Phil Erickson |

Aug 26th Unconditional Love

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 46 – 48 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Romans 13 – 16; Psalms 126 – 130; Proverbs 26)

Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 89:1

“Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.” (Jeremiah 46 – 48)

The Book of Jeremiah is book of judgment: most of it dealing with the coming captivity for the people of Judah in the land of Babylon. However, these three chapters that we have read to day deal with the judgment that God had prepared for three nations: Egypt, the land of the Philistines, and Moab. All three of these nations have had a bad history with God’s people Israel. For most of history these nations have been bitter enemies of the people of God. God would not spare these nations when he judged them: they would not receive the mercy that Judah would receive. Notice in the above verse that God says regarding His people that He would correct them “in measure”, but he would not make a full end.

I thank God that He loves me unconditionally and that, even though there are times when He needs to correct me and chasten me, He never stops loving me. We know that there is a principle throughout the Bible of reaping and sowing; but I know that God has not caused me to reap in judgment to the same degree what I sowed in disobedience. On the other hand, I have reaped far more blessing than I deserve. God has been very good to me: He loves me, and I am not very lovable most of the time. I am His child: I came in through the door, Jesus Christ; and God will never kick me out of the house. It’s mind boggling; but I am not complaining. People who do not know God misunderstand this unconditional love: they claim that it sounds like a license to sin. However, his unconditional love for me has constrained me, and His grace has taught me to deny ungodliness. When I think about His love, I want to sin less and serve more.

I thank God for His correction; but even more, I thank God that no matter how bad I get, He never stops loving me!

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Aug 24th Refrigerate After Opening – The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl

Good morning! Have you ever seen the warning on a jar of food, warning you to “Refrigerate After Opening”? You would think that with all the preservatives used in processed food today, they would last forever. Preservatives like Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Nitrite, and Butylated Hydroxyanisole.

Yummy! (As a rule of thumb: if you can’t pronounce it, you probably shouldn’t eat it).

Refrigeration is a good way to preserve food. Although, when that big storm blew through and knocked out power for a week, I was told that my house smelled like Armageddon. And when we got home, we found it did! All the food in the refrigerator needed to be thrown out. I guess some of these man-made preservatives did not work too well under extreme conditions.

There is only one perfect preservative. He is the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

If you could lose your salvation, it would not be a perfect salvation, it would not be God’s salvation. It would be a salvation based on what I do, and not on what Christ did. Look at what King David wrote, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” (Psalm 121).

Jesus even told us, “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40).

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” And, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (John 3:16-18 and Romans 10:13).

What kind of preservative do you have?

Peace. (John 19:27-30)

Posted in Devotions by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.

Aug 24th The Truth Sometimes Hurts

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 37 – 40 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Romans 5 – 8; Psalms 116 – 120; Proverbs 24)

Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 61:1 – 3

“Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” – (Jeremiah 37:17)

Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.” – (Jeremiah 38:4)

How would you like to have the job that God gave to Jeremiah? He was sent to warn the people of Judah about the imminent invasion from the King of Babylon. He told them that they needed to submit themselves to Nebuchadnezzar because this judgment was of God. He pleaded with King Zedekia of Judah, and told him that if he would submit to Babylon that it would go well with him and his family and Jerusalem would not have to be destroyed; but he would not listen. So what did Zedekiah and the princes of Judah do? Did they say, “Thank you Jeremiah for loving us enough to tell us the Truth from God?” No, they threw him in prison: a place so filthy that he sunk in the mire.

The day that we live in is not much different. For the most part, people are not interested in the truth. They want preachers who will tell them what they want to hear. The televisions and radios are filled with these messengers who itch the ears. They are hirelings, not true preachers of the Truth. Now, to be honest, there aren’t too many preachers in America being thrown in a miry prison today for their preaching; but I believe that there are many that would like to put us there. It can get very discouraging sometimes, but we must remember that our reward comes not from those that we speak to, but from Whom we speak for. Remember, history bares witness that Jeremiah was right. Men wouldn’t acknowledge it right away, but God rewarded Jeremiah with his freedom and his home, not to mention the crowns that he received in eternity. What happened to the guys that threw him in prison? They were all slain, except for King Zedekiah; but he had his eyes plucked out just after he saw his sons slain.

Preachers, keep preaching to us the Truth. As painful as it may be at times, we need you to tell us what we are not willing to admit to ourselves. It may seem like the people don’t care, but many of them are listening; some might even be listening secretly like Zedekiah was. Keep on delivering the Truth. The Word will not return void.

