Jeremiah 18 by David Groendyk The object lesson in the first part of our chapter today (vv. 1–11) illustrates one of the hardest teachings in Scripture: that God is the potter, we are the clay, and he has the right to do with us whatever seems good to him (v. 4). He is utterly sovereign over all things. For Israel and Judah, what seemed good to God was to give them over to their enemies…

Jeremiah 17 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson God enters into a covenant relationship with His people.  For some theologians, this is such a central theme,; they call their theology covenant theology.  While I believe in infant baptism, I prefer to use the term covenant baptism.  The covenant is bilateral or conditional.  In other words, God keeps His covenant promise on the condition that we listen, obey, and place our faith in Him.  The Israelites were…

Jeremiah 16 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence This prophecy was mostly likely given near the end of King Jehoiakim’s reign close to the time of the actual invasion by the Babylonians.  Because the entire land was about to be destroyed along with all of its people, God tells the prophet not to take a wife in Jerusalem nor to have sons and daughters in the Promised Land, for soon they would all be dead.  If they…

Jeremiah 15 by David Groendyk Judah has passed the point of no return (v. 1). They have so forsaken God that there’s no hope of God relenting from his punishment. Even if Moses and Samuel stood before the Lord and pleaded for this people, he would not listen. Moses interceded for the people of Israel time and again and caused God to spare the people while they were wandering through the wilderness on the way…

Jeremiah 14 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson I have often wondered why Christians have not been more vocal in their support of all things relating to nature.  We believe God created the world and therefore matter is good.  We believe He gave the land of Israel to His chosen people.  We believe he often speaks about sending rain on just and unjust and a common refrain of peace and tranquility is every man under his…

Jeremiah 13 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence     In our text this morning, Jeremiah performs some of the first sign acts in his lengthy ministry.  A sign act is a tool that is often employed by the prophets who are directed by God to give a type of visual aid to help bring home their message from God.  It is often a very peculiar action taken by a prophet in front of a crowd of Israelites that…

Jeremiah 12 by Pastor David Groendyk  The complaint that Jeremiah raises here is surely a familiar one: “Why does the way of the wicked prosper?” Jeremiah has just learned of a conspiracy against him in the previous chapter. Certain men from Jeremiah’s hometown Anathoth want to kill him. They threaten to kill him if he continues prophesying of the coming judgment. How can God let that stand? Why doesn’t he intervene and do something about…

Jeremiah 11 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson You don’t have to read Hebrew to see the repeated words in 11:1-10.  We keep reading hear, obey, listen, and incline your ear.  God tells Jeremiah to tell His people to listen and hear God’s Words.  Why?  So they can obey Him.  He wants us to listen or incline our ears so we will have a blessed life obeying God. Why are we so deaf to God?  We…

Jeremiah 10 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Every now and then the Old Testament prophets seek to unveil the mystery and moronic nature of idolatry in Gentile culture.  From the very birth of Israel, God had warned them to stay away from all forms of idolatry, and yet, here again, the Lord is warning them through the prophet Jeremiah about not being conformed to the ways of the nations around them by following in their same…

Jeremiah 8 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson              There are some popular verses in this chapter.  But before I point those out, these verses remind me of an advantage Bible readers have.  I hope you visit art museums or read literature other than the Bible at times.  What is your advantage?  When you walk into an art museum you understand many if not most of the Biblical stories and characters.  You can identify the major…

Jeremiah 7 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin In the previous chapter we we’re told that God had set watchmen, like Jeremiah, over the house of Israel warning them to pay attention to the sound of the trumpet of God’s judgment, but the people said, “We will not pay attention.”  So now the Lord goes one step farther by sending Jeremiah into the very gates of the temple to stand in the way of every man…

Jeremiah 6 by Pastor David Groendyk This is the horrific outcome of Judah continuing to ignore God’s warnings and calls to repent. This is also exactly what God had predicted many times would happen when his people continue in sin. One instance of this is in Deuteronomy 28. If the people of God would not be careful to obey all God’s commands, curses would fall upon them. Crops, cattle, wombs, physical health, mental health, houses,…

Jeremiah 5 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson              It might seem reasonable that if a person leaves God and no longer follows His ways, that person would make a clean break with anything to do with God.  This is rarely what happens.   What generally happens is syncretism or a blending of two different things together.  Now if you are musician, an artist, or a chief, this can produce positive and creative songs, paintings, or food. …

Jeremiah 4 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin After the Lord continually calls his faithless people to return to him in chapter three, he shows them how they are to return in chapter four.  He says in verse one, “If you return, O Israel…to me you should return.”  At first, this may seem to be an obvious statement, but it is this very concept that the Israelites had failed to grasp.  They weren’t being called to…

Jeremiah 3 Devotional by Pastor David Groendyk Verses 1–5 of our chapter today cap off a larger section in which God calls his people an unfaithful bride that has run off with other men. It’s the same picture which Hosea employs in his book. The idolatry that God’s people commit is compared to spiritual adultery. Adultery is an abominable and particularly personal sin committed against a spouse. Likewise, idolatry is an abominable and particularly personal…

Jeremiah 2 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson For a speaker to communicate effectively, the speaker needs to use language and example that help the listener understand.  That is the speaker’s responsibility.  Speakers who speak to those who do not share the speaker’s language or culture face an even harder challenge. Notice the language Jeremiah employs, “. . . the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride. . .” v. 2 and then in…

Jeremiah 1 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin The book of Jeremiah is categorized as one of the Major Prophetical books due to its great length spanning fifty-two chapters.  Jeremiah, the man, is also said, traditionally, to have written the book of Lamentations as well as the book of Kings with the help of his faithful scribe Baruch.  The book of Jeremiah is foundational to much of the New Testament being quoted directly over forty times…

Ephesians 6 by Pastor David Groendyk As Paul has been teaching on how the Christian ought to live, he is clearly very concerned with the way people interact with one another. In chapters 5 and 6, he tells us how to have godly relationships with certain people—husbands and wives, parents and children, servants and masters. For most of us, our relationships with our spouse, parents, children, bosses, employees, and co-workers probably cover about 95% of…

Ephesians 5 Devotional by Pastor Mark Hudson In verses 8-14, you do not have to be a Biblical scholar to see the words light and darkness over and over again. Light                                                 Darkness Light in the Lord 8                             at one time you were darkness  8 Children of light 8 Fruit of light: all good, right true 9 Take no part in unfruitful works…

Ephesians 4 Devotional by Pastor Lawrence If you remember, in the first chapter of Ephesians Paul doesn’t really tell us to do anything other than to listen and to believe.  He wants us to know that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ in the heavenly realms, that we have been chosen by God, predestined to be adopted as his sons, that we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ and…

Ephesians 3 by Pastor David Groendyk Because Christ Jesus has brought about forgiveness and reconciliation between man and God and between Jew and Gentile (2:13–16), and because Paul wants the Ephesian church to more and more grow in unity and maturity (2:21–22), Paul prays that the church would be filled with the love of Christ and the fullness of God (3:14–19). As we can infer from chapter 2, this is a church where hostility, enmity,…