for your growth. His Son lived on the growing edge in daily ministry and on His way to the cross, where He won the victory over Satan. God has made you His own dear child through faith in Christ. You have eternal security. Therefore He frees you to live on the growing edge of service and witness.

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"Life in a Mini-World"

He [God] chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things. 1 Corinthians 1:28.
   

To many Americans bigger is better – skyscrapers, domed stadiums, multinational corporations. But in reality we live in a mini-world. Much of our recent progress traces to the microscope, the transistor, the atom, and the computer chip. Small automobiles, radios, and calculators count for real value in today’s world.

As Paul suggests in Corinthians, God has not worked through the wisdom and power of the world but through lowly and despised things. Jesus Christ was born in a lowly manger in Bethlehem, a small town in a subjugated nation. He lived only 33 years. While He walked the dusty roads of Palestine, the Roman legions were marching proudly and successfully through the world. But that one man, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, pursued a mission that would turn the world upside down. He came to give His life on a despised cross. His death brought forgiveness of sins as a gift to the world. By historical accounts at the time, His death was a mini-happening. The big news events occurred in Rome. But Christ’s death cost God the precious blood of His Son. And it brought about a new breed of people called Christians, dedicated to glorify God and serve others. Though initially not wealthy or influential, they changed the course of history.

You may view your Christian life as a mini-event, but the example of your life and the testimony of your lips will influence the world. Drawing on the Savior’s sacrifice for you and feeding regularly on His Word, you can live boldly for Him in a huge world. God’s Son can take your mini-life and use it to help write the story of His salvation large across the world.

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"Aging: Purpose of Long Life"

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come. Psalm 71:18
   

All too often society looks at the aging as a special group in need of help. What programs need to be provided for the aging so that they will be able to survive this difficult period?

Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone of us bears responsibility for growing old with real purpose in life. The psalmist suggests a profound purpose for living: to declare God’s power to the next generation. That’s what aged Jacob did when he gathered his 12 sons together for a final blessing before he died. He reminded them of God’s promise to Abraham by asking to be buried with his fathers in Canaan.

How exciting to picture the elderly reaching out in service to one another and telling the following generations about the power of God! Simeon and Anna, waiting for the Messiah, rejoice at Jesus’ birth. John, the beloved disciple, in his later years provides the comforting vision of God’s kingdom in the Book of Revelation. Veteran pastors help younger colleagues face the demands of pastoral ministry. Elder statesmen continue to provide leadership for our country. White-haired men and women take their grandchildren by the hand and show them love and guidance. Older women teach young women the almost-lost art of quilting. Retired businessmen offer advice to young people starting small businesses.

Through all of these examples runs a common thread. The aging live with a purpose – declaring the love of God to younger people by word and deed. When we become self-absorbed and self-pitying, He shows us our sin and points us to the self-giving sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Forgiven, we look beyond ourselves to others who need forgiveness and love. We declare God’s power until He takes us to continue praising Him before the heavenly throne.

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"Aging: Promises of God’s Presence"

“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you.” Isaiah 46:4
   

In America increased longevity is a fact. Problems abound for the aging population. But God promises His presence. Through the prophet Isaiah, God speaks the words of our text to the faithful remnant of the house of Judah. God’s people were forced into exile in Babylon. Seventy years would elapse before they could return to Jerusalem. Many would grow old and die in a foreign land, separated from the temple of God. How discouraged they must have felt! Enormous problems. Yet God promises His presence. He says, “I am He.” Words similar to those He spoke to Moses at the burning bush, identifying Himself as Yahweh. I am He who will sustain you.” He will give them the staying power to make it through difficult times. He promises to carry them when they falter and can no longer walk on their own. He will rescue them with His salvation.

Whatever your problems, God is present with you also. You may be concerned about money, with a meager fixed income and the uncertainty about future medical expenses or the possible need for a nursing home. You may be experiencing failing health and wondering how long you can care for yourself. You may have lost your spouse and struggle with loneliness. You may sense that you are becoming more forgetful and fear increasing senility. Whatever your concerns, listen to God’s own promises. “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you” (Isaiah 46:4). The “I am” God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He carried our burdens, problems, and sins on His own shoulders as He went to the cross. He promised “Surely I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). He sustains you and rescues you in the hour of trial and will carry you home to heaven.

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"Aging: Problems of Growing Old"

Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them.” Ecclesiastes 12:1
   

America is aging. Many glowing words can be spoken about retirement, travel, leisure time, and enjoying the fruits of our labor. The fact remains, however, that old age brings many problems as the body deteriorates. Who has not felt the pain of a loved one suffering physical or mental torment as the result of the aging process?

The writer of Ecclesiastes describes the inevitable process of aging in a grim, poetic fashion, demonstrating that everything is vanity. He labels old age as “the days of trouble.” He writes, “When the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men stoop [formerly muscular arms now weak and trembling, strong legs now stooped and gnarled], when the grinders cease because they are few [loss of teeth], and those looking through the windows grow dim [eyesight failing]; when the doors to the street are closed and the sound of grinding fades [loss of hearing]; when men rise up at the sound of birds, but all their songs grow faint [inability to sleep and poor hearing]; when men are afraid of heights and of dangers in the streets … Then man goes to his eternal home and mourners go about the streets” (Ecclesiastes 12:3-5). Pessimistic, but also realistic. We can make use of medicine, diet, and exercise, and wear eyeglasses and hearing aids, but we cannot stop the onslaught of aging.

Our problems remind us of our need for God. He wants us to trust Him for each day’s problems. He has saved us by the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. We can remember our Creator, not only in the days of our youth but also as we grow older. And we know that the deterioration and decay of our bodies will be followed by the resurrection to eternal life, where “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

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"Aging: Prospects for Long Life"

“With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.” Psalm 91:16
   

America is growing older. As the postwar baby boomers age, the population is steadily turning gray. Because of public health and medical advances, people live longer. Our society is changing as a result. Work, leisure, housing, finance, advertising, health, education, and religion – all are experiencing the impact of the aging of America.

According to God’s Word, what are the prospects for long life? The Scriptures seems to link long life with a vital relationship to God. The psalmist says of the God-fearing person: “With long life will I satisfy him and show Him my salvation.” Of the righteous the psalmist says: “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (Psalm 92:14). According to Proverbs 10:27, “The fear of the LORD adds length to life.” God seems to promise long life to those who trust in Him. That long life includes both quantity and quality. “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life” (Proverbs 16:31). Only God makes joyful long life possible.

How do you face the aging process? Do you anticipate problems in your old age? Or do you picture long years of high-quality life? Only God knows your future. He alone can grant the prosperity of long life and joyful years. He sent His Son to die for you so that you might live for Him now and with Him eternally in heaven. He invites you to call upon His name and rest in His shadow. He promises you long life and salvation.