Let Your Service is for God.. Jeremiah 38

Judah's leader persecuted Jeremiah repeatledly for faithfully proclaiming God's messages. For 40 years of faithful ministry, he received no acclaim, no love, no popular following. He was beaten, jailed, threatened, and even forced to leave his homeland.

Only the pagan Babylonians showed him any respect. God does not guarantee that HIS servants will escape persecution, even when they are faithful. But God does promise that HE will be with them and will give them strength to endure. 

As you minister to others, recognize that your service for God and not just for human approval. God rewards our faithfulness, but not always during our lifetime.

Trust Does Not Come Easy.. Jeremiah 32

It wasnt easy for Jeremiah to publicly buy land already capture by the enemy. But he trusted God.

It wasnt easy for David to believe that he would become kingeven after he was anointed. But he trusted God.

It wasnt easy for Moses to believe that he and his people would escape Egypt, even after God spoke to him from a burning bush. But he trusted God.

It isnt easy for us to believe that God can fulfill HIS "impossible" promises either, but we must trust HIM. God, who worked in the lives of biblical heroes, will work in our lives, too, if we will let HIM.

Run and Hide or Call on God.. Jer 11

To Jeremiah's surprice, the people of Anathoth, his hometown, were plotting to kill him. They wanted to silence Jeremiah's message for several reasons;

1) economic--his condemnation of idol worship would hurt the business of the idol makers;

2) religious--the message of doom and gloom made the people feel depressed and guilty;

3) political--he openly rebuked their hypocritical politics and;

4) personal--the people hated him for showing them that they were wrong.

Jeremiah had two options : run and hide, or call on God. Jeremiah called, and God answered. Like Jeremiah, we can either run and hide when we face opposition because of our faithfulness to God, or we can call on God for help. Hiding compromises our message, calling on God lets HIM reinforce it