Jeremiah 47, Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: YOU ARE MORE

You are so much more than a few days between the womb and the tomb. Paul the Apostle says, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone” (Ephesians 1:11-12 MSG).

Above and around us God directs a grander saga, written by his hand, orchestrated by his will, and unveiled according to his calendar. Your life emerges from the greatest mind, the kindest heart in the history of the universe!  The mind and heart of God!  You are God’s idea.  And remember, God doesn’t have any bad ideas.

Jeremiah 47
It’s Doomsday for Philistines

 God’s Message to the prophet Jeremiah regarding the Philistines just before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. This is what God says:

“Look out! Water will rise in the north country,
    swelling like a river in flood.
The torrent will flood the land,
    washing away city and citizen.
Men and women will scream in terror,
    wails from every door and window,
As the thunder from the hooves of the horses will be heard,
    the clatter of chariots, the banging of wheels.
Fathers, paralyzed by fear,
    won’t even grab up their babies
Because it will be doomsday for Philistines, one and all,
    no hope of help for Tyre and Sidon.
God will finish off the Philistines,
    what’s left of those from the island of Crete.
Gaza will be shaved bald as an egg,
    Ashkelon struck dumb as a post.
You’re on your last legs.
    How long will you keep flailing?

6 “Oh, Sword of God,
    how long will you keep this up?
Return to your scabbard.
    Haven’t you had enough? Can’t you call it quits?

7 “But how can it quit
    when I, God, command the action?
I’ve ordered it to cut down
    Ashkelon and the seacoast.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, September 08, 2020

We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,[a] about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.

Footnotes
2 Corinthians 1:8 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 8:1; 13:11.

Insight
The apostle Paul clearly had an up-and-down relationship with the Corinthian believers. In the two letters to Corinth preserved in the Scriptures, he deals heavily in correction of their misconduct while responding to accusations against him and attacks on his position as an apostle. In spite of those conflicts, however, Paul opens 2 Corinthians with words of God’s encouragement for them (1:3–7). Later in the letter, he even speaks of how they’ve encouraged him in spite of his struggles with them! (7:13). Paul also shares the joy he felt when the church comforted Titus, who had been “refreshed” by them. Paul’s joy “was greater than ever” because of their longing, sorrow, and concern for him (vv. 7, 13). It’s encouraging to see how “the God of all comfort” (1:3) can use the most surprising vessels to bring His encouragement to us.

Loving Others with Our Prayers
This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:9

That was one of the first questions a missionary asked his wife whenever she was allowed to visit him in prison. He had been falsely accused and incarcerated for his faith for two years. His life was frequently in danger because of the conditions and hostility in the prison, and believers around the world were earnestly praying for him. He wanted to be assured they wouldn’t stop, because he believed God was using their prayers in a powerful way.

Our prayers for others—especially those who are persecuted for their faith—are a vital gift. Paul made this clear when he wrote the believers in Corinth about hardships he faced during his missionary journey. He “was under great pressure,” so much that he “despaired of life itself” (2 Corinthians 1:8). But then he told them God had delivered him and described the tool He’d used to do it: “We have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers” (vv. 10–11, emphasis added).

God moves through our prayers to accomplish great good in the lives of His people. One of the best ways to love others is to pray for them, because through our prayers we open the door to the help only God can provide. When we pray for others, we love them in His strength. There’s none greater or more loving than He. By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray
How do you love others with your prayers? In what ways can you encourage prayer for those who are persecuted for their faith?

Loving and Almighty God, thank You for the amazing gift of prayer and the ways You move through it. Please help me to pray faithfully for others today!

