For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.' - Jeremiah 32:15

Today's Scripture Reading (August 29, 2026): Jeremiah 32

Life happens in cycles. History seems to want to repeat itself. Life comes at us in waves, like the unrelenting pounding of the ocean during a bad storm. The waves of life bring change, whether we want it or not. Assuming things will always be the way they are now is an unwarranted expectation. Life doesn't work that way. If things are going well now, be assured that trouble is just around the corner. However, when trouble comes, it likely won't last long, although trouble tends to make time feel like it is standing still. Life works in ebbs and flows, and nothing it brings to us is permanent.

Jeremiah had been prophesying that Israel's trouble was about to increase. Because of the nation's sin, God was about to bring a purifying fire on the nation he had led out of captivity in Egypt. Once more, Israel would find itself in a strange land. However, this captivity wouldn't be any more permanent than the captivity they had suffered in the days of Moses at the hands of the Egyptians. As bad as it may seem to the people in this moment, there was a time that would come when once again a normal pace would be seen in Canaan. A day will come when land will be bought and sold as it always has been. Peace will be restored and once again experienced by all who would live in the land.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, makes sure the people understand everything that is about to happen. While things couldn't be changed and the prophecies had to come to pass, amid the prophet's tears there is also hope for the future. Jeremiah told the people to be aware of the life changes which were coming.

'Now' always looms large in our minds. Whether it is good or bad, we can't seem to see beyond the eternal now, but part of the biblical message concerns the future. One of the purposes of the Bible is to lift our eyes above the now and see what might be about to happen. If things are going well, prepare for when they will be bad; if things are bad, raise an expectation for the good that will eventually come. Don't get used to the story as it is because, if you do, you won't be able to survive when the story changes.

Wherever you are now, know that tomorrow is coming; and when it comes, be ready to embrace it. Because whatever that day brings is just another part of the cycle of this life.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 33

 

 

This is what the LORD says: "Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, 'LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.' – Jeremiah 31:7

Today's Scripture Reading (August 28, 2026): Jeremiah 31

Many years ago, I was out in the early morning hours when I came across a teen walking somewhere. I have no idea what either of us was doing out at that time of the day, but summer was in full swing, and the morning was still, warm, and perfect. The one thing I do remember was that the teen was celebrating something, because in the stillness of the morning, I could hear him singing, and I paused from my journey just to listen. And, while I was aware of this teen, the teen had no idea that I was there.

I admit that I love to stand and hear someone sing who doesn't know that I am listening. There is so much joy that seems to spill innocently from their souls. Even those who argue that they don't really like music sometimes find themselves in a position where it seems that only a song can express the emotions that are welling up from within.

I think that is what it is supposed to be like as we gather together in our various places of worship.  We sing together, not because we are good at singing; we make a joyful noise that spills directly out of our souls and into the places of worship in which we find ourselves.

So, the next time you find yourself in your place of worship, don't worry about who can hear you sing.  Lose yourself in the joy of serving God and make your praises heard. It is long past the time when we should all be crying out to God, for He has promised to save us!

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 32

'The days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,' says the LORD. – Jeremiah 30:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 27, 2026): Jeremiah 30

One of the ugliest scars that we have inflicted on our planet has absolutely nothing to do with strip mining or any of the other ecological disasters that we insist on inflicting on this planet on which we live. There are scars even worse than the ecological ones (as if what we are doing to our ecology were not bad enough). The worst scars come from our insistence on behaving in a bigoted way. The discrimination that we inflict on people because of their race, creed, gender, health, or even sexual orientation is unconscionable. In the midst of our hate, we seem to forget that these people are the creations of a living God; they are the recipients of the most important gift God could give to us, life, and they are the objects of God's biggest sacrifice, his only son, so that they could live the life he had given to them to the absolute fullest extent possible. Our discrimination belittles both us and our belief in God.

Jeremiah prophesies that the exiles from Judah will one day return to their native land. And historically we understand that prediction. In about sixty years, depending on when we date this passage, the once mighty Babylonian Empire would lie in pieces, and some of the people of Judah would begin to return home. But Jeremiah does not just say that Judah will return home; he also says that Israel would return home.

In popular culture, we seem to believe that this prophecy remains outstanding. We speak of the lost ten tribes of Israel, meaning the tribes of the Northern nation who were carried into captivity by the Assyrians a century and a half before Judah was carried into exile by the Babylonians. But the tribes were never really lost. The children of the northern ten tribes slowly filtered back into their homeland. The insidious plan of the Assyrians was to intermarry with the captives from Israel. As a result, the descendants of the Northern tribes who returned to their homeland were no longer genetically pure. They were half-breeds. Israel was never lost; it was just watered down. In the Christian writings, the last Ten Tribes of Israel are represented by the despised Samaritans.