People, cheer on the man of God as he delivers the Word of God. He loves you and is trying to help you and your family to have the very best from God. Your question on your heart everyday ought to be “is there any word from the Lord?” When you read your Bible and when you go to church, you ought to be hungering for the Word and words of God.

Posted in Thoughts from Jeremiah by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.

Aug 23rd Call Unto Me

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 33 – 36 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Romans 1 – 4; Psalms 111 – 115; Proverbs 23)

Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 55:17

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3)

There are so many wonderful truths in the passages that we have read today that I had a hard time deciding which one to write about. For instance, while reading chapter 35, my attention was drawn to the account of the Rechabites, who were faithful servants to the their father, Jonadab, and also to the Lord. It would benefit you greatly to do a little study on this family. (See previous post, “Who Are the Rechabites?” ) I was also interested in chapter 36, where Jehudi, a servant of the king of Judah, actually took a knife and cut out the Word of God and burned it in the fire. There is a lot that we could say about that, and many parallels can be made to what the world and some Christians are doing to the Word of God.

I finally elected, however, to write about Jeremiah 33:3. This verse is certainly one of the more familiar verses in the Bible, which has provided much encouragement and comfort to the people of God for millennia. In it’s immediate context this verse is written to the people of Judah through the prophet Jeremiah. The city of Jerusalem and the entire land of Judah was being devastated by the armies of Babylon; but God showed them from this passage that there was yet hope, and that He would restore the land to her former glory. In verse 15, there is a wonderful prophecy concerning the “Branch”, who is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, who would come and set up a righteous kingdom.

In a broader application of this passage, all Christians can be encouraged by this wonderful truth. God wants His children to call upon Him; and He will answer us. This is one of the many wonderful prayer promises in the Bible. I have listed some other prayer promises below. It is a glorious thought to realize that we have a God that wants us to have an intimate relationship with Him. He loves us and He desires to bless us, and show us some things; just as an earthly father desires to show things to a child that he loves. What a wonderful God we serve.

Do you have a burden today? Call unto God. Are you in need of direction? Call unto God. God wants to encourage us and direct us as we serve Him.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” – (Matthew 7:7-8)

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” – (John 15:7)

“Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” – (Mark 11:24)

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” – (Philippians 4:6)

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” – (1 John 5:14-15)

Posted in Thoughts from Jeremiah by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.

Aug 22nd Investing for the Future

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 30 – 32 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 25 – 28; Psalms 106 – 110; Proverbs 22)

Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 51

“So Hanameel mine uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.” – (Jeremiah 32:8)

“Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:” – (Jeremiah 32:37)

In chapter 32 of the Book of Jeremiah there is a very interesting story. Jeremiah the prophet is in jail; the nation of Israel is in a complete mess; the Babylonians have already taken a good number of the citizens of Israel into captivity; and the final invasion by Nebuchadnezzar into the land is imminent. You would not think that this would be a good time to be purchasing real estate in the land of Israel. However, God had told Jeremiah, who in turn told the people, that though things were going to be horrible for a number of years, God was going to give the people of Israel their land back; and He was going to prosper them once again. Of course, this is one of those dual purpose prophecies: it was fulfilled back in this Old Testament period, but it will ultimately be fulfilled when Christ returns.

The bottom line is that Jeremiah had enough faith in the Word of God to invest his money in a piece of land that was at that time worthless. He knew that God would do what He said that he would do, and that someday the property would be very valuable. I don’t know how much land is worth in Israel today; but I know this: someday it will be priceless because Christ will make Israel the capital of His World government. I am putting my money on Israel, and on God. He will do what He says He will do. You can bank on it.

We also need to be investing more into eternity. The Bible is clear that the investments that we make into the Lord’s work here on earth will yield a great deal of interest someday in eternity; not to mention the temporal blessings that also come while we are still here. We need to believe the Word of God as Jeremiah did in this passage, and God says that our investments in Him are very secure. We really cannot depend on the fact that our earthly retirement accounts, or social security, will be there for us in the future; but we can trust that God will always be there to take care of our every need.

Posted in Thoughts from Jeremiah by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.

