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

"But you did not listen to me," declares the LORD, "and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves." – Jeremiah 25:7

Today's Scripture Reading (August 22, 2026): Jeremiah 25

What was it that made your parents get angry when you were a kid? I think, as kids, we always thought our parents were tyrants who always had to get their own way—but growing up a little changes that. At some point, we recognize that Mom and Dad only wanted what was best for us. What angered them most were those moments when we seemed to want to either waste our lives or put ourselves in danger. At the time, we just didn't see what our parents saw. But they did see it; then they warned us, and when we didn't listen, it often made them angry.

So, what is it that makes God angry? Jesus taught his followers that it was okay to call God Father. In fact, Jesus really taught us to call him Dad. That is the relationship that the creator of this world wants to have with his creation. He invites us into that relationship, and he loves us like a parent. Which means that his anger, like any good parent, is most likely caused by our waste of the gift of life that he has given to us.

That is the message that Jeremiah had for Israel. He needed to communicate to Israel that the only reason Dad was angry was that Israel insisted on bringing harm onto themselves. So, God, who had sent Jeremiah as his Prophet to help Israel, decides to change his game plan.

Just like a parent, God wants what is best for us. His instructions are intended to lead us to success in our lives. And just like a parent, he sees things that we don't see. God's desire is not a jealous rage of a God who doesn't understand. It is the loving instructions of a dad who wants the very best for those he has created.

I know we get that with our heads, but we sometimes miss it with our hearts. In the midst of trials, we need to understand with the core of our beings a God who loves us and is intent on bringing us through the trials of life.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 26

 

 

 

 

My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. – Jeremiah 24:6

Today's Scripture Reading (August 21, 2026): Jeremiah 24

A Japanese proverb says that "we learn little from victory, much from defeat." If it were not for the defeats in life, we would not grow in any of the areas of our lives. Our growth, to a great degree, depends on the challenges that we face, and our challenges often stem from the losses we suffer in life. Challenges and defeats help us to fine-tune our behavior, and they help us to identify bad behavioral strategies. All of this happens, that is, as long as we admit that we have been defeated.

Our various defeats are part of a plan that God uses to strengthen his people. As Jeremiah watches the first two groups of the people be carried into exile, God stresses that the purpose of the Babylonian Captivity was not to destroy Israel; it was to protect them. In the end, they would come back stronger. It wasn't the first time that God had used the strategy. Back at the very beginning of the nation, Israel was faced with the challenge of being absorbed by the much larger and stronger Canaanite nations. God's plan then involved sending this family into a self-imposed exile in Egypt. There the nation would grow and mature, and at the same time be isolated in a group with an opportunity to bond together into a national unit. The result was that 400 years later, Israel had become a nation that was capable of holding their own in Canaan, even if they doubted that fact themselves. It is into this situation that Moses steps to lead Israel into their future.

In Jeremiah's day, the nation was under threat once more. This time, they were about to be swallowed up by a wave of idolatry. As a result of the idolatry, God decided to repeat the strategy one more time. He took the best and brightest and allowed them to be taken into Babylon. There, God promised to protect them. Meanwhile, Jerusalem and the surrounding area would be cleansed. The seed that was the future of Israel would be protected until the time came for the nation to be planted once again in the Promised Land.

The problem, from the point of view of Israel, was that it felt like the biggest failure the nation had ever suffered, not a moment in which God was in control, or a moment that was to become the stepping-off point into the nation's future. Just as when Israel was in Egypt and the time came to raise up Moses and Aaron, God had plans, at the appropriate time, to raise up leaders like Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel among other leaders who were capable of leading the nation back home one more time.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 25

"Am I only a God nearby," declares the LORD, "and not a God far away?" – Jeremiah 23:23

Today's Scripture Reading (August 20, 2026): Jeremiah 23

We seem to think that for God to care, he has to be close. So, exactly how close is God to the pinnacle of his creation? Our response to that question is often that he is closer than your next breath. However, the question that plagues me is: Is closeness a necessary trait of God? Does he have to be close in order for him to care? Is closeness an attribute of God's providence? Or is it possible for God to care and provide and not be closer than our next breath? Don't get me wrong, I believe that God is closer than our next breath, but he is also a God who can be, or at least seem to be, far away.

As Christians, we often have an adverse reaction to the concept of a Watchmaker God. A Watchmaker God is essentially seen as a God who has designed this world we share, but when creation was completed, God walked away. The concept of a Watchmaker God is built around the idea that I don't need the creator of the watch to stay with me for the watch to work. In the same way, a watchmaker creator would not be needed after the initial creation of the world. In fact, adopters of this theology often argue that a world that continually needs his presence to work is poorly created. If God created the world right, couldn't he just walk away from his creation and still have everything he created continue to function according to his specifications? However, we interpret these words, arguing that a God who would walk away from his creation would also be a God who doesn't care.

The argument is really a false one. God is close by. He is as close as the next breath. His providential care is not in question. However, God declares that while he is close, he is also far away. He is the ultimate watchmaker who builds his creation to get along without him. He is a God who could walk away. The reality that our God could walk away makes the fact that he is close even more amazing. He is close because he cares for us: you, me, and everyone that we come in contact with.

