Read the Bible in a Year (13AUG19)

DAILY REMINDER – Today, August 13’s Bible reading is Jeremiah 4-6.

NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, August 14’s Bible reading is Jeremiah 7-9. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.

JEREMIAH MOMENT – (13AUG19) “They have lied about the Lord; they said, “He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine. The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them; so let what they say be done to them” (Jeremiah 12-13). God had sent prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah to warn Judah and Jerusalem of impending danger if they did not turn back to Him. The warnings that God had given extended for decades before their manifestation was seen in full. God sent smaller warnings in the meantime as a sign for His people to turn back to Him, but the warnings were ignored. Nothing moved the people and they dismissed the warnings as natural occurrences. The people mocked Jeremiah because they felt secure in their walls. They figured the Lord would never do anything to them in the great magnitude that Jeremiah warned of. They were God’s people after all, and had His temple in their midst, so they saw no need to change their ways. They had an army with allies as friends from other nations, food, shelter, and their city was fortified where an enemy could not come in, or could he? They did not thank God for their blessings, but continued their worship of foreign idols, while doing just enough for God to appease Him – at least they thought. Arrogance and pride ruled their hearts, and what they thought was God’s unconditional security was actually His grace and mercy which were soon to run out.

Many evangelicals are deceiving the masses into thinking that the God of the Old Testament is not the same God today. They tell their people that God is done with rendering judgment and is only a God of love and peace. Some do not even use the Old Testament in their sermons because it does not go along with their narratives of unlimited grace and mercy with no accountability to God nor each other. To their congregants, they sell the ideology, not just books, that every day is a Friday and that you are living your best life now. Therefore, you do not have to concern yourself with any judgments because those are limited to the gloom and doomers who want to preach them. Yet, the Bible says, “Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him” (Isaiah 40:10). Although we are not under the Old Covenant of burnt offerings and sacrifices, with the killing of lambs and bulls, as well as the 613 Mosaic laws, we are still under the banner of the Lord, which is His standard of righteous living written  within the Ten Commandments. If it were not so, the Apostle Paul, for example, would not have given details as to the sins that would cause a person to be eternally lost. “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). The same standards that God had for the Children of Israel, in this manner, is the same standard that He has for us today. When we fall away from God’s ordinances, then we too will suffer the consequences of sin.

Jesus, however, died so that we would not have to suffer the “eternal” consequence of death for our sins IF we would REPENT. The Lord desires true repentance, but misusing and abusing His grace because we feel as if He will never judge us, will prove us to be liars. We may think that the world will be lost, and this is true for those unrepentant, but if we think as believers that we get a free pass, many will find that they will have missed the mark, and that their names will sadly not be found in the book of Life. The Bible says, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23). Something to ponder….

QUESTION OF THE DAY - (13AUG19) Have you ever been at a “supposed” worship service where they had $1000, $500, $100, and $20 lines for the people to get in to show their giving? Do you attend a church that report the giving of people on the screen for all to see? What about those churches where you are required to render a W-2 for them to ensure that you are giving the right amount at their church? Let’s not forget the churches who want you to have automatic withdrawals from your checking account so that they get their money up front. And, when we think that we have seen it all, many of us have heard about the pastors, prophets, prophetess, and others in the 5-fold ministry who will not preach at a church UNLESS they have a hefty honorarium in the thousands, along with chauffeurs, armor bearers, 5-star hotels, and fine dining included. Can we say that they are looking out for their GREED instead of your NEED to have your soul nurtured? The Prophet Jeremiah wrote, “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit” (Jeremiah 6:13). The prophets and priests of the time were pathetic, and their eye for material possessions were detestable to the Lord. No wonder they could not usher the people to God because they were lost in the wilderness of sin themselves. The religious leaders of Jeremiah’s time should have been unified with Him in declaring the judgments of the Lord, and yet, they mocked him just like the rest of the people. The Bible says, “The prophets prophesy lies, the priest rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?” (Jeremiah 5:31). How lonely it must have been for Jeremiah as he stood alone in proclaiming God’s truth.

There are many watchmen who encounter being alone because they speak the unadulterated Word of God. They are oftentimes not the ones that many would invite to family gatherings, church events, work parties, and friendship circles because they carry the Truth in them. Even so-called Christian networks have been reported as telling pastors what they could and could not preach on, so that it does not disrupt their attempt at political correctness and/or donations. These pastors, who agree to their terms, must sign contracts that they will not violate their policies. Such subjects often include homosexuality, transgenderism, abortion, and Jesus being the only way to salvation. Many churches also follow the same format in inviting only those pastors who can bring in the money and will only give a general overview of what holiness is. The Bible says, “The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it” (Jeremiah 6:10). No wonder the Bible lets us know that light and darkness do not mix. Therefore, a real watchman can be expected to have a somewhat isolated journey. Nevertheless, they are not truly alone because the Lord is always with them and in the end, the reward will be absolutely amazing if they stay the course and endure. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). The Bible has much more to say on false teachers and watchmen as we continue our studies in the Bible. Something to ponder…. 

 

JEREMIAH MOMENT – (13AUG19) “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city” (Jeremiah 5:1). The Lord had Jeremiah to go on a hunt to see if he could find anyone who was righteous. The Lord was willing to even forgo His judgments upon them if there were any who were righteous in the city. Unfortunately, there were none to be found as we will see that judgment did eventually arrive to both Judah and Jerusalem. Does the offer God made to Jeremiah sound familiar? Abraham asked to Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah if He could find ten righteous people in the land. The Bible says, “Finally, Abraham said, ‘Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?’ And the Lord replied, ‘Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten’ ” (Genesis 18:32). Genesis 18 describes the dialogue between the Lord and Abraham during his negotiation with God to spare the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were wicked cities and the Lord had had enough with their debauchery. Therefore, the Lord informed Abraham of His plans to render punishment, but Abraham tried to intercede on their behalf with going from fifty down to pleading for the cities to be spared if ten righteous people could be found. But, in the case of Jeremiah, the Lord would have spared them if only one righteous person could be found. Isn’t it amazing that a single righteous person could have made all the difference in the world as to if God would have spared the city? This is why the Bible says, “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b). One person with one prayer can save a nation.

Some may wonder as to why America has been spared many of the atrocities that other nations have received in judgments. Could it be that there is a remnant that the Lord has honored in keeping the winds of strife away because of their prayers? I would think that this is the case. Yet, the day that judgments will be delayed is coming to an end. We are seeing judgments happen in small numbers, but one day, those judgments and the amount affected by them will drastically increase. No longer will they be withheld, but the devil will be allowed to do his bidding along with his demonic host. Nevertheless, God has a remnant in the land and those who stay close to Him will be under His wings of protection. We are not subject to God’s wrath, but the enemy’s persecution of the saints is another thing altogether, which we will discuss at a later time. The Bible says, “Warn the surrounding nations  and announce this to Jerusalem: The enemy is coming from a distant land,  raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah.  They surround Jerusalem like watchmen around a field,  for my people have rebelled against me,”   says the Lord.  ‘Your own actions have brought this upon you.  This punishment is bitter, piercing you to the heart!’ ” (Jeremiah 4:16-18). Something to ponder….