Jeremiah 23:30-32 – Downstream from Our Delusions

30 “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who steal My words every one from his neighbor. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets,” says the Lord, “who use their tongues and say, ‘He says.’ 32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” says the Lord, “and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and by their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all,” says the Lord. Jeremiah 23:30-32, New King James Version

"The ultimate preparation for tomorrow," declares Matthew Sink, "is storing God’s Word in our hearts today." We ARE storing in our hearts, he insists, but what?  “We don’t have a memorization problem.  We have a meditation problem.”


Jeremiah 23:30-31 proves his principle. By not actively teaching God's Word, God charges that false prophets are actually stealing it. Conversations between neighbors that don't put Him at the center are filling up mental RAM with other material, depriving heart and mind of precious space and power.


Recklessness, He says, is on par with lies. Carelessness as to the priority God's Word deserves is as dangerous as actively contradicting it. What does our conversation reveal is at the center of our heart's desire? Are we leading our neighbor's thoughts AWAY from Him, modeling carelessness toward the things of God?


If we put ourselves in such a position, He says we are in His enmity. He says He is against such prophets. His righteousness is roused on behalf of those whose hearts were once His. His reputation will be vindicated among His people. Will it be THROUGH us, used by grace, or in spite of us in a process that shows the worthlessness of the way in which we spend our influence?

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