Today's Reading:O.T. - Jeremiah 43 - 45
N.T. - 1 John 5
Focus Verses: Jeremiah 44:15-18
15 Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, along with all the women who were present—a large assembly—and all the people living in Lower and Upper Egypt, said to Jeremiah, 16 "We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD! 17 We will certainly do everything we said we would: We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. At that time we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. 18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine."
Insight:
This passage of scripture gives a startling view of just how boldly and flagrantly the people rejected Jeremiah's message and God himself. "We were better off when we were worshiping idols," they say. They were not just unfaithful to God, they were boldly rejecting God and choosing what they thought was better than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Response and Action:
I choose God. I believe that only the Almighty God, the maker of heaven and earth, the God of Abraham, the Father who sent his son Jesus into the world, is worthy of my life and my worship. I will look to God for the guidance, hope, and strength I need for life. I will guard against unfaithfulness. I will be careful to acknowledge God and put my trust in him alone. I will be sensitive and receptive to his message, given to me through the prophets and the apostles recorded in the pages of Scripture.
O God, give me a heart that is faithful to you. Give me the wisdom to recognize what is true and what is false. Help me to guard my heart and mind from anything that would turn me from you. I want to trust in you with all my heart. I will not lean on my own understanding. In all my ways, I want to acknowledge you. Only you, O God, know the straight path that leads to blessing, fulfillment, and life. Amen.
Proverbs: 17:24
"A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth."
Resources:
Breaking the Idols of Your Heart
by Dan B. Allender
