As a child of God, it is your duty to understand how to bring praise and worship to the LORD as a sacrifice to him. Worshipping our God should not only give you joy but also bring joy to our incredible God and to our Lord, Jesus Christ.
The past two years have been a whirlwind for all of us. I don’t have to write it to remind you of the turmoil that our world has been in. In this historic time, its natural for us to become down–depressed even. It’s easy to think that hope is lost.
This week, I encourage you to remember that we have a never failing — never ending — hope. In this series, I remind you of who you are– who God has made you to be — a worshipper for him. Our King has never lost a battle. He never will. I remind you that this world is going to fail you–it’s not the Kingdom of God. But, I urge you to remember that his kingdom is coming. Let’s worship while we wait for our coming King.
We call out to Dry Bones – Come Alive…
Each day, I am going to relate this devotion to a song in worship that connects to the scriptures we are focusing on. Today our song is, “Come Alive” by Lauren Daigle. I hope this song fills your heart as much as it does mine.
“Come Alive” is taken from Ezekiel 37.
3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” Ezekiel 37:3-6
God always has a way of showing up doesn’t he? Our God is never late. And he proves that over and over again. In Ezekiel 37, we see a picture of hopelessness. I envision these bones to be turning to dust. If I saw this, I would be drawn toward the idea of death—nothingness—pure loss. But, somehow Ezekiel sees these bones as an opportunity for God.
Ezekiel calls upon the LORD to make something out of what seems like nothing. The prophet believed so deeply in the giver of life that he had the courage to ask God to renew life in these bones!
As a modern-day believer, I become convicted when I open my Bible and get a taste of the spiritual confidence that the men and women of the scriptures had. They didn’t just see and hear— they ran forward in action!
After Ezekiel makes this act of faith, we see that these bones weren’t nothing! They belonged to the people of Israel. Before Ezekiel’s eyes, stood the men and women who sacrificed it all in order to achieve freedom. And, they did.
Okay, I get where your head is likely going… “Les, what dry bones do I have that need to come alive?”
For us, these scriptures are less about physical resurrection and more about being wholly rejuvenated in Spirit. How many people–this may include yourself–are giving the bare minimum for God? How many of you feel how hard it is to get up on Sunday morning? How many of you are simply…tired?
This feeling is what leads us to having spiritually dry bones.
We have to ask God to make us alive again in him. And we must pray for our spiritual brothers and sisters that they do the same.
“We call out to dry bones, come alive, come alive.”
My prayer for you this Sunday is that you become spiritually alive – totally revived. I pray for your churches this morning, and for your pastors. Let us ask God to fill us with the breath of life–in order to be renewed, and to be strong once again.
-Leslie Jones
Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway.com here – Ezekiel 37-38 and Psalm 123-125
When you think of a strong person what do you picture? Do you envision an Olympic weightlifter holding an impossibly heavy barbell over their head? Or maybe you go the route of imagining a superhero trying to hold back a speeding train. While these examples do show strength, we need to remember that there is more to strength than flexing a muscle. More than brute strength is needed to have victory over evil.
In today’s passage, David continues to trust in God’s strength and might no matter the circumstance. As David seems to go through a rollercoaster of emotions, he doesn’t wavier in his trust that God will be victorious at the end of the day. I love what it says in Psalm 108:12 in the Good News Translation, “Help us against the enemy; human help is worthless.” David is gearing up for a battle and has an army by his side yet he is humble enough to recognize that compared to God’s strength, his army and any other human help is worthless. If King David was able to humbly recognize that the only way to victory is through God, we should be able to do the same.
God promises that we will ultimately be victorious over evil if we walk in His ways and accept the gift of His Son. Psalm 110:1 gives us a clear picture of what God has planned for the future. This verse might seem repetitive at a glance, but as we look closer we can see that the first LORD is in all caps which means its referencing God while the second Lord that is not in all caps references the Messiah who we know as Jesus. By placing Jesus at His right hand, God is putting His son in a position of authority until the time comes for Jesus to rule over the nations after which will come the Kingdom of God. With all the craziness going on in our world, it’s refreshing to know that God has a plan for us to have victory over evil through Him.
