KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday, August 07, 2017
Chapters: Jeremiah 1-3
Message: For All Have Sinned
Hello My Friend,
The Book of Jeremiah contains fifty-two chapters, the timeline for these events took place approximately between 629BC – 588BC, about 70 years after Isaiah prophesied about the same thing. The author of the book is Jeremiah and it was written to Judah to warn them of their coming captivity into Babylon, and a call for repentance. This book is actually directed to backsliders. What we are to learn from the book is that national disasters and deterioration of the world is often due to disobedience to God, but as we return to God things will be restored. “And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.” – Jeremiah 12:5.
Contained deep within every believer is the Holy Spirit, He guides us, protects us, teaches us, and above all He shows us the most important things we will ever know, the mysteries of God. Now, there are some things that God will never reveal to anyone, but all the important things we need to know about living life the way God wants us to live in this wretched world, including wonderful promises of eternal life, are revealed to us as the Holy Spirit reveals them to us. Jeremiah was quite young when God called him to be a prophet, for years, God had been warning Judah about the coming judgment, and now it was about to take place, God sent Jeremiah to give them one last plea to repentance before the judgment would begin.
“Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands. Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.” – Jeremiah 1:14-19.
“And they shall fight against thee;” You can be sure if you stand up for God and proclaim Christ people are going to fight you. Why? You belong to God, you are one of His and that makes you the enemy, especially if you tell them that the things they are doing is sin. Those who have received Jesus Christ as their Saviour are, in fact, children of God, and when we allow Him to live in and through us that is what keeps us from backsliding. God has already touched our mouths and put His words in it, the more we serve Him faithfully, the more prosperous we become. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” – Psalm 1:1-3.
People all over the world are proclaiming Christ, the sad thing, very few know Him as their Saviour and are living sinful lives as if He is pleased with them. Let me tell you, Christianity is the complete opposite of what the world sees as being moral and right, I have often thought that as long as I am not cheating, stealing, or lying that I am not sinning, but sin goes beyond that. Through Jeremiah, God explains the reason why He is so angry.
“Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.” – Jeremiah 2:5-7,13,35.
“Because I am innocent,” I do not know how many times I have heard someone when asked if they know for sure they are going to heaven say, “Well, I try to be good.” None of us are good, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. That is why God sent Jesus, none of us are without sin, no works can save us, only Jesus can, and until we acknowledge that we have sinned, and need Him, God will not hear or acknowledge us. “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” – Romans 3:22-24.
Israel had already faced judgment for turning their backs on God, now, Judah, who were the Christians of that day, were about to face judgment, the sad thing, their sins were more abominable than Israel’s. God illustrates their backsliding as an adulterous woman, and gives them one more plea to repent before it’s too late.
“Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.” – Jeremiah 3:12-14,17,22,23.
“Only acknowledge thine iniquity,” God does not want to put judgment upon anyone, He does not want to see them in hell or suffer needlessly, He does not want to destroy everything He worked so hard at creating, and this is why He has not destroyed the whole world yet. Jesus will save us from all this, all we have to do is acknowledge that we have sinned, confess that we need Him, and receive Him into our soul. Jesus will never turn anyone away who is sincere in their faith, and He never leaves us even if we have backslidden. Think about it, you were born into this world, having one father and one mother, even if you walk away from them, you are still their child. If you asked Jesus to save you, you are born again, a child of God, even if you have forgotten, God has not. “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” – I Peter 1:22,23.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.” – Jeremiah 3:33c
Today’s Prayer: God, I know sometimes I get over confident and think that I can do this on my own, but You reveal to me time and time again that my way leads to a big mess, but Yours always leads to victory. Thank You for giving me those second chances to get back up and move forward, let me not be held captive to sin, only let me depend on You as I walk with You, my Saviour. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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