What is real and what is not

False gods are worthless.

False gods are made out of wood and silver and gold.

False gods cannot speak.

What can a worthless wooden idol actually teach you?

False gods have to be carried.

They cannot breathe. They know nothing.

There’s no point fearing false gods. They can’t do you any harm. They can’t do you any good either.

What things do we value most of all? X box, trainers, handbags, shoes, jewellery, beauty treatments, TV, football, food, gadgets, the ideal home…do we actually believe these things can change our lives? Do we really think having these things will make all the difference?

There is no one like God. The one true God.

God is great. God is mighty in power.

God is the living God, the eternal King.

God made the heavens and the earth.

God can act. God can speak. God changes lives.

There was a covenant made long ago. A promise. A treaty. Back when God delivered His people from Egypt and set them free from slavery.

I said, “Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then I will fulfil the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey”– the land you possess today.’  Jeremiah 11:4-5

Nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing. It is still as simple as that. It is not about denomination or doctrine or ritual. It is about obedience. It is about relationship.

From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, ‘Obey me.’ But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.  Jeremiah 11:7-8

As I said, nothing has changed.

Nobody wanted to hear these reminders. No one could cope with what Jeremiah had to say. He was unpopular. Hated. Hunted down. The people wanted him silenced. He had God on his side though. No one was going to be able to lay a finger on him.

What really frustrates Jeremiah is that the people who say the right things but do the wrong things seem to prosper. It goes against everything he is sharing from God. It makes a nonsense of all that he is saying.

Why do good things happen to bad people and why do bad things happen to good people? That age old question.

And God’s answer. Give me time. Let me do it my way. That’s what Jeremiah 12 is all about.

And that is God’s answer today. Remember what accompanies obedience? Trust. Trust and obey.

That is what it is all about.

Trust and obey.