Read: Jeremiah 8:8-9:26; Colossians 3:1-17; Psalm 78:32-55; Proverbs 24:27
Jeremiah rebuked the people for believing they had the truth when their teachers didn’t teach the truth about God’s Word. They didn’t desire to know truth because it would mean they would have to change and they didn’t want to. Because of their greed their wives would be given to other men and their fields to other owners. What God had blessed them with would be taken from them.
Our Psalm gives the same story - different time. It was about their walk through the wilderness but it still applied to where they were in Jeremiah. It is amazing how history repeats itself if we don’t do the necessary change. We can change our history; it only takes an inner change of our hearts. Our curses can be turned to blessing.
You feel the Lord’s pain as He watches the judgment fall on his people for what they have done. God has no other recourse but to refine his people through the fire. He wanted them to remove the deceit from their speech and the stubbornness from their hearts but they refused.
Paul warns us and the church of Colossi of the judgment to come. He says to put to death our earthly nature that includes sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed. He explains that greed is idolatry. He also tells us to get rid of anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language. As God’s people we are to wear compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. We are to walk in forgiveness and gratefulness to the Lord.
Lord, may we heed the warnings of your Word and walk in righteousness and truth. May your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Friday, October 6, 2017
Fri.’s Devo - Discernment
Read: Jeremiah 6:15-8:7; Colossians 2:8-23; Psalm 78:1-31; Proverbs 24:26
God held the prophets responsible for leading the people even further astray. They told them lies and things that they made up in their minds to sound right and holy. God was bringing judgment and they didn’t even warn the people because they didn’t know the timing of their days. Jeremiah gave them one more chance to repent and change God’s sentence on them. He pointed out all their sin, how they have been deceived, and what their end will be. If only they had listened and repented.
Paul warned the church in Colossi about the same deceitfulness that was trying to come into the church. People were teaching philosophy which depended on tradition and principles in the world. They were teaching formulas and works as opposed to walking in the spirit and walking in grace. Paul reminded them that there has never been any power greater than Jesus who had the Father and the Holy Spirit in him.
Some men had had experiences with angels who told them things contrary to the Spirit and the people were being deceived by them. The supernatural is very exciting but we have to test the spirits to make sure we are experiencing God’s supernatural and not Satan’s. Satan mimics everything God does so we have to have discernment. Every bright light is not God. Satan can appear as an angel of light.
Our Psalm reminds us of all God did for his children. I can’t help but pray that we not be like the tribe of Ephraim that even though they had bows, they turned back in the day of battle. We have been given the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Let us not lose the battle because of fear. Let us be people that live by the Word.
If there was ever a day we needed discernment it is now. Lord, open our spiritual eyes to see and discernment to know what we are seeing and whether it is from You or not.
God held the prophets responsible for leading the people even further astray. They told them lies and things that they made up in their minds to sound right and holy. God was bringing judgment and they didn’t even warn the people because they didn’t know the timing of their days. Jeremiah gave them one more chance to repent and change God’s sentence on them. He pointed out all their sin, how they have been deceived, and what their end will be. If only they had listened and repented.
Paul warned the church in Colossi about the same deceitfulness that was trying to come into the church. People were teaching philosophy which depended on tradition and principles in the world. They were teaching formulas and works as opposed to walking in the spirit and walking in grace. Paul reminded them that there has never been any power greater than Jesus who had the Father and the Holy Spirit in him.
Some men had had experiences with angels who told them things contrary to the Spirit and the people were being deceived by them. The supernatural is very exciting but we have to test the spirits to make sure we are experiencing God’s supernatural and not Satan’s. Satan mimics everything God does so we have to have discernment. Every bright light is not God. Satan can appear as an angel of light.
Our Psalm reminds us of all God did for his children. I can’t help but pray that we not be like the tribe of Ephraim that even though they had bows, they turned back in the day of battle. We have been given the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Let us not lose the battle because of fear. Let us be people that live by the Word.
