Many churches throughout the world use a Bible reading schedule called a "lectionary." It's just a fancy word meaning "selected readings." Posts like this reflect on the readings for an upcoming Sunday or other Church holiday, as found in the historic one-year lectionary.
"how dare you!" We dare to speak the truth, as did Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 26. Nobody would have minded if Jeremiah's message had agreed with their plans. But it didn't.
What God has said, particularly about the nature of sin and salvation, goes against the grain of the majority in Western culture today. It's particularly offensive to the secularist, who has elevated politics to a religious faith and has made feelings the inviolable confession of faith.
Jeremiah's message to the people was one of doom. If they did not repent and turn to God they would find their city in ruin and disgrace. This was not what they wanted to hear. It is not what my culture wants to hear either. Calling an increasingly secularized society to believe what God has said in Scripture and to live in accord with it is decidedly not what they want. However, as with Jeremiah, so with America. It's what they need.
The priests and prophets in Jeremiah's time considered Jeremiah worthy of death. The priests and prophets of secularity in our time may wish the same. However, once Jeremiah spoke to a different group, the city officials and the people, that group managed to make the priests and prophets change their mind.
Speaking and living in a way that is faithful to God's Word is a challenge. Yet the Lord can take this radically counter-cultural message of repentance and reliance on God rather than ourselves, and use the truth for the good of our world.
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