So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the LORD had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. – Jeremiah 36:4

Today's Scripture Reading (September 2, 2026): Jeremiah 36

Community and team are both recurring themes in the Bible. These ideas are sprinkled liberally throughout the pages of the books, indicating their importance. So it shouldn't be a surprise to find that Jeremiah lived in a community. Jeremiah was actually part of two communities. Jeremiah's primary community was the nation of Judah. In a day when most of the world existed in small communities, centuries before a national social consciousness would rise, Jeremiah already existed within a nation-wide community. His prophecies and warnings were directed at the national community of Judah, where he lived. Judah was also a community Jeremiah loved. Jeremiah's love for Judah strongly motivated the Prophet's actions. He was willing to suffer for his community, hoping they would understand their place in God's purposes because of the words God spoke through him.

A second community that Jeremiah was part of was a smaller community; a community of maybe only two people. This community included Baruch and possibly a couple of other local scholars who understood the truth Jeremiah prophesied. These people were Jeremiah's team. Jeremiah did not minister and prophesy alone. Through Baruch, his prophecies were written down and reached people who lived beyond the reach of Jeremiah's voice, a reach that, because of Baruch's faithful service, includes us.

In this small community, we see something that is part of God's design. No one is intended to work alone. None of us are equipped to accomplish anything by ourselves. Like Jeremiah, we stand in need of community, and I am convinced that possible Baruchs surround each of us. We just need to be willing to reach out to them and ask them to come alongside us, or be willing to come alongside someone and be a Baruch to them.

As much as we remember the name of Jeremiah, Baruch was just as important to the team and just as essential to the community. Jeremiah may have spoken the words we read, but it was Baruch who wrote them down for us, which made Baruch an essential part of Jeremiah's team.

We have three choices in this life. We can find our own Baruch to help us with our endeavors, or we can be a Baruch for someone else; we can exist within the confines of the team and the community and make a difference. The only other option is to be happy living a life of inconsequence, never really making a difference in anyone's life.

My advice? Don't pick that last option. Go and find your Baruch or your Jeremiah, become part of the team, and make a difference.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 37

Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads. – Jeremiah 35:7

Today's Scripture Reading (September 1, 2026): Jeremiah 35

A story is told about Mahatma (a title meaning "high-souled" or "venerable" one) Gandhi attending a meeting with the King of the British Empire. The meeting took place in the days when Britain still ruled India as a colony. In the story, Gandhi heads for the meeting wearing the same rags that he had always worn. A reporter greeted him on the way and asked where he was going. Gandhi responded by describing the meeting he was about to attend. The reporter then apparently questioned whether Gandhi was really heading to such an important meeting with the King dressed as he was. Gandhi apparently smiled and told the reporter that he was sure that the King had enough clothes for both of them.

The story underscored Gandhi's identification with people experiencing poverty in his nation. He never ceased pursuing India's independence, but with as much effort as he expended on the nation's independence, he also interceded for the poorest of the poor and ended the practice that rendered certain people within the culture untouchable. Gandhi desired both independence and financial equality for the people of his nation and worked toward them even at meetings that had nothing to do with either.

Jehonadab lived three hundred years before the Book of Jeremiah was written, and he had taught his descendants the value of living humbly. Jehonadab believed the root of war and disagreement was the affluence of one party, so he advised his family to shun possessions so they could live in peace wherever they chose to be. For three centuries, his descendants followed Jehonadab's instructions and lived in peace. His descendants shunned possessions, living as a nomadic people and never building a house or planting a vineyard that would encourage them to settle in one place.

Some might consider Jehonadab's instructions to his children simplistic, but if we are going to work toward world peace, we have to begin to erase the distance between those who have and those who live in lack in our world. World peace is more than just speaking the words (or, in some cases, changing your name). Economic equality is vital if peace is what we are really after. But it is more than just a war against individual poverty; we also need to address it at the national level. The truth is that Jehonadab was right; to live in peace requires living humbly. The slogan "make poverty history" could easily be rewritten as "make affluence history." But either way, the financial paths of our world need to be balanced if we are going to dream of lasting peace between people, tribes, or nations.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 36

Therefore this is what the LORD says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the LORD—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. – Jeremiah 34:17

Today's Scripture Reading (August 31, 2026): Jeremiah 34

In my mind, I am always right: always. I can have arguments with myself, and I always win. There is never really any mystery; I know in advance that I am going to win. So, I argue with myself a lot because, like some politicians, I like to win. I think that we are all just a little like that. We are right. The more that we win arguments with ourselves, the better we feel about our own position. As a result, our arguments become about what we deserve and the rights that we have.

