Two year Bible reading program.

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:19-20 Understanding to grow in When will they - will we, learn. Again Jeremiah proclaimed God's word. But the people were determined to interpret events not according to what God had to say but according to what they desired. Rather than see their hardships in Judah as his judgment, they saw them as needing even greater idolatry now in Egypt. One thinks of how the individualism of our age that worships self, refuses to accept the family breakdown and mental illness that besets it is its result and, in a sense, God's judgment in handing us over to our own desires (Rom 1v18-32). Instead, it continues to assert moral autonomy rather than repent in the light of God's word. As you read note

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:17-18 Understanding to grow in It's no good expecting the Lord to save us if we refuse to do what he says. Here the Jews feel threatened and ask Jeremiah to consult God for them. But when Jeremiah responds that they will be safe only if they stay in Judea, they ignore him and seek refuge instead in Egypt - the very thing he told them not to do. In the same way, so many today confess faith in Christ and expect salvation, but they want it on their own terms, and so disobey what Christ says. Yet he made it very clear that to those who cry "Lord, Lord" but do not do God's will, he will say "I never knew you" (Mat 7v23). As you read note the attitudes in the Jews. Jeremia

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:15-16 Understanding to grow in Finally it happens. Jerusalem is attacked and destroyed just as Jeremiah said. But we shouldn't miss the details. Jeremiah had urged king Zedekiah to surrender, promising that if he did his family and city would be spared (38v17-18). But Zedekiah didn't listen and so both were lost. Contrast Jeremiah, who God promised to protect if Jeremiah remained faithful in speaking his word. And so the Babylonians release Jeremiah from prison and look after him. One cannot but think of Paul finding protection from the Romans. God is able to use even those we might presume hostile to serve his purposes and protect his people. But whatever he chooses for us, we must ensure

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:13-14 Understanding to grow in How will we respond to those who bring us God's word? Jeremiah's experience, like Christ's, saw some actively hostile and despising of the word, whilst others wanted to side with God's man but were fearful of the consequences. For those of us who teach God's word it tells us what we might expect - whilst urging us to the Christ-like determination of Jeremiah to speak nothing but the truth,  and keep on speaking it because God's word doesn't change. To those of us who receive God's word it encourages us to go further than the officials and king Zedekiah - to publicly stand up for those who preach to us and have faith in God to do what t

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:10-12 Understanding to grow in It is a particular tragedy when God's people are shown up by the superior actions of those who don't know the Lord. So here. The sin of God's people this time is seen in their callous treatment of Hebrews, enslaved because of debt (Ex 21v2-11, Deut 15v12-18). After a decision to free them (most likely to save them from being captured as slaves by the Babylonians), they then change their minds on fear of losing what would benefit them, and so take them back as slaves again. This displayed both an uncaring attitude to fellow Jews, and a materialistic desire to trample on others for one's own gain. It's a challenge to how we treat fellow believers. I

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:8-9 Understanding to grow in By one act Jeremiah pictured the hope for Judah. Having spoken of Babylon conquering the people and dragging them into exile, he bought a field - an investement in the post-exile future, when God would restore his people to their land. And "restoration" is the word of these chapters. But it is a restoration that can only occur once God has dealt with the sin that would otherwise bring yet another judgment. So, the LORD promises that he will cause the people to "always fear" him, that he will "cleanse" and "forgive" their sin. And it is then that the land will be restored to a glorious state, as it is ruled by a righteous king des

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:7 Understanding to grow in The future with God is joy. That's the theme of our passage. After judgment, God promises restoration because of his love for the nation. It will be restoration of her fortunes and city, and will lead to gladness and celebration. The people will be ruled by a leader who is close to God, and God will be their God and they his people. And with him the land will flourish like a sort of new Eden. It all foreshadows life in the new creation through Christ as our king, reminding us of the utter joy that we will know then. And just as this was to sustain God's people when they suffered hardship, so it does us. As you read note what is to be rejoiced in. Jeremiah 30:1