This is who we joyfully gather to worship.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 24

This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. – Jeremiah 22:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 19, 2026): Jeremiah 22

In November 1937, Prince Yasuhiko Asaka took control of the Japanese forces in China. He was placed in temporary command because of the illness of General Iwane Matsui. Because of the change in leadership, Asaka commanded the Japanese forces as they entered the Capital of the Republic of China, Nanking (now Nanjing), in early December 1937. The Chinese had decided not to defend Nanking after the fall of Shanghai because they felt defending the capital didn't make any logical sense. Regardless of what the Chinese Army did, the city would eventually fall to the advancing Japanese forces, so why waste soldiers on a city that could not be successfully defended? However, what the Japanese did in Nanking in late 1937 and early 1938 was something that the Chinese could never have imagined.

The event has been called the "Massacre of Nanking" or the "Rape of Nanking." The reason for the massacre was complex. The Japanese had been moving too fast. The supply line behind them had not been secured, and there were no reserve forces to be brought up to the front of the battle. And in the midst of all of this, Prince Asaka allegedly issued the order to "kill the captives." Whether it was really Asaka who issued the order, we will probably never know. But the whole world watched as events unfolded over the six weeks that followed the order. Estimates vary, but more than 200,000 civilians were killed, and 20,000 women ranging in age from children to the elderly were raped. Any military personnel left in the city were summarily executed. Altogether, the death toll in Nanking was over 300,000 people. There were no words or excuses that could be uttered to justify the events that took place in Nanking.

Jeremiah brings his people the word coming from God. Do what is just and right. Avoid the killing of the innocent, rescue the oppressed, and be concerned for the vulnerable. Even the foreigner was to be given God's protection. We are closest to exhibiting God's character when we engage in these things. In a massacre like the one that happened in Nanking, the will of God is never accomplished.

Because he was a member of the royal family, Prince Asaka could not be charged or punished. Later in life, he would convert to Roman Catholicism, becoming the first member of the imperial family to do so. General Iwane Matsui was not so lucky. In reviewing the aftermath of the Battle for Nanking, Matsui made this comment to an aide.

"I now realize that we have unknowingly wrought a most grievous effect on this city. When I think of the feelings and sentiments of many of my Chinese friends who have fled from Nanking and of the future of the two countries, I cannot but feel depressed. I am very lonely and can never get in a mood to rejoice about this victory" (General Iwane Matsui). 

General Matsui was found guilty of war crimes. His trial concluded with the judgment that Matsui knew what was happening in Nanking and failed to stop it. He was executed on December 23, 1948, at the age of 70, for his failure to protect the innocent.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 23

Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us. – Jeremiah 21:2

Today's Scripture Reading (August 18, 2026): Jeremiah 21

In Canada, we have, over the past couple of decades, been involved in the fiasco of Native Residential Schools. The last federally funded Residential School was not closed until 1996. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Christian Church meant well, that we even believed that we were following the will of God. But instead of helping the Native Canadians, the church helped to spread the disease of cultural assimilation, which aimed to beat the Aboriginal out of the First Nations children. Residential schools created an unacceptably high death rate in the schools. We weakened Native Canadian families and hindered their connection to their own culture. The church caused irreparable damage, and we continue to suffer the effects of the damage we created. And all of this because we moved ahead of God, and we tried to dress our own selfish will up as if it were the will of God.

We saw the same reaction during the Crusades, one of the darkest blots on Christianity's record. We ran ahead of God in declaring war against all who disbelieved in the Christian God. We were determined that we would tear from the hands of the infidels the city of Jerusalem. The cry of the Crusaders was simple: God wills it. But it doesn't appear that anyone actually asked if that was true. Instead, the Crusaders routinely killed people, and some of the victims were even Christians who just happened to be in the way of the Crusaders. 

We seem to have established a pattern: we act as we want to, and then ask God to perform a wonder to get us out of the trouble our actions have gotten us into. It is an old pattern. Jeremiah speaks to the pattern almost six centuries before Christ. Israel had set itself on a path that would ultimately carry it away from God. But when trouble came, then they went running to Jeremiah (they didn't have to go far; they had imprisoned him in the courtyard) and asked him to inquire of God. Maybe if Jeremiah asked, then God would move.

And so, we pray, "God move in this situation, even though we haven't listened to you, haven't asked the questions of you that we should have asked." And sometimes, God moves. But at other times, his response to us is much the same as it was to Jeremiah: "Now I am moving in a different direction. It didn't have to be this way, but this is the path that you have chosen, and I am willing to walk it in my way." Whenever we move ahead of God, destruction is always the result. History has shown it over and over again. And God wants us, needs us to understand that we need to hear his will before we embark on an action because we think "God wills it."

Maybe the church needs to join with Archbishop Michael Peers in his apology from the Anglican Church to the survivors of the Residential Schools.

I accept, and I confess before God and you, our failures in the residential schools. We failed you. We failed ourselves. We failed God.

I am sorry, more than I can say, that we were part of a system that took you and your children from home and family.

I am sorry, more than I can say, that we tried to remake you in our image, taking from you your language and the signs of your identity.

I am sorry, more than I can say, that in our schools so many were abused physically, sexually, culturally and emotionally.

On behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada, I present our apology.

We are all sorry for the destruction that results whenever we move ahead of God. We are sorry for proclaiming that "God wills it" when God has done no such thing. And we are sorry for asking God to bail us out when all we needed to do was to listen to God in the first place. To the world, we ask for your forgiveness for our misrepresentation of God.

And we promise to listen better in the future.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 22