Jeremiah Part II: God

And I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, you defiled My land
and made My heritage an abomination. Jeremiah 2:7

How many times are we guilty of the same thing? How many times does God rescue us from Egypt and deliver us into the Promise Land?—How many times are we in trouble and we cry out to be rescued, but once we are, we forget the One who rescued us, and return to our lives, and do what we want to do, as we leave God on the back burner?

You have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to Me?
declares the LORD. Jeremiah 3:1b

Jeremiah Part I: The Prophet

Jeremiah was a tough book to read. Definitely one you want to take in, in small quantities. But is also one that we can receive encouragement from, learn from, and discover more about our glorious Father.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
     before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” Jeremiah 1:4-5.

Isn’t this a wonderful thought? Sure, in this verse, God is addressing Jeremiah, and I don’t believe He’s called each of us out to be a prophet. Nevertheless, I do think there is still something here which we can apply to ourselves. For I believe, God has a plan for each of us. And it’s up to us to use our free will to decide if we’re willing to embrace or to reject that plan.

Before you were even made, I believe God had a plan for you. He loved you so much, that He carefully prepared how He was going to bless you, and to help you along life’s road. And, according to this scripture, He helped form you in the womb. That just as there’s three in marriage: God, a husband, and a wife, so too does it take three to create a baby: a sperm, an egg, and God. Wow!

It’s amazing how there is proof, that we worship a living God, Who is still at work within His creation!

The Crowder Sentry: Safe-guard free will

Facebook, a world where a person’s life is expressed by updated statuses. A reality, where people a globe apart can be connected. A place where pictures, smiles and laughs can be shared in an instant. A world—that is terrorized with statuses, such as, “Like this status, or a child in Africa will die.”

As humans, we are blessed with the ability of free will. Sadly, there are people who try to take this right away from us, to either control or to confirm us. Yes there are times when we should submit, but there are also times that it is unnecessary, such as for a silly Facebook status.

Why do people try to manipulate others? “If you don’t like this status, you kick a puppy—blow up the world—aren’t going to Heaven.” These statuses are annoying, but they are also sad. Why do people try to control others? Or why do they care so much about how many likes their status gets in a virtual world, that they try to peer pressure others?

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, that’s how all fairytales begin. With a princess dreaming of her prince charming, or with a farm boy wishing to be a chivalrous knight. Sometimes, don’t we wish our lives were fairytales? That all we would have to do is find a glass slipper, or to kiss a frog, or to slay a dragon to rescue our true love, before we would marry her and live happily ever after.

But would it be worth it?

What comes after, “happily ever after?” There wouldn’t be any conflict, or instead, it would be, “sometimes-happily ever after.” And with no conflict, how fun would life be?