by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Jeremiah 1-2
About 65 years pass and Isaiah’s words hang in the air. The Babylonians haven’t captured Jerusalem yet, but neither have the people of God repented. They are still rebellious and self-centered. Still there is corruption in the priesthood as well as the nation.
Jeremiah comes on the scene and his words seem to echo the same as his predecessor. Yet his words are weightier, because the time of judgment is nigh. In fact, during Jeremiah’s lifetime Jerusalem will be overthrown.
The sin of the people basically is rooted in unfaithfulness to the one true God. They are enamored by the idols of the surrounding cultures, and they don’t worship God and Him only.
When other people hold up their gods and introduce false worship, those who don’t know their God can easily be swayed. They begin to forget the history of God’s miracles and His faithfulness. They begin to think in humanistic terms and come to believe that there are many paths to the truth.
During times of such apostasy, it takes brave people to stand up and speak the truth. Jeremiah was such a brave one. The Lord spoke to him and said, “Do not be afraid of their faces. For I am with you to deliver you.” (1:8)
So the Lord gives Jeremiah a message – reminding the Jews of their heritage with the Lord. They are reminded of His faithfulness to them as they were led out of Egypt and nurtured in the wilderness. With great signs and wonders the Lord led them to this land and prospered them above all nations.
What has He done to them to cause them to turn to idols? They have forsaken their God and gone after the idols of Egypt and Assyria.
So since they don’t trust in Him, He will turn His back. He has called to them for many years, begging them to return to the truth, but to no avail. Now they will have to reap the fruit of their choices. They will discover soon enough that Egypt and Assyria will not be able to deliver them. The final hours are upon them.
In our society it’s so easy to follow in the way of the unfaithful. There are many voices out there beckoning us to follow them. Sometimes, without even realizing it, we can follow the wrong voice. We have to be very careful.
We have to be careful to listen and obey the One True God. There is only One. The other voices have to be kept at bay as we look to His Word and His voice.
As Jeremiah was sent to root out, destroy, build and plant, we have to do the same in our own hearts. We have to root out and destroy the words which come to us from those around us which aren’t from God. We have to build and plant what our Father wants in our hearts.
Purity. Wholeness. Refreshment from the Lord. That’s what the abundant life of the faithful exudes. And promises of better things to come.
I Timothy 3
There are requirements laid down by our Father for those who lead the church.
Basically it gets back to this: if people are following the leader, where will they be going? if there is the leaven of greed, hypocrisy, drunkenness, or strife in the leadership, then the same seeds will be popping up throughout the church.
I have seen this demonstrated in our modern church. When a leader gets exposed for adultery, you can see the same sin in the lives of many of his followers. The sin seems to pop up repeatedly – here and there. The same goes for any sin – strife, greed, or pride.
The leader is like the door of God’s work. What he lets in, comes in; what he keeps out, stays out.
So you can see why it is so important for leadership to be held to a high standard.
Paul even mentions that there should be a time of training before someone takes charge. “Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride, he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.” (V.6).
The principles are for the good of all. The leaders can’t bear the weight of leadership when they are in sin or immature in the faith, and those in his charge will be led astray if the leadership isn’t pure.
Our God is faithfully directing us to a place of strength and holiness. His ways are always the best!
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Isaiah 65-66
A new heaven and a new earth. A new day, in which God’s people will be called by a new name. A day in which every nation and every tongue will come to Him.
Those are the hints which the Lord is bringing in the last two chapters of Isaiah – hints of the coming of Messiah and the new dispensation which will come with it.
Do you remember that we said earlier that the “Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed?” Well, these chapters are a perfect example of that adage.
All throughout the Old Testament, the covenant people of God were Jews – and Jews only. The descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were God’s chosen people, and that was that.
Now He is laying down hints for the Jews to see, but the traditions of men block their vision.
Of course, there is much that will happen before that day anyway. Jerusalem will be raided and burned. These children of Abraham will have to go into captivity in Babylon and stay there for 70 years. Then some will return to rebuild the ruins (Most will decide to stay in Babylon). Then more than three hundred years will pass before the fulfilling of this Word from God.
God has plenty of time. He speaks a word – and it will come to pass – eventually.
Now in our day, God’s prophets are still speaking. They are speaking a “now” word from God – a word for us to listen to and heed.
