Lessons from the Book of Jeremiah (3)

“HE ALWAYS SHOWS YOU WHAT YOU DID WRONG”

“Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful’, declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt- you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me’, declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 3:12b-13 (NIV)

WHAT IS SIN?

Man call is an accident, God calls it abomination.

Man calls it a defect, God calls it a disease.

Man calls it an error, God calls it an enmity.

Man calls it a liberty, God calls it lawlessness.

Man calls it a trifle, God calls it a tragedy.

Man calls it a mistake, God calls it a madness.

Man calls it a weakness, God calls it willfulness.

~Moody Monthly.

 Have you ever wondered, “What have I done wrong?!?!” I know that I have on several occasions cried out this very thought in frustration.  Feeling like my world was crashing all around and then praying to God, “What did I ever do wrong?”

The prophet Jeremiah had a message from God for the people. They had been straying from serving Him as the one true God. But God didn’t leave the people in limbo just in case they didn’t know why He wanted them to repent. He gave them the details:

[The New Living Translation (NLT) ]

1.  Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God

2. (Admit that you) committed adultery against Him
      by worshiping idols under every green tree.

3. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice.

God wanted the people to acknowledge their sins and He was not going to “be angry forever” (v.12b). The next you feel like you’ve done something wrong…maybe you have. Ask God to show you and know that He won’t hold you responsible to repent (ask forgiveness and change your mind toward that sin) without showing what it was so that you can admit it, confess it and move on from it. His anger won’t be forever, remember, “…neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39

Lessons from Jeremiah (2)

“Two Sins”

“My people have committed two sins. They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cistern, broken that cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13

The people of Israel were in a terrible situation. God was trying to get them to realize the gravity of their sins. All the sins that they had committed could be boiled down to just two: They forsook God and tried to do it their own way.

“Forsake” is defined as “to give up or leave entirely”, the synonym is the word “abandon”. The people of Israel had abandoned their God. They didn’t even understand all that they had given up. God compared their forsaking as someone who left a river with flowing water and then dug their own cisterns. By definition a “cistern” is an “artificial reservoir or tank for storing water usually underground”.

The people had given up the natural flow of a river and focused on the artificial reservoir. It gave them a false sense of security that they were able to rely on their own supply rather than on God’s provision.

We need to be careful that we don’t the same thing and sin against God by first forsaking Him and then devising our own plans, relying on our human strength. God is patient and loving but there are things He will not tolerate and these are two of them.

Ask the Lord to show you the cisterns you have dug in your own strength. Then ask for forgiveness and cover those human made cisterns and begin rely on God.

lLessons from the Book of Jeremiah (1)

WHO ARE YOU DEVOTED TO?”

“I remember the devotion of your youth,  how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown.” Jeremiah 2:2b

 It’s been almost eight years since I married my husband. I remember that when we were first married everything he did was cute and if he told me the sky was purple I would believe him because my love for him was young and inexperienced. I love my husband tremendously but just as every young couple realizes, the honeymoon is just a season. Eventually the trials of life begin to sneak in and it brings along hurt, anger, distrust.

                The word “devotion” is defined as “a strong love, affection, or dedication.” I can honestly say that I am a devoted wife. I have dedicated my life to being “Mrs. Rivera” God gave us marriage as a symbol of our relationship with Him.

                If I can be devoted to my husband how much more should I be devoted to God? This very same situation was the kind that the Israelites were finding themselves in. God had already taken them through the desert hundred of years prior to Jeremiah and God had provided for them, defended them and protect them all those years. Now the people had begun making it a habit to serve God’s other than Him. And God wanted them to remember His goodness. The love that the people of Israel had for God led them out of Israel had for God led them out of Israel had for God led them out of slavery and thru desert, a place where crops thru a desert, a place where crops don’t grow and they had to rely totally on God that was devotion. Their passion for God then was strong. God is still the same. He never changes.

                How about in your life? Was your previous devotion to God like the people in Israel? Were you like a new bride, so excited but the trials of life caused you to feel differently? You are only one prayer away from devoting yourself to God again. 

"The Road Not Taken"

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. ~ "The Road not taken" by Robert Frost ~ Recently, I heard this poem on an old episode on Fame. But what a powerful poem! It's important for us to understand that the life we live is our life! There are no do overs. All the decisions we make affect our lives. Some will affect us for the good and some for the bad. It would be so easy if God took away our free will and just made all the decisions. That would be easy.  But God wants us to chose the right thing.

