August 1 Jeremiah 17:19-20:13 Feelings, But Then Reason

Jeremiah 20:7-13 is like a lament psalm. Jeremiah begins by telling God that He deceived Jeremiah! Jeremiah pours out how he feels about being mocked and ridiculed by the people God has him prophesying to. Jeremiah wants to stop, but God's word burns like a fire inside him that has to get out. But in the final analysis, Jeremiah trusts God implicitly. He will prevail and the stubborn people will pay. Then Jeremiah closes with an exhortation to sing to God and praise Him because God rescues the needy from the wicked.

It is ok (that is humanly normal) to get feeling of loss and worry and feel like God has abandoned us. However, godly people catch themselves by what they KNOW about God. A godly person's reason recenters them on who God really is - not how they feel at the moment in despair.

Do not be controlled by your emotions - your heart - it will lead you astray. Be anchored by what you know about God in your mind. Don't let a momentary experience shape who you are in Christ.

July 31 Jeremiah 15:10-17:18 Present Day Idol Worship

Jeremiah 16:20 Do men make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!"

For the most part, people don't go out any more today and chop down a tree to get wood to carve an idol to worship and pray to. People don't worship a physical idol of their own making. However, idol is still alive and well.

People pick and chose various tenets of religion(s) and add their own beliefs and come up with their own belief system. The only thing missing from the old days is the physical idol.

Other people believe a false religion from top to bottom - these have all been fabricated by men.

Other people don't really pay too much tome wondering about God - they instead focus on believing science, chasing wealth, pursuing their careers or education, etc. Setting aside God to chase after these things for their needs is the same as physical idol worship.

Anytime we cast the true God aside to trust in anything else for our salvation and earthly needs, this is idol worship.

What idols are you really worshiping in your life?

July 30 Jeremiah 13-15 Illustrations for the Visual Learner

God uses many different genres (narrative, poetry, etc.)  in the Bible to get at every mind, heart (emotion), and will. he also uses illustrations or picture messages. In Jeremiah 13:1-11, God uses a linen belt to make a point.

Be awake for all of God's illustrations and images that He uses in the Bible to get to you. The more that we meditate on God's Word and take time for the word to soak in, the more that we will get out of His teachings.

July 29 Jeremiah 10-12 Pleading to Deflect the LORD's Anger

In Jeremiah 10:23, Jeremiah acknowledges that a man's life is not His own. We all belong to our Creator, so our life is actually His. Accordingly, it only makes sense that our steps be directed by our Creator, God!

But the truth is that we all go our own way to varying degrees. Jeremiah prays for God to correct him. Interestingly enough, Jeremiah asks that God corrects him according to His justice, not with His righteous anger.

God's wrath could destroy us. His wrath against us for going our own way is justified. A correction from God to give us the opportunity to repent is a blessing, not a curse.

May we all respond to the truth that our lives are NOT our own - they are God's. Therefore, we must let him direct our paths.

July 28 Jeremiah 7-9 It's OK to Boast - About the LORD

Jeremiah 9:23-24 This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, Who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

There is a lot here:

• What not to boast about:
• Our worldly or secular wisdom
• Our physical strength
• Our monetary wealth
• OK to boast:
• Understands God
• Knows God
• What do we need to understand and know about God:
• He exercises kindness
• He exercises justice
• He exercises righteousness
• He delights in all of the above!

July 27 Jeremiah 5:14-6:30 Fearing God Based on Nature

Jeremiah 5:21-24 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD. 

"Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. 

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. 

They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

God is making a case for acknowledging His awesome power over all creation just by looking around and seeing nature. We can learn a lot about God and His power over us just by being observant and acknowledging that we are but a blade of temporary grass in this universe compared to the God who made this whole thing and Who sustains it all - on and on. If we stop and consider this - we will fear God in the totality of fear - terror, reverence, awe, etc.

Once we fear God, we will seek to find our place UNDER Him. He is who He says He is, NOT who we make Him out to be. We need to seek Him and our role that He created us to fall into.

All this can begin with us glorifying and praising Him through nature.

