“So this is what the Lord says to his people: ‘You love to wander far from me and do not restrain yourselves. Therefore, I will no longer accept you as my people. Now I will remember all your wickedness and will punish you for your sins.'” Jeremiah 14:10 NLT
As much as we may want to, we can’t have it both ways. We cannot go about our day without restraint on the one hand, only to question why we are being punished for our actions on the other. We cannot continue to gratify our sinful desires and expect the Lord to bless us. If we want to claim that we are children of God, we need to then resemble Him.
There is a well known phrase that says ‘the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’. This is typically said in connection with children who show qualities or talents that are similar to those of their parents.
So the question we need to ask ourself is, who do we resemble?
Lock Your Wings 
Great thoughts.
This stood out for me:
“Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for these people anymore.”
Jeremiah 14:11 NLT
Prayer (appealing to God) changes things. The king who prayed to have his life extended got his life extended. Moses prayed that he wouldn’t have to speak and God appointed Aaron to go with him. Hannah prayed for a child and she got one. We are not merely players in God’s script but living, breathing, and flawed humans who have the desire to serve themselves outside of God’s plan. While God knows the future, we are still able to appeal and intercede even if the answers are not what we want we still have the ability. I believe there are two reasons God tells Jeremiah not to pray for the people: 1. God thinks Jeremiah is wasting his time on a nation that is hopeless. 2. God is so disappointed in the nations choices that he doesn’t want Jeremiah to try and convince God to spare his wrath. Reading this reminds me that praying does make a difference and that my prayers could potentially change God’s mind. How awesome that the Creator of the Universe listens to my tiny and insignificant pleas.
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