For help in your prayer life, read Jesus’ Blueprint for Prayer at DiscoverySeries.org/HJ891.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, September 08, 2020
Do It Yourself (1)
…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God… —2 Corinthians 10:5

Determinedly Demolish Some Things. Deliverance from sin is not the same as deliverance from human nature. There are things in human nature, such as prejudices, that the saint can only destroy through sheer neglect. But there are other things that have to be destroyed through violence, that is, through God’s divine strength imparted by His Spirit. There are some things over which we are not to fight, but only to “stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord…” (see Exodus 14:13). But every theory or thought that raises itself up as a fortified barrier “against the knowledge of God” is to be determinedly demolished by drawing on God’s power, not through human effort or by compromise (see 2 Corinthians 10:4).

It is only when God has transformed our nature and we have entered into the experience of sanctification that the fight begins. The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin— Jesus Christ conquered that in His redemption of us. The conflict is waged over turning our natural life into a spiritual life. This is never done easily, nor does God intend that it be so. It is accomplished only through a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense that He makes our character holy. He makes us holy in the sense that He has made us innocent before Him. And then we have to turn that innocence into holy character through the moral choices we make. These choices are continually opposed and hostile to the things of our natural life which have become so deeply entrenched— the very things that raise themselves up as fortified barriers “against the knowledge of God.” We can either turn back, making ourselves of no value to the kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish these things, allowing Jesus to bring another son to glory (see Hebrews 2:10).

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS

When you are joyful, be joyful; when you are sad, be sad. If God has given you a sweet cup, don’t make it bitter; and if He has given you a bitter cup, don’t try and make it sweet; take things as they come.  Shade of His Hand, 1226 L

Bible in a Year: Proverbs 3-5; 2 Corinthians 1

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, September 08, 2020
Released, Not Restricted - #8782

A friend had been doing a lot of remodeling in his house, including some in his four-year-old son's room. They were building a little room inside his room that would have its own window and desk, and it would sort of be Troy's own little space. Of course at that point, it was just a frame with no walls. So Dad took Troy in there one day to see the work that he'd been doing. The little guy went into the frame of what would soon be his personal space. He came out with his lower lip out so far he almost tripped over it. Dad couldn't figure out why this nice thing they were doing for him would make him so sad. He quickly found out why. Troy said, "Dad, is this going to be my cage for my timeouts when I'm bad?"

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Released, Not Restricted."

Poor little guy. He thought his father had built a cage to punish him when his Dad was really building something special for him. You could smile at a four-year-old's misread of what his father was doing for him, but all too often we make that same mistake with our Heavenly Father!

Maybe you have a tendency to think that God is usually mad at you - punishing you. But, you know, our feelings about God are based way too much on our experiences with our parents, with people who've hurt us, and on our immediate circumstances. So we end up missing the love that our Heavenly Father is trying to show us. We expect the worst like little Troy was thinking he was getting a cage for times when he was bad.

Actually the plan God is unfolding in your life right now is designed ultimately to release you, not to restrict you. God's intentions for you are expressed in some words He originally spoke to His Old Testament people. But if you know Christ, you are one of those God calls "my people" in our word for today from the Word of God.

Leviticus 26:12-13 - "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt" (now, that's whatever has been a place of bondage or despair for you) "so that you would no longer be slaves. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high." Your Lord is committed to releasing you from those old habits, the old mental programming, the old ways of thinking and reacting that have caged you for too long. And He's committing to taking you through experiences with Him, some of which will be painful, to purge some of the ugly stuff, to change your view of Him, to change your view of yourself, and to outfit you to really make a difference in other people's lives.

Maybe the reason God had to remind His ancient people that He was about releasing them and not restricting them, was that their journey included plagues and wilderness. In order for them to be free, they had to go through all those plagues in Egypt and a very difficult time through the wilderness. Maybe you've been having your own share of plagues, your own share of wilderness. But that's not because God doesn't love you; it's because He does! Enough to take you through the processes that will set you free and ultimately lead you to the better life He has for you.

So, don't be confused by the pain - by the wilderness. Your Heavenly Father has some awesome plans for you, and He's not building a cage to contain your life. He's making something very special for you. After all, you are His child purchased with the blood of His Son! Is there any question how He feels about you?