Where Do We Stand With God?

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest. Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good.“Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch people. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just cause of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD. “Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?“A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end? Jeremiah 5:23-31 NIV

No matter how hard we may try, we cannot ignore what the prophets of earlier times have said, especially when we see--hundreds of years later--the same thing happening across the globe.

While we have no control over what other people do, are we exercising control over what we--individually do? If we are not capable of self-control and living right before God as individuals, how could we expect a nation to do what is right? After all, the nation is the collective group of individuals. So therefore--each individual's action becomes a benchmark for the nation to be judged. Are we setting a standard to be admired or mocked, to be rewarded or punished? Where do we stand with God?

Unfortunately, we often say things that are attempts to justify our inability to live according to God's Word like, "No one is perfect." While that's true, it is simply not an excuse to live in opposition to God's Word.

Our imperfections and flaws and shortcomings are a result of disobedience and lack of understanding, both of which we have control. We miss the mark when we allow the dictates of our flesh to lead us and not Holy Spirit. We allow our emotions to reign in our lives instead of wisdom and uh-oh, dare I say it, "common sense." When we refuse to get into The Word of God and seek Him for understanding, we continue to fall short of being who He desires us to be and in doing what He desires us to do.

As the Word points out to us, "we are without excuse" and there is no point in our attempting to justify living according to the dictates of our flesh. Though there may be many who claim they do not believe in God and certainly won't read a bible, there are just as many Believers who blog on a daily basis--promoting God's Word and His love. Since many spend more time on the Internet than they do in opening a book, there is much to be found to keep people on the path where God would have us. The global opportunity means we have far-reaching capability to make sure everyone has access to understanding of God's Word. Indeed, there are many people--especially some who claimed to be atheists, who have exposed to the truth of God's Word and accepted.

Now, what was that excuse again? No Bible--no problem--there are many online bibles with commentaries and many bloggers who do an excellent job of explaining scripture and connecting the application to our lives. We are indeed without excuse. So, where do we stand with God? Each individual has to answer that question for themselves and then we can accurately conclude whether or not--we are in the same place today as the people were when Jeremiah spoke to them.