So what are they saying? They are saying that there is going to be a great divide. There are going to be some who seek the darkness and they are going to seek it with greater diligence. But there are going to be some who want God and they will run to Him with everything that is within them.
As a result, there is going to be a harvest of souls for God’s kingdom which will surpass every awakening which has gone before. Millions will run to Jesus.
This time, God’s word also says that the time is short. Very soon we will see a revival in our midst.
I so want that – and I want to be a part of it!
I Timothy 2
We are quick to talk about our leaders. (And I have to agree that often there is a lot to talk about). But do we pray for them?
When we see a man or woman in government who is totally away from God, do we spend time holding them up in prayer for their salvation? Or do we gossip about them with our like-minded friends.
Paul instructs us to pray for those in authority. He says that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men – for kings and all that are in authority. (V.1)
I have to say: that word pricks my conscience. I pray some for them, but I can’t honestly say that I believe God is going to change anything in their lives.
What if there were a visitation of the Holy Spirit when our congress was assembled? What if those who mock God now had a dream which turned them around? It could happen. What if some of the university professors who are now so hardened would have an encounter with the one true God? That could happen also.
Just the thought makes me want to be more diligent in my prayers. When we think about a great awakening – as we mentioned while reading Isaiah, eyes would be opened to the Lord in all spheres of society. What a difference that would make in our world!
I hope that you will join with me in praying for our leaders. Pray for their salvation. Pray for their wisdom to govern. Pray for truth to prevail in our land.
I want to see God move across this land, don’t you?
by Suellen | Project 2013: Read The Bible
Isaiah 62-64
Do you pray a lot? I mean, do you find yourself praying for others and not just your family? Do you pray for the condition of the church? Do you pray for the condition of our nation? Our world?
Our Father is looking for people to pray for His will to be done in the earth.
He says, “You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent. And give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.” (62:6-7)
Now we know that Jerusalem is the physical city on one level – and the spiritual City of God on the other. In other words, the universal church. He wants us to pray for the church to rise up to be a praise in the earth – all across the earth.
So why doesn’t He just do it? Remember, He set up the world to have men as managers. Adam was to take dominion of the earth and be a manager under God’s authority. Of course, Adam allowed the devil to usurp the authority, and man lost his role, but eventually Jesus would bring it back in fullness.
Now our Father wants us to cooperate with Him to bring His glory and His purpose to the earth in fullness. We can’t do it on our own, but working with Him, we do our part. We do it by speaking into the atmosphere the Words of our God. Decreeing His purposes into the earth.
Our part is to pray and decree what our God says. He says that salvation has come for all who will receive it. He says healing and deliverance are here for us now. He says that prosperity is here for us now. He says that as we pray, He will open the eyes of many to believe and receive Him.
What do you say? Do you say, “Woe is me?” Or do you agree with your Father and say what He says?
Our Father is looking for those who will speak His Words into the earth, and He will bring them to pass.
Count me in, Lord. What about you?
I Timothy 1
Paul had a tremendous respect for Timothy, a young man who was called of God as a fellow minister. In these next two letters, the older apostle gave instruction which any of us could take to heart. He gave godly counsel on attitudes and behaviors which would make Timothy fruitful for God.
Timothy had been given by God a call – and prophecies to go along with the call. (V. 18). He was now operating in the gifts God had given to Him, but Paul knew from experience that there was warfare which went with the call.
What do I mean? The devil is not going to sit by and let someone operate in the gifts without trying to talk them out of it. At times he would send people across Timothy’s path to ridicule him and mock him. At other times he would bring persecution and anger from those in authority.
What God loves, the devil hates! He will do all within his power to stop the move of God in Timothy’s life (or yours, or mine).
So how does Timothy stand firm? He wages a good warfare by the words which have been spoken to him. He speaks those words into the atmosphere, and reminds the devil of them. He takes the word of God in the Bible and speaks those also.
Do you remember when Jesus was in the wilderness being tested of the devil? What did He do? He spoke the Word of God back to the devil.
It is written. It is written. It is written.
We follow after His example. When we are tempted of the devil to give up our call (and we are all called to do something), we say “It is written…”
When we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, he has to flee from us. He has no choice.
Some have not done this and have suffered shipwreck, according to Paul.(V.19). Yet Paul reminds Timothy of the importance of waging a war with the Words of God.
That’s a good reminder for us also.
