Reading from Sunday, October 10

Hey friends.

Reading for October 10
Jeremiah 14:11-16:15
How did we get to this point? When God first came to Abraham back in Genesis, there was an undeniable hope in his plan. He planned to build the nation of Israel through Abraham. He told him that his descendants would be "more numerous than the stars". Now look where we are.

⁸ I will make their widows more numerous
       than the sand of the sea.
       At midday I will bring a destroyer
       against the mothers of their young men;
       suddenly I will bring down on them
       anguish and terror.

The same kind of analogy, but now instead of talking about making a great people, God is threatening the destruction of a broken people. As hard and cold hearted as this seems, you have to feel a little sympathy for God. Think about how disappointed he must have been in this whole situation. Going from the hope he found through Abraham - even to the point where Abe was willing to off his own son just because God essentially dared him to - now to this constant anger and bitterness toward the same people.

The stories of the Old Testament have sort of unfolded into showing God's character and patience and grace deteriorate at the same rate as Israel's willingness to love him. God is relentlessly punishing and destroying the people he was so proud to call his own. And it's kinda like...well...is it possible to actually pity God? It's like watching a once great, inspirational man now chugging a Pabst and blowing his last two bucks at the racetrack.

1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13
This is a great prayer to pray for others and for yourself.

¹²May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. ¹³May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

I bet if you prayed this for yourself and for one other person, your entire day would change. I'm gonna try it tomorrow. In fact. This is the weekly challenge. Bam. 

Psalm 80:1-19
A prayer for the coming messiah:

 ¹⁷ Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
       the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
 ¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from you;
       revive us, and we will call on your name.
 ¹⁹ Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;
       make your face shine upon us,
       that we may be saved.

Proverbs 25:1-5
 ² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter;
       to search out a matter is the glory of kings.
 ³ As the heavens are high and the earth is deep,
       so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.
 ⁴ Remove the dross from the silver,
       and out comes material for ^[a] the silversmith;
 ⁵ remove the wicked from the king's presence,
       and his throne will be established through righteousness.

Hey ho. Let's go. Hey ho. Trick or treat.