Aug 21st Just for Ladies – by Camille Stahl

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 26 – 29 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 22 – 24; Psalms 101 – 105; Proverbs 21)

Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 48:1 & 2

Read “Count Your Encouragement” by Pastor Paul Chappell

The Study of Women in the Bible

Delilah, The Woman Who Deliberately Betrayed Her Man

“And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver. And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound to afflict thee. And Samson said unto her, If they bind me with seven green withs that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven green withs which had not been dried, and she bound him with them. Now there were men lying in wait, abiding with her in the chamber. And she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the withs, as a thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the fire. So his strength was not known. And Delilah said unto Samson, Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If they bind me fast with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man. Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And there were liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a thread. And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the seven locks of my head with the web. And she fastened it with the pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web. And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven. Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice: for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our enemy into our hand. And when the people saw him, they praised their god: for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars. And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines were there; and there were upon the roof about three thousand men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other with his left. And Samson said, Let me die with the Philistines. And he bowed himself with all his might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that were therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were more than they which he slew in his life.” (Judges 16:4-30)

Delilah grew up a Philistine who’s culture worshiped idols. She had little respect for her body and threw away her honor. What made her so deceitful? Could it have been the money they offered her? Samson was physically strong, but morally weak. He became involved with Delilah but was not married to her. Together they spelled disaster. Samson’s future, a man of God, now lies in the hand of Delilah, a worshiper of Dagon.

Delilah took her first deceitful strike with flattery. I can hear her saying, where do you get your strength from because your sooooo strong.

“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him. He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;” (Proverbs 7:21-22)

Next she plays the victim . Now sulking like a little girl she says, you lied to me and your making fun at me. Samson was like putty in Delilah’s hands. She was with him long enough that she knew how to push his buttons. Again Samson lied to Delilah. Now she had to use her final weapon to trap Samson.

The feelings of hurt love. For days she sulked and whined and nagged. How can you say you love me when you mocked my three times. You don’t really love me. Finally frustrated, Samson could no longer take it. He gave in. Delilah won. She got what she wanted.

“For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword. Her feet go down to death; …” (Proverbs 5:3-5)

Talk about death, later we find Samson blind between two pillars. He brought down the pagan temple and everyone in it. We don’t know if Delilah was there, but maybe she wanted to take part in insulting Samson.

Looking at Delilah’s life, what can we learn? How not to act:

First be very careful in our conversation with men. The only man a women should flirt with is her husband. Regardless if we ladies or the men are married, be careful in not sounding flirty because we never know what the other is thinking. There are many verses in the Bible that warns men about woman’s lips.

Next is playing the victim. “Well if you didn’t … then I could have…” or “It’s not my fault, you didn’t ….. it’s your fault not mine.” “ You never let me have any money…” It sounds familiar to me, how about you? We know exactly how to push our man’s buttons. We want our own way and sulk until we get it, but to what end? What does your man have to do to keep you happy. We laugh when we say “That cost an arm and a leg” but to Samson, it was his eyes.

Last is nagging. If there is one thing that gets under my skin, it’s a nagging wife.

“A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.” (Proverbs 27:15)

As a young girl I watched as a wife nagged her husband. I saw her put him down time after time. Because of his love for her, he tried to keep her happy by granting her every wish. Where were the kind words? Would she have liked it if he nagged her the same way? How many buttons would it take before he exploded and then granted her wish? How about you? How about me?

“It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.” (Proverbs 21:9)

What will be the end? What kind of death will it come to? God’s Word commands a faithful husband and wife relationship. Any dealings outside of marriage leads to heartbreak. Romance is not a game, but a lifelong commitment. Yours may not come quickly and you may not die, but pain will come when you don’t live God’s way. Ask Delilah if you can find her under the rubble!

Thank You

1 John 5:13

Posted in Just for Ladies by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.

Aug 20th Handle With Care

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 23 – 25 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 19 – 21; Psalms 96 – 100; Proverbs 20)

Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 47:1

“Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.” – (Jeremiah 23:1-2)

“The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.” – (Jeremiah 23:28-32)

Jeremiah 23 is a strong rebuke against the false prophets of Jeremiah’s day that claimed to be speaking on behalf of God, but were really just telling the people what they want they wanted them to hear. I do not believe that we would be doing injustice to the Scripture by making application to the many people in our world today who claim to be preaching and teaching the Word of God. This passage delivers a scathing warning for those who mishandle the Bible. In this text I have noticed three common errors that are made today by people who claim to be representing the Lord:

1 Lying – We lie to the people when we don’t tell them exactly what God said, or when we insert our philosophies and opinions. God’s word is very clear. He has very specific instructions regarding how we are to conduct ourselves on this earth. Yet, preachers will often misrepresent God by not declaring plainly and interpreting literally what God said. I wish every Christian knew the Bible intimately themselves, but unfortunately that is not the case. Many of the people that come to us for help are trusting us to tell them them what God would tell them. We have no right to just tell them what we think. Who cares what we think? What really matters is what God said!

