Creating, collecting, and sharing thoughts and ideas. And learning along the way.
Back to Basics, Folks! 
JEREMIAH 8:8-9:26 | COLOSSIANS 3:1-17 | PSALM 78:32-55 | PROVERBS 24:27
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Jeremiah is prophesying about the future of the children of Israel. He is the Lord’s mouthpiece, and this is what the Lord has to say:
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,
but in their hearts they set traps for them.
9 Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the LORD.
“Should I not avenge myself
on such a nation as this?”
The patience of the Lord has worn thin, and this is the proclamation that is made against the children of Israel. Actions have consequences—both expected and unexpected. And for now, there is a very direct causal effect to the nature of these prophecies.
Jeremiah tells the people this: 13 The LORD said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15 Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.”
Furthermore, there is a clear declaration on what is right and what is not, and most importantly, there is a distinction made about the significance of the letter of the law as opposed to the spirit of the law.
Despite observing the prescribed practices of circumcision and such, the Lord God Almighty is not pleased—because the circumcision of the flesh in and of itself is meaningless without the circumcision of the heart—a matter that is a little more detailed and involved unlike the former which is merely superficial.
Certainly something to think about, wouldn’t you say? Jeremiah says:
23 This is what the LORD says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
24 but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the LORD.
Turning now to our reading of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we find Paul detailing the life of the Christian.
He tells them: 1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
He goes on to get even more specific about what this kind of a lifestyle might look like, and loses no opportunity to state that faith in Jesus Christ is something that is free and available to one and all– and that there is no difference between the Jew and non-Jew.
He says: 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Paul sets a high bar for the Christian life. Would that we were to read these following few verses every single day in order to remind us of how we ought to live.
Paul says this: 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
It is as if each and every word in this letter is of so great a value, that I cannot bear to leave out anything! Paul’s final words in this chapter are as follows—these are words that we might wish to say one to another even in this modern day and age.
Paul says: 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Turning now to our psalm for the day, we find one in which the psalmist is recounting the many wonders of the Lord over the course of many generations. It is a historical account of the people that has had a checkered history with their God. And yet, despite the lack of love and loyalty, this is a God that stood by them and delivered them, and eventually made them a nation and gave them a home.
This is what the psalmist says of his people:
37 Their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
Finally, one verse from the book of Proverbs in which Solomon, the wise king of Israel, is speaking to the importance of good planning in all of one’s affairs:
27 Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
JEREMIAH 6:16-8:7 | COLOSSIANS 2:8-23 | PSALM 78:1-31 | PROVERBS 24:26
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Jeremiah is the prophet commissioned to preach it like it is, and today, he serves as the Lord’s mouthpiece in offering up these words to the children of Israel:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
The Lord is pretty clear in the expectations that he lays out, and one can’t help but smile at the choice of phrase employed here: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!”
Don’t indulge in vain repetitions, just get down to business and let your actions speak louder than words is what the Lord seems to be saying!
And in case you need to further refresh your memory, the Lord provides a small summary to date of their history.
This is what the Lord says through Jeremiah: 21 “Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’
Is that sufficiently clear, O Israel?
Turning now to our reading of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we find Paul taking pains to clarify the meaning of this new-found faith in Jesus Christ.
Don’t be swayed by everything you hear, or feel pressured to conform to the orthodox ways of the Jewish traditions, especially concerning the matter of circumcision, Paul seems to say. Instead, pay attention to the main source of your faith, i.e., Jesus Christ, the embodiment of God incarnate.
Paul’s exact words are: 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Paul wants to take his time to explain the finer points of this newly-found faith in Christ. He continues: 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Is that clear enough, O dear Colossians?
Paul cannot stress enough the importance of not falling into the meaninglessness of rituals, and cautions his readers with these words: 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
And if all this was not sufficiently clear already, Paul says it again, this time even more graphically. He says: 20 Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Turning now to our psalm for the day, we find a lengthy historical account of the great works of the Almighty, and the psalmist prefaces it with these words that I daresay are echoed to this day by the descendants of Jacob, i.e., the children of Israel:
1 My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
Finally, one sweet verse from the book of Proverbs that captures the essence of beauty and truth:
26 An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
Because a Tweet House is the Right Thing to Do! 
Because Monday Should Be Spectacular 
Because It’s Time to Give Thanks 
JEREMIAH 4:19-6:15 | COLOSSIANS 1:18-2:7 | PSALM 77:1-20 | PROVERBS 24:23-25
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Jeremiah is our prophet of the day (perhaps for several days, given this is another long book!), and he is the mouthpiece of the Lord.
Jeremiah is speaking of the impending doom and devastation that is to come to the children of Israel when they will be carried off to captivity as prisoners of war by the kings of Babylon. That is a day that is coming, says Jeremiah, and this is what one can expect:
15 People of Israel,” declares the LORD,
“I am bringing a distant nation against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quivers are like an open grave;
all of them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devour your harvests and food,
devour your sons and daughters;
they will devour your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and fig trees.
With the sword they will destroy
the fortified cities in which you trust.
Turning now to our reading of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we find Paul carefully explaining to the new believers that comprise the church in Colossae, the meaning of their new-found faith in Christ Jesus.
He says, speaking of the divinity of Jesus and how this fits into God’s plan: 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Paul is contrasting the life of the past with the new life received through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and how that blood has the power of reconciliation between our sinful selves and life eternal. It is both simple and sublime in its great profundity. This is the essence of the gospel or good news, and this is what Paul preaches to one and all.
He says: 21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— 23 if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Paul’s goal is to constantly encourage his readers, and build them up in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.
He says to them: 1 I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
And finally, he closes with a firm exhortation: 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
Is that sufficiently clear, gentle reader? Continue to live your lives in him!
Next, we turn to our reading of the psalms, and we find David, the psalmist, employing a simple yet highly effective means to encourage himself in his dark hour. Instead of constantly lamenting the fact that he is in trouble and wondering why the arm of the Lord is not present to rescue him, David decides to reminisce about the many times that the Lord has indeed extended his arm of help. David says:
10 Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11 I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12 I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
Is that not such a beautiful way of distracting oneself from one’s woes? May it be that we too take time to remember the many deeds of the Lord.
Finally, from the book of Proverbs, a few additional “sayings” authored by Solomon, wise king of Israel:
To show partiality in judging is not good:
24 Whoever says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
will be cursed by peoples and denounced by nations.
25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and rich blessing will come on them.
May God bless the reading and reflection of His Word. Amen.
How Very Cool is That?! 
