📖 Do you follow Jesus in pretense only?

I. In Jeremiah 3, we see Jeremiah writing about the wickedness and apostasy of Israel (the northern kingdom) as well as Judah (the southern kingdom). At this point in Israel’s history, it had divided into two.

In verse 10, commenting on Judah specifically, Jeremiah writes:

“Yet in spite of all of this (that God had judged the northern kingdom of Israel for its apostasy), her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to me with all her heart—only in pretense.”

It is helpful to know that Jeremiah is writing this during the reign of King Josiah, who was a righteous and God-fearing king who was leading Judah toward repentance, following the law, and turning back to God.

Yet we know all of this was very short-lived. Soon after King Josiah’s death, Judah began going back to its sinful ways and its pursuit of false gods.

In other words, for a time Judah began doing the right thing, but it appears that for many it was only pretense; their hearts weren’t genuinely seeking the Lord.

Would we today take heed of the words of Jeremiah here. What we need is genuine devotion and love for the Lord. Not surface-level, “it looks good,” I’m going to do this so God will be happy with me, type of actions.

God sees our hearts. He knows where our devotion lies.

The Lord is not interested in mere outward appearances. He does not care for pretense. Would we turn to and seek the Lord with genuine hearts, because the Lord desires more than outward obedience; he desires our hearts.

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II. When Jesus is on trial before Pilate in Luke 23, Pilate says that he finds no grounds for charging Jesus (verse 4).

Yet the crowd, stirred up by the religious leaders, wants Jesus crucified. And so, Pilate sends Jesus over to Herod, who had jurisdiction over Galilee, where Jesus was from.

Herod then has Jesus treated with contempt because Jesus would not answer his questions (and likely wouldn’t do any miracles that Herod was requesting). Then Herod hands Jesus back over to Pilate. And we are told this in verse 12:

“That very day Herod and Pilate became friends. Previously, they had been enemies.”

Two men who were essentially political enemies were now united over their shameful treatment of Jesus.

As followers of Jesus, it is wise to know that this reality will continue to exist until Christ returns. Our enemy wants nothing more than for people to turn from our one and only Savior.

Our battle is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), because even those who are naturally against each other can unite in opposition to Jesus and the good news about him.

May we remain faithful, even when the world desires that we not be so.

David Gibson: Commenting on Psalm 23 and what we most need to know in life:

“We always want practical religion—effective habits, daily disciplines, lifestyle fixes—and these can all be wonderful if they are full of gospel grace, but the fountain from which they flow is God himself.

Whoever you are, and whatever you are experiencing today as you read these lines, there is nothing better to know in all the world than that the shepherd you belong to is the Lord of the burning bush who revealed his name to Moses.”

The cost of community is inconvenience.

You have to commit to and show up to things, even when you don't feel like it.

No last-minute texts of "I can't make it."

Yes to attending things you'd rather not.

If you never, or rarely, inconvenience yourself for the sake of others, you'll always be lonely.

The Hero of the Empire by Candice Millard

A book about Winston Churchill focused on the first 25 years of his life, and primarily focused on his time, participation, and escape from imprisonment during the Boer War in present-day South Africa.

This is the first book I've read on Churchill. It was more interesting than I thought it might be and was an enjoyable read.

It ends rather abruptly, in my opinion, but the epilogue does a nice job of giving the reader a good general overview of what happens in the years following the war.

It was also nice to learn more about the history of South Africa and the tensions that led to the conflict and division in that country in the 20th century.

I wouldn't call this a page-turner, but it was easy to follow overall and to keep straight all the main characters referenced in the book.

8/10

This week on Thinking Biblically, I discuss 6 Christian Sayings That Aren’t In The Bible. Are these popular statements biblical?

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P.S. One of the first great breakthroughs of humanity…