Today I’d like to leave you with the lyrics from a praise and worship song we like to sing at Garden Park. Remember that no matter how dark it may seem, God has a plan and He will be victorious.
“See A Victory” by Elevation Worship
“The weapon may be formed, but it won’t prosper
When the darkness falls, it won’t prevail
‘Cause the God I serve knows only how to triumph
My God will never fail …
I’m gonna see a victory
I’m gonna see a victory
For the Battle belongs to you Lord.”
-Bill Dunn
Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Ezekiel 17-18 and Psalm 108-110
Accomplished athletes, musicians and artists alike are often asked what it means to be “in the zone”. In psychology circles, being “in the zone” is referred to a state of flow – when an individual is completely absorbed in doing a challenging, yet doable, task. They are somehow able to shut out all of the external noise and distraction to focus on the very present moment to do one thing.
Performers and entertainers are not the only ones who are able to find their flow. Scientists and mathematicians; emergency responders; and everyday average Joes like you and me are able to concentrate so intently on a task that time just seems to slip away and we find ourselves doing something extraordinary.
As I meditated on Lamentations chapters three through five, I couldn’t help but be bombarded with how devastated the author was over losing their home, being held in captivity, and witnessing depravity all around him.
And yet, right in the middle of all those laments, there are these verses that stand out, that give hope and encouragement.
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore
I will wait for him.”
The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him;
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Lamentations 3:21-26
How is it that the author, in the midst of all the calamity, is able to break out these words of great expectation?
Maybe, the author was just for a moment, able to quiet his thoughts and instead of focusing on the turmoil he and the other captives were facing, meditated on God’s character. As he penned these words, he found himself in a state of flow of sorts.
Whenever we find ourselves in difficult situations, it is so easy to concentrate on all that is wrong; all that pains us; all that is overwhelming.
But what if, instead, we were able to quiet our minds, to completely block out all of the negativity, and just simply rest in the quietness of God’s character: his love, his compassion, his grace and mercy, his forgiveness, his holiness, his faithfulness.
This is the space where we are able to renew our hope, to find the strength to dig deep and do the hard things, to press on through the challenge having complete confidence that God is ultimately on our side; that He is bigger, greater, higher than anyone or anything that we may be facing.
If you are in the middle of a difficult circumstance, you may be tempted to lament all day long to anyone who is willing to listen. Instead, I urge you to refocus your thoughts and “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things”. (Colossians 3:2) Find yourself in God’s flow zone. Here you will experience the peace that passes all understanding.
-Bethany Ligon
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Lamentations 3-5 and 1 Peter 1
Whenever I see a post on my social newsfeed that features images of abandoned buildings, especially amusement parks, I go ahead and click on it to scroll through the photos. I am always intrigued with what I see: carousels with missing horses; buildings with broken window panes; rusted park rides; overgrown weeds winding their way through what used to be “Main Street”.
To think that these amusement parks used to be the location of families creating memories, friends laughing with one another, people being thrilled have now turned into deserted playgrounds creates a sadness over what used to be.
As I read through the first two chapters of Lamentations, I get a similar feeling of sadness because I cannot help but think about how Jerusalem was described at its apex of prosperity. If you have a few extra minutes, go back and read 1 Kings 10. King Solomon had completed building the temple and his palaces and in this chapter it states that silver was considered of little value (1 Kings 10:21). God’s people truly were experiencing the Promised Land, the land overflowing with milk and honey. If there were a time in history to visit, this would be it!
And 400-ish years later, Jerusalem falls and its inhabitants are taken into captivity in Babylon. God’s Presence literally left the building and the city, as well as its walls, are left to erode.
As Believers, you and I are filled with God’s Spirit. We are meant to be thriving and living life abundantly. Sure we have seasons of struggle, but overall, we get to experience God’s blessings NOW and have an even greater hope for eternity. Think of it like the days of Solomon where prosperity rules.
