Tues.’s Devo - Fear the Lord

Read: Jeremiah 10:1-11:23; Colossians 3:18-4:18; Psalm 78:56-72; Proverbs 24:28-29 Jeremiah warned them not to try to read the future by looking at the stars or to fear what others read when they studied the heavens. These same people manufacture idols, nail them down so they wont fall over, and think they possess some kind of power. He likened them to scarecrows in a cucumber field. Even the crows are not afraid of the scarecrows, so why should they fear these man-made gods? *** They should fear God, the only one who is full of power, who makes the whole earth tremble when he is angry. *** Jeremiah was told to tell the ones who worshiped these idols that they would vanish from the earth. The Lord made the earth and he preserves it by his wisdom. He speaks through his lightning, thunder, wind and rain, not their silly idols. *** It was time to pack their bags and prepare to leave because the siege was about to begin. In verses 19-22 of chapter 10 Jeremiah speaks of the future he sees. He sees his home gone, his children taken, and the sound of the armies coming from the north. Jeremiah pleads with God to pour out his wrath on the nations that refuse to acknowledge him, the ones that devoured Israel. *** God reminds Jeremiah of the terms of the covenant the people of Judah made with God. He tells Jeremiah to go remind the people of this covenant and to read it to them. They promised to obey him and honor only him as their god. Israel and Judah both broke this covenant so God will do what he promised in the covenant. Their idolatry would bring their own destruction. God told Jeremiah again to stop praying for these people anymore because he wasn’t going to listen to that prayer. God had given up on them because they rejoiced in doing evil. *** Some of the people were plotting to kill Jeremiah, but God told him of the plot and he was able to avoid it. They thought they could kill him and his words would die with him. God vowed to kill all who had wanted to kill Jeremiah. *** In Colossians, I love how the Living Bible tells husbands to love their wives and never treat them harshly. Obeying our parents, even when they are gone, pleases the Lord. Fathers represent God and God tells them to not aggravate or discourage their children. God would never do that to us. *** If we have a boss, we are to honor him and do our work as if God was our boss and we were working for him. If we are the boss, then we represent God to our workers and we are to treat them like we want God to treat us. *** We live among unbelievers so we should let our conversation glorify God and let God give us the right responses. *** Paul gives greetings to and from his fellow workers. *** Lord may we be strong and fully confident in our walk with you. May our light shine so that your glory can be seen through us.