Is not my word like fire, declares the Lord,and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?Jeremiah 23:29 As I study and prepare for leading the sheep entrusted to my care, its very tempting to think to myself, 'this is what I need to say' or 'that is what I need to do'. In the midst of these thoughts, I drift away from the simple, basic yet POWERFUL truth that God's Wo...

"As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you!" Jeremiah 44:16 This verse is a quote from the people telling Jeremiah that he was wasting his time in telling them about God's message. Obviously, these people were bold in their defiance of God. They wanted to do what they wanted to do; "we will certainly carry out...

"the Lord your God promised this calamity against the place; and the Lord has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you." Jeremiah 40: 2-3 When you read these verses, it sounds like a prophet admonishing the Israelites, doesn't it? Well, it is not a proph...

"Please obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go well with you and you may live." Jeremiah 38:20 King Zedekiah came to Jeremiah inquiring what the Lord's message was for him. He asked Jeremiah not to hold anything back. The issue at hand was whether the Babylonian king was going to wipe out him and his people. Jeremiah told him that the Lord said the only ...