March 12 – Obey God’s voice

Jeremiah 7:23-28

But this command I gave them, ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; yet they did not listen to me, or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.
“So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.”

We all have the opportunity to hear to God through the words of the Holy Bible. We hear His voice who commands us to obey, yet we turn away. God sends people into our lives to bring us to the Lord, but we don’t listen because we would rather do things our way than God’s way. We are stubborn, stiff-necked, and every generation seems to be just a little more evil than the one before. The Israelites were cut off from the promise because they would not stay faithful to the Lord their God. We too could be cut off if we don’t do something while we still have the chance to repent. We must continue to read and learn God’s Word so that we will know and follow God’s way.

Every year during Lent, we are reminded of the struggle that sin causes us, and we are called to repent and turn back toward the Lord. We clearly have the opportunity to listen and obey. We live in a time where we understand the Old Testament prophecy pointing to Jesus as our Savior, and we have the opportunity to be saved through the blood of Jesus on the cross. We can have eternal life through His resurrection if we simply do whatever He tells us. Our nation and all the nations in the world have been blessed through Jesus, and we will continue to be blessed as long as there are those of us who remain faithful. Listen to the warnings of the past, even if it’s our ancient past, so that you will obey the Commandments and follow the way of Jesus Christ.

Lent in Action:

Open your Bible to your favorite Bible story and study it. Learn something new from an old favorite.

Pray:

My Lord my God, thank you for your written word so that I can learn your Commandments and learn from the mistakes from the past. Bring into my life someone who is strong in the faith for me to learn more about You from. Help me rely on You rather than struggling and depending on myself. I have faith that through You, I can do anything. I ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.