If there was ever a day we needed discernment it is now. Lord, open our spiritual eyes to see and discernment to know what we are seeing and whether it is from You or not.
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Thurs.’s Devo - Freedom from the Law
Read: Jeremiah 4:19-6:14; Colossians 1:21-2:7; Psalm 77:1-20; Proverbs 24:23-25
Jeremiah saw the heart of God for Israel and he was broken-hearted. Jeremiah was shown the future for Israel if they continued as they were living. It was in ruins. God could not find one person who dealt honestly or sought the truth so he could forgive the city. The prophets had prophesied that God would not bring destruction but he they were lying. They had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord, but God promised to leave a remnant to be able to testify as to why God did this. It was not God who destroyed them but their sins.
Colossians describes being deceived by false teaching as being taken captive. All of God and the Holy Spirit could be found in the Christ Jesus. He set us free from having to follow formulas and acts of piety. He sets us free to be sinless and enjoy life. The rules of the law lead to death if you follow them to get right with God. It is by faith that we are saved. We are now free to eat, drink and follow Christ.
Lord, help us to live and walk in freedom yet not use it as an excuse to sin.
Jeremiah saw the heart of God for Israel and he was broken-hearted. Jeremiah was shown the future for Israel if they continued as they were living. It was in ruins. God could not find one person who dealt honestly or sought the truth so he could forgive the city. The prophets had prophesied that God would not bring destruction but he they were lying. They had been utterly unfaithful to the Lord, but God promised to leave a remnant to be able to testify as to why God did this. It was not God who destroyed them but their sins.
Colossians describes being deceived by false teaching as being taken captive. All of God and the Holy Spirit could be found in the Christ Jesus. He set us free from having to follow formulas and acts of piety. He sets us free to be sinless and enjoy life. The rules of the law lead to death if you follow them to get right with God. It is by faith that we are saved. We are now free to eat, drink and follow Christ.
Lord, help us to live and walk in freedom yet not use it as an excuse to sin.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Wed.’s Devo - Return to the Lord
Read: Jeremiah 2:31-4:18; Colossians 1:1-20; Psalm 76:1-12; Proverbs 24:21-22
God condemns his people because they are not repentant. They believed they were sinless while wearing the blood of innocent people on their clothes. They looked to Egypt to be their hope and yet God said they would leave there as slaves. They took the gods of all their captors and rejected the God who made them a people and saved them from the very ones they now held in high esteem. God cried out to them to return to him and let him restore them and take them back. God was their husband and he still loved them. God’s lovingkindness and grace knows no bounds.
Today Paul writes to the church in Colossi and encourages them with his prayer he has prayed for them. It is such a good prayer I want to personalize it for us.
“I pray that God will fill us with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. That we might live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that we might have great endurance and patience and joyfully give thanks to God who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
God condemns his people because they are not repentant. They believed they were sinless while wearing the blood of innocent people on their clothes. They looked to Egypt to be their hope and yet God said they would leave there as slaves. They took the gods of all their captors and rejected the God who made them a people and saved them from the very ones they now held in high esteem. God cried out to them to return to him and let him restore them and take them back. God was their husband and he still loved them. God’s lovingkindness and grace knows no bounds.
Today Paul writes to the church in Colossi and encourages them with his prayer he has prayed for them. It is such a good prayer I want to personalize it for us.
“I pray that God will fill us with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. That we might live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that we might have great endurance and patience and joyfully give thanks to God who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.”
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Tues.’s Devo - Jeremiah’s Calling
Read: Jeremiah 1:1-2:30; Philippians 4:1-23; Psalm 75:1-10; Proverbs 24:17-20
Jeremiah prophesied from the end of Josiah’s reign through his next two sons until Judah went into exile. Josiah was a good king who brought spiritual reform but sadly his sons were not.
