178 Jeremiah 024 – 026; Acts 4.1 – 4.31
More object lessons for Jeremiah. There are figs in a fig basket and God asks, "what do you see?" There were figs that were rotten, but there were figs that were ripe and good. The good figs are the people carried into exile that God is going to take care of. The rotten figs have to do with the leaders of Judah. If you haven't caught on by now God had it in for these leaders because they would not listen. What should be duly noted is that God has a people and even while they are in Babylon God is going to take care of them. In the midst of the judgments of God is still full of mercy. Notice how God tells Jeremiah to preach it all. Tell them everything you have seen and have heard. The God of Judah roars like a lion. God is calling all the nations to judgment and the Lord is starting with the city He calls His own.
If God starts with His own, do you think anyone is exempt? In the N.T. we are reminded, judgment starts at the household of faith.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
177 Friday, June 26, 2009
177 Jeremiah 021 – 023; Acts 003
Why does God have to go over and over and over it, again and again....? By the time you are through reading the prophets you will think it is overkill. The reason God had to go over it and over it is because of their stubbornness. The reason God went over and over it is because of His mercy. It is a combination of evil stubborn hearts and the heart of God that is full of mercy. Warning after warning came Israel's way but they refused to listen. God was also judging the shepherd-leader's of Israel. They were in it for their own evil desires and pretending to speak on God's behalf. What a mess! It is a warning to us. Our hearts can become hardened and calloused toward God. Pray that it may never happen to us. Pray for each other and your family that we would have tender hearts.
Peter said, "I don't have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give to you: In the name of Jesus of Christ of Nazareth, walk."
What do you have to offer in Jesus' name?—everything!
You never leave your house empty handed if you have Jesus. Today offer this Jesus to someone.
Why does God have to go over and over and over it, again and again....? By the time you are through reading the prophets you will think it is overkill. The reason God had to go over it and over it is because of their stubbornness. The reason God went over and over it is because of His mercy. It is a combination of evil stubborn hearts and the heart of God that is full of mercy. Warning after warning came Israel's way but they refused to listen. God was also judging the shepherd-leader's of Israel. They were in it for their own evil desires and pretending to speak on God's behalf. What a mess! It is a warning to us. Our hearts can become hardened and calloused toward God. Pray that it may never happen to us. Pray for each other and your family that we would have tender hearts.
Peter said, "I don't have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give to you: In the name of Jesus of Christ of Nazareth, walk."
What do you have to offer in Jesus' name?—everything!
You never leave your house empty handed if you have Jesus. Today offer this Jesus to someone.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
176 Thursday, June 24, 2009
176 Jeremiah 018 - 020; Acts 2.14 – 2.47
Who is in control?
Jeremiah 18:3-6 (MSG)
3 So I went to the potter's house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. 4 Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot. 5 Then God's Message came to me:
6 "Can't I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?" God's Decree! "Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel.
We by nature do not like others to be in control. We like to feel we are in control. However, that is the lie, we cannot be in control. We are too small to be in control. If God is who He is says He is then He and only He can be in control. Hence, we are the clay and God is the potter. We have to trust God. We have to trust that He is good. Jeremiah who was the one to deliver this message met up with resistance. He met up with so much resistance that he was beaten and placed in jail. How did Jeremiah feel about his lot in life?
Jeremiah 20:14 (MSG)
14 Curse the day I was born! The day my mother bore me— a curse on it, I say!
This is why he was known as the weeping prophet. Jeremiah knew he was having a bad day. He wept, he lamented, and he got it out in the open. He also was a tough guy. What do you do when you are having a bad day? What do you do when you are really following the Lord and still are having a bad day?
Peter delivered a hard message to Israel. They not only were disobedient as before in the days of old, they crucified God’s son. Yet, all Israel had to do was repent of their sins and believe in Jesus. God always wants us to come back. God always wants us to come home. The Lord has made a way for us to come back. We have to want to come back. We have to say yes to God’s work on our behalf. Right now are you saying yes or are you saying no to your Lord and Savior?
Who is in control?
Jeremiah 18:3-6 (MSG)
3 So I went to the potter's house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. 4 Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot. 5 Then God's Message came to me:
6 "Can't I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?" God's Decree! "Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel.
We by nature do not like others to be in control. We like to feel we are in control. However, that is the lie, we cannot be in control. We are too small to be in control. If God is who He is says He is then He and only He can be in control. Hence, we are the clay and God is the potter. We have to trust God. We have to trust that He is good. Jeremiah who was the one to deliver this message met up with resistance. He met up with so much resistance that he was beaten and placed in jail. How did Jeremiah feel about his lot in life?
