I
dont know how many of you are familiar with the Life Journal devotional
and reading plan. If you and new to it please check out www.lifejournal.cc I promise you it will be life changing :)

   
This month I have been reading out of the book of Jeremiah, as well as
a few others, but a big chunk of the reading was out of Jeremiah. At
first i’ll be honest, I felt like I was not gonna get anything out of
reading Jeremiah. I know that is a pretty negative way to look at
reading scripture, but in the book of Jeremiah God was so mad, Israel
was off-track, Jeremiah was always about to die, and the list goes on.
So after 30 chapters I started feeling like I had to be missing
something, there was something to this story I was not getting. I
prayed that the Lord would reveal a core principle I could take out of
these readings in Jeremiah. Needless to say, the whole book of Jeremiah
is FULL of life lessons and core principles we can take to heart. I
found though that this past week one really jumped off the page at me.

   
When I was praying about my reading in Jeremiah I realized there was a
HUGE truth I could take out of Jeremiah and his story. Those of you who
have read Jeremiah know that it was never easy for Jeremiah. He was not
successful to our standards. He had no wealth, no prestige, and no
favor.  For 40+ years Jeremiah spoke the words of the Lord, but nobody
cared to listen to him. He went through extreme deprivation to preach
what the Lord had called him to preach. He was thrown in prison, a
cistern, beaten, and starved. His friends hated him and his family
rejected him. So did his audience, teachers, prophets, and kings for
that matter. For most of his life he stood alone, declaring God’s
message of doom, telling of the new covenant, and weeping for Judah. 
From our perspective, he was a nobody.

   
Thats just it, in our eyes he was a nobody, but in God’s eyes he was
one of the most successful people in all of history. We measure success
by how popular you are, how much your worth, how many people know who
you are, how many books you have written, what kind of car you drive,
and the list goes on. I am sure you can think of more of our worldly
ways to measure success. I have found that the story of Jeremiah is a
reminder of how God measures success. When God measures success it
involves obedience and faithfulness. I like what it says in my NIV
study bible “Regardless of opposition and
personal  cost, Jeremiah courageously and faithfully proclaimed the
word of God. He was obedient to his calling” Wow, I feel that
says it all. To easily we can slip in  “Worldly Success Mode...WSM” but
as Christians who are called to be the Gospel and live for Christ! We
can’t let WSM be our measuring stick for success it must be GSM. (God
Success Mode...GSM)

    In Philippians 1:27 it says,
“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel
of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in
my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending
as one man for the faith of the gospel” Jeremiah understood the
“whatever happens” no matter what the cost he was going to proclaim the
word of God. He did not care if he had the limelight; he did not care
if he was famous, wealthy or had power. He wanted to preach the word of
God.

    Reading
Jeremiah has challenged me to daily refocus on what my faith and
calling is really is all about. What are we called to do as Christians?
We are called to preach Gospel of Jesus Christ. Period. It does not say
we will famous, or popular, or rich if we preach Christ but we do know
that we will be full of life!

   
When I was just entering high school, I worked at a pizza place and met
a guy there who was an assistant manager at the time. I told him I was
a Christian. He said he wanted to share one thing with me that I needed
to hold on to for my whole life. He said, “Make sure, the Main thing,
remains the Main thing.” I did not know what a lasting impression that
would have on my heart until many years later. Now I sit her and
realize how powerful that saying is. Jeremiah knew what the Main thing
was, and with no regards to his own well-being he stepped out in faith
and served God faithfully. We all can take so much out of his
testimony!

   
Being mentored by Jeremiah this past month through my daily devotions,
has brought me new understanding of what in means to serve Christ no
matter what situations we find ourselves in. It is for HIS glory,
honor, and praise!

Blessings.

Nate

www.natesadventures.com