Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31-34
The prophet says that a new day is coming. A new day with a new hope. The anticipation of such an event was probably high. This new day was one where God would write his commands on the hearts of His people.
This concept is pretty extreme when you consider the expression of faith known at that time. The systems of faith revolved around the priests and their rituals, and various teachers also taught those in the community the correct ways to participate with the priests. There were laws and rules to learn. Rules about clothing, molds, food, and pretty much every other aspect of life. For people to understand the correct ways o live according to the rules they needed help.
A New Day is coming. The people of God were loved, but often in strict expresions of faith people get wore out. They carry a burden of keeping track of everything to assure that the law was being fulfilled. If only there was an easier way! The prophet says a new day is coming, a day when God will write His commands on the hearts of His people.
The heart is and intresting concept. Spiritually it means much more than a mere organ at the center of our circulatory system. It is the center of your essence the place from with we truely live. This central esence is where Go is going to write you the letters of hope to encourage you to pres on to the journey’s end.
The prophet is literally saying, the day that you can have direct and personal access to God is at coming. This day is also the day preach about by John the baptizer, as well as Jesus. They stood and cried out the Kingdom of God is near, or in some cases at hand. Meaning it is here, now, all around you.
Imagine the implications of this. If the law of God is written on your heart, how would that affect your decisions? How would that affect your relationship with God? The implications are vast. Jesus said that the kingdom is at hand this means that God’s influence is right here all around, He said that the new day had come and to assure us He gave us a sign. The curtain seperating the holiest area of the temple was ripped from the top down. This symbolizes that God has left the room, and entered into the world.
The Kingdom of God is at hand, a new day is at hand, something new is just ahead of you in life. What will your new day look like? Will you enter into the light embracing God, joining with all the saints to participate in the worship of God? Or will you skirt away into the shadows? A hard question I know. How can we possibly know for sure what we will do in future? We can, however, know what we can do today.
To have the law written on our hearts we first have to seek God and open our hearts up to Him. As a Quaker, I fully believe that God does this, I believe that God Himself will encourage you in all areas of life to advance and spread His kingdom. This is why those in our expression of faith go to meetings of worship, and listen for the voice of God in the silence.
The biggest issue then is how do we know the difference between our voice and God’s? This comes through practice. To recognize the presence of the divine we must draw closer to the divine. We should read and listen to others that exerience deep relationships with God. One thing we learn is God doesn’t change, humans do. We should read the scriptures, because in them countless generations have embraced it as a reliable witness to the Word of God to be written in our hearts. We should also listen to the testimonies of other in our present day and in the near and ancient past. This basically boils down to one thing. We need to discipline our souls just as we do our bodies.
Just as it is in athletic training having a teammate helps. If you want to learn more about the expressions of Christian devotion, encourage you to read some books by Richard Foster. And also find a Meeting to Worship, these men and women can all be and encouragement.
God wants each of us to have a new day, He wants us to see something great emerge. Let us listen for his calls and when since Him leading us in activities let us join in quickly.
Have a great Day!
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