August 14
Jeremiah 1 -- 3
God revealed to Jeremiah that He has a plan and purpose for each one of us even before our conception: The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you, and ordained you a prophet unto the nations (Jeremiah 1:4-5). Just think! God knew you and had a plan for your life even before the day of your conception. Through this revelation concerning the origin of human life, it is revealed that our birth is not our real beginning nor will our death be the end. Furthermore, how we live the years between birth and death will determine our eternal destiny.
The Holy Spirit led King David to write: I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Your works . . . . My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth (Psalms 139:14-15). Both the mother and the father have the biblical responsibility to recognize that every unborn child, from the day of conception, belongs to its true Creator God, and they are responsible for bringing that child into the world to be obedient to God.
Just as God revealed to Jeremiah, as well as to David, being no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), He has set apart each one of us for His sacred purpose.
To the Apostle Paul, God revealed that He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4).
Just think, God had a plan for you long before you were born -- even before the foundation of the world.
What a horrifying realization, that many a Jeremiah who was destined to be a prophet unto the nations was, through abortion, denied the right to life.
The Lord led Jeremiah to focus on the vital importance of obedience to the Word of God, saying: Whatever I command you, you shall speak (Jeremiah 1:7).
The Lord then illustrated the Israelites' sin by saying: My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the Fountain of Living Waters, and have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that cannot hold water (2:13). These two evils, the rejection of the Word of God and the worship of false gods that led to a military alliance with Egypt, were abominable sins.
In the desert climate of Judah, water was, and still is, a necessity of human existence. No intelligent person would exchange even the best man-made cistern for the beautiful and abundant Sea of Galilee, with its never-failing flow of the Jordan River, symbolic of God as "the Living Water." The people of Judah were the only people in the world who had received a revelation of the One True God and His Word, the only source of life-giving Water. And yet, they had forsaken Him, relying on human wisdom, false gods, and their false prophets.
Today, there are numerous books that claim to provide solutions to life's problems, and, for many people, these books have replaced the Bible, the Only True Guide to Life. How foolish it is to turn to substitutes, written by men for "their profit." Some books may be helpful, but nothing compares to what God has provided for "our profit." All Scripture . . . is profitable (II Timothy 3:16).
Christ Revealed:
As the Fountain of Living Waters (Jeremiah 2:13). Jesus is the only Fountain that can satisfy the thirsty soul (John 4:1-26).
Word Studies:
1:12 hasten . . . to perform it means to watch over to see it fulfilled; 2:3 offend means be held guilty; 2:14 spoiled means plundered, laid waste; 2:16 Noph means Memphis, ancient capital of lower Egypt; 2:18 Sihor means the Nile River; the river means the Euphrates; 2:22 nitre means strong lye soap; 2:27 stock/stone means idols; 2:31 lords means independent; 2:33 trimmest means scheme; 3:2 been lain with means acted like a prostitute; 3:9 lightness means shameless behavior; 3:10 feignedly means pretentiously, in deception or sheer hypocrisy.
Prayer:
Government Officials: Rep. Tom Campbell (CA), Rep. James Hansen (UT), Rep. Robert (Robin) Hayes (NC), Rep. Louise Slaughter (NY), and Rep. Gerald Solomon (NY) · Pray for Operation Mobilization · Pray for the Bible Pathway International Radio Broadcast sponsored by Annie V. Johnson · Country: Antigua and Barbuda (64,000) in the Leeward Islands of the eastern Caribbean · Major languages: English and local dialects · Religious freedom · 83% Protestant; 11% Roman Catholic · Prayer Suggestion: Pray that the Lord will enable you to comfort and encourage others (II Corinthians 1:3-4).
Optional Reading:
I Peter 4
Memory Verse for the Week:
II Thessalonians 1:9