Jeremiah was told that his own people, those whom he tried to winsomely warn and call to repentance, were going to fight against him (1:17-19). His own community sought his life because of the fire in Jeremiah's bones to speak the word of the Lord (11:21; 4:19).

In the midst of greed, deception, false alliances, stubborn hearts, closed ears, stiff necks, and blatant, deliberate idolatry...

Jeremiah spoke the words that God put in his mouth

Jeremiah wept for the treachery of his people.

Jeremiah sounded the alarm and raised the standard at the temple gates and in the public square.


Jeremiah was a youth, but the Lord was with Him to deliver.

The true, living, eternal King continues to sound the alarm today.

"...That they went far from Me And walked after emptiness and became empty (Jeremiah 2:5)?"

The message of Jeremiah is not popular, but the situations and descriptions are both prevalent and relevant. I've been camped out in Jeremiah 2 for the past couple of weeks, letting the Holy Spirit soak my mind with the text. I used it this morning when I addressed Silverdale Baptist Academy's High School Chapel.

I used several examples of running after emptiness and becoming empty (both in Israel's history and today). Next week I'll be hitting 2:13 when I address them again, but I wondered if you'd help me out with the following question:

What are some good examples of running after emptiness and becoming empty?

Comment below.

I think it will help me with the broken wells illustration next week.k k

Becky has been educating me on some of the gross misconceptions and flagrant deceptions gripping the hearts and minds of most women today concerning the "right to choose" movement. She has been trained as a counselor for AAA Women's Services (you should check out their history) and working with women at the Oak Project,
I am so impressed at her desire to not only speak out about a topic, but allowing the Lord to use her in the lives of others through counseling and discipleship. Having experienced the birth of 'bella, while mourning with countless friends over either the loss of a child or their present inability to get pregnant... the sting of abortion continues to worsen, especially when considering the increase in numbers as time goes by.

As I watched the inauguration pomp, had several conversations with individuals who compare President Obama to Abraham Lincoln (I even saw an WI newspaper with Obama's picture super imposed underneath the Lincoln Memorial), consider the countless number of Americans who are currently bemoaning the economic crisis I am reminded of President Obama's words during the Saddleback Forum.

My mind goes straight to what I am studying in Jeremiah.

Apparently I'm not the only one. I read the following this evening on Challies Dot Com:

This is a guest post from John Ensor.

*****

Today I join hundreds of thousands in Washington, D.C., in the annual March for Life to publicly lament the death of 50 million preborn children and to pray for the day when abortion becomes unthinkable.

In doing so, I acknowledge the resistance, even offense, taken by many by asserting that abortion is the moral issue of our day. I am familiar with the claim that asserts equal concern for poverty, global warming, aids prevention, war, and more. All of these appear to me worth researching and debating, as iron sharpens iron, as to the various causes and possible solutions.

But abortion is not on par. I remember how and when I came to this conclusion. It was the week of February 12, 1990, as marked on the Newsweek magazine I was reading. Kim Flodin, in an article on why she did not counter-march for abortion rights, wrote, “I was pregnant, I carried two unborn children and I chose, for completely selfish reasons, to deny them life so that I could better my own” (My Turn).

There it was: a momentary lapse into honest concrete language about abortion from an advocate. No ancient Baal worshiper could have described the reasons for their child sacrifice better. I was stunned that it had to be stated so plainly for me to grasp the preeminent evil of it. It is not one issue among equal concerns. Abortion is our postmodern version of child sacrifice for the Me Generation. As such, it is an incomprehensible and unthinkable evil.

Unthinkable is the best word to describe it because that is the way God describes it. “The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah saying, … “They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination” (Jeremiah 32:35; cf. 7:31, 19:5).

Among the many ways we offend God, the greatest offense are the shedding of innocent blood and idolatry. These two come together in child sacrifice. At the outset, God taught Israel to be shocked and repulsed by its practice among other cultures. “You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods” (Deuteronomy 12:31). The word even here rings remarkably close in meaning to unthinkable or something that “did not enter into my mind.”

