I’ve noticed that when life is good, I think less about God, but when difficulties arise, I find myself praying. I suppose this is normal for most of us. I subtly believe that fortunate circumstances arise due my smarts, but want the Lord to bail me out during the downturns.

The prophet Jeremiah brought a word to Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, expressing a similar sentiment. God said, I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, “I will not listen.“

During the thriving days of the kingdom, God sought to draw people to himself. This king, along with the majority of his people, refused to pay attention. Later, when the invaders ravaged the land, they cried out to the Lord. Too little, too late.

In my prosperous days, am I any better? I hope so, and try to give attention to the Lord. I find it helpful to write down the many ways God has blessed my life. Gratitude softens my spirit and reminds my of all the good in my life that I’ve done nothing to deserve. Am I in prosperous days? Sure feels like it, and I hope to make it a time of gratefulness and expanding my relationship with the the Lord.

Jeremiah 22:21

Photo by Nitin M Nisar

When our oldest son entered elementary school he started bringing home spelling words. We practiced and he aced test after test. He took to spelling like he took to cupcakes—making short work of both. I thought, my wife and I are excellent spelling teachers. Perhaps we should teach others the secrets of our success, and even produce a video series for less talented parents. Then our next kid came along and found spelling terribly difficult, then our third kid as well. So much for the videos. I learned that some people inherently spell better than others. Our oldest son? Now a journalist, working with words every day and spelling them all correctly (without spellcheck).

When things go easy for me I think I’m hot stuff. But life breaks into my reverie and I realize I’m not as good as I realize. I have a lot I don’t deserve. James the apostle wrote a strong reminder along these lines:

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

I’m severely misled when I think the things I enjoy in life came about because of my talents and abilities. In reality, every good thing around me comes from God, the Father of lights.

I find in the Lord no deceptions, no whims, no discrepancies, no shifting of shadow. I don’t need to worry about the Lord dropping the ball, or making a promise with his fingers crossed, or saying oops! James goes on: Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

God embodies truth. He created you and me by his word, which is totally and unquestionably accurate. When I want to stop jiggling like jello in my beliefs, I turn to his word. When I hope to stand in the midst of calamity, I turn to his word. In order to step out of the quicksands of our cultural moment, I climb onto the rock of his word.

Do not be deceived. The best way to avoid fraudulence, either around me or in my own mind, is to discover to the truth. God’s Word, the Bible in my hands, is a bounty from the Author of Truth. Open the book, avoid deception, and enjoy the good and perfect gifts surrounding us.

James 1:16-18

Photo by Maria Oswalt

Sometimes in our churches we find it hard to get along. People express surprise at this, but a church remains a roomful of sinful people saved only by grace. Sharp edges abound. It takes time and work and adherence to the Scriptures to find our way together.

Paul addressed a rowdy church in his writings to the Corinthians. At the end of his last letter to them, he gave this admonition: Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Along with the pep talk, Paul left them with this summary of the source of power found in this new way of living: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

This trinitarian formula points out three truths for the church to embrace. The grace of Jesus Christ casts out self-seeking and self-promotion. The love of God overwhelms anger and jealousy. The Holy Spirit calms arguing, disperses cliques, and engenders true friendship and mutual support among believers.

Live in peace. That sounds pretty good right now. The path toward peace involves leaning into the Scriptures and allowing the Holy Spirit to foster community among one another. Pray to the Son, Father and Holy Spirit and let’s make the world a better place.

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Photo by Aaron Burden

When my wife wants to throw out my old underwear because it has holes in it, I push back with, how can you toss out a “hole-y” garment? It’s a bad pun, but a good Dad joke. After a roll of her eyes my skivvies go in the trash. Time to break in a new pair.

Jeremiah used an undergarment to make a point to the people of Judah. The Lord told him to Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water. After publicly wearing the loincloth for a time, God sent Jeremiah to hide it in the rocks by the river. After many days Jeremiah dug it up and sported the now ruined loincloth around town. The indignities of an Old Testament prophet never ceased.

Why this bizarre demonstration using nasty old underwear? The linen loincloth (think modern day boxer shorts) was originally fresh and clean, invoking God’s devotion when calling Israel out of Egypt. The Lord declared, For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

But instead of holding to the Lord, his people rejected the truth and embraced the religions of demons. God responded, This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.

Good for nothing. A terrible indictment on the once proud people. Ruin massed on the horizon, and in a few years invaders overran Jerusalem and carried off her population as slaves. Lousy underwear proved the least of their worries.

Jesus grants those who follow him a privileged position. But like Jeremiah’s audience, I can disregard this intimacy and seek more immediate rewards. Never overlooked by the Lord, this behavior eventually leads to a ruinous outcome, one I hope to avoid. May my “hole-y” underwear remind me of the Lord’s encouragement to continually follow him.

Jeremiah 13:1-11

Photo by Maite Oñate