By the time of Jesus, the Samaritans were routinely discriminated against by the people of Judah. For the Jews, the Samaritans represented something that was almost less than human. They were a people created as the children of God, but they had traded that position in for something less. Yet Jeremiah reminds us that God doesn't see half-breeds when he looks at the Samaritans of Jesus's time; all he sees is his children, a truth reflected in Jesus's conversation with the woman at the well in John 4.

Whatever it might be that we see in the people around us, God still sees his children. Children worthy of his love, and because they are worthy of God's love, they are also worthy of ours. And we know that one day God is going to bring us all home to the land that he has given to his children; all of us: regardless of race, creed, gender, health, or even sexual orientation.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 31

 

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11

Today's Scripture Reading (August 26, 2026): Jeremiah 29

The darkest times in our lives are often those moments when we are tired because life has worn us out. In those moments, we are often too tired to think of what to do next. I remember several times in my life when that was true, and I have learned that when I am tired, those are not the best moments to make life-changing decisions. I admit it is tempting to make those decisions then; however, making life-shaping decisions while weary from life should be avoided whenever possible.

Babylon had defeated Israel. The best and the brightest had been taken away from the nation and held in captivity. It is not hard to imagine how tired the nation must have been. Life had changed, and they couldn't imagine how it would ever be the same again. And they were right; life had changed and the old times would never return.

This passage is part of the letter Jeremiah wrote from Jerusalem to those who had been taken away from their homes and forced to live in Babylon. It stressed that God still understood their situation. The best and the brightest no longer resided in the little stretch of land that God had promised to Abraham. Ezekiel, Daniel, and other important national leaders sat in a city that was not theirs, beside rivers they had never drunk from, and surrounded by a countryside they had never seen. And yet in the middle of all of this strangeness, God says, "Hey, I am still here. I am not only here, but I am still involved in your future. You may be ready to give up on yourself, but I am not ready to give up on you."

In the church, we tend to like this verse; however, I think we often miss the context. As God says, "For I know the plans I have for you," and while He speaks of a future and hope, He knows He is speaking to people who are tired and scared. The reality was that they weren't going home tomorrow. In fact, most of those who received this promise in Babylon would never see the Promised Land again.

Jeremiah is a dark prophet. He prophesied in a dark time about serious issues, but he knew that there was hope at the end of the tunnel. He also knew God would walk with his people through the darkness.

In our world, I can't promise that things will start getting better tomorrow. I am not sure it has anything to do with our political leaders. In fact, I believe most of what we are suffering through right now is due to our own selfishness and greed. Placing the blame on our political leaders is unfair when we are not willing to change the way we live. But I do know that no matter how dark it gets, God is still there in the midst of the tunnel with us.

And that he still has a plan!

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 30

Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it. – Jeremiah 28:10

Today's Scripture Reading (August 25, 2026): Jeremiah 28

There is a tension between what we can do and what we should do. In science, the comment often concerns advanced weapons of war, especially weapons of mass destruction. It was the argument that surrounded the development of the Hydrogen and Atomic Bombs. It is also the argument that continues to surround the question of Atomic Energy. We know the positive uses of atomic energy. Still, we also know of the negative uses of Atomic theory in war and the great dangers that atomic energy presents to the human race. So, the question remains: just because we can does not necessarily mean that we should.

In national finances, the question is asked with almost every budget. Just because we have the money, or, in many cases, can borrow it, does not necessarily mean the money should be spent in these areas. Can does not mean should.

As a prophet, the tension between can and should was immense. A king would often pressure the prophet to speak in favor of his policies and the future of his nation. It was not just an egotistic wish that the prophet would stroke the ego of the king, although sometimes that was and still is a part of it. However, if the prophet stood with the king, it instilled a very positive energy throughout the nation. As a result, the pressure to support was considerable. Each prophet had to make a choice. He could support the king, but should he? And the question was really settled by the prophet's relationship with his God. The prophet was supposed to speak with the voice of God, but that assumed the prophet was close enough to God to hear his voice.

Hananiah removes the yoke from the shoulders of Jeremiah and breaks it. It was intended as an encouraging act, especially for King Zedekiah; Hananiah was symbolically removing the burden from Jeremiah's shoulders that Jeremiah had insisted was an image of the burden which was about to be placed on Judah. After he removed and broke the yoke, Hananiah explains his act: the false prophet argues that Jeremiah's prophecy of Judah's defeat is wrong. Hananiah asserts that he has heard the voice of God and that God wished to support Zedekiah, the king. Deep down, I think Jeremiah wished that Hananiah was right; he wished he could support the king, even if the king were not honoring God. However, Jeremiah had heard the voice of God, and the prophecy was that Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was not fighting against God's will. The yoke that was about to be put on the shoulders of Judah would not be so easily broken just because Hananiah and King Zedekiah wished it.