Some years ago, a woman named Suzanne came to me while I was setting up a pregnancy-help clinic in Boston. She said, “If I have the abortion, I will have more money to spend on my other two children.” I asked, “What do you think your children would say if they knew you were doing this so that they could have cable TV and other stuff?” She said, “Well, I’ll ask them.” Then and there I knew the baby would live. Abortion is unthinkable to children—incomprehensible, horrific, something that would never enter their minds to do. Sure enough, the children were aghast at the thought. “We want the baby,” they reassured her. Some months later, after the baby arrived, I heard her share her story. She said she was embarrassed to think back on her earlier state of mind. She had joined the circle of those who think abortion unthinkable.

Sanctity of Human Life Week is like Good Friday—a sobering time to stare unflinchingly past the ho-hum of abortion as a common practice; to grieve, lament, and morn; then to take up our cross and humbly obey God’s call to “prosper” the cause of the fatherless and “defend the rights of the needy” (Jeremiah 5:28). In this context, that means becoming cross-bearers for child-bearers.

*****

John Ensor is the Vice President of Heartbeat International and author of Answering the Call: Saving Innocent Lives, One Woman At a Time .

Quick observation, your thoughts wanted:

Why don't older men (pastors included) model Titus 2 older man to younger men relationships?

As a younger man... I want to know.

Do you remember The Christmas Story?

My Dad always called me either "Buddy" or "Ralphie," which I suppose was in honor to this classic movie. My thoughts were turned to Ralphie's brother, Randy, this morning when I heard from Walt, the Youth Pastor of East White Oak Bible Church Senior High, that another snow storm was blowing through. I'm preparing to speak at their ski retreat this weekend in Winsconsin.

You see, yesterday was a cold day in Chattanooga... it dipped down into the 20's with some pretty intense winds. If you travel up to Covenant or the Overlook, the cross winds on Lookout Mountain can be a little brutal, but it isn't as bad as other places in the US right now. Walt informed me, via facebook, this morning that it was going to dip down to -20... let that sink in for a second. This weekend, at the retreat, it is going to be about 10 degrees. Therefore, I am planning on dressing up like Randy, at all times. Whether I'm skiing or hanging out in the lodge, or taking a shower I will look like this classic picture, unable to put my arms down.

Here are some things you can pray about:

1. At first I felt like we were going to go through I John, but the Lord has directed my attention to the topic of discipleship. We're going to walk through some of the principles addressed in Being A Disciple and Counting the Cost and Dietrich Bonhoffer's Cost of Discipleship. Pray that hearts will be fertile to hear what the word of God says on this weighty, unpopular topic. Weighty because of the implications, unpopular because of the clear line in the sand that is drawn!

2. Pray for Walt! He did a similar retreat last weekend with the Middle School.... nough said.

3. Pray for travel, both mine and the youth groups.

4. Pray for the worship, both the word and in song. I hear a EWOB has a pretty sweet worship band, so I'm excited to worship with them!

5. Pray that the Holy Spirit clearly communicates His Word through every aspect of the weekend. Pray that hearts are changed--disciples made, motivated, and willing to live and die for Christ.

5. Finally, and close to my heart... pray for my family as I'm gone.

Thoughts from this past weekend:

"Welcome to the Evil Conference...I'm Evil Ritchie"
God is in control... good, bad, and ugly.
I'm messed up!
Big TEAM, little me
It feels like Friday, but Sunday is coming.
Smelly Feet.
White rap
clap-clap-clap-clap-clap
do not be overcome by evil,
overcome evil with good
...pain is God's megaphone
God is a God of the nations--Ireland, Canada, and South Africa.
"We had a lot of craic and Bible study!"
"The devil wants to suck the grease right off of you!"
Evil and suffering get p-wned.

Great weekend. I pray it is the start of something huge, as students meditate on God's sovereignty in the midst of their pain, suffering... as they consider heaven... their citizenship... and Christ's call to carry the gospel through pain. I pray that the desire and hunger for God's Word will increase and never be satiated.