Jeremiah 20:14 (MSG)
14 Curse the day I was born! The day my mother bore me— a curse on it, I say!
This is why he was known as the weeping prophet. Jeremiah knew he was having a bad day. He wept, he lamented, and he got it out in the open. He also was a tough guy. What do you do when you are having a bad day? What do you do when you are really following the Lord and still are having a bad day?
Peter delivered a hard message to Israel. They not only were disobedient as before in the days of old, they crucified God’s son. Yet, all Israel had to do was repent of their sins and believe in Jesus. God always wants us to come back. God always wants us to come home. The Lord has made a way for us to come back. We have to want to come back. We have to say yes to God’s work on our behalf. Right now are you saying yes or are you saying no to your Lord and Savior?
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
174 Tuesday, June 23, 2009
174 Jeremiah 015 - 017
While God was working on Israel He was also growing a man. God was training a spokesman for His kingdom. Read carefully where Jeremiah lays out another complaint and the Lords reply is he will not be used if he continues with his cheap whining. God says to Jeremiah, “Don’t stoop to cheap whining.” Here we go again. God wants to use all of us and we say we want to be used and then rubber meets the road and we say, ‘hey wait a minute I didn’t sign up for this!’ Have you ever been there? In the last chapter of reading for today a verse is tucked away that reads,
Jeremiah 17:9 (MSG)
9 "The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.
Do you believe what God is saying to Jeremiah? Do you understand how this statement can help you with those who are around and with your own heart? When reading the next verse the Lord reveals that He knows the heart. Here is how it reads,
Jeremiah 17:10 (MSG)
10 But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be."
We can go to him to help change our own heart and then to understand it is only God who can change the hearts of men and women. Jeremiah had to guard his own heart and then give the message of God to those around him. How is your heart doing?
Just as Christ had promised the Holy Spirit showed up and made an immediate impact. The miracle is that the people around them that spoke different languages heard the apostles speak in their mother tongue. No one could figure out what was happening. The only solution to what they saw and heard is these Jews must be drunk. Today ask God to make you different because of His Spirit. Amen!
While God was working on Israel He was also growing a man. God was training a spokesman for His kingdom. Read carefully where Jeremiah lays out another complaint and the Lords reply is he will not be used if he continues with his cheap whining. God says to Jeremiah, “Don’t stoop to cheap whining.” Here we go again. God wants to use all of us and we say we want to be used and then rubber meets the road and we say, ‘hey wait a minute I didn’t sign up for this!’ Have you ever been there? In the last chapter of reading for today a verse is tucked away that reads,
Jeremiah 17:9 (MSG)
9 "The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful, a puzzle that no one can figure out.
Do you believe what God is saying to Jeremiah? Do you understand how this statement can help you with those who are around and with your own heart? When reading the next verse the Lord reveals that He knows the heart. Here is how it reads,
Jeremiah 17:10 (MSG)
10 But I, God, search the heart and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human. I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are, not as they pretend to be."
We can go to him to help change our own heart and then to understand it is only God who can change the hearts of men and women. Jeremiah had to guard his own heart and then give the message of God to those around him. How is your heart doing?
Just as Christ had promised the Holy Spirit showed up and made an immediate impact. The miracle is that the people around them that spoke different languages heard the apostles speak in their mother tongue. No one could figure out what was happening. The only solution to what they saw and heard is these Jews must be drunk. Today ask God to make you different because of His Spirit. Amen!
Monday, June 22, 2009
173 Monday, June 22, 2009
173 Jeremiah 012 – 014; Acts 1.1 – 1.14
I have sat around and listened to those who had it tougher in their life than I have had it. There are times that guilt washes over me for not having it rougher in my life. Then there are those moments I am thankful for just the way my life is (then I feel a little less guilty.) Jeremiah is trying to figure out what is going on in his life and the life of the people of Israel. Jeremiah is wondering how long is the devastation going to last? Here is what the Lord gives in reply,
Jeremiah 12:5 (MSG)
5 "So, Jeremiah, if you're worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can't keep your wits during times of calm, what's going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood?
Wow! This response reminds me of some tough marine sergeant who is trying to motivate his soldiers. Boot camp is rough but combat is much tougher. God is telling Jeremiah that you have not seen anything yet. God tells him that the people and the land will be turned over to Israel’s enemies. I believe that the Lord wants Jeremiah to have a different mindset. God wants him to see life a little differently. Perhaps Jeremiah is to see that things aren’t as bad as they could be. In those times practice that mindset with an eye on possibility that if things do get worse the Lord will provide there as well.
Christ did not come so we could be enthusiastic spectators of His acts. This is basically what the introduction to the book of Acts says to us. It is a great introduction to this book to help us understand that the Spirit came to work in and through us.
Acts 1:8 (MSG)
8 What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."
We are to be participators in this awesome story of the redemption of the human race. Today ask yourself; are you truly filled with the Holy Spirit? Also ask yourself; are you a spectator or a participator in God’s grand plan?
