Three part entry

PART ONE
Jeremiah 10 -- A description of idols and thier powerlessness, contrasted with God's reality and power.
Verse 10: But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. When he is angry, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath.

And later, Jeremiah prays:
Verse 23 -- I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own it is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me, Lord, but only with justice -- not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.

Comment: Jeremiah desires God's justice but fears God's anger. My tendency is to fear God's justice as well, because I know that if simple justice were to reign, I would be justly put to death for my sin. It seems like God's justice would reduce me to nothing as well. But I need to remember that God's faithfulness to the enduring covenant is part of the justice -- so that Jeremiah trusts that God will not abandon his promises but will deal with injustice and wrongdoing in the context of that enduring covenant in which Israel is still God's people, despite the needed consequences and refining that they must go through in order to return to God.

PART TWO
I am thinking about attending the women's step study, but wonder if I have to have an identified 'recovery issue' in order to do so or if I can just go because I really want to be study the word with other women, be honest with you, God, and pursue my relationship with you more faithfully. But I also wonder if I do have an 'issue', and if that issue might be my craving for attention, respect, and admiration.

PART THREE
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
Somepoints from today's sermon:
-Being merciful is easier said than done.
-Mercy is not just clemency. It is also kindness and compassion.
-"obtain mercy" is active voice -- better expressed 'they shall be mercied by God'.
--In the future we will receive a return on the mercy we have given. God is abounding in mercy.
-Take the words of Christ seriously: forego retaliation, turn the other cheek, pray for those who persecute us, go the extra mile, etc.
-God wants us to experience an expanded mercy -- by making the unexpected merciful response simply to reflect God's abounding mercy
--Keirkegard: Mercy has converted more souls than zeal or eloquence or learning or all those combined.

It is good to reflect on God's mercy alongside reading Jeremiah with all God's expressions of hurt and anger and descriptions of the coming doom, sorrow, and desolation for Israel. God is both just and merciful. And we are urged toward both justice (righteousness) and mercy in the beatitudes.