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:5-6 Understanding to grow in Things must only ever be done God's way. False prophets declared peace. Opponents sought to silence Jeremiah. But God's word through him remained. And it is a word that has some relevance to us, as we have to live life in some sense exiles from the coming kingdom, living in a land where the majority don't know the LORD (1 Pet 1v1). Jeremiah's message is that because this is part of God's purpose nothing is gained by fighting it or creating unecessary antagonism with those his people live amongst. Despite Babylonian society being unbelieving, immoral and, to some extent at least, hostile, the people were to settle down, enjoy the benefits of the cult

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:3-4 Understanding to grow in Tye preaching of God's word can even divide those amongst his people. Here, some are against Jeremiah, not being able to conceive how God would bring down Jerusalem. They presume an easy grace - that they and their city are so special, that God will always be for them whatever their sin. Others, come round to being for Jeremiah when they see his courage in urging then to do to him whatever they won't, but to be aware that violence would make them guilty of innocent blood. These recognize the integrity of someone seeking to please God not man. Paul makes a similar point in 1 Thessalonians 2: The validity of his ministry was proved by his readiness to suffer. One

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 24:1-2 Understanding to grow in It stretches our understanding, but the LORD so governs all that happens that he can use the evil acts of an oppressive empire like Babylon to execute righteous judgment on wicked nations. And then, because that doesn't excuse Babylon's actions, punish Babylon for what they did under his hand. It should encourage us that justice is always done, and that even evil is somehow used by God for good. But the main point here, is that we should learn from Judah and "listen" to God's word rather than persistently ignore it. Indeed, when God spoke over Jesus on the mount of transfiguration, the one thing he said was "listen to him" (Matt 17v5). A

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:29-35 Understanding to grow in It is a most serious thing to claim to have a word from the LORD and it to instead reflect one's own ideas or imaginations. This is why Jeremiah denounces Judah's prophets. Rather than speak God's word of judgment, they spoke words of peace and false encouragement. One cannot but think of how ready some are today to declare "God's saying" this or that, and then speak out their own wishes and hopes. But the prophecy applies especially to ministers and preachers who speak in God's name but speak their own thoughts on the matter they are preaching, happily going against what is actually taught in the Bible. But what is said in God's nam

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:26-28 Understanding to grow in One lesson here is that each generation is responsible for carrying on the faith. Jeremiah rebukes two sons and a grandson of the good king Josiah, for not carrying on his upright rule in caring for the oppressed and leading the people away from idolatry. We cannot be comlacent just because our parents were committed Christians. We will be held to account for our own response to Christ. Chapter 23 begins then with a rebuke of Judah's rulers as "shepherds" who should be caring for God's sheep. This is one of the backdrops to Jesus' teaching of himself as the good shepherd. As Jeremiah predicts, the LORD will bring his scattered (exiled) flock bac

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:22-25 Understanding to grow in Jeremiah's message against God's people is stark. The God who once fought for them against the nations will now fight against them using the nations - Babylon (21v5). This is how serious the people's sin is. It has effectively made them no longer God's people. But rather than repent, they persecute Jeremiah. And his song is pertinent as a foreshadowing of Christ's experience, and that of all in him might experience in seeking to share the gospel. God's spokesman faces insult and reproach for what he says, making him profoundly depressed (20v8, 14-18). But he cannot but keep speaking because the message he has burns in his heart like fire, maki

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:19-21 Understanding to grow in Suffering, evil, judgment are all issues Christians struggle with. But today we see the perspective we must gain: Like a potter with his clay, the Lord has the right to do as he pleases with people and nations (see Rom 9v21). He is our creator. We are his creation. And the image reminds us that we need to know our place. But we see too, that what God does is not arbitrary, but always righteous and just (Jer 18v7-10). We do not always know why things happen as they do, but we do know that nations on the rise only rise because God has determined to do them good, and those that do not relent of evil will ultimately be brought down. And these words are striking when we c