I came home to huge deadlines. I was supposed to take a Greek 3 final today, after hearing some guys from my old discipleship group give their senior talk (shout out Wilky!). I was reminded, once again, about the story of Job as I listened to my friend Wilky talk about spiritual adultery and being satisfied in Christ alone--pretty amazing considering where God is taking him these days. I came home and gathered all of the books I need for another paper... and saw a familiar face--"The misery of Job and the mercy of God" by John Piper. This book of several poems on the life of Job astounds me. The pictures and photos are amazing, but the implications and weaving of the story of Job are vibrant and hard hitting. An excerpt is included below, followed by the link for the full version.

To see what Job would do, and how

He might deal with his God. At last

He rose, and took a knife, and passed

It like a razor over all

His silver head, and tore his shawl

And robe, and fell face down upon

The ground and lay there till the dawn.

The servants knelt by him in fright,

And heard him whisper through the night:

"I came with nothing from the womb,

I go with nothing to the tomb.

God gave me children freely, then

He took them to himself again.

At last I taste the bitter rod,

My wise and ever blessed God."

Light candle one, and count the cost;

And ponder everything we've lost.

And let us bow before the throne

Of God, who gives and takes his own,

And promises, whatever toll

He takes, to satisfy our soul.

Come learn the lesson of the rod:

The treasure that we have in God.

He is not poor nor much enticed

Who loses everything but Christ.

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Poems/ByDate/1386_Job_Part_1/

Jeremy Lucarelli

God has orchestrated these days.

Conviction central as I tie up the loose ends for a project in my Hermeneutics class. This week I've been delving into Luke 15:1-7, working with parables. The last part of the exegetical process is called synthesis. Basically, it is like getting your car fixed. First, the mechanic has to tear it apart, but then he has to put it back together. Here is a snip of the 12 page synthesis:

All of us have countless examples of the relevancy of James 3. The word of God speaks on the topic of the tongue throughout it's pages. Life and death is in the power of the tongue...

James was the first book I taught within a Christian school setting. Freshly out of college, ready to right the wrongs of mis-understood Christianity, I packed my bags and headed to the Windy City. I will never forget that group of senior Bible students at Gray's Lake Christian Academy. The Lord won't let me forget the contents of James. The message continues to haunt my mind and my will, as the Great Counselor continues to sow the seeds of repentance where James' message is concerned. This ground has been tilled again and again. Last year I taught James to a group of Juniors at Silverdale Baptist Academy. This past summer I walked through the book with several students from around the world. Several Sundays ago, our church began to walk through the book. We hit chapter one right when the stock market went crazy, considering it all joy no doubt.

While getting caught up on some blogs, I came across this. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a silent movie is worth an infinite number. Consider the message. Pick up James and study it inductively. Go to Proverbs and determine what God says about the tongue. It is a message I, a hot-headed Italian, am continuing to learn.

Quick question

audience participation needed (either email or respond on facebook note)

What is freedom?

Something I'm considering for a class I'm taking--Principles of the Christian Life. I've been considering the use of the law, but was asked this question in a lecture. I'm interested to know what you think.

"The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
And He delights in his way."

I won't go into the details, but the Lord is using this verse to challenge me. I am just like the children of Israel, at times, forgetting the faithfulness and nearness of my God. Psalm 37 is often quoted by those who want things--"...and He will give you the desires of your heart." Yet, as with all of Scripture, this verse must be evaluated according to the context. If you look at the first couple verses, note what situation David is noticing around him. "Fret" isn't a word that we regularly use, but the issues of anxiousness, worry and panicked uncertainty are common within our social context. In that state of panic, the eyes latch on like a leech to those who are successful in the eyes of the world. Fret then is mixed with envy and there is a deadly cocktail. David reminds himself that these things, whatever he was tempted to fret about and be envious over are temporal and short lived.

The contrast of what the son and daughter of God needs to be is evident. Instead of worry, trust. "Trust in the Lord" Instead of scheming to get what the wicked have, "do good". There is a progression of cause and effect in these verses. Trust and do good leads towards"Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." As one puts their hand to the plow and through trust begins to cultivate faithfulness (Do not grow weary in well doing comes to mind). Delight yourselves... in what, things... status... power? As you are trusting in the Lord, doing good, cultivating faithfulness where God has planted you... DELIGHT in Him who has placed you there. It is then that the Lord will give you the desires of your heart. A heart that is trusting, cultivating, and delighting in the author of delight will then see the situations around him as opportunities for further delighting God. "Commit your ways to the Lord, Trust also in Him and He will do it." All throughout this progression is trust.

