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(Jer.20:10-13;\xa0\xa0 Ps.69:8-10,14,17,33-35;\xa0\xa0 Rom.5:12-15;\xa0\xa0 Mt.10:26-33)\xa0 \u201cFor your sake I bear insult, and shame covers my face.\u201d\xa0 \xa0 \xa0 \xa0Jeremiah \u201chear[s] the whisperings of many\u201d who seek to \u201cdenounce him\u201d; those who \u201cwatch for any misstep\u201d plot his destruction: \u201cPerhaps he will be trapped, then we can prevail, and take our revenge on him.\u201d Like David he has \u201cbecome an outcast to [his] brothers, a stranger to [his] mother\u2019s children.\u201d And for what does he suffer such persecution but for speaking the truth of God\u2019s word to his fellow Israelites? As David declares to the Lord, \u201cThe insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me\u201d; both the prophet and the king endure persecution for righteousness\u2019 sake. \xa0 \xa0 \xa0But both prophet and king declare victory in their struggle: \u201cThe Lord is with me, like a mighty champion; my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.\u201d Through the power of God it is they who \u201cwill be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable confusion.\u201d The Lord hears their pleas for help, their prayers come before Him, \u201cfor the Lord hears the poor, and His own who are in bonds He spurns not.\u201d And so both king and prophet end in joy, in utter hope, as David proclaims, \u201cLet the heavens and the earth praise Him, the seas and whatever moves in them\u201d; and Jeremiah likewise calls all to honor our unfailing God: \u201cSing to the Lord, praise the Lord, for He has rescued the life of the poor from the power of the wicked.\u201d \xa0 \xa0 \xa0And, brothers and sisters, in what greater way is this salvation from the grasp of evil better known, more fully realized, than in our Lord Jesus Christ? Paul tells us, \u201cThrough one man sin entered the world, and through sin, death, and this death came to all men.\u201d What greater persecutor have we than death itself? But now \u201cthe grace of God and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ overflow for the many\u201d \u2013 now all are saved by Him who has died, and has risen. Its clutches no longer hold dominion. \xa0 \xa0 \xa0So Jesus exhorts the Twelve, and all who would conquer death and all sin, to \u201cfear no one\u201d: \u201cDo not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.\u201d What power has the prince of this world over our immortal souls now that Jesus has come? He can\u2019t touch us by his persecutions; and so now we are called to \u201cproclaim on the housetops\u201d what we \u201chear whispered\u201d by the Lord in our hearts. Now with Jeremiah and David we must fearlessly \u201cspeak in the light,\u201d for the Lord has made us a promise, and His Word is true \u2013 \u201cEveryone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.\u201d But if we deny Him, He will deny us. Therefore, let us be heedless of the shame and the pain we share with our Savior and never fear to declare His truth in love to all. Nothing is greater than the power of His Word. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, let us declare your glory, you who set us free from the bonds of sin and death \u2013 you who are our Savior!\xa0 \xa0 \xa0 \xa0YHWH, you have raised us from the power of sin and death, from the strength of our persecutors which we could not match. In the bonds of Satan we have been, and under his threat we dwelt in fear. But your Son has come to set us free that we might walk in liberty with Him and proclaim your holy Name to all the earth. Praise you, LORD! Thank you for your goodness to us. Let us live in your light. \xa0 \xa0 \xa0O LORD, how hopeless we were, trapped in the bonds of death and sin. How could we hope when so oppressed that everywhere we looked we saw but emptiness and fear. But when we called out to you, you heard our plea\u2026 and your Son you sent into our midst to save us from all evil. Let us now with great zeal declare your glory, LORD, though it mean we must die for you. For in this death, this dying in your Name, indeed life comes to us once again. \xa0 \xa0 \xa0To you we entrust our cause, dear LORD, and you are ever faithful. Save all men from the evil one!