Dear Daily Message Readers,
READ: Jeremiah 1
Jeremiah 1:6 (NKJV) "Then said I: 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.'"
A country is crumbling from within itself. Not only has it turned its back on the spiritual values that made it famous, it has become morally weak. Now the country is beginning to experience some serious problems, but it mistakenly seeks political intervention that only leads it in a deeper hole of desperation. So, in its darkest hour, God appoints a young man--a teenager--to be His spokesperson and pronounce judgment on the wicked nation.
While this nation could describe many in today's nations in the world, the nation I described is Judah, seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. The golden age of Israel under King Saul, King David, and King Solomon have become ancient history, and are now just mere portraits and writings of the past. Now the nation has split into two kingdoms: Israel and Judah. Israel, the northern kingdom, has been conquered by Assyria by this time in history (722/23 BC). Judah, the surviving kingdom, though, did not trust God for protection. To keep its borders safe and secure, its leaders struck treaties and political deals with powerful surrounding pagan kingdoms. As part of these pacts, Judah adopted these countries' religious worship and belief, quickly poisoning its faith in God and hastening the moral collapse.
In the thick of this catastrophe, the Lord called out young Jeremiah, the son of a Jewish priest. Even though his father's teachings and laws were probably taught to him to some extent as a boy, Jeremiah protested that he was too young (Jeremiah 1:6), but God promised His protection and help. Thus began a ministry that would last some 40 years, as Jeremiah took his valiant stand for God's holy righteousness within a wicked society.
Our world needs Jeremiahs today. These people are not afraid to stand for God in a hostile society, even if that means being a lone voice in a large crowd of disbelievers. Though it was too late for Judah, there is still hope for our country (or wherever you live!). Will you accept the challenge?
Faith Lesson: If you make a stand for God, He will stand with you even when no oneself does: "Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD."--Jeremiah 1:8
In Christ,
Darin Smith
READ: Jeremiah 1
Jeremiah 1:6 (NKJV) "Then said I: 'Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.'"
A country is crumbling from within itself. Not only has it turned its back on the spiritual values that made it famous, it has become morally weak. Now the country is beginning to experience some serious problems, but it mistakenly seeks political intervention that only leads it in a deeper hole of desperation. So, in its darkest hour, God appoints a young man--a teenager--to be His spokesperson and pronounce judgment on the wicked nation.
While this nation could describe many in today's nations in the world, the nation I described is Judah, seven centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ. The golden age of Israel under King Saul, King David, and King Solomon have become ancient history, and are now just mere portraits and writings of the past. Now the nation has split into two kingdoms: Israel and Judah. Israel, the northern kingdom, has been conquered by Assyria by this time in history (722/23 BC). Judah, the surviving kingdom, though, did not trust God for protection. To keep its borders safe and secure, its leaders struck treaties and political deals with powerful surrounding pagan kingdoms. As part of these pacts, Judah adopted these countries' religious worship and belief, quickly poisoning its faith in God and hastening the moral collapse.
In the thick of this catastrophe, the Lord called out young Jeremiah, the son of a Jewish priest. Even though his father's teachings and laws were probably taught to him to some extent as a boy, Jeremiah protested that he was too young (Jeremiah 1:6), but God promised His protection and help. Thus began a ministry that would last some 40 years, as Jeremiah took his valiant stand for God's holy righteousness within a wicked society.
Our world needs Jeremiahs today. These people are not afraid to stand for God in a hostile society, even if that means being a lone voice in a large crowd of disbelievers. Though it was too late for Judah, there is still hope for our country (or wherever you live!). Will you accept the challenge?
Faith Lesson: If you make a stand for God, He will stand with you even when no oneself does: "Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD."--Jeremiah 1:8
In Christ,
Darin Smith
