A Heart of Grace
A Heart of Grace
Grace is receiving something that you neither earned nor deserved. During the days of Jeremiah the Prophet, the nation of Israel had forsaken God and chose instead to worship the false gods of the Canaanites. God metaphorically uses the sin of adultery as equal to their sin of idolatry. He points out their promiscuity, prostitution, and unfaithfulness as an illustration for the way that the Israelites have given their allegiances to other gods.
God sent Jeremiah to proclaim His judgment upon the nation. In chapters 2 and 3 of Jeremiah, God points out the adulterous, unfaithful and sinful hearts of His people. Then in Chapters 3 and 4, God calls them to repentance but the nation refuses. From the poorest to the wealthiest, the nation refused to repent. So God pronounced His judgment upon them in the form of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire.
But right in the middle of all of this judgement are 4 chapters that talk about Israel’s future. In these pages, we find that God will not be unfaithful to His people despite their unfaithfulness to Him. In Jeremiah 31:3-4 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!” What God announced to Israel is that they can’t sin their way out of His heart and He gives them hope for their future. Then God reveals His heart for Israel in verse 20, “Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord.”
In spite of their unfaithfulness and adultery, God’s heart yearns for them. Do you know what it means to yearn? It means to long for something so badly that you hurt deep inside. Do you see what God has declared here? He is saying that His heart is not threatened by their sin. Despite the awful and terrible ways that they have forsaken God, He still wants them and will rescue them. They don’t deserve it but that is God’s heart. That is His grace.
In your mind, who do you think God is? What is your perception of this God that you pray to? God placed the book of Jeremiah in the Bible to show us that He hasn’t changed. Despite our own unfaithfulness and sinfulness, He loves us with an everlasting love. His heart yearns for us and is not threatened by our unfaithfulness. He is persistently calling out to each of us to simply turn from our sin and turn to Him. Repent and grab hold of his grace and let Him love you with His everlasting love.
These are your Words for Wednesday.
Just a reminder that we will have a joint worship and prayer service with Pleasant Grove Baptist Church this Sunday, August 13 at 6:00 pm in the sanctuary of Pleasant Grove. Also, Dr. Phillip Anderson will be preaching at iLove this Sunday morning while I preach at Pleasant Grove. I hope that you will be there and support Phillip! Have a great rest of your week.
In Christ,
Kevin
Grace is receiving something that you neither earned nor deserved. During the days of Jeremiah the Prophet, the nation of Israel had forsaken God and chose instead to worship the false gods of the Canaanites. God metaphorically uses the sin of adultery as equal to their sin of idolatry. He points out their promiscuity, prostitution, and unfaithfulness as an illustration for the way that the Israelites have given their allegiances to other gods.
God sent Jeremiah to proclaim His judgment upon the nation. In chapters 2 and 3 of Jeremiah, God points out the adulterous, unfaithful and sinful hearts of His people. Then in Chapters 3 and 4, God calls them to repentance but the nation refuses. From the poorest to the wealthiest, the nation refused to repent. So God pronounced His judgment upon them in the form of Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire.
But right in the middle of all of this judgement are 4 chapters that talk about Israel’s future. In these pages, we find that God will not be unfaithful to His people despite their unfaithfulness to Him. In Jeremiah 31:3-4 “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin Israel!” What God announced to Israel is that they can’t sin their way out of His heart and He gives them hope for their future. Then God reveals His heart for Israel in verse 20, “Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord.”
In spite of their unfaithfulness and adultery, God’s heart yearns for them. Do you know what it means to yearn? It means to long for something so badly that you hurt deep inside. Do you see what God has declared here? He is saying that His heart is not threatened by their sin. Despite the awful and terrible ways that they have forsaken God, He still wants them and will rescue them. They don’t deserve it but that is God’s heart. That is His grace.
In your mind, who do you think God is? What is your perception of this God that you pray to? God placed the book of Jeremiah in the Bible to show us that He hasn’t changed. Despite our own unfaithfulness and sinfulness, He loves us with an everlasting love. His heart yearns for us and is not threatened by our unfaithfulness. He is persistently calling out to each of us to simply turn from our sin and turn to Him. Repent and grab hold of his grace and let Him love you with His everlasting love.
These are your Words for Wednesday.
Just a reminder that we will have a joint worship and prayer service with Pleasant Grove Baptist Church this Sunday, August 13 at 6:00 pm in the sanctuary of Pleasant Grove. Also, Dr. Phillip Anderson will be preaching at iLove this Sunday morning while I preach at Pleasant Grove. I hope that you will be there and support Phillip! Have a great rest of your week.
In Christ,
Kevin
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