Read: Lamentations 4:1-5:22; Hebrews 2:1-18; Psalm 103:1-22; Provers 26:23
Jeremiah describes the condition of Jerusalem. The city is dying from starvation, the once rich are destitute and homeless, children beg for food and no one gives them any, loving mothers have cooked their own children for food. It couldn’t get any worse. No nation would come to their rescue because God was against them. Their sin and wickedness was being exposed and there was no more hiding or hoping. One day, their punishment would be over and God would be able to bless them once again.
Hebrew warns us to pay attention to what God has told us in the past because if God punished his angels, he will punish us. One third of heaven’s angels rebelled with Lucifer and fell. They were banished to earth until creation. That same punishment will be given to all who refuse to accept the great salvation God sent through his son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus, who was so much higher than the angels humbled himself to come down and become a man. God sent him to do his works on the earth and made everything subject to him. He was to experience death so he could destroy the devil who had the power of death, and deliver us who were in bondage to death. He also chose to become a human so he could experience temptation and pain so he could one day be a merciful high priest who understands the frailty of man.
Our trials are not a punishment from God but a way for us to learn our frailty and learn to have compassion on others when they go through trials. Jesus experienced all the pains of life that he might be merciful to our weaknesses. He is the perfect high priest.
Lord, help us to be compassionate towards others going through difficult times remembering our own experiences. You are the one who can comfort and help us in our struggles.
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Monday, October 30, 2017
Monday’s Devo - Jesus, the Son of God
Read: Lamentations 2:20-3:66; Hebrews 1:1-14; Psalm 102:1-28; Proverbs 26:21-22
Jerusalem wails in anguish because of the siege. They are starving to the point of eating their own children. They finally realize their prophets have lied to them, except God’s prophets. Jeremiah is suffering with them but his hope is in the Lord’s love. He is living one day at a time through the power of what he knows of God’s compassion. He encourages others to examine their ways and return to the Lord. He reminds them that God’s anger will last for a while, but his compassion for ever.
Jeremiah uses his own experience as a picture of hope for the people. He retells when he was thrown into the cistern and given up for dead. But in that pit he cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard him and delivered him out of it. God will do the same for them if they would cry out to Him. And, God will do the same for us when we cry out to Him for help.
I love Hebrews! In the Old Testament, God is revealed, but he can’t stop talking about his son, Jesus; but in the New Testament, Jesus is revealed but he can’t stop talking about his Father. Hebrews comes along and melts both of them together. Jesus is the glory of God exalted as his son. No angel has ever been called this intimate name of “son”. Jesus is the exact representation of God. Hebrews explains how Jesus and God created the heavens and the earth together and one day it will be time to roll them up and create new ones.
Hebrew also says much about angels. They are to minister to the ones God has chosen to inherit salvation. That is us!
Hebrews draws scripture from all over the Bible to bring it all together. Even our Psalm today is quoted in Hebrews.
Lord, help us to be your representation on earth as Jesus was when he walked the earth.
Jerusalem wails in anguish because of the siege. They are starving to the point of eating their own children. They finally realize their prophets have lied to them, except God’s prophets. Jeremiah is suffering with them but his hope is in the Lord’s love. He is living one day at a time through the power of what he knows of God’s compassion. He encourages others to examine their ways and return to the Lord. He reminds them that God’s anger will last for a while, but his compassion for ever.
Jeremiah uses his own experience as a picture of hope for the people. He retells when he was thrown into the cistern and given up for dead. But in that pit he cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard him and delivered him out of it. God will do the same for them if they would cry out to Him. And, God will do the same for us when we cry out to Him for help.
I love Hebrews! In the Old Testament, God is revealed, but he can’t stop talking about his son, Jesus; but in the New Testament, Jesus is revealed but he can’t stop talking about his Father. Hebrews comes along and melts both of them together. Jesus is the glory of God exalted as his son. No angel has ever been called this intimate name of “son”. Jesus is the exact representation of God. Hebrews explains how Jesus and God created the heavens and the earth together and one day it will be time to roll them up and create new ones.
Hebrew also says much about angels. They are to minister to the ones God has chosen to inherit salvation. That is us!
Hebrews draws scripture from all over the Bible to bring it all together. Even our Psalm today is quoted in Hebrews.
