Pastor Gary's OYB Devotion Archive for October 13

WHO IS THIS RIGHTEOUS BRANCH?

From: October 13, 2024

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land” (Jeremiah 23:5 ESV).

In the midst of announcing woes and judgment on Judah, Jeremiah proclaimed a future when the Messiah would come and reign as king. The Messiah is called a “righteous Branch,” which surely refers to Isaiah’s prophecy that “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (Isa. 11:1). In other words, although the royal line of David, the son of Jesse, will appear to be cut off, leaving only a “stump,” one day a “shoot” from it will grow into a new branch, which will be the Messiah.

There are two distinct threads of Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. One of a Suffering Servant (See Isa. 53) and another of a Righteous King. The prophecy of the “Branch” falls into this second category. It speaks of Christ’s second coming when He shall reign as King.

Jesus has already come as Savior and sacrifice, but this prophecy of His righteous reign is yet to be fulfilled. We still await the coming of the King of Righteousness that Jeremiah proclaimed. And as we work proclaiming the gospel, we join with the saints of old saying, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your word, which foretold the coming of Christ our Savior and foretells that He is coming again. We have believed in Him and we actively look for His return as we tell others His Good News. Strengthen us to always be busy and ready for His return. In Jesus’ name, amen.

HAVE YOU LEARNED TO STUDY GOD’S WORD?

From: October 13, 2023

“Have any of these prophets been in the Lord’s presence to hear what he is really saying? Has even one of them cared enough to listen?” (Jeremiah 23:18 NLT).

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 study God’s Word? Do you take note of what He says to you? When my dear mother passed away, she left her Bibles to us, her children. We each received Bibles that were filled with her scribblings. She wrote notes in the margins and underlined significant Scriptures. She even wrote prayers and claimed God’s promises on the pages of her Bible. The reason she had several Bibles was because she wore them out and filled them up. She would get a new one every few years, so she’d have room to start marking them up again. The Bible I received from her is one of my most valued possessions.

Yet even more valuable is the knowledge that those who have studied God’s Word and truly heard it, have it written on their hearts.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your Word. It is one of the greatest gifts You have given. We mark it and hear it. Write it on our hearts that we might think it, do it, and proclaim it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Have any of these prophets been in the Lord’s presence to hear what he is really saying?” (Jeremiah 23:18a NLT).

From: October 13, 2022

OCTOBER IS PASTOR APPRECIATION MONTH

The prophet Jeremiah spoke on the Lord’s behalf against those prophets in Judah who were promising peace and safety when the Lord was warning against coming judgment. Here it took the form of a rhetorical question that begs a negative response. “No,” none of them have been in the Lord’s presence to hear the Lord speaking. They spoke only what the people wanted to hear. For the people were like those that the apostle Paul warned would be present again during the last days, saying, “For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts” (2 Tim. 4:3).

The Lord is looking for preachers that will get in His presence and study His Word to know and understand what He is really saying. He is looking for pastors who after praying and studying, they are willing to boldly declare exactly what God tells them to say. And He is looking for a people that will be drawn to Bible-preaching that honors God’s Word and is anointed by God’s Spirit, people who will support such preaching and offer a resounding, “Amen!”

October is pastor appreciation month. One of the best ways to show appreciation is to make sure your pastor(s) have the time and resources to study and pray. There is no shortcut. Powerful preaching and spiritual leadership comes from time spent alone in the presence of God.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we only want that Word that comes from those who have been in Your presence. When we hear it, the Spirit within us exults. We love Your Word and love to hear it preached. As the Day approaches, help us to support those who preach and teach as those who have been in Your presence all the more. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Who has marked His word and heard it? (Jeremiah 23:18b NKJV).

From: October 13, 2021

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 He says to you? When my dear mother passed away, she left her Bibles to us, her children. We each received Bibles that were filled with her “markings.” She wrote notes in the margins and underlined significant Scriptures. She even wrote prayers and claimed God’s promises on the pages of her Bible. The reason she had several Bibles was because she wore them out and filled them up with her many markings. She would get a new one every few years, so she’d have room to start marking them up again. The Bible I received from her is one of my most valued possessions.

Yet even more valuable is the knowledge that those who have marked God’s Word and truly heard it, have it written on their hearts.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your Word. It is one of the greatest gifts You have given. We mark it and hear it. Write it on our hearts that we might think it, do it, and proclaim it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Who has marked His word and heard it? (Jeremiah 23:18b NKJV).

From: October 13, 2020

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 He says to you? When my dear mother passed away, she left her Bibles to us, her children. We each received Bibles that were filled with her “markings.” She wrote notes in the margins and underlined significant Scriptures. She even wrote prayers and claimed God’s promises on the pages of her Bible. The reason she had several Bibles was because she wore them out and filled them up with her many markings. She would get a new one every few years, so she’d have room to start marking them up again. The Bible I received from her is one of my most valued possessions.

Yet even more valuable is the knowledge that those who have marked God’s Word and truly heard it, have it written on their hearts.

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Your Word. It is one of the greatest gifts You have given. We mark it and hear it. Write it on our hearts that we might think it, do it, and proclaim it. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“Have any of these prophets been in the Lord’s presence to hear what he is really saying?” (Jeremiah 23:18a NLT).

