"But where are your gods which you made for yourself?
 Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble."
Jeremiah 2:28, New American Standard Version

"It's not what you know, it's who you know."  You've heard that expression, right?  My mother has told me that no less than one hundred times in my life.  Many times over the years, people I knew were able to help me out when I needed it.  What I knew is usually what got me in trouble in the first place.  Maybe mom was right.  I submit to you that in 2011 that saying could be replaced with this one: "It's not what you know, it's what you do."  When you're faced with a troubling situation, what's your knee jerk reaction?  Is it to drop to your knees and ask God to help you, or do you immediately begin the process of trying to figure out how to fix it on your own?  Let me try to put you at ease and tell you that I've been guilty of the latter more times than I'd like to admit.  You're not alone.

God created me with an active, imaginative, creative, and artful mind.  Writing has always come natural to me.  I've been singing since I was seven.  I taught myself to play the guitar.  I can even hold my own with a sketch book ... at least I could 15 years ago.  God also created me with a contemplative, deep thinking, and problem solving mind.  I remember details of conversations I had 5 or 10 or 15 years ago.  I'm not mechanically inclined but I can swing a hammer and build stuff.  If I see something broken I want to fix it.  It could be anything ... even people.  Most people are dominant one way or the other.  If I were to define my crazy mind, I'd say I'm equally divided between the two descriptions above.  Clear as mud?  Good ... I'll move on.

Because I am the way I am, I often bypass the true "I Am" and look to Joe to get myself out of problems.  Israel had done the same thing.  Jeremiah was called as a prophet.  His task: to let Israel know that because they took their life in their own hands, and turned their backs on God, judgement was coming.  Not only had they left the one true God out of their daily lives, they created and worshiped false gods ... gods they carved out of wood, or painted on a stone.  Sounds crazy doesn't it?  It does to me ... well ... until I stop and honestly identify the false gods I've worshiped ... gods like my 401(k): after all, that's my main storehouse, that's my security ... if the stock market drops, my life is over.  How about security in general?  We plan and save and store and hoard for that inevitable rainy day, when God tells us not to worry about tomorrow.  Isaiah said that he had "never seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread."  How about my car that I'm a freak about keeping clean?  Or my guitar that some days gets two to three hours of my time.  Then there's this one ... you might want to sit down ... how about the time you spend in serving and volunteering at your church? 

Before you think I've lost it, let me explain: I don't bow down, tape my investment statement to the wall, and pray to it.  I don't sit in my garage and pray to my car.  I don't ask my guitar to heal me when I'm sick.  When I talk about worshiping those things, my point is to bring to your attention - and mine - the amount of time we dedicate to those things compared to the amount of time we dedicate to getting to know Jesus.  It's easy to do, and most people don't even recognize it.  After all, "it's what we do."

If there was ever a time in history where it was wise, and worth your effort to spend time with God, it's today.  The world is crazy, and there are a lot of crazy people in it.  I tend to watch a lot of news, but at times I get to the point where I have to shut it off for a few days (maybe the news was a god ... maybe) because it's so disturbing and sad.  Obviously I can't tell you what to do.  I'm not Jeremiah.  If you'd allow me to make a suggestion though, can I recommend that you spend some time with God?  Take a few minutes each day and talk to Him.  If you own a Bible, open it up to the book of John and start reading.  If you don't, go to www.biblegateway.com and search for the "Book of John" and read.  My car can't save me.  My guitar can't save me.  My 401(k) is not the source of my security.  Only the one true God ... Jehovah ... Yahweh ... the Alpha and Omega ... he's the only God that can save me, protect me, and heal me.  But not just me ... you too.  Give Him a chance.  God bless.