Thurs.’s Devo - Return and Repent

Read: Jeremiah 12:1-14:10; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8; Psalm 79:1-13; Proverbs 24:30-34 Jeremiah reminds God of his justice then asks why he has allowed the evil people to prosper so. Even nature has been affected by the sin in the land. *** God responded that even those in Jeremiah’s family had turned against him. He tells Jeremiah not to trust them, no matter what they say. This is how the Lord feels about his children. He has abandoned them to their enemies because they have become enemies to him. *** God promised to uproot them from their land, but he would not give it to others because he will one day bring them back to their land. *** God instructed Jeremiah to buy a linen cloth and wear it for a time, then bury it in a hole by the Euphrates. After a while, God told him to go dig it up. It was rotted and ruined. This was what God had done. He had planted his people by the Euphrates to prosper and be a witness to the world that He was the only God. Instead, they had become idolators and had gone after all the worthless gods of the land and forsaken the only true God. They were now worthless. God will make them drunk and confused. They will turn on one another and have no unity to stand. *** They will be taken into exile, then they will cry out to the Lord. But, it will be too late. They loved to wander from God so he would no longer accept them as his people. *** Paul had a dream (Acts 16:9-12) where a man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing on the shore pleading with them to come to Macedonia and help them. He was the angel over Macedonia. Paul responded by going there and preaching, bringing them the Good News. He met Lydia who was saved when she heard the gospel and her whole household came to the Lord. Then they cast out the spirit of divination out of a young girl which upset her masters so much that they beat Paul and Silas and had them arrested. When the authorities learned that they were Roman citizens, they apologized and begged them to leave their city. *** Paul and Silas went 90 miles down the road to Thessalonica where they established the second major church in Europe. Many Greeks came to the Lord and came to this church. Believers suffered persecution for their faith which made them stronger and caused their testimony to spread far and wide. *** Lord, may all the trials in our lives make us more determined to follow you closely. Thank you for always being with us and being our advocate. Thank you for the hope we see in new converts and their hunger for truth. May we lead many others to you.