Jeremiah 17:5-7

“Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord.” vs. 5

When Jeremiah was a young man and felt the call of the Lord to become a prophet, it’s not likely that he realized the challenges that he would face. When he spoke the truth to those in power, they did not welcome his words, but instead roused public opinion against him. Year after year those leaders chose to listen to the court prophets who praised them and who told them whatever they wanted to hear. Of course we can’t blame those who resisted Jeremiah. After all, who likes to be told that they are cursed–imagine how we’d feel if our pastors pronounced curses on us when we showed up to worship. Even when our hearts turn away from God, we like to hear kind and grace-filled words from our preachers. But that’s not what prophets do! They say the confronting truths that we don’t like to hear–and they don’t win prizes for doing so! That sort of thing is happening with more frequency these days as we hear about the actions of our governmental leaders. Some prophets are speaking out, and many wonder whether these prophets are for real or misguided–some Christians are saying that they’re traitors. So who shall we believe? The big question for followers of Jesus is this: How closely do the words of contemporary prophets align with the teachings of Jesus? That should be an easy question to answer. It’s certainly not rocket science!

Thought for the Day: If I were a  prophet what would I say? To whom would I say it?