Mon.’s Devo - Hold Fast to the Faith

Read: Jeremiah 14:11-16:15; i Thessalonians 2:9-3:13; Psalm 80:1-19; Proverbs 25:1-5 Jeremiah and God had conversations and it is very obvious in today’s reading where you read “the Lord said to me,” and “then I said,” over and over. The Lord begins by telling Jeremiah to stop praying for these people. Jeremiah complains that their prophets are telling them that all is well and they will have peace. God says he will punish those lying prophets and the people they prophesied to will end up dead on the streets. He told Jeremiah to give them a picture of what the streets will look like when that happens. Jeremiah prayed repentance for the people since they wouldn’t do it themselves. God told him that even if Samuel and Moses prayed for them, He wouldn’t listen. The people themselves needed to repent. God would send four destroyers against them, the sword, the dogs, the vultures and the wild animals. Manasseh had led the people into idolatry and did detestable things so detestable things would happen to them. God was tired of always giving them a second chance. First he would take their beloved children, then the fathers would be taken or killed and lastly the mothers would be destroyed. God’s people would be left felling like a mother who was made childless - disgraced and humiliated. But God promised Jeremiah that he will be taken care of for his faithfulness. His enemies will ask him to pray for them in their distress. God will give them his people as captives. Jeremiah pleads for his own life. He reminds God of how he had lived a life of rejection and self denial. His life was full of suffering and loneliness. God tells Jeremiah to return to Him. Thinking of all he is missing out on was not helpful. God is his only comfort. God tells Jeremiah that he must influence them and not let them influence him. God also told Jeremiah not to get married or have children, not to attend funerals or mourn, and not to go to parties or feasts. This would be a forecast what is about to happen. Jeremiah’s life was the evening news. The time was coming soon where no one will be able to do these things. When they asked him why they deserved such judgment from he Lord, he was to tell them that it was because their ancestors were unfaithful to Him and now they were even worse than them. One day they will see the Lord bring them back to their land. Paul commended the people of the church in Thessalonica for accepting their teaching as from the Lord which it was. They had suffered persecution from their own fellow countrymen just as Jesus did from the Jews. God will punish their enemies. Paul had longed to visit them but it wasn’t the Lord’s will so he finally sent Timothy to visit them. He was sent to strengthen and encourage them and keep them from being shaken by all the things they were going through. Paul had warned them of the trials they would face once they became Christians. He was afraid that Timothy would find them weak and intimidated by Satan’s attacks, but instead he found them full of faith and love. Paul was so encouraged to learn of their growth and that they were standing firm in Jesus. We are going through the same trials in our nation but we need to stand firm in the promises God has given us to restore our nation and make it great again. We still have some dark days ahead but then we have some wonderful days also. We need to focus on them to get us through the hard days. The best is yet to come! Lord, may we stand firm in our faith through the trials we are facing and the trials of our nation. We choose to listen to your voice and not the voice of the false prophets, the media, that are prophesying fear and war. We choose to hear your voice and hold fast with hope and expectation.