Category Archives: Worthy of Fear / Reverence

All Powerful / King of All, Grace / Forgiveness, Justice / Judgment, Protector / Deliverer, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Provoking God’s Anger: Insights from Jeremiah 25 for Believers Today

There are several themes in Jeremiah 25 that we do well to remember and apply in our lives today.

  • Our behaviors can provoke God to anger. He is not always happy with us just because we are His people.  He expects us to act like His children and live how He instructs.
  • The LORD is slow to anger. He sent multiple prophets and messengers to warn the people to repent. He gave them multiple chances.
  • God believes in reconciling and restoring relationship with us. Even though He brings Babylon against His people, He plans to bring His people back out of that defeat and into relationship with Him.

Jeremiah 25

Prophecy of the Captivity

      1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 3“From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4“And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, 5saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the LORD has given to you and your forefathers forever and ever; 6and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no harm.’ 7“Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the LORD, “in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

      8“Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, 9behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10‘Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11‘This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Babylon Will Be Judged

      12‘Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13‘I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14‘(For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”

      15For thus the LORD, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. 16“They will drink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”

      17Then I took the cup from the LORD’S hand and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: 18Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a ruin, a horror, a hissing and a curse, as it is this day; 19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes and all his people; 20and all the foreign people, all the kings of the land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines (even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod); 21Edom, Moab and the sons of Ammon; 22and all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon and the kings of the coastlands which are beyond the sea; 23and Dedan, Tema, Buz and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24and all the kings of Arabia and all the kings of the foreign people who dwell in the desert; 25and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam and all the kings of Media; 26and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

      27“You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you.”’ 28“And it will be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “You shall surely drink! 29“For behold, I am beginning to work calamity in this city which is called by My name, and shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment; for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the LORD of hosts.’

      30“Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,
‘The LORD will roar from on high
And utter His voice from His holy habitation;
He will roar mightily against His fold.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.

      31‘A clamor has come to the end of the earth,
Because the LORD has a controversy with the nations.
He is entering into judgment with all flesh;
As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,’ declares the LORD.”

      32Thus says the LORD of hosts,
“Behold, evil is going forth
From nation to nation,
And a great storm is being stirred up
From the remotest parts of the earth.

      33“Those slain by the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground.

      34“Wail, you shepherds, and cry;
And wallow in ashes, you masters of the flock;
For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions have come,
And you will fall like a choice vessel.

      35“Flight will perish from the shepherds,
And escape from the masters of the flock.

      36“Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,
And the wailing of the masters of the flock!
For the LORD is destroying their pasture,

      37“And the peaceful folds are made silent
Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

      38“He has left His hiding place like the lion;
For their land has become a horror
Because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword
And because of His fierce anger.”

Take a few moments and pray right now. Thank God that He is patient and slow to anger. Thank Him that even when we may bring up His anger, He is already thinking of how we may be reconciled back to Him. His goal is for us to have an abundant and joyful relationship with Him. Ask Him to show you any areas in your life where you need to make changes to live more according to His ways and turn away from the ways of men that may be making Him angry.

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.

Protector / Deliverer, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

Ripe or Rotten: Exploring Our Relationship with God

Not all of God’s people are experiencing the same relationship with Him. Jeremiah 24 shares a metaphor, or vision, which compares some to ripe figs and some to rotten figs. Though this speaks of Israel in captivity, I see it still applies today to those who claim to follow God through Christ.

The favor we experience with God will often not be obvious from our circumstances. In Jeremiah 24, the good figs were carried off into captivity, but God intended to restore them later. The bad figs were allowed to remain in the land, but God was not pleased with them.

The blessing we receive from God will be influenced by our relationship with Him. It is fair to conclude that God was not being arbitrary, but rather judging the bad figs based on their heart toward Him and their obedience toward His instructions.

Jeremiah 24

Baskets of Figs and the Returnees

      1After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me: behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of the LORD! 2One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. 3Then the LORD said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”

      4Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5“Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. 6‘For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7‘I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

      8‘But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness—indeed, thus says the LORD—so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9‘I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them. 10‘I will send the sword, the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.’”

Don’t assume that God has abandoned you because you are experiencing a difficult time (like the Babylonian captivity).  God may have plans for you beyond what you see.

Take a few minutes and pray that the LORD would open your eyes to how you can draw nearer to Him. Seek Him. Reflect on areas of your life where you may need to make changes. Keep your faith in Him even through challenges and hard times. Be one of the “good figs”!

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.

Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Repenting from Sin, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Broken Jar: The Consequences of Forsaking God’s Path

God shared an important message with His people through Jeremiah in Jeremiah 19. It was not an encouraging message, but a warning and an indication of the punishment to come because God’s people had turned from Him to other gods and other ways of living.  It is not hard to imagine God sharing this same message with His people around the world today. Many who proclaim Jesus are not living according to how God calls us to live. They look more like the culture of the world than like the example of our Messiah or His teaching on how we should live.

Pay attention. Apply this to your own life and pray for God’s people to repent.

Jeremiah 19

The Broken Jar

      1Thus says the LORD, “Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests. 2“Then go out to the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you, 3and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold I am about to bring a calamity upon this place, at which the ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. 4“Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent 5and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind; 6therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter. 7“I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 8“I will also make this city a desolation and an object of hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its disasters. 9“I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them.”’

      10“Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you 11and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial. 12“This is how I will treat this place and its inhabitants,” declares the LORD, “so as to make this city like Topheth. 13“The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the houses on whose rooftops they burned sacrifices to all the heavenly host and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”’”

      14Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house and said to all the people: 15“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.’”

Take a few minutes to pray and give God thanks for His word. Thank Him that it can shine a light for us on how we need to live still today. Praise Him for who He is and ask Him to show you what changes you should make in your life to live more according to His ways and less blending with the culture around you. We should stand out as a holy people and not blend in.

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.

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!

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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.