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It’s still summer. And in summer who doesn’t like ice cream, popsicles, and candy? I am confident that most of us have a sweet tooth. Even those of us who need to be careful what we eat still like a small piece of chocolate, a small cone of ice cream, or a small candy.

A few weeks ago, my children presented me with candy: salt-water taffy chewing candies. They looked great. But then my children told me that these have unusual flavours; not the usual strawberry, chocolate, lemon, or orange flavours we’re used to. Oh no. These include some weird flavours: maple syrup and bacon, pickle, and – wait for it – chili mango. Now, I’m willing to try anything once, but chili-mango flavoured taffy? I don’t care how wonderful summer is or how much I want to satisfy my sweet tooth, I draw the line at chili-mango flavoured taffy.

Believe it or not, these strange candies remind me of the Gospel. The prophecy of Jeremiah speaks of the judgment of God on Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem. In the midst of the dire warnings of impending ruin, the Lord says that he will make a new covenant with his people: he will transform their hearts, drawing them to himself and remembering their sins no more. We find this amazing promise in Jeremiah 31:31-34. But just before these verses we read:

In those days people will no longer say, "The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge." Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge.

Sour grapes. Yukky flavours. Why is this the Gospel?

The Lord is saying that no longer will people be judged for the sins of their parents, friends, or ancestors. Instead, they will be judged for their own sins.

Before God, each of us is responsible for our sin. We cannot blame someone else. We cannot say, “Oh, it’s my upbringing, my cultural influences, pressure from my peers, or society’s expectations.” We are responsible for our own sin. This means each of us needs to reach out to God for forgiveness. We cannot rely on anything else for salvation; we can only rely on God to deliver us.

Yukky flavours illustrate how yukky our lives are because of sin. And when we recognize our sin, then we turn to God for his grace. And we discover that he is ready to forgive and bring us into a new relationship with him. That’s what Jeremiah means.

I’m not going to eat yukky salt-water taffy flavours. But I will confess my sin and lean on the love and grace of God day-by-day.

Today, take time to confess your sin. Be honest. God knows how yukky sin is. Then look to the cross – you will see how much God loves you: Jesus died for you. There you will find a new start, true forgiveness, and relationship with the Lord. Hallelujah!

視頻大意翻譯 (video Chinese translation):

仍是夏天。夏天時誰不喜歡冰淇淋、冰棒和糖果呢? 我相信我們大多數人都喜歡甜食，即使是我們當中有些人須小心吃的東西，仍喜歡吃一些些巧克力、冰淇淋或一點點糖果。

幾個星期前我孩子給我嚐一些糖果。鹹水太妃糖。他們看起來很好吃，但當孩子告訴我這糖果有不尋常的口味，不像一般我們常吃的草莓、巧克力、檸檬或柳橙口味。喔，不! 這些還包括一些詭異的口味:楓糖培根、酸瓜、還有-辣芒果。我願意嚐一次，但辣芒果口味太妃糖?我不在乎暑假有多好或它如何能滿足我對甜食的渴望，我和辣芒果太妃糖劃清界線。

信不信由你，這些奇怪的糖果讓我想起了福音。耶利米的預言講到神對猶大的審判和耶路撒冷的毀滅。但是，在即將到來的毀滅的可怕警告中，主透過耶利米說，他將與他的子民立新約;他會改變他們的心，吸引他們歸向他，不再記念他們的罪。我們在耶利米書31章31到34節找到這個奇妙的應許。就在這幾節經文之前，我們讀到這樣一段話：“當那些日子、人不再說、父親喫了酸葡萄、兒子的牙酸倒了．但各人必因自己的罪死亡、凡喫酸葡萄的、自己的牙必酸倒-自己的牙必酸倒” 。酸葡萄。噁心的味道，為什麼這是福音？

主在說，人們不會再因為他們的父母、朋友或祖先的罪而受到審判。相反，他們將因自己的罪而受到審判。在神面前，我們每個人都要為自己的罪負責。我們不能責怪別人。我們不能說，“哦，這是我的成長經歷、我的文化影響、來自同儕的壓力或社會的期望。我們要為自己的罪負責。這意味著我們每個人都需要向神尋求寬恕。我們不能依靠任何其他東西來得救贖;我們只能依靠神來拯救我們。

噁心的口味說明了我們的生活因為罪而變得多麼糟糕。當我們認識到自己的罪時，我們就會轉向神尋求祂的恩典。我們發現祂已經準備好原諒並帶領我們與祂建立新的關係。這就是耶利米的意思。

我不會吃 噁心的鹹水口味太妃糖。但我會承認我的罪，並日復一日地依靠神的愛和恩典。

所以，今天，花點時間認罪。要誠實。神知道罪惡是多麼可怕。然後仰望十字架 ── 在那裡，你會看到 神是多麼愛你：耶穌為你而死。在那裡，你會找到一個新的開始，一個真正的寬恕，一個與主的關係。哈利路亞！

讓我們禱告…

Grace and peace

Pastor Callum