Read: Jeremiah 8:4-chapter 11
The path that God’s people were on was leading them to self-destruction. The devil’s goal is to kill, steal, and destroy, but when he can get us to do his job on ourselves, he is being more than a conqueror. Judah’s heart was completely deceived into worshiping anything and everything but God. The word that Jeremiah brought the people was one of sadness and grief over their sin. He told them the consequences of their ways if they continued in them. Instead of repenting, they plotted to kill Jeremiah for speaking the Word of the Lord. His enemies were the men of Ananthoth which means “affliction”. I see this happening in the Body today. When a godly man stands up against the wiles of the enemy and exposes the devil’s schemes, the devil will try to take that person out with affliction. It might look like cancer or another disease, but God promises to punish the devil for this. We need to discern where the root is and pull it up.
God talked about a conspiracy against him which was people returning to the sins of their ancestors. We all have ancestors that have done things wrong. We can sever the power of their sins with the blood of Jesus, or we can return and do the same thing and continue the cycle. We must put the axe to the root of the sin and cut it down. That means we find scriptures in the Bible that have to do with that sin and we confess them over ourselves and stay away from things that tempt us. We can win over ancestral sins and curses.
We join with Jeremiah in praying: “I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct us, Lord, but please be gentle.” Teach us to wield our sword to victory.
Sunday, August 7, 2016
Saturday, August 6, 2016
Sat.’s Devo - Turning the Heart of the King
Read: Daniel 2, 3, Jeremiah 7
In today’s reading we learn some deep things about God. “He controls the course of world events; and removes leaders and sets up others. He reveals deep mysteries that are hidden and brings them to light. When the king had a dream that he required his wise men to recall to him and give him the interpretation or face death. We learn that the forces of satan don’t know all. They were not able to give the dream which shows us Satan can not read our thoughts or dreams. But God reveals secrets that no man could know or Satan. God gave Daniel the dream and the interpretation. Through this Daniel was promoted and rewarded. He had his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego promoted also.
When the other officials became jealous of them, they set out to trap him and the only thing they could find to discredit them was their faith in God. So they drew up a law that everyone had to bow before the statue of Nebuchadnezzar. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdenego refused, they were thrown into the fire. God’s angel met them and kept them from harm of the flames. The king not only called them out of the fire, but he changed the decree that no one could speak a word against their God. Then he promoted them even higher.
When we are facing death, a fiery trial, persecution, misunderstanding, etc., if we will just trust in the Lord and lean not to our understanding he will deliver us. He will bring us through unharmed and promote us and bless us.
This was what was going on in Babylon while in Jerusalem, Jeremiah was trying to get them to repent and turn back to God. Amazing how the Babylonians saw the power of God and were convinced where the Jews heard the warnings and it didn’t seem to phase them.
Lord, help us to be uncompromising and realize our decisions can change the hearts of kings and change the course of nations. It is comforting to know that all our trials will be rewarded with promotion and blessing if we endure in faith.
In today’s reading we learn some deep things about God. “He controls the course of world events; and removes leaders and sets up others. He reveals deep mysteries that are hidden and brings them to light. When the king had a dream that he required his wise men to recall to him and give him the interpretation or face death. We learn that the forces of satan don’t know all. They were not able to give the dream which shows us Satan can not read our thoughts or dreams. But God reveals secrets that no man could know or Satan. God gave Daniel the dream and the interpretation. Through this Daniel was promoted and rewarded. He had his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego promoted also.
When the other officials became jealous of them, they set out to trap him and the only thing they could find to discredit them was their faith in God. So they drew up a law that everyone had to bow before the statue of Nebuchadnezzar. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abdenego refused, they were thrown into the fire. God’s angel met them and kept them from harm of the flames. The king not only called them out of the fire, but he changed the decree that no one could speak a word against their God. Then he promoted them even higher.
When we are facing death, a fiery trial, persecution, misunderstanding, etc., if we will just trust in the Lord and lean not to our understanding he will deliver us. He will bring us through unharmed and promote us and bless us.
This was what was going on in Babylon while in Jerusalem, Jeremiah was trying to get them to repent and turn back to God. Amazing how the Babylonians saw the power of God and were convinced where the Jews heard the warnings and it didn’t seem to phase them.
Lord, help us to be uncompromising and realize our decisions can change the hearts of kings and change the course of nations. It is comforting to know that all our trials will be rewarded with promotion and blessing if we endure in faith.