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:17-18 Understanding to grow in As always the key is faith: Will we trust in ourselves and so turn from the LORD or trust and so obey him (17v5-8). It is in this sense that Jeremiah can say the LORD rewards people according to what their deeds deserve (17v10). It's not about whether their deeds merit his forgiveness and acceptance, but whether they display a heart that trusts him. To those who do, in the midst of these declarations of judgment there is much hope. They will be blessed and flourish like a well watered tree (as Psalm 1 too). It is on this basis that Jeremiah can call on the LORD for salvation and help, and the LORD can promise a thriving city if the people will only keep his Sabba

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:13-14 Understanding to grow in In the midst of further oracles of judgment, we read today of how Jeremiah's preaching started to lead to his being personally opposed - by the people of Anathoth (11v21) and his own relatives (12v6). This is the hard calling that every preacher has to be ready for. But it may be the calling of the everyday Christian too. The believer's message (and life) inevitably challenge, and to some extent highlight people's sin and true spiritual state. And this brings hostility. Darkness has nothing to do with light. People do not want to give up their wrongdoing, and proudly oppose God's truth and its messangers so they can continue as they are. As Jesus said

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:12 Understanding to grow in It is ironic that people will look to all sorts of superstitions, and worry about what the stars might say, or the future might bring. But the one thing they seem not to fear is God. And so through Jeremiah, the Lord reminds us that although he "exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth" (9v24) - consider the goods of creation he showers on everyone, or the way he eventually brings down tyrants - although he exercises these things, he will also punish sin (9v25-26). So, he is the one to fear, as he is the only true and living God (10v9-10). And we should not minimise what punishment will entail. Just as for Judah it would entail crying and wailing

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:10-11 Understanding to grow in Since the garden of Eden, the problem behind all sin has been a rejection of God's word. And this is the cause of Judah's sin in the days of Jeremiah too (8v9). And their religious leaders were partly to blame in deceiving the people by telling them "peace, peace" (8v10-11) rather than warning them that God had promised in his law that if the nation turned from him they would lose all the blessings of their land. Jeremiah pours out tears at the coming destruction that he sees, but he also laments that that none have been instructed by God or is able to explain his word (9v12). Similarly today, many ministers refuse to teach the hard truths of the Bi

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:9 Understanding to grow in How pointless, how serious, to go to church and worship God with our lips but not with our lives. This was the issue facing God's people in wanting to walk into the temple only to hear Jeremiah denounce them from its steps. And it was an issue Jesus himself condemned in in his own day (Matt 15v8). One cannot but consider those entering churches at Christmas or for civic occasions, whilst denying God with their own false religion and sexual sin. But it also refers to those attending regularly, and seeming Christians, whilst hiding a lack of real repentance. Judah should learn from the destruction of the northern kingdom, that unless they repent they too will perish. A

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:6-8 Understanding to grow in Jeremiah's condemnation of the nation continues. It is not just of the people but their rulers too. And ttheir sins are many, byt particularly idolatry, sexual immorality and a lack of concern for the poor. They sound very contemporary and challenge the Christian to examine themselves. For just as Jeremiah warns of impending punishment at the hands of Babylon, so we are warned of that when Christ returns (Eph 5v5-6). As you read note the specific sins highlighted. Jeremiah 5-6 Finish this reading by pausing to ask yourself: 1) What’s the main thing it teaches me about God or his purposes in Christ? Then  praise  him for this. 2) What’s the main thing it t

BEGIN WITH PRAYER "Lord open my eyes and my heart." Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world. Wisdom to chew on Proverbs 23:4-5 Understanding to grow in The judgment Jeremiah sees in his vision is of such severity that he voices deep anguish (4v19-21). We must never doubt the seriousness of God's punishment for sin. But just as there was always hope for those who repented then, so there is today - for those who recognize salvation is from the Lord, who acknowledge their sin and return to him. This is what it is to "circumcise" one's heart (4v4). It is to cut sin off inwardly, so that one's heart is devoted to God rather than to evil. It is something those who come to Christ do only by the work of his Spirit (Rom 2v28-29). And it is something we shoudl not delay in. As you read note how God confron