“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips” (Proverbs 27:2 ESV). In this modern era of social media and self-promotion, this proverb seems out of place. Yet self aggrandizement is still unwise. For if you praise yourself, others will not only remain silent, they will think you
‘And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”’ (Ezekiel 9:3-4 ESV).
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 ESV). The Bible is no ordinary book. It is living and active. It is like a
“And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them” (Ezekiel 2:5 ESV). Ezekiel was thirty years old when God called him to be a prophet. God cautioned him not to base his sense of success on how the people responded,
“The joy of our hearts has ceased; our dancing has been turned to mourning… Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:15, 21 ESV). Jeremiah lamented over the fall of Jerusalem and the dire condition of his people. He described their hunger and homelessness,
“It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth” (Lamentations 3:27 ESV). There is a worldly saying that describes a way of life that has destroyed many a young person which says, “Sow your wild oats before settling down.” But the Bible says the opposite. The prophet Jeremiah must have
“I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music” (Psalm 101:1 ESV). David understood something about God’s “love and justice.” He had learned both the loving mercy and the holy righteousness of God. He therefore determined to sing and make music to the Lord, worshiping Him in fullness
“So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king’s table” (Jeremiah 52:33 ESV). In the final verses of Jeremiah’s prophetic book of judgment on Judah and the surrounding nations, a glimmer of hope appears. Jehoiachin, the former king of Judah, who had been imprisoned by
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:11-13 ESV). The apostle
“The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by Jeremiah the prophet… For out of the north a nation has come up against her, which shall make her land a desolation, and none shall dwell in it…” (Jeremiah 50:1-3 ESV). Written during a period when Babylon was at the