awe--

So today I started the book of Jeremiah. Honestly, I'd rather study the New Testament, but the Hebrew Bible (or the Christian Term, Old Testament) is so important to our understanding of the New Covenant that God makes in the New Testament. I think partly one of the reasons is that I don't identify with a lot of OT themes because I don't understand the cultural background as well as I should...although I made an A in Old Testament class--there's only so much you can cover in one semester!!!! It's all so complex.
But the more complex...the more compelling it can become!
My prayer has been that God will teach me and that I will desire to learn about all of this in order to better understand His Word as it applies to my life and this day in age.



So today I learned about Jeremiah's calling. Easy enough, right? How about not.
There are so many things layered in the original Hebrew texts (not that I study those, hah, but anyways). Just Jeremiah's vision of the "almond branch," although it is probably meant to be literal, it parallels the word for "watching" in Hebrew
shaqued vs. shoqued
I am sure there is so much more of this that we miss, that I miss, just because it is not in its original language. But I also trust that God will show me what He wants me to learn!

What gripped me today:
*how God chose Jeremiah before he was born
*Jeremiah's "unworthy" response
*God's assurance to Jeremiah

This gripped me. Literally.

We are so unworthy to do God's work. But--He chooses us. And He quiets our rebellion when we see our unworthiness:
"Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child." But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you..." Jeremiah 1:6-7

When God calls me, do I listen? Do I use my unworthiness as a cop-out? I must learn to go where He sends me and to delve into the lives of those He sends me to minister to...

Israel's forsaking of God--how painful for God it seems in Jeremiah! Of course it is. WE are the new Israel--inclusive of believing Jews and Gentiles. So we can apply this to our lives.

...Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me... Jeremiah 2:19

To realize how God hurts when I deliberately forsake Him...whoa.
I can be evil and I can be bitter.

RATHER--

let ust stand in awe. (See Habakkuk 3:2 also...)

May He be glorified in all that we do.
In all that we pursue and seek.
May we seek His face first--and always.

Jesus' love never failed me yet.
God still loves Israel, even when she forsakes.
Praise God for His grace and that He takes me back, too.

amazingly enamored by Him
-amanda lauren