Happy 4th to you!
185 Jeremiah 039 – 041; Acts 8.26 – 8.40
Today we celebrate our freedom and in the our Bible reading Israel is finally done in by Babylon. Everything that God had said would happen has come to pass. The Babylonians burned everything to the ground, even the Temple. Nebuchadnezzar gave special orders to Nebuzaradan captain of the king's bodyguard concerning Jeremiah. He was to look after him and give him everything he wants. Contrast how Jeremiah was treated to King Zedekiah. It pays to follow the Lord even when the bottom is falling out, especially when the bottom falls out.
Who in the world is Ebed-melek? Before the Babylonians had laid siege to Israel God speaks to Jeremiah about you; got it Ebed-melek? Yes, he was Ethiopian--soooo? It is one of those nuggets lying in Scripture that you could read over but when you take a second to analyze it, riches come your way. In the midst of one of the most tragic moments in Israel's life Yahweh takes time out to deliver a special message of comfort and encouragement to this little known Ethiopian. God in this day and age when He has given up His Son for you, will He not give you everything else. Yes!!!!!!!!!!! You may be in “wait” training---Isaiah 40:31(NLTorNRSV), but good things, things that are all good are coming your way. Happy Fourth!
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
184 Friday, July 3, 2009
184 Jeremiah 036 – 038; Acts 8.1 – 8.25
Do not miss this--God wants to give Israel a break. Remember all the destruction, the casting away, and the anger--listen, "Get a scroll and write down everything I've told you regarding Israel and Judah and all the other nations from the time I first started speaking to you in Josiah's reign right up to the present day.(here's the kicker) Maybe the community of Judah will finally get it, finally understand the catastrophe that I'm planning for them, turn back from their bad lives, and let me forgive their perversity and sin." Wow! God has yet to give up on them! Maybe if they see it written down they will get it. The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should repent. Jeremiah did what the Lord asked and then Baruch, who took down the words of Jeremiah, took the scroll over to the government officials and read it to them. The officials, after hearing the words, told Baruch and Jeremiah to go into hiding. Then Jehudi took the scroll over to the King and the king read it piece by piece and with a knife cut it up piece by piece and threw it in the fire. Jeremiah is told after this to do it all over again--God told him to do it all over again. The added kicker? King Jehoiakim was going to be severely judged. This is a lessen of being in denial. God would never destroy Jerusalem--the temple is here, His presence, these words of Jeremiah are utter nonsense. Jeremiah was telling the truth. Of course, Jeremiah ended up in jail but put there by King Zedekiah. Yes, he offended this king also. They really didn't like what Jerry had to say--God had to say. Let us be careful not to throw the Word of God into the fire. Let the Word of God settle into our hearts.
Do not miss this--God wants to give Israel a break. Remember all the destruction, the casting away, and the anger--listen, "Get a scroll and write down everything I've told you regarding Israel and Judah and all the other nations from the time I first started speaking to you in Josiah's reign right up to the present day.(here's the kicker) Maybe the community of Judah will finally get it, finally understand the catastrophe that I'm planning for them, turn back from their bad lives, and let me forgive their perversity and sin." Wow! God has yet to give up on them! Maybe if they see it written down they will get it. The Lord is not willing that any should perish but that all should repent. Jeremiah did what the Lord asked and then Baruch, who took down the words of Jeremiah, took the scroll over to the government officials and read it to them. The officials, after hearing the words, told Baruch and Jeremiah to go into hiding. Then Jehudi took the scroll over to the King and the king read it piece by piece and with a knife cut it up piece by piece and threw it in the fire. Jeremiah is told after this to do it all over again--God told him to do it all over again. The added kicker? King Jehoiakim was going to be severely judged. This is a lessen of being in denial. God would never destroy Jerusalem--the temple is here, His presence, these words of Jeremiah are utter nonsense. Jeremiah was telling the truth. Of course, Jeremiah ended up in jail but put there by King Zedekiah. Yes, he offended this king also. They really didn't like what Jerry had to say--God had to say. Let us be careful not to throw the Word of God into the fire. Let the Word of God settle into our hearts.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
183 Thursday, July 2, 2009
183 Jeremiah 033 – 035; Acts 007
Who are you calling upon? Jeremiah was in jail--again! People really did not like what he was saying. Jeremiah needed to hear from the Lord Yahweh. The God of Israel says, "Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could not figure out on your own." Jeremiah was puzzled by all the destruction and the even the words he had to speak--he was trying to figure it all out. God says, ‘you cannot figure it out and therefore I will show you.’ God tells him about the shoot sprout from the David-Tree and he will run the country right. I believe this is a reference to Christ when he reigns in the second advent.
God had told Jeremiah to visit the Recabites and so a meeting was set up in the temple. When wine was offered at the meeting they said they had been told by Jonadab son of Recab not to drink wine, build houses, nor provide food from the land. They had followed through on every commandment. Israel however could not follow through on what God had told them. Because of the Recab's obedience there will always be a descendant of Jonadab son of Recab at my service. This was a great honor bestowed upon this tribe. Trust and obey for there is no other way. Amen.
Who are you calling upon? Jeremiah was in jail--again! People really did not like what he was saying. Jeremiah needed to hear from the Lord Yahweh. The God of Israel says, "Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could not figure out on your own." Jeremiah was puzzled by all the destruction and the even the words he had to speak--he was trying to figure it all out. God says, ‘you cannot figure it out and therefore I will show you.’ God tells him about the shoot sprout from the David-Tree and he will run the country right. I believe this is a reference to Christ when he reigns in the second advent.
