“I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
– Jeremiah 17:10

Here God explains what Jesus emphasized so heavily in all His preaching…. The Lord always knows exactly what we’re thinking. He understands our motives in doing everything we do better than we do. While we should certainly do the right things in terms of religious observance and obedience, God is much more concerned that we do these things for the right reasons and with a transformed heart and mind.

In other words, the externals of religion accomplish nothing if they’re coming from an unregenerate heart and mind. If they’re just fueling pride, self-satisfaction, or hard-heartedness toward others. If they’re about promoting ourselves in God’s eyes and earning elite status with Him. If they’re putting a church-y face on hypocrisy and sin.

For followers of Jesus, the why of what we do is critical. Is it driven by genuine love for God and neighbor? Does it flow from gratitude for the grace received through faith in Jesus Christ? Is it rooted in humble repentance for sin?

If you’re doing all the “right things” but just checking boxes of self-righteousness, you’re doing the wrong things. If you’re doing all the “right things” but to gain status and attention in the word, you’re doing the wrong things. If you’re doing the “right things” but your inner dialog is nothing like what Jesus would say or think, you’re doing the wrong things. Following Jesus isn’t just about actions. It is about letting God’s Spirit take every thought captive and sanctify the thoughts and feelings that move you to action. #FollowJesus

“Righteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
you are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.”
– Jeremiah 12:1-2

This is an age-old struggle for sincere followers of the Lord…. Why does there seem to be such success for people who loudly profess their faith while living ungodly, self-centered, sinful lives that make a mockery of that faith. It was a problem in Jeremiah’s time and it continues to be a challenge to sincere faith. In our world today, Spirit-filled efforts to share the gospel are often terribly undermined by the words, actions, and legacy of un-Christlike Christians. It can be terribly frustrating.

Ultimately, this is God’s issue to deal with, and He will. God knows the truth. He sees through those who talk a lot about Him while living far from Him. Jesus spoke of their fate in the Sermon on the Mount (“I never knew you…”). While the frustration is understandable and it’s appropriate to lament their spiritual condition and the damage they’ve done, don’t let it discourage you. Stay faithful and never let these words be true of you.

Do not be a bumper sticker Christians quick to talk about Jesus while failing to speaking, act, think, or feel like Jesus. Devote yourself to growing more and more like Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit. Love the Lord whole-heartedly and love your neighbor as yourself. Steep yourself in the Scriptures and frequently re-visit the teachings and actions of Jesus found in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Let the life and words of Jesus convict and challenge your heart. Don’t excuse away areas of your life that fall short of Jesus but work in Christ to change them. #FollowJesus

“For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
– Jeremiah 2:13

The two evils the Lord speaks of here sounds awfully familiar…. They turned away from the Lord, Who offers the perfect, pure, ever-flowing water of life to His people. And they chose to utterly rely on themselves, preferring to (metaphorically) build their own, deeply-flawed water storage system. In other words, they chose radical self-reliance over dependence on God. That’s pretty much what our modern Western culture has done as well.

These evils are two sides of the same, very foolish, coin. In our arrogance, we first reject the Lord and His ways. We imagine that we’re smarter, better, and more civilized than the ancient teachings of God and His Word. We reject God’s authority over our lives and decry His standards and expectations as hateful and cruel. In doing this, we turn away from the source of life. We turn down the blessings of peace and reconciliation in the Lord.

Instead, we pursue our own gods of health, wealth, ambition, comfort, and pleasure. We insist on doing everything our way. We define ourselves by our appetites and desires rather than by our Creator. We proudly build elaborate sand castles, imagining they will last forever. And yet, we find no lasting satisfaction in any of these things. We are anxious, despondent, miserable, and afraid. The more we have, the worse off we can become. Because, like a broken cistern, we can’t actually hold onto anything we desperately cling to. We recognize something is missing, but often refuse to turn back to God.

It is good to work hard to provide for ourselves and others. But it is foolish to make our ambitions, accomplishments, possessions, or predilictions the foundation of our lives. Such things cannot sustain us in crisis or satisfy us for the long term. Only a relationship with God can do that. Work hard, but depend on the Lord. Enjoy your blessings, but recognize they come from the Lord. Don’t worship yourself, or anything produced by people. Worship and #FollowJesus

“Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her judges are evening wolves
that leave nothing till the morning.
Her prophets are fickle, treacherous men;
her priests profane what is holy;
they do violence to the law.
The Lord within her is righteous;
he does no injustice;
every morning he shows forth his justice;
each dawn he does not fail;
but the unjust knows no shame.”
– Zephaniah 3:3-5

Do not grow weary, cynical, or discouraged by the brokenness, ugliness, abuses, hypocrisy, or corruption that so easily and often infect the world’s systems and structures. God is still in control. He will always be Who He is… a God of perfect light, perfect justice, and unfailing presence with His people.

The Spirit of God led the prophet to decry the loud-mouthed, preening, abusive political leaders of his day. To denounce the unjust justice system ruled by greed and avarice. To declare God’s truth about false prophets and corrupt, sinful, self-serving religious leaders.

The institutions of society had fallen far short of God’s standard. However, that cannot change God’s essential nature. He is merciful, gracious, patient, steadfast, faithful, loyal, loving, just, kind, righteous, and holy. He is always with His people. His justice will ultimately and perfectly be done, may that day come quickly. #FollowJesus

“And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.’ And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.” – 2 Kings 22:8

It’s nearly impossible for us to imagine God’s Word disappearing completely. We’re blessed to live in an era of mass printing and electronic publishing. Bibles are readily available in print and online in countless languages and formats. It would be difficult to conceive of the kind of global disaster necessary to cause God’s Word to disappear from memory. However, that hasn’t always been true. There was a time when Israel had fallen so far away from God that His Law was completely lost to them. It seems they still knew they were God’s people and understood they should do right and appropriate things for the Lord. But they didn’t actually know what those things were.

During restoration work on the Temple, a long-lost scroll of God’s Law was discovered. The King and all the people were shocked to learn all the ways they had fallen short of God’s standard. They repented, prayed, devoted themselves to the Lord, and were diligent to once again teach and pass on God’s Law. This was a turning point in history, because it doesn’t appear the Law was ever completely lost again.

We certainly hope and pray that we’ll never become so divorced from God that the Bible becomes essentially lost to us or our descendants. Nonetheless, this history is a reminder that even if one or more generations is completely lost, God’s Word will endure. And when the time is right, God will bring re-discovery, renewal, revival, and restoration. God’s will will be done!

So, never lose hope. Never grow too despondent over the spiritual condition of the world. Stay faithful. Be diligent in prayer. Share the Gospel. Make disciples. Trust that God will always make a way for His Word to be taught and obeyed and for people to be raised to new spiritual life in Christ. #FollowJesus