“23. But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. 24. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. 25. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: 26. Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers. 27. Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.”
Have you ever been rabbit hunting? Walking a fence row and jump shooting rabbits is still fun, but what really makes rabbit hunting exciting, is hunting with a good dog. You can easily walk past many rabbits without a dog or even have them run ahead of you and never know it. A dog or dogs make the difference! When the dogs go on track its like hearing the choir sing with joy and excitement in your heart. Now that’s what happens when you run good dogs, but when the dog is not so good, it causes a great deal of frustration and sometimes anger. There are some beagle’s that will run the rabbit backwards. Talk about frustration! You jump the rabbit. The dog goes on track, but after the dog gets away from you a bit he/she may lose the hot trail and begin to back track. At first you get excited because you think the rabbit is coming back to you for a shot, but then you realize the dog is on the same trail it left on. What tops it off is that the beagle is stubborn too. This can cause a great deal of anger, frustration, and even embarrassment in front of your hunting party. Have you ever stopped and thought about how God may feel when He see’s His children going backwards? Look at verse 24 again, “But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.” God has been so good to Israel. They were delivered from Egypt and given a great land to dwell in, but in their prosperity they went backwards rather than forward. What is really sad about this passage of scripture is that Jeremiah is standing in the gate of the temple warning the religious leaders of the wrath to come. Jeremiah 7:1-2 “The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at the these gates to worship the LORD.” We see this very direction in America today; God’s children and religious leaders are walking in the imagination of their evil heart. Worship is becoming nothing more than a religious gathering. How do you keep from going backwards? It must first start with the individual! A pastor once said that there are two paths in the Christian walk, either your growing or dying. What is your story? Are you growing? Have you passed out a tract today? Have you witnessed or made an effort to witness lately? How is your personal walk with the Lord in your prayer and Bible reading? How faithful are you to church? How is your faith? One thing certain is that the devil always tries to stop the work of Christ. Many Christians go through trials in life, they go through these situations they cant understand and in return they begin doubting the Word of God. Jeremiah is warning Judah that if they don’t repent and turn back to the Lord, God is going to deal with them in a very painful way. They never turned! God allowed the Babylonians to carry them away for 70 years and also burned the temple. How can you overcome the feelings, emotions, and difficulties you have been facing? How can you have a closer walk with the Lord? Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and seek God about what He wants for your life. Jesus Christ showed such and incredible love by dying on the cross for us. That is all we need! Go to that place when He changed your life, then stop, and thank God for how good He’s been to you! Is God pleased with you? What is He seeing in your heart at this very moment? Let’s do our best to move forward and not backwards! James 5:19-20 “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
Memory Verse Week 7/27/20
James 5:19-20
“Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.”
