Good morning. It’s Tuesday, March 17th, aka St. Patricks Day.

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

— Jeremiah 1:5

Jeremiah came from a priestly family.

The Bible introduces him this way:

Jeremiah 1:1

“The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.”

So Jeremiah’s father was Hilkiah, a priest living in Anathoth in the tribe of Benjamin. Scripture does not tell us the name of Jeremiah’s mother.

Jeremiah also never had a wife or children, because God told him not to marry.

Jeremiah 16:2

“You must not marry and you must not have sons or daughters in this place.”

But Jeremiah’s calling actually began even earlier than that. God told him he had been chosen before he was even born.

Jeremiah 1:5

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

When God first called him, Jeremiah did not feel ready.

Jeremiah 1:6

“Alas, Sovereign Lord… I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

But God responded by telling him not to say he was too young.

Jeremiah 1:7

“You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you.”

Jeremiah’s job was simple: go where God sent him and say what God told him to say.

God even told Jeremiah to write those words down.

Jeremiah 30:2

“Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.”

Jeremiah had a scribe named Baruch who helped record them.

Jeremiah 36:4

“So Jeremiah called Baruch… and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.”

Because of this long ministry of speaking and writing, Jeremiah likely wrote more words of Scripture than any other author in the Bible. The Book of Jeremiah is the longest book in the Bible by word count, and he also wrote Lamentations, mourning the destruction of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah’s life reminds us that God often calls people who don’t feel ready. And when we faithfully share His words, those words can impact people long after we’re gone.

When you’re not sure how to pray, A.C.T.S. gives you a simple path to follow: Adore, Confess, Thank, and Ask.

Adoration: God, thank You for choosing and using people.

Confession: Forgive me when I feel too unready to follow Your call.

Thanksgiving: Thank You for giving us Your word through Jeremiah.

Supplication: Help me faithfully share Your words, even when I don’t feel ready.

In Jesus name, Amen

“Greater” by MercyMe

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See you tomorrow,

Zach | Start With God