January 30 - Straying from God

Overview of: Jeremiah

Today's Reading:
Jer. 1:1 - 2:27
"Israel Forsakes God"

Focus Verses: Jeremiah 2:5,13
5 This is what the LORD says: "What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. 13 "My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Insight:
Jeremiah laments Israel's unfaithfulness to God. He uses the bitter language and graphic imagery of adultery to get his point across. Though God had been faithful, his people turned from him to worthless things, and became as worthless as the things they pursued. Though God was like a spring of fresh and life-giving water to them, they instead put their trust in the stale and leaking cisterns they had built for themselves. The result was a people with stale and empty hearts.

Response and Action:
The things I turn to in life are the things that will shape me. God is faithful. In seeking God, I will become faithful. God is life and truth. In pursuing God, I will find truth and life. I will turn away from worthless things and set my heart on things above. I will have experience meaning, purpose, and fullness in my life if I honor God and hold fast to him in faith.

O Lord, help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. Help me to turn away from all that is worthless, to seek all that is true, and to do what is good. Give me the wisdom and the will to guard my heart, feed my spirit, stimulate my mind, and care for my body. Teach me faithfulness and draw me to the living water that only you can give. Amen.

New Testament for Today: Romans 1:5
5 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

In Context: Romans 1:18-32

Proverb for Today: Prov. 30:5
"Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him."

Recommended Reading:
Breaking the Idols of Your Heart
by Dan Allender and Tremper Longman