Category Archives: Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Father / Yahweh, Justice / Judgment, Loving / Kind, Submitted / Servant, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Potters House: A Call to Submit to God’s Will

God is the potter and we are the clay. He fashions us for His purpose. Who are we to question Him any more than the pot is to question the potter who makes it. Instead of fighting or resisting God’s shaping us, let us embrace it and trust Him, even when it is hard.

Jeremiah 18

The Potter and the Clay

      1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying, 2“Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” 3Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.

      5Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 6“Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7“At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9“Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; 10if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it. 11“So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds.”’ 12“But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

      13“Therefore thus says the LORD,
‘Ask now among the nations,
Who ever heard the like of this?
The virgin of Israel
Has done a most appalling thing.

      14‘Does the snow of Lebanon forsake the rock of the open country?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever snatched away?

      15‘For My people have forgotten Me,
They burn incense to worthless gods
And they have stumbled from their ways,
From the ancient paths,
To walk in bypaths,
Not on a highway,

      16To make their land a desolation,
An object of perpetual hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake his head.

      17‘Like an east wind I will scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will show them My back and not My face
In the day of their calamity.’”

      18Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah. Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet! Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue, and let us give no heed to any of his words.”

      19Do give heed to me, O LORD,
And listen to what my opponents are saying!

      20Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have dug a pit for me.
Remember how I stood before You
To speak good on their behalf,
So as to turn away Your wrath from them.

      21Therefore, give their children over to famine
And deliver them up to the power of the sword;
And let their wives become childless and widowed.
Let their men also be smitten to death,
Their young men struck down by the sword in battle.

      22May an outcry be heard from their houses,
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
For they have dug a pit to capture me
And hidden snares for my feet.

      23Yet You, O LORD, know
All their deadly designs against me;
Do not forgive their iniquity
Or blot out their sin from Your sight.
But may they be overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the time of Your anger!

The key verses that I want to emphasize are 3-9:

 3Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.

Truly reflect on these. God can shape us however He desires. He may reshape us to fix flaws so we can better serve our intended purpose. When He reshapes us,

      5Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 6“Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7“At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; 8if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9“Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; 10if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.

God will respond to His people when we turn to Him and away from evil. He will relent concerning calamity. He will also respond when His people turn away from Him toward evil. He will rethink the good He had intended for them.

Take this to heart personally and not just as a nation.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discipline / Guidance From God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Father / Yahweh, Obeying God, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Returning to God: Rediscovering His Ways for a Blessed Life

The first 18 verses of Jeremiah 17 bring attention to how Israel had turned away from the LORD. They were doing their own thing. They were not living unto the LORD and obeying His instructions. In that context, Jeremiah was to proclaim the Sabbath with a warning to obey and experience blessing or disobey and experience discipline.

God wanted the hearts of the people turned back toward Him. He wants this still today! Too many of us have turned away to go our own way or follow what everyone else is doing. We have lost much of what God calls us to do, including truly observing the Sabbath as one example. Sabbath was more than simply resting, it was a sign between God and His people (Ezekiel 20:20).

Jeremiah 17:19-27

The Sabbath Must Be Kept

      19Thus the LORD said to me, “Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the LORD, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: 21‘Thus says the LORD, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22“You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. 23“Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.

      24“But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me,” declares the LORD, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26“They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the LORD. 27“But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.”’”

Challenge yourself to seek out God’s ways. Do not judge based on church norms or cultural norms. Dive into the Bible and study to see how God has instructed us to live. What guidance has He given His people? The Sabbath is one example. God instructs us to observe the Sabbath and tells us it was made for our benefit.  As one who grew up ignoring the Sabbath and has not started observing it for over 10 years, I can say that I see tremendous benefit that I did not know I was missing. The same is true for instructions He has given. Let us rediscover God’s ways and apply them in our lives.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Psalms, Strong in Our Weakness, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Worship the LORD and Give Him Glory

In good times and in times of suffering and struggles, we do well to remember the power and glory of our Lord… He sits as King of Kings forever. He is above all and has authority over all. Praise Him! Accept and celebrate the peace He offers!

Psalm 29

      1Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

      2Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in holy array.

