Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Psalm 123:3.

The Sovereign Lord comes with power, and His arm rules for Him. See, His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him. Isaiah 40:10.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5.

I love our new chapter, Jeremiah 1. Jeremiah had a special task assigned to Him by Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. He was God’s spokesman to Judah and he was rejected and scorned. And – He was faithful to God’s calling to him. Imagine God telling you what to say to a people who have rejected God. You know He is real because He is talking with you and He is helping you. And the people are so steeped in their own way, they can’t hear anything but their own thoughts leading them to the destruction God is warning them will be the result. The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. v. 1-3. Jeremiah ministered under Judah’s last five kings, from 627-586 B.C. Imagine what that must have been like. The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “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.” “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put My words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.” v. 4-10. When will we realize how similar our times are to the times of past generations? How would you feel if you were Jeremiah and God spoke to you appointing you a prophet to the nations, knowing how bad they are? And then…The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied. The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that My word is fulfilled.” v. 11-12. In the notes below it said that the Hebrew word for watching sounds like the Hebrew word for almond tree. The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?” “I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.” The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord. “Their kings will come and set up their thrones in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; they will come against all her surrounding walls and against all the towns of Judah. I will pronounce My judgments on My people because of their wickedness in forsaking Me, in burning incense to other gods and in worshiping what their hands have made. Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land – against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. v. 13-19. Can you imagine being Jeremiah? His way was not made easy. God’s plan was too important then and is too important now. A gospel of “wealth and health” is not a gospel you find in Scripture. A gospel of good news of God’s love for us and of His wanting a relationship with us that leads us away from the destruction of the sins of this world, is in Scripture for those longing for what is true and eternal. Not our way – history, past and present, shows what our way brings. The way of God’s abiding love brings healing and hope for all nations. And how all nations need God’s love bringing hope we can only find in Him!