Jeremiah 28:10-17

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it, 11 and he said before all the people, "This is what the Lord says: 'In the same way will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.' " At this, the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.
12 Shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 "Go and tell Hananiah, 'This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but in its place you will get a yoke of iron. 14 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and they will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild animals.' "
15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, yet you have persuaded this nation to trust in lies. 16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: 'I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This very year you are going to die, because you have preached rebellion against the Lord .' "
17 In the seventh month of that same year, Hananiah the prophet died.

28:10-11 - How impetuous, how prideful Hananiah is. Has he sought the favor of the Lord? Obviously not. He does things under his own wisdom and his own strength.

28:12-13 - This is what happens when we go against the will of God. When we decide that we want to do what we want to do. He then punishes us for our sin showing us that He alone is God and He alone is in control. Unless we are submitted to Him and allow Him to move us, allow Him to use us, we will be doing our own thing.

28:14 - As a result of Hananiah's sin and pride, the entire nation of Israel, even the nations surrounding Israel, even the animals are condemned. The responsibility to seek the Lord's favor is so important. If we are just doing it within our own power and with our own limited understanding, we are condemning those that have nothing to do with our sin.

Israel is not completely faultless. They were the ones that believed the lies. They were the ones that rejected Jeremiah and the Lord. Because of their arrogance and their pride, they will be humbled by comming under the rule of a foreign king.

28:15 - I can just imagine Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, standing firm and unleashing piercing words of fire deep into Hananiah's heart. Jeremiah rebukes Hananiah and continues to deal out the punishment.

28:16 - Not only is Hananiah rebuked by Jeremiah, but he is rebuked by the Lord. Not just death, but removed from the face of the earth. How terrible is that?

28:17 - What the Lord declares, the Lord does.

Jeremiah 28

1 In the fifth month of that same year, the fourth year, early in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, the prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of the Lord in the presence of the priests and all the people: 2 "This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord 's house that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon removed from here and took to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiachin [1] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and all the other exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the Lord , 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.' "
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord . 6 He said, "Amen! May the Lord do so! May the Lord fulfill the words you have prophesied by bringing the articles of the Lord 's house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon. 7 Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: 8 From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true."

28:1-2 - Here is Hananiah standing up against what Jeremiah is saying. It must have been hard for Israel to discern who was speaking the true word of God because of both their sinful hearts and the lack of discernment from the prophets. Was Hananiah purposely misleading Israel? I don't think so. I think he was blinded for the Lord's purposes, not only by his own sins but by the hand of God as well.

When Hananiah spoke this prophecy against Babylon, he was declaring his own vision and his own desire for Israel, not that of the Lord. Sometimes, we try to tell the Lord what He should do, but that's not the way He works. Instead, He tells us what to do, but we disobey Him. So the Lord will go ahead and does as He pleases.

28:3 - All the spoons, the plates, the bowls, all the items of worship. Has Hananiah missed the point? That they need to seek God first and His favor. The Lord is always telling them to turn their hearts back to Him. Even now, after Nebuchadnezzar has come in and began breaking Isreal, they are still hard hearted. They still miss the point. They're so caught up in their "acts of worship", in their religion, that they fail to worship the Lord.

I see this with my Youth Group. We've become so caught up with the acts of worship: singing, praises, dance. That we've failed to search for the Lord. We minister to the symptoms: image, suicide, instead of ministering to the root: sin. Even after the Lord took our King, our leader, away from us, we still denied Him and searched for those items that belonged in His house, instead of searching for Him alone.

28:4 - So many times we've had pastoral candidates, but none of them have come very far. This time though, we have one. Perhaps this is the time of God's salvation. Maybe this is the time for His healing. As long as we continue to seek Him, He will give us discernment in these matters.

28:5-6 - I wonder if Jeremiah is being sarcastic. For some reason, i can see Him just shoting searing words of sarcasm at Hananiah, each word a burning blade cutting into the depths of Hananiah's soul. As if Jeremiah was saying: "Haven't you been paying attention? Idiot! Yes, it would be great if these things would happen. But it isn't what the Lord has declared."

28:7 - So listen to this. We'll see who is right. We'll see who God is speaking through.

28:8-9 - So far, all the prophets who have prophesied wrath have been confirmed in one way or another. But the one that prophesies peace and is fulfulled is truly from God. Only the Lord would know these times of peace.

Jeremiah 27:1-7

1 Early in the reign of Zedekiah [1] son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord : 2 This is what the Lord said to me: "Make a yoke out of straps and crossbars and put it on your neck. 3 Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them a message for their masters and say, 'This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Tell this to your masters: 5 With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. 6 Now I will hand all your countries over to my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; I will make even the wild animals subject to him. 7 All nations will serve him and his son and his grandson until the time for his land comes; then many nations and great kings will subjugate him.