Let’s learn the lesson from these two chapters in Lamentations. Let us not find ourselves losing our inheritance due to disobedience. Let us not become like an abandoned place that is left to devastation. Instead, let us focus on being diligent with our studies of Scripture and allowing God to be ruler of our lives.
-Bethany Ligon
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Lamentations 1 & 2 and James 5
Following God and obeying His will does not mean that we will have a life free of problems as we can see from so many of the stories in the Bible. It does mean that God is with us as we go through the hard times. Sometimes life is harder for us when we tell others what God wants them to hear. As we read Jeremiah 33 & 34, we see that this is true for Jeremiah. Jeremiah is still imprisoned by King Zedekiah and Jeremiah is still obeying and trusting in God and telling them what God has told him to say. In Jeremiah 33:2-3a it says “This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to create it, He whose name is the Lord: ‘Call to Me and I will answer you,‘” Isn’t it amazing that the God who created the universe wants us to call out to Him, and it’s equally amazing that He WILL answer. We all have hard times that we go through, but we can call out to our Father and He will walk with us through the hard times. But He wants us (and the Israelites & Judeans) to know that there is a bright future when all the hardships will be over and we will live in joy and peace.
It says in Jeremiah 33:11b “Give thanks to the Lord of armies, for the Lord is good, for His mercy is everlasting,” God is a good God and His mercies are everlasting, and He has a great future in store for His children. God reminds them that a day is coming when His word will be fulfilled. In Jeremiah 33:14-16 we have a prophecy about Jesus and it says; “Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch of David sprout; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety; and this is the name by which it will be called: the Lord is our righteousness.’”
In Chapter 34 God tells Jeremiah to tell King Zedekiah that Babylon will come in and take over and he will meet King Nebuchadnezzar face to face, but he says that the king would not die by the sword but that he would die in peace. As we learn in the rest of the chapter that is exactly what happened.
We have all seen commercials about something that is “New and Improved,” which means that something was not as good as it should have been or there would be no need for improvement. Hebrews 8 is all about a new covenant that has been established through Jesus, our sacrificial lamb, and now our high priest. The reason there had to be a new covenant was because the first one was not faultless, but the new covenant is. Hebrews 8:1 “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, without fault.” Jesus was the perfect sacrificial lamb, without fault or blemish. We have read some of these verses already because they were taken from Jeremiah 31:33. Anytime a verse is used in both the Old and New Testament, we should pay attention to what it says. Hebrews 8:10-11. “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, And write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they will not teach, each one his fellow citizen, and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.” God is constantly working in our lives because He is a God of love, He loves His children, and He wants to be our God, and for us to be His people.
-Sherry Alcumbrack
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Jeremiah 33-34 and Hebrews 8
Our family loves camping and finding new places to hike or kayak through God’s beautiful world. The variety of his creation is truly amazing! Desert, forest, plains, mountain, ocean. We love them all and the chance to explore a new little corner of His world we haven’t seen yet. And, along the way, trying to capture a photo to remind us of the beauty and creativity we had the privilege to see.
Psalm 104 is a beautiful poem of creation. I would love to make a photo book or photo wall with pictures from our family hikes and travels depicting each verse and phrase.
“He wraps himself in light as with a garment” (vs 2) – sunshine blazing in all His glory
“he stretches out the heavens like a tent” (vs 2) – expansive blue sky from horizon to horizon
“He makes the clouds his chariot” (vs 3) – white and multi-shades of gray amazing textured rolling clouds with shafts of sunlight shining through with the brilliant blue sky behind
“He makes springs pour water into the ravines” – hot springs bubbling from the ground and flowing down the mountain side
You get the idea. There would be photos of waterfalls, lightening, mountaintops, ocean waves on the shore, rainstorms, the moon, plants and animals, sunrises, sea creatures, and people. Each one accompanied with God’s text.
I recently taught a unit on creation to the adorable children in children’s church. And it was so much fun spending a week (or more) on each aspect of God’s amazing creation. We brought in shells and rocks and leaves and bird feathers to touch and play with. We matched plant photos to foods we eat and counted plant products in ingredient labels. (Do you know how many plants are in a box of Cheerios or mac’n cheese?) We classified plants and animals and brought in a bird expert. We watched videos and explored books on clouds and planets and sea creatures and the animal kingdom and the incredible human body. And all the things that we take for granted everyday.
