“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” [1]
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” [2]
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” [3]
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” [4]
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” [5]
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” [6]
“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.” [7]
“Cast all your anxieties on Him [God], because He cares for you.” [8]
"Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for all those who wonder if their life really matters. Does anyone really care? Please speak to them through Your Word and by the gracious tender voice of Your Holy Spirit. Please breathe faith, hope and love into them Holy Spirit. Please let their hearts find peace and joy in You, dear Lord, for Your joy is our strength. Thank You Lord Jesus for enduring the cross and its shame to bring us to the Father. Thank You for blotting out all our transgressions and giving us new life by Your Spirit. Fill us afresh today. Empower us to be a blessing to those around us. It is in Your Name that I pray, Lord Jesus, Amen."
[1] Philippians 4:6-7
[2] Philippians 1:6
[3] Romans 8:28
[4] Joshua 1:9
[5] Romans 15:13
[6] John 10:10
[7] Exodus 14:14
[8] 1 Peter 5:7
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Sunday, October 21, 2018
Taking God Seriously
They had a God-serving father. In fact, the Lord had used their father to bring about a revival of faith in their nation. Perhaps, they asked themselves why their father went to battle against Pharaoh Necho King of Egypt. Why did he have to die in battle that way? [1]
Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim king in place of his father Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. [2] For eleven years, the prophet Jeremiah spoke God’s Word to King Jehoiakim directly and at other times only to his people. At one point, Jehoiakim burned Jeremiah’s writings in fire. He wanted to kill Jeremiah, but the Lord hid him. Sadly, Jehoiakim did not take God seriously. He ended up in a Babylonian prison.
After imprisoning Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his brother Zedekiah the king. [3] Jeremiah also brought God’s Word to Zedekiah for eleven years. Nine years into Zedekiah’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem. A year and half after that, he conquered the city. [4]
Nebuchadnezzar killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes along with all the nobility of Judah. Then, he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze chains for transfer to Babylon. The Babylonians burned down the king’s palace along with all the houses of the people. He also broke down the walls of Jerusalem.” [5]
The two sons of Josiah did not take God seriously and paid dearly for it. I wonder how many people today are not taking God seriously when it comes to their eternal destiny. It is one thing to lose an earthly temporary kingdom and quite another to lose a heavenly eternal one.
“Dear Heavenly Father, please help our race, the human-race, to take You seriously and yield their souls to You that You may save them and grant them eternal life. In Jesus’ Name I pray.”
[1] 2 Kings 23:29
[2] 2 Kings 23:34
[3] 2 Chronicles 36:10
[4] Jeremiah 39:1-2
[5] Jeremiah 39:6-8
Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim king in place of his father Josiah and changed his name to Jehoiakim. [2] For eleven years, the prophet Jeremiah spoke God’s Word to King Jehoiakim directly and at other times only to his people. At one point, Jehoiakim burned Jeremiah’s writings in fire. He wanted to kill Jeremiah, but the Lord hid him. Sadly, Jehoiakim did not take God seriously. He ended up in a Babylonian prison.
After imprisoning Jehoiakim, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his brother Zedekiah the king. [3] Jeremiah also brought God’s Word to Zedekiah for eleven years. Nine years into Zedekiah’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem. A year and half after that, he conquered the city. [4]
Nebuchadnezzar killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes along with all the nobility of Judah. Then, he put out Zedekiah’s eyes, and bound him with bronze chains for transfer to Babylon. The Babylonians burned down the king’s palace along with all the houses of the people. He also broke down the walls of Jerusalem.” [5]
The two sons of Josiah did not take God seriously and paid dearly for it. I wonder how many people today are not taking God seriously when it comes to their eternal destiny. It is one thing to lose an earthly temporary kingdom and quite another to lose a heavenly eternal one.
“Dear Heavenly Father, please help our race, the human-race, to take You seriously and yield their souls to You that You may save them and grant them eternal life. In Jesus’ Name I pray.”
[1] 2 Kings 23:29
[2] 2 Kings 23:34
[3] 2 Chronicles 36:10
[4] Jeremiah 39:1-2
[5] Jeremiah 39:6-8
Friday, October 19, 2018
Never Give Up On Love
“The princes said to the king, ‘Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the well-being of this people, but their harm.’” [1]
One of the enemy’s tactics is to misinform people about God’s servants. He seeks to sabotage the credibility of our testimony. He tells people that we have bad motives for trying to help them. Think about that!
