WEEK ONE - DAY ONE - NO EXCUSES!

No excuses!  How does that set with you as a beginning statement for today's study?  As for me, it goes against everything in my human nature.  I'm the champion of excuses when it comes to not doing things that I really don't want to do.  Whether it's laundry to be folded (as in the case right now), a dishwasher to be unloaded or home office work to sit down to, I can find all kinds of excuses not to get to the things I need to be doing.  But when it comes to obeying God, I (we) must learn to put all excuses aside, listen up and do NOW what we are being directed to NOW.  I believe we (Christians of 2024) are being directed to stand up and start proclaiming the goodness of God, His faithfulness to us, and His abiding love exhibited to us through His Son, Jesus Christ.  No excuses!  Now how each of us accomplishes this is going to be different according to our giftedness, our opportunities and our personalities.  But proclaim we must!  In every day conversations, start talking about how good God has been to you in your life.  In times of trouble, exhibit the gift of His peace that passes all understanding and allow others to know that it truly is a gift from God, nothing of ourselves.  In times of celebration, praise God for His gifts to you to enjoy as He brings them, but never fail to proclaim that the greatest gift He has ever given to you is the gift of salvation brought through faith in Jesus!  

What struck you most when you read the quote from Francis Schaeffer?  For me it was "how God looks at a culture which knew Him and deliberately turned away."  When I read that it hit me how our culture within the United States, at some point within the past 50-75 years made a deliberate and calculated decision to turn away from God.  We had been a culture of Judeo-Christian values, and then we weren't.  And we certainly aren't now.  Satan attacked, and he won lots of critical battles.  And Christians didn't pay attention to God's directive to listen up and to stand up.

What do you think the indicators are that reveal our society's divergence from God's ways? You know what I realized was a major indicator - the total lack of regard for God's authority.  It isn't even a consideration for most people anymore.  They are the only authority over their lives and wouldn't consider putting anyone (even God) in that place.  That's a huge shift from previous generations and how they lived.  The term "God-fearing" doesn't hold any relevance in today's culture - and what do we, as today's Jeremiahs, do about that?

We learn from our example!  We know why Jeremiah lived, but why was his story retained as Scripture?  Because we need it!  God knew that others in His great story of humanity would need to be proclaimers of His truths and His ways, just as Jeremiah had been.  That's what I got out of 2 Peter 1:19-21, and I had never gotten that message from those verses before!

And just like God assured Jeremiah of who he was, who God had designed him to be, and how God would always be with him, so we can be equally assured!  And just like Jeremiah came up with excuses as to why he wasn't the right person (isn't that just so human...God calls us and we tell Him He's made a mistake!), we will most likely come up with our own list of excuses.   I know my current list by heart:  I'm too old, I've got failures in my past that should disqualify me, and I'm already doing other things that I think are important.

And just like God countered Jeremiah's excuses with His promises, He whispers the same words into our ears, "Get yourself ready!  Stand up and say to them whatever I command you.  Do not be terrified by them....for I am with you and will rescue you."

What have we to fear?  If God is for us, who can be against us?  He does have big plans for us - don't underestimate what He may have planned for you!  And let's not miss out on anything that He is inviting us to participate in due to our whiney excuses!  

Jeremiah, we're coming behind you!  Thanks for showing us how it's done!