Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge. 1 Timothy 6:20.

As for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7.

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 overriding message in our chapter, Jeremiah 10, is that we worship a living God when we worship Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. Why do we worship idols? Because we can’t see the living God who creates Life. This is what the Lord says, “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified by them. For the practices of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good.” v. 1-5. Think of the contrast…“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’” v. 11. Jeremiah continues with what should be worshipped with awe and respect…But God made the earth by His power; He founded the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding. When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from His storehouses. Everyone is senseless without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them…Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps. Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure – not in Your anger, or You will reduce me to nothing. Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, on the peoples who do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland. v. 12-14, 23-25. And the amazing thing is…The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered. v. 21. Why are they senseless? Why are they not true shepherds? Because they have turned from our living God to idol worship. Why do we turn to what is not God? So we can control. Do you worship the living God or do you worship what you have fashioned God to be for you? That’s a question we each must ask.

We can’t fashion God to be what we feel comfortable with based on traditions passed down, nor on what enables us to ignore Him altogether. God is the living God and Creator and sustainer of all life. Life that is vibrant and alive. He doesn’t do what we expect. We may read Scripture such as our chapter and reason God was for an ancient time and couldn’t possibly understand modern life. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and for all eternity. I can see the past and today. God sees tomorrow and into eternity. Who is this God? I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep and My sheep know Me – just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father – and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life – only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father. John 10:14-18. Do you know the Son? Do you know the Father? Do you want the Holy Spirit to guide you so you will understand the enormity of who God is? He’s here. Always. As He moves in your life you will begin to understand the depth and height and width of the love of our living God for us. No substitution will do! You will want more of Him guiding you faithfully. And following His voice, you will never be the same!