October 20, 2019

Breaking Open the Scripture Scriptures for October 20th: Jeremiah 31:27-34, Psalm 119:97-104, 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5, Luke 18:1-8, Theme: prayer pays off Luke: prayer is an important part of our life as a Christian. Prayer is our conversation with God. The old song encourages us to take everything to God in prayer. In this scripture, an old lady is persistent with a judge to give her justice. The judge says that he finally gives in just to get her to stop pestering him. In some ways this demonstrates how we should be with God, but God has nothing in common with the judge. God hears our prayers and answers because God loves us, not because God is tired of hearing from us. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite is true. God enjoys our prayers. Sometime we have to continually pray for the same thing in order for it to finally happen. In the end, justice, mercy, and peace always prevail. But all of these things take persistent prayer. Jeremiah: Jeremiah always struggled with telling his people the truth – they would reap the consequences of their actions. God was not pleased with them. When they lost their homeland and were sent into exile, Jeremiah went right along with them. But Jeremiah that his role as prophet was not to let the people become discouraged. He let them know that God still loved them and that eventually they would be restored to their land and their life. They would get a second chance to have a right relationship with God. God would forgive them for their past life. But in having hope, and forgiveness – they needed to make a true change in their heart and life and vow to serve God in all that had been restored. Questions: Is there something that you have been praying for fervently? What social ills need to be corrected in our world? Have you ever been given a second chance in life? How did that experience change your perspective on life?