March 19, 2015: Jeremiah 31:27-34

We encourage you to read this devotion three times a day.  Start in the morning and reflect upon the morning reflection question. Then in the afternoon, read it again and reflect using the noon question for reflection.  For the evening, take time to ponder how this has resonated with you in the day and reflecting using the evening question.  We offer a prayer with each devotion for you to pray or we invite you to pray what is in your heart.

Jeremiah 31:27-34

²⁷The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. ²⁸And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. ²⁹In those days they shall no longer say: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” ³⁰But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge. ³¹The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. ³²It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. ³³But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

  

Reflection:

During this season of Lent, we can all use some encouragement.  The Old Testament is not our usual go to for good news and encouraging words.  However, today Jeremiah brings us words hope that God delivered to the Israelites and words that God speaks to us today.  “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (v. 33) I grew up in a denomination where we were constantly challenged to memorize scripture.  In our culture today, we rarely memorize anything.  Most of us couldn’t even tell us our closest friends and family’s phone numbers because we don’t have them memorized.  With the touch of a button on our phones we can pull up all the contact information we need.  Have you ever had your phone battery die and been in need of a phone number that you couldn’t retrieve?  I am thankful for the emphasis put on memorizing scripture when I was a child.  There is something about being able to pull from our hearts and minds the word of God.  There are certain scriptures that speak to us and encourage us.  It would be a shame to lose that number just because we didn’t have a Bible on hand.

Reflection Questions:

Morning: On your calendar for today, write down the scripture that speaks to you.  Recite it throughout your day. “Precious God write your word on my heart today.  Help me to remember that I am not in this alone.  Give me your grace to face each moment today.  And when I struggle, remind me that I am yours and you are my God.”  Amen.

Afternoon: Take a moment to ask God to bring to mind someone who might also need to hear the encouragement that your scripture has brought to you today.  Send that person those words of encouragement.

Evening: Were you able to call on God today through the scripture you wrote down this morning?  Did the words come to you throughout the day?  Would you be willing to take a meaningful verse each week and make it your scripture for the week?