Reading: Jeremiah 49 - 52
My Verse: "Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish" (Jeremiah 51:17-18).
What an indictment on all of mankind who choose to deny You, LORD God! Denying You leads to stupidity, ignorance and punishment. We become victims of our own denial - living delusional lives.
The Amplified Bible states "every man has become stupid and brutelike." It is interesting that the first dictionary definition for "brute" is "a nonhuman creature; beast" and then "a brutal, insensitive, or crude person." The third and final definition is "the animal qualities, desires, etc, of humankind." How dreadful is this! But, it makes perfect sense! We are created in Your own image, LORD God. By denying You we become less like You. To continue denying You makes us less and less like You becoming more and more like "a nonhuman creature" as we give in to our animal desires.
Our society seems to be increasingly reflecting this brutelike behavior. It has become more and more popular to be as crude and rude as possible in all walks of life. Swearing is more and more popular. Profane words that were once taboo are becoming common even in the media. Jesse Sheidlower, a linguist wrote New York Times editorial asking the paper to "undo its awkward and century-old policy of evading profanity . . . " He stated, "Our society's comfort level with offensive language and content has drastically shifted over the past few decades, but the stance of our news media has barely changed at all."
Most Americans recognize that our society has become more and more rude. "Nearly 70% questioned in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll said people are ruder than they were 20 - 30 years ago. (usatoday30.usatoday.com
Denying You, LORD God causes us to slowly sink into an abysmal kind of behavior - we allow ourselves to follow the crowd, the popular mode of the day.
Yet, You tell us quite strongly how we are to live. Your Word, the Bible leaves no question about this.
"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth,
but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment,
so that it will give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29).
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain,
for the LORD will not leave him unpunished
who takes His name in vain" (Exodus 20:6).
And those are just verses on speech, there is so much more on our behavior, how You, LORD God would have us to behave!
Philippians 4:8 is a verse that cannot be confused as to its meaning. " . . . whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
I especially love Romans 12:2 which tells us not to follow the popular norms of the world. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
In that great book of Proverbs lies so many wonderful truths. This particular passage (Proverbs 4) speaks to our need to keep our eyes on You, LORD God.
"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day. (how beautiful is that?!!)
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble.
My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my saying.
Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
for they are life to those who find them.
and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil."
I do not need to live in delusion. It is not easy but the struggle to go against the societal norms that stray so far from Your precepts, LORD God is so worth it! And the wonder is I do not need to do it on my own - You have promised to help me if I ask. Thank You!
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
My Verse: "Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish" (Jeremiah 51:17-18).
What an indictment on all of mankind who choose to deny You, LORD God! Denying You leads to stupidity, ignorance and punishment. We become victims of our own denial - living delusional lives.
The Amplified Bible states "every man has become stupid and brutelike." It is interesting that the first dictionary definition for "brute" is "a nonhuman creature; beast" and then "a brutal, insensitive, or crude person." The third and final definition is "the animal qualities, desires, etc, of humankind." How dreadful is this! But, it makes perfect sense! We are created in Your own image, LORD God. By denying You we become less like You. To continue denying You makes us less and less like You becoming more and more like "a nonhuman creature" as we give in to our animal desires.
Our society seems to be increasingly reflecting this brutelike behavior. It has become more and more popular to be as crude and rude as possible in all walks of life. Swearing is more and more popular. Profane words that were once taboo are becoming common even in the media. Jesse Sheidlower, a linguist wrote New York Times editorial asking the paper to "undo its awkward and century-old policy of evading profanity . . . " He stated, "Our society's comfort level with offensive language and content has drastically shifted over the past few decades, but the stance of our news media has barely changed at all."
Most Americans recognize that our society has become more and more rude. "Nearly 70% questioned in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll said people are ruder than they were 20 - 30 years ago. (usatoday30.usatoday.com
Denying You, LORD God causes us to slowly sink into an abysmal kind of behavior - we allow ourselves to follow the crowd, the popular mode of the day.
Yet, You tell us quite strongly how we are to live. Your Word, the Bible leaves no question about this.
"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth,
but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment,
so that it will give grace to those who hear" (Ephesians 4:29).
"You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain,
for the LORD will not leave him unpunished
who takes His name in vain" (Exodus 20:6).
And those are just verses on speech, there is so much more on our behavior, how You, LORD God would have us to behave!
Philippians 4:8 is a verse that cannot be confused as to its meaning. " . . . whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
I especially love Romans 12:2 which tells us not to follow the popular norms of the world. "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
In that great book of Proverbs lies so many wonderful truths. This particular passage (Proverbs 4) speaks to our need to keep our eyes on You, LORD God.
"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day. (how beautiful is that?!!)
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble.
My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my saying.
Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
for they are life to those who find them.
and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
Put away from you crooked speech,
and put devious talk far from you.
Let your eyes look directly forward,
and your gaze be straight before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
then all your ways will be sure.
Do not swerve to the right or to the left;
turn your foot away from evil."
I do not need to live in delusion. It is not easy but the struggle to go against the societal norms that stray so far from Your precepts, LORD God is so worth it! And the wonder is I do not need to do it on my own - You have promised to help me if I ask. Thank You!
Ditat Deus - God Enriches!
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