From: October 13, 2019

DO YOU HAVE A PASTOR WHO SPENDS TIME IN GOD’S PRESENCE BEFORE HE PREACHES?

The prophet Jeremiah spoke on the Lord’s behalf against those prophets in Judah who were promising peace and safety when the Lord was warning against coming judgment. Here it took the form of a rhetorical question that begs a negative response: “No, none of them have been in the Lord’s presence to hear the Lord speaking.” They spoke only what the people wanted to hear. For the people were like those that the apostle Paul warned would be present again during the last days, saying, “For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts” (2 Tim. 4:3).

The Lord is looking for preachers that will get in His presence and study His Word to know and understand what He is really saying. He is looking for pastors who after praying and studying, they are willing to boldly declare exactly what God tells them to say. And He is looking for a people that will be drawn to Bible-preaching that honors God’s Word and is anointed by God’s Spirit, people who will support such preaching and offer a resounding, “Amen!”

PRAYER: Dear Father, we only want that Word that comes from those who have been in Your presence. When we hear it, the Spirit within us exults. We love Your Word and love to hear it preached. As the Day approaches, help us to support those who preach and teach as those who have been in Your presence all the more. In Jesus’ name, amen.

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Let the record show that this man Jehoiachin was childless. He is a failure, for none of his children will succeed him on the throne of David to rule over Judah.’” (Jeremiah 22:30 NLT).

From: October 13, 2018

THE AMAZING ACCURACY OF SCRIPTURE

The Lord gave Jeremiah this prophecy concerning Jehoiachin, grandson of King Josiah, that he would be childless. The prophecy further explained that his childlessness would not be due to not having any sons, but that none of them would sit on David’s throne. Indeed, Jehoiachin was taken into Babylonian captivity, where he had children, among them was his grandson, Zerubabbel, who later returned to Jerusalem, not as a king, but as a leader who lead in the rebuilding of the Temple. So, Jeremiah’s prophecy was fulfilled. No one from Jehoiachin’s line has ever sat on David’s throne.

Yet, if this is so, how would God fulfill His promise to David that the Messiah would come from his line, so that he always had a son to sit on his throne? In addition, what of Matthew’s genealogy that seems to state that Jesus was indeed born into Jehoiachin’s line (Jehoiachin was also called Jeconiah as in Matt. 1:12)? Doesn’t this show that Jeremiah’s prophecy was inaccurate?

The answer to the questions concerning Matthew’s genealogy is that it gives the line of Joseph, so that Jesus has legal claim to David’s throne through His stepfather.

And the answer to how Jesus can claim human descent from David is found in Luke 3:31, where the line of Jesus is traced through Mary’s line to David’s son, Nathan, the older brother of Solomon.

“that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:12 NKJV).

From: October 13, 2017

Paul prayed for the believers in Thessalonica. In all the things he prayed for them, he prayed that Jesus would get the glory for it. Three questions/observations concerning this glory:

1) What is glory?

Some synonyms are: Honor, credit, renown, praise, worship, beauty, splendor. What is this glory? It is about who gets the honor and who gets the praise.

2) How might Christ’s name be glorified “in you?”

It begins with your self-acknowledgement that all you are and all you have comes from Him. You glorify Christ in your heart. Then, it radiates outward into your words and deeds, so that the name of Christ is glorified in all you say and do.

3) How are you to be glorified “in Him?”

Is this true? Will we share in Christ’s glory? Yes, but not because of our own accomplishment, but “according to the grace” of God, accomplished in Christ. By faith we have become God’s children and “joint heirs” with Christ, so that all that is His, is now also ours, including His glory. As Paul wrote to the Romans, “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory” (Rom. 8:17). So, this glory is part of our inheritance in Christ!

If we live for our own glory, we will not share in Christ’s. But if we live for His glory, according to His grace, then we will share in Christ’s glory forevermore!

“They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9 ESV)

From: October 13, 2016

The destiny of those who reject a relationship with God and disobey the gospel was here given through the apostle Paul. He gave six words to describe Hell:
1) “Suffer” – it is a place of pain and suffering.
2) “Punishment” – it is a place of God’s fiery justice 3) “Eternal” – it is an everlasting condition 4) “Destruction” – not annihilation, but continual ruination 5) “Presence” – banished from God’s presence and blessing 6) “Glory” – banished from God’s beauty and sustaining power Paul gave this horrific description of future suffering for those who were persecuting the believers in Thessalonica. He did this so believers wouldn’t focus on vengeance against their persecutors, but would instead focus on Christ. Seeing those who persecute our faith through the eyes of our Savior, we are able to pray, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth (Jeremiah 23:5 NKJV)

From: October 13, 2015

In the midst of announcing woes and judgment, Jeremiah proclaimed a future when the Christ would come. There are two distinct threads of messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. One of a Suffering Servant (See Isa. 53) and another of a Righteous King. Jesus has already come as Savior and sacrifice, but this prophecy of His righteous reign is yet to be fulfilled. We still await the coming of the King of Righteousness that Jeremiah proclaimed. And as we work proclaiming the gospel we join the saints of old saying, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).