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pay attention!

Jeremiah 18:18-23 (JDV)

Jeremiah 18:18 Then they said, “Let’s make plans against Jeremiah, because instruction will never be lost from the priest, or counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet. Let’s denounce him and pay no attention to all his words.”

Jeremiah 18:19 Pay attention to me, Lord. Hear what my opponents are saying!

Jeremiah 18:20 Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for my throat. Remember how I stood before you to speak good on their behalf, to turn your anger from them.

Jeremiah 18:21 Therefore, hand their children over to famine, and give them over to the power of the sword. Let their wives become childless and widowed, their husbands slain by deadly disease, their young men struck down by the sword in battle.

Jeremiah 18:22 Let a cry be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring raiders against them, because they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden traps for my feet.

Jeremiah 18:23 But you, Lord, know all their deadly plots against me. Do not wipe out their violation; do not blot out their failure before you. Let them be forced to stumble before you; deal with them in the time of your anger.

pay attention!

When you work hard at what you do, you expect people to appreciate that. If your job is warning people of coming disaster and giving them an opportunity to change their ways so the disaster can be averted, you expect people to pay attention. When they actually know your words come from God, and they purposely choose to ignore you, it is natural to feel embarrassed and angry about it.

God has given us his written word in the Bible, and he has given his church the prophetic gifts so that we can warn our generation of the consequences of our disobedience. We have to exercise those gifts and lead people away from destruction. And the world needs to pay attention to us when we do.

Lord, encourage our prophets to speak and write, and give our generation hearts to pay attention and repent.

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Books by Jefferson Vann