Tag Archives: God's blessing

Unknown's avatar

God Says, “Don’t Be Afraid!”

Featured by

God Says, “Don’t Be Afraid!”

Jeremiah 1:4-10 (1:5) – August 24, 2025

Babies can be wonderful. The coming of a baby into the world is certainly a big event, with all the attendant hustle and bustle, all of the excitement and exhaustion. With all the babies that have been born into this world over the millenia, we’re going to look at one baby in particular … the prophet Jeremiah.

Here in the first chapter of Jeremiah, we can take a peek at God’s perspective on the birth of a baby. When we look at verse 1:4, the LORD is saying to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you.” Wow. God knew Jeremiah before Jeremiah was just a tiny group of cells, growing inside of his mother’s uterus. Double wow. The same thing could be said about countless other people, too. God knew me before I was born. The Lord knew everyone in this room, too. It is truly awesome to think about how intimately God knows each one of us.

King David talks about this in Psalm 139. We get another glimpse at how intimately God is acquainted with each one of us. Starting at verse 13, “For it was You who formed my inward parts, You knit me together in my mother’s womb. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.” We can see that God surely knows us, far better than we know ourselves.

We are celebrating going back to school this Sunday. God knows each and every student who is returning to school, and I believe the Lord is watching over every school, every training program, and all internships, all over the world. When I prayed the Blessing of the Backpacks, I was thinking of not only the students associated with this church, but all students, across this country and in the whole wide world. Bless each one!

Which brings me back to the young Jeremiah. This is the beginning, the first chapter of his very challenging prophetic book. Our Scripture reading today is Jeremiah’s call story, when he was just a young teenager. He was not even a grown-up! And, God called out Jeremiah for a special purpose, as we can see: “7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.”

 We can all remember times at school when certain kids were picked on. Perhaps even you or a friend or brother or sister of yours was called names! Usually, to establish some sort of pecking order in the classroom. “Still, most name calling makes people look ‘less’ in the eyes of people around them.” [1]  What were – what are – some of those names? Sadly, I can identify some of the names, like wimp, bully, jock, geek, baby, sissy, cry-baby, bird brain, smarty pants, etc. that are hurled at others.

Just think of how differently people look and feel when we say instead “child of God.” Because, that is exactly what each of us is! Each one of us is a unique creation of God, and each one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made! And, God knows each of us, intimately!

God mentions all this to Jeremiah, because God was watching Jeremiah from the very beginning. And, God saw Jeremiah even before he was born, and God appointed him a prophet, “This, of course, came as startling news to Jeremiah who, apparently, had not had any previous inkling that this could be his life’s work. Maybe it did not even sound that good to him, either. In any event, he starts to do what any number of divinely appointed figures in the Bible have done: he resists the call. He makes up an excuse.” [2]

We can see that Jeremiah did not feel ready to do what God wanted.  “I’m too young. I’m not a public speaker. What could a child like me have to say anyway, and who’d listen even if I tried? No, no, Sovereign God, you’ve got the wrong guy. I’m no one special!”

Be sure that God sometimes calls each of us to do things we feel we are not ready to do or that we are not brave enough to try. That happens in offices, on the factory or hospital floor, in all kinds of classes and just hanging out at school. “When it does, our challenge is to remember what God told Jeremiah: God had given him everything he needed and God would be with him helping him know what to do and say.” [3]

We can see from this Scripture reading that God touched Jeremiah. God put His hand on the teenager. Wow. What an awesome thing, having the God of the universe call on Jeremiah … and to think that God can put His hand on you and on me, too. But—funny thing—God doesn’t always call us in the way that we expect, or in the way that we want God to, but God is always there for us. God is always available to each of us. God calls each one of us, in God’s timing.

Here is an example of an everyday person who was called by God, saw a need, and stepped up to the plate. One of my commentators tells the story:

“Most people I have ever heard speaking of their start in vocations similar to those of Moses and Jeremiah begin not with a burning bush or an audible voice, but with a deep conviction that whatever else they may do, and no matter how they might or might not establish their bona fides, it is the task itself that draws them in. Eula Hall, who describes herself as a ‘hillbilly activist,’ an Appalachian woman with an eighth-grade education and a burning sense of purpose, told me many years ago how she came to found the Mud Creek Health Clinic in southeastern Kentucky to provide health care for the poor: “I looked, and I said to myself, ‘taint right like this, no medical service here, taint right. Somebody needs to act.’ I guess that somebody was me.” [4]

Often now in such a time as this which is like no other many of us have known, we would do well to hear Jeremiah’s call as our own. For God extends not only the call, but also promises to accompany us as we seek to follow. [5] It doesn’t matter our age, young, elderly, or in the middle. It doesn’t matter where we are, at home, school, work, or on the street.

Yes, God called Jeremiah. Yes, God touched Jeremiah. And God calls to each of us today. God was with Jeremiah through the difficult times of his life and ministry, and the Lord promises to be with us, too, through thick and thin, through the difficult times as well as the wonderful times. We can forever be thankful that God is always there with us.  Alleluia, amen!

