Return
"If you will return, O Israel," says the LORD, "Return to me; and if you will put away your abominations in my sight, then you shall not be moved." --Jeremiah 4:1
How can a person return to a place he has never been before? The verb "to return" presupposes that there was a time previous when one was at the spot to which one is "returning." I was there once, I left, I return.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, the LORD is calling Israel, and me, to return...if I want to. Immediately I notice that he doesn't want me to come on my own for the first time...for I believe that I cannot, by my own reason or strength, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or come to Him. He does not call me as a sinner to leave my life of sin and come to Him. No. As a sinner, He comes to me with His holy and life-giving blood. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Word of God, the LORD, in the person of Jesus Christ, goes to the unregenerated.
BUT we still stray, for the regeneration is not yet complete. And so God dispatches the prophet to go the people and ask them to return, to come back to that place where He is, that place that was promised to them. So, for us, those who are regenerated through the Holy Spirit, this word of "return" is for us.
In addition to this blog, I keep a paper journal as well. I just like the idea of having something a little more private and secret, although I would let anyone read it. As I was writing the thoughts above into my journal, I started to "return" to the previous pages. Pages of dreams, frustrations, hopes, and plans. It would seem that the old joke is true: "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans," because so many of my dreams from two years ago have changed.
To be honest, the one thing that is missing is the presence of God in my life right now. This word from the LORD is not so much about my actions and living the Christian life as it is about taking the time to return to him in prayer and meditation. Some of the thoughts and ideas that I had were amazing...and I haven't had one of those in a long while...until today. Today is the day for me to return to the LORD in the hopes that I will not be moved.
How can a person return to a place he has never been before? The verb "to return" presupposes that there was a time previous when one was at the spot to which one is "returning." I was there once, I left, I return.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, the LORD is calling Israel, and me, to return...if I want to. Immediately I notice that he doesn't want me to come on my own for the first time...for I believe that I cannot, by my own reason or strength, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ or come to Him. He does not call me as a sinner to leave my life of sin and come to Him. No. As a sinner, He comes to me with His holy and life-giving blood. Through the work of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Word of God, the LORD, in the person of Jesus Christ, goes to the unregenerated.
BUT we still stray, for the regeneration is not yet complete. And so God dispatches the prophet to go the people and ask them to return, to come back to that place where He is, that place that was promised to them. So, for us, those who are regenerated through the Holy Spirit, this word of "return" is for us.
In addition to this blog, I keep a paper journal as well. I just like the idea of having something a little more private and secret, although I would let anyone read it. As I was writing the thoughts above into my journal, I started to "return" to the previous pages. Pages of dreams, frustrations, hopes, and plans. It would seem that the old joke is true: "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans," because so many of my dreams from two years ago have changed.
To be honest, the one thing that is missing is the presence of God in my life right now. This word from the LORD is not so much about my actions and living the Christian life as it is about taking the time to return to him in prayer and meditation. Some of the thoughts and ideas that I had were amazing...and I haven't had one of those in a long while...until today. Today is the day for me to return to the LORD in the hopes that I will not be moved.
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