Lord, help us to be your representation on earth as Jesus was when he walked the earth.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
Sun.’s Devo - The Gospel
Read: Lamentations 1:1-2:19; Philemon 1:1-25; Psalm 101:1-8: Proverbs 26:20
Lamentations is just sad and depressing. It begins while Josiah is dying according to 2 Chronicles 35:25. Josiah was such a good king but his death was more than his own death; it signified the death of the nation. Judah went quickly downhill after that and was judged for their sins. Lamentation is an interestingly written elegy penned by Jeremiah who did many prophetic acts to give pictures of what was happening in the nation. In Lamentations there are five elegies (chapters) which are poems or songs of lament or praise for the dead. All of Lamentations are acrostic which means they are in a particular order. The first three elegies consist of three to four lines each beginning with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order. (There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.)
According to Jameison, Faust and Brown Commentary, in three instances (La 2:16, 17; 3:46-51; 4:16, 17) two letters are transposed. In the third Elegy, each line of the three forming every stanza begins with the same letter. The stanzas in the fourth and fifth Elegies consist of two lines each. The fifth Elegy, though having twenty-two stanzas (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet), just as the first four, yet is not alphabetical; and its lines are shorter than those of the others, which are longer than are found in other Hebrew poems, and contain twelve syllables, marked by a cæsura about the middle, dividing them into two somewhat unequal parts. The alphabetical arrangement was adopted originally to assist the memory. GROTIUS thinks the reason for the inversion of two of the Hebrew letters in La 2:16, 17; 3:46-51; 4:16, 17, is that the Chaldeans, like the Arabians, used a different order from the Hebrews; in the first Elegy, Jeremiah speaks as a Hebrew, in the following ones, as one subject to the Chaldeans.
This might seem confusing but I am in awe of the wonder of God and his wisdom and knowledge. Today’s Lamentation tells of the destruction of Babylon and Israel. Sin is being judged and there is no stopping God’s judgment; it has to be done.
Paul’s letter to Philemon is one to a true friend and fellow minister in the faith. Paul admonishes his work and faith. He sends his letter by the hand of Onesimus. Onesimus had once been Philemon’s slave but had stolen from him and fled to Rome. There he was converted to Christ through Paul’s ministry and become a spiritual son and attendant to Paul while he was in prison. Paul sends him back to Philemon and offers to pay for what Onesimus stole from him. He is not sending him back as a slave but as a dear brother. Is that not the picture of what happens when we become a Christian? We were slaves to sin and disobedient to Christ, but when we meet Christ as our savior we are restored as a member of God’s family.
Lord, thank you for salvation. You are truly a matrix of wisdom and knowledge. There is nothing too difficult for you!
Lamentations is just sad and depressing. It begins while Josiah is dying according to 2 Chronicles 35:25. Josiah was such a good king but his death was more than his own death; it signified the death of the nation. Judah went quickly downhill after that and was judged for their sins. Lamentation is an interestingly written elegy penned by Jeremiah who did many prophetic acts to give pictures of what was happening in the nation. In Lamentations there are five elegies (chapters) which are poems or songs of lament or praise for the dead. All of Lamentations are acrostic which means they are in a particular order. The first three elegies consist of three to four lines each beginning with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in order. (There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.)
According to Jameison, Faust and Brown Commentary, in three instances (La 2:16, 17; 3:46-51; 4:16, 17) two letters are transposed. In the third Elegy, each line of the three forming every stanza begins with the same letter. The stanzas in the fourth and fifth Elegies consist of two lines each. The fifth Elegy, though having twenty-two stanzas (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet), just as the first four, yet is not alphabetical; and its lines are shorter than those of the others, which are longer than are found in other Hebrew poems, and contain twelve syllables, marked by a cæsura about the middle, dividing them into two somewhat unequal parts. The alphabetical arrangement was adopted originally to assist the memory. GROTIUS thinks the reason for the inversion of two of the Hebrew letters in La 2:16, 17; 3:46-51; 4:16, 17, is that the Chaldeans, like the Arabians, used a different order from the Hebrews; in the first Elegy, Jeremiah speaks as a Hebrew, in the following ones, as one subject to the Chaldeans.
This might seem confusing but I am in awe of the wonder of God and his wisdom and knowledge. Today’s Lamentation tells of the destruction of Babylon and Israel. Sin is being judged and there is no stopping God’s judgment; it has to be done.