God designed the concept of grace and placed it into the law he gave to Moses. Grace is basically the giving of something to someone that is undeserved. He had called Israel to be his people even though they had done nothing to earn that position. Israel didn’t deserve the honor of being God’s people, although I think they convinced themselves, basically by arguing with themselves, that they were worthy. God’s idea was that Israel, the objects of God’s grace, would share that grace with everyone around them. Because grace was what made Israel different, they would extend grace to one another. So, slavery, an idea that was held by all of the other countries in the world at the time, for Israel could only be a temporary state. Grace insisted that an enslaved person needed to be released after a certain length of time. Unfortunately, Israel argued with itself and won the argument. The result of this self-argument was that the enslaved person didn’t deserve to be set free, so why should they free them? Didn’t they have the right to do with their slaves the same thing that other nations did with theirs? And they were right; the enslaved person had done nothing to deserve to be set free. However, neither had Israel done anything to deserve to be released from their slavery in Egypt. This wasn’t about rights; Israel was supposed to be involved and telling a story that could only be told by God’s grace.

Whenever our arguments focus on what we deserve or what our rights might be, we leave the arena of faith and grace. The whole idea behind Christianity is that we receive what we didn’t deserve. God gives us what we don’t deserve, and our mission is to give the world around us what it doesn’t deserve. We are all about second, third, and fortieth chances. We are about grace; a grace that we extend freely because it is freely given to us. We proclaim freedom not because any one of us deserves it, but because God has spoken the story of grace over all of us.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 35

Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. – Jeremiah 33:3

Today's Scripture Reading (August 30, 2026): Jeremiah 33

I have to admit that I am amazed at what we refuse to believe. It does not seem to matter what the event is or was; there are always those among us who seem willing to disbelieve. Did we actually make it to the moon (let alone the current plans for a manned expedition to Mars), or was the whole thing acted out on a Hollywood sound stage? Some of us refuse to believe that the moon, or any of the planets, are within our reach. Did the Holocaust happen, or was Hitler guilty of a few atrocities, but nothing like what he was accused of? In the case of Hitler, maybe it is not surprising that we still have people who doubt the crimes against humanity that occurred during the Second World War; after all, that was one of the problems that we had during the war itself. We heard of the atrocities, but they were so bad that we had trouble believing that they could be true, that anyone could be so evil as to be guilty of such acts. What changed many minds was the moment that the troops entered the first of the concentration camps. In that moment, no matter what it was that we might have believed, the witness statements of the soldiers who walked into the camps changed a lot of what we believed forever. However, ultimately, to believe anything, even the truth, we have to want to believe.

God speaks to Jeremiah and gives him what is, in fact, a very simple message. Call to me, and I will answer, and I will tell you of great and unsearchable things. But it only makes sense if we want to hear the answer and believe.

I remember my granddaughter, back when she was a toddler, meeting a dog. She was only in contact with the dog for a couple of minutes, but that was all it took for her to fall in love. But it also made it hard to let the dog go to his home while my granddaughter needed to make her way to hers. In that moment, there was no truth that she wanted to hear. All she wanted was the dog. As I watched her and tried to tell her I loved her and that life would go on even without the dog she had fallen in love with, I saw myself in her. I saw my own unwillingness to hear the truth spoken to me, even when the one who loves me more than I could imagine is the one trying to speak it.

God is continually speaking the truth into our lives, but often we can't hear him. It is not that God isn't speaking loudly enough; we just don't want to hear the words. And while God is answering and speaking of the wonders of his love, shouting his love to us, we will never hear it unless we want to hear God's message given to us and want to believe.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 34

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