Title: Three truths to recover
As the sacrifices of Jerusalem, the city of David, change formally from year to year, God allows Jerusalem to be besieged and attacked by the enemy's armies, and eventually Jerusalem becomes humble and weak (verses 1-4). God hates formal sacrifices. The opposite of ‘truth’ is ‘forgetting’ rather than ‘false’. When grace is forgotten and worship becomes formal, lies blossom. Don't forget even a small favor and give thanks greatly. More grace is given to those who do not forget grace.
Always pray like this. "God! May I not fall into the spiritual forgetfulness of forgetting grace quickly, and grant me a holy memory to remember grace for a long time, so that I can always offer true worship! There is no blessing in this world as precious as sincere worship. When sincere worship is offered, stumbling blocks become stepping stones, and even failures and faults become stepping stones for spiritual maturity.
2. Sincere Hope
God struck Jerusalem through the adversary, but then the adversary also turns the situation around, making them like fine dust and chaff (verses 5-8). This is the reason why believers should not despair under any circumstances. Believers who know repentance do not have despair under any circumstances. Sincere repentance turns despair into hope. One of the important signs of sincere faith is sincere hope. Ultimately, the size of your faith is the size of your hope.
Once upon a time, there was a big difference between the 1st and 3rd class waiting rooms at Seoul Station. When the ticket gates start, the passengers in the first-class waiting room walk leisurely, but the passengers in the third-class waiting room run and push each other to get on first. It's not because they differ in personality and learning. Only first-class passengers have their own seats even if they go slowly because their seat numbers are written on their tickets, but third-class passengers have no choice but to run because they do not have their seats unless they run.
There is a big difference between a guaranteed future and an unsecured future. There is no need to rush and run when the future is guaranteed. Have a faith that lives and works in the present, not a formal faith. If you put God at the center of your life, tomorrow's victory is guaranteed no matter what difficulties you face.
3. Sincere Prayer
The reason that Jerusalem's spiritual vision was darkened is because, with her lips, she believed and respected God, but her heart was far away (verse 13). God wants sincere lips and prayers. Every year, during the entrance exam season, a special early morning prayer meeting is held in many churches. It is natural to pray more fervently when there are prayer topics, but praying only during the entrance exam may be considered too calculating and ups and downs.
It is not wrong to pray earnestly before the 'child entrance exam', but the most important thing to pray for for your child is the 'child's faith problem' rather than the 'child's pass problem'. We need to know the importance of blessings, but we also need to know the importance of the means and methods of receiving blessings. We also need to know the importance of prayer, but we also need to know the importance of the content of prayer.
Children who love God are more valuable than children with good grades. Those who love God receive the blessing that all things work together for good. For those who love God, success is the path to blessing, and failure is also the path to blessing.