Friday, August 14, 2015

When God Has No Mercy

King James Bible Daily Devotion – Learning Scripture One Day At A Time
Date: Friday, August 14, 2015
Chapters: Jeremiah 14-17
Message Title: When God Has No Mercy

Hello My Friend,

Mercy, the act of sparing one of the punishment deserved for their crime. God's mercy, it truly endures, and if you are anyone who has escaped a well deserved punishment under the grace of Christ than you can relate to the mercies of God. Now, God has a tremendous amount of mercy, not only for His own, but for those who are not His, but there does come a time when His mercies wear out. “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour? What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory,” - Romans 9:21-23.

Jeremiah is in the midst of a famine in the land, he knows that it is because of the sins of the nation, he sees the people offering sacrifices and fasting in hopes of God showing up to help them. He looks to God, prays, and pleads with Him to show Himself and save them. God, knowing their hearts and why they were really doing these things gives him an answer that he did not expect. “Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not. Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.” - Jeremiah 14:9-12.

Astoned, one consumed with fear. God certainly has the power to intercede and turn things around, He fears nothing, but is going to keep allowing these things to happen. Unless you have been living in a bubble you pretty much know that the world is in chaos, from diseases, to mass killings, to murderers selling baby body parts, it's a mess. Now, with all that's going on you would think people would be flocking to Christ, instead they are flocking to Allah, Buddha, and the Pope. Pray and fast all you want to a false god, God will not hear you, He has no mercy on those who cry to Him yet worship every other god, and He will cast you out of His sight. “For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.” - Luke 9:25-27.

We who are saved cannot help, but wonder how much more we have to endