Jeremiah 1:11-19

“These are rough times in this country to express an opinion.” Humorist Will Rogers, Dec. 16, 1929

As a long-serving local church pastor, I face a tension keeping unity in the fellowship and speaking forth prophetic insights on Sunday. These are rough times. Religious people have been known to stone their prophets.  True prophets rarely pastor a church for long. It is much easier to be a prophet when your family’s livelihood is not involved.

Jeremiah’s call as a young man included a vision test: What do you see, Jeremiah? Before the office was elevated in 1 Samuel, prophets were called seers, somewhat like a fortune teller. True prophets tell forth the future consequences of sinful actions and ethical irresponsibility. Their insights are directed toward God’s own people (believers and hypocrites alike) and to those who are in positions of power and authority. It includes a call to both personal and societal repentance of sin, and a change of ways to match God’s will. With a possible play on words, God’s response was, I’m watching what you see, Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s call also includes a call to personal action: Get yourself ready…Do not be terrified, or I will terrify you…I am with you and will rescue you. Jeremiah felt the tension. How does this word about prophetic insight apply to us today? How do we manage the emotional need to please everyone and not cause more rough times? How far are we willing to go in trusting God?  What do you see?

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Stand firm with God. And let’s experience the love and power of God together,

(Adapted from Bro. Darryl’s devotional based on Jeremiah 1:11-19 for the Center for Congregational Ethics, for August 23, 2025)

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I am sharing this story from 2012 with Deacon’s permission.

Deacon told his kindergarten teacher that he was going camping with his grandpa over the Labor Day weekend. She said, “You’re going camping with Papa D?” “How did you know his name was Papa D?”  “I was your brother’s teacher.” So, Deacon and I went camping. Actually, we stayed in the Minister’s Cabin at Tulakogee Baptist Assembly on Lake Ft. Gibson. I had booked the cabin for four days of personal retreat starting on Thursday night. He and his Mama D joined me on Sunday evening. The primary purpose of our trip, Deacon informed me, was to go fishing.

On Monday morning we headed off to the bait shop. I asked him about the kind of bait we should get—minnows, crickets or worms. “Get worms. Fish love worms.” We explored a couple of good fishing spots, settling on the fishing dock at the camp. Deacon explained to me that when we caught a fish, we were to “take out the eyeballs,” cut it up and take it to Mama D to cook it. He told me all about fishing with his own little rod and reel. Then I opened the box of worms.

Ewww! went the voice next to me as I baited his hook. We set the bobber, and he cast it in the water quite to his satisfaction. I started to bait my hook. “Papa D, I can’t see my bobber.” His pole was bent nearly in half, the bobber surfaced then disappeared again. He had caught the big one. Really, it was about three pounds.  Ewww!  Deacon, it turns out, is more impressed with the idea of fishing, than actually dealing with a big flathead catfish. He did not want to cut it up or even get close enough to have his picture taken with it. So, we set the fish free. A little while later he caught a smaller catfish. Soon he was finished for the day.  He had caught a big fish!  We will go fishing again.  

I know people who are impressed with the idea of being a disciple of Jesus, yet, when it comes to actually living the challenging, gritty life of a disciple, Ewww! They love the heaven part, tolerate church people sometimes, and ignore God’s words. Authentic disciples keep after it and help make disciples. You know, Go into all the world and make disciples…

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Go fishing. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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My car is a traveling office, storage bin and lunchroom. It had never been cleaned and detailed by anyone other than me. I have owned this car since 2019. We decided it needed a more professional cleaning. We arranged the place and date, and worked out the logistics of both of us getting to work close to on time. They finished my car just before the lunch hour, making it possible for us to pick the car up without Dorothy losing any office time. The car looked beautiful. I settled up with the company and happily drove off to get some lunch for myself. Only as I was heading down the road did I realize that the air conditioner was not working properly.

I was at that complicated area around South Memorial and the Creek Turnpike where the city designed the streets to switch from right to left before switching back to the way normal streets are supposed to go. I couldn’t just turn around and go back to the place without going a mile or so out of the way. I had to roll down the windows to accommodate for the lack of A/C.  Just as I pulled up to turn back into the car detail shop, I heard an odd noise and noticed dust going everywhere. It was a city crew blowing freshly mowed grass into my car. It turned out that the detailer had polished all the air vents tightly closed and pushed random buttons and settings with complete abandon. Later at home I vacuumed out the grass and tried to wipe away the dust.

Staying clean is not easy. We are always having to clean up things and ourselves. Coming clean is a way of life, isn’t it? Coming clean with our sins—before ourselves, before others and before God Almighty—is the spiritual necessity for each of us every single day. King David confessed his sin and prayed for a clean heart (Psalm 51).  Confession is how God cleans the soul. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Keep clean. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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Imagine residing near an active volcano. Apparently, more people do it than we imagine. Mt. Kilauea is America’s most active volcano. It has been putting on a spectacular display for months, erupting with brilliant flourishes. You can view the eruption live on YouTube/twopineapples. It is most impressive at night. Dorothy and I once took a close-up helicopter ride over this volcano after a major eruption had subsided. We saw the lava slowly oozing into the ocean. We felt the heat and saw the molten red cracks in the grayish lava.  When we were first married, I promised to take her to Hawaii for our 25^th wedding anniversary. That was such a long way off I thought she might forget. Instead, she opened an Hawaii savings account at the bank and made occasional contributions into it. (All of this is on my mind as we are celebrating our 55^th anniversary this week.)

When we arrived at our 24^th anniversary, Dorothy had not forgotten my promise of Hawaii. I mentioned the Hawaii account, and how it ought to amount to something by now. It did–the balance stood at $250.00. Apparently, “we had things come up.” Only with the miracle of God’s provision were we able to head to Hawaii on schedule. It was amazing that Dorothy agreed to fly in the helicopter in the first place, much less over an active volcano. Living around a volcano can be hazardous. The ocean erupts into giant cauldrons of steam as lava flows into it. We could see the smoldering remains of homes, businesses, old vehicles and telephone poles. A jungle was overtaking once peaceful neighborhoods. Yet, a few minutes later we flew over fancy hotels and the busy inner city of Hilo. People were shopping, working or dealing with tourists like us. 

Living on the side of an active volcano seems risky to me, but then, to those who live in Hawaii, living in the middle of Oklahoma’s Tornado Alley might seem dangerous too. It becomes a matter of perspective. There’s the view on the ground, from above, from a distance, or virtually. Faith is a way of living that sees through the lens of Jesus and His love. It can be more awesome than seeing a volcano.

Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. See Jesus. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.

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