David continues talking about the wicked and what will really happen to them. Yet, the Lord brought great encouragement to my heart this weekend with the verse at the top of this post. Becky and 'bella were gone this weekend to mourn the loss of Becky's aunt. I spent the weekend with friends, one in particular who was mourning the recent loss of his mom. Both are situations where one must depend on the one who holds the power of life and death in His hands. God's sovereign purposes, His divine decrees as Jonathan Edwards would call them, are pretty apparent... even when we don't feel that they are.

Children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. Wise parents train their children and include them in life, thus aiming them at the target of God's glory. When let fly, these children will build God's kingdom, bless their family, and do good in their community.

A lot of seemingly unrelated things have been swimming around in my circumstances recently. I'm on a mission to discover where the Lord is moving me vocationally. Simultaneously, as pastoral/shepherd thoughts--"Could I ever be an effective Pastor to this generation"--are being raised from the ashes, real life, vivid pictures of God's call to love people is making an imprint. Also worthwhile it is the Olympics, so constant images of heart heart and sacrifice are taken to the Christ-centered level in my aspirations. To top it all off is that ambition, the one that Paul speaks of, "...having this as our ambition: in all things to be pleasing to the Lord" and you've got a God-ordained, sovereign thought process. Finally, our family has experienced loss on several levels over the past few days, so the thought of not wasting our lives has really permeated our home. I'm not sure what that is going to look like, so pray with us.

As these thoughts have been repeating themselves through conversation and sovereign happenstance, I've been doing a lot of reading. I am taking my final on a course called "The Theology of Jonathan Edwards" tomorrow. He remains one of my heroes because of his passionate pursuit of the Godward life in the midst of unparalleled adversity. I've also been introduced to Covenant Life Church in Maryland, Sovereign Grace Music, and other ministries that are effectively returning to the gospel. Recently, I listened to this message (From Covenant Life Church). Yes, the message is impacting... but the way in which it was packaged and communicated spurred my thoughts, which will hopefully lead to appropriate action.

If you're a parent, might I suggest a recent sermon and the application questions listed below:

You can download the message or listen online here.

1. In his message, Gregg Harris reminded us that God normally works through his created order to accomplish his purposes. In other words, God uses the diligence and faithful labor of dads and moms as his tools to train, instruct and direct our children. In what ways have you neglected or delegated this vital responsibility? In what ways is the Lord calling you to change?

2. Psalm 127 refers to children as a blessing, a “heritage” and a “reward.” In your heart, do you agree with God’s assessment for the children that he has given you? If not, what thinking and heart attitudes is the Lord calling you to change?

3. Gregg Harris challenged parents to train our children to be included in our lives. He said that, “when children are not trained to be included on the household team, they…live like guests in their own homes with no clear sense of purpose.” Parents (specifically dads and single moms), what practical steps can you take to train your children to be included “on the household team”?

4. He also called parents to partner with our kids and include them in our lives. Parents (specifically dads and singles moms), in what practical ways could you enter into a partnership with your kids to include them in various aspects of your life (spiritual, vocational, recreational, hobbies, projects, etc.)?

One of the many benefits of pursuing a Master's of Divinity is the networking. I am not a networker, which I consider both a strength and a weakness. However, in the realm of all things theological I am learning the benefit of networking (I am not talking about hanging out with Chesterton or sippin one with Lewis at the Eagle and the Child in Oxford). The networking I speak of takes place anywhere there are dog-eared pages and the inevitable coffee stains on a repeatedly read page. This morning I networked with Augustine as I watched early morning sail boats drift by, after I hadn't slept a wink.

Consider what he says in Confessions:

The desire for happiness is not in myself alone or in a few friends, but is found in everybody. If we did not know this with certain knowledge, we would not want it with determination in our will. But what does this mean?

If two people are asked if they want to serve in the army, it may turn out that one of them replies that he would like to do so, while the other would not. But if they are asked whether they would like to be happy, each would at once say without the least hesitation that he would choose to be so. And the reason why one would wish to be a soldier and the other would not is only that they want to be happy. Is it then the case that one person finds joy in one way, another in a different way?

