Jeremiah rebuked the prophets of his day for prophesying that the people would experience “peace” when there was no peace. These false prophets were telling the people what they wanted to hear and not what God was saying. For this reason, Jeremiah said they, “healed the hurt of My people slightly”. Because of this, God told Jeremiah to prophesy to the people and warn them of His impending judgement if they didn’t repent. Because of this Jeremiah was persecuted and reviled by his brethren. In fact, on one occasion they threw him into a muddy tank of water for him to die – all because he spoke the truth! The message God gave Jeremiah to speak was not popular. Yet he obeyed the Word of the Lord. As children of God, we need to understand that the message of the cross is not a popular message to those who desire to hold onto the things of the world. The Bible says that to some we are the aroma of death leading to death (2 Corinthians 2:15-17). Like Jeremiah, we must be prepared to share the gospel at any cost, even if it means that we will be rejected by the crowd and multitudes. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.” (John 15:18). No matter how we are received, when we choose to love righteousness and hate wickedness and unashamedly share the truth with others – we will receive a reward from the Lord and be anointed with the oil of joy – His supernatural empowerment to keep proclaiming the truth with boldness and love (Psalm 45:7)!