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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Saturday, 29 July 2023:
Jeremiah 21:2 — Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.
The people who had chosen not to honor God by disobeying Him and living as they pleased actually thought that God would miraculously save them. The response they got from God through Jeremiah was the opposite of what they expected. They were completely oblivious to their enmity with God. Today many claim a special relationship with God while they remain in defiance of His commands. God will not be mocked.
Jeremiah 21:14 – I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the Lord.
God holds everyone accountable for their actions.
Jeremiah 22:3-6 – Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, yet surely I will make you a desert, an uninhabited city.”
Through faith in Jesus, we are credited with the righteousness of Christ, though we did not deserve it. While we were still sinners Christ died for us; we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, through faith, not by our works. The goal of salvation (justification) is sanctification (being conformed to the image of Jesus – Romans 8:29) while we await final glorification through Christ. Through salvation, we are no longer compelled by the law to obey God but rather compelled by the love of God to obey Him, freed from the bondage of sin, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Love produces fruit naturally. Grace does not change the standards and expectations of the Holy and Just God but rather changes our ability and motivation to obey Him. Grace doesn’t remove the consequences of sin, but should change our response to sin through conviction of the Holy Spirit, genuine repentance, and a changed life. Having been justified, God expects us to live justly through love. And as the above verses demonstrate, the truth of our love for God is revealed in how we treat others. Children of God who don’t obey God should anticipate the discipline of their Heavenly Father, not in condemnation but rather in sanctification. “But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.” (1 Corinthians 11:31-32) Judge yourself truly that you would not require the Father’s discipline – “But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.”
Jeremiah 22:8, 9 – “Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God….”
Again, God will judge those who reject His commands.
Jeremiah 22:15 – “Do you think you are a king because you compete in cedar?”
Your great accomplishments don’t give you any more control or security than you had before. Your fate is completely in God’s hands. God honors those who honor Him.
What makes a king a king? Is it his personal power? No, a king’s power comes from his legitimate authority. When a single police officer in uniform breaks up a mob of angry men who are physically more powerful than he, he does so by the power of his authority. It by that authority that he remains confident to command, “Stop in the name of the law!” The Bible says, that all authority is established by God. (Romans 13) The Father gave all power and authority to the Son (Mat 28:18) though the Pharisees questioned His authority. (Mat 21:23) Jesus commended the centurion above all others because he understood the power of Jesus’ authority. (Luke 7:8) Calling upon his authority, Jesus commanded us to go throughout the world and make disciples who would obey all of his commands as King of kings (Matt 28:18-20). We are called to live lives of power under the authority of the King as His Kingdom of Priests (Rev 1:6), reigning in life through Jesus. (Romans 5:17) Eternal life and our holy priesthood does not begin when we die, it began the moment we were born again (John 17:3), and the power of God flows through is as nourishment flows through a vine to the branches. (John 15) Jesus said that, under His position of authority, His every word and deed was subject to the authority of the Father. (John 14:10) Likewise, our authority as Christians is subject to the authority of the Father and Son. Let us live lives worthy of our calling. (Ephesians 4:1)
- Romans 5:17 — For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
- 2 Timothy 2:12 — If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us….
- Revelation 5:10 — You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.”
Jeremiah 22:21, 22 – I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, “I will not listen.” This has been your way from your youth, that you have not obeyed my voice. The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds….
Have you stopped to consider that perhaps the customs, traditions, and morality that you grew up with and learned might be very, very far from God’s standards and will? Many spiritual leaders in the world are only following the wind. Only those who are truly following Jesus can really preach what God wants preached.
Psalm 85:8-13 — I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints— but let them not return to folly. Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps.
God’s word to us is the same word Jesus spoke when He met the disciples after His betrayal and resurrection: “Peace.” (Psalm 85:8; John 20:19, 21, 26) Peace is given by God’s grace and experienced through obedience to God. Accept peace from God and then live at peace with God. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit by continuing to dishonor the One who saved you and freed you from your sin, and don’t continue to destroy your own peace and joy by continuing in sin. Hebrews 12:1 encourages you to, “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And… run with perseverance the race marked out for [you].” Life is challenging enough without the needless burdens of sin. Jesus said, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” God wants you to have the fullness of joy that comes from complete surrender to Jesus and obedience to Him in love.
The psalmist speaks of the requirement of God’s people to obey God in order to appreciate the fullness of his blessings on earth. This reminds me of what Jesus said: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:10-11) As a parent, I want nothing but the very best for my children, but when they don’t listen to my instruction and/or don’t make the effort to do what is right, they suffer needlessly and often cause each other to suffer. Likewise, I can look at my own life and see that most of my problems have been self-induced – they never had to happen. Of course, no one is perfect, and we all make mistakes, which is why the Psalmist begins by expressing his gratitude for God’s mercy and grace. But as we grow up in the Lord, we must strive to grow in faithfulness. As the Bible reiterates in many places, including today’s verses, love and faithfulness go together. Demonstrate your love by your faithfulness, and walk with God in peace and joy.
Proverbs 29:1 – He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
There is a point when it can’t be fixed. The Bible gives you this warning that you will not come to the point of no return.
Proverbs 29:5 – A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
If you refuse to tell sinners the truth, you are a party to their destruction, and, yes, God will hold you accountable for your part. (See Ezekiel 3 and 33)
Proverbs 29:9 – If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
Don’t waste your time arguing with a fool.
Proverbs 29:10 – Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright.
Some people will hate you simply because you are good. There is nothing you can do to please them.
Proverbs 29:18 — Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.
A nation that drifts away from God’s word will drift into lawlessness. When the church loses its salt and light and fails to do its job as the conscious of the state, national lawlessness prevails and the nation crumbles. The problem with the nation is not unbelievers but rather compromised, unfaithful, unholy, believers.
Proverbs 29:19 – By mere words a servant is not disciplined, for though he understands, he will not respond.
When a person or people refuse to listen to the word of God, physical discipline must be applied.
Proverbs 29:26 — Many seek the face of a ruler, but it is from the Lord that a man gets justice.
Our hope is not in political leaders or in courts but in God alone. Our nation needs revival above elections.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 29 July 2023: What sins are you continuing to commit though you know they are wrong? Where do you lack self-control? Remember, self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (see Gal 5). Pray that God will convict you and strengthen you to truly repent. If you have been saved, you have been declared righteous once and for all before God through faith in Jesus (imputed righteousness), but now God wants you to grow up in that righteousness and to experience the joy of unity in Him and to glorify Him in your sanctification. Let love and faithfulness meet together in your life and experience the peace you have received by pursuing righteousness:
- 1 Peter 3:18 — For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
- 2 Timothy 2:22 — So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
- 2 Timothy 3:16 — All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness….
- Hebrews 12:11 — For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
- James 3:18 — And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
- 1 John 2:1 — My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
- 1 John 2:29 — If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
- 1 John 3:7 — Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
- 1 John 3:10 — By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 