2 Leaving Out – By this I mean that we neglect so many of the important truths of the Word. We do not declare the whole counsel of God. We conveniently select passages that promote our agenda, and we take verses out of their context. God expects us to preach and teach the whole Bible, not just the parts that will make us look good in front of the people. We are “itching” people’s ears today by ignoring the passages that deal with their sin.

3 Lightness – Notice verse 31. God mentions the prophets’ lightness. The preachers did not take their jobs seriously. It is an awesome responsibility to be God’s representative. We are to faithfully deliver and explain the Tuth of the Word of God. The people need Truth, not entertainment. We have become comedians, and story tellers, and entertainers; but our “lightness” has caused an entire generation to fall away from God. We need to get back to the sober business of declaring the Truth. When I think back to the prophets of the Old Testament, I see men that were grave, serious, bold, determined, and fearful of the God the represented. We need to get back to that in our teaching and preaching today.

God wants His Word handled very carefully. God magnifies His word even above His name, and His name is above all other names. God’s Word is important. We need to be very careful that we are delivering it clearly, and entirely to the people of God.

Oh, and by the way, according to vs. 1 & 2, God’s flock needs to be handled with care as well. Woe to the pastor that takes advantage of one of God’s children.

Posted in Thoughts from Jeremiah by Phil Erickson with no comments yet.

Aug 19th A Burning Fire

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 18 – 22 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text)

(Second Milers also read – Acts 16 – 18; Psalms 91 – 95; Proverbs 19)

Scripture Memory for July – John 3:1 – 21

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – Psalm 34:6

Read “Seven Ways to See Change in Your Life Now” by Pastor Chappell

Read a previous post from this passage – “The Potter’s House”

“For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” (Jeremiah 20:8 & 9)

In chapter 20 of today’s passage we read about Jeremiah being put in jail for preaching exactly what God had told him to preach. Jeremiah was not a popular guy. He was the voice of God at a time when the entire nation of Judah had slipped back into idolatry and immorality, and was content to stay there. As he continued to preach the message of imminent judgment due to the people’s lack of repentance, he became the enemy of all the people. They all thought he was crazy, perhaps a little “over the top”; too zealous, a radical. One thing is for sure, they were certainly not receiving the message. Jeremiah got sick and tired of preaching this message to deaf ears. After all, he was just as human as I am. I’m sure, every once in a while, he wanted to hear, “that was a good message, preacher”; or “that truth you preached from the Word of God really turned my life around”. He never heard those things. He was mocked and persecuted throughout his ministry, yet he was doing exactly what God had wanted him to do. So, what does he do? He quits. Wouldn’t you? I would not have lasted nearly as long as Jeremiah did. I like to have my ego stroked now and again.

However, Jeremiah could not stay. He could not refrain from preaching. Why? Because God’s Word was in his heart like a burning fire. Eventually the fire inside of him became too hot to keep inside of him and he had to let it out.

As a preacher, there are many times that I want to quit. Trials and tests come along; and, at times, it seems as if nothing is going the way it should go. There are also the critics, who feel it is their purpose in life to point out every flaw in my ministry, every mistake that I make. I begin to remember what life was like as a layman, and sometimes I desire to go back to those days. However, though I often struggle with the idea of quitting, I know that God’s Word is inside of me; and it must come out. As miserable as it may be at times inside the will of God, I know that trying to refrain from preaching and teaching the Word of God would make me more miserable.

I remember when God first called me into the ministry. He made it crystal clear to me that he wanted me to go away to school for training. I didn’t go right away. I decided that I would just stay there in South Toms River with Pastor Rick, work for my dad’s candy company, and serve there as a “lay” youth director for the rest of my life. All that would have been easier. I wouldn’t have to leave a very lucrative income; I wouldn’t have to sell my house; I wouldn’t have to leave my church; and I would not have to move my family, find a new job and go back to college. However, that was not God’s will for my life. I kind of drifted along out of the will of God for a while; but the more I drifted, the more miserable I became. God’s Word, and His will was in me; and it needed to come out. I finally surrendered to obey God’s will; and relief came.

What has God put inside of you to do for Him? You will never have peace until you surrender your will to His. By the way, the picture up top is of Bob Hamblen. He underwent major heart surgery a couple of years ago. The doctors don’t really want him to preach anymore; but he can’t stop. The Word is burning inside of him, and it must come out.

Posted in Thoughts from Jeremiah by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.