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[This devotion will be based off Jeremiah 29:15-32, but as applied to us today. It will be too much to quote the whole passage, so I encourage you to read it on your own.]
False Prophets in Jeremiah’s Day
There were false prophets in Jeremiah’s day who were not listening to God, who were sexually immoral, adulterous, and perjurious. They were preaching lies to the people in God’s name, but the messages were not authorized by God. In these messages they were misrepresenting God.
Not only were they preaching messages of rebellion against the Lord, but they also called Jeremiah, who was the Lord’s true prophet, a false prophet and a maniac, and they called for him to be put into the stocks and neck-irons, for they wanted him to be reprimanded for telling the people that they would be in exile for a long time.
False Teachers of Today
We have false teachers among us today who are adulterous and idolatrous, who live by the flesh, and who are self-indulgent. With regard to the Holy Spirit, they are Spiritless and thus fruitless, too. They revel in self-pleasure and therefore they teach a gospel which appeals to human flesh.
They are not all preachers, though, but they are ordinary people, as well, who are teaching (sharing) a false gospel of cheapened grace, which is not of God, is not authorized by God, and which does not submit to God (to Jesus Christ) as Lord (master).
And they are posting these messages on the internet in various places such as Christian discussion sites, Facebook, Twitter, and the like. They are also texting them to their friends or to their church members, or they are writing them in blog posts, or they are preaching them in church gatherings.
These messages which are being given out today, in the name of the Lord Jesus, but which are not of God, are literally opposed to God and to His Word, for they are teaching (instructing) the people who profess the name of Jesus to live in open rebellion against the Lord.
Thus, what they are teaching are willful lies which skillfully misrepresent the Lord and His Word, and which teach the people to not listen to God. For, they are teaching them that they don’t have to leave their sins behind them, that they don’t have to obey the Lord, and that they don’t have to surrender their lives to Jesus or submit to his Lordship over their lives.
Attacks on the True Gospel
And then they attack the true gospel with more lies by calling it “works-based salvation,” and they call its messengers those who are teaching that we are saved by our works of the flesh. So, they end up calling lies the truth and truth the lies.
Thus, they accuse those of us who are teaching the truth of being false teachers, or they call us “legalists,” or “hyper-religious,” or “self-righteous,” or even “crazy,” and all because we are telling people the truth that they don’t want to hear, for they prefer the lies.
For, we are telling them that they must repent (forsake their sins), that they must walk in obedience to the Lord’s commands, and that they must submit to Christ as Lord. And we are warning of divine judgment for those who refuse to bow the knee to God in humble submission to his will.
And since the vast majority of people who are professing faith in Jesus Christ are listening to the lies, and are preferring the lies, they are literally rejecting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior although they verbally confess to have faith in him.
For they are not welcoming him, in truth, into their lives to be Lord (owner-master), nor are they accepting the truth of his gospel of salvation as taught in the holy Scriptures. But they are receiving and embracing the lies which tickle their itching ears, which give them permission to live on in their sin.
The Sin Problem
Many of the people of God in Jeremiah’s day were living in open rebellion against the Lord. They would not listen to the Lord or heed his commands. Even though the Lord had sent them his messages through his prophets again and again, the people still refused to listen and to obey.
And this parallels over to today, to those who profess the name of Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Many of them are also not listening to the Lord and they are not obeying his commands, because they have been persuaded that, under God’s grace, they don’t have to obey the Lord.
Even though the Lord has been sending them messages, again and again, through his servants and messengers, they have been refusing to listen, they have been attacking the messengers, and they have hardened their hearts against the truth in favor of the lies.
So, the Lord sent them many warnings, too, of divine judgment, which were written in his Word, and which were taught by his servants and witnesses, who are sharing the gospel of Christ. But they also refused those warnings, and they continued on in their stubborn hearts to live as they want.
And now, I believe, we are seeing the hand of God in judgment against those who profess his name but who refuse to honor him as God, who refuse to bow the knee to him, and who refuse to die to their sins and live to God and to his righteousness.
But I believe God will bring good out of it all, and that, as things get much worse, more people’s eyes are going to be opened to the truth, and some people will begin to repent of their sins and turn their hearts to Jesus Christ to follow him in obedience to his will for their lives.
But for those who still rebel, and who will not submit to Christ as Lord, heaven is not their eternal destiny, but the fires of hell is where they will spend eternity. They will die in their sins because they refused to die with Christ to their sin (Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).
So, we need to be those who listen to the Lord, who study the Scriptures in context, and who test everything we hear against the word of truth. For, indeed, our faith in Jesus Christ includes us dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his righteousness, and this is the message we need to be giving out so that many will know the truth which will set them free.
[Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-17; Acts 26:18; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 2 Corinthians 5:10, 15, 21; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:5-9; 1 John 2:3-6]
He Touched My Mouth
An Original Work / June 13, 2012
Based off Isaiah 6:1-8; Jeremiah 1:4-9
Oh, I saw the Lord seated on His throne,
High and lifted up; Holy is the Lord!
The earth is full of His glory.
“Woe to me,” I cried,
“I’m of unclean lips.”
My Lord touched my mouth
With His cleansing pow’r;
Removed all my guilt, paid for by His blood.
He asked, “Whom shall I send;
Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Before I was born, God set me apart;
He appointed me to His servant be.
I said, “I don’t know how to speak.
I am but a child.” Then, the Lord replied:
“Do not say to me, ‘I am but a child.’
You must go to all, and do what I say.
Do not fear them, for I’m with you.”