27:2 - I wonder what Jeremiah was thinking when the Lord spoke this to him. I probably would have asked God, "Why?" Sometimes we don't need to know why, we just need to know that it's the Lord that has spoken to us. That is reason enought that we should follow and obey. Even if it may seem rediculus or even pointless.

27:3 - All these nations around Israel, they have no reason to listen to Jeremiah. They probably already know about him from the kings of Judah. Is it even important that they listen at all? In a lot of ways, this sounds like evangelism. We bring the Gospel to all these nations to all these people. It's not our responsibility to make them believe or even take heed of what we say. We've done our job and there's nothing else we can do about it.

Jeremiah was probably put into a hard position by this command. It would've been hard for him to even get close to the envoys, considering all the pople who wanted to kill him and what not.

27:5 - We question why the Lord does what He does. Why he brings suffering upon His people or anything else that happens in history. He is the author and the creator. Everything that is belongs to Him. The Lord doesn't need to give us an explanation for why he does these things. It's enought that He gives us His credentials.

Too many times we try to tell God what to do. "Lord, save this person." "Lord, do this." But he doesn't have to listen to us. He chooses to out of His infinite love. Just like how we humor little kids who ask for silly things. He humors us and does what is best for us and for His kingdom.

27:6 - The Lord can use anything and anyone for His purposes. Here, we see that the Lord is using one of the most wicked and sinful men in history for His great purpose. Do we have the vision to see how God can use any situation, anyone for His glory? Half the time, I only see God using those around me, my Christian bretheren and my church. He could just as well use my non-Christian bretheren or even my school.

27:7 - I think about the rise of Hitler or Muscillini or Stalin. In one period of history, 3 evil men rose up and conquered their respective areas of the world. I think about how could these things be a part of God's plan or pupose. The irony, is that these "great" men of history are now almost forgotten. When we think of World War II, we only think of Hitler and all the evils that he did. We neglect to mention Stalin and all the persecution and mass slaughter he caused to Christians. Will we even remember these men in another 5 years, another 10 years?

1 Corinthians 10

11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! 13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

10:11 - The things that happened to all the people were examples. Just like all the people of Sodom and Gamora were examples. Not just for their time periods, but for all that believe down the ages. I would hate being chronicled as one of those people. This was done for our benefit. Just like when you see people being punished for their crimes. They are being made examples for our benefit.

What does Paul mean by "on whom the fullfillment of the ages has come". Is he trying to say that Christ has received the punishment for all these sins? That these examples have been placed on Him? I don't know.

10:12 - So many times I've thought I had been standing firm. So easily I slip and fall. Sometimes I don't even realize it when I do until it's too late.

10:13 - All temptations are the same. They are the same temptations that have plagued man since Adam's fall. This is not to say that they do not vary in intensity. One person's struggle with pride may be miniscule in comparison to another man's struggle with lust. This cross comparison is not quantifiable though. No one has the right to say they are being tempted harder than others, they just don't know.

I hear this verse a lot: "He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear." Is it me? Is it my lack of faith in His promise? Why am I still tempted so, and why do I slip so easily? I think I give in too easily. I don't fight the temptations because I don't truly hate them. I'm not really willing to give it up and I haven't internalized the severity of those sins.

Even when He provides a way out, I am so clouded by my own sin and my own temptations that I cannot see it. Sometimes I know what I should do, but it's so difficult for me. I'm sure it's not just me though, everyone struggles.

1 Corinthians 10

1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
6 Now these things occurred as examples[1] to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 7 Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry."[2] 8 We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. 9 We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. 10 And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel.

10:1-2 - What does Paul mean by "under the cloud" and "through the sea"? If we assume that these things were Christ, then it fits in very well with verse 2. We are really no different then the Israelites. We are under the same rules that they were under. We are under the same obligations.

10:3-4 - The spiritual food was the word of God. We are to live off of that as well. The spiritual drink flowed from the split rock. In the same way, Christ was split for us, so that we may have drink of His mercies through the Holy Spirit. We are no different than the Israelites.

10:5 - If the first 4 verses was relating us to the Israelites, this verse must be as well. Is Paul trying to say that most of us will be scattered like they were? Maybe, if we don't heed the warnings.

10:6 - The Israelites are our spiritual brothers. They went through similar distractions and temptations as we do. Even in the time of the honeymoon, in the dessert, they still turned from God. How many times do we turn from God? I see myself turning all the time, increasing grace.

10:7 - The way they sat to eat and drink seems analogous to the eucharist. Afterwards they got up and indulged in pagan revelry. I see this all the time. Acting a certain way in church, but the moment service is over, they're completely different. People need to understand that church isn't a lifestyle, it's your life.

10:8 - My biggest sin. The one thing i struggle the most with. It's so easy to fall into this temptation. Especially with highspeed internet. Even just being in close proximity to the opposite sex is a temptation. It's so easy for me to fall too.

10:9 - It's hard for me to know what's testing the Lord and what's having faith. I'm sure if I had more discernment it'd be easier for me to say.

