Two Things I Will Do
BRD REFLECTIONS
Jeremiah 7:30-34; 8:1-3 and Psalm 10 (NIV)
(Andrew Tong, Zone 1 Leader, Small Group Ministry)
READ:
Jeremiah 7:30-34; 8:1-3 and Psalm 10 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
In the passage on Jeremiah, the prophet Jeremiah laments how God’s professed people, the people of Judah, have desecrated the temple by setting up idols in the Temple of God and even participate in child sacrifice. The judgment proclaimed on the people and on the city is indescribable. There will be a great slaughter, joy shall depart from the people and even the survivors will prefer death to life.
In Psalm 10, the psalmist is seen pleading for justice on the “wicked”, calling on God to not forget the helpless. He declares that God will defend the fatherless, the oppressed.
APPLY:
As I consider the words of Jeremiah, I wonder what kind of idols I have placed in His temple. If our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), am I not as guilty as the people of Judah if there are idols in my life? Should I not be fearful of God’s anger? I should not take God’s compassion and mercy for granted but instead honour Him and put Him first in my heart, above all the worldly attractions, desires and false security of this material world.
Psalms 10 is a good reminder of God’s heart for the disadvantaged, the “rejects” of society.
DO:
Two things I will do. In my private time with God, I will ask Him to search my heart and to deal with the idols in His temple.
As we celebrate National Day and can be thankful for the country God has blessed us with, I must not forget that there are many who have been rejected and cast out by our demanding and unforgiving society. God expects that of me.
PRAY:
Dear Lord, let my heart and my life be devoted to and dependent on You alone. Teach me to cast away the things of this world that provide only a false sense of security. For whatever You have blessed me with, help me to bless the less fortunate, the needy.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.
