Good Morning!
The book of Jeremiah was written concerning the days of the collapse of Israel and Judah (Israel was divided into two nations), mainly Judah during the sixth century B.C. In the middle of his messages to the Jewish nation concerning their demise, he inserts a message that is a long way ahead of its time. He gives a word of encouragement to the children of God concerning a new day and a New Covenant. This is the New Covenant that God has for us today. It has not changed and its hope is eternal. Read Jeremiah 31:31 and the following:
"Look, the days are coming"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-
'when I will make a NEW COVENANT with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
32 [This one will] NOT be like the covenant I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt-
a covenant they broke even though I had married them'-the Lord's declaration.
33 'INSTEAD, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days'-the Lord's declaration.
'I will place My law within them and WRITE IT ON THEIR HEARTS.
I will be their God, and they will be My people.
34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying:
Know the Lord, for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them'-the Lord's declaration.
'For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin...'"
No longer are people judged according to the activities of their nation. No longer are the laws of God written on the stone tablets of the law. This is the old Covenant. God's New Covenant is where the laws of God are written on the hearts of individuals. A person's relationship with God is personal. During the days of Jeremiah, this covenant was something that was being expected someday...But...today that covenant is here! Jesus sealed that covenant for us. His death, burial, and resurrection made it possible for us to have a personal relationship with God through the New Covenant of the sacrifice of Jesus, God's Son.
Religious leaders and political leaders are not bound by the Old Covenant as they were in Jeremiah's time. The leaders of Jeremiah's day were breaking the laws of God regularly. They were lingering in their opposition to God for so long that God was using Jeremiah to tell them that God has had all He will take.
But, God told Jeremiah that there is coming a day when God will work with each person individually and people will make their own choice to follow the laws of God and be judged by their own decision and not the decisions of others.
I pray for our leaders every day. I prayed for strength and wisdom for George W. Bush. He claimed to be a believer. I remember when he was ridiculed and mocked for answering the question, "What is your favorite book?" He replied, "The Bible."
The next three presidents I have and am praying for to show their Faith in Jesus Christ and lead because they have a personal relationship with Him. I'm not making any judgment on their spiritual condition, but, I really want our leaders in politics and religion to be a reflection of their personal Faith in God. This is what God has given to us to unify us. This is where we can stand together as "one nation under God." Our hearts are united by the heart of God. We are His family committed to giving Him Glory!
Just as Jeremiah was called by God before he was formed in his mother's womb...I am praying for the womb to be a safer place for people to be born who are called by God to become Jeremiahs and Billy Grahams today.
This is our encouragement today. God has written His laws on our hearts. As children of God, we KNOW the difference in right and wrong. As God's children let's choose to do right. It's already on your heart. God put it there!
May God Bless You!
Don Betts
DBEA/campus320
DBEAWINNING.COM
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!