Day 8

There are churches today that have adopted the “if it makes you feel good it must be right” attitude, but does it pass the approval of God? In Jeremiah the Israelites fell into this trap more than once. They idolized other gods again and again, and sometimes we fall into idolatry without realizing it. Our idolatry becomes money, sports, jobs, and just stuff that gets in the way of our relationship with Him. God demands that we worship Him and only Him. Sometimes we
fall short. Reading Jeremiah reminds me that we have a God who shows grace, mercy, and love when we repent - just as He did for the Israelites.

I am so thankful and blessed that I worship the One and Only God because I fall just as the Israelites did. God has equipped each of us with the ability to serve in our church and outside of our church doors. Seek Him and let him show you where you are needed.

Also reading in Jeremiah, I find my favorite verses since I was very young. I remember being in church, singing the song "Just Like a Tree," which comes from these verses, and thinking I wanted to be this tree that can go through trials and still bear the fruit that God would have me to bear.

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
    whose confidence is in Him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17:7-8

I want to be like the tree, standing firm in my faith and trusting in God, using my gifts to
edify my church and show fruits of my labor to glory Him.

By: Anita Hardy