For many years, God moved in the heart of Jeremiah to speak to his nation to save them from being conquered by the Babylonians. Rather than commend his loving efforts to spare them, the princes accused him of weakening people and of seeking to harm them. They threw him into a dungeon to rot. If God had not moved on the heart of an Ethiopian man to rescue Jeremiah, he would have died there. [2]
How did Jesus say to respond to the false accusations of people? He said, “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” [3]
Jesus urged us to respond to false accusation with love, blessings, goodness and with prayers. It is easy to say, but difficult to do. May Jesus help us to love people no matter how they respond to our efforts. As singer Sarah Groves says in one of her songs, “Love is still a worthy a cause.” Never give up on love due to those who reject it.
[1] Jeremiah 38:4
[2] Jeremiah 38:7-13
[3] Matthew 5:44-45
One of the enemy’s tactics is to misinform people about God’s servants. He seeks to sabotage the credibility of our testimony. He tells people that we have bad motives for trying to help them. Think about that!
For many years, God moved in the heart of Jeremiah to speak to his nation to save them from being conquered by the Babylonians. Rather than commend his loving efforts to spare them, the princes accused him of weakening people and of seeking to harm them. They threw him into a dungeon to rot. If God had not moved on the heart of an Ethiopian man to rescue Jeremiah, he would have died there. [2]
How did Jesus say to respond to the false accusations of people? He said, “I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” [3]
Jesus urged us to respond to false accusation with love, blessings, goodness and with prayers. It is easy to say, but difficult to do. May Jesus help us to love people no matter how they respond to our efforts. As singer Sarah Groves says in one of her songs, “Love is still a worthy a cause.” Never give up on love due to those who reject it.
[1] Jeremiah 38:4
[2] Jeremiah 38:7-13
[3] Matthew 5:44-45
Thursday, October 18, 2018
Heeding Warning Signals
King Jehoiakim was twenty-nine, when a prophet named Jeremiah gave words of warning from the Lord to save his life and the life of his nation.
“The king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll... And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king.
Now, the king was sitting in the winter house… with a fire burning on the hearth before him. And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
And the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, as well as Seraiah… and Shelemiah… to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.” [1]
King Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of God. When he was 36 years old, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured him, bound him in chains and carried him off to a Babylonian prison. [2]
When God warns anyone of impending disaster, it is because He loves us. God wants to save us. It was King Jehoiakim’s stubborn bent on doing evil that brought about his demise. He threw God’s Word into a fireplace. He burnt the script, but God’s Word still came to pass.
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for warning signals. Please grant that our hearts will be tender and that our ears will be attentive to what You say. We pray for our governmental leaders that they do not disregard You and Your Word the Bible to their own demise and to the demise of our nation. Please help both them and us to heed Your warning signals. To regard Your Word, the Bible, as true and infallible. For it is in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.”
[1] Jeremiah 36:21-23
[2] 2 Chronicles 36:5-6
“The king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll... And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king.
Now, the king was sitting in the winter house… with a fire burning on the hearth before him. And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
And the king commanded his son Jerahmeel, as well as Seraiah… and Shelemiah… to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.” [1]
King Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem. He did evil in the sight of God. When he was 36 years old, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon captured him, bound him in chains and carried him off to a Babylonian prison. [2]
When God warns anyone of impending disaster, it is because He loves us. God wants to save us. It was King Jehoiakim’s stubborn bent on doing evil that brought about his demise. He threw God’s Word into a fireplace. He burnt the script, but God’s Word still came to pass.
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for warning signals. Please grant that our hearts will be tender and that our ears will be attentive to what You say. We pray for our governmental leaders that they do not disregard You and Your Word the Bible to their own demise and to the demise of our nation. Please help both them and us to heed Your warning signals. To regard Your Word, the Bible, as true and infallible. For it is in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.”
[1] Jeremiah 36:21-23
[2] 2 Chronicles 36:5-6
Saturday, October 13, 2018
Conversion Is Necessary
The Lord suffers long with sinners but will execute judgment when there is no repentance of sin.
“This is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early, and speaking, but you have not listened. And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.’” [1]
The Lord speaks to those who are heading for destruction in hope that they will turn to Him and be saved. God can replace an evil heart with a good heart, but the sinner must ask God to forgive his or her sin, and to grant him or her a new heart. [2]
The people of Jeremiah’s day preferred to stay close to sin and far from God. This did not end well for them. An evil tyrant named Nebuchadnezzar rose up. He displaced, slaughtered, and impoverished them. [3] The evil that they reaped was greater than they sowed.
God is a whole-hearted lover. His essence is love. His loving heart can only bear with defiant and evil behavior for so long. Jeremiah told the people, “Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you.” [4]
The people preferred the preaching of false prophets over God’s truth-telling prophet. Jeremiah told them, “Do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’” [5]
Babylon was to the Jews of Jeremiah’s day as hell is to people of our days. It was a topic no one wanted to talk about and a future possibility everyone wanted to doubt. Jeremiah prophesied by the Word of the Lord that Babylon was going to destroy his nation if they did not repent and turn back to God. No one wanted to hear or take action on his message.