Friday, August 5, 2016
Fri.’s Devo - No Compromise
Read: Jeremiah 19, 20: Daniel 1
Jeremiah is temporarily out of prison so God told him to buy a clay jar and ask the leaders of the political and religious sector to follow him. He took them to the garbage dump and gave him God’s word. They had allowed the land to be filled with wickedness and idolatry it resembled this garbage dump. Jerusalem would be reduced to ruins as a monument to their stupidity. He smashed the jar to the ground to give them a visual of what God was going to do to their nation. This got him arrested by the chief priest, Pashhur, who beat him and put him in prison for the night. When he released Jeremiah, Jeremiah changed Pashhur’s name which meant “increasing of white linen”, to “The Man Who Lives in Terror”. That would be the description of his life from then on.
Jeremiah was only human and he had been given a tough assignment for his life. He had a pity party cursing the day he was born. This is a reminder to us that our lives are not always going to be fun and roses if we follow Jesus. We are called to fellowship is Christ’s sufferings and this is not easy but totally rewarding in the end.
Babylon did come to besiege Jerusalem and take the best of their possessions and people. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were among the best students that Babylon took away. God tested them from the moment they got there. They were to assimilate into the Babylonian lifestyle, but these four took a stand and God stood up for them. They put their enemy to the test and won. We need to be like them in a world that is wanting us to compromise our convictions for the sake of coexistence. We must not bend! They rebelled in a very respectful way and won respect. That is the way we need to fight, not with muscle but with love.
Lord, help us to stand remembering that the greatest weapon we have is Your love.
Jeremiah is temporarily out of prison so God told him to buy a clay jar and ask the leaders of the political and religious sector to follow him. He took them to the garbage dump and gave him God’s word. They had allowed the land to be filled with wickedness and idolatry it resembled this garbage dump. Jerusalem would be reduced to ruins as a monument to their stupidity. He smashed the jar to the ground to give them a visual of what God was going to do to their nation. This got him arrested by the chief priest, Pashhur, who beat him and put him in prison for the night. When he released Jeremiah, Jeremiah changed Pashhur’s name which meant “increasing of white linen”, to “The Man Who Lives in Terror”. That would be the description of his life from then on.
Jeremiah was only human and he had been given a tough assignment for his life. He had a pity party cursing the day he was born. This is a reminder to us that our lives are not always going to be fun and roses if we follow Jesus. We are called to fellowship is Christ’s sufferings and this is not easy but totally rewarding in the end.
Babylon did come to besiege Jerusalem and take the best of their possessions and people. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, were among the best students that Babylon took away. God tested them from the moment they got there. They were to assimilate into the Babylonian lifestyle, but these four took a stand and God stood up for them. They put their enemy to the test and won. We need to be like them in a world that is wanting us to compromise our convictions for the sake of coexistence. We must not bend! They rebelled in a very respectful way and won respect. That is the way we need to fight, not with muscle but with love.
Lord, help us to stand remembering that the greatest weapon we have is Your love.
Thursday, August 4, 2016
Thurs.’s Devo - From Destruction to Restoration
Read: Jeremiah 25:15-38; 36; 45: 1-5; 46
God gave Jeremiah a cup that symbolized His cup of wrath over specific nations. He was to take this cup and have the officials of these nations drink from it. When they drank from it, horror, contempt and ruin would fall on their nation. If they refused to drink from it the disasters would fall on them anyway. Jeremiah was sent first to Jerusalem, then Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon, Dedan, Tema, Buz, Arabia, Zimri, Elam, Media and last of all to Babylon. God always begins judgment in his own house; he judges the Church before he judges the world. He also heals us first.
Next, God told Jeremiah to write down every prophecy he had given Judah through him. At this time, Jeremiah had made king Jehoiakim so angry, Jeremiah had been put in prison. He sent for Baruch and dictated God’s words to Baruch who wrote it on a scroll. Baruch took the scroll and read it aloud in the Temple. It was the Day of Atonement which was a national day of fasting and praying for the nation. When the officials of the land heard the words they were greatly concerned and sent the scroll to the king. He arrogantly ripped the scroll in spreads and threw it in the fire as if this would negate God’s Word. So, God told Jeremiah to not only rewrite it but to add even greater curses to it.
God also gave him a word about Egypt that he was going to send a small nation from the north to destroy their great nation. It would be like a house fly bringing down a big heifer.
He ended his message with the hope of restoration and rebuilding for Judah, because that is always God’s plan.
Lord, thank you for your discipline. It always leads to repentance and restoration for your people.