"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life,..." Deuteronomy 30:19. The choice is ours. But be warned that the road of life, the right thing to do will be the road less traveled. 
Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33. It may not be easy but God will help you through it. The day you stand before Him, and we all will whether we believe in Him or not, the Bible says, "Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," Hebrews 9:27. Will you live your life without regrets? Poet Robert Frost was pondering the "What would have been" but the truth is that you never have to wonder as long as you make the right choices. 


1. Choose to follow Christ. It may not be popular but it's worth. 


2. Choose to live every day as if it were you last. Talk to people who have suffered with Cancer or a near death experience. And many will tell you that they appreciate everyday and try to live it to the fullest.


3. Choose to stay on the road that is less traveled it will make the difference in your life. 

What's your motive? (1)

9 Come, all you beasts of the field,    come and devour, all you beasts of the forest! 10 Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. 11 They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain. 12 “Come,” each one cries, “let me get wine!  Let us drink our fill of beer! And tomorrow will be like today, or even far better.” Isaiah 56:9-12 (NIV)

In this portion of Scripture we read about dogs that:

(1) Don’t know anything.

(2) Lost their voice so they are no able to warn others.

(3) They like to sleep.

(4) They are dreamers.

(5) They have no real knowledge of God.

So what does a dog have to do with you?

Growing up I had a German shepherd and we brought a trainer in to help us with him. I loved to watch her train him. I began to notice that every time he did something good she gave him a treat. When she would leave and we tried to get him to obey it never worked. I believe it’s because we didn’t give him the treat that the trainer did. A dog is motivated to do good things to receive approval from others or because some reward is given. Let’s compare a sheepdog and a shepherd.

A sheepdog will protect the sheep on the basis of a reward or approval from the shepherd. While a shepherd on the other hand will take care of and protects the sheep on the basis that he really cares about them. The shepherd invests a lot of energy and effort into raising the sheep and tending to their every need.

            What’s your motivation to care about others? Is it for your own selfish gain or because you actually care about those around you?

Dirty Bible?

I went to visit my niece recently and she showed me a book full of post its and I asked her what that was about.
She said it was called "Dirty Book". She said that her English teacher was having them write on Post It's any words they didn't understand, anything that stuck out to them and any questions they had. So I got the idea to do it to my Bible and although I am an avid journaler, this Post It thing has been coming in handy. So above is a pic of the Bible I have decided to "dirty" for the next year and see what happens.
Let me know what you think.

The day NY shook!

I was at lunch with my hubby and one of the youth from our group. They were ordering the food and I was holding us a table. It was the lunch rush and seats were few and far between. My husband had just come back to the table when I argued with him about the price he paid for water. And as soon as he went to get the food. I began to feel a trembling under my feet and my eye sight started shaking. I thought I had lost my mind. I couldn't believe. It couldn't be an earthquake this is New York! We don't get earthquakes!  And then I looked around the restaurant and I saw the fear in eyes of all those around me. A table full of Japanese students got up and walked out leaving their food on the table. And I got more scared. I stood up and began to step toward my husband was standing. I began to think, "Is this going to get worse? Is this the end of the world?" So, I prayed. I asked God to forgive my stupidity for arguing over the price of water! Then I asked for the forgiveness of my sins. The funny thing is that all this took place in just 2 minutes of my life! Two minutes. The Bible says, "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come." (Mark 13:32-33 NIV) and there is another bible verse So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matthew 24:43-44 NIV). These bible verses started running through my mind. And I thought is Jesus coming back today? Is this what we have preparing for? All of a sudden that made me more scared! I'm a Christian, and yet I was freaking out just as bad as everyone else. I know God. He's a good God and He loves me but the idea of this being it filled me with trepidation. My story isn't over. I refuse to be scared and so I need to increase my faith. And how am I going to this? "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." (Romans 10:17 NLT)

I have chosen to spend time with God and in His Word. When the end comes I will be ready. And I pray you will be too. 

