Victory in Christ

Jeremiah brought commands from God to King Zedekiah, but the king doubted the plan. “King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the LORD in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared.” (Jeremiah 38:19-20) Sometimes like King Zedekiah we may not understand God’s plan, but His plan is always better than anything we could do on our own. We are not promised a life without pain and suffering, but if we are like Jeremiah and put our full trust and obedience in Him we will be saved. “For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the LORD.’” (Jeremiah 39:18)

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 32-34

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Even though they were God’s chosen people, at times the Jews were extremely disobedient to Him. During one of these periods of disobedience, the Rechabites were used as an attempt of a wake up call to the Jews. They were told to order the Rechabites to drink wine. Of course God knew how these people would respond. “We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us.” (Jeremiah 35:8-10) The obedience to their father by the descendants of Rechab is compared to the lack of obedience of the Jews to their Heavenly Father in an attempt to shame them to change. “I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.” (Jeremiah 35:15-16) God wants everyone to obey Him and He gives us plenty of opportunity, but the desire to follow Him must come from our own hearts. “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 30-31

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God spoke thru Jeremiah and listed out a lot of things that were going to happen, but verse 13 of chapter 29 is something that will work for us today as well. “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 26-29

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We may not always understand what is going on in this life, but God does. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Here He is telling His people to stay strong while they are in captivity for many years. Sometimes our patience struggles to last for a few days but He was asking them to hang on for years. The next verses give them instruction on how to stay strong. “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12-13) His plan requires diligence on our part. We are told to seek Him not with just a weak effort, but with ALL of our heart.

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 23-25

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Jeremiah repeated the words from God to the people, but that did not make him very popular. “And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die!” (Jeremiah 26:8) Jeremiah did not back down after this threat, but continued to warn the people. He was doing as God had commanded him and knew that the people needed to hear these words from God. “Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.” (Jeremiah 26:16) Jeremiah is a great example to us of not being afraid to share God’s word even when it may not be the most popular.

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 19-22

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God told Jeremiah to go down to the potter’s house and He would speak to him there. As the potter was working on a vessel and it messed up, he just reworked the clay and seemed pleased with his work. God uses this example to compare to His connection with His people. “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the LORD. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.” (Jeremiah 18:6) He gives us free will to make our own choices, but by studying His word and applying it to our lives we can be His clay.

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 14-18

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We know there is only one true God, but in the Bible we read of many false gods that were worshiped. Jehovah God was not happy anytime a false god was created. “Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods! Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD.” (Jeremiah 16:21) Throughout the Bible He used many different methods to show His power. He may not show His power in the same ways today, but He is no less powerful now as He was back then. “But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.” (Jeremiah 10:10)

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 11-13

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In Jeremiah chapter 10 the Israelites are warned about being influenced too much by those they would be living around. “Thus says the LORD: “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them,” (Jeremiah 10:2) Superstition and idolatry were prevalent in this area and He wanted them to know how He felt about those things. “They are both stupid and foolish; the instruction of idols is but wood!” (Jeremiah 10:8) Not much doubt about His feelings on this subject. After telling them all the negatives about idols and the vanities of these people, he contrasts it with the One who we know today. “But Jehovah is the true God; he is the living God, and an everlasting King: at his wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide his indignation.” (Jeremiah 10:10)

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 7-10

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The Lord wanted His people the Israelites to be close to Him. “If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, “Return to Me” (Jeremiah 4:1) He wants the same for us today. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” (James 4:8) He is always there with blessings that are immeasurable if we will just follow His word.

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 4-6

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The Lord gave Jeremiah instructions on what to tell His people. In chapter 2 of Jeremiah we read of him reminding the Israelites of many of the blessings they had received from God and the care that He had given them. His words left no question about how He felt about their forsaking Him. “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” (Jeremiah 2:12-13) Living waters would be referring to a spring of running water that never ceased. Here God is using “living waters” to mean His power and all that He provides to His people. A cistern was a container for storing water that obviously would only provide a limited supply of water. He is using the term cistern to stand for worldly things which we know are short lived. It could be idols, human pride, money, or anything that has been wrongly put ahead of love for God and service to Him. We can see His point here, why would anyone choose something that is soon to run out over something that will last for eternity.

Today’s reading: Jeremiah 1-3

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