Links for today’s readings:
Aug 14 Read: Jeremiah 8 Listen: (3:52) Read: James 4 Listen: (2:25)
Links for this weekend’s readings:
Aug 15 Read: Jeremiah 9 Listen: (4:38) Read: James 5 Listen: (3:01)
Aug 16 Read: Jeremiah 10 Listen: (3:51) Read: Galatians 1 Listen: (3:05)
Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 8.4-6
4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“ ‘When people fall down, do they not get up?
When someone turns away, do they not return?
5 Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;
they refuse to return.
6 I have listened attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent of their wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course
like a horse charging into battle.
Reflection: Can’t Get There From Here
By John Tillman
Today, instead of giving directions, we plug an address into a GPS-enabled device and trust the technology. We used to give landmarks, count intersections, and describe signage.
“Watch for the sign. You can’t miss it.”
“When you think you’ve gone too far, you are almost there.”
“Take the third right turn past the Big Chicken.”
If the legendary “Big Chicken” landmark in Marietta, Georgia, near Atlanta ever disappeared, half of Atlanta would be hopelessly lost. The Georgia rock band R.E.M. (who would definitely know the Big Chicken) used another trope of getting directions in their 1985 song, “Can’t Get There From Here.” The phrase humorously implies that you first have to get somewhere else before you can get to where you want to be.
GPS devices are imperfect technology, based on imperfect maps and human observations and measurements. But even the best directions won’t get you where you are going if you fail to follow them.
In the wisdom of God’s law, people of Jeremiah’s day had the best directions from the best source and still ended up hopelessly lost. They made wrong turn after wrong turn. Like a GPS that keeps saying, “Make a u-turn” when you have missed your intersection, prophets like Jeremiah continually tried to correct Jerusalem’s course.
Jerusalem wanted to return to God’s blessings but wouldn’t return to God. They charged ahead in the wrong direction. Despite ending up in places they didn’t want to be, they weren’t willing to turn around. Are you?
The way of Jesus is a Christian’s “GPS” and Christ’s cross and resurrection is our landmark. Have you lost sight of the landmark? Are you ignoring the call to turn around? Have you ended up somewhere you don’t want to be?
No one comes to the Father except through Jesus (John 14.6). You can’t get there from here, but you can get there through him. Whether it is the first time you turn to Jesus, or whether you’ve lost your way and need to return, at his feet you’ll find the place we need to get to before we can get where we want to be.
Don’t be too stubborn to admit you need directions, take your foot off the gas, and ask for help. Turn around. When you seek first the kingdom of God, every direction God wants to send you is an open road (Matt 6.33).
Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Love the Lord, all you who worship him; the Lord protects the faithful, but repays to the full those who act haughtily. — Psalm 31.23
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: To Whom We Draw Near
We must choose whom to resist and whom to draw close to. May we draw close to God and be safely kept in his hand.
Read more: Having vs. Knowing God’s Word
What does it mean to be wise? How can we know if truth and wisdom have been handled falsely?
