Daily Devotions
For My people are foolish; they know Me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’ — in doing evil! But how to do good they know not. Jeremiah 4:22
Using the prophet Jeremiah as His spokesman, God looked at His sinful, rebellious people and said they were “‘wise’ in doing evil.”
It appears the children of Israel had a head start on a man from D’leberville, Mississippi.
The UPI reports that employees from the Winn Dixie store in that town reported Nathan Hardy to the police. They said they were sure he was shoplifting from the store.
He was.
When the police showed up, Hardy made a run for it. He ran, but he tripped and was arrested. Only when he was in their custody did the police discover the magnitude of the man’s crimes. In case you haven’t read the story, I’ll tell you what Hardy took.
Hardy took two live lobsters. This he did by stuffing them into the front pockets of his shorts. Then Hardy, not yet satisfied, took some bags of shrimp and a pork loin. These he placed into the waistband of his shorts.
It was a crime which was wrong on any number of different levels.
Let us merely say that Nathan Hardy has not shown himself to be one of the folks who are ‘wise’ in doing evil.
Of course, from God’s perspective, all evil doing is unwise. It was unwise when Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit. Since they had no shorts to hide what they were doing, they ate that fruit on the spot and brought death and damnation upon the world.
Not very wise, was it?
Nor are the sins we commit. We can’t hide them; we can’t get rid of them; we can’t save ourselves from them.
So that we might be rescued, the Heavenly Father sent His Son into this world. In an unprecedented act of grace, the Lord gave His only-Begotten so we unwise sinners can be forgiven and adopted into the family of faith.
It is my prayer you know those truths already … and that you are not one of the foolish who reject the Savior and depend upon your own wisdom in getting by without Him.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, unwise Nathan has ended up in the Harrison County Adult Detention Center. That place may be a bad one, but it is a palace compared to the place the unwise, unsaved sinners of this world are going to. Before it is too late — and while they yet have time — I pray they may see that true wisdom comes in acknowledging Jesus is their Savior. In His Name I pray. Amen.
