Evil men and imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and…known (in) the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:13-15.

Let Your face shine on Your servant; save me in Your unfailing love. Psalm 31:16.

There is a peace that settles deep within your soul when you turn to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit. He knows the turmoil within and without pressing down and crowding in, and how unrelenting worry can be. Jesus prayed for His disciples, My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. John 17:20-21. I thought about Jesus’s words as I read our chapter, Jeremiah 11. Can you imagine living in Jeremiah’s time? He is telling them what God is telling him to tell the people. Destruction is about to reign down on them and they can’t see it. Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to My words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’” v. 9-13. And Jeremiah continues, The Lord called you a thriving olive tree with fruit beautiful in form. But with the roar of a mighty storm He will set it on fire, and its branches will be broken. v. 16. And the people of Jeremiah’s own hometown plotted to kill him to end God’s words to the people. Jeremiah may not have realized on his own when he was being led to slaughter, but Jesus had no illusions when His hometown people of Nazareth sought to end His life for speaking the truth of God. Continuing in Jeremiah…Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time He showed me what they were doing. I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree and its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” v. 18-19. Destroy the tree and its fruit…

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. John 15:1-4. Can we see throughout Scripture where those who refused to listen to God were led astray to worship other gods who could not save them or help them understand truth that is real? What gods do we listen to to our hurt? Who or what have we elevated to the status of truth? Can that truth save us? Do we even realize we need saving? When the truth of this broken world of shattered lives can no longer help you, when you see through the lie…turn to Creator God. Remember what God promised…For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of His government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over His kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:6-7. All of the governments of this broken world then and now show us a contrast. The kingdoms of men cannot save us. Israel and Judah should have been an example for all men. And like all men, they too need to worship Creator God in His truth given for us. For unto us a Son is given. Sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. John 3:16-17.