      3The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The LORD is over many waters.

      4The voice of the LORD is powerful,
The voice of the LORD is majestic.

      5The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

      6He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.

      7The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.

      8The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

      9The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

      10The LORD sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.

      11The LORD will give strength to His people;
The LORD will bless His people with peace.

Take comfort in trusting the Lord. He is in control. We can trust Him whether or not things are going the way we want or expect. We can find peace in Him and in no one else throughout our lives in every situation through our faith in our God!

—-

Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? If you die today, do you know for sure that you would be with God in heaven? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Grace / Forgiveness, Justice / Judgment, Repenting from Sin, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Rediscovering the Path: Seeking God Amidst a Rebellious Generation

We can feel the anger of the LORD as we read in Jeremiah 15. He has been seeking His people to repent and has continued to hold back punishment and correction. He will do so no longer. He is ready to unleash what is due because of their insistence on rebelling against Him and not repenting and returning to Him.

As we read through the whole chapter, we can clearly see His desire is not to hurt Israel, but to turn them back to Him. However, the people have to make a choice to seek Him.

We should consider this principle for our lives today as well. Truly seek God with our lives and turn away from things that are bad, even if “everyone else” in the church is doing it.

Jeremiah 15

Judgment Must Come

      1Then the LORD said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send them away from My presence and let them go!

2“And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD:
“Those destined for death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’

3“I will appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the LORD: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag off, and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4“I will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

      5“Indeed, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
Or who will mourn for you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?

      6“You who have forsaken Me,” declares the LORD,
“You keep going backward.
So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am tired of relenting!

      7“I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people;
They did not repent of their ways.

      8“Their widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
A destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and dismay.

      9“She who bore seven sons pines away;
Her breathing is labored.
Her sun has set while it was yet day;
She has been shamed and humiliated.
So I will give over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares the LORD.

      10Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me
As a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not lent, nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.

      11The LORD said, “Surely I will set you free for purposes of good;
Surely I will cause the enemy to make supplication to you
In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

      12“Can anyone smash iron,
Iron from the north, or bronze?

      13“Your wealth and your treasures
I will give for booty without cost,
Even for all your sins
And within all your borders.

      14“Then I will cause your enemies to bring it
Into a land you do not know;
For a fire has been kindled in My anger,
It will burn upon you.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer and God’s Answer

15You who know, O LORD,
Remember me, take notice of me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that for Your sake I endure reproach.

      16Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.

      17I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers,
Nor did I exult.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone,
For You filled me with indignation.

      18Why has my pain been perpetual
And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?

      19Therefore, thus says the LORD,
“If you return, then I will restore you—
Before Me you will stand;
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.

      20“Then I will make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And though they fight against you,
They will not prevail over you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” declares the LORD.

      21“So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.”

Take time to pray and ask God to show you areas where you need to change to be more pleasing to Him. Be willing to change, even when it feels hard because you are choosing to live differently than your extended family, friends, or those around you in church.  Thank Him for His patience in giving you time to change and His help in giving you discernment and courage.  Make the choice to follow Him.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discipline / Guidance From God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Justice / Judgment, Unteachable / Foolish, Worldliness, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Don’t Be Like a Ruined Waistband to God

God calls His people to be in a relationship with Him and not with false gods, to live as He calls us to rather than pursuing false beliefs and customs. If we reject Him and go our own way, it is very displeasing to the LORD. There are usually consequences to us as well. Do not grow complacent in your walk with the LORD. Remain vigilant and seek Him diligently. Turn away form worldly ways.

Jeremiah 13

The Ruined Waistband

      1Thus the LORD said to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen waistband and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2So I bought the waistband in accordance with the word of the LORD and put it around my waist. 3Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, 4“Take the waistband that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD had commanded me. 6After many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the waistband which I commanded you to hide there.” 7Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the waistband from the place where I had hidden it; and lo, the waistband was ruined, it was totally worthless.

      8Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9“Thus says the LORD, ‘Just so will I destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10‘This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless. 11‘For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen.’

