The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Jeremiah 2:11-13,
"'Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,' declares the Lord. 'My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.'"
Not only had Israel abandoned her God, but she replaced him with counterfeit gods. The appropriate reaction to this is an appalled shuddering with great horror! Any counterfeit to God is worse than worthless, it brings God's terrifying judgment.
I am reminded of Paul's comment in Romans 1:21-23, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."
The result of Paul's observation is that God gave people over to their perverted and darkened hearts. Now, only a horrifying event awaits them, an event with no end. A future event that is certain to come to pass that lurks in the fearful dark of mankind's worst nightmare: "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15. And, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:8.
Woe to the man or woman who exchanges God in their hearts for a counterfeit! "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. Anything we embrace in our hearts that supplants God is a counterfeit of him.
How thankful I am that Jesus Christ has made a way for me into God's family! How wonderful to hear Jesus' words, "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." John 5:24-25.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"'Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, you heavens, and shudder with great horror,' declares the Lord. 'My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.'"
Not only had Israel abandoned her God, but she replaced him with counterfeit gods. The appropriate reaction to this is an appalled shuddering with great horror! Any counterfeit to God is worse than worthless, it brings God's terrifying judgment.
I am reminded of Paul's comment in Romans 1:21-23, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."
The result of Paul's observation is that God gave people over to their perverted and darkened hearts. Now, only a horrifying event awaits them, an event with no end. A future event that is certain to come to pass that lurks in the fearful dark of mankind's worst nightmare: "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15. And, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." Revelation 21:8.
Woe to the man or woman who exchanges God in their hearts for a counterfeit! "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. Anything we embrace in our hearts that supplants God is a counterfeit of him.
How thankful I am that Jesus Christ has made a way for me into God's family! How wonderful to hear Jesus' words, "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." John 5:24-25.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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