READING FOR MAY 25, 2026: JEREMIAH 1, MARK 8, PSALM 46:1-7
JEREMIAH 1 This book, a favorite of the late great Joe Grady, was written by the prophet Jeremiah, who was from a small town in Benjamin a few miles north of Jerusalem. The word of the Lord came upon the prophets at precise times. God’s word came to Jeremiah first during the reign of the great king Josiah and extended many years until the exile of Judah to Babylon.
God told Jeremiah that he selected him for ministry to the nations while Jeremiah was in his mother’s womb. Would we be honored or terrified to learn this? This writer would be honored to have even a small ministry to his family and to Yorktown. Like some of those before him, such as Moses, and even many of us today, Jeremiah had a ready excuse for why he could not speak to others in the name of the Lord. He said he was too young and did not know what to say. Most of us at church today might say we are too old, but probably all of us think we don’t know what to say to others about Jesus. “Not gifted in evangelism,” we say.
God didn’t buy Jeremiah’s excuses and likely doesn’t buy ours. He told Jeremiah, "Don’t say that.” Instead, Jeremiah/we are to go where God sends him/us. God said that Jeremiah/we don’t need to be afraid because God will be with him/us. By the way, remember what Jesus said to His disciples when He sent them to share the Gospel. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:19-20).
God graciously touched Jeremiah’s lips and told Him He would place God’s words in His mouth. We also are not capable to do this without the Holy Spirit’s empowerment and without knowing God’s words as given to us in the Bible. Some today suggest we should witness for God without using God’s word because the Bible is a barrier to faith. God clearly told Jeremiah to speak His words, not Jeremiah’s. We will see as we study this book that Jeremiah’s ministry included both overthrowing and planting (vs 10). We must know we are sinners and separated from God (overthrowing our own sinful self-sufficiency) before we can receive the seed of God’s gift of salvation (planting the good news of God’s gift).
Then God gave Jeremiah two visions and asked him what saw. Jeremiah correctly said he saw an almond tree in the first vision. God complimented his answer and said He was watching to see if Jeremiah correctly conveyed his word. Maybe God is watching us to see if we correctly convey His word or alter it in some way. Then God showed Him a pot of boiling water, tilted from the north. God said this represented an invasion of Judah from the north, which seems to symbolize the coming Babylonian attack, as God’s discipline of Judah. God, however, told Jeremiah not to be terrified of them. God is going to rescue Jeremiah. Let’s also trust the Lord as we proceed through the uncharted territory of our coming final years. He’s got us.
READING FOR MAY 25, 2026 CONTINUED: MARK 8, PSALM 46:1-7 MARK 8 Those of us in education know there is need to repeat material to help students really retain it. In Mark 6 Jesus fed 5,000 and now He feeds 4,000 using much the same method. We see from the disciples’ behavior they clearly needed more reinforcement of their prior faith lesson. Also, note that in Mark 6:34, Jesus felt compassion for the crowds as He does again in Mark 8:2. There is no such thing as compassion fatigue with the Lord, nor should there be with us. Directly after this, the Pharisees demanded a sign from heaven. Jesus did express frustration with them. Jesus had just finished feeding thousands of folks with about as much food as a McDonald’s Fillet-O-Fish sandwich and they needed to see a sign! Let’s be certain we don’t likewise miss all the evidence God has provided for us of His existence and character.
Jesus respects the intelligence of His disciples, as He does ours. When He told them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, He expected them to 1) understand that that they had just witnessed His feeding thousands, so He was not worried about lacking food; and 2) realize He had just heard the crazy demands of the Pharisees, so His mention about their leaven referred figuratively to their attitude that could spread dangerously to others. Let’s not set aside our critical thinking skills and awareness of literary techniques when studying God’s word.
The healing of the blind man at Bethsaida is perhaps the only two-stage healing performed by Jesus. He is sovereign and thus can heal in any manner He chooses; let’s not box Him in. Like many of the other healings, though, it is an instance when friends brought him to Jesus. Wehave this opportunity available at church through intercessory prayer. Many are ill now! Notice when Jesus revealed He was the Christ or Messiah and explained His upcoming death and resurrection, Peter denied that Jesus would need to experience this. This continues to be a stumbling block for many, even those who claim to be Christians. Jesus said the cross is not what man chooses but it’s God’s way. In fact, Jesus says to reject this truth is to follow Satan. We are also called to reject man’s way by putting to death our own self-centered desires.
PSALM 46:1-7 This Psalm was the inspiration for Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” the musical theme of the Reformation in the sixteenth century. Unlike some Psalms, it begins with a statement of God’s power and support, not the Psalmist’s personal needs. If God is our refuge, then nothing on earth can cause us to fear. The key is to focus on His attributes before life’s earthquakes and storms hit us. Verse 4 mentions a river in connection with the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. Jerusalem, however, has no river. What might this mean? Consider this river, city, and dwelling place: “He showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1). CONTEMPLATE HEAVEN!