Not only is God’s world a beautiful world – but so incredibly functional, too! He thought of EVERYTHING! The more I learn of science and the human body in particular, the more I am amazed at His creation.
I have never made anything nearly as intricate or useful as the smallest, tiniest, most simplistic, most ‘insignificant’ part of God’s creation. But, I do like to create quilts – little scraps of colored fabric (which came from a cotton plant) sewn together in patterns to make a cozy cover to bring comfort and warmth. I can’t imagine how I would feel if I were to meet someone who explained that those quilts just came to be one day – that it grew from nothing and became strings that wove themselves together and the fabrics cut themselves into the perfect shapes and even stitches magically formed just as they were needed to piece the top together and the materials used to create the final layered project appeared at just the right time and space and lined up just so to automatically go through the final steps to create my quilt. Foolishness. It is foolishness that leaves out the thought, intention, desire, creativity, vision, purpose and ability of me, the quilt creator. Or, equally painful – maybe they would give all the credit for the making of the quilt to another.
It makes sense that the Creator of the Heavens and Earth wants us to enjoy and admire His creation – and give Him all the credit He so much deserves. But, what happens when people don’t? What happens when they take away the glory that belongs to God and call it chance instead or give it to another? What happens when they refuse to listen to God’s words – the first recorded words being – “Let there be light”? What happens when they attribute God’s creation to another? We see in the book of Jeremiah. “These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless!” Jeremiah goes on in today’s reading to describe the drought, famine and sword that will be used in judgment of those who have stubbornly turned from God. Jeremiah 14 ends with God telling Jeremiah to speak to the people, telling them to acknowledge their guilt and wickedness and sins against Him and ask God to remember His covenant. The final verse of chapter 14 says,
“Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.” (vs 22 NIV)
Not only did Our Great God create this world for us – He made a covenant with us – He has power still today – and He holds out a blessed hope for those who acknowledge and worship Him for all He has done, is doing and will do.
Thank you God for your incredible Creation – help me see and appreciate each amazing part!
Thank you God for the rains today – help me see you at work today!
Thank you God for the hope you set before those who believe and worship you alone – a New Heavens and Earth that will be beyond all we can ever dream or imagine!
You are our hope – for you are the one who does all this!
-Marcia Railton
You can read or listen to today’s Bible reading passages at BibleGateway.com here – Jeremiah 13-14 and Psalm 104
Over 100 years ago Eleanor Porter wrote the children’s novel, Pollyanna. I like the version Disney did in the 1960’s starring Haley Mills as Pollyanna Whittier, a young girl, the daughter of missionary parents who both died. She moved to a new town to live with her rich but stern Aunt Polly (Fun Fact, in the Disney Movie Aunt Polly is played by Jane Wyman, an actress who was President Ronald Reagan’s first wife- I have a lot of trivial information in my head, sorry).
Pollyanna’s minister/missionary father had taught Pollyanna to play the “glad game” as a way of coping with life’s challenges. Essentially, she learned that no matter what happens, you should always look on the bright side. Essentially, it’s a way of life that is exceedingly optimistic in every situation. Throughout the story Pollyanna met neighbors in challenging situations and preached her gospel of positivity and as a result changed lives and made her town a much more positive place to live.
In a particularly memorable scene Pollyanna brought her positivity message to the local pastor who, at her dour Aunt Polly’s behest, had been giving his congregation a steady diet of fire and brimstone, anti-positivity. Pollyanna encouraged him to notice and begin preaching the “glad texts” of the Bible. He, listened to her counsel, changed his preaching to become more positive, and everyone in the Church became much happier. There’s more to the story, but that’s the part that is relevant to our conversation.
