30 min
The Easy Way or the Hard Way Lake Merced Church of Christ
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- Christianity
This lesson continues our “Captive” study, when we can compare our current reality of sheltering in place to the Israelites’ captivity, when they were taken into exile.
A major point we need to take to heart in these times, is that “Warnings unheeded means corrections are needed.” We so often think we know best but we’ll surely pay the price for our ignorance. God, however, has always given us warnings. In essence, He gives us the choice - to do it the easy way (heed his warnings) or the hard way (suffer His punishments). In Jeremiah 7:2-8, His Word was “...Reform your ways and your actions, … if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood...if you do not follow other gods to your own harm…then I will let you live in this place. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.”
Do we simply think of God as a force, like gravity? We need to see Him as a loving friend who feels our joy and our pain. He agonizes when we ignore His prophets and don’t follow His teachings. In Jeremiah 4:19-22, God speaks of his own pain in seeing the suffering of His people: “Oh, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh the agony of my heart… My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children… They know not how to do good.”
At times, we distrust the warnings we get because it feels too controlling. Warnings may even feel like threats, but we must be responsible and heed warnings in responsible ways. When we reject God and think we can manage on our own, that’s learning the hard way. We must always remember Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Receiving salvation through Jesus Christ - that’s learning the easy way.
This lesson continues our “Captive” study, when we can compare our current reality of sheltering in place to the Israelites’ captivity, when they were taken into exile.
A major point we need to take to heart in these times, is that “Warnings unheeded means corrections are needed.” We so often think we know best but we’ll surely pay the price for our ignorance. God, however, has always given us warnings. In essence, He gives us the choice - to do it the easy way (heed his warnings) or the hard way (suffer His punishments). In Jeremiah 7:2-8, His Word was “...Reform your ways and your actions, … if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood...if you do not follow other gods to your own harm…then I will let you live in this place. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.”
Do we simply think of God as a force, like gravity? We need to see Him as a loving friend who feels our joy and our pain. He agonizes when we ignore His prophets and don’t follow His teachings. In Jeremiah 4:19-22, God speaks of his own pain in seeing the suffering of His people: “Oh, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh the agony of my heart… My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children… They know not how to do good.”
At times, we distrust the warnings we get because it feels too controlling. Warnings may even feel like threats, but we must be responsible and heed warnings in responsible ways. When we reject God and think we can manage on our own, that’s learning the hard way. We must always remember Jesus’ words in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Receiving salvation through Jesus Christ - that’s learning the easy way.
30 min