DEVOTIONS

Time To Set Sail

 NOVEMBER 10, 2023
 Daily Reading – Jeremiah 46-48 / Hebrews 6

 GOD’S WORD:

Jeremiah 48:12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        As a Pastor I have heard the comment during counseling, “How did we get so far from the truth?” It seemed they were going in the right direction in life. It appeared things were all right. Then somehow, they found their life in trouble and turmoil. Wondering how this happened.

        Their life is much like a ship setting sail on an Ocean voyage. All mechanical operations of the ship are functioning correctly, so they set sail. There is only one problem. The compass they are using is one degree off. While traveling things look and work ok. However, they end up at the wrong destination. How did that happen? They were navigating with faulty equipment. It was not right. It was not true.

        Our verse today says God, because of their sinfulness and rebellion, was going to send into their lives “wanderers.” People with no purpose. So, where will the wanderers lead them? Who knows? A wanderer has no direction. They wander. It is like the blind, leading the blind. The wanderer leads the trusting soul nowhere. Then at the end of wandering, you have nothing. They empty your vessel, your life is spent wasted, traveling down the wrong road. People can lead you off course. The wrong leader with the wrong message will lead you to a wrong outcome. Sin can sidetrack your life. Worldly desires can direct your life toward ruin. Today we must keep watch for the wanderers. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        The best way to know something is phony is to know the original so well you cannot be fooled. God’s Word is the truth. It is the original. Come to know it so well that no wanderer could lead you off course. Know God.

Where is your life headed today,
and who are you following?

They Did Not Listen

 NOVEMBER 9, 2023
 Daily Reading – Jeremiah 42-45 / Hebrews 4-5

 GOD’S WORD:

Jeremiah 42:6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        We have all seen movies where a doctor comes into the room, a sad look in their eye’s, and the patient says, “Just give it to me straight doc, tell me the truth.” We all think we want to hear the truth, that is, until the truth is not what we wanted to hear. Truth be told, what most people really want is their version of the truth. Yet, the very foundation of our lives is built on the truth. In a court of law, a defendant is sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. That is because, only by digging down to the truth will real justice be served.

        In Jeremiah 42 the remnant left in Judah asks Jeremiah to go speak to the Lord on their behalf. Jeremiah agrees but in Jeremiah 42:4 he says, “…I will pray unto the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from you.” In essence he said, I am going to tell you the truth, no matter what the truth is. The people say, oh we will do whatever you say the Lord says. God says in this chapter, if you stay here, I will protect you, provide for you, and help you. You have nothing to fear. However, if you run to Egypt for safety, and do not trust me, you will surely die. What did the people do? In Jeremiah 43:2 they call Jeremiah a liar and go to Egypt, where they died. They did not listen to the truth. They wanted their own truth.      

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        In John 14:6 Jesus said, “…I am the way, the truth…” In John 8:32 Jesus also said, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Folks, that is still the real truth.

Will you accept the truth of God’s Word,
or seek you own form of truth and perish?

Take Time To Listen

 NOVEMBER 8, 2023
 Daily Reading – Jeremiah 38-41 / Hebrews 3

 GOD’S WORD:

Jeremiah 39:15 Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Where are you when you hear from God? Some would say Church, Sunday School, Worship Services, or Wednesday service. Others might say, “He speaks to me during my quiet time and daily devotions.” As they read the Bible, God uses His written Word to speak to their heart. What a wonderful truth this is. Most people would not say in jail. In a place made to house sinners and lawbreakers. Yet that is where He spoke to Jeremiah. In fact, God spoke to several people while in prisons. It may seem an unlikely place, but the truth is God will speak to us by the Holy Spirit, and by the Word of God that we have studied previously, in all sorts of places. Often in our own emotional or spiritual prisons which we have created.

        
   ● In our prison of “I want it my way,” Jesus says, “whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

 

   ● In a prison of despair, we hear the voice of God say, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

 

   ● In the prison of sin, that seems unforgivable or irreversible, God says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

   ● When in the prison of weariness, we hear Him call, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Why do we not hear God speak? Often, we shut Him out or stay too busy for God. In the most unlikely places, we hear God say, “Peace be still.” Take time today to listen. Hear it? He just said I love you.

 

Do you have a quiet time where God can speak to your soul?

 

Truth Be Told

 NOVEMBER 7, 2023
 Daily Reading – Jeremiah 35-37 / Hebrews 1-2

 GOD’S WORD:

Jeremiah 36:26 But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        The convicting Word of God has, through the ages, caused men to do some rather horrible things. You might think that it would be enough to try and destroy the written word itself. This has been attempted by many over the centuries. It was so here in Jeremiah 36:23 where it says the king, “…he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.” Men have tried in various ways to destroy the Word of God. Yet, as it says in Psalm 12:6-7 “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” God preserves His Word.

 

        Not only did they try to destroy the Word of God, but they also tried to imprison or worse, the men who spoke the Word of God. In Jeremiah 36:19 the princes told Baruch, the scribe who wrote down the words, and Jeremiah, the prophet that declared the Words of God, to go into hiding. Later, when the king commanded that they be found it says in today’s verse, “but the LORD hid them.” Again, throughout history man has been offended by the Word of God and not only tried to destroy the Word, but those who have delivered it as well. Yet, God’s Word is still here and still just as powerful as ever. And so is God. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        I like David’s attitude about the entire matter. In Psalm 118:6 he said, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” The worst thing man can do to us, sends us to heaven to dwell with the Lord forever.

Don’t you think God might have a say in that too?

 

There Is Hope

 NOVEMBER 6, 2023
 Daily Reading – Jeremiah 32-34 / Philemon

 GOD’S WORD:

Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Some days it may feel as though the weight of the whole world falls on your shoulders. Problems seem to arise at every turn. Family situations happen one after another. Friends appear to turn a deaf ear to your situations. Pressures from work and co-workers grow day after day. It may look as if there is no way out. Yet God says there is. As our never changing God spoke these words to Jeremiah, you might want to bend an ear to what they say to us even today.

        Is there anything too hard for God, anything? Could the God who created such a complex and wonderful creation as you, also handle your daily cares? YES! Might this God, who created heaven and earth and keeps it all working, also handle your pressures? YES! Is the God who defeated Satan and his demons at Calvary, and destroyed the yoke of sin forever, able to help you deal with your family matters? Again, it is YES!

        Jeremiah understood this. Our verse today is a confirmation from God of what Jeremiah had said back in verse 17 when he said, “… and there is nothing too hard for thee:” God responds to Jeremiah’s statement with; “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” The answer… NOTHING! When the world seems to surround you as a tomb, go to the LORD who conquered the tomb. My friend, in Him, there is HOPE! 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Jesus said it best in John 10:10 when He said, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” 

Have you found that real HOPE in life through Jesus?