INTERESTING FACTS : John Morton, LEGISLATOR; JUDGE; SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION, "With an awful reverence to the Great Almighty God, Creator of all mankind, being sick and weak in body but of sound mind and memory, thanks be given to Almighty God for the same."

Daily Reading : Jeremiah 32 - 35

TEXT : Jer 32:14 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. Jer 32:15 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land. Jer 32:16 Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying, Jer 32:17 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Jer 32:18 Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,

THEME : Faith

In the Book of Jeremiah, we have singular evidence that God is the Author of the Bible. The saying - "Thus saith the LORD," used 415 times throughout the Bible, has 148 of its instances in Jeremiah. That is over one quarter of the number of times that famous expression is used! In addition, when you add - "the Word of the LORD," used 51 times and "the LORD said" - 11 times found in Jeremiah, we view the claim that it was God who spoke to the prophets. The words were not their own. Thus, the Bible is God's Word[s] not Man's.

Therefore, we put our trust in this Book we call the Bible, since it repeatedly states that Man did not write it, nor were they Man's words. On the contrary, the words contained in the Bible are God's. The Bible is the only Book in the world that dares to predict the future, and it does so with astonishing accuracy! Thus, we have an anchor for the soul. As someone has once said, the Bible is an anvil that has worn out many hammers! In the Bible, we find strength, hope, and encouragement.

However, Jeremiah had an unenviable job. Called from as a child or young man to preach God's Word, his task was harder than most prophets. The reason is Jeremiah spoke of imminent judgment to come on Judah. It could not be stopped. Eventually, Jeremiah saw this horror take place in his lifetime. Like all "gloom and doom" messages [sarcasm intentional], Jeremiah had the job of telling God's people - "it's too late to repent and stop God from taking away your nation. Submit to the armies of Nebuchadnezzar and you will live." Further, the multitude of false prophets - as popular in Jeremiah's time as ever, were telling the Jews just the opposite. Their message was one of "peace," yet there was no peace. Neither was any peace to come. The Jews loved the messages of the false prophets. Therefore, the false prophets enjoyed fame and fortune, while Jeremiah suffered rejection and imprisonment.

Three things have not changed from the beginning of the world. They are - God, Man, and Satan. Preachers make a mistake - perhaps a grave mistake, trying to "reach people for Christ" when they do it without preaching the Word of God, or teaching it with amendments, deletions, and adulteration of the text. Since God and Man have not changed, the need for Man is still the same - "repent and believe the Gospel." Unlike Jeremiah's time and the nation of Judah, there is still time for you to avert the judgment of God. However, there must be a change of mind toward disobedience to God's laws - meaning you must obey them, through the faith that is in Christ Jesus. All of this is accomplished by grace - "the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life." [Strong's Dictionary] God's grace gives us the knowledge and power to live a holy life and not sin against God any longer, at least not willfully.

TRUTH FOR TODAY : "God is Good To ALL WHO TRUST IN HIM!"

When Jeremiah bought the land of his inheritance from his cousin Hanameel, he displayed incredible faith. He told the Jews even though God will punish you for your sins, He will yet be merciful and bring you back to the land. Contrary to the opinion of many, "gloom and doom" preachers [sarcasm, once again, intentional] when truly called and sent by God are men of extraordinary faith. Further, they are men who know, or knew the future is bright and glorious for those who trust in GOD - God's way, not Man's. Thus, the prophet Jeremiah, nicknamed "the weeping prophet" who carried a message of great sorrow to the Jews, was also a man of hope and optimism. These two traits do not appear to go together, but in true men of God - they do.

It must be understood that for all the mistreatment Jeremiah took at the hands of those who claimed they believed in the LORD, he was the only one to go free. What a paradox! The [so-called] prophet of doom was shown mercy by God, as God caused the Chaldeans [modern Iraq] to set him free while all the rest of the nation went away captive to Babylon for 70 years.

Jer_15:11 The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.

"Verily it shall be well with thy remnant: not with the remnant of his people, or those that should escape the threatened calamities; but the sense is, that it should be well with him in his latter end; the remainder of his days should be comfortable or be spent in peace and prosperity." [John Gill]

Thus, we read in Jeremiah chapter 39 - " Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee." [Jer. 39:11 -12]

Jeremiah withstood the rejection of his own people, the scorn of kings, the hatred of the priests, and the delusions of the false prophets to be faithful to God. In the end, his faith set him free. Further, those Jews who believed "lying vanities" gave up their own mercy that God would have shown them.

For you, the lesson from Jeremiah is clear. Seek the Kingdom of God and Christ, no matter how contrary it is to the world or the apostate Church in these last days. In the end, you will inherit the earth at Christ's Coming!