Category: Jeremiah Devotionals

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Jeremiah Devotionals

The song that must always be on our lips

Jeremiah

If there is one song that is repeated over and over again in the Bible, it is this one:

Give thanks to the Lord of Armies,
for the Lord is good;
his faithful love endures forever. (Jeremiah 33:11)

The first time we see it is in 1 Chronicles 16:34.

Then you see it in 2 Chronicles 5:13 and 7:3, in Ezra 3:11, Psalm 100:5, 106:1, 107:1, Psalm 117, and Psalm 118 verses 1-4 and 29.

Psalm 136 is a song completely devoted to that theme.

The words come from God’s own description of himself when he spoke to Moses.

The Lord—the Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin. (Exodus 34:6-7)

How often in these troubled times are we giving thanks to the Lord?

Do we say with confidence, “The Lord is good! His faithful love endures forever!”

He proved it on the cross. Jesus suffered and died there to take the punishment for our sin.

He did so at a time when we were not even seeking him. Before we loved him, he loved us, and gave himself for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

So if in these times you ever find yourself doubting God’s goodness and faithful love to you, look to the cross in wonder, and worship God, singing,

Give thanks to the Lord. For he is good!
His faithful love endures forever!

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Jeremiah Devotionals

A prayer

Jeremiah

It’s always good not only to read scriptures, but to pray them. And as I read this passage today, it led me to pray. May it be your prayer today as well.

Father,

You are my God, and I am your child.

Give me integrity of heart and action so that I will fear you always, for my good, and the good of the next generation.

Thank you for the new permanent covenant we have in Jesus. Because of this new covenant, you will never turn away from doing good to me.

Put the fear of you in my heart, so that I will never again turn away from you.

In your faithfulness, and with all your heart and mind, plant me in this land. And today, may I bear fruit for you. May I be a channel of your love to those around me today.

In Jesus name, amen.

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Jeremiah Devotionals

The faithfulness of our Shepherd

Jeremiah

As I look at this passage, I can’t help but see the faithfulness of our Shepherd.

You see it in his faithfulness to Israel. He told them,

The people who survived the sword
found favor in the wilderness.

When Israel went to find rest,
the Lord appeared to him from far away.

I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore, I have continued to extend faithful love to you. (Jeremiah 31:2-3)

Jeremiah seems to be referring to all the people returning from Babylon, but you could also point to Jacob (whom God named “Israel”) and the nation of Israel as they came out of Egypt.

Jacob survived the sword of his brother Esau and was forced to flee his home. But in a time when Jacob was fearful and broken, the Lord appeared to him showing him faithful love.

Why? Because Jacob deserved it?

No, he was a con man who was constantly deceiving people and taking advantage of them.

Rather, God was faithful to him because out of His everlasting love, He had chosen Jacob before he was even born.

The same can be said of the Israelites when they escaped from the sword of Egypt.

God didn’t save them from the Egyptian army because of their faithfulness to him, but because of his faithfulness to them and the promises he had made to their ancestor Abraham hundreds of years earlier.

And now, though God was disciplining his people because of their sin, because of his everlasting love toward them, he promised to show them grace once again and bring them back to their own land.

I almost think that Jeremiah remembered Psalm 23 as he wrote this passage. You can see many of the themes in that Psalm in this passage.

God brings his sheep back to himself. (One meaning of “he restores my soul” is “he brings me back.”) (Jeremiah 31:8-13)

He gives his sheep rest, refreshing their weary souls. (25)

He leads them to water and down paths of righteousness, not because they deserve it, but for his name’s sake. (9)

His rod of protection delivers them from the enemy. (11)

He prepares a table filled with abundance for his sheep, and God’s goodness follows them (12-14).

And though they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he walks with them and gives them hope. (15-17)

Jeremiah then essentially finishes this chapter the same way he started it: by talking about the faithfulness of God.

He promised a day when God would make a new covenant with us, a covenant not based on our ability to keep the law in our own strength, but on God’s grace.

A covenant in which he puts his law into our hearts, forgiving our sins and remembering them no more. And once again God says of us,

I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the LORD’s declaration. (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

So in times of trouble like we’re going through now, let us remember the faithfulness of our Shepherd, and rejoice! 

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Is God punishing us?

Jeremiah

In the midst of this Corona virus crisis, I occasionally hear from Christian circles that this is God’s judgment on people for their sin.

Is that true? Is God punishing us?