During the last 30 years there has been a revolution in psychology. In the past, psychologists and counselors focused on psychological pathology, all the things that are wrong: anxiety, depression, shame, anger, addiction, poor relationships etc… From Freud onwards psychiatrists were trained to dig into a person’s past to find the cause of their neurotic thoughts and behaviors. But positive psychology introduced the benefits of focusing on positive thoughts and behaviors like gratitude, hope and other glad things. This corresponds historically with a more positive oriented approach to preaching. Many pastors traded in fire and brimstone sermons warning people against sin and judgement for more positive messages. Norman Vincent Peale, founder of Guidepost magazine, wrote “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Robert Schuller, famous TV preacher of the 70’s-90’s, preached a gospel of positive thinking. Many preachers began preaching a prosperity gospel. Joel Osteen is popular today because of Norman Vincent Peale and Robert Schuller and others like them.
So the question at hand is, which is more biblical, the hellfire and brimstone preacher who speaks against sin and calls people to repent, or the positive thinking pastor who focuses on preaching all of the “glad texts” in the Bible and ignores icky verses that talk about sin and judgment? I think the answer is both, or better yet, neither.
I like the old expression that says that the preacher’s job is to “comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.” Solomon said it pretty well in Ecclesiastes 3- there’s a time and a season for everything. Sometimes preachers need to say hard things and issue dire warnings to their hearers. Sometimes preachers need to give words of comfort and encouragement. Jesus gives examples of this. Sometimes Jesus got angry and called his listeners, a.k.a. the Pharisees, a “brood of vipers”. Another time Jesus told a woman caught in adultery that he did not condemn her, while telling her also to not sin anymore. Jesus showed that one can be both firm and compassionate as they speak for God.
Today’s reading in Jeremiah 7-8 has a clear absence of the “happy texts” that Pollyanna was so fond of noticing:
“This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!’ If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.”
“‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, ‘We are safe’—safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” -Jeremiah 7:3-11.
God criticized their priests:
“They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.”- Jeremiah 8:11
I love Pollyanna and her innocent joyful optimism. We all need a good dose of Pollyanna to get us through hard times. But at the same time, we need to balance that with a good dose of reality and hard truth as well. We need to hear how important it is to be grateful and have hope, we need to hear how forgiving and merciful God is. And… we need to be reminded that God absolutely hates certain things and is going to bring an end to sinful actions and that those who do not repent and turn away from pursuing a life in rebellion against God will face judgment. Some of the priests in the time of Jeremiah were giving false assurance to the people. They were wrongly assuring them that because they were God’s chosen people who worshipped at the right place, the temple, and came from the right family, descendants of Abraham through his son Isaac, that it really didn’t matter how they lived their lives, they were okay with God. They were giving false hope and false assurance. “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” –Jeremiah 8:11.
Part of my ministry is in the hospital. Sometimes people who are in the hospital are sick and will probably get better. Sometimes people who are in the hospital are sick and will probably NOT get better. Sometimes the doctor has to tell people hard things like, “if you don’t quit your… smoking, drinking, injecting heroin, allowing your diabetes to go uncontrolled, etc… you will probably die sooner than later.” Do people like hearing those things? Nope. But if the doctor simply said to them- “You’ll be fine, just keep doing what you’re doing” that would be malpractice. Doctors need to tell people the truth. So do pastors. So do all Christians.
So as you read through your Bible, I hope you will notice all of the “glad texts” like today’s Psalm 97:1 “The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad”.
And also pay attention to the “not so glad texts” like “So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.”-Jeremiah 7:32-34
Thank you for reading both the glad and not so glad texts of the Bible with me this week. I hope that God will use all of it to help you grow as a faithful disciple of Jesus.