Captivity Threatened

      12“Therefore you are to speak this word to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ 13then say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Behold I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness! 14“I will dash them against each other, both the fathers and the sons together,” declares the LORD. “I will not show pity nor be sorry nor have compassion so as not to destroy them.”’”

      15Listen and give heed, do not be haughty,
For the LORD has spoken.

      16Give glory to the LORD your God,
Before He brings darkness
And before your feet stumble
On the dusky mountains,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into deep darkness,
And turns it into gloom.

      17But if you will not listen to it,
My soul will sob in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will bitterly weep
And flow down with tears,
Because the flock of the LORD has been taken captive.

      18Say to the king and the queen mother,
“Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful crown
Has come down from your head.”

      19The cities of the Negev have been locked up,
And there is no one to open them;
All Judah has been carried into exile,
Wholly carried into exile.

      20“Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?

      21“What will you say when He appoints over you—
And you yourself had taught them—
Former companions to be head over you?
Will not pangs take hold of you
Like a woman in childbirth?

      22“If you say in your heart,
‘Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the magnitude of your iniquity
Your skirts have been removed
And your heels have been exposed.

      23“Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.

      24“Therefore I will scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert wind.

      25“This is your lot, the portion measured to you
From Me,” declares the LORD,
“Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in falsehood.

      26“So I Myself have also stripped your skirts off over your face,
That your shame may be seen.

      27“As for your adulteries and your lustful neighings,
The lewdness of your prostitution
On the hills in the field,
I have seen your abominations.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will you remain unclean?”

Spend time in prayer. Thank God for the message He  is bringing to your heart through this scripture. Ask Him to show you any areas where you need to repent and change your ways to turn back to Him.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Guide, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

There Is None Like Our God; Trust in Him Alone

Do not let anything take the place of God in your life. We are to place our trust in Him and seek direction for our steps. Even with good things like family, jobs, and money, we should take care so as not to place our trust in them instead of God.

Jeremiah 10

A Satire on Idolatry

      1Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.

2Thus says the LORD,
“Do not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens
Although the nations are terrified by them;

      3For the customs of the peoples are delusion;
Because it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

      4“They decorate it with silver and with gold;
They fasten it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter.

      5“Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.”

      6There is none like You, O LORD;
You are great, and great is Your name in might.

      7Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.

      8But they are altogether stupid and foolish
In their discipline of delusion—their idol is wood!

      9Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the work of skilled men.

      10But the LORD is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth quakes,
And the nations cannot endure His indignation.

      11Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

      12It is He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.

      13When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the wind from His storehouses.

      14Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;
For his molten images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.

      15They are worthless, a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish.

      16The portion of Jacob is not like these;
For the Maker of all is He,
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
The LORD of hosts is His name.

      17Pick up your bundle from the ground,
You who dwell under siege!

18For thus says the LORD,
“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And will cause them distress,
That they may be found.”

      19Woe is me, because of my injury!
My wound is incurable.
But I said, “Truly this is a sickness,
And I must bear it.”

      20My tent is destroyed,
And all my ropes are broken;
My sons have gone from me and are no more.
There is no one to stretch out my tent again
Or to set up my curtains.

      21For the shepherds have become stupid
And have not sought the LORD;
Therefore they have not prospered,
And all their flock is scattered.

      22The sound of a report! Behold, it comes—
A great commotion out of the land of the north—
To make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

      23I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself,
Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.

      24Correct me, O LORD, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.

      25Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You
And on the families that do not call Your name;
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have devoured him and consumed him
And have laid waste his habitation.

Carefully consider in what you are placing your trust. Seek correction where you need it. Ask for him to correct without anger as in verse 24.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Discipline / Guidance From God, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Guide, Obeying God, Submitted / Servant, Teachable, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Walk In All the Way Which I Command You, That It May Be Well With You

God wants us to truly live according to His instruction, and in relationship with Him. He does not want us to simply go through the motions. It is about relationship and obedience, not religion and ritual. Let us not live our own way through the week and then come into church to proclaim His praise. It will be empty for Him. He wants our hearts!

Jeremiah 7

Message at the Temple Gate

      1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2“Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!’” 3Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4“Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ 5“For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, 6if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, 7then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

      8“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail. 9“Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known, 10then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations? 11“Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the LORD.

