Wed.’s Devo - Be Ye Holy

Read: Jeremiah 16:16-18:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3; Psalm 81:1-16; Proverbs 25:6-8 God was sending for the fishermen and hunters to hunt down the people who did evil and caused others to do evil. God sees everything and saw them fill the land with lifeless images of their detestable gods. Even the children were worshiping these gods. They were leaving a foolish heritage to the next generation. *** God cursed those who put their trust in mere humans and human strength instead of God Almighty. There is no hope in their future. But blessed are those who trusted in the Lord instead and made Him their hope and confidence. They would not be stunted shrubs, but like trees planted along the riverbank. Their roots will go deep into the soil and be able to stand even during long months of drought. They will stay green and productive and never stop producing fruit. *** The evil who put their trust in the wealth will lose it all and be disgraced. These people scoffed at what Jeremiah said because they weren’t seeing his predictions come true. *** Jeremiah told God what the people were saying and begged him to bring double the destruction he had prophesied upon them and prove to the people that what he said was going to happen. *** God sent Jeremiah to the gate where the king went into the Temple first and tell them to stop doing trade on the Sabbath. Then he was to go to the other gates and proclaim the same thing. It was a warning to keep his Sabbath day holy. If they didn’t stop, God would set these gates on fire. *** God gave them the illustration of the potter working with clay to show them how God could remake them if they repented. But, sadly, they told Jeremiah to not waste his breath on his warnings because they were choosing to lie as they wanted and stubbornly following their own evil desires. *** The people decided they had heard enough of Jeremiah’s warnings and his pointing out their sins, so they plotted to kill him. They had plenty of other false prophets; they did not need his words. Jeremiah prayed that their plans for evil would fall back on them. *** May this happen to the men who plot against President Trump and God’s people. May what they plan for evil fall back on them. *** Paul told the people at Thessalonica that God’s will was for them to live holy lives not like the pagan who chose not to have self-control and who were full of lust, hatred and lawlessness. Then he reminded them the importance of loving one another. *** Resurrection was new to them since Jesus was the first to rise from the grave. Paul comforted them with the fact that when Jesus comes back, the believers who died would rise from their graves first. Then those on the earth would rise to meet them in the air. They would be with the Lord forever. *** The Lord’s coming will be like a thief in the night. When people are saying, “everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them and there will be no escape. *** Lord, may we trust in your plan and put our hope in you. Show us how we can make your Sabbath holy. Inspect our lives to see if there be any unholy thing in them and help us to put it away. May we be holy as you are holy.