I wouldn’t rule out that there is some aspect to God’s judgment in all this. He has used plague in the past as judgment (see Egypt in the book of Exodus, for example), and he will use it in the future (see Revelation).

That said, I wouldn’t dogmatically say, “This is God’s judgment on the world!”

What I will say is that we Christians, as God’s people, should never think that God is punishing us in order to destroy us.

One thing you see in this passage is that there is a clear distinction between judgment to destroy and judgment to discipline. God will sometimes punish his people in order to discipline them. 

That he makes clear in verse 11 where he says,

I will bring destruction on all the nations
where I have scattered you;
however, I will not bring destruction on you.

I will discipline you justly,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished. (Jeremiah 30:11)

Here you see the clear distinction between those who are God’s people and those who are not.

Just as God ultimately judged Israel’s conquerors Assyria and Babylon for all their sins, so he will judge all those who reject him.

But God’s promise to Israel, and to all who are all God’s people, is that though he may discipline us, he will not destroy us. And ultimately, he will restore us. (17)

How is it possible that he shows us such grace? Because of Jesus. And in this passage, we see the promise of his first coming.

God told the Israelites,

Jacob’s leader will be one of them;
his ruler will issue from him.

I will invite him to me, and he will approach me,
for who would otherwise risk his life to approach me?

This is the LORD’s declaration. (Jeremiah 30:21)

The interesting thing about this leader is that he would act not only as king, but as priest.

The language of approaching God is the same that God uses of a priest approaching him.

With rare exception, none but the high priest ever did dare approach God in the Old Testament.

And as the high priest did on the Day of Atonement (Levlticus 17), Jesus approached the Father with blood to atone for all our sins.

But Jesus didn’t come with the blood of bulls and goats. He came with his own blood shed on the cross.

And because of that, God can now say the same thing of us that he said of the Israelites,

You will be my people,
and I will be your God. (Jeremiah 30:22)

One final thing on God’s wrath. Jeremiah said concerning the nations that had conquered Israel,

Look, a storm from the LORD!

Wrath has gone out,
a churning storm.

The LORD’s burning anger will not turn back
until he has completely fulfilled the purposes of his heart. (Jeremiah 30:23-24)

Again, both Assyria and Babylon faced God’s full wrath and were overthrown.

But remember this: the Lord’s burning anger did eventually turn back when he completely fulfilled the purposes of his heart.

God’s wrath turned back after the full storm of it was poured out on Jesus on the cross.

And when it was done, Jesus said, “It is finished. All your purposes have been fulfilled, Father. I have paid the price for sin.”

So as God’s people, even if you may be struggling in these difficult times, remember that God is not punishing you. Jesus took all of the Father’s wrath on himself, and there is no wrath left for you.

God may discipline you, and you may go through the fire of refinement. But remember the words of Job, and hold on to them.

Yet he knows the way I have taken;
when he has tested me, I will emerge as pure gold. (Job 23:10) 

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Praying for our cities

Jeremiah

In this passage, Jeremiah was writing to a people who had just been exiled to Babylon. Many of them were scared and discouraged. Perhaps some of them even wanted to rebel against their captors.

But God told them this,

Pursue the well-being (Hebrew: “Shalom,” meaning among other things “peace”, “prosperity,” “safety,” and “health”) of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive. (Jeremiah 29:7)

God tells us to do the same thing. In fact, perhaps Paul was thinking of this passage when he wrote these words to Timothy.

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 

This is good, and it pleases God our Savior,  who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)

In these often scary and discouraging times, let us take the words of Jeremiah and Paul to heart. Pray to the Lord for our cities. There are a lot of hurting people out there.

Pursue our cities’ well-being.

Part of that means social distancing, which is why we’re not meeting on Sundays.

But at the same time, pursue individual people’s well-being. Touch the people you know, both inside and outside the church. Call them. Encourage them. Pray for them. In whatever way you can, try to meet their needs.

And pray for our leaders. I often read criticism of our leaders as they make decisions for our countries.

But let me ask you something: are you obeying Paul’s words? Are you praying for your leaders? Or are you merely complaining about them, to God and to anyone else who will listen?

Don’t complain about them. Pray for them.

And let us pray that through all this Corona craziness that people will be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Speaking God’s word faithfully

Jeremiah

How faithfully do we speak God’s word to those around us?

The prophets and priests in Jeremiah’s day didn’t. Nothing they said turned people away from their sin and to God.

How about our words? Do they turn people away from their sin and to God?

God told the prophets and priests,

For who has stood in the council of the LORD
to see and hear his word?

