Day 306..."Consequences...Permission to be foolish...Life as an apostle"

There are consequences for Judah worshiping other gods. Jeremiah has no good news for those who have turned to Egypt. He also says the remnant will be few in number. Why such consequences? "The Lord could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. It is because you made offerings and because you sinned against the Lord and did not obey the voice of the Lord or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.”

Paul defends himself and contrasts himself with false prophets. He even asks for permission to be foolish. On a serious note he lists the amazing hardships encountered by apostles..." Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?" Wow...Paul's following Christ was the real deal! This list of hardships makes our ministry at Cokesbury appear very doable!