Jeremiah 2:25 - Addicted

Do not run until your feet are bare
     and your throat is dry.
But you said,
 ‘It’s no use!
     I love foreign gods,
     and I must go after them.’
Jeremiah 2:25

This passage made me think of addiction. The Israelites were addicted to foreign gods. They would run after them, even though they really could do nothing to help them. A few lines down from this passage in 27 and 28 it says,  "yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’ Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble!" So what is the "foreign god" in your life? It might be heroin, pain killers, alcohol, food, work, success, television, our image, or our phone? Is there is anything you run after, you love, you cannot quit and that cannot save you when you are in trouble?

Lord, Thank you for always being there for us and accepting us back even when we have put other things before you. Please help us to see the things in our lives we are addicted to and help us to get rid of these addictions. Amen.

Genesis 2:18 - Eve

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

I am working on a lesson for our ladies class about a woman of the Bible. I chose the most obvious one...Eve.  The first woman. The first wife. The first mother. The first grandmother. Part of the first family (the first dysfunctional family). The first sinner. The first to loose a child. The verse above is the first reference to Eve.

Lord, thank you for giving us the story of creation and humankind. Please help us to learn from this story about ourselves and about you. Amen.

John 1:40-41 - Andrew the first

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 

Andrew is Peter’s brother and an apostle, and honestly, Andrew is not known for much else, According to John’s gospel, Andrew is the first apostle to to officially follow Jesus. He is the first one to sit at Jesus’ feet for a day, then he excitedly went to tell his brother. With Peter playing such a large role in the story of the church, it is neat to see his brother get to be the first one to officially follow Jesus.

 Lord, thank you for examples like Andrew, who is not a person in the spotlight, but his role is still important and needed. Please help us to give all to you, regardless of our role.