Devotional thoughts tagged as: 'Jeremiah'
Corporate Sin and Corporate Confession
Can an entire group of people be held accountable for the sins of some of their members? Lamentations 1:18 says yes. God's people bear corporate responsibility. We may not have contributed directly to the wrongs committed in the past but just as we inherit benefits from our ancestors we must also accept the legacies of sin. Following after the example of Jeremiah, God's people can make a confession and seek healing for what we as the people have done and acknowledge the consequences that are still with us.
Today this means we must think about how we conduct our lives, knowing that the choices we make today may affect our grandchildren.
Being called by God — Isaiah
The call of Isaiah focused on his lips and the lips of the people. This focus was because of the people's false speaking and false living. Isaiah's call was to confront the people about their hypocrisy of saying I believe and then doing the opposite.
In Isaiah's vision, one of the seraphs flew to the altar, took a burning coal and touched Isaiah's lips. (Isaiah 6:6-7) It is interesting to observe the symbol of heat, fire or flames as it accompanies the experience of the divine. For Moses, it was the burning bush, Isaiah with a hot coal to his lips, and Jeremiah had the Word burning in his bones. Have you ever heard the words spoken in your church, I am on fire for the lord? Now you know the brief history of this phrase.
Being called by God — Jeremiah
To Jeremiah God said, "Before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
When Jeremiah spoke his call to repentance was severe. This may have been because his own call was severe "There is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones." (Jeremiah 20:9).
With such a calling it is no wonder why he called the people to acknowledge their guilt, there shallow piety, their religious infidelity and the luxury loving rich—who did not help the poor. How do we call people to repentance today in our churches?