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Hear the podcast here: https://anchor.fm/eradio-valverde/episodes/Experts-At-Evil--But-Klutzes-At-Doing-Good-e1ng1u1
11 At that time, this people, yes, this very Jerusalem, will be told in plain words: "The northern hordes are sweeping in from the desert steppes - 12 a gale-force wind. I ordered this wind. I'm pronouncing my hurricane judgment on my people." Your Evil Life Is Piercing Your Heart. 22 "What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good." 23 I looked at the earth - it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness. I looked at the skies, and not a star to be seen. 24 I looked at the mountains - they were trembling like aspen leaves, And all the hills rocking back and forth in the wind. 25 I looked - what's this! Not a man or woman in sight, and not a bird to be seen in the skies. 26 I looked - this can't be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up. All the towns were ghost towns. And all this because of God, because of the blazing anger of God. 27 Yes, this is God's Word on the matter: "The whole country will be laid waste - still it won't be the end of the world. 28 The earth will mourn and the skies lament Because I've given my word and won't take it back. I've decided and won't change my mind." You're Not Going to Seduce Anyone. (Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28 The Message Bible)
A blessed and wonderful Wednesday for you, dear Friend, is my prayer for you. May the joy of the Lord make you strong and confident and ready and willing to face all that may come your way. Please make this a day of prayer and service. Pray for one another. Pray for those who have asked prayer of us. Pray for the needs of the world and for the needs that keep you up at night.
I love the Arroyo sign that says, "Do you think you can hurt my feelings? I used to hold the flashlight for my Dad!" Amen. Most of the guys reading this will relate. I love my Dad, but that saying was so true. As far as my Dad was concerned I knew nothing about being handy or fixing anything. And he was right! I learned from the School of Hard Knocks. "Bring me the Phillips screwdriver," he would say. "They have names?" And when it came to holding the flashlight, I was a klutz! Years later I came to know just what he might have been thinking! But I learned to keep most of my comments to myself. Now, I'm not an expert at evil, but I try! No, seriously, I try not to be, but the human in me suceeds. With all that being said, we find ourselves yet again at the station that says, Israel messed up again and God is mad. Again.
God says that for their having been bad, a wind, meaning a horde of foreign invaders, would be coming to tidy up the place, and the judgment spoken against them, "Your Evil LIfe is Piercing Your Heart." And then the words in modern usage, "What fools my people are! Half-wits,dopes and donkeys all!" And the title for today's devotional, "Experts at evil but klutzes at good." The people of Israel, like us at times, majored in doing bad and failed at doing good. In God's opinion, the world has regressed back to the point of being void and formless. (Remind you of an earlier passage? Like Genesis 1?). The lushness of life gets eroded easily by evil. And not only in creation but in us! And friends, this is not what God intended! What God intended in us to be a garden and orchard, has been shriveled up by our actions against Him. Towns that should be bustling with people, now are ghost towns. And this kindles in God His anger. And God exclaims to Israel that their days were numbered and rapidly coming to an end. But, not The End. (That's still coming and we'd best be ready!). We know that our job is to convert people to the side of life and its fullness.
Again, I stress the need to be right before God. Our days of sinful and wicked living can only go so far; the time to be right and blessed by God is here and now. Friends, I care enough to encourage you to consider, if you haven't done so yet in your life, surrendering now.
PRAYER: Loving God, we hear You loud and clear, and we pause to re-dedicate our lives to You. Lead us away from evil and towards You. Make our lives bloom to their fullest so others will want what we have; in Christ Jesus we pray, amenk.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! YOUR CALL TO ACTION: Seek and share that which will make the gardens and orchards God meant to be in you, bloom in ways that bless others.
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
