WHAT GOD DESIRES God desires that all humanity would be saved. Yet, we know from the Scriptures that only those who believe will receive God’s salvation. The tension between what God “desires” for us and what humanity desires for itself is difficult to ease. We tend to overstate one side or the other, either making
DO YOUR PRAYERS FIND THEIR WAY TO THE LORD? The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter of hope to the Jewish exiles in Babylon. He gave them this message from the Lord, assuring them that the Lord had not forsaken them, nor had He stopped hearing their prayers. If only they would seek Him with all
DO YOU ALWAYS WANT MORE? Solomon pondered the question, “Can you ever have too much of a good thing?” In short, his answer was in the affirmative. He advised that you should practice moderation, eating “only as much as you need,” so that you wouldn’t make yourself sick. But we have a problem.
DO YOU TRUST GOD’S WORD? The prophet Jeremiah received this prophecy from the Lord concerning Judah’s looming fall and 70 year captivity to Babylon. His words fell on deaf ears. His king, Jehoiakim of Judah, did not listen to Jeremiah, even at one point, burning his prophetic scroll. But the Lord told Jeremiah to make
DO YOU WRITE IN YOUR BIBLE? The Lord warned that many so-called prophets had not really heard and studied God’s Word. But Jeremiah was God’s man. He stood in the Lord’s counsel and marked His word and preached it as he heard it. Do you mark God’s Word? Do you take note of what
TO TRULY KNOW THYSELF ONE MUST KNOW THY GOD Jeremiah cried out to God, proclaiming Him as the One who tests and sees the mind and heart of man. Jeremiah was under constant attack by his brethren for the prophecies the Lord gave him to preach. His plea to the Lord was that his enemies’
WE SORROW BUT NOT WITHOUT HOPE The apostle Paul described believers who had died as having “fallen asleep” in Jesus. For them death is like sleep, a transitional state where one closes his eyes in this world and opens them in the next. Having given the Thessalonians this description, Paul encouraged them not to “sorrow
HOW LOW MUST YOU GO? The Psalmist cried out to God that he and his people had been brought very low. They had hit rock bottom and could not get up without God’s help. He prayed that God would no longer remember their sins and that He would show them tender mercy. He begged God
DO YOU REDEEM THE TIME WITH THOSE OUTSIDE THE FAITH? Live with godly wisdom toward those who are outside the faith. Let them see Christ in you. Remember that you were once an “outsider” too, but Christ has brought you near. Season your conversation with grace, asking the Spirit to give you wisdom on how
OUR GLORY IS IN CHRIST JESUS Human wisdom, strength and riches are the criteria by which we judge success, they are the attributes we boast of and depend upon. Indeed, it is these three that shape societal pecking order. Yet, God warned that such fleshly boasts would not save Israel from the coming judgment. The