Living in the Spirit
June 28, 2023
Scripture Reading:
Jeremiah 28:5-9
Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; and the prophet Jeremiah said, ‘Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.’
Who do you trust? Years ago, a TV game show by that name was designed around that question. Jeremiah is asking the same question in helping people know what prophets to believe. False prophets have probably existed ever since prophets’ prophecies began. Jeremiah had a hard time convincing people of the messages he brought from God. He answers his naysayers by telling them to look for the outcomes. Jeremiah’s people did not know how short time was for them.
We live in a time of not knowing who to believe. We do not want our children to study history because it might hurt their feelings. We want to display the Ten Commandments but do not want to follow them. We may no longer carve graven images. Our idols are greed and lust for power. More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record. (Pew Research Center) We also kill our neighbors when we allow 800 people a day in the USA to die of poverty. (Poor People’s Campaign) Our sexual mores are out of touch with what is right as we castigate the LGBTQ community for simply existing while turning a blind eye to the sexual behavior of the rest of the population, including the clergy. (US Southern Baptist churches facing ‘apocalypse’ over sexual abuse scandal—the Guardian.) Taking advantage of people and lying is becoming an art in business and in politics.
The time is now to seek God’s guidance in how we live and have our being.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us for wearing our religion on the outside rather than in our hearts and thus our way of being. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.