Who has paid attention to his word and obeyed? (Jeremiah 23:18)

And again,

If they had really stood in my council,
they would have enabled my people to hear my words
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and their evil deeds. (22)

He then says,

but the one who has my word should speak my word truthfully (NIV – “faithfully”),

for what is straw compared to grain?”—this is the LORD’s declaration. (28)

We have received words that give life.

Do we speak them faithfully to those who are dying spiritually?

Are we feeding people straw that does them no good, or grain that feeds their soul and gives them life?

Lord, you have given us your word. Help us, your people, to speak it truthfully and faithfully to a dying world.

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Isaiah Devotionals Jeremiah Devotionals

A prayer for the nation

Isaiah

I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, working away at the wheel.

But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter’s hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do.

The word of the LORD came to me: “House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?”—this is the LORD’s declaration.

“Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel. (Jeremiah 18:3-6)

As I read these words, I couldn’t help but think about Japan, where I live.

Because of the sin in this country, we, like Israel, are broken vessels. But there is hope for us, because like the potter, God can reshape this country into something good. If the people of this nation repent, God will forgive us.

So pray for Japan.

But how exactly should we pray?

In reading Jeremiah’s words, I thought of another passage. In that passage, the prophet Isaiah also used the metaphor of a potter in his prayer.

You can find his prayer in Isaiah 64:1-9. So read that passage and pray for Japan.

And of course, feel free to pray for whatever country you’re from, because all I said goes for America, Australia, and all the nations around the world as well.

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Verses to remember

Jeremiah

In a time when many people are living in fear and worry, Jeremiah 17:5-8 is a great passage to remember.

May I make a suggestion? Memorize this passage.

If you belong to a small group, have all your group members memorize it. Then on Sunday, contact each other by phone or video chat and check if you were able to memorize it.

Then encourage each other and pray with each other.

Even if you don’t belong to a small group, call a friend and encourage them, “Let’s memorize this passage together.”

If you think it’s a bit too long, just memorize verses 7-8

One more idea is to memorize it with your family.

Anyway, note the contrasts in these verses.

Cursed is the one who trusts in man. who draws strength from mere flesh (Jeremiah 17:5)

But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD (7)

For the person who trusts in man, his/her heart turns away from the LORD. (5)

The person who trusts in the Lord has his/her confidence is in Him. (7)

The person who trusts in man will be like a bush in the wastelands…They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. (6)

The person who trusts in the Lord will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. (8)

The person who trusts in man will not see prosperity when it comes. (6)

The person who trusts in the Lord does not fear when heat comes; His/her leaves are always green, has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (8)

Quite a contrast don’t you think?

So let us put our trust in Him!

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Our hope for a lost world

Jeremiah

Jeremiah had a pretty depressing job.

He was preaching to a nation that was being judged for their sin, and God had outright told him to stop praying for the nation. That even if Moses or Samuel prayed for Israel, God would not listen. (Jeremiah 15:1)

What was the nation’s problem? They couldn’t even recognize their own sin. (16:10)

Namely, they had:

  1. Abandoned the Lord.
  2. Followed and worshiped other gods.
  3. Followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. (Jeremiah 16:11-12)

And yet there was still a sliver of hope. Though God would punish his people, he would bring them back. (Jeremiah 16:14-15)

The interesting thing is that right after saying that, God said he would send fishermen to fish for the Israelites, and hunters to gather them in.

That was actually a word of judgment. The Babylonians would gather in the people of Israel and the Israelites would pay for their own sin by suffering exile for 70 years.

But hundreds of years later, after God kept his promise and graciously returned his people to their land, Jesus came and called his first disciples, saying,

“Follow me…and I will make you fish for people.” (Matthew 4:19)

This time, though, he would send out fishers not to punish people, but to save them.

Why was that possible? Because Jesus himself would be punished in our place. He took all of God’s wrath toward us upon himself.

And now, he calls all of us as his disciples to fish for people.

So let us go out and do that.

And especially in this time when fear seems to reign, let us pray for the nations.

Pray as Jeremiah did. I’m an American, living in Japan. But feel free to adjust this prayer to wherever you live.

Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in a time of distress,
the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth.

Japan will come to you.
The U.S. will come to you.
All the nations.

And they will say,
“Our fathers inherited only lies,
worthless idols of no benefit at all.”

O God, can one make gods for himself?
People have tried, worshiping all manner of things.
But these things are not gods. Forgive them.