What all agree upon is that they want to be happy, just as they would concur, if asked, that they want to experience joy and would call that joy the happy life. If one person pursues it in one way, and another in a different way, yet there is one goal which all are striving to attain, namely to experience joy.

I know what the pursuit of joy is. I know the aim has largely been confused by most; yet, though I know what the pursuit of joy is... I can't affirm what Paul says in Philippians. I've heard all the arguments about the difference between joy and happiness. The cliche's abound--choose joy, joy comes in the morning, joy-Jesus, others and you. As I evaluate my walk with the Lord over the past eleven years, I'm not seeing the joy. I see the duty. I see the obligation, but I don't see the consuming pleasure of Christ motivating my steps. Augustine hints at it, as does Paul, Edwards, Lewis and here recently Piper... my not experiencing joy doesn't have to do with not wanting it.

Becky and I were up late last night discussing where the Lord has us in life right now. We have a lot of uncertainties. In all aspects of life, what does the Lord want from us? I do believe God wants us to find joy. I pray that Becky and I strive to attain that one end for which man was created, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. We've learned that one cannot bring glory to God if there is no joy. Vis-a-vis, one cannot have true joy without brining glory to God.

Full circle.
Becky and I loaded up the gas guzzler and returned to my roots for a couple of weeks. Our time in NC started off with a Precept workshop at a sattelite campus of the church where I grew up. Though I didn't see any familiar faces from when I went to church there, it was a blessing to see some of the different Precept participants throughout the NC, VA and even Maine areas. The forty participants in my class were eager to discover truth for themselves, apart of the greater endeavor of 300 people being trained in inductive study throughout the entire weekend. As we used the book of Titus to determine how to study the Bible inductively, it was both humbling and invigorating to see so many people begin or continue to mine the depths of God's Word. It was humbling simply because I am so much younger than many of the participants. It is invigorating because the Lord is the teacher as students determine to accurately handle His word. He moves them past intimidation and fear towards excitement and wonder as they discover who God is and their responsibility to both uphold the sound doctrine and live the sound doctrine.

It was also a priviledge to have in attendance both my mom, the one who forced me to start studying inductively more than a decade ago; my sister, who honed in some of her mad study skills as apart of reflection time away from the kiddos; and even my first Precept leader from back in the day when I was 16.

Last night I was humbled to speak at the second week of Precept's Boot Camp. A fresh crop of 14-18 year olds learning how to mine the depths of God's Word for themselves prepared to go home to the reality of a generation that does not love truth. In my typical fashion, the last time I spoke I barely got through my introduction. In try number 2 I felt that the Lord gave me clarity of thought, economy of time and precision in regards to the application of treasuring Christ. We looked at Luke 12, focusing on the parable of the rich fool where Jesus states that life is not about accumulating stuff. We concluded that the individuals in James 5 who were labeled as rich were definately not belivers because of both the context of James and Jesus' radical call to discipleship in Matthew 16--"If anyone wishes to come after Me He must first deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me."

So, if they are singing the repetative song of the world, "Money makes the world go round" then they aren't believers! Man! Well, what is a beliver, a James type real, genuine, faith in action believer look like? We jumped to Ephesians 5:15-17 and Colossians 3:1-5--SINCE you have ben raised with Christ... keep seeking the things above. In the life of the believer, Christ is our life according to Paul. The son or daughter of God rejects the song of the world and realizes that, "Where your treasure is there lies your heart!"

James gives encouragement to the bros in James 5 to wait patienty, endure and wait for the last days through prayer. We jumped over to 2 Timothy 3, making the connection that we are in the last days... men being lovers of pleasure and lovers of money... but we are to continue in the sacred writings--the word of God that brings one to salvation. So, if we are listening to the song of materialism that is all around us and being influenced by it, we are not intent on the things above or treasuring Christ. Finally, the treasure of Christ shines more vividly and brightly in the midst of suffering and loss, not prosperity. The following is a video that I used to get past my 39 minute introduction! (I'm not sure why there is no sound... I'll get to the bottom of it)

Tonight was interesting.