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.

1 John 2:17 - I want it!

 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. - 1 John 2:17

There are times when we want something. Maybe it is a new job, a new car, a drink, or a half gallon of ice cream. Whatever our desires are, we have to keep our main focus on the will of God. In the end, none of those things we want really matter. They may be good things, and it is ok to want and get them as long as it is not at the expense of the will of God. When the pursuit of these things cause us anxiety and to make sinful choices, then we need to put God back in first place and reasses our desires.

Lord. Thank you for all of the gifts of this world. Please help us to keep you and your will as the most important thing in our lives. Amen.

Psalm 139:7-10

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.

This verse is from another WBS lesson I am grading.

I am struggling right now with continuing my regular Bible study vs grading World Bible School lessons. I think I may need to return my personal bible study time to the morning and grade lessons in the evening.

Lord, please help me with this new outreach opportunity. Help me to know your ways and peruse your purposes. Amen.