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Expectant Prayers ®

Jennifer Jo Weiss

Lessons from the Weeping Prophet

For several weeks now, I have been studying in the book of Jeremiah.  You don't have to read very long until you notice that the very things the prophet speaks about could have come from today's headlines!

Speaking of headlines, who would have thought that we would ever see a headline that a man is suing two Bible publishers because God's Word caused him mental and emotional anguish due to his chosen "lifestyle"?   He claims words like "abomination" lead him to suffer.  Um, from where come from... that's called the conviction of the Holy Spirit!  Where do we live?  Sodom?

These are perplexing times we live in.  The increase of evil is evident. There are abominations occurring in this great nation of ours and yet it was not founded to be that way.  This nation was forged on the Bible and godly principles, but we know how many efforts are going forth to "rewrite history" (and all the while they claim WE are the ones who are altering things). 

 Paul said that our "freedom" was not to be used to cover-up sin or indulge in evil.  He also warns in Corinthians that our freedom should not become a stumbling block to the weak.

But how can we forget that God's Word is clear:  "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."  2 Corinthians 3:17
and "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free."  Galatians 5:1


If you read in Jeremiah and get to places like the 34th chapter, you see things like this:

   "Therefore, this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom for your fellow countrymen.  So I will proclaim 'freedom' for you, declares the LORD -'freedom' to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth."

I hope the annals of our nation do not end that way! 

But, back to Jeremiah....

In the days of Jeremiah, evil was all around.  The realization is very evident why this man wept;
his heart was broken over the sins of the people and how far away from God they had become.   
This was especially true with dealing with God's children.  


Jeremiah 2:11 really stuck out to me. 

King James Version:    "Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit."

New International Version:    "Has a nation ever changed its gods?  (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols."


Mark 8:36-38 says, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?  Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels."

I couldn't help but ask (in light of those verses):   What are we, the people of this United States of America, exchanging for our souls?  Have we changed our gods - which are no gods at all?  Are we giving up God's glory for idols?

Do we weep as the prophet Jeremiah did for our nation? Do we see the millions of souls that are destined for hell and anguish over the fact that they'll perish into eternal torment?   Do we cry out to God over...

-the multitudes of unborn generations being killed,
-the rise of crime,
-hatred, bitterness and malice that fills our hearts and homes,
-drug addiction,
-sexual addictions,
-home invasions,
-abuse of the innocent, 
-greed and materialism, 
-racial divisions,
-those who love themselves above all,
-sickness and disease,
-natural disasters that have taken out millions of lives and homes,
-the search for other gods and paths to God,
-humanism,
-our televisions/computers being used for sinful purposes
-occult practices,
-those who value education over godly knowledge and wisdom
-the moral decay of our country,
-the fiber of traditional families being removed,
-our religious freedoms being threatened,
-God being removed from our government, schools, and lives....

We have plenty to cry out to God about!

Do we cry out for the church because so many are "waxing cold" or in danger of "falling away"?  Do we hold up our fellow Christians so that they may also reach the prize?

Some Christians have:

-lost their love and zeal for Christ
-abandon the faith
-exchange the teachings of their youth for what "tickles their ears"
-do not care for those in need; the widow, the orphan, or otherwise
-fall subject to false teachings and ministers of of light
-seek pleasures rather than God


But, never forget...even in the darkest deep of the earth, the diamonds are there!  Like the days of Jeremiah, a few remained faithful.  We are in the days of fulfilling Biblical prophecy...

"Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."
 Matthew 7:14


We can learn so much from Jeremiah and other prophetic books.  My heart has been stirred to seek the face of the Lord even more on behalf of our 'people'.  I pray that those who have ears to hear will hear and that they will be snatched from the fire.  I pray for those of us who continue in the faith- that we will diligently heed the voice of the Lord and be found faithful when He comes.  Lord, come quickly!


For more on the history of the prophet Jeremiah, go here:

 http://www.tftw.org/courses/bcc_ots_l13.html


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