B. A. D. (Be A Disciple) Student Ministries

The Responsibility of Shepherds  Good Afternoon! I'd like to preface this post by saying that I will be spending the next 72 hours with my B.A.D. Student Ministries group at a weekend retreat. Because of this, I have decided against posting on Saturday and Sunday due to lack of service and internet access, the core audience will mostly be with me, and because I also don't want to take any time away from the students as they spend the weekend growing with God. So:  Saturday: Ezekiel 36:1-Ezekiel 47:12 Sunday: Ezekiel 47:13-Daniel 8:27 And I'll see you back on Monday for:  Monday: Daniel 9:1-Hosea 13:6 Obviously I'll be keeping up with the readings and the post on Monday will just briefly touch on all three days. Thank you all in advance for being so understanding and have a wonderful weekend!  With that, let's get into the reading!  So today's reading begins with the death of Ezekiel's wife, and the Lord tells Ezekiel not to mou...

The Lord's Anger Explained  We're two thirds of the way done with the 90 Day Challenge, isn't that crazy?! It doesn't feel real. Less than a month until we've read the entire Bible, 1048 pages in mine.  I had a realization today, which may have seemed obvious to some of you, but I believe that these prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, are all prophesying at the same time. Because in today's reading, we see a similar explanation of God's wrath that we've seen in the past two books, which is completed with the sentiment that it's not anything God wants  to do. But didn't God just say it would be the last time His anger destroyed His people? So how can it continue?! But, of course, these must be taking place at the same time. Seeing my thoughts verbalized, this seems like an obvious conclusion to have come to, but I was really surprised at the time.  So, in today's reading, several allegories and metaphors are made to compare...

Ezekiel's Visions I'll be honest, I had no idea what was going on in Ezekiel.  But I understood Lamentations, so we'll start there for now.  Jeremiah continues to mourn for the fall of Jerusalem, but he's still accepting of God's punishment. We hear several verses that really put the situation into perspective, and make God's punishment seem more reasonable. Lamentations 3:21-25--  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself "The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him." The Lord is good to those who hope in Him, to the one who seeks Him."  Lamentations 3:31-33 continues to say-- For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though He brings grief, He will show compassion, so great is His unfailing love. For He does not willingly bring ...

The Lord Follows Through Our reading today begins with destruction. First with Moab, then Ammon, then Edom, then Damascus, then Kedar and Hazor, then Elam, then Babylon, and finally Jerusalem. Moab, Ammon, Elam, and Jerusalem will eventually be restored. Edom, Damascus, Kedar and Hazor, and Babylon are not so lucky.  In fact, all of the end of Jeremiah is just filled with the destruction of these cities and what will happen to them. After describing the fall of Babylon, Jeremiah sends Seraiah to read the scroll that the destruction is written on to the Babylonians. Then he tells Seraiah when he finishes reading the scroll, to tie it to a rock and throw it into the Euphrates river, then tell the Babylonians, "So your city will sink to rise no more." And that's where the words of Jeremiah end,  but not where the book of Jeremiah ends.  The last chapter of Jeremiah is about the fall of Jerusalem. It's one of the most detailed chapters I think I've re...

Jeremiah was a Regular Guy Seriously. Just Google Image Search a picture of Jeremiah. They all look stressed out of their mind! And who can blame him?! Jeremiah was an ordinary guy on an extraordinary mission from God--to save God's people. That's right--all of them. In yesterday's reading, we read about how the people wanted to kill Jeremiah, just because he was saying things they didn't want to hear. And in today's reading, they sent him to prison for a "long time" (Jeremiah 37:16).  Anyone would be stressed out by that. But God is with Jeremiah through it all. In Jeremiah 39:18, the Lord comes to Jeremiah, while he's confined by the guard, and tells him: "I will save you; you will not fall by the sword buy will escape with your life, because you trust in me, declares the Lord." Trust in the Lord, and He will carry you through the storm, through the trials we face. Has anyone heard that poem "Footprints"? I'll link it...

Jeremiah 29:11 Doesn't Mean What You Think It Means  And Some Notes on Being a Good Fig  Jeremiah continues to proclaim God's word amid false prophets, and the Lord tells Jeremiah a metaphor. Jeremiah sees some figs, a basket of good ones, and a basket of bad ones, so bad they cannot be eaten. The Lord says similarly, there are good exiles and bad ones, and those who are good or who become good figs will be given a heart to know God, and they will be His people, and He will be their God--because they have returned to Him with all their heart (Jeremiah 24:7).  Then we get to It. The big prophecy. The Israelites are spending 70 years in exile and captivity to atone for their sins. At this point, everyone thinks Jeremiah is insane. They had been told lies that were pleasing from false prophets for years, and here comes Jeremiah, with all this bad news. Of course they're going to think he's insane! But what comes next is a very defining point of the Israelites--t...

Keeping Faith by Staying in the Word As Jeremiah continues to spread the word of God, the people of Judah and Israel begin to mock him. They don't believe what he's saying. Why? Because the other prophets in town are being deceitful. They're telling the people that they're on the right page with God, and Jeremiah is telling them that no, they are not. They're not right with God and they're ruining every chance they have by continuing to live in sin and worship other gods.  So Jeremiah gets frustrated and asks God, "Why does the way of the wicked prosper?" And God responds with a very detailed and specific answer which basically says, "They'll get what's coming to them eventually." God gives Jeremiah several metaphors to demonstrate this, including burying a linen belt and digging it up at a later date. It went in fine, but it's later dirty and decomposed.  Then, we hear about how God will bring destruction and famin...