A Devotional Thought From Jeremiah

But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.     Jeremiah 20:11

                Jeremiah, the preacher, was under assault by the society around him. His message was unpopular, he was “struck” which means hit with 40 lashes, put in wooden stocks like those displayed in Williamsburg, VA and other colonial American towns, it would be fair to say people were out to get him, and as a matter of fact this continued for some time following this passage. All because he preached an unpopular message, and to be fair it was a message that was given to him by God.

                You might think that open minded people would say, “Well, it's just his opinion. Ignore him and leave him alone.” They didn’t. You might think they would say, “He just one of those foolish preachers who think God’s word is for everybody.” They didn’t. You might think they would simply mock him, and keep him at arm’s length. They didn’t.

                They wanted him to be afflicted because his preaching stood in judgment of their lifestyle. Even today Bible preachers in some societies find themselves in such circumstances, and in freer countries the time may come when preachers in the free countries experience the same persecution. Even as the storm clouds of invasion by the most powerful nation on earth in Jeremiah’s day appeared on the foreign policy horizon the people refused to heed Jeremiah’s sad prediction. They simply would not believe it. So they pounded Jeremiah with their wrath.

                No preacher likes to be in that position. No preacher likes to suffer because his ministry is unpopular. Jeremiah no more than others.

                But Jeremiah realized that God was with him, as a mighty defender. It was, after all, God’s message he was proclaiming. He was aware that though he was being persecuted, it was his persecutors who would stumble trying to hurt him and stifle the message, and would not defeat or prevail against the prophet, and that the outcome would be their shame, their failure to prosper, and their confusion. Brave faith for a preacher under persecution.

                Modern preachers of the Bible need such faith. If we preach what the Bible says, let’s face it, many in free societies will reject it, and hate it, because it goes against their sinful desires. They will probably hate it to the point of some sort of persecution of the preacher, and the church, and the individual believer. But our hope and realization is that God is with us because our Bible message is His message. In the end it is the persecutors who will fail and fall. Jeremiah’s confidence is still the preacher’s confidence today.

A Devotional Thought From Jeremiah

They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:     Jeremiah 5:12

                The prophet Jeremiah gave some hard to swallow news to the people of Israel, the northern kingdom, and to Judah, the southern kingdom. And, at some point they rejected it. 

                 This is the word of the Lord, the prophet thundered. Pay attention. God has spoken, and it is not good news to the nation, and people who do not repent and change their wicked ways. The marching feet of invaders will thump like thunder. The crops and herds of the land will be baked and roasted to feed the enemy soldiers. Their swords will strike down many amidst the terrorized screams of a defeated people. The people of Israel and Judah, even though they are my people, will be crying, Woe unto us! for we are spoiled (4:13).

                Here is their response to this hard message. That’s not God speaking. We can’t believe he would do that. We won’t be invaded. We won’t be butchered. We won’t starve. That’s just your idea Jeremiah, and we don’t believe you.

                Dear modern-day reader, do you know what happened to Israel and Judah in those days? Do you think it could happen to your country today? Do you think there is a way for a nation today to get out from under such judgment? Food for thought!

A Devotional Thought From Isaiah

The grass withereth, the flower  fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand forever.     Isaiah 40:8

Things grow, blossom, and die: grass withers, the petals fall from flowers and they fade. The grass and flowers are symbols of all life in this world. The greatest warriors, thinkers, scientists, etc. grow into their potential and eventually die. The wicked thousand year Reich of the Nazis was gone in 12 years. The pyramids recall the once powerful Egyptian dynasties, but they are gone. Babe Ruth, Muhammed Ali, Peter Sellers, and an unending list of former greats have come and gone. The theory of evolution keeps making pronouncements and scientific discovery continues to toss those same pronouncements on the ash heap of scholarship and inquiry.  Nothing is permanent except the word of God which will stand forever. Eternal truth is found in God’s word. His word is revealed in the Bible.

If you want to know what will last; what will be important and true when all other false words wither and fade you will find that in the Bible. How to reform a life, family, a nation, the world: it’s in the Bible. What God said was true when He first revealed it, and it will always be true. It will stand forever.