God had told Jeremiah to visit the Recabites and so a meeting was set up in the temple. When wine was offered at the meeting they said they had been told by Jonadab son of Recab not to drink wine, build houses, nor provide food from the land. They had followed through on every commandment. Israel however could not follow through on what God had told them. Because of the Recab's obedience there will always be a descendant of Jonadab son of Recab at my service. This was a great honor bestowed upon this tribe. Trust and obey for there is no other way. Amen.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
181 Tuesday, June 30, 2009
181 Jeremiah 31.2 – 32.44; Acts 006
Have you ever felt like giving up on God? Have you ever felt like God has given up on you? In chapter 31 the Lord is reassuring Israel that His love for them has not changed. They found grace in the desert. Israel found God where they did not expect to find Him. God tells them yet again about them returning to their land and being fruitful. On page 890 second column we find these words, "You broke me, a wild yearling horse, to the saddle." This is a reference to Israel's past disobedience. It is Israel acknowledging their unruly spirit and that it needed to be tamed. Hard lessons for a nation. Hard lessons for a person. I do not believe everyone has to go through the hard training. In the N.T. the authors tell us we have the O.T. for an example of where to follow and where not to go. May God save us from the hard lessons because we keep soft hearts toward Him.
Have you ever felt like giving up on God? Have you ever felt like God has given up on you? In chapter 31 the Lord is reassuring Israel that His love for them has not changed. They found grace in the desert. Israel found God where they did not expect to find Him. God tells them yet again about them returning to their land and being fruitful. On page 890 second column we find these words, "You broke me, a wild yearling horse, to the saddle." This is a reference to Israel's past disobedience. It is Israel acknowledging their unruly spirit and that it needed to be tamed. Hard lessons for a nation. Hard lessons for a person. I do not believe everyone has to go through the hard training. In the N.T. the authors tell us we have the O.T. for an example of where to follow and where not to go. May God save us from the hard lessons because we keep soft hearts toward Him.
Monday, June 29, 2009
180 Monday, June 29, 2009
180 Jeremiah 29.1 – 31.1; Acts 5.12 – 5.42
Hope. Hope is what we all need. ‘Hopeless’ is a depressing and morbid word. God says to Israel, "I have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." The true Israelites, the followers of Yahweh, had to be feeling down about their situation. They are being carried away by a gentile nation. They have lost everything, yet God wants them to have hope, a future and a good one at that. In the next chapter the Lord lays out His plans in even more detail to help Israel to understand that good times are coming to them. God was not just giving them a vague hope but a real hope with some time lines. God gets the big picture and the details.
They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony. The believers were together and watching God work in and through them. They supported each other and were seeing others place their faith in Christ. Peter is called “on the carpet” by the authorities and he then utters those famous words, "It is better to obey God rather than man." The religious leaders wanted him to quit preaching about Jesus and he had once denied Christ, but not again--so bring it on.
Hope. Hope is what we all need. ‘Hopeless’ is a depressing and morbid word. God says to Israel, "I have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for." The true Israelites, the followers of Yahweh, had to be feeling down about their situation. They are being carried away by a gentile nation. They have lost everything, yet God wants them to have hope, a future and a good one at that. In the next chapter the Lord lays out His plans in even more detail to help Israel to understand that good times are coming to them. God was not just giving them a vague hope but a real hope with some time lines. God gets the big picture and the details.
They all met regularly and in remarkable harmony. The believers were together and watching God work in and through them. They supported each other and were seeing others place their faith in Christ. Peter is called “on the carpet” by the authorities and he then utters those famous words, "It is better to obey God rather than man." The religious leaders wanted him to quit preaching about Jesus and he had once denied Christ, but not again--so bring it on.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
179 Sunday, June 28, 2009
179 Jeremiah 027 – 028; Acts 4.32 – 5.11
The church is message central. The church is to preach the good news, model the good news, and send people out that preach the good news. Jeremiah was “message central” to the people of Israel. Please notice how creative God is in telling Jeremiah to preach the message. Jeremiah is to go and put on a harness to embody the message of hooking up with Babylon. In the next chapter we witness the dueling prophets and the false breaks they harness to demonstrate his message. The other prophet was a false prophet because his words did not come true. The yoke of Babylon was not going to break in two years and therefore Israel would be safe. Jeremiah had to deliver very unpopular messages to Israel and its leaders and they resisted what he had to say. We must be like Jeremiah. Jeremiah kept on giving the message even though it was not well received by the people. We must be willing to be used in unusual ways--fools for God.
The church is message central. The church is to preach the good news, model the good news, and send people out that preach the good news. Jeremiah was “message central” to the people of Israel. Please notice how creative God is in telling Jeremiah to preach the message. Jeremiah is to go and put on a harness to embody the message of hooking up with Babylon. In the next chapter we witness the dueling prophets and the false breaks they harness to demonstrate his message. The other prophet was a false prophet because his words did not come true. The yoke of Babylon was not going to break in two years and therefore Israel would be safe. Jeremiah had to deliver very unpopular messages to Israel and its leaders and they resisted what he had to say. We must be like Jeremiah. Jeremiah kept on giving the message even though it was not well received by the people. We must be willing to be used in unusual ways--fools for God.
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