Jeremiah 37:1-38:28; 1 Timothy 6:1-21; Psalm 89:38-52; Proverbs 25:28 Buy, buy, buy! We live in a culture that is obsessed with material consumption. The broken human heart has always struggled with the continual pursuit of more and we can see that play out in the instructions of Paul to Timothy. Paul wants Timothy as a leader and follower of Christ to understand the pitfalls that money and materi...  Read More

Jeremiah 35:1-36:32; 1 Timothy 5:1-25; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 25:25-27 Two prophecies appear to be on a collision course. In Jeremiah 36:30 (see also Jeremiah 22:30) God, as an act of judgment, tells King Jehoiakim—a descendent of David—that his heirs will not follow him to the throne. His son Jehoiachin will attempt to rule, but is quickly deposed by Nebuchadnezzar. And yet 400 years before the...  Read More

Jeremiah 33:1-34:22; 1 Timothy 4:1-16; Psalm 89:1-13; Proverbs 25:23-24 God is always faithful. This is one of the bedrock principles of our faith. If God can't be trusted, then he would obviously not be worthy of our faith or our lives. Yet God has proven himself to be faithful again and again in Scripture and in our lives.David in Psalm 89 recounts the faithfulness of God four times. He knows th...  Read More

Jeremiah 31:27-32:44; 1 Timothy 3:1-16; Psalm 88:1-18; Proverbs 25:20-22 There was an older man in the church that I used to regularly meet with before he passed away and he challenged me to become a more effective leader. He would say that everyone was a leader, the only question was whether they led well or not. Consider this for yourself. As you think through the spheres of influence that God h...  Read More

Jeremiah 30:1-31:26; 1 Timothy 2:1-15; Psalm 87:1-7; Proverbs 25:18-19 It is very easy to apply the Bible at times. When we are called to not envy, steal, be quick to anger, or various other commands there is a direct, immediate, one-for-one application. Other times it is a little trickier to know how to live out what we read. 1 Timothy 2 is probably one of the places that we struggle to know how ...  Read More

Jeremiah 28:1-29:32; 1 Timothy 1:1-20; Psalm 86:1-17; Proverbs 25:17 How do we respond to a culture that seems opposed to so many things that the gospel stands for?A common stereotype of the church is that it is known far more for what it stands against than what it stands for. We are perceived as being hateful rather than representing our God of love. This struggle of knowing how to love our citi...  Read More

Jeremiah 26:1-27:22; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-18; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 25:16 It seems like more and more things come with warnings or “no duh” instructions. I am warned not to use electrical appliances in or near water, warned that my curling iron can in fact burn me, and of course there is always the “slippery when wet” sign that seems like a given. The reality is we have those warning signs becaus...  Read More

Jeremiah 23:21-25:38; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; Psalm 84:1-12; Proverbs 25:15 God told me to...I would guess most of us have interacted with someone who invoked God as a reason for what they did. They chose to move, get a new job, marry, or break up with someone because God told them to. Jeremiah and 2 Thessalonians tell us that those who claim to speak on behalf of God or are responding to somethin...  Read More

Jeremiah 19:1-21:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-28; Psalm 82:1-8; Proverbs 25:9-10 Judgment is coming. When we hear that phrase we may think of some fire and brimstone preacher in a country church, but it is actually a critical truth for us to embrace. Judgment truly is coming.Jeremiah tells Judah that judgment in the form of the Babylonian army was coming because of their sins. Their only hope was the c...  Read More

Jeremiah 22:1-23:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; Psalm 83:1-18; Proverbs 25:11-14 Praise God for air conditioning. Imagine living in Florida without it. It would be brutal. Yet the enjoyment of earthly pleasures can easily become the all-consuming pursuit of our lives. Pursuing our own personal happiness and ease is one of the highest values in our day and age. This longing for comfort is not new. Jer...  Read More

Jeremiah 16:16-18:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3; Psalm 81:1-16; Proverbs 25:6-8 God is omnipresent. He is everywhere and therefore can never be escaped from. This truth can either bring us great comfort or epic shame. Jeremiah describes Judah as thinking that their sin and idolatry could somehow be hidden from God. This is foolishness because as God proclaims, “My eyes are on all their ways; they ar...  Read More

Jeremiah 14:11-16:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13; Psalm 80:1-19; Proverbs 25:1-5Today’s readings in Jeremiah and Psalms recall a critical event in history when God proved Himself to His people and the world: the moment He delivered them from Egypt (Jeremiah 16:14; Psalm 80:8).But these passages do not just look back, they also look ahead. In Jeremiah 16:15, God tells him of a far off time when He wi...  Read More