theme for josh in london

yo,

i like to read the bible a lot - get to know my god better and figure out what makes him tick and all sorts of other stuff. lately i've been reading through the book of jeremiah, which is about this old prophet guy who spends most of his time telling this old school nation, israel, to quit being metephorical prostitutes by "getting together" with all these other new gods. he communicates these messages from god about how sad and envious and ultimately pissed off isreal is making their god. i really like it because jeremiah uses a real name (it's translated LORD, but it's a name not a title in this case, it's a name) when he talks about god, so when you notice that you see how personally god is taking it - he reaaallly likes israel and just sounds devastated at how they've gone off to be with other gods.

back to the story, this other major nation, the chaldeans (babylonians) show up and take a bunch of the israelites off into captivity (something the babylonians apparently liked to do), but some of them are still left in jerusalem. jeremiah is among the bunch in jerusalem, and he keeps telling the israelites that they gotta return to their first love - their first god. usually god says pretty harsh stuff to the israelites (through jeremiah), but every once in a while you get a glimpse of something awesome that's gonna happen in the future when god restores the nation of israel, and the israelites start loving him again.

that's just some context for the book of jeremiah, but what i REALLY wanted to talk about was this sick passage that god showed me a couple weeks ago, and that i keep returning to. i've really identified with it and prayed it for myself as i've moved to london:

jeremiah 24:4-7

"Then the word of the LORD came to me: Thus says the LORD, the God of israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place tot he land of the Chaldeans. I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.' "

i've been praying that god will give me that heart to know that he is the LORD. i want so much for him to be my God, and for my whole heart to be chasing after him like he's been chasing after me.

my god is something else! when my heart is fully turned towards him, and i get a little glimpse of who he is, i am so captivated! what a guy...

don't have the time or the words to do this justice, but just wanted to put this down in writing for now, as something to return to over my diasporic stint in london.

shalom,

- josh