Paul’s letter to Philemon is one to a true friend and fellow minister in the faith. Paul admonishes his work and faith. He sends his letter by the hand of Onesimus. Onesimus had once been Philemon’s slave but had stolen from him and fled to Rome. There he was converted to Christ through Paul’s ministry and become a spiritual son and attendant to Paul while he was in prison. Paul sends him back to Philemon and offers to pay for what Onesimus stole from him. He is not sending him back as a slave but as a dear brother. Is that not the picture of what happens when we become a Christian? We were slaves to sin and disobedient to Christ, but when we meet Christ as our savior we are restored as a member of God’s family.
Lord, thank you for salvation. You are truly a matrix of wisdom and knowledge. There is nothing too difficult for you!
Saturday, October 28, 2017
Sat.’s Devo - Babylon Has Fallen
Read: Jeremiah 51:54-52:34; Titus 3:1-15; Psalm 100:1-5; Proverbs 26:18-19
First the natural and then the spiritual. Jeremiah ends with a prophecy about the total destruction of Babylon. That is the natural. Revelation ends with a spiritual destruction of Babylon. Babylon means “confusion” and it has to do with false prophets, false religion, lies, deception, anything that is contrary to the truth. She is the spirit that kills the prophets and that killed Jesus. She is the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth in Revelation 17. It is rampant in the world. It is in every area of our lives but it will all come down one day and the truth will remain.
Jeremiah was to write the prophecy about Babylon’s destruction on a scroll and throw it into the Euphrates as a sign of what would happen to it. In Revelation 9:14, God told the sixth angel to loose the four angels (demons) that were bound in the great river Euphrates and they were to slay a third of the population.
In Revelation 18:21 it says that a mighty angel took up a stone and cast it into the sea, saying, this is what will be don to Babylon. It will be thrown down and be no more.
Next, we read the end of Zedekiah. Babylon besieged Jerusalem for two years. When they ran completely out of food, Zedekiah and his sons tried to escape at night. They were chased down. Zedekiah had to witness his sons being killed then his eyes were taken out and he was led to Babylon where he died. Everything in Jerusalem was taken that had any value and only a few poor people were left to tend the vineyards and the fields…just as Jeremiah and Isaiah had said would happen.
Titus reminds us to honor the men in authority over our nation. We are not to slander them but be peaceable and considerate and show true humility toward all men. That needs to be spoken from the rooftops in America. He went on to remind us where we came from and that it is only the grace of God that there is anything good in us.
We are to avoid foolish controversies and arguments and quarrels about the law because these are unprofitable and useless. Instead, we are to devote ourselves to doing good! Just think of how wonderful our nation would be if we just did that!
Lord, help us to remember these things and live them. Let your peace be in our nation. Calm the hearts of the people and give them rest.
First the natural and then the spiritual. Jeremiah ends with a prophecy about the total destruction of Babylon. That is the natural. Revelation ends with a spiritual destruction of Babylon. Babylon means “confusion” and it has to do with false prophets, false religion, lies, deception, anything that is contrary to the truth. She is the spirit that kills the prophets and that killed Jesus. She is the mother of harlots and the abominations of the earth in Revelation 17. It is rampant in the world. It is in every area of our lives but it will all come down one day and the truth will remain.
Jeremiah was to write the prophecy about Babylon’s destruction on a scroll and throw it into the Euphrates as a sign of what would happen to it. In Revelation 9:14, God told the sixth angel to loose the four angels (demons) that were bound in the great river Euphrates and they were to slay a third of the population.
In Revelation 18:21 it says that a mighty angel took up a stone and cast it into the sea, saying, this is what will be don to Babylon. It will be thrown down and be no more.
Next, we read the end of Zedekiah. Babylon besieged Jerusalem for two years. When they ran completely out of food, Zedekiah and his sons tried to escape at night. They were chased down. Zedekiah had to witness his sons being killed then his eyes were taken out and he was led to Babylon where he died. Everything in Jerusalem was taken that had any value and only a few poor people were left to tend the vineyards and the fields…just as Jeremiah and Isaiah had said would happen.
