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: Jeremiah

This was a tough book of the Bible 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? Before you were even made, God had a plan for you. He loved you so much, that He carefully prepared how He was going to bless you, and help you along life’s road. And, according to this scripture, He helped form you in the womb. Wow, it’s amazing how there is proof that we worship a living God, Who is still at work in His creation! True, in this passage, the Lord is talking to His prophet Jeremiah; however, I believe He has a plan for each and every one of us. Yet, it is still up to us to use our free will to accept, or to deny His plans for us.

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 for her prince charming, or with a farm boy wishing to be a chivalrous knight. Sometimes we wish our lives were fairytales, that all we would have to do is find a glass slipper, or kiss a frog, or to slay a dragon to rescue our true love before we would marry them 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? Yes, not all trials and conflicts in our lives are enjoyable. In fact, many of them are painful, heart-wrenching. We just want to scream into the air and wish that everything would just stop! . . . But our trials mold us, don’t they? What would you be like right now, if your life was perfect?