Lord, through us, inform them
and make them know your power and might.
Then they will know that your name is Yahweh.

(Based on Jeremiah 16:19-21)

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Listen!

Jeremiah

Last Sunday, I preached a message by the same title as this article. I was preaching from Mark 4, where Jesus commanded the crowds, “Listen!”

Here we see God saying the same thing to the Israelites.

But here’s what I found interesting.

God said,

For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me…to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. (Jeremiah 13:11a, NIV)

In the same way, we are called to be God’s people for his renown, praise, and honor.

But what was the problem with the Jews?

But they have not listened. (11b)

He explains further earlier in verse 10.

These wicked people, who refuse, to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after false gods to serve and worship them, will be like this (ruined) belt–completely useless.

How about us? When people see us, do they praise and honor God? Do they themselves want to turn to God and become his people too?

We can only be a people for God’s renown, praise, and honor if we listen to him. If our hearts are soft to him.

So remember God’s words to the Jews. They are for us too.

Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God… (Jeremiah 13:15)

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Our response in times of crisis

Jeremiah

As I write this, many people around the world are panicking because of the Corona virus.

How do we respond as Christians? I think we learn the answer through this chapter.

Do not learn the way of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, although the nations are terrified by them, for the customs of the peoples are worthless. (Jeremiah 10:2-3)

These “signs” probably had to do with astrological predictions of disaster. People looked at the stars, saw disaster, and feared.

Perhaps the majority of people don’t think that way anymore, but people look at things like this virus and fear what will happen.

But we are not to be like the people of this world, fearing what they fear.

Instead, we should have three responses: worship, humility, and trust.

Lord, there is no one like you.
You are great;
your name is great in power.

Who should not fear you,
King of the nations.

For among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kingdoms, there is no one like you. (Jeremiah 10:6-7)

Meditate on these words. Pray these words today. Meditate on and pray Jeremiah’s words in verses 10, 12-13, and 16 too.

Then with humility and trust, pray,

I know, Lord,
that a person’s way of life is not his own;
no one who walks determines his own steps.

Discipline me, Lord, but with justice–
not in your anger,
or you will reduce me to nothing. (Jeremiah 10:23-24)

Of course, be cautious in times like these. But let us not live in panic and terror.

Remember that we serve an awesome Lord. And in humility, let us trust him. 

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Jeremiah Devotionals

To know the Lord

Jeremiah

A little different style today. Instead of explaining this passage, I’d like you to read and think about it yourself .

As you look at Jeremiah 9, focus on verses 2-6, and 12-14.

After that, take a look at verses 23-24 and then ask yourself:

“What does knowing the Lord mean? Is it mere head knowledge about him? If I truly know the Lord, how should that change my way of thinking and the way I live? Do I truly know the Lord in that sense?”

May we all be people who truly know the Lord.

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Ears to hear

Jeremiah

Next Sunday at my church, we’ll be looking at Mark 4:1-20. One of the themes of that passage is, “Do we have ears to hear God’s word?”

That in fact is a major theme of Jeremiah 5-6. Unfortunately, the Israelites didn’t have ears to hear.

God said these things about them.

“Hear this,
you foolish and senseless people.
They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear. (Jeremiah 5:21)

“But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned aside and have gone away.” (Jeremiah 5:23)

“Who can I speak to and give such a warning
that they will listen?

Look, their ear is uncircumcised,so they cannot pay attention.

See, the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them—
they find no pleasure in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10-11)

“This is what the Lord says:

“Stand by the roadways and look.
Ask about the ancient paths,
“Which is the way to what is good?”

Then take it
and find rest for yourselves.

But they protested, “We won’t!”

I appointed watchmen over you
and said, “Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.”

But they protested, “We won’t listen!”” (Jeremiah 6:16-17)

What about us? Do we have ears that are open?

As we read the Bible or hear the Sunday message, when we hear or read something that hurts, do we simply close our eyes and our ears to it?

Or do we welcome that word and receive it?

What kind of ears to do you have?

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Jeremiah Devotionals

If we want revival

Jeremiah

We live in a world that seems to be wandering further and further away from God.

It’s easy to get depressed and mourn over that fact. But the truth is, if we want revival, it starts with us.

Throughout chapter 3, God called his people to return to him. To that point, their return to him had been mere pretense. (Jeremiah 3:10)

His people seemed to show a repentant heart (Jeremiah 3:22-25), but God again tells them in chapter 4 that he is not interested in mere words. Rather he says,

Break up the unplowed ground;
do not sow among the thorns. (Jeremiah 4:3)

What is the state of our hearts? Is it something that God’s word can easily penetrate and bear fruit in?