Titus reminds us to honor the men in authority over our nation. We are not to slander them but be peaceable and considerate and show true humility toward all men. That needs to be spoken from the rooftops in America. He went on to remind us where we came from and that it is only the grace of God that there is anything good in us.
We are to avoid foolish controversies and arguments and quarrels about the law because these are unprofitable and useless. Instead, we are to devote ourselves to doing good! Just think of how wonderful our nation would be if we just did that!
Lord, help us to remember these things and live them. Let your peace be in our nation. Calm the hearts of the people and give them rest.
Friday, October 27, 2017
Fri.’s Devo - God’s Grace
Read Jeremiah 51:1-53; Titus 2:1-15; Psalm 99:1-9; Proverbs 26:17
Jeremiah continues his prophecy about Babylon. He explained exactly how it would happen. God would send foreigners to devastate their land. When that happens, God told his people to flee Babylon and run for their lives. God had used Babylon to be his vengeance against other nations but it was now her time to pay for her sins.
Paul gives Titus instructions for older men, older women, young men, and slaves. We don’t have slaves, but we do work under bosses that we need to respect and treat as if we are working for the Lord.
Paul goes on to explain the power of grace. God’s grace is the ability to do what we can’t do in our own humanity or flesh. It is what gives us the power to live a life of self-control, and godliness. It reminds us that our hope is not in the seen but in the promise of Jesus’ glorious appearing.
The last statement he gives is: “Don’t let any man despise you.” That word “despise” in the Greek means “depreciate”. In other words don’t let anyone think of you less than what God thinks of you. God thinks we are wonderful and capable of fulfilling our destiny on this earth and has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish whatever he tells us to do.
Lord, help us to remember that we are wonderfully and fearfully made by a loving creator who has great plans for our lives.
Jeremiah continues his prophecy about Babylon. He explained exactly how it would happen. God would send foreigners to devastate their land. When that happens, God told his people to flee Babylon and run for their lives. God had used Babylon to be his vengeance against other nations but it was now her time to pay for her sins.
Paul gives Titus instructions for older men, older women, young men, and slaves. We don’t have slaves, but we do work under bosses that we need to respect and treat as if we are working for the Lord.
Paul goes on to explain the power of grace. God’s grace is the ability to do what we can’t do in our own humanity or flesh. It is what gives us the power to live a life of self-control, and godliness. It reminds us that our hope is not in the seen but in the promise of Jesus’ glorious appearing.
The last statement he gives is: “Don’t let any man despise you.” That word “despise” in the Greek means “depreciate”. In other words don’t let anyone think of you less than what God thinks of you. God thinks we are wonderful and capable of fulfilling our destiny on this earth and has given us the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish whatever he tells us to do.
Lord, help us to remember that we are wonderfully and fearfully made by a loving creator who has great plans for our lives.
Thursday, October 26, 2017
Thurs.’s Devo - God’s Power Over the Earth
Read: Jeremiah 49:23-50:46; Titus 1 :1-16; Psalm 97:1-98:9; Proverbs 26:13-16
Today we read about the fate of Damascus in Syria. It had been the capital of Israel until Ben-Hadad tried to take it from King Ahab (1 Kings 20). Ahab should have killed Ben-Hadad but instead he let him go. God sent him a prophet who rebuked him for letting Ben-Hadad live and told him that it would cost him his life and the life of his people. Ahab was killed fighting the Syrians.
The next place mentioned was Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael and they were know for their black-skinned tents. To live in one of those tents meant that you were cut off from worshipping God. They were known as the people of the East.
The next word came concerning Elam. Elam was the son of Shem, one of Noah’s sons. It was east of Babylon and known as “The Highlands”. Chedolaomer in Genesis 14 was one of Elam’s kings who reigned over many of the nations during the time of Abraham. It was time for Elam to be judged for her sins and her people scattered around the world.
The last word came to Babylon. She would be judged for her idolatry and abominations. When she falls, Israel will search for their God and renew their covenant. God will restore her as his own.
Paul writes Titus to let him know why he left him in Crete. He wanted him to finish the joy of appointing elders in the towns. Then he told him the qualification of elders. He warned him of the rebellious people who were teaching unsound doctrine which deceived the people and made themselves rich.
Lord, help us to see what you are doing in our lives and in our world and respond as you would have us respond.