Today, the mission of the Church is to tell people that there is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain. Jesus spoke of hell more than any other person in the Bible. He spoke of it as a real place with real suffering. He was willing to become a real sacrifice for the sins of us people to save us from it. He also spoke of heaven as a real and wonderful place.
Salvation from sin always begins with repentance and faith in Christ. There must be conversion. “Heavenly Father, please give us the necessary boldness to warn those who are heading towards destruction, and please grant our listeners the grace to listen to us and be converted unto You.”
[1] Jeremiah 25:3-5
[2] James 4:7
[3] Jeremiah 25:8-28
[4] Jeremiah 26:13
[5] Jeremiah 27:9
“This is the twenty-third year in which the word of the Lord has come to me; and I have spoken to you, rising early, and speaking, but you have not listened. And the Lord has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, ‘Repent now everyone of his evil way and his evil doings, and dwell in the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.’” [1]
The Lord speaks to those who are heading for destruction in hope that they will turn to Him and be saved. God can replace an evil heart with a good heart, but the sinner must ask God to forgive his or her sin, and to grant him or her a new heart. [2]
The people of Jeremiah’s day preferred to stay close to sin and far from God. This did not end well for them. An evil tyrant named Nebuchadnezzar rose up. He displaced, slaughtered, and impoverished them. [3] The evil that they reaped was greater than they sowed.
God is a whole-hearted lover. His essence is love. His loving heart can only bear with defiant and evil behavior for so long. Jeremiah told the people, “Now therefore, amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; then the Lord will relent concerning the doom that He has pronounced against you.” [4]
The people preferred the preaching of false prophets over God’s truth-telling prophet. Jeremiah told them, “Do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, or your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’” [5]
Babylon was to the Jews of Jeremiah’s day as hell is to people of our days. It was a topic no one wanted to talk about and a future possibility everyone wanted to doubt. Jeremiah prophesied by the Word of the Lord that Babylon was going to destroy his nation if they did not repent and turn back to God. No one wanted to hear or take action on his message.
Today, the mission of the Church is to tell people that there is a hell to shun and a heaven to gain. Jesus spoke of hell more than any other person in the Bible. He spoke of it as a real place with real suffering. He was willing to become a real sacrifice for the sins of us people to save us from it. He also spoke of heaven as a real and wonderful place.
Salvation from sin always begins with repentance and faith in Christ. There must be conversion. “Heavenly Father, please give us the necessary boldness to warn those who are heading towards destruction, and please grant our listeners the grace to listen to us and be converted unto You.”
[1] Jeremiah 25:3-5
[2] James 4:7
[3] Jeremiah 25:8-28
[4] Jeremiah 26:13
[5] Jeremiah 27:9
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Incentives To Repent
“The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.” [1]
God has great love for people. He tries from so many angles and methods to get us to repent of sin and to turn to Him. This is why the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ into the world. He knew that we needed a Redeemer. A Savior from sin! He knew that His goodness towards sinners would be a better incentive for us to trust Him than His pending judgments.
“Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” [2]
“Dear Heavenly Father, You who gave Your only begotten Son to die for us on the cross to take the consequences of the sins that we have committed against You and others. Please let Your Gospel be heard throughout the world today. Only through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ and through the infilling power of the Holy Spirit will the people of nations change. Help us to be Your mouths, hands, and feet as Jeremiah was to Jerusalem, for it is in the Name of Your Son Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.”
[1] Jeremiah 18:7-10
[2] Romans 2:4
God has great love for people. He tries from so many angles and methods to get us to repent of sin and to turn to Him. This is why the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ into the world. He knew that we needed a Redeemer. A Savior from sin! He knew that His goodness towards sinners would be a better incentive for us to trust Him than His pending judgments.
“Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” [2]
“Dear Heavenly Father, You who gave Your only begotten Son to die for us on the cross to take the consequences of the sins that we have committed against You and others. Please let Your Gospel be heard throughout the world today. Only through faith in Your Son Jesus Christ and through the infilling power of the Holy Spirit will the people of nations change. Help us to be Your mouths, hands, and feet as Jeremiah was to Jerusalem, for it is in the Name of Your Son Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.”
[1] Jeremiah 18:7-10
[2] Romans 2:4
Saturday, October 6, 2018
Living on the Cutting-edge for Christ
“Even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.’” [1]
The Ott’s, the Page’s, the Dinwittie’s, Art and Pastor Meyer… what did these people have in common? They all had a personal relationship with God. God was real to them, and they wanted God to be real to those around them. I was just a teenager then. I remember thinking, “How do they tolerate being treated like they are weird? Everybody’s trying to fit in, but they’re purposely whole-heartedly going after Jesus, and they don’t seem to care if people think that they are weird.”