      12“But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13“And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer, 14therefore, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. 15“I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.

      16“As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. 17“Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18“The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me. 19“Do they spite Me?” declares the LORD. “Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?” 20Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”

      21Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh. 22“For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23“But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ 24“Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. 25“Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. 26“Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers.

      27“You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28“You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

      29‘Cut off your hair and cast it away,
And take up a lamentation on the bare heights;
For the LORD has rejected and forsaken
The generation of His wrath.’

30“For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,” declares the LORD, “they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 31“They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.

      32“Therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place. 33“The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. 34“Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin.

God wants us to have a real relationship with Him. He wants to see us living the way He guides and commands us. In this obedience, we demonstrate our love and faith in our Father by doing things His way instead of our own.

Prayerfully reflect on this message today. Ask God to enlighten you for any places you need to make change in your life.

23“But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Shalom. 

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Discipline / Guidance From God, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Slow to Anger, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

God Calls Us Back to Him; If We Don’t Listen, He Calls Louder

God loves His people, and He always has. He wants us to be in a righteous relationship with Him, living according to His instructions. Like we do for our children, He warns us when we stray from Him. If we do not listen, He disciplines us… because He loves us.

We do well to listen to His call and change our ways before He needs to escalate the situation to get our attention.

Jeremiah 6

Destruction of Jerusalem Impending

1“Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the north,
And a great destruction.

      2“The comely and dainty one, the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.

      3“Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
They will pitch their tents around her,
They will pasture each in his place.

      4“Prepare war against her;
Arise, and let us attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

      5“Arise, and let us attack by night
And destroy her palaces!”

6For thus says the LORD of hosts,
“Cut down her trees
And cast up a siege against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only oppression.

      7“As a well keeps its waters fresh,
So she keeps fresh her wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard in her;
Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.

      8“Be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or I shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.”

      9Thus says the LORD of hosts,
“They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel;
Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
Over the branches.”

      10To whom shall I speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their ears are closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.

      11But I am full of the wrath of the LORD;
I am weary with holding it in.
“Pour it out on the children in the street
And on the gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged and the very old.

      12“Their houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.

      13“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.

      14“They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.

      15“Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.

      16Thus says the LORD,
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

      17“And I set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

      18“Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.

      19“Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The fruit of their plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My law, they have rejected it also.

      20“For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba
And the sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

21Therefore, thus says the LORD,
“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and friend will perish.”

The Enemy from the North

22Thus says the LORD,
“Behold, a people is coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

      23“They seize bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arrayed as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!”

      24We have heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
Anguish has seized us,
Pain as of a woman in childbirth.

      25Do not go out into the field
And do not walk on the road,
For the enemy has a sword,
Terror is on every side.

      26O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth
And roll in ashes;
Mourn as for an only son,
A lamentation most bitter.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come upon us.

      27“I have made you an assayer and a tester among My people,
That you may know and assay their way.”

      28All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
Going about as a talebearer.
They are bronze and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.

      29The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the wicked are not separated.

      30They call them rejected silver,
Because the LORD has rejected them.

Answer God’s call for you in your life. Listen for His guidance and His warnings. Turn away from sin and turn toward His righteous ways. Do not ignore His call. Do not require Him to escalate things to get your attention.

Praise Him that He loves us enough to care for us and even to discipline us. He helps us come back to Him if we stray.

Shalom.

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Justice / Judgment, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Slow to Anger, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

God Is a Righteous Judge; the Judgment We Receive Depends on How We Live

We should not expect that we can reject God, live without Him, and then not receive judgment at some point for doing so. It may or may not be in our current lives, but judgment will certainly come when we die or when Christ returns. We may receive judgment and consequences in our lives as well.  If you experience this in your life, take it as a reminder and a gift that calls you back to the LORD so you will be in a good relationship with Him when you meet Him for final judgment.

Jeremiah 5

Jerusalem’s Godlessness

1“Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And seek in her open squares,
If you can find a man,
If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth,
Then I will pardon her.

      2“And although they say, ‘As the LORD lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.”

      3O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth?
You have smitten them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.

      4Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they do not know the way of the LORD
Or the ordinance of their God.