Jeff Fletcher
You can read or listen to today’s Bible reading passages at BibleGateway.com here – Jeremiah 7-8 and Psalm 96-98
There’s a story in Genesis 18 that is kind of amusing to me (and also tragic). After God promised Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son in their old age he basically tells Abraham, “I’m going to go destroy Sodom and Gomorrah because of their great sin.” That’s not the part that’s amusing. Abraham knows that his nephew Lot and his family are living in Sodom and Gomorrah and he’s trying to persuade God not to destroy the whole city. “What about the good people in Sodom? Are you going to kill them along with all the bad people? What if there are 50 good people in Sodom, will you spare the city?” God agrees with Abraham’s request, “If you can find 50 good people in Sodom I won’t destroy it.” This is the part that I find amusing… Abraham starts to negotiate with God in the way someone might try to negotiate buying a used car. “What about 45 good people?” God says “Ok, I won’t destroy it for 45 good people.” Abraham keeps negotiating until he talks God down to 10. If there are only 10 good people to be found in Sodom, God will not destroy it. (Abraham is one fine negotiator)
Sodom is so bad it can’t even reach that low bar. God rescues Lot and his 2 daughters and everyone else dies (including Lot’s wife who turned back and became a pillar of salt.)
In today’s reading we’re not in Sodom, we’re in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the city of God where the Temple and all its priests and religious leaders worked. Jerusalem, where the King and all his government served. You would think that with all of these important leaders of religion and government there would be lots of good people in Jerusalem, and you would be wrong. In Jeremiah 5 God says:
“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the truth, I will forgive this city.”
When I was a kid, back when music was great, Three Dog Night had a song called “One is the Loneliest Number”. (Go ahead, if you’re under 50 go check out the song on You Tube, I’ll wait).
Welcome back! God is making an offer even better than the one he made to Abraham about Sodom. 1. If you can find just one person in Jerusalem that is honest and seeks the truth, he will forgive the whole city. That would be like today God saying “Go to Washington DC. If you can find one honest person in the whole city, I’ll spare the city.” Well, maybe we can imagine that. So apparently Jerusalem was Washington DC level corrupt. Now, with politicians we can kind of get it. But this was also the religious leaders, the priests and heads of religion. Surely they were all honest seekers of truth, right? (No, I’m not biased even though I’ve been a professional clergy for the entirety of my adult life, over 35 years). Come to think of it…. “Houston, we have a problem.”
There was not a king nor a priest nor anyone else who was righteous or cared about the truth. And so Jerusalem was toast.
But here’s the good news. God sent His son, Jesus, to Jerusalem. He was the one true and righteous king. He was the one priest who cared about truth. Of course, they killed him, but God raised him. And Jesus is the only way that we can find salvation. He is our righteous messiah and holy high priest. (See Hebrews).
Jeremiah paints a painful but honest picture of the brokenness of human beings. It helps set the stage for Jesus as the true and only one able to save us. Keep this in mind as you read Jeremiah 5-6 today. It was bad, it may get badder, but one day all will be well again.
I will end with a portion of Psalm 95 “Today, if only you would hear his voice, Do not harden your hearts…” Seriously, don’t harden your heart, let Jesus in.
Jeff Fletcher
Today’s Bible reading passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Jeremiah 5-6 and Psalm 94-95
I am excited to dig deeper into God’s word with you this week as we go through some chapters in Isaiah, 2 Thessalonians, and 1 Timothy! I have to be honest with you… I am never “looking forward” to writing these devotions when the time comes. However, I am always so surprised and happy with how God speaks to me while I write to you, so each year when the wonderful Marcia asks for writers, I will never turn her down! I imagine that this year will be no different
We are going to start this week off in Isaiah, chapters 33 and 34. The first chunk of Isaiah is mainly discussing destruction, purification (not really a fun process), and God’s vengeance. What I find so interesting about the prophecies of the Old Testament is that we often look at them through the lens of our current age, yet so many of these destruction prophecies seem to apply to our world across generations and generations. People have been going through cycles of brokenness throughout all of existence! These prophecies to broken people in Isaiah’s day applied in the moment just as much as they apply to our lives today. Thankfully, the prophecy of hope will also apply!
In chapter 33 Isaiah is describing a sad, sinful, and broken world. There are destroyers, traitors, broken agreements, despised cities, no ways to travel, and human life has been disregarded. Sounds pretty familiar to me. In verse 10 God starts to speak, and OH MAN does it get exciting. From this perspective Isaiah describes God essentially smack-talking the kingdoms of that day and putting them in their place, under Him, and shares how His people (the righteous) will be blessed and safe, also in their place as citizens to a just and majestic King. We are told that everyone who dwells in this Kingdom will be forgiven of all their sins (v. 24). Visualize that AMAZING day and tell me it’s not something you want to be part of!!