Well, fast forward a few years, and guess what? God made Himself real to me too. I wanted the world to know about Jesus. On the extreme spectrum of responses to my sharing about Jesus with people, I met one man who threatened to beat me with a baseball bat and another who threatened to shoot me with a gun. These men had so much pent-up anger in them towards God. The last thing they wanted to happen in their day was to meet a Jesus-person. So, they took out their anger towards “god” and towards religion on me. Thankfully, the Lord spared me from harm on both accounts.
Is being insulted for the sake of trying to help others a bad thing? Apparently not, because even Jesus experienced reproach for the sake of trying to bring the Kingdom of God to people here on earth. Besides, sometimes the people who are experiencing the greatest frustration and anger with God are the very ones who are so close to falling in love with Him. They just need the right person to show up at the right moment in their life, and they will receive Christ, be forever changed, and be forever saved. …And THEY, like ME, will join the growing number of people who have experienced the REAL GOD not religion. Praise the Lord!
[1] Romans 15:3
The Ott’s, the Page’s, the Dinwittie’s, Art and Pastor Meyer… what did these people have in common? They all had a personal relationship with God. God was real to them, and they wanted God to be real to those around them. I was just a teenager then. I remember thinking, “How do they tolerate being treated like they are weird? Everybody’s trying to fit in, but they’re purposely whole-heartedly going after Jesus, and they don’t seem to care if people think that they are weird.”
Well, fast forward a few years, and guess what? God made Himself real to me too. I wanted the world to know about Jesus. On the extreme spectrum of responses to my sharing about Jesus with people, I met one man who threatened to beat me with a baseball bat and another who threatened to shoot me with a gun. These men had so much pent-up anger in them towards God. The last thing they wanted to happen in their day was to meet a Jesus-person. So, they took out their anger towards “god” and towards religion on me. Thankfully, the Lord spared me from harm on both accounts.
Is being insulted for the sake of trying to help others a bad thing? Apparently not, because even Jesus experienced reproach for the sake of trying to bring the Kingdom of God to people here on earth. Besides, sometimes the people who are experiencing the greatest frustration and anger with God are the very ones who are so close to falling in love with Him. They just need the right person to show up at the right moment in their life, and they will receive Christ, be forever changed, and be forever saved. …And THEY, like ME, will join the growing number of people who have experienced the REAL GOD not religion. Praise the Lord!
[1] Romans 15:3
Monday, October 1, 2018
Christ Not Barabbas
“At that time, they [the Romans] had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they [the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem] had gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that they had handed Him over because of envy. The governor answered and said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” [1]
“They [the crowd and leaders gathered at the hearing] said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.” [2]
“The Roman legions surrounded the city [of Jerusalem] and began to slowly squeeze the life out of the Jewish stronghold. By the year 70, the attackers had breached Jerusalem's outer walls and began a systematic ransacking of the city. The assault culminated in the burning and destruction of the Temple that served as the center of Judaism.
In victory, the Romans slaughtered thousands. Of those sparred from death: thousands more were enslaved and sent to toil in the mines of Egypt, others were dispersed to arenas throughout the Empire to be butchered for the amusement of the public. The Temple's sacred relics were taken to Rome where they were displayed in celebration of the victory.” [3]
Preferring a criminal and Caesar over Christ did not yield a happy ending for the people of Jerusalem. I believe this principal is true for any nation.
“Lord Jesus, please grant the nations (and my nation of America) good discernment of who to follow and who to abandon for the good of all concerned. I especially pray this for our children, grandchildren, and our descendants to come.”
[1] Matthew 27:16-18, 21
[2] John 19:15-16
[3] http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jewishtemple.htm
“They [the crowd and leaders gathered at the hearing] said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away.” [2]
“The Roman legions surrounded the city [of Jerusalem] and began to slowly squeeze the life out of the Jewish stronghold. By the year 70, the attackers had breached Jerusalem's outer walls and began a systematic ransacking of the city. The assault culminated in the burning and destruction of the Temple that served as the center of Judaism.
In victory, the Romans slaughtered thousands. Of those sparred from death: thousands more were enslaved and sent to toil in the mines of Egypt, others were dispersed to arenas throughout the Empire to be butchered for the amusement of the public. The Temple's sacred relics were taken to Rome where they were displayed in celebration of the victory.” [3]
Preferring a criminal and Caesar over Christ did not yield a happy ending for the people of Jerusalem. I believe this principal is true for any nation.
“Lord Jesus, please grant the nations (and my nation of America) good discernment of who to follow and who to abandon for the good of all concerned. I especially pray this for our children, grandchildren, and our descendants to come.”
[1] Matthew 27:16-18, 21
[2] John 19:15-16
[3] http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/jewishtemple.htm
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