Send to Kindleby Bible League International
December 21st, 2023
Scripture
“My people have done two evil things. They turned away from me, and they dug their own cisterns. I am the source of living water; these cisterns are broken and cannot hold water.” – Jeremiah 2:13 ERV
Devotion
Jeremiah was known as the “weeping prophet” as his words fell on hard hearts leaving him distraught and depressed. He preached during the time of the fall of Jerusalem as the brightest and leading citizens were taken captive by the Babylonians. He would have witnessed the ransacking and destruction of the great city and the suffering of his people in captivity. He watched as the consequences of sin became more profound and pronounced as his people slipped further and further away from God, rejecting Yahweh’s way and the call to repent.
Jeremiah’s journey actually began with hope under King Josiah’s rule during a movement of political and religious reform. A wide populous supported this movement; Jeremiah was probably on board as well. However, he soon became disillusioned as the movement became dreadfully wrong and ungodly. Jeremiah began preaching against it. The people had turned from the one and true God to a nation worshipping the many gods of the land of Canaan. The false gods of fertility, pleasure, power, and prosperity, and the religious and political leaders of the day were leading the charge to effectively out-pagan the pagans.
Many believe politics has no place in Christian faith. The message of Jesus was that of regeneration and true spirituality of the heart, mind, and soul. And yet politics and religion played a major part of His ministry. Jesus took to the streets after the political arrest of John the Baptist. His message was political in that it was about a coming kingdom of God as opposed to the kingdom of Rome or King Herod’s kingdom. His words passionately spoke to God’s love and character in stark contrast to the hypocrisy of the religious and political leaders of the day. His crucifixion on a Roman cross was political in and of itself.
Christians today must not lose hope with all the political and religious troubles inundating the world today. Like Jeremiah, in spite of all the darkness, we have witnessed the faithfulness of God. People can reject God and mock His truth, but that has never stopped God from speaking. The Lord continues to warn His people when they go astray. His love continually calls people to repent and comeback. His plan for His people is true today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.
Throughout the world we see politics and religion become dreadful tools as a means to political, economic, and social ends. But politics and religion will never be the solution, only more broken cisterns. Jesus is the answer for today. He is the solution and source of living water for all things godly and good. For Christians, the time is now to regain the higher ground of His love. The higher ground of grace and mercy. The higher ground of the cross, no matter the cost. There are battles to fight and losses to endure. But in the end, we know who wins the war. Soldier on beloved of Christ! Rise up and fight the good fight of faith!
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