In chapter 34 Isaiah explains all the emptiness and evilness that will be in Edom, a nation “set apart for destruction” (v. 5) after God has had His day of vengeance. This idea can seem confusing, especially if we don’t take the overall context into account. Here’s a quick recap of what we know about Edom based on the Bible: God had given the land to Esau, the nation of Israel and the nation of Edom were active enemies, Isaiah prophesied about Edom’s destruction (as we see here) and multiple other books of prophets describe the same eventual ruin, Edom was attacked multiple times, and this prophecy eventually came to pass when King Amaziah slaughtered the nation in 2 Chronicles, even though the people were not officially wiped out until King Herod (that guy that tried to kill Jesus as a baby) died. While this still doesn’t completely answer my questions of “Why Edom?”, it does give that much more credibility to the prophets and to God following through with what He says he will do. In my quick research of Edom to provide the recap, I came across some notes of people who had more recently traveled to the ruins of Edom and described the deserted space filled with ‘unclean’ wild animals, just as God says it will be forever, from generation to generation (v. 17).
We also see God’s consistency in judgement in our verses from 2 Thessalonians today! We are told that God will show vengeance to those who don’t know Him and to the people who afflict His righteous citizens (v. 6 & 8). Our broken world has not changed, and neither has God’s opinion on how to handle it.
I am not going to pretend that God’s plans and purpose for the world always make sense to me. But I am always convinced that God follows through on everything He says, and I do trust that it all has a plan and purpose, even when it doesn’t make sense. Our world has always been broken (since the fall of man that is…), and God has always had a plan, and that plan has always included a way out for the righteous. How lucky are we to be living in the age of brokenness that has the opportunity to experience salvation in such a grace-filled way?
The rest of this week we will continue to dive into scripture and see that our brokenness isn’t all that new, and our hope is closer now than ever!
-Sarah (Blanchard) Johnson
Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened at BibleGateway here – Isaiah 33-34 and 2 Thessalonians 1
There is so much Paul still wants to say as he is wrapping up his first (recorded) letter to the Thessalonians. Perhaps the mailman is standing at the door ready to take the letter as Paul is finishing up. His writing style is often long winding sentences with many phrases linked together in what English teachers would now call run-on sentences. But he doesn’t have time for that today. He switches to short powerful sentences. “Be joyful always. Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). He has a lot to pack into his final instructions. Many of them deal with specifics on how to please God and how to love others (our two categories from the previous chapter that we are to do more and more). So, read them carefully and take note of how you are doing in these categories.
Paul also takes a final opportunity to remind them/us of the coming day of the Lord. Paul says this day will bring surprise destruction for many. It also becomes a great time to teach a bit on God’s character. Paul writes, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” This reminds me of a beautiful passage from our reading in Isaiah yesterday, “Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” (Isaiah 30:18). God longs to see His people saved from the coming destruction. In the time of Isaiah. In the time of Paul. And, in our time. God longs to see His people saved from the coming destruction, but that does not mean that there won’t be a coming destruction for those who have turned their backs on Him, rejecting Him and His Son.
In Isaiah 31 we read of trouble and God’s judgment coming to the wicked and to those who have turned from God. He denounces those who see they need help – but turn to human allies or their own strength instead of turning to God. They have failed to wait on the LORD, and for them, judgment is coming. God’s perfect plan of salvation requires His children to seek God and accept the salvation offered through His Son Jesus. A response on your part is required to avoid the coming wrath and receive salvation instead.
I will end today, as each of the chapters of 1st Thessalonians have ended, with a reminder of the coming return of Christ. “May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.” (1 Thesssalonians 5:23-24).
-Marcia Railton
Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway.com here – Isaiah 31-32 and 1 Thessalonians 5
Seek Grow Love 