Jeremiah 7:1-10 GW
The LORD spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said,
[2] “Stand at the gate of the LORD’s house, and announce from there this message: ‘Listen to the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who go through these gates to worship the LORD.
[3] This is what the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Change the way you live and act, and I will let you live in this place.
[4] Do not trust the words of this saying, “This is the LORD’s temple, the LORD’s temple, the LORD’s temple!” It’s a lie.
[5] “‘Suppose you really change the way you live and act and you really treat each other fairly.
[6] Suppose you do not oppress foreigners, orphans, and widows, or kill anyone in this place. And suppose you do not follow other gods that lead you to your own destruction.
[7] Then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave permanently to your ancestors long ago.
[8] “‘You are trusting the words of a saying. It’s a lie that cannot help you.
[9] You steal, murder, commit adultery, lie when you take oaths, burn incense as an offering to Baal, and run after other gods that you do not know.
[10] Then you stand in my presence in the house that is called by my name. You think that you’re safe to do all these disgusting things.

Lucky charms are not very lucky!
Some people go through life believing in objects superstitiously giving them luck, others believe that lucky charm will protect or help them. Some people carry a rabbit’s foot or wear a lucky hat, shirt, or tie for luck. Some have a lucky coin and so many other things they believe give them luck.
Many Christians have one of these charms, and many others have their variations—a cross necklace, an angel pin, or maybe a way of praying that they think has special significance and brings an answer to their prayers.
Have you ever said to yourself “it’s my lucky day!” Have you ever come across a penny on heads and recited the adage, “find a penny, pick it up, and all day long you’ll have good luck”? Chances are, you have at some point thought or said one of those things.
Several words do not appear anywhere in the bible and one of such words is “luck.”
Imagine if Jesus found a coin, picked it up and said, “Oh, golly, it’s my lucky day.”
Or Peter having an amazing catch of fish and saying, “Boy, it’s my lucky day.”
We do, however, see Jesus tell Peter to go catch a fish and take money out of its mouth to pay their taxes. Matthew 7:27.
You might expect someone to think they’re lucky if they find some money this way…but in this case, finding this money had nothing to do with chance or good fortune. Jesus knew exactly where the money would be. And Peter did exactly what Jesus said and found the money.
When it comes to lucky charms, the people of Judah were no different from us.
In verse 2 God told Jeremiah to “Stand in the gate of God’s Temple and preach a message.
In it, Jeremiah exposes their misplaced dependence on one religious’ artefact, the Temple. Unlike people’s lucky charms today, however, Judah’s charm wasn’t small enough to wear or carry. In this passage, we see proof that objects don’t bring luck to anyone.
The people who lived in Jerusalem depended on the ultimate good-luck charm: The Temple. They thought that if the Temple stood in Jerusalem, they would have God’s favour and be protected from harm in Jeremiah 7:4, 10. Meanwhile, they lived sinful lives, oppressing immigrants, mistreating widows, neglecting orphans, and worshipping false gods in verses 5-7.
They had misplaced their faith—instead of trusting in the God they couldn’t see; they were trusting in the physical Temple.
True faith never involves superstitious belief in an object. God wants us to respond personally to Him and His will. Whatever we do in service to God, should all be exercises that grow out of our love for God; they don’t gain us God’s favour or protection. Jesus is all you need; you do not need any luck charms.
Luck and lucky charms are borderlines on belief in the occult and this displeases God because it is idolatry. Things like tarot cards, Ouija boards, magic balls, witchcraft, spells, etc, are peddled as luck.
These things should not be anywhere near us. Even if you don’t believe in them, we should not come close to dabbling in them. There is no power in lucky charms, but all power belongs to God.
Shalom