- Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Jeremiah 2:11 – If anyone was wondering why the Lord was coming down so hard on His people at this time, Jeremiah made that reason clear within this chapter. Israel had completely walked away from God. While God had provided them with the living waters of His blessings, they turned from all that to chase after idols and their own sinful passions. When those things crumbled, they just chased after more false gods and more ways of depravity rather than whole-heartedly returning to Him. In our verse the Lord challenges His people to look at the nations around them and see if they were running away from their gods. These nations, though following gods that weren’t even gods, were more faithful than Israel was to the Lord. For these nations refused to turn away from their gods. Yet Israel, who had the Lord of all in their story, abandoned Him to chase after rocks and trees to worship what could offer them nothing. As we look at the world can we say the non-believers around us are more faithful to their ‘gods’ than we are to the Lord? Maybe it’s the label of what the view as their sexuality is the ‘god’ in their life. Maybe their ‘god’ is their job, or some celebrity, or some relationship they have. Are the ways they are devoted to such things more committed than we are to the Lord as believers? Are we distracted, and chasing after pointless things in life, when the ungodly world around us is showing more faithfulness to their gods? Let this never be so. However devoted the sinner is to their sin, let’s outshine that devotion with our devotion to Jesus. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3231
- Thus says the Lord: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? Jeremiah 2:5 – What you pursue you become. As we pursue Christ we see scripture saying that God continues to shape us more into His image and more into the likeness of Jesus. Yet as we see in our passage today when we pursue worthless things we too become like that. Sin has a way of destroying our image so God is directing us to pursue something worth pursuing. Today then what are you pursuing? How you answer that shows you what you are becoming like in life? Is your answer then something you’re fine with becoming like? I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 921
- Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord God. Jeremiah 2:22 – Jeremiah isn’t holding back in his message to God’s people concerning their sin. In verse 22 we see him highlight the uselessness of their means of cleansing their own sin. They may seek to use soap and lye, they may follow many of the laws even, but if they are not humbling themselves before the Lord and seeking Him to be what cleanses them, they will forever be stained. No amount of soap will clean our sin from our story. We may appear perfectly clean to others, but God still sees the stain of sin. We may cover up our sin with grand gestures of holiness like serving at church, going on mission trips, leading worship, or even preaching on Sunday. And the appearance given is extreme holiness, but God still sees the sin that hasn’t been cleaned by Him even through the gestures. And He is not honored by gestures of holiness done by His people if they are not seeking holiness through Him. If then there is a sin in your story that has not been given to Jesus yet, do so today. Before you seek to serve even tomorrow at your church, if you haven’t given this over to God then you shouldn’t be serving. Humble yourself, let God be the one to clean you, and then serve Him like He has called you to. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2134
Daily DEVO 