God told Jeremiah he had chosen him from the womb and he would put his words in Jeremiah’s mouth. Jeremiah’s father was the high priest at the time. God showed him natural things like branches from the almond tree and boiling pots to show spiritual implications. God gave Jeremiah tremendous fortitude and courage to stand before Judah and point out their sins and call them to repentance. He pointed out how they had changed gods as a nation. No other nation had done that but they had forsake the true God for a bunch of stone dead gods who had no power. It made no sense but showed how spiritually dead they were. They had no discernment and could not see how far they had fallen. Jeremiah was God’s wake up call.
In Philippians, Paul encouraged them to rejoice always but he knew that they had to have a renewed mindset to be able to do this. He told them what to think about: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Paul could tell a church’s spiritual state by how they responded to him. He could tell if they were mature or not. How we treat others is a reflection of how we love the Lord. That is convicting!
Lord, help us to have love, real love for one another that reflects our devotion to You. Help us to all realize our calling to speak your words.
Jeremiah prophesied from the end of Josiah’s reign through his next two sons until Judah went into exile. Josiah was a good king who brought spiritual reform but sadly his sons were not.
God told Jeremiah he had chosen him from the womb and he would put his words in Jeremiah’s mouth. Jeremiah’s father was the high priest at the time. God showed him natural things like branches from the almond tree and boiling pots to show spiritual implications. God gave Jeremiah tremendous fortitude and courage to stand before Judah and point out their sins and call them to repentance. He pointed out how they had changed gods as a nation. No other nation had done that but they had forsake the true God for a bunch of stone dead gods who had no power. It made no sense but showed how spiritually dead they were. They had no discernment and could not see how far they had fallen. Jeremiah was God’s wake up call.
In Philippians, Paul encouraged them to rejoice always but he knew that they had to have a renewed mindset to be able to do this. He told them what to think about: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Paul could tell a church’s spiritual state by how they responded to him. He could tell if they were mature or not. How we treat others is a reflection of how we love the Lord. That is convicting!
Lord, help us to have love, real love for one another that reflects our devotion to You. Help us to all realize our calling to speak your words.
Monday, October 2, 2017
Mon.’s Devo - God is Above All
Read: Isaiah 66:1-24; Philippians 3:4b-21; Psalm 74:1-23; Proverbs 24:15-16
God told Israel who He is. He is the God of all. Heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool. Everything that is made was made by him. He was looking for people who were sensitive to Him and had a humble heart - the person who was so touched to kill his ox that it was as if he was killing a person. He looked but he couldn’t find this. Instead he found people that did their own thing and only looked after themselves. They had no care for others or their plight but were selfish and greedy.
He was going to bring the very thing that they feared the most upon them.
God spoke to the remnant that were oppressed and yet they feared the name of the Lord. They would see their enemy go down in shame. In a day, God was going to deliver Jerusalem and his people. God is speaking of the end of days but also speaking to his remnant throughout history. God delivers his people. We are in the midst of seeing this very thing happen in Israel and in the America. We are going to see the wealth of the oil of the Arab nations return to Israel and the United States, the Gentiles. God is turning our shame to glory!
In Philippians, Paul gives us his reasons why he could be proud in his flesh, but chooses to count all his pedigree and achievements as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus. He had lost everything for that name and has no regrets. He knows that eternity is his prize and goal and encourages us to feel the same.
Lord, help us to look forward with great joy and expectancy because you control the whole cosmos!
God told Israel who He is. He is the God of all. Heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool. Everything that is made was made by him. He was looking for people who were sensitive to Him and had a humble heart - the person who was so touched to kill his ox that it was as if he was killing a person. He looked but he couldn’t find this. Instead he found people that did their own thing and only looked after themselves. They had no care for others or their plight but were selfish and greedy.
He was going to bring the very thing that they feared the most upon them.
God spoke to the remnant that were oppressed and yet they feared the name of the Lord. They would see their enemy go down in shame. In a day, God was going to deliver Jerusalem and his people. God is speaking of the end of days but also speaking to his remnant throughout history. God delivers his people. We are in the midst of seeing this very thing happen in Israel and in the America. We are going to see the wealth of the oil of the Arab nations return to Israel and the United States, the Gentiles. God is turning our shame to glory!