A powerful little Book

Have you ever gone to a hotel on vacation and opened the drawer next to bed only to find a little book? It could have been red, burgundy, or blue but at the bottom right hand corner of this book was a small logo of a circle with an urn and a flame. And just above that in gold lettering were one of the most recognizable words: HOLY BIBLE.
Living in a country where the HOLY BIBLE is so easily accessible I sometimes take it granted how powerful that book is. Recently, I had the honor of attending a dinner held by The Gideon's International. What a powerful night! I heard so many testimonies about what God has done using the Bible. How many lives have been changed by one man standing on a corner giving out a Bible. So amazing.
The guest speaker, Craig Warner, Executive Director in Australia, said, "The Bible is a unique book because every single time it's read the author is present." I thought that was so interesting! Since God is everywhere:

"7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Or where can I flee from Your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. 9 If I take the wings of the dawn,  If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,10 Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,  And the light around me will be night,” 12 Even the darkness is not dark to You,  And the night is as bright as the day.   Darkness and light are alike to You. 13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  Wonderful are Your works,    And my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from You,  When I was made in secret,   And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; 16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me,  When as yet there was not one of them." Psalm 139:7-16 (NAS)


It is so amazing to think that every time we open the Bible God is there. I love the Chronicles of Narnia book series and if C.S. Lewis was in the room every time I read his books it would be amazing. I could ask him about what he was thinking when he wrote something or even ask him to elaborate on a subject. Well, since God is always around then when I read the Bible if I have questions I should be able to ask Him. He is the author after all and it would be nice to get answers to my questions. Just like God is there when we read our Bibles, He is also there every time we walk right by it and leave it untouched. There is something so great about seeing a Bible that is tattered and worn. It means that that person invested time is getting to know it's author. The next time you're on vacation and open the drawer with the Gideon Bible give it a read and know that it's author is right there beside you.

CRAZY SUMMER

This Summer has been happy, fun, crazy, busy, restful, restless, and so many more adjectives. I went on vacation at the end of June til the beginning of July. I went to Louisiana for a wedding. I met some real Cajuns and fell in love with there hearts. I also was able to see my first alligator that wasn't in a zoo. It was up close and personal.
I even got to see the TABASCO factory on Avery, Island.

 Everything was so cool. And then there was the wedding. It was the first wedding I had every gone to where the pastor preached just to the couple and two things stuck out about his sermon: 1. Don't dig up bones. (That means don't bring up the past during an argument.) 2. Adam (from the Bible in the account of creation) was given the ability to name all the creatures that God had created "¹⁹ So the Lord God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. ²⁰ He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him." Genesis 2:19-20.   
This pastor said that God gave Adam the responsibility to name the animals and what he named them that's what they recognized as being. A husband has the responsibility of naming his wife. He can call her a "battle ax" or "nag" and she will live up to that. Or he can name her "beautiful, beloved, honorable, strong" and she can live up to that. 
Then the pastor said that woman was made from the rib of Adam.
" ²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. ²³ “At last!” the man exclaimed.   “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” ²⁴ This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one." Genesis 2:21-24


This was important because God took Adam's Rib to make Eve because she would be able to influence her husband more than anyone else. And she could do it for good or evil. It's important for a wife to know that God made her special for her husband and respect him as such. 


And then I went to Florida to see my in-laws. And we had so much fun! God used my husband and I in ministry. It was so much fun to see our friends and family. 


Once we got back to Long Island it was back to work. It's been this way from the moment we touched down in NYC. But now I am in a pensive mood. What do I do know? Just work like a frantic person until next vacation? Things must be different because I need to enjoy life. Vacation is a couple of weeks a year. But life is the rest of it. I am praying hard for direction. 

ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES

Have you ever seen a movie and it reminded you about something that happened in your life? In my case I was running from a movie that reminded me of my life 13 years ago. The movie was called ENOUGH and it starred Jennifer Lopez. Although I never killed my abuser the fact was that between the tender ages of 19-21 I was involved in a live-in domestic violence situation and something about this movie rang to close to home. The movie ENOUGH is about a woman who ends up marrying a guy that she thinks is her hero. She’s had a rough life, her mom died young and her dad abandoned them. And for a while it seemed like a dream. Sure there were red alarms with some things but for the most part she was happy, that is until she finds out her husband is having an affair and confronts him. Then the physical abuse begins. And it escalates to the point where she has to run with her daughter or lose her life. 