I have sat around and listened to those who had it tougher in their life than I have had it. There are times that guilt washes over me for not having it rougher in my life. Then there are those moments I am thankful for just the way my life is (then I feel a little less guilty.) Jeremiah is trying to figure out what is going on in his life and the life of the people of Israel. Jeremiah is wondering how long is the devastation going to last? Here is what the Lord gives in reply,
Jeremiah 12:5 (MSG)
5 "So, Jeremiah, if you're worn out in this footrace with men, what makes you think you can race against horses? And if you can't keep your wits during times of calm, what's going to happen when troubles break loose like the Jordan in flood?
Wow! This response reminds me of some tough marine sergeant who is trying to motivate his soldiers. Boot camp is rough but combat is much tougher. God is telling Jeremiah that you have not seen anything yet. God tells him that the people and the land will be turned over to Israel’s enemies. I believe that the Lord wants Jeremiah to have a different mindset. God wants him to see life a little differently. Perhaps Jeremiah is to see that things aren’t as bad as they could be. In those times practice that mindset with an eye on possibility that if things do get worse the Lord will provide there as well.
Christ did not come so we could be enthusiastic spectators of His acts. This is basically what the introduction to the book of Acts says to us. It is a great introduction to this book to help us understand that the Spirit came to work in and through us.
Acts 1:8 (MSG)
8 What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world."
We are to be participators in this awesome story of the redemption of the human race. Today ask yourself; are you truly filled with the Holy Spirit? Also ask yourself; are you a spectator or a participator in God’s grand plan?
Sunday, June 21, 2009
172 Sunday, June 21, 2009
172 Jeremiah 009 – 011; Luke 024
A love hate relationship is what was occurring in Jeremiah’s heart toward His people. He loved them but was totally aware of their sinfulness. Part of their sinfulness is that the Israelites were concerned about the wrong things in life. It is easy to drift in that direction. Listen to what the Lord says,
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (MSG)
23 God's Message: "Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don't let heroes brag of their exploits. Don't let the rich brag of their riches.
24 If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you understand and know me. I'm God, and I act in loyal love. I do what's right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks." God's Decree.
Listen to what Israel bragged about and then you’ll see that what should be pumped up is our relationship with the Lord. Later on the Lord says, “...whose life is all outside but no inside…” and the sad part He is pointing at the godless nations and places Israel right in there with them. It is a temptation to be caught up with what others are doing and see all the glitz and glamour. We must always come back to what is pointed out in the following verses,
Jeremiah 10:10 (MSG)
10 But God is the real thing— the living God, the eternal King. When he's angry, Earth shakes. Yes, and the godless nations quake.
It is the Lord, Yahweh that is real. Make it your plan today to enjoy the real and living God. Make it your plan to brag on your God and what He has done for you.
What time is it? It is raising people from the dead kind of time. Jesus was dead but He is now alive. Our only hope is that Jesus beat death and that He can transfer that victory over to us. Study closely how Jesus revealed himself to others in His new body. He did this so that it would be well documented by others. Do you believe that because of Jesus Christ you will live forever in a new body? Live in that hope today.
A love hate relationship is what was occurring in Jeremiah’s heart toward His people. He loved them but was totally aware of their sinfulness. Part of their sinfulness is that the Israelites were concerned about the wrong things in life. It is easy to drift in that direction. Listen to what the Lord says,
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (MSG)
23 God's Message: "Don't let the wise brag of their wisdom. Don't let heroes brag of their exploits. Don't let the rich brag of their riches.
24 If you brag, brag of this and this only: That you understand and know me. I'm God, and I act in loyal love. I do what's right and set things right and fair, and delight in those who do the same things. These are my trademarks." God's Decree.
Listen to what Israel bragged about and then you’ll see that what should be pumped up is our relationship with the Lord. Later on the Lord says, “...whose life is all outside but no inside…” and the sad part He is pointing at the godless nations and places Israel right in there with them. It is a temptation to be caught up with what others are doing and see all the glitz and glamour. We must always come back to what is pointed out in the following verses,
Jeremiah 10:10 (MSG)
10 But God is the real thing— the living God, the eternal King. When he's angry, Earth shakes. Yes, and the godless nations quake.
It is the Lord, Yahweh that is real. Make it your plan today to enjoy the real and living God. Make it your plan to brag on your God and what He has done for you.
What time is it? It is raising people from the dead kind of time. Jesus was dead but He is now alive. Our only hope is that Jesus beat death and that He can transfer that victory over to us. Study closely how Jesus revealed himself to others in His new body. He did this so that it would be well documented by others. Do you believe that because of Jesus Christ you will live forever in a new body? Live in that hope today.
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