God gave Jeremiah a cup that symbolized His cup of wrath over specific nations. He was to take this cup and have the officials of these nations drink from it. When they drank from it, horror, contempt and ruin would fall on their nation. If they refused to drink from it the disasters would fall on them anyway. Jeremiah was sent first to Jerusalem, then Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, Sidon, Dedan, Tema, Buz, Arabia, Zimri, Elam, Media and last of all to Babylon. God always begins judgment in his own house; he judges the Church before he judges the world. He also heals us first.
Next, God told Jeremiah to write down every prophecy he had given Judah through him. At this time, Jeremiah had made king Jehoiakim so angry, Jeremiah had been put in prison. He sent for Baruch and dictated God’s words to Baruch who wrote it on a scroll. Baruch took the scroll and read it aloud in the Temple. It was the Day of Atonement which was a national day of fasting and praying for the nation. When the officials of the land heard the words they were greatly concerned and sent the scroll to the king. He arrogantly ripped the scroll in spreads and threw it in the fire as if this would negate God’s Word. So, God told Jeremiah to not only rewrite it but to add even greater curses to it.
God also gave him a word about Egypt that he was going to send a small nation from the north to destroy their great nation. It would be like a house fly bringing down a big heifer.
He ended his message with the hope of restoration and rebuilding for Judah, because that is always God’s plan.
Lord, thank you for your discipline. It always leads to repentance and restoration for your people.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Wed.’s Devo- Reward for Rebellion
Read: 2 Chron. 36:1-4; 2 Kings 23:31-24:4; Jeremiah 22, 25: 1-14, 26
Josiah was one of the most godly kings next to David yet both his sons refused to walk in his foot steps. As a parent I think this is a sad scenario. We see two pictures of what happens to those who refuse to walk with God. The first one was Jehoahaz which means “God will take hold”. God took hold of him after three months and caused Neco to take him into Egypt where he lived the rest of his life in captivity. Neco means “his smiting”. Neco was used by God to smite the evil of Jehoahaz. Neco put Eliakim (“God will establish”) as king and changed his name to Jehoiakim (“God will set up”). God was establishing himself as their king and was about to bring down the gauntlet of judgment over their nation. Jehoiakim had to send enormous tribute to Neco for payment. Both kings went into captivity: one physically and the other mentally. When we rebel against the Lord we will find ourselves in some sort of captivity. Sometimes it manifests openly for all to see and other times it is our secret anguishes that destroy us from within. Only God can bring true peace and prosperity and only repentance can deliver us from bondage.
God sent them prophets like Uriah and Jeremiah to tell them what would happen because they turned away from the Lord …again. They killed Uriah and were about to kill Jeremiah when some of the elders of the land stood up for him and reminded the people about Micah. Micah was a prophet from years past who had prophesied the same thing against Jerusalem. At that time the people had repented and God saved Jerusalem. It looks like “lights out” this time.
Lord, help us to listen to the voice of the prophets of our day and repent. Please have mercy on our nation and raise up god-fearing leaders that will judge fairly.
Josiah was one of the most godly kings next to David yet both his sons refused to walk in his foot steps. As a parent I think this is a sad scenario. We see two pictures of what happens to those who refuse to walk with God. The first one was Jehoahaz which means “God will take hold”. God took hold of him after three months and caused Neco to take him into Egypt where he lived the rest of his life in captivity. Neco means “his smiting”. Neco was used by God to smite the evil of Jehoahaz. Neco put Eliakim (“God will establish”) as king and changed his name to Jehoiakim (“God will set up”). God was establishing himself as their king and was about to bring down the gauntlet of judgment over their nation. Jehoiakim had to send enormous tribute to Neco for payment. Both kings went into captivity: one physically and the other mentally. When we rebel against the Lord we will find ourselves in some sort of captivity. Sometimes it manifests openly for all to see and other times it is our secret anguishes that destroy us from within. Only God can bring true peace and prosperity and only repentance can deliver us from bondage.
God sent them prophets like Uriah and Jeremiah to tell them what would happen because they turned away from the Lord …again. They killed Uriah and were about to kill Jeremiah when some of the elders of the land stood up for him and reminded the people about Micah. Micah was a prophet from years past who had prophesied the same thing against Jerusalem. At that time the people had repented and God saved Jerusalem. It looks like “lights out” this time.
Lord, help us to listen to the voice of the prophets of our day and repent. Please have mercy on our nation and raise up god-fearing leaders that will judge fairly.
