Jeremiah was a.......bullfrog?

Our Sunday School class recently started a new series on the prophet Jeremiah. Our teacher asked the group, "So what can you all tell me about Jeremiah?" The answer was a resounding, "Ummmmmm...." Yeah, I felt kinda bad...grew up in church, I've read a lot of the Bible, and yet I couldn't come up with a single thing about Jeremiah besides that dumb "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" song :-O

Fear not, though, because this is a good thing...it means I get to learn new stuff (Huzzah!). So from some quick research and things gleaned from our first lesson on Jeremiah, I've learned some interesting stuff: Jeremiah was chosen by God even before he was born! He wasn't married, his ministry lasted 40 years, and he never received gratitude or respect...in fact, the king burned the first book he wrote and it had to be written again by his secretary. Bummer! He was called the "Weeping Prophet" and his message was mostly about the fall of Israel to Babylon. Bummer...again! So what can we glean so far from the life of Jeremiah?

* God called Him: Jeremiah 1:5 says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations." What more can I say? God called Jeremiah and Jeremiah listened. So when God calls you, listen and do what He says. Check it out: Jeremiah's ministry wasn't exactly ideal...in fact, he was treated like dirt...but he still did what God wanted him to do. We must look at his example and do the same. I know it's often hard to do because it seems like God will ask us to do weird things sometimes...but He knows A LOT better than we do, so it's better to just do it and not fight it because God is in control, and all His plans for us are for our good and for His glory!

*Jeremiah was Steadfast: We live in a culture where hardship sure isn't worth it anymore. We're all guilty of it, especially me...if there's a shortcut, we take it. If things get difficult, we say "Forget it!" Sadly, our faith is a lot like this at times. We get real hardcore and gung-ho about God's work, but the minute something tough comes up, we crumble like saltines. Listen, being a Christian isn't easy, I say it all the time. If it were simple, we'd all be Christians...but we're not. You struggle, I struggle, we all struggle...BUT no matter how hard it gets, we have to stick with it. Jeremiah ministered to a nation for 40 years and EVERYONE hated him. That stinks big time...but he kept on and so should we. Christ said we should love our neighbors as ourselves...so what if they're rude, keep loving them anyway.

I'm sure I'll post more as I learn more about Jeremiah, but these two points stood out to me. I know they're pretty basic, but I could always use a refresher, I don't know about you.