Today we read about the fate of Damascus in Syria. It had been the capital of Israel until Ben-Hadad tried to take it from King Ahab (1 Kings 20). Ahab should have killed Ben-Hadad but instead he let him go. God sent him a prophet who rebuked him for letting Ben-Hadad live and told him that it would cost him his life and the life of his people. Ahab was killed fighting the Syrians.
The next place mentioned was Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael and they were know for their black-skinned tents. To live in one of those tents meant that you were cut off from worshipping God. They were known as the people of the East.
The next word came concerning Elam. Elam was the son of Shem, one of Noah’s sons. It was east of Babylon and known as “The Highlands”. Chedolaomer in Genesis 14 was one of Elam’s kings who reigned over many of the nations during the time of Abraham. It was time for Elam to be judged for her sins and her people scattered around the world.
The last word came to Babylon. She would be judged for her idolatry and abominations. When she falls, Israel will search for their God and renew their covenant. God will restore her as his own.
Paul writes Titus to let him know why he left him in Crete. He wanted him to finish the joy of appointing elders in the towns. Then he told him the qualification of elders. He warned him of the rebellious people who were teaching unsound doctrine which deceived the people and made themselves rich.
Lord, help us to see what you are doing in our lives and in our world and respond as you would have us respond.
Wednesday, October 25, 2017
Wed.’s Devo - War Against Your Destiny
Read: Jeremiah 48:1-49:22; 2 Timothy 4:11-22; Psalms 95:1-96:13; Proverbs 26:9-12
Judgment always begins with God’s people then spreads to the world. Judah and Israel were taken captive and their land destroyed and now it was time for the neighboring countries and Egypt. Last will be Babylon.
The first prophecy was against Moab who had aided the Chaldeans in fighting Judah. They were taken five years after Jerusalem was defeated. Heshbon was an old enemy of Israel. Sihon, king of the Amorites came from that city. He was the king who refused to let Israel pass through their land when they were on the wilderness journey (Numbers 22:23). They ended up defeating them and killing Sihon. The Bible is full of people who get their due reward.
The next people were the Ammonites. They were giants who King Og of Bashan was one of. He was the one who fought with Sihon against Israel. (Numbers 21:33-35) It was time for judgement.
The last group was the Edomites. The father of the Edomites was Esau (Genesis 36:1). They were also guilty of not letting Israel pass through their land in Numbers 20.
So what these three nations had in common was that they tried to deter God’s people from getting their inheritance and fulfilling their destiny. That is Satan’s goal and he is our enemy. We can fight and win against his plans to stop us or make us stumble in achieving our destiny. If God is for us, who can be against us.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he exhorted Timothy to preach the Word and be prepared to correct, rebuke and encourage others with great patience and careful instruction. Truth is always challenged but it will stand when all else falls.
Lord, remind us that we have an enemy that wants to keep us from our destiny. Thank you that you have given us the weapons we need to fight and the victory is ours.
Judgment always begins with God’s people then spreads to the world. Judah and Israel were taken captive and their land destroyed and now it was time for the neighboring countries and Egypt. Last will be Babylon.
The first prophecy was against Moab who had aided the Chaldeans in fighting Judah. They were taken five years after Jerusalem was defeated. Heshbon was an old enemy of Israel. Sihon, king of the Amorites came from that city. He was the king who refused to let Israel pass through their land when they were on the wilderness journey (Numbers 22:23). They ended up defeating them and killing Sihon. The Bible is full of people who get their due reward.
The next people were the Ammonites. They were giants who King Og of Bashan was one of. He was the one who fought with Sihon against Israel. (Numbers 21:33-35) It was time for judgement.
The last group was the Edomites. The father of the Edomites was Esau (Genesis 36:1). They were also guilty of not letting Israel pass through their land in Numbers 20.
So what these three nations had in common was that they tried to deter God’s people from getting their inheritance and fulfilling their destiny. That is Satan’s goal and he is our enemy. We can fight and win against his plans to stop us or make us stumble in achieving our destiny. If God is for us, who can be against us.
In Paul’s second letter to Timothy he exhorted Timothy to preach the Word and be prepared to correct, rebuke and encourage others with great patience and careful instruction. Truth is always challenged but it will stand when all else falls.
Lord, remind us that we have an enemy that wants to keep us from our destiny. Thank you that you have given us the weapons we need to fight and the victory is ours.
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