      5“I will go to the great
And will speak to them,
For they know the way of the LORD
And the ordinance of their God.”
But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.

      6Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them,
A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.

      7“Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And sworn by those who are not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.

      8“They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.

      9“Shall I not punish these people,” declares the LORD,
“And on a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?

      10“Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the LORD’S.

      11“For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the LORD.

      12They have lied about the LORD
And said, “Not He;
Misfortune will not come on us,
And we will not see sword or famine.

      13“The prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!”

Judgment Proclaimed

14Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will consume them.

      15“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.
“It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.

      16“Their quiver is like an open grave,
All of them are mighty men.

      17“They will devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.

      18“Yet even in those days,” declares the LORD, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19“It shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

      20“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,

      21‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
Who have eyes but do not see;
Who have ears but do not hear.

      22‘Do you not fear Me?’ declares the LORD.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

      23‘But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.

      24‘They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the LORD our God,
Who gives rain in its season,
Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The appointed weeks of the harvest.”

      25‘Your iniquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.

      26‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.

      27‘Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.

      28‘They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

      29‘Shall I not punish these people?’ declares the LORD,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’

      30“An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:

      31The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?

As I read, I can easily slip into a mindset that thinks He may as well be talking about our nation today. People declare His name, but do not follow Him. People are living in sin and putting other things in their heart where only God should be. Take this warning. Understand how God feels about us and our nation when we reject Him. Let that motivate you to rededicate yourself to God. Ask Him to show you any areas where you need to make changes in your life… your attitudes or actions.

Give Him thanks for His patience and for his word to guide us.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Justice / Judgment, Protector / Deliverer, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Turn Fully to God and His Ways; Don’t Wait for Difficulty to Drive You There

God wants to bring His people back to Him. He often warns them of impending difficulty He will bring and calls them to repent without needing it to be delivered. All too often, His people do not listen. Then He needs to bring about the hardship or remove His protection to help draw His people back to Him. We read about this in Jeremiah 4.

We may not face war and invasion in our lives, but the concept is often the same. We allow ourselves to drift from God. He wants to be in a relationship with us. He may call us back to Him, and if we don’t listen, He will remove His protection or bring challenges upon us so that we will seek Him again. How much more glorious if we choose to seek Him without having to go through the suffering first!

Jeremiah 4

Judah Threatened with Invasion

1“If you will return, O Israel,” declares the LORD,
“Then you should return to Me.
And if you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,

      2And you will swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’
In truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they will glory.”

      3For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.

      4“Circumcise yourselves to the LORD
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My wrath will go forth like fire
And burn with none to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”

      5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’

      6“Lift up a standard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing evil from the north,
And great destruction.

      7“A lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To make your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.

      8“For this, put on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the fierce anger of the LORD
Has not turned back from us.”

9“It shall come about in that day,” declares the LORD, “that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded.”

      10Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat.”

      11In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12a wind too strong for this—will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.

      13“Behold, he goes up like clouds,
And his chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are ruined!”

      14Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?

      15For a voice declares from Dan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.

      16“Report it to the nations, now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a far country,
And lift their voices against the cities of Judah.

      17‘Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about,
Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares the LORD.

      18“Your ways and your deeds
Have brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”

Lament over Judah’s Devastation

19My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart!
My heart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.

      20Disaster on disaster is proclaimed,
For the whole land is devastated;
Suddenly my tents are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.

      21How long must I see the standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

      22“For My people are foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to do evil,
But to do good they do not know.”

      23I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.

      24I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
And all the hills moved to and fro.

      25I looked, and behold, there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

      26I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the LORD, before His fierce anger.

      27For thus says the LORD,
“The whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

      28“For this the earth shall mourn
And the heavens above be dark,
Because I have spoken, I have purposed,
And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”

      29At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees;
They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
Every city is forsaken,
And no man dwells in them.

      30And you, O desolate one, what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
Your lovers despise you;
They seek your life.

      31For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
Stretching out her hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.”

Turn back to God. Do not force Him to do something harsh to get your attention. Joyfully seek Him. Let go of those things which separate you from Him.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.