Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness And his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages, Jeremiah 22:13

What are you building your life upon? What are you building your family upon? What are you building your career upon? Are you doing it with righteousness or deceit? Many people today live with the mentality of “Dog Eat Dog” meaning you need to step on people to get further. Problem is your building a Kingdom with no solid foundation, eventually it will all fall down

Israel was doing the same thing. They were building there nation based on violence and idolatry (sound familiar?). God warned them if they continue this their nation would “become a pile of rubble” (Jeremiah 22:5).

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. Matthew 7:24

Jesus said if you build your life on the Word of God, its like building on a rock foundation. The question is are you building for temporary or eternity? Sure if you want to live life in the fast lane, crash and burn, then build on the sand. However if you want eternal life. If you want to live in the presence of Jesus, then build on the Rock (Jesus Christ)

He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep. John 21:17

At this point Jesus has been crucified and resurrected, after the resurrection of Christ Jerusalem went into total chaos. The Romans and the Religious Leaders were trying to find the body of Christ, but Jesus was no longer in the tomb. The Roman government looked like fools, while the Jewish religious leaders didn’t want anyone to know the Messianic Prophecies have been fulfilled.

So persecution has reached a high level for the disciples and early Christians. Locked up in the Upper Room (Jesus Home) for days, Peter decided it was time to get away and go fishing. What the disciples caught, they never expected. Jesus came back to visit with them again

Remember Peter denied Jesus three times during his trial, notice Jesus asks Peter three time “Do you Love Me”. Its almost as if Jesus was giving Peter a chance to undo his great sin he committed of denying Christ. Jesus message to Peter was clear “Tend (Feed) My Sheep”!

The original Greek word used here is “Bosko”  means to Spiritually Tend to the Sheep (Christians)

Jesus set the bar for Pastors (Shepherds) here, its not enough to just preach and teach. But a Pastor is also to Tend and Spiritually Feed his people. Remember if we love Jesus we need to Tend/Feed his Sheep Amen!

therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter. Jeremiah 19:6

This is an interesting Chapter here because God is referring to the literal place valley of Ben-hinnom or “Gehenna”. This is the literal place Jesus talked about when he talked about “Hell” or original translation “Gehenna”

and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind; Jeremiah 19:5

God declares this place is cursed, why? Lets look what happened here at Gehenna. Child sacrifice was a common practice here to the false gods of baal, tank, and molech. The bloodshed of innocent children has enraged God to the point he cursed this land. This place eventually became a fire pit where the Jewish people dumped and burned their garbage, discarded any dead bodies that were “unclean” or “unclaimed”

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell (Gehenna), into the unquenchable fire,  Mark 9:43

The original Greek word translated to “Hell” is “Gehenna” which is the valley of Ben-hinnom. When Jesus it talking about the “fires of Hell” he’s using the fires of Gehenna which is a literal place. A place that is cursed by God, that is total separation from God

Jesus uses Gehenna as a literal teaching for his audience because they are well aware of what this place is. The Lake of Fire is a literal place, anyone whos name is not written in the Book of Life is going there, make sure you have repented of your sins and made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior!

Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:29

Thomas spent over 3 years with Jesus in his inner circle. He witnessed many miracles performed, he even heard the direct teachings from Christ himself. However when Thomas heard from his fellow disciples that Jesus has risen from the dead, he would not believe them unless he saw Christ himself.

Because of this he received the nickname “Doubting Thomas”, was Jesus mad because Thomas asked him questions? No , because Jesus wants us to seek him, to seek truth! Its important to ask questions, and its important to seek answers.

Many will label Christians as not “Free Thinkers” or question how can you believe in something you haven’t seen? My question to them is “Have you ever investigated the historical evidence of Jesus?” “Have you ever studied the gospels and the historical reliability of the scriptures”? Most will say no, because the honest truth is they really are not seeking. Most people will just parrot what they see on the Internet or Social Media without giving it their own original thought

Do you believe in Love? Do you believe in the Wind? Do you believe the Earth is spinning around the Sun? These things we haven’t seen with our own eyes yet we believe them because they are true. We know these things are true because we have experienced them or we tested them.

It’s the same with Jesus, he is real and he has Risen to give you salvation. Will you seek him? Do you want to experience him? Have you tested his teaching from a historical reliability standpoint? Blessed as those who Trust in Jesus Amen!

You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Jeremiah 21:8

This scripture pretty much sums it up, God is the way between life and death. We like to believe that we can control our own destiny. We like to believe that we can save ourselves. However all of these are lies and self deception. To reject God is to reject your mortal soul!

A couple of Israelites (Pashur and Zephaniah) came to the prophet Jeremiah and told him “ Speak to God on our behalf, and tell him to destroy Babylon” How many of us today still do the same thing? We believe we can tell God what to do in our lives, we treat God like a genie to grant all of our wishes

However God had different plans, because the Israelites were so sinful and disobedient, he was going to allow the Babylonians to destroy them. Some might say “This is cruel” “How can God do this”, Israel never truly put their faith and trust in God. They only used him when they needed him.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. John 14:6

Fast forward to coming of Jesus Christ, who took the punishment for all our sins so we can be truly saved. God set the way of life and that is Jesus. Jesus is the only way to eternal life, all other ways lead to death!

God set before you the way, the truth, and the life Trust in Jesus Amen!