Remember And Be Grateful
BRD REFLECTIONS
Jeremiah 2:1-29 and Psalm 2 (NIV)
(Ian Chng, Pastoral Care Zone 9 Leader, Small Group Ministry)
READ:
Jeremiah 2:1-29 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
The Lord lamented that His chosen and beloved Israel honoured and obeyed Him in times long gone. However, the people had forgotten the Lord’s blessings and goodness to them down the generations:
- deliverance from slavery from Egypt
- caring for them in the wilderness
- leading them into the Promised Land overflowing with milk and honey
- a covenant relationship
Not only did the people forget God, but so did the priests, leaders and prophets. All exchanged the glorious God for worthless idols.
Two sins the Lord had against them:
(1) the people had forsaken God – the fountain of living water and
(2) the people dug for themselves broken cisterns that could hold no water at all (2:13) – the foreign gods that they chose to worship.
The Israelites rebelled against God and formed allies with Egypt and Assyria. They forsook the Lord and had no awe of Him. The Lord warned that the consequence was destruction. Their wickedness would bring them punishment and shame. Though the people had been warned, yet they would not serve the holy God and continued with their unrelenting pursuit of false gods.
However, in times of distress they would cry out to God for deliverance without true repentance. God’s response was terrifying: “Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah” (2:28). A sombre reminder for all who turned away from the righteous God and seek their own wide and broad road that leads to destruction (Matt 7:13).
APPLY:
Like the Israelites, many of us (including me) also have short memories. We often forget God when things are going well for us and we are drawn away by the ways of the world. We only remember God in times of trouble.
The downfall of the people of Judah is a sober reminder for me not to forget God’s goodness, His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for me in my life.
The greatest blessing is God’s redemptive love for us through Jesus Christ who paid for our sins through the cost of his pain and suffering on the cross. This amazing love of salvation must not be forgotten and must be shared with those who have yet to know Him.
DO:
- Remember to count the Lord’s blessings to me daily.
- May I have the joy of the Lord each day. For the joy of the Lord will grant me strength to resist the temptation of the evil one and the draws of the world.
- To have the reverent fear of the Lord as this will guard my heart in Christ Jesus and direct me in the right path of life.
- Finding opportunities to be a blessing and share God’s love with others around me.
PRAY:
Almighty God, thank you for your love, mercy and salvation grace in my life. Let me not forget all your blessings and let me be a worthy disciple of Jesus Christ.
Joining with the psalmist in Psalm 103, I praise your holy name.
“1Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens and let your glory be over all the earth.
Amen!
