²³ Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, ²⁴ but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

²⁵ “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh—”

Jeremiah 9:23-25

You are the LORD Who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, Oh God.

You, LORD, are the One True God.  We will bend our knees and worship You.  We will sense and follow Your Spirit’s promptings in this earth.  We will obey, LORD.  We will follow the Jesus way, the path You laid out for us, Jesus, to abandon self and cling to our Master, our Jesus.  We will walk the path of the Suffering Servant, our LORD, our Messiah.  We will forsake the idols of our era, to be liked, understood, idolized even.  We will instead cling to the memories we have of Jesus’ life here with us through the gospel writers, the eye witnesses of Jesus’ manner among us.  We will love one another AS YOU LOVED US (John 13:34).  What does this mean but that we would be faithful to another even to the point of death, which is only possible because of the Eternal God becoming human and dying a perfect man’s death for the imperfect human beings who bend knees to the Living God in awe and even trembling at the foot of the cross of Jesus’ death.  It’s an empty cross because Your death is FINISHED and Your life FLOWS IN OUR VEINS as we cling to Your words, Jesus, and cling to the Holy Spirit, our Companion, our Friend, our only means by which we could have ever come to faith!  You quickened our dead bones and breathed the Gospel of Jesus Christ into our beings.

We CLING to Jesus’ LIFE IN US through CLINGING to the memories from eye witnesses of Your reckless LOVE DISPLAY for us on the CROSS.  We have no other source of HOPE.

May the name of JESUS CHRIST be lifted high in this world as MANY come to KNOW and FOLLOW HARD AFTER THE WAY OF THIS JESUS, this GOD MAN, our MASTER & LORD, our ONLY HOPE.