We are still charged with speaking the will of God into our culture, no matter how uncomfortable that might make us. Speaking to the world about a God who loves them is always what we should, and can, do. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 29

 

With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. – Jeremiah 27:5

Today's Scripture Reading (August 24, 2026): Jeremiah 27

I sometimes wonder where the line is when it comes to raising our children. I know that beating and physically or mentally harming our children is wrong, and those who are guilty of treating our kids that way need to be stopped. Our children are our most precious possession. However, the reality of the situation is that we can harm our children by being physical with them, but we also harm them by removing our physical contact from them. In other words, there are times when they need our discipline, however it is delivered, and times when they need our praise. One truth I wonder if we have forgotten is that we have been given the important task of shaping the next generation.

So, when a parent says, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it," I understand the emotion even if I disagree with the words. The truth remains that something in the child's behavior is wrong and needs to be corrected. The question that we seem to struggle with is: where is the line?

One of the hardest things to get our hearts around emotionally is that, when we are on the receiving end of discipline, we are still loved. So, our kids scream at us that we hate them. If only they could understand that the opposite is the truth. We love them enough to discipline them and lead them into something beautiful and powerful that they might miss if we just let the behavior go.

I think this verse is God's version of "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out." God says, "I created this world, and I can do what I want with it." From the very beginning, what God has wanted is for us to live in this amazing world with a sense of purpose and power. He doesn't want us to be chained to something that will hurt us in the end. So, he brings his discipline into our lives. That discipline doesn't come because God has stopped loving us. God's discipline comes so that we can be effectively shaped to make the most of our future.

Israel was about to enter a time of discipline. Babylon was coming and would take them into exile. There is no doubt it would feel like God had abandoned them. This feeling of abandonment was the reality of "I can do what I want with my world." However, the reason for the exile was that God wanted to do a work in Israel and perform a miracle inside of Babylon.

The line for discipline must always be drawn in love. We might struggle with that, but God doesn't. He understands the relationship between discipline and love, and his discipline is really proof of his love. So, don't be afraid of God's discipline. Use it to make your own life ready for the future because that was what God intended when he brought discipline into your life in the first place.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 28

Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. – Jeremiah 26:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 23, 2026): Jeremiah 26

Isaac Asimov postulated in his "Foundation" series that the future could be mathematically discovered. While the individual future actions of a single person might be forever enshrouded in mystery, Asimov hypothesized that the future of large groups could be plotted fairly accurately. That was, unless there was an anomalous person who stood outside of the process and had the power to change the future. For Asimov, the future was more analogous to the movement of a river; you may not be able to predict the exact movement of each drop of water. However, you can know with remarkable accuracy the path that the river is going to take.

One of the open questions in theology is this: how much do our actions move God? It is a question that impinges on so many other issues. Does God know everything about the future? Does God ever change his mind? How much do our prayers influence God? And if there is an area of theology in which I stand with the minority, this is probably the issue. I believe that the one we address as "Our Father" is a very passionate and responsive God. Every story in the Bible seems to carry a promise for those who dare to follow him and a warning for those who don't. I believe that prayer is effective. I know that prayer often changes me; that prayer has a very real effect on my priorities, but I also believe that sometimes my prayers change God. And sometimes God even changes his mind. Does that mean that maybe God doesn't know the future? I suspect that Asimov's thoughts on this subject might be appropriate. But in the case of God, I think it is possible that he not only knows the path of the river, but he also knows all of the possible paths each drop of water could take. However, maybe God does not know the precise path that each drop will eventually take because, in the case where we are the drops, God allows us to make our individual decisions; freedom to choose is very real, and we ultimately choose the path we will take.

That seems to be the direction that this passage takes. God indicates in a conversation with King Josiah that his mind is made up. Despite the good things that the King had done, God was going to send Judah into exile. However, in this communication between God and Jeremiah, God seems to be genuinely unsure of what was going to happen next. The likelihood is still that Judah's exile was on its way. That is definitely the way that the river was flowing. But maybe there was still a chance that the nation would respond to Jeremiah's words and that the future could be changed. Maybe Jeremiah could be one of the special ones who could change the course of a raging river. And maybe Judah would turn from her ways and return to the ways of God. And if they would do that, then God says that he would turn from the course of action that he had decided to take with the nation.

For me, passages like this one indicate the depth of God's passion. Our actions move him, and he is even willing to change his mind. There is nothing wrong with that. It in no way limits God. It does stand as a testimony of how much God cares for us, and the influence that we have with our Creator.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 27