Jeremiah 3:12-14: Return to the Lord

TVCC Students,

Wow that rain storm yesterday was quite random! We are glad that so many of you were able to still make it out to worship with us last night. Last night we were able to dive in to Jeremiah 3 and see God's heart for the children of Israel and God's heart for us. Here is a recap...

~Jeremiah 3:12-14

~3:12: After all that Israel had done in their rebellion against the Lord, He still wanted them. They had literally made physical idols with their own hands committing adultery on the Lord, yet He still claimed them as His bride. He wanted them back. His heart is the same for us. Ephesians 4:22 encourages us to put off the old self with its evil practices and put on the new self given to us through Christ.

Q: In what ways are you living like adulterous Israel and worshipping things that you have created with your own hands (idols)? What steps are you going to take this week to return to the Lord and "put on" the new self (read Ephesians 4:22-23)?

~3:12: God is gracious! Even though His bride had been adulterous and had done nothing worthy of His love, He extended unconditional love to Israel based on HIS character, not their faithfulness. His grace brings glory to His name. Just like Israel, God's love for us is not based on our good deeds or even our pursuing Him. His love is based on His unconditional grace (Titus 3:5). There is nothing a believer could do to earn His love and nothing that believers can do to stop His love (Romans 8:31-39). Though we cannot earn His love, we can prevent our relationship with Him from growing to its fullest by choosing to pursue other things. This is why He continually calls His children to return to their pursuit of Him.

Q: In what ways do you find yourself sometimes trying to earn God's favor instead of soaking in the fact that you are fully His through the work of Christ?

~3:13: The one thing that God needed them to do in returning to Him was to acknowledge their iniquity. Returning and acknowledging iniquity go hand-in-hand. In order for someone to return to a place where they have come from, they must first acknowledge that they are going the wrong way. In Jeremiah 2 we see that Israel had committed 2 "evils"- they had 1. forsaken the Lord and 2. gone after other things. Before returning to Him, they needed to realize that this was wrong. Only the Lord is worthy of our full pursuit. Just like Israel, believers cannot fully know God's grace until we fully understand our personal guilt. We sinned against Christ and we deserved God's wrath. Christ paid the penalty for our sin so that we could be forgiven and return continually to Him without shame. 

Q: In what ways have you forsaken the Lord this past month and gone after other things that you thought would satisfy you? We encourage you to acknowledge that this was wrong and return to the Lord based on what Christ has done for you!

~3:14: God calls them His sons and His bride. Again, though they had walked away from Him and spurned His love, He remains faithful. This is true also with believers in Christ. Nothing can take us from the Father (John 10:28-29). We are His children through faith in Christ. For those that are really His, He has such great promises in store in the future. This life is not the eternal home for believers and God is calling us to remember that. Revelation 21 talks about the new home that Christ is preparing for His bride when He comes to get us. Let us live remembering that we are just "strangers and exiles" here in this world. This is not our home!

Q: After reading Revelation 21:1-6, are there any changes that you need to make in order to be living for heavenly things and not earthly things that will not endure?

Dear students,

We love you all very much and pray that this week has been encouraging. We pray that you will meditate this week on God's character- on His overwhelming and unconditional love for you that are in Christ. How amazing that we are completely secure in Him! Again, we love you and pray that you will grow in your intimacy with Christ this week as you let His word dwell in your hearts.

With hope,

~Sonny and Casi