Fessing Up

Last night at church, a good friend greeted me with, "May 6th"

I didn't need the gift of interpretation for that one.

I'm a bad blogger.

And truthfully, I've been struggling the last month or so. Life isn't always a picnic, is it? And some struggles last a long long time. As for my life, I've finished the edits on Jeremiah (I think) and won't see the book again until I see the Galley Copies (page proofs) in late July. I'm going to include a cover photo here, though, for those who might be interested.

http://www.amgpublishers.com/www/docs/116/biblestudy-following-through/

And, I have a fiction project that should be due some time late this fall. If you ever pray for a blogger, pray for me. I have NO IDEA what the story is about. I have the parts -- like puzzle pieces -- laying all over my desk. But they aren't coming together. I need some divine guidance.

As for my last entry, and the second half of the story, my point is/was simple. Here we go...

Remember that Chronicles (another account of the Kings of Israel) was written AFTER the Jews returned from Exile in Babylon. If you check the stories in Kings and compare them to Chronicles, you'll notice quite a few differences. Chronicles has a more positive bent. It includes fewer of those nasty details that the book of Kings includes.

Remember too that Jeremiah was given an impossible task -- God asked Jeremiah to speak to his people, to turn the people to repentance. But the people would not repent. Instead, Jerusalem was destroyed (586 BC) and most of the population was killed. The poorest of the land were taken to Babylon. So, the question was: Was Jeremiah's ministry a total failure? Did ANYONE get what he was trying to say? Did he influence anyone to move closer to God?

And I have proof in the book of Chronicles...

"Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king ... He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God and he refused to humble himself in the presence of the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke for the LORD."

Written more than seventy years after the first captives were taken from Jerusalem, this writer acknowledges that Jeremiah was the prophet. That the prophet spoke the truth; he spoke for God. This writer sees that the captivity is the result of the people's sin, and he recognizes this BECAUSE of Jeremiah's work. Quite an acclamation, I think.

So, my point (which I was trying to bring up in the last post ), is something you probably already know. Not everything you do for God will post results now. Sometimes the task before you seems impossible. It may be. It may be that you are called to continue where you will not see earthly success.

But on the other hand, it may be that your influence will be revealed later. Next week. Next year. Seventy years from now.

I encourage you to continue. Remember the prophet Jeremiah; don't give up. This is one blogger who is preaching to her own choir. I hope I can learn to listen.

Bette