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2016/07/year-c-proper-16-21st-sunday-in.html

[2] https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2016-01-25/jeremiah-14-10/

[3] https://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2016/07/year-c-proper-16-21st-sunday-in.html

[4] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany-3/commentary-on-jeremiah-14-10

[5] https://dancingwiththeword.com/the-call-of-jeremiah-still-speaks/

Unknown's avatar

Cheerful Givers

by

“Cheerful Givers”

2 Corinthians 9:7-12 (9:7) – November 15, 2020

            Have you started thinking about Thanksgiving yet? Thoughts of Thanksgiving turkeys full of seasoned stuffing, mashed potatoes heaped high, creamy green bean casserole and tangy cranberry sauce bring sure-fire memories to many, many people at this generous, giving-time of the year. Except – will anything like an ordinary Thanksgiving celebration be possible this year? Can anything save this beloved holiday from the ravages of this pandemic and the stress and anxiety that seem to accompany it at every turn?

            Yet – with all the personal trials and tribulations that were continuing to happen to the apostle Paul, how could he even focus on generosity? Just two short chapters after today’s reading, in chapter 11, Paul talks about the dozens of times he was beaten, stoned, jailed, shipwrecked, and repeatedly denied freedom of religion. Yes, I suspect Paul had a close acquaintance with stress, fear and anxiety. Perhaps he did not allow them to take root and settle down in his head and heart, but I suspect Paul knew these deep feelings pretty well.

What did the apostle Paul write just before our reading for today? In the paragraphs before today’s reading, Paul asks for a collection to be gathered together. This collection of money is to be given to the persecuted, needy church in Jerusalem. The Christian friends in Jerusalem certainly knew what it was like to be in distress, too! It’s then Paul tells more about giving. How to give, and why. How not to give, too.  

            Of course we are preoccupied. Many things are on people’s minds. Not only the coronavirus, and public health, but stress, uncertainty and political upheaval. Is there any reason stress, fear and anxiety would NOT be running rampant in the United States today?

            Who can possibly turn our minds to giving and generosity, with so much going on in our lives? How can each of us follow this command from God to give generously? Paul would remind us that many, many Christians in his day had lots of things going on in their personal lives, too. Many were truly persecuted in a way that would make our skin crawl; many were in trouble with the imperial forces and government, too. Yet – Paul praised his former church members for remembering the faithful believers in Jerusalem – sending them a much needed financial gift.

            There is a clear difference between certain people who give freely and generously, and other people who give like their arms are twisted behind their backs – out of a matter of grudging obligation. And oh! Can we tell the difference!  

            We have a proverb of Paul’s day included here, in verse 6: “the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” Here Paul uses a common saying of the day to illustrate his point. Talking about bounty, about being generous, and about grudging giving out of obligation—being stingy.

            Do you know someone who is really stingy? Someone who is really pained to spend even one dollar of his or her own money? When I was young, there was an older man in our neighborhood who was exactly like this. So stingy he would creak when he walked. So stingy he couldn’t think of putting a penny in a Salvation Army kettle at the holidays.

            I suspect all of us know a tight-fisted person like this. Not at all the generous, open-handed way of giving that the Lord Jesus models for us. God never gives out of an attitude of grudging obligation, and neither should we.

            As each person purposes – or decides in their own heart, that is why we are to give. Did you ever think of giving because you want to give and because God has put it in your heart to give? To give out of the pure joy of giving? Paul had churchgoers remember the church – by sending a much needed financial gift.

One of my acquaintances knew a stingy old woman. So stingy, she would cut coupons and live on the bare minimum in her tiny house. But, she surprised us all after she died. Her will left $50 million dollars to Monmouth College. She never experienced the joy of giving away that money. She never experienced Thanks-GIVING. Don’t miss the joy of giving.
            Our giving “reveals the purposes in our own heart. “If we say we love the Lord more than surfing, but spend all our money on surfboards and do not give as we should to the Lord’s work, then the way we spend our money shows the purposes of our own heart more accurately than our words do. Jesus said it simply: ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.’” [1]

But, wait! If we have this generous attitude towards giving, being open-handed, positive and cheerful, then God will bless us abundantly with every blessing. Isn’t a warm heart and abundant blessings what we all really want?

What a marvelous promise. What wonderful words. And, this is not “maybe,” or “I hope so,” but it is a blessed promise from God! This is not only for our gifts of treasure, for our gifts of money. This blessing is for our gifts of time and of talents, as well.

For the person who comes and volunteers on Sunday mornings to start the coffee, sets out the bulletins, does the pandemic safety checks, or turns on the lights in the sanctuary—thank you. For the person who bakes a cake or makes a table decoration or repairs the church building—thank you. These are the gifts of time and of talent, and God is so pleased with that, too. God is pleased with whatever gifts you sincerely, truly offer with all your heart.

Alleluia, amen!

[1] https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide2017-2Cr/2Cr-9.cfm

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2020: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!