Romans 1:18-21 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Paul tells us about the absolute, utter importance of beginning to seek God (the Creator and Sustainer) by at least glorifying Him and giving thanks to Him for Who He is as Creator and Sustainer. Both Paul and Jeremiah tell us about the growth of sin that takes place when God is not glorified and thanked. Proper fear brings one to glorify and thank God for your own existence and all that is around you.

Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, wrote Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. 

Begin! Then, God will move you on.

July 26 Jeremiah 3:6-5:13 God Loves Repentors

In vv. 3:12-13, God says, "I am merciful...I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt."

God loves to see us repent! God is merciful and longs to show us mercy - when we confess our wrongs against Him. Then, He looks to purify us from that unrighteousness.

Because of our human inabilities, sinfulness, sin nature, and frailties, we will sin. But we can be purified if we confess and repent - to will ourselves to turn from our sinning ways.

There is no sin in the world worth the wrath of the Lord. There is nothing more pleasurable than being blessed by our gracious God for our obedience.

July 25 Jeremiah 1:1-3:5 The High Cost of Forsaking God

In v. 2:23, God says, "Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of Me." May we never lose the awe of God Almighty, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the ONE Who parted the Red Sea. He is the One Who has the power to throw us into hell for all eternity. May we never forsake the God Who loves us so much that He allowed His own son to die on a cross for our sins, so that He might have a just relationship with us. What could be so enticing to experience the evil and bitterness of such a decision?

July 24 Zephaniah, II Chronicles 34:3-7 Remove Idols When You Are Young

At the age of 16, King Josiah went about removing all of the idols from Judah and Israel. He likely hoped that Israel, through his own leadership, would focus all of their worship on Yahweh, the LORD.

In the same way, it is best for young people to remove all of the idols in their life at a young age - before they become an ingrained part of their life. Modern day idol worship begins with the love of money - it includes materialism - the wont for more and more stuff to please and entertain. It continues on into entertainment - the need to remove oneself from reality into a fantasy world. Of course, drugs, alcohol, and the party culture is idolatry - to remove people from the realities of life. How can we forget sex as a way to pleasure ourselves and to make us think we are in love - rather than in lust with our own pleasures.

Breaking from these idols after years of pursuing them is very difficult. Once Satan gets his hooks into us, we must have the supernatural power of Christ to remove ourselves - and it isn't easy and it isn't quick.

Avoid all the idolatry of this world at a young age.

July 23 vv. from II Kings 21-23; II Chronicles 33-34 Josiah's Godly Character

Although Josiah's dad was an evil, ungodly king, Josiah grows up to be godly. Scripture identifies Josiah as Judah's most godly king - with all his heart, soul, and strength. He may have been influenced by his then humbled grandfather at a very young age. Perhaps the people around him - who incidentally murdered his evil dad - might have taught him the ways of the LORD. Zephaniah the prophet certainly had a profound affect as we will read tomorrow.

My point is this that we don't have to blame our own bad choices as adults on our parents. Early in life, perhaps. But as we age, we have the opportunity for our repentance and we become accountable for our own choices - good and bad.

July 22 Nahum 1-3 God is a Jealous and Avenging God

Not my words, but His - see v. 1:2. He goes on to say that "the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. And why not? God had showed His mercy to Ninevah. He sent Jonah to preach to them - and to their credit, they repented. But then, they went back to their evil ways of mass cruelty, well beyond the death and destruction in war. They became filled with mass genocide and torture.

God was enraged and promised to repay them for their great sins. Is this the other side of a God of love or is this a sign of a God of love. Too many people see God as a permissive parent who looks the other way on sin. Is that love? To watch humans desecrate others and take no action? Is that love? I think not. Because God is love, He punishes sin - for the purpose of restraining evil, yes - but more importantly, to draw people into a relationship with Him - as Savior from the penalty of their sin and as savior from their sin.

The exploits of Assyria in cruelty expose what is in the human heart. God's reaction exposes what is in His heart - justice and love.

July 21 Isaiah 65-66; II Chronicles 33 Trembling at God's Word

Isaiah 66:2 "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word."

