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Christian Devotional – July 28, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 29:13–You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. TRUTH: Jeremiah wrote a letter to the people who had already been taken captive and sent into exile. He didn’t write, “I told you so,” or even further condemn them. He sent them a letter of hope, a letter that even though things looked bad and they were reaping the consequences of their ways, the Lord still heard them, still had plans to prosper them and if they would seek Him, He would be there. No matter our sin, no matter our situation and circumstances, the Lord is waiting to be found if…
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Christian Devotional – July 27, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 28:15–Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen now, Hananiah, the Lord has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie.” TRUTH: There were other prophets at the same time as Jeremiah. Unfortunately, many of them were not sharing words from God, but were sharing their own words. God’s word is holy and He will protect His word. When other people share their own words and indicate they are God’s word, it is a lie and God will protect His word. Jeremiah let Hananiah know that he would be punished and so he was. Will we be true to God’s word?…
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Christian Devotional – July 26, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 27:5–With my great power and outstretched arm I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to anyone I please. TRUTH: Never doubt that God is the one who created all and is actively involved in directing things today. He does not sit back and take an uninterested view of the world. He created it and He is in control of the path that things go down. We may not understand His timing and we may not understand how the consequences of sin affect everything, but we can hold fast to the knowledge that He is in control of…
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Christian Devotional – July 24, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 26:14–As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. TRUTH: Jeremiah told the people exactly what God said, but they didn’t like it and tried to put Jeremiah to death. Jeremiah repeated the message again, stating that God gave him this message and then indicated that it didn’t matter whether the people killed him or not, it didn’t change God’s message. As messengers of God, do we value the message above anything else, even our own life? RESPONSE: Father, Your message is paramount and worth any and every sacrifice to share it, even if it costs me everything. I…
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Christian Devotional – July 24, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 25:4–And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid attention. TRUTH: God tries multiple times and multiple ways to get our attention when we are doing things that He does not like. The Lord wants us to see Him and know Him and if we choose to rebel from Him, He will seek us out to find us and restore us to Him. Are we paying attention to Him? RESPONSE: Father, so many things try to get in the way of my paying attention to You. You are so faithful to seek after me. I…
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Christian Devotional – July 23, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 24:7–I will give them a heart to know me; that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart. TRUTH: Two baskets of figs, one good and one bad. The bad figs will be destroyed, but the good figs will be saved. God says that He will give those people represented by the good figs a new heart. They will recognize the Lord and they will seek after Him and follow Him. They will be called His people. Do we seek after God? Do we have a heart that yearns for knowing…
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Christian Devotional – July 22, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 23:4–“I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord. TRUTH: God places certain people in leadership. However, in Israel, those people had been abusing their power and the people were afraid. The leaders were using their position as a means to personal power instead of using it to care for the people under their charge. When that happens, God will remove the leaders and they will be held accountable for their actions. If we are in a position of leadership we must recognize that God has allowed that and seek…
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Christian Devotional – July 21, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 22:16–“He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” declares the Lord. TRUTH: What does it mean to know God? Right here it states that we care for and are concerned about people other than ourselves. We seek to help people and to defend them against others who would walk all over the down-trodden of this world. Are we seeking to uplift and support those who cannot support themselves? Do we cry out as the voice of those who have no voice? Know God and knowing His heart means feeling His love and compassion…
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Christian Devotional – July 20, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 21:14–I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the Lord. I will kindle a fire in your forests that will consume everything around you. TRUTH: What do our deeds deserve? If we are honest, even though many of us can say we have several good deeds, none of us can say we are perfect. We’ve all done wrongs that are deserving of punishment. According to Romans 3:23, any wrong, no matter how seemingly small, is deserving of death. The people in this chapter were receiving what they deserved. Without God’s mercy, we too will receive judgment and death. Are we seeking God’s mercy through repentance or are…
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Christian Devotional – July 19, 2013
VERSE: Jeremiah 20:9–But if I say, “I will not mention His word or speak anymore in His name,” His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot. TRUTH: Jeremiah had been ridiculed and persecuted for sharing the message of the God. However, here, when he contemplates not sharing and keeping his mouth shut, he realized that the message God has given him is too powerful. It’s too important and urgent and is bursting to be told, so much so that Jeremiah couldn’t hold it in even if he tried. Do we respond to…