In Philippians, Paul gives us his reasons why he could be proud in his flesh, but chooses to count all his pedigree and achievements as rubbish compared to knowing Jesus. He had lost everything for that name and has no regrets. He knows that eternity is his prize and goal and encourages us to feel the same.
Lord, help us to look forward with great joy and expectancy because you control the whole cosmos!
Sunday, October 1, 2017
Sun.’s Devo - God’s Promises of Blessing
Read: Isaiah 62:6-65:25; Philippians 2:19-3:4a; Psam 73:1-28; Proverbs 24:13-14
God told Isaiah that he had posted watchmen on Israel’s walls. These watchmen were from his heavenly host of his army but also natural prophets. The prophets are the watchmen who watch in the spirit to see what is coming and warn the people what God is about to do and what Satan’s plans are. If you think we have no prophets today all you have to do is go to Elijahlist.com and join for free. You will get prophecies daily that come from prophets all over the world. They will tell you the same thing Isaiah was saying to his people. We have gone through the wine press of God and everything that could be shaken has been shaken so that what remains will be what God can work with. God does reward those who wait for them and obey his commands. We will soon forget our past trials and troubles. God will bring in the new and it will so out-shadow the old that we will not remember the old. Jerusalem will be a delight and its people will be a joy. It will teem with life and God’s people will reap the rewards of what they sow. None of our work will be in vain. Our children will prosper and we will be a blessed people. This is a picture of the millennium but also a picture of what we can have right now by faith.
In Philippians, Paul praises Timothy for being a man who is like no other disciple he has ever seen because Timothy took a genuine interest in the welfare of the people. He worked under Paul as a son would with his father. Then he praises Ephaphroditus for his service to the Lord. He almost died in his work for Christ but is being sent back to them. Paul wants them to receive him with great joy and celebration.
He ends in warning them again of the false prophets who he refers to as dogs. Our Psalm explains what Paul was talking about. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged when you look around and see the evil blessed and you are suffering. The Psalmist realizes that though they might have it good for a while on earth, their end is destruction and their good life is very temporal. What we have is eternal so what is a little suffering in the face of eternity? Our small suffering works for our eternal reward. God is our refuge when we get overwhelmed. He will never let us down.
Lord, help us to taste and see that you are so good!
God told Isaiah that he had posted watchmen on Israel’s walls. These watchmen were from his heavenly host of his army but also natural prophets. The prophets are the watchmen who watch in the spirit to see what is coming and warn the people what God is about to do and what Satan’s plans are. If you think we have no prophets today all you have to do is go to Elijahlist.com and join for free. You will get prophecies daily that come from prophets all over the world. They will tell you the same thing Isaiah was saying to his people. We have gone through the wine press of God and everything that could be shaken has been shaken so that what remains will be what God can work with. God does reward those who wait for them and obey his commands. We will soon forget our past trials and troubles. God will bring in the new and it will so out-shadow the old that we will not remember the old. Jerusalem will be a delight and its people will be a joy. It will teem with life and God’s people will reap the rewards of what they sow. None of our work will be in vain. Our children will prosper and we will be a blessed people. This is a picture of the millennium but also a picture of what we can have right now by faith.
In Philippians, Paul praises Timothy for being a man who is like no other disciple he has ever seen because Timothy took a genuine interest in the welfare of the people. He worked under Paul as a son would with his father. Then he praises Ephaphroditus for his service to the Lord. He almost died in his work for Christ but is being sent back to them. Paul wants them to receive him with great joy and celebration.
He ends in warning them again of the false prophets who he refers to as dogs. Our Psalm explains what Paul was talking about. Sometimes it is easy to get discouraged when you look around and see the evil blessed and you are suffering. The Psalmist realizes that though they might have it good for a while on earth, their end is destruction and their good life is very temporal. What we have is eternal so what is a little suffering in the face of eternity? Our small suffering works for our eternal reward. God is our refuge when we get overwhelmed. He will never let us down.
Lord, help us to taste and see that you are so good!
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