God is telling us exactly who He wants us to be. God wants us to humble ourselves before - to bow to His Kingship - for us to be His slaves to His good requirements.

God wants us to recognize our faults before Him when we fail to obey Him fully - which is quite often if we are humble, honest with ourselves, and realize that He holds us accountable for not only our words (even stray ones) and actions, but also our thoughts.

Lastly, God wants us to tremble at His Word. When we read the Bible, we must understand that we are encountering God Himself! His Word holds His entire authority and majesty. What we have in our hand is holy. We should melt before His word - which should make us humble and contrite.

A relationship with God is made so simple here. God doesn't want a lot of empty ritual - He wants us! He wants us to recognize who He is - and give Him His just due.

July 20 Isaiah 60-64 Preach the Good News

It was Isaiah's, then Jesus', now our mission to preach good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, etc. (Is. 61:1ff). We live in a time with many brokenhearted, too many people living in captivity, in slavery to sin, in the darkness of despair and evil - we have a message of hope - a message of how people can find peace in a world without peace. There is a hurting world out there that we need to get out of our comfort and safety and bring the good news. Go out today and try to comfort only one person who mourns today because they do not know Jesus. Go ahead! Embark on your mission.

July 19 Isaiah 57-59 Question for Today

Isaiah 57:11 "Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to Me, and have neither remembered Me nor pondered this in your hearts? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear Me?

We will react to that which/who we fear. In the US, there is much too little fear of the LORD. We fear poverty, lack of comfort, security, and all the things that the pagans fear. We should only fear God - the one, true, living God of the Bible. Living as He calls us to live should be our one and only driving force in this life. Yet, we have let too may other forces in this world take our eyes off God and our true eternal lives hidden in Christ.

Injustice is alive because we are all too worried about ourselves - and so the powerful erect protections for themselves - and the poor and vulnerable are unable to erect those same fortresses - so they are exploited. Government activism can not by itself right our society - the Gospel of Christ is needed as the base to build upon - the love of Christ must flow through people for Biblical social justice will occur - supernaturally.

July 18 Isaiah 54-56 Buying for Free?

At the beginning of Chapter 55, God offers all who are thirsty and without money to come and buy - without cost! Such is the nature of receiving salvation. A transaction definitely occurs between two parties - God and man. But the receiver (man) pays nothing for what he receives (salvation) from God. Salvation is entirely free - we don't have to earn it - in fact, we are incapable of earning it. But make no mistake, a transaction has to occur. Man has to ask God to receive His free gift of salvation.

Man has to understand that he has nothing to offer God - a humbling realization that keeps most from accepting the gift that they are incapable of earning.

This passage also warns about spending money and laboring on that which does not satisfy - all the things in the world that we chase - we thing will satisfy - but once we have them, there comes a dissatisfaction or lack of satisfaction to be sure. God satisfies what we ultimately need.

July 17 Isaiah 51:1-54:3 Jesus: The Suffering Servant

Who can read Isaiah 53 and not be moved by the description of Jesus' suffering for our sin. The description actually begins in Chp. 52 where we are told that many were appalled by Jesus' appearance - disfigured beyond any man or any human likeness. How awful He must of looked in our sight - how awful our sin must be in God's sight. Surely by His wounds, we are spiritually healed. How hard it must have been for the LORD to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer - how much God must love us to go through this suffering to make a way for us to have peace with Him.

July 16 Isaiah 48:16-50:11 The Cost of Sin

Sunday was Communion Sunday at our church. The words of Isaiah in Chapter 50 remind me of the terrible cost of your and my sin to our Savior, Jesus. He offered His back to the scourger's whip. Jesus loved us so much, He "offered" His back as payment for our sins. He offered his cheeks to those who pulled out His beard! He did not hide His face from mocking and spitting. We often forget the emotional suffering that Jesus endured in addition to our physical suffering.

I wonder if our sinning ways could be curtailed if we reflected on just these few verses just before we indulge our sin natures?

July 15 Isaiah 45:14-48:15 Sin Required Prophecies

In Chapter 48, we learn that God gave the Israelites prophecies - He announced to them ahead of time - the good that He would do, so that they would not attribute them to the idols. God is a jealous God. He says, "I will not yield my glory unto another."