My situation didn’t involve a husband or a child, just a boyfriend. But the abuse was real. I remember feeling so alone and so hopeless. Like I was drowning in slow motion and the people around me could see me but no one noticed my pain. I would go to work and school and hide the bruises, most of the time he hit me where my clothes would cover.  There is a shame involved with domestic violence that blinds you to hope and unless you have looked at yourself in the mirror after being abused and wondered, “What’s wrong with me?” “Where did I go wrong?” “How did I let it get to this point?” “I wish I would die….anything is better than this.” At the end of the movie a police officer comes up to Jennifer Lopez’s character and tells her, “You were one of the lucky ones”.  About 1,400 women die each year because of domestic violence in America.  One of the lucky ones, I am one.

Domestic violence doesn’t begin with violence. It begins when the abuser tears about the victims self-esteem and makes them get to the point where the victim actually believes that they deserve the abuse. It’s all a lie!  The truth is that God sees you for who you really are:

·         John 1:12 I am God's child.
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

• Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
  In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
• Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
  I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

What I learned after watching this movie was to stop running from things that remind me of my past. The truth of the situation is that God was watching over me and He got me out of a dangerous situation. And the Bible says that He is the same; yesterday, today and forever. He made me lucky one and since He doesn’t change He can do that same for you. 

Remembering My first Love

" “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lamp stands:
 ² “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. ³ You have patiently suffered for me without quitting.
 ⁴ “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!^[b] 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches. ⁶ But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

 ⁷ “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God." Revelation 2:1-7 (NLT)

I recently was able to go visit the first church that I called home. I was with my husband in the bronx and we were invited to a water baptism service. From the moment I entered the church building I began having flashbacks. I remembered wher I sat for the first 2 years of my walk with God. I remember the place where I accepted His Gift of Salvation. I remembered the altar where I walked up and stood before a giant of a man, my very first pastor and prayed the sinners prayer of repentance. And then as I watched the baptism candidates go one by one into the waters of baptism I remembered how my baptism felt to me more than 7 years ago. I even remembered staying up late the night before my baptism because I had promised the pastor I was going to read the gospel of John before the baptism and how I had procrastinated doing so until the last minute.Then I remembered commiting myself to my husband before the presence of God and my church family at that very altar. And then my mind began to speed up as I remembered the first human video I performed and the many lives that God had allowed me to impact in that place. And as I cried feeling the presence of God all around me the worship team began to sing "Because He loves me" and I snapped back to my reality and realized that the reason why I had started this journey in the first place was because I realized during that prayer mtg over 7 yrs ago that God loved me...once this thought had crossed my heart I realized that I felt so sad, not because God loved me but because in the business of serving Him I had forgotten why I served Him. In this world we will have troubles. God never promised us a rose garden here He did say thru His son that He would prepare a place for us. My challenge to you is to ask the Lord have you forgotten something important? Like how it felt to have no hope and then all of a sudden surrending to God and realizing how much you loved Him? Think about your first love the next time you get frustrated with your life. Remember that you are not where you were even if you still haven't arrived to where you're going. 

Isn't this Pic cute!

How much of this has been my own fault?

I recently had this really profound thought. You know one of those thoughts that causes you to stop what you're doing a re-evaluate your life? Well, that is exactly what happened to me. While knitting away one evening after my husband had gone to sleep. I began to wonder, "How much of the troubles in your life were caused by your bad decisions?" I almost dropped a stitch! We are so accustomed to blaming the world, the devil and people for our unhappiness that when I pondered this I was shocked. I began to inventory my life. Beginning with relationships and the fact that I don't have many friends. Oh! I have the fleeting friendship that ends up being a disconnect when the investment becomes overwhelming but life longs pals...not that many.

The minute a friend corrected me I would tell myself, "It's better to let them go. They think they are better then you anyway." But the Bible says, "Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy." Proverbs 27:6 (NLT)

Or when a friend offended me I would say, "I don't need them! I don't have to allow myself to get hurt." But the Bible says, "Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." Colossians 3:13 (NLT)

 I began to think about how many times I felt like I was taken advantage of by others. And I would grumble and complain, then withdraw from the people. The Bible says, "Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back." Luke 6:38 (NLT)

"This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you." John 15:12 (NLT)

"For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do." Hebrews 6:10 (NLT)

At the end of all my thinking I realized my lonely feeling wasn't caused by God, the World, or Satan, it was really caused by me and my poor decisions. And I remembered what the Bible said, "Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT) When I chose to humble myself and confess to God all the mistakes I had made. He was free to heal my heart and those situations didn't seem so grim. I now had hope.