Jeremiah 4:1-2, “If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,” declares the Lord.  “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and if in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ then nations will invoke blessings by Him and in Him, they will boast.”

“As surely as the Lord lives” was a common thing for the Israelites to say when they were following and serving Him.  It was a constant reminder of Who God was and the fact that He was the center of their lives.  When they forgot that, then their lives were a mess and they were dragged away by all sorts of strange and wicked beliefs.  

God was constantly calling them back to Him and He does the same for us today.  He doesn’t want to just be put on a shelf in your life, He wants to be your focus!  He loves you and He wants to have a close relationship with you.  I think sometimes we water down who God is by allowing other silly things to become our focus in our families.  For example; when Christians are guarding their children’s belief in Santa Claus and the Elf on the shelf more than they are instilling the Word of God and the fact that Christmas is about Jesus, there’s a problem.  I know that is quite a touchy subject for many Christians, but have you ever wondered “why”?  Why has it become so important that no one disrupt that lie in your child’s life?  I never taught my children to believe in any of those things because I wanted them to know that when I told them that God is real, they would know I was not lying to them.  As surely as the Lord lives, He wants your children to know Him!  Too many children are distraught when they realize that Santa isn’t real I don’t understand why parents want to put their children through that unnecessary pain instead of just teaching them that we celebrate Christmas because it is Gods Son’s birthday.  Don’t allow fairytales or anything else to come between your child and their belief in God.  Guard their hearts!  Put God first in all that you do!

Okay, back to “As surely as the Lord lives”….. Our lives need to reflect the fact that God is still on the throne!  We need to strive to be more like Him every day of our lives.  We need to grow in our faith.  We shouldn’t live like those who have no hope, we need to spread the hope that is only found in Him!  He loves you and He cares about every single detail of your life and the lives of those you love!  As surely as the Lord lives He wants to show up mighty in your life, but you must believe.  God gets glory from showing up and doing amazing things in our lives.

As surely as The Lord lives, not one tear you have cried has escaped His notice.  He sees and He cares and He wants to be your focus.  He wants to bring those wayward children back to Him, they are His heart.  He wants to see you accomplish all that He created you to be, you must give it all to Him and allow Him to guide you!  He wants to heal your broken heart so give Him all of the pieces.  Allow all of Who He is to just wash over you and heal you.  Ask Him to give you a “clean heart and a right attitude” today.  Turn on some praise and worship music and praise Him for who He is and watch how your faith and hope returns.  Don’t give satan one tiny toe hold in your life!  Ask God to show you anything that needs to go and anything that may need to be added in order to grow in your walk with Him.  Trust Him today that truly His best is yet to come!

Quote:  “Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they, therefore, remain bound.”  ~ James Allen, As a Man Thinketh