God says, "Ignorant...are those who pray to gods that can not save." People who pray to other gods, other than the God of the Bible, the only real God, anger the LORD. We have an obligation to speak truth to others - to help them turn toward the only God.

July 14 Isaiah 43:6-45:13 Cyrus, God's Chosen Servant

In Chapter 45, God says about Cyrus (a future Persian leader), "I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged Me." Cyrus will be empowered by God to conquer the Babylonians and inherit their Empire - including Israel and Judah.

Assyria and Babylon would conquer kingdoms and deport the inhabitants to other parts of their empire so they would lose their national identity and become Assyrians or Babylonians. The Persians were different, they wanted the people to go back to their native lands and be owing to the Persians for allowing them to do so. So, when Cyrus conquers the Babylonians, he allows the Jews in captivity to go back to jerusalem and rebuild the city and the temple - and even provides the funds to do so - see Ezra and Nehemiah - just like God predicted through Isaiah.

God is the sovereign King of the Universe and can even use pagans to bring about His glory and achieve His good purposes for His people.

There is no other like the LORD!

FYI vv. 44:9-20 is a classic bit of sarcastic humor about idols. This critique applies to the gods created by man today.

July 13 Isaiah 41:11-43:7 Prophecy - Proof for the LORD

Repeatedly, today's reading urges us to consider the fulfilled prophecy of Scripture as proof that the LORD is the only, one, true, and living God. God actually challenges other gods to prophesy and deliver - good or bad! They can't because they don't exist. Prophecy is not a major element of any other world religion like it is with Biblical Christianity. If it was, it would prove that religion and concept of God untruthful.

Remember what God says in v. 41:24, "He who chooses you (a false god) is DETESTABLE." Praise the LORD that we follow the only real God - the LORD (Yahweh).

July 12 Isaiah 40:1-41:10 Now The Comfort of Isaiah

Liberal scholars attack Isaiah and suggest that there are two actual writers - one who wrote the 1st 39 chapters and another who wrote the rest. Chapter 40 begins so called "Deutero-Isaiah," second-Isaiah. The main reason is that the 1st 39 chapters peak heavily of judgment, while those that follow speak of comfort. The truth is that both "sections" contain both judgment and comfort and Isaiah's ministry covered a very long time. So, there is no reason to doubt that Isaiah was the author of both.

Nonetheless, the remainder of Isaiah will have some great words of comfort for the believer about their future. I am glad to know that God tends us like a shepherd, while having unlimited power. I love the way Isaiah describes the absolute immensity of God's power by examining the immensity of the earth. He also reminds us that God's wisdom is well beyond our understanding. How great a mistake we make when we try to fully pretend to understand the ways of God beyond what we are explicitly told. How great is God's power over the rulers of the world.

Chapter 40 ends with an encouragement to hope in the LORD - for renewed strength! I have just gone through a tough week and half. The week began exhorting my mom to eat and walk to strengthen herself from surgery, followed by her being rushed to the Intensive Care Unit sustained by a breathing tube, to hospice and comfort care, death on July 4th, to her memorial service, to trying to get her affairs in order before leaving Rochester, NY. God knew I needed Isaiah 40 today - it was part of His care for me. Praise God always.

The vacation I had talked about on July 1 was a family reunion in our hometown - Rochester, NY. It was the only week my oldest daughter, Christi, had off from school, so we chose this week months ago for our family to gather for vacation. But God planned it to bless my mother. We did little vacationing, but we were all gathered to gather around my mom in her last days - to comfort her. Then, we were all gathered to minister to each other and to have a nice Celebration of Life Service for her. God was lifted up high as we shared how she prayed to receive Christ as savior just months ago at age 83, after 16 years of prayer and witnessing. During most of those years, my mom was antagonistic to the gospel, but God broke her down, especially in her later years. To God be the glory.

July 1 Vacation with Family

Hi all, I will be taking a one week vacation from blogging. I will be spending time with my family who is getting together from various places. I will be spending my quiet time with God each day as I normally do and I encourage you to continue to do the same. May God bless you.