(Today's Scripture readings: Jeremiah 19:1-20:18; Psalm 119:1-8; Proverbs 27:13; I Thessalonians 4:1-18)
"A snapshot does not equal the whole movie". This statement by Dr. Charles Stanley accompanies Jeremiah 20:2. Jeremiah has been arrested for prophesying the words that God gave him against Judah. One snapshot of an event in our lives does not tell our entire life story. It can be helpful to remember this during times of trials. Once again God says, "I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle. Because they have forsaken Me. ." (19:3-4). We see in this chapter that mankind can come up with ways to pay homage to false gods that have never entered God's mind, such as offering their sons as burnt offerings to Baal (v.5).
God is able to "make void the counsel of Judah" (as well as any other nation He chooses) (v.7). God can also bring the nation that has forsaken Him to "desperation" by their enemies "and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair" (v.9). (It has been said by a minister that spiritual awakenings do not come by prayer, but from desperation.) God gives us many opportunities to turn to Him, yet when we are "stiffnecked" (v. 15), and refuse to turn our faces to Him, things can get ugly. God had Jeremiah break a flask as an example of how He would "break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot be made whole again" (v.11).
When Jeremiah was brought out of the stocks he did not hesitate to continue God's prophesy against Judah. Jeremiah decided because he was being held in derision and mocked that he would not speak any more in God's name. The results? "But His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones" (v. 9). Jeremiah was so distraught over his persecution that he begged God, "Let me see Your vengeance on them" (v. 12). At this point in his life, Jeremiah like Job could see no good in the day of his birth. "Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?" (v. 18).
Psalm 119, is the longest Psalm as well as the longest chapter in the Bible and is one of my favorite passages. God's word is mentioned in nearly every verse. The theme of this chapter according to The Life Application Study Bible is this: "God's Word is true and wonderful. Stay true to God and His Word no matter how bad the world becomes. Obedience to God's laws is the only way to achieve real happiness." The Psalm is made up of 22 sections that correspond to letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Living a life that is undefiled before God and seeking Him with the whole heart is a form of worship and the writer (perhaps Ezra) concludes today's passage by saying, "I will praise You with uprightness of heart" (Psalm 119:7). Our righteousness is of course like filthy (menstruous) rags (Isaiah 64:6). God tells us in Matthew 6:33 how to remedy this, "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness".
Paul urges those at Thessalonica "to increase more and more" in their love for one another. And, if you're looking for the will of God, it is laid out clearly in this passage in I Thess. 4:3, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality". Sanctification is to be set apart for a holy purpose. We are to be set apart from the culture of idolatry which is involved in immorality. Dr. Stanley writes an excellent article in today's study on "A Warning Against Sexual Sins". These sins include much more than the desire for a sexual relationship. He outlines 6 needs that can be at the core of sexual sins. They are the need for intimacy, acceptance, fulfillment, the need to conquer, the desire for revenge, and the need to build self-esteem. Sexual sin is considered idolatry because those involved with it are seeking a physical means to spiritual needs. These needs can only be successfully met by God and through the wisdom of His Word. There is much more to sexual immorality than we would think, yet God fully understands this and makes it clear that it is His will for us not to be involved in it. "God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness" (v. 7).
In this passage today, we are also encouraged to lead quiet lives, mind our own business, and work with our own hands "that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing" (v. 11-12). Paul addresses a concern among the Thessalonian brethren regarding those believers who had already died. He clears this up for them and for us. "For of we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus" (v. 14). "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God" (v. 16). There's nothing "secretive" in this passage about the Lord's return. The fact that from this point of the Lord's coming into all eternity we will forever be with the Lord brings comfort to those who have trusted Him as their Savior and long for the day of His return. "Therefore comfort one another with these words", says the Word of God in verse 18.
No comments:
Post a Comment