Jeremiah 31:31-34 - God's Memory

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Isn't human memory fascinating? It's so crucial to our lives that without it, we couldn't even manage simple tasks like walking or swallowing. Yet, our memories have a funny way of working. Have you noticed how we're more likely to remember the bad stuff and forget the good? We often dwell on our failures and flaws, while our successes and talents slip our minds.

Let me ask you something. When you think of David from the Old Testament, what's the first thing that pops into your mind? Is it the scandal with Bathsheba? Or do you think of David as "the man whose heart belonged to God"?

David’s story beautifully highlights the difference between human memory and God's memory. If you read 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 Kings, you'll see how God remembered David long after he had died, doing great things "for the sake of David." God clearly remembered David and acted because of those memories.

But was David perfect? No way! He committed serious sins – even murder and adultery! Yet, despite these, God consistently remembered that David’s heart was devoted to Him.

Here’s something amazing about God's memory: Jeremiah 31:31-34 talks about a new covenant where God promises, "I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." This means a time would come when God would forget every sin He forgave. The writer of Hebrews echoes this prophecy in Hebrews 10:16-17, stating that Jesus Christ fulfills it. When God forgives us through Jesus, those forgiven sins vanish from His memory.

Maybe you're thinking, "God couldn't possibly have any good memories of me. Why would He act with goodness or mercy towards me?" Even if that feels true right now, it can change. When we sincerely and humbly give our hearts to God, and allow Him to wash our sins in baptism, He forgives—and when He forgives, He forgets our wrongs.

Acts 2:38:  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Remember Hebrews 10:16-17, quoting from Jeremiah:  “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”

Isn't that incredible? It's a beautiful reminder of God's amazing grace and mercy.

1 Peter 5:8 - Are You Watching For Snakes?

1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

When I was 14 years old, my cousin, my uncle and I were fishing along the bank of a remote river in California. I was walking a bit up ahead of the others, and was having a great time hopping from rock to rock.

To the side of the trail, I saw a bundle of twigs on top of some rocks. It seemed out of place somehow, so I stopped to look. And – I almost didn’t see what it was! I had almost stepped on a baby snake sunning itself on a rock. It wasn’t moving, just laying there all twisted up.

I went back to find my uncle and told him that I had just found a baby snake. He teased me about being afraid of a baby, but came with me to see it. My cousin, Gary and I were ahead of him, but when my uncle saw the snake, he yelled for us to stop, then came up and pulled us backwards. Looking at me, he said, “I thought you said this was a baby snake.” (If my wits had been quicker, I would have said, “Well, it had a rattle.”) Apparently, what I thought was a baby turned out to be about 30 inches long rattlesnake!

Have you ever noticed that spiritual danger is quite often like that snake (or a lion, as Peter says). It can be right in front of us – with the power to cause us serious hurt – yet, because we do not see it, we are convinced there is no danger. It is in that ignorance we often inflict heavy, unnecessary pain on ourselves.

Think about this:  every day we are walking in the “wilderness” and we are about to step on “poisonous snakes” our eyes are untrained to see. There are so many things we need to be watchful for, and the world is trying to lull us into being complacent. But – that is how we get bitten!

In 1 Peter 1:13-21, Peter was writing to a group of Christians, who had suffered because of their relationship with Jesus Christ, and their suffering was soon to get more severe. He was basically saying, "You people need to prepare to be even more serious about your devotion to Jesus Christ."

He was warning them to not make money, physical pleasure, or things of this world the foundation of their sustaining hope, but instead to make the foundation of their hope the grace made available in Jesus Christ's resurrection.

Before we step on that poisonous snake — I think Peter's directive is very applicable to us. I believe Peter was saying, "It is time to be serious about your commitment to God. Remember who and what you were before, and who and what you are now as a Christian. You are no longer living a godless lifestyle of personal indulgence. Your new commitment is now to the holiness of God, the One who saves you through His Son. Your time as a physical creature is only for a short time — so do not let money, pleasure, popular ideas or lifestyles determine or define who you are. Only one thing should define who you are — God's grace – revealed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. God can remake you and your life because of that grace.”

And, remember this:  your hope is not in yourself or anything you do! You cannot merit a relationship with God!

Ephesians 2:8-9:   8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Your hope is God's grace revealed in Jesus' resurrection!  Surely you obey responsibly — but your obedience is merely declaring your appreciation for God's grace!

Mark 8:34 - Are You a Disciple?

Mark 8:34 (Also Matthew 16:24-27 and Luke 9:23)

24 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Give it some thought, then answer these two questions: 

        Do you consider yourself a Christian? 

        Do you consider yourself a disciple?

Be honest, did you hesitate on that second one?