Or is his word falling on hard ground, rocky ground, or thorny ground? (Mark 4:3-20)

Too many times, I think his word is falling on thorny ground in my heart. I let other things choke out its growth in my life.

And so I pray, “Lord, heal my faithlessness to you.” (Jeremiah 3:22).

But the words that really strike me are 4:1-2.

“If you return, Israel—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you will return to me,
if you remove your abhorrent idols
from my presence
and do not waver,
then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,”
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then the nations will be blessed by him
and will pride themselves in him.”

Do we want to see revival in our land? Then we who are God’s people need to return to him, removing the idols from our hearts and living lives faithful to him.

O Lord, heal your people’s faithlessness to you. And heal your land.

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Jeremiah Devotionals

What sin is

Jeremiah

In this passage, God is essentially taking his people to court, and bringing his charges against them. And in doing so, we get a clear picture of what sin is.

I live in Japan, and to many people here, they hear the word sin, and they associate it with crime.

But while crime is sin, sin itself is something much deeper: a turning away from God and the turning to something else.

You see this time and again in this passage.

What fault did your fathers find in me
that they went so far from me
followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.

They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord…”(Jeremiah 2:5-6)

Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?
(But they were not gods!)
Yet my people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols. (11)

For my people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug cisterns for themselves–cracked cisterns that cannot hold water. (13)

Have you not brought this upon yourself
by abandoning the Lord your God
while he was leading you along the way? (17)

Recognize how evil and bitter it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of me. (19)

For long ago I broke your yoke;
I tore off your chains.
You insisted, “I will not serve!” (20)

But you say, “It is hopeless;
I love strangers,
and I will continue to follow them.” (25)

For they have turned their back to me
and not their face (27)

Why do you bring a case against me?
All of you have rebelled against me. (29)

Why do my people claim,
“We will go where we want;
we will no longer come to you”?

Can a young woman forget her jewelry
or a bride her wedding sash?

Yet my people have forgotten me
for countless days. (31-32)

But in spite of all these things
you claim, “I am innocent.
His anger is sure to turn away from me.”

But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, “I have not  sinned.” (34-35)

These attitudes are the heart of sin.

Sure, murder, rape, stealing, hurting others, cheating on your husband or wife, and lying are all sins.

But it ultimately comes down to this: you turn our back on God and go your own way.

And so when we preach the gospel, that is what we need to explain to people when talking about sin.

So many, like the Israelites, can’t see their own sin because they don’t understand what it is or how bad it is.

But as we look at our lives, how often can these things be said of us?

Are we abandoning the fountain of living water and digging cracked cisterns for ourselves?

Where are we going to get the love we desire? Where are we going to find satisfaction in life?

Are we turning our face toward God? Or are we seeking other things?

Where is your heart today?

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Jeremiah Devotionals

A prayer

Jeremiah

O Lord, you chose me before you formed me in the womb.

You knew me, and set me apart before I was born.

You called me as your child, and as your priest, declaring your praises to the nations. (John 1:12; 1 Peter 2:9)

I will go to everyone you send me and speak whatever you tell me.

Fill my mouth with your words.

Use me to uproot and tear down Satan’s strongholds, to destroy and demolish them. (2 Corinthians 10:4:5)

Use me to build and plant your kingdom in the lives of those around me.

For I believe you will watch over your word to fulfill it. What you say, you will do.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Jeremiah Devotionals

Faithful

Jeremiah

I was reading through several chapters of Jeremiah today, but it was this verse that struck me.

It’s in the middle of a passage in which God condemns his people’s leaders, particularly the priests and prophets, for not warning the people to turn from their sin.

And so he said in verse 18,

For who among them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see and to hear his word,
or who has paid attention to his word and listened? (Jeremiah 23:18)

And again,

But if they had stood in my council,
then they would have proclaimed my words to my people,
and they would have turned them from their evil way,
and from the evil of their deeds. (22)

Then in verse 28, he tells them,

Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let him who has my word speak my word faithfully.

It is sometimes hard to tell people what they don’t want to hear. To confront them with their sin. But God tells us that we must.

Not in hatred. Not with a despising heart. But in love.

You see, love is not just letting people go to their own destruction without saying a word. It’s warning them of the danger they are in so that they may be saved.

God has given us his Word. May we always speak it faithfully.