Daily Devotion – Moments That Matter

 Surrender And LIVE

 NOVEMBER 1, 2023
 Daily Reading – Jeremiah 20-22 / 2 Timothy 1-2

 GOD’S WORD:

Jeremiah 21:8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Here is a dilemma for the house of Judah. In Jeremiah 21:8 Jeremiah is told, “And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.” God is telling them how to live. You would think anyone who heard this would choose to live. However, in the next verse God lays out the choice they will have to make. Jeremiah 21:9 says, “He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.” If you want to live, then you must surrender. If you do not surrender, if you stay where you are, clinging to all your earthly things, well, then you will die in this city. It is simple right? Surrender, and LIVE!

        It is basically the same choice that people struggle with today. If you want to have eternal life, well, then surrender your life to Christ. In Mark 8:35-37 it says, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” It is simple right? If you want to live, I mean really live eternally, surrender and LIVE! 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Sadly, many are tied to earthly things, just as some who stayed behind in Jeremiah’s day, and they died. God has set before us the way of LIFE. Jesus said in John 14:6 “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” 

Have you surrendered?

 

Search Me, Try My Reins

OCTOBER 31, 2023
Daily Reading – Jeremiah 16-19 / 1 Timothy 6

 

GOD’S WORD:

Jeremiah 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        When God originally created man, He did so looking at us as a perfect creature. We were His perfect creation. To make us perfect, He gave us characteristics like His own. A mind to think with, the will to choose, and a heart full of emotions. In doing so, He also gave man the opportunity to mess up. So it goes, we did, and still do. Man’s heart, thoughts, and will have become corrupted by the sin which Satan introduced into this world.

 

        The verse just before Jeremiah 17:10 says our hearts are “desperately wicked: who can know it?” The answer is, God. God knows our hearts even better than we do. He knows what we really desire. Our verse today says, “I try the reins.” What do reins do when put on a horse? They are used to direct this large animal to stop and go, or to turn left or right. What would be the reins of a person? Well, they would be the mind, or the heart of a person. Your mind tells you to stop doing something, or start doing something, or to go here or there. God knows the mind of every person.

 

        So, ask yourself, what is it that your mind and heart really want? You can see the answer as God does by your ways. Where do you go? What do you do? Whom do you spend time with? How often does this include God? If you do not like the answers, maybe you had better get a firmer grip on the reins! Better yet, turn them over to God. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        As the day goes by, ask God to keep your mind on things that would be glorifying to Him. When you find your mind wandering, wander back over toward God. He is waiting for you to allow Him to lead.

 

When God searches your heart and mind,
does He find He has control?

 

Satisfied By Thy Word

OCTOBER 30, 2023
Daily Reading – Jeremiah 13-15 / 1 Timothy 5

GOD’S WORD:

Jeremiah 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Back in the 1980’s and 90’s there was a potato chip commercial that tempted people to eat only one of their chips. The slogan was “No one can eat just one.” The commercials were relatively simple. There was an open bag of their chips, and someone said I can eat just one. They would take a chip from the bag and eat it. Then, after a short pause, they would smile and start scoffing down the chips. The commercial was effective, and also very true. It would be hard for most people to eat only one of those chips. Once that salty taste was in your mouth, well, you just really wanted another and another.

        Jeremiah refers to the Word of God very much the same way. In Jeremiah 15:16 he says, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” It was if he had read the words of the Lord and found them so satisfying that he desired more. The words of the Lord brought joy and rejoicing to his soul. David in Psalm 34:8 said, “O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” Once you know the author of this book, and have a personal relationship with Him, one verse is never enough. Your desire for the Word increases with your desire to know Him more and more. Until the day we meet the Lord in Glory, we find our satisfaction in His Word. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        It is not just a book for the believer. The author of the Bible resides within us. In 2 Peter 1:21 it says, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 

Do you find God’s Word satisfying?