JEREMIAH 7:3

The word of the Lord to us remains so simple. He simply says to us that if we desire to prosper and enjoy His amazing benefits, then we need to amend our ways and our doings. We must fix the things that have gone wrong in our lives and bring our lives into alignment with His will. In Jeremiah 7, this message is powerfully underscored and hammered home. To dwell in the land that He so graciously gave to their forefathers, the children of Israel were called upon not just to be sorry for their sins and sinful ways, but they were called upon to change, to modify their behavior, to put right their wrongs, to improve their lives for the better, to reform themselves.

May God help us today to do the necessary work to reform ourselves and His church. He doesn’t measure up to our standards, but we to His. The old saints, I believe, still had it right. It was holiness or hell. There remained an absolute distinction between wrong and right, holiness and unholiness, cleanliness and uncleanliness. His Word still declares, “…We are His people and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100:4). His people must come out from among them (the world) and be completely separated, differentiated from the world. The church and the world are completely two different entities.

It is also important to note that this call to amend their ways and their doings was not just corporate, but individual. Each of us must amend our ways. We cannot hide under the corporate “we.” We all must stand as individuals before the Almighty. We might could hide our sins from others, but before Him none can hide or collude. Every hidden sin is prominently laid bare before Him. The Psalmist declared, “Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee” (Psalm 139: 12).

In Jeremiah chapter 7, the so-called people of God failed to thoroughly execute justice and judgment. They oppressed the stranger, the fatherless, and widows. They shed innocent blood. They practiced idolatry. They stole from each other, committed murder and adultery. They swore falsely and burned incense unto Baal. They walked after other gods, engaged in all kinds of abominations, and felt no remorse or shame. They became vile and hardened in sin while still going to church and going through the motions. Somehow they felt protected by their association with the temple. They had developed a false sense of security. Their trust was more in the temple than in the Almighty and His word (Jeremiah 7:4). They lost a vital relationship with the Holy One.

Today, may it never be said of us that we are a people that do not obey the voice of the Lord our God and who do not receive correction. We earnestly desire to be guided by the truth of His Word. He is pleading with us to amend our ways and to reform (Jeremiah 7:3). Let us hear His voice and urgently respond, that we may joyfully dwell in the land and experience continually His goodness and abundant mercy. We amend our ways and doings!