With God and with One Another

While Jeremiah is in prison, God tells him to buy a field. This transaction shows that in the future, life will return to normal. It is another enactment prophecy, where a prophecy is given through actions instead of just words. The psalmist rejoices in the protection that God provides to the faithful. God is a fortress, a covering, and a shield. Paul admonishes his readers not to fall into materialism. The love of money, not money itself, is the root of all kinds of evil, and those obsessed with it build their hopes on shifting sands. Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who has fallen into that very trap. Only after death, when it is too late, does he realize his mistake.

• Read Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15. How do you live as if God’s promises were already true?
• Read Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16. How do you turn toward God with hope in times of darkness?
• Read 1 Timothy 6:6-19. Whether you have few or many possessions, how do they get in the way of your following Jesus?
• Read Luke 16:19-31. God knows each of us by name. Do you know the names of the persons in your community who have obvious or internal unmet needs?