Imagine what it must have been like to see the armies of Babylon gathering outside the walls of Jerusalem? God had warned and warned, yet to no avail. The Babylonians were hardcore soldiers. They not only knew how to fight, defeat and slaughter their opponents, but they knew how to build siege ramps that allowed them to climb over any way. So even though Jerusalem was surrounded by a huge wall, Nebuchadnezzar's armies would gain access over it. So imagine how that felt to the people inside Jerusalem. Daily they heard the noise and saw the effort put in by Babylon's soldiers to build the ramp that would allow them to gain access to Jerusalem. Imagine the terror the people of Jerusalem felt.

Many in Israel wanted Jeremiah dead because of what he said. They wanted to kill him because of words which happened to be truth that they did not like. We see this happening today as well in and outside Christendom as people do not want to hear the truth. Moreover, truth is attacked and negated throughout society because it is inconvenient and people do not want to hear it. In response, Jeremiah offers laments to God and asks that He rebuke the people strongly. Jeremiah was angry at the state of Israel and wanted God to act based on what He promised to do to that nation.

For those Christians who believe that the Christian's job is to change the tone of society by preaching the Gospel to people with the result being conversion, I'd like to respectfully ask that they think again. By being involved in transforming society, the focus shifts from the person of the unbeliever to the condition of society. While theoretically yes, people who become Christians can have a positive effect on society, there is no guarantee that this will happen.

According to (Patrick M.) Wood, Trump's Genesis Mission EO colludes with and gives tremendous power to the people behind artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, it's on steroids and of course, the way it is highlighted by the White House[2], it sounds so beautiful and "America-First." However, as Wood notes, it's the furthest thing from actually being America First. It will usher in a tremendous amount of control over all of our lives. AI will have access to any information about us on the Internet and won't even have to deal with getting approval first.

Immediately after Rob and Michelle Reiner's souls left their lifeless bodies, they instantly understood the things they had put stock in and believed wholeheartedly here in this life, were nothing but lies. The firm belief that there is no God and that man invented God, not that God created man, was immediately seen for what it was - a lying deception from Satan himself. Imagine the unparalleled terrifying emotional trauma of understanding with near-precision accuracy the Truth that they now face. When they crossed over from this life to eternity, they instantly knew God lives and they were going to answer to Him and Him alone.

It is difficult for us to admit we are needy, to admit that we need to go to God immediately, every time, instead of relying on Self, which is thoroughly opposed to God and His Word. Going to God is primary. Going to other believers asking for their help in prayer and support is secondary, but also important. Too often we refuse to do that because we don't want to be seen as weak, ineffectual or lacking faith. In our Tuesday night Bible study group, we routinely share prayer requests and praises. It brings us together in reliance on others. Paul talks a great deal about this in his two letters to Corinthian believers.

We Christians are not islands. Our lives touch other people. What happens to us and how we react to situations speaks to other people - both Christians and non. We need to remember that God ultimately wants to be glorified in and through us. In order for that to happen, things must come into our lives that do not seem palatable at first. Even though our fist inclination is to try to push away from those things, God has important plans for them. He wants us to grow in our faith and exhibit greater trust in Him. We cannot do that without the downward pressures of unpalatable situations and our response to them. Will we allow what is initially perplexing to create despair/depression within us or will we do as the three men in Daniel 3 did? If we fail to focus on the hope we have in Christ Jesus, we can easily become despairing/depressed.

But if it isn't wars and rumors of wars mentioned by Jesus (Matthew 24:6; another form of violence), full-on deceit crafted by Satan and his angels, often using human wolves to deceive the true flock of Jesus exists (2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15), false teachers leading to the one final man of lawlessness/Antichrist are clearly here (2 Thessalonians 2), there's been a tremendous increase in natural disasters (Matthew 24:7b-8), like the typhoons that just hit the Philippines with some of the highest winds ever recorded, increasing persecution of Christians (Matthew 24:9), increasing lawlessness in general and apostatizing of those who have called themselves Christian (Matthew 24:10-12), and much more.

In this section, God warns that those who trust other men are cursed. Those who trust God are blessed. God says we cannot know our hearts (v9) because it is so deceitful, yet we are too often led by it. God knows each heart – He sees the truth. The Judahites continued to ask "Where is the fulfillment of God's Word? (v15).  Jeremiah asks God to bring shame to those who persecute him (v18).

Doesn't this remind you of Jesus' words when He said, "...whoever hates his life will keep it for eternal life," (John 12:25). It's the same thing. Job came to the point of hating his own life because he saw such sin in it when compared to God and His holiness. This is what each and every authentic Christian needs to realize. Understanding the weight of our sin has a wonderful effect. It helps us realize just how much God gave that we might have life eternally. Without this growing realization, we will continue to cater to Self continually. With this growing understanding, humility will replace our self-centered satisfaction.