READING: Jeremiah 12:1-15:21
Today, I’m thinking seriously about the words I say. I’m also thinking deeply about what’s really happening in my heart.
That’s because of what I read in today’s text from the book of Jeremiah. The prophet was asking the age-old question of why the wicked prosper. In fact, he seems to have accused God of having “planted” them and blessed them despite their sin. In that context, Jeremiah described the people this way: “You are ever on their lips, but far from their conscience” (Jer 12:2). They could speak the language of religiosity, but their hearts were far from God. They were hypocrites who received blessings without honoring the God who blesses.
I read these words, and I cannot help but ask if I’m ever guilty of giving God more “lip service” than “heart commitment.” I pray not, but I do recognize how easy it is to speak the right words without consideration for the condition of our soul. We can speak truth when living a lie, offer thanksgiving to God even when we’re proud of what we have, condemn sin without dealing with our own, and praise God publicly even while we want others to recognize just how much we praise Him. All of us can be guilty of this kind of sinful contradiction.
May God convict and change us today so our words and our hearts magnify Him!
PERSONAL REFLECTION: What is your personal assessment of your lips and your heart?
DAILY PRAYER: “God, fill me today with consistency that pleases You.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Jeremiah 16:1-18:23, Jeremiah 35:1-19