Read the Bible in a Year (16AUG19)

DAILY REMINDER – Today, August 16’s Bible reading is Jeremiah 14-17.

NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, August 17’s Bible reading is Jeremiah 18-22. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.

JEREMIAH MOMENT – (16AUG19) “Then I said, ‘O Sovereign Lord, their prophets are telling them, ‘All is well—no war or famine will come. The Lord will surely send you peace.’

Then the Lord said, ‘These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. They prophesy of visions and revelations they have never seen or heard. They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts’ ” (Jeremiah 14:13-14). Jeremiah had been chosen by God to be a prophet to His people. The messages that Jeremiah gave were not of good times, better days, prosperity, and joy, but they were messages of warnings, calls to repent, judgments, and future restoration. This was contrary to what the false prophets were saying. They did not tell the people to repent and turn back to God, but gave them messages of comfort, which made them feel alive in their sins. They did not warn the people of judgments that were going to take place, but they told them that there would be peace, prosperity, and a land of plenty. They did not teach the people to honor the Lord with their hearts and minds, but they made them feel satisfied with just outward displays of righteousness through burnt offerings. Therefore, the Lord was going to punish the false prophets for leading His people astray as well as the people who followed them. They would die by the sword and suffer famine as their bodies would not be buried, but serve as food for the wild animals. Just as Jeremiah had to come against the false prophets of his time, those who are true watchmen of the Lord are having to do so today as well.

In countless houses of worship, we have leaders who will not give a true Word from the Lord. They lead the people to believe that America is a great nation even in her sins, and no matter what we do, as long as we are friends with Israel, we will always be mighty. They also encourage the people to be of the mindset that if they plant enough money, shout during a praise break, cry enough tears, hold a position within the church, host a National Day of Prayer, and vote for a certain politician that they will be spared God’s wrath. This, however, is superficial and does not please the Lord if there is no change of heart. Some leaders have become popular because they make “grace” their number one teaching, but do not tell the people that true repentance and “turning away” from sin is when grace is established. The Bible says, “Do not let sin control the way you live;^[a] do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace” (Romans 6:12-14).   Unfortunately, messages of how grace works in operation with turning from sin is not being taught to the masses, so the lack of balance is deceptively leading many people astray. People, however, have to be responsible for their own personal relationship with Christ and not lean solely on leaders. If what a self-professed prophet is telling you does not line up with the Word of God, in its entirety, then that is not a word given from the Lord. The Bible says, “But you may wonder, ‘How will we know whether or not a prophecy is from the Lord?’  If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared” (Deuteronomy 18:21-22). Despite how many false prophets say that America will be great again, or how many MAGA hats that are sold, a nation who turns her back from the Lord will fall as a great nation. We are already seeing it unfold right before our very eyes for those who are spiritually awake. Something to ponder….

     

QUESTION OF THE DAY - (16AUG19) What if God led you to live a life of total isolation, would you do it joyfully? Jeremiah lived such a life for a long time because of the call that the Lord had on his life. He was set apart to do a special work and could not mingle with workers of iniquity. The Bible says, “The Lord gave me another message. He said, ^‘Do not get married or have children in this place. For this is what the Lord says about the children born here in this city and about their mothers and fathers: They will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them, and they will lie scattered on the ground like manure. They will die from war and famine, and their bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals’ ” (Jeremiah 16:1-4). The Lord did not want Jeremiah to partake in anything that was normal within a sinful nation. All that the people valued such as their economy, population, food supply, and health, were going to be stricken. Jeremiah was told that he was not to attend any funerals, repasses, nor celebrations because the day was coming when their dead would not be mourned for nor buried, and their festivities would cease. Jeremiah was not to even mourn nor show sympathy for them. This, of course, would have even included his own family members, for they too were a part of the wicked nation. All of this was because of Jerusalem and Judah’s disobedience, so just as they had no heart for the Lord, He was going to turn His face from them.

We are all called to be set apart from the world. We are not to think, act, do, or live like those who do not know Christ. The Bible says, “…They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:8b-9). The priests in the Old Testament were to be consecrated and dedicated fully to the Lord. They could not live as they chose, and those who were in the tribe of Levi, descendants of Aaron, handled the work of the Lord’s temple. They were set apart for His chosen work to be an example unto the people, which God called for them to oversee. Similarly, we are set apart for the work of God. We are to be an example for the world to see Jesus through us. Sometimes, this means that people who we may have associated with before, can no longer be in our inner circle, if they are doing the things of the world. This also include some self-professed Christians who are walking contrary to the Lord. Take everything, including all relationships, to the Lord in prayer because you are set apart for His service. Something to ponder….

JEREMIAH MOMENT – (16AUG19) “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve” (Jeremiah 17:10). The people of Judah and Jerusalem’s hearts were far away from God. They worshipped their foreign idols and then offered burnt sacrifices to the Lord. They dishonored His Sabbaths, but acted as if He was supposed to bless their ungodly deeds. God, however, was not please with offerings when their hearts and minds were far from Him. Their sacrifices and burnt offerings were a stench to His nostrils because they did not honor Him in their hearts and minds. They made the mistake of thinking that they could honor both God and Baal. But God did not honor them because they had no true fear for Him. Serving the Lord was more than just going through the motions. He wanted a change of heart.

When we say that we know the Lord, we should understand that there is a difference between knowing about Him and truly knowing Him. For example, we can know about George Washington, but none of us can claim to have personally known the first president of the United States. This is how many are with God. They know the stories of the Bible and know about His works, but they do not know Him personally. Why is that? Because they have failed to spend time in His Word and in His presence. They allow the things of the world to occupy their time, and they do not spend quality time with Him. The Bible says, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:6). Just as any relationship that will starve if effort and value is not place in it, it is the same way with God. He wants us to spend time with Him, so that we can know Him and allow Him to become our personal Friend, Confidant, Counselor, Shepherd, and Lord. When we get to know Him, we become more like Him. We are then transformed into His image as true followers of Christ. We can go from striving to thriving in Christ if we truly take the time to cultivate our relationship with Him, which is something He loves. Something to ponder…..