Jeremiah 23:23-29 (NRSV)
Read Jeremiah 23:23-29 on biblegateway.com
Verse 23Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? Verse 24Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. Verse 25I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, "I have dreamed, I have dreamed!" Verse 26How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back-those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? Verse 27They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. Verse 28Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord. Verse 29Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
Devotion
What is it like to live in South Dakota? Great question! Because sometimes we develop impressions of places without ever travelling to them. South Dakota is beautiful. Aberdeen is wide open prairie with lakes and rich farmland. Writer Kathleen Norris said, "On the prairie, there is room for the soul to breathe." Here like in many ecosystems, lightning and fire help clear brush and renew the soil. It can be scary, so teams and farmers will set "controlled burns." We like that idea, but faith in God is not a controlled burn: "Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?" (verse 29)
We often want to control the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives with predictable worship, cultural habits and nostalgia. But when faith and love for God burn out of control, in different seasons of our lives, we are renewed, given space to breath and love unpredictably.
Prayer
Spark the fire of new creation in us this day, O God. Amen.