My Lord touched my mouth;
Gave me words to say.
False Prophets in Jeremiah’s Day
There were false prophets in Jeremiah’s day who were not listening to God, who were sexually immoral, adulterous, and perjurious. They were preaching lies to the people in God’s name, but the messages were not authorized by God. In these messages they were misrepresenting God.
Not only were they preaching messages of rebellion against the Lord, but they also called Jeremiah, who was the Lord’s true prophet, a false prophet and a maniac, and they called for him to be put into the stocks and neck-irons, for they wanted him to be reprimanded for telling the people that they would be in exile for a long time.
False Teachers of Today
We have false teachers among us today who are adulterous and idolatrous, who live by the flesh, and who are self-indulgent. With regard to the Holy Spirit, they are Spiritless and thus fruitless, too. They revel in self-pleasure and therefore they teach a gospel which appeals to human flesh.
They are not all preachers, though, but they are ordinary people, as well, who are teaching (sharing) a false gospel of cheapened grace, which is not of God, is not authorized by God, and which does not submit to God (to Jesus Christ) as Lord (master).
And they are posting these messages on the internet in various places such as Christian discussion sites, Facebook, Twitter, and the like. They are also texting them to their friends or to their church members, or they are writing them in blog posts, or they are preaching them in church gatherings.
These messages which are being given out today, in the name of the Lord Jesus, but which are not of God, are literally opposed to God and to His Word, for they are teaching (instructing) the people who profess the name of Jesus to live in open rebellion against the Lord.
Thus, what they are teaching are willful lies which skillfully misrepresent the Lord and His Word, and which teach the people to not listen to God. For, they are teaching them that they don’t have to leave their sins behind them, that they don’t have to obey the Lord, and that they don’t have to surrender their lives to Jesus or submit to his Lordship over their lives.
Attacks on the True Gospel
And then they attack the true gospel with more lies by calling it “works-based salvation,” and they call its messengers those who are teaching that we are saved by our works of the flesh. So, they end up calling lies the truth and truth the lies.
Thus, they accuse those of us who are teaching the truth of being false teachers, or they call us “legalists,” or “hyper-religious,” or “self-righteous,” or even “crazy,” and all because we are telling people the truth that they don’t want to hear, for they prefer the lies.
For, we are telling them that they must repent (forsake their sins), that they must walk in obedience to the Lord’s commands, and that they must submit to Christ as Lord. And we are warning of divine judgment for those who refuse to bow the knee to God in humble submission to his will.
And since the vast majority of people who are professing faith in Jesus Christ are listening to the lies, and are preferring the lies, they are literally rejecting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior although they verbally confess to have faith in him.
For they are not welcoming him, in truth, into their lives to be Lord (owner-master), nor are they accepting the truth of his gospel of salvation as taught in the holy Scriptures. But they are receiving and embracing the lies which tickle their itching ears, which give them permission to live on in their sin.
The Sin Problem
Many of the people of God in Jeremiah’s day were living in open rebellion against the Lord. They would not listen to the Lord or heed his commands. Even though the Lord had sent them his messages through his prophets again and again, the people still refused to listen and to obey.
And this parallels over to today, to those who profess the name of Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Many of them are also not listening to the Lord and they are not obeying his commands, because they have been persuaded that, under God’s grace, they don’t have to obey the Lord.
Even though the Lord has been sending them messages, again and again, through his servants and messengers, they have been refusing to listen, they have been attacking the messengers, and they have hardened their hearts against the truth in favor of the lies.
So, the Lord sent them many warnings, too, of divine judgment, which were written in his Word, and which were taught by his servants and witnesses, who are sharing the gospel of Christ. But they also refused those warnings, and they continued on in their stubborn hearts to live as they want.
And now, I believe, we are seeing the hand of God in judgment against those who profess his name but who refuse to honor him as God, who refuse to bow the knee to him, and who refuse to die to their sins and live to God and to his righteousness.
But I believe God will bring good out of it all, and that, as things get much worse, more people’s eyes are going to be opened to the truth, and some people will begin to repent of their sins and turn their hearts to Jesus Christ to follow him in obedience to his will for their lives.
But for those who still rebel, and who will not submit to Christ as Lord, heaven is not their eternal destiny, but the fires of hell is where they will spend eternity. They will die in their sins because they refused to die with Christ to their sin (Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).
So, we need to be those who listen to the Lord, who study the Scriptures in context, and who test everything we hear against the word of truth. For, indeed, our faith in Jesus Christ includes us dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his righteousness, and this is the message we need to be giving out so that many will know the truth which will set them free.
[Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-17; Acts 26:18; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 15:2; 2 Corinthians 5:10, 15, 21; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:5-9; 1 John 2:3-6]
He Touched My Mouth
An Original Work / June 13, 2012
Based off Isaiah 6:1-8; Jeremiah 1:4-9
Oh, I saw the Lord seated on His throne,
High and lifted up; Holy is the Lord!
The earth is full of His glory.
“Woe to me,” I cried,
“I’m of unclean lips.”
My Lord touched my mouth
With His cleansing pow’r;
Removed all my guilt, paid for by His blood.
He asked, “Whom shall I send;
Who will go for us?”
I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Before I was born, God set me apart;
He appointed me to His servant be.
I said, “I don’t know how to speak.
I am but a child.” Then, the Lord replied:
“Do not say to me, ‘I am but a child.’
You must go to all, and do what I say.
Do not fear them, for I’m with you.”
My Lord touched my mouth;
Gave me words to say.