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Tues.’s Devo- God’s New Army
Read Zephaniah 2:8-3:20; 2 Chron. 35:20-27; 2 Kings 23:29-30; Jeremiah 47
Zephaniah was sent as a prophet to the nations. He prophesied against Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, Assyria, and Jerusalem. The whole known world was being judged. They would be plundered by the remnant who would take their land. Do you hear that in your spirit. We are to take the land back for God! Those nations who boast to be so strong will fall at God’s command. It was what God said about Jerusalem that strikes home. Jerusalem couldn’t be told anything. She was full of pride, violence and crime. She refused all correction and refused to trust in God. But God was still in their city and he does no wrong. He waited patiently for them to repent but when they would not, he poured down his anger. In the end, they would change their words and praise Him together. God would remove the rebellious and raise up a remnant of people who would do not wrong. They would live in safety and delight in the Lord. God would gather them together and remove their disgrace and strengthen them.
That is what God is doing right now in the Body of Christ. He is refining us through the fire of trials and making us warriors who will stand against injustice and not be afraid of the enemies of this world. God is giving us a good name, a name of distinction and he will restore our fortunes before our very eyes.
Lord, it is an exciting day to live in. Your Church is rising up and taking its place as the head and not the tail. We are laying down our lives to take up yours and it is a great thing to see. Help us stay humble and move only at your command. We want to see You glorified on the earth!
Zephaniah was sent as a prophet to the nations. He prophesied against Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, Assyria, and Jerusalem. The whole known world was being judged. They would be plundered by the remnant who would take their land. Do you hear that in your spirit. We are to take the land back for God! Those nations who boast to be so strong will fall at God’s command. It was what God said about Jerusalem that strikes home. Jerusalem couldn’t be told anything. She was full of pride, violence and crime. She refused all correction and refused to trust in God. But God was still in their city and he does no wrong. He waited patiently for them to repent but when they would not, he poured down his anger. In the end, they would change their words and praise Him together. God would remove the rebellious and raise up a remnant of people who would do not wrong. They would live in safety and delight in the Lord. God would gather them together and remove their disgrace and strengthen them.
That is what God is doing right now in the Body of Christ. He is refining us through the fire of trials and making us warriors who will stand against injustice and not be afraid of the enemies of this world. God is giving us a good name, a name of distinction and he will restore our fortunes before our very eyes.
Lord, it is an exciting day to live in. Your Church is rising up and taking its place as the head and not the tail. We are laying down our lives to take up yours and it is a great thing to see. Help us stay humble and move only at your command. We want to see You glorified on the earth!
Monday, August 1, 2016
Mon.’s Devo - Judgment on Darkness
Read Habakkuk 1-3; Zephaniah 1-2:7
Habakkuk and Zephaniah were prophets during a time like today. God sent a people like ISIS to discipline them and turn them back to him. They are coming to America and we need to be ready. He is doing this so that the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord. We will have to do what Habakkuk said and with quietly for the day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. We will learn to rejoice in the Lord and not our circumstances.
Two of the places God was coming to judge were Cushan and Midian. Cushion means “their blackness” which means their sin. Midian means “contention and strife”. We don’t have to look tot he Middle East to see that. It is in our own land. God says that these people will tremble in fear when God comes.
These verses are also a picture of the end of days when the earth will be destroyed. We who are God’s children are to seek to do what is right and live humbly and pray for God’s protection. God always preserves a remnant. Of them he says he will visit in kindness and restore their prosperity again.
In the midst of all the destruction, Habakkuk saw the Lord coming. He comes in splendor and majesty. His coming is salvation to His people but judgment and destruction to the people of the world.
Lord, help us to stand strong in the day we are living. We will not shrink back in fear but we will boldly crash the gates of hell.
Habakkuk and Zephaniah were prophets during a time like today. God sent a people like ISIS to discipline them and turn them back to him. They are coming to America and we need to be ready. He is doing this so that the earth will be filled with an awareness of the glory of the Lord. We will have to do what Habakkuk said and with quietly for the day when disaster will strike the people who invade us. We will learn to rejoice in the Lord and not our circumstances.
Two of the places God was coming to judge were Cushan and Midian. Cushion means “their blackness” which means their sin. Midian means “contention and strife”. We don’t have to look tot he Middle East to see that. It is in our own land. God says that these people will tremble in fear when God comes.
These verses are also a picture of the end of days when the earth will be destroyed. We who are God’s children are to seek to do what is right and live humbly and pray for God’s protection. God always preserves a remnant. Of them he says he will visit in kindness and restore their prosperity again.
In the midst of all the destruction, Habakkuk saw the Lord coming. He comes in splendor and majesty. His coming is salvation to His people but judgment and destruction to the people of the world.
Lord, help us to stand strong in the day we are living. We will not shrink back in fear but we will boldly crash the gates of hell.
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