The name “Christian” only appears in the Bible three times:  Acts 11:26, Acts 26:28 AND 1 Peter 4:16.) And yet it is the most used term to describe a believer today. The most common designation found in the New Testament is “disciple.” 

Calling yourself a disciple seems a little intimidating because we seem to think that a “disciple” is one who ascribes to more than we do  -- and that is the problem!

If we are Christians -- we are disciples! 

Why is that important? Because a disciple is actually someone described in scripture, not just a concept we can define any way we choose.

Matthew 7:21

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

But, to better understand what a disciple is, maybe it is best if we see how Jesus described one . . .

John 8:31

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 13:34-35

34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Can we call ourselves Christians?  Yes. After all, disciples were called Christians also:

Acts 11:26 c

. . . The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.

But when you do, remember that is not a title, but a description of a serious, devoted way of life!

1 Corinthians 15:33 - The Law of Entropy

1 Corinthians 15:33

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Have you ever thrown a rock into a pond? There are ripples for quite a while after the rock splashes. But - eventually the pond’s surface will become still again.

The second Law of Thermal Dynamics is at work here. It states that things will move toward equilibrium. This is something called entropy — an equal state of balance.

Place a cube of ice in a pot of boiling water and see what happens . . . the ice cube and the pot of water  will both change until they finally reach the temperature of the environment they are in. In fact, everything is moving toward the same temperature of the surrounding environment.

This principal of entropy reminds me of a similar spiritual principal . . . If we are left on our own, we will change to equal the “temperature” of our surroundings. Since we are in the world, we will eventually be indistinguishable. Ultimately, no one will be able to tell us apart from the rest of the world.

The world has a constant influence on us. For instance, when we hear foul language long enough, it becomes more difficult for us to not use foul language ourselves. We soon find ourselves wearing the same things as those around us, doing the same things, and having all the same things.

Think about what you value . . .

How much of what we think of as being important is dictated by the world we are in? If are constantly bombarded with worldly concepts, it is difficult not to develop the same worldly attitudes.  We must struggle against the temptation to be the same “temperature” as the world.

Romans 12:2: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

How do we keep from being the same as the world?

Well, that is easy! Every winter when it gets cold, I stand close to our fireplace. After a few minutes, I am warm and toasty. In fact, if I sit down right away, my clothes seem to burn with the heat I have collected from the fire.

It is the same idea spiritually! We just need to continually stand close and warm ourselves in the fire of God’s Word!

When something is the same temperature as our surroundings — we say it is at “room temperature.” We also call it “lukewarm.” Being room temperature as a Christian is not a good thing!

Revelation 3:14-16: To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

If you are not warming yourself in the fire of God's Word—get there! 

2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Peter 1:3-4: His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

John 3:16-17 - A Loophole or Lifeline?

John 3:16-17:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

If you have ever been out on the ocean, maybe you have thought about how vulnerable you are out there. All that water — and no land in sight!

“Man overboard!” is not a cry to be taken lightly. A man left on his own, swimming in the middle of the ocean has absolutely no chance to survive. If he doesn’t exhaust himself from treading water, there are a host of other reasons he will not survive — from hypothermia to becoming dinner for a large sea creature.

A man overboard cannot save himself no matter how good a swimmer he might be. How he came to be overboard is of no real concern — the real concern is that he is where he is!

His only hope lies with those left on the boat! His salvation depends on someone throwing him a lifeline to hang on to and be pulled back on board. Once the rope is thrown — he has to hold on for all he is worth!

There are some among us who read John 3:16, and see it as a loophole — as if God inserted an alternative for those who obey Him to avoid suffering consequences:  if you believe, you live — if you don’t, you perish.

That truly isn’t the situation at all!  God isn’t the one condemning us — we have condemned ourselves!

A person who finds himself in this world without God and drowning in a life of sin, is exactly like the man who has fallen overboard! He is in a place where he cannot save himself, no matter how hard he tries. His hope lies somewhere outside himself.

Read John 3:16 closer.  What you will see is God recognizing that we are hopelessly drowning in sin — and He is arranging a lifeline for us! This isn’t God simply encouraging us to have faith in Him, He has arranged this lifeline because — He loves us!

Romans 5:8:  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Think you can save yourself from sin? You will eventually exhaust yourself and sink to the bottom of the hopeless abyss. Without God, we have no hope. 

Yes, God wants us to have faith in Him, but that faith is not being forced on us at the risk of punishment — we are lost already! God is throwing us this rope in hopes that before we are lost forever, we will grab on and let Him pull us back to safety!

Don’t be confused, this is not just a light-hearted belief in God… This is an active, soul-rending, life-changing belief.  If it were anything less, then even the demons would be saved.

James 2:19:  You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.

God has done all He can by casting out the lifeline in the form of His Son.  Have you taken grasp of it?