10:10 - The youth really need to take this verse to heart. All they do is grumble, wherever they go. They get their discipline regardless.

1 Corinthians 9

13 But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
15 But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me. I would rather die than have anyone deprive me of this boast. 16 Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make use of my rights in preaching it.
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

9:13-14 - Our reward is not one of money or material things, but of spiritual things. We serve God not for the promise for riches, but for the hope of fruit. As I continue to work with the Youth Group and begin to work with SOAR, I look to the hope of fruit. This is the payment for my sacrifices. This is all I want.

9:15 - Paul is talking about the right that he earn something. It is commanded that he should live off of the gospel, but this is not something he wants. Is Paul being sarcastic when he says "[i don't want to] have anyone deprive me of this boast"? What does he mean? Paul answers it in the following verse.

9:16 - We are urged by the spirit to preach the gospel. It is not something that we do on our own or on our own strength. It is the Holy Spirit within us that drives us, gives us the words to speak, gives us that heart of love.At the same time, if I don't preach the gospel, what does that mean for me?

If I don't preach the gospel, there is something wrong with me. Do I really love Jesus as much as I say I do? Am I really being obedient? Am I truly worshipping Him? No. If we don't preach the gospel, is the spirit living in us?

9:17 - Now if I do preach, there are reasons for it. 1) because I want to, thus getting a reward. 2) because I have to, but I am giving up what has been entrusted to me.

9:18 - Obviously, we want to do it because we want to, not because we have to. We want that reward, that carrot placed before our beaks. It is exactly the opposite of v.13, that we receive no earthly things from our preaching or our rights from preaching.

9:19-22 - We are to be in the world, but not a part of it. In order to better serve my fellow brothers and sisters, in order to reach those people, I will become like them. I will get to know their likes and dislikes. I will learn of their ways. I think of myself in relation to the young kids. I hate popular music, but I would listen to it to get to know them. To better understand them. I am not interested in sports, but I started watching hockey as a gateway sports into the others: basketball, football. Even if not to preach the gospel, to fellowship.

This is the way we ought live our lives. In constant submission and servitude to others. In serving others, we are really serving our Lord Jesus Christ, why wouldn't we want to serve them?

9:23 - I do all this, the preaching, not taking any sort of reward, serving the people, for the blessing that is the gospel.

9:24 - We ought to live our lives as if we're in a race. Everyone is running, running for that final goal. But before we can win the prize, we must desire it first. Do we desire the things of God so it makes us run hard? Sometimes I become distracted and I look at the scenery. But I must want that prize with all that I have, so I may run after it with all that I have.

9:25-26 - This race that we are a part of is not just for some golden lauren. Rather it is for eternity.

9:27 - I need the discipline. My body, this flesh, needs to be beat into submission so that I may receive the prize. Everyday is a constant struggle to be obedient, to be loving, to be faithful.

1 Corinthians 9

1 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? 2 Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don't we have the right to food and drink? 5 Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas[1] ? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living?
7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? 8 Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain."[2] Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more?


9:1-2 - Sometimes i feel like this when I'm working with the youth group, I say to myself, "Am I not free?" Not that I'm saying that I'm an apostle, but I am one of God's workers to His people. A lot of times I don't think I should be. How am I supposed to be a good leader and a good witness when my life is in shambles? I can't even get my own life in order, let alone a bunch of kids'.

That's when I tell myself to strive on. Press on towards the finish. Regardless if I think I'm right for the position or if I feel like it, I must do what the Lord has given me to do. It's hard to see this reality, it's even harder to make it a reality.

9:3 - I guess when Paul was writing this, they were talking about the way He was preaching or the people he was preaching to. I don't know what kind of judgment I receive but I know it can't be favorable. I just look back to this past weekend. Possibly one of the worst weekends I had. Sure it was "fun", but all that stuff is transient. It wasn't a good weekend in the sense that I would like it to be.

9:4 - I don't know what Paul is talking about here, food and drink? Is it refering to the previous chapter where Paul is talking about food sacrificed to idols? For some reason, it doesn't sound that way. It sounds more like Paul is talking about his right to eat and drink while there at Corinth. Maybe he needs spiritual food and drink. I know i feel that way after serving. You're serving and serving and you never get a chance to eat. The few chances you get are meager and unsatisfying.

9:7 - We do the things we do for a specific reason, for a personal gain. Even if it's something we enjoy doing, we seek some sort of satisfaction or gratification from all the work we've put into it. It's really frustrating when you put effort into something and see nothing come out of it.

9:11 - Is it too much to ask for fruit. Of course not. It should be expected, desired. This isn't something selfish, because I gain nothing from the growth of other brothers or sisters. At least not here on earth. I may have the joy of watching them grow, but in terms of personal benefit, I gain nothing. So is it wrong to desire and seek this? No. So I continue to seek and strive for my younger brothers and sisters. In hope that they may bear fruit according their kind.

9:12 - We are actually more deserving because this is more important, more valuable then some crop or some animals.