Galatians 3:26-27:  So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

And — if you have grasped onto Jesus, and have been pulled to safety, are you diligently watching the waves for others sinking souls you can throw a lifeline to?

1 Peter 4:10:  Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

John 2:16 - Do You Worship in a Market Place?

John 2:16:
To those who sold doves, he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”

Can you imagine the sounds and smells that were in the temple that day? When you gather a bunch of people in a tight space and bring in livestock and other commodity trading, you have the makings of a bazaar or farmer’s market.

The temple was a glorious place — a place where the very surroundings gave evidence of God’s majesty. In fact, even though they shouldn't have, many Jews of that day swore by the gold of the temple!

But, as it was, a visitor to the temple was met with a cacophony of noise, smells and — mixed messages! Was the house of God a place of worship, or a place of business?

Jesus’ actions showed the right answer!

Today, we have no temple, but we do need to be cautious about how we conduct ourselves. One of the most frequent complaints I hear about “organized religion” is that “they always want my money!”

If you tune into the “television evangelists,” it is truly only minutes into the programs before there is some kind of appeal for funds. Some appeals seem reasonable, and some border on the ridiculous — but all muddy up any message being delivered. It is difficult to refute the charge against “organized religion!”

The spreading of the gospel has some financial costs. Who should bear those costs?

Some have turned to raising the funds from those they reach out to — leading to the practice of “creative marketing” — the more people reached out to, the more potential income. In the short term this is great for the fund raisers, but in the long term this is devastating to those who fall victim to the charlatans — causing many to doubt God and distrust any who claim to follow Him.

Paul understood the problem. Causing those “taught” to bear the burdens of the “teacher” can become a distraction, or a blockade in the spreading of the Gospel. Even though Paul had the right to “earn a living” from teaching the Gospel, he had strong feelings about exercising that right.

1 Corinthians 9:18:  What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.

2 Corinthians 2:17:  Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.

2 Corinthians 6:3:  We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.

In gathering funds for the spreading of the gospel, let us not turn the church into a market place — selling trinkets, books and “religious” items to a “captured” audience, making the church look like a “money hungry” machine. We have no biblical support for holding such raffles, car washes or bake sales — or even asking those outside the church for support.

The burden of spreading the gospel should and does lie squarely on the shoulders of the church. The early church — the church we read of in the New Testament — the church Jesus died for — gathered its support from among itself. Here is what the apostle Paul told the churches in Galatia to do . . .

1 Corinthians 16:2:  On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come, no collections will have to be made.

To gather funds any other way is to do so beyond Scriptural example, precedent, directive or command — and that is always a dangerous way to conduct ourselves.

John 3:16 - What's In God's "Jelly Bean Jar?"

John 3:16:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

I love jelly beans. To me, they are the perfect candy — hard shell “self-wrapping” with a gooey center. They can be eaten quickly by chewing, or savored for a while as they dissolve to their flavorful jelly centers.

When I buy jelly beans, they are usually packaged in bags containing several flavors. My purchase gives me everything in the bag—I get all of them—not just the flavors I like.

As a child, I suffered from Asthma and the medicine I had to take was flavored like “black licorice.” After a few years of having to take the medicine, I came to have a great dislike for licorice, or anything that tasted like it. Since most black jelly beans share that same anise flavor of licorice, I don’t like them either. I either toss them, or give them away to someone who does like them.

Now, I paid for the whole bag—and I bought it with the idea that all of the jelly beans would be mine—but that means I paid for those that don’t please my palate. Once I owned the bag, it is my decision as to what happens to the beans—whether they go into my Jelly Bean jar, or the waste can.

Will you think I am wasteful? — Some of my friends think so.

Can you disagree and think I should keep all of the beans in the bag? - I know a few who do.

But—no matter what you might think—it basically comes down to one thing . . . do they please me?

Any bean that goes into my Jelly Bean Jar has to be a bean I would like to enjoy. Why should it be otherwise?

Have you ever thought about how this concept works with God?

We are told the He loved us so much that He gave His one and only Son for us. That is THE ultimate price! There is no question that God wanted us to be in His “Jelly Bean Jar” - the church.

However . . . Now that God has paid for us, not all of us are pleasing to Him. John 3:18 tells us that our belief is important:  If we believe in His Son, then we are pleasing to God. If we do not, we are already condemned.

So what does this mean? Even though God paid for us, and wants each of us to be a part of those being saved, it still comes down to whether our faith is pleasing to Him. How our faith manifests itself in our lives is the key . . .  Is it a latent faith, or an active faith?

James 2:19: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Simply having a knowledge of Christ is not the “faith” that makes us acceptable to God.

James 2:24: You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

James 2:26: As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Faith, or belief in Christ, must be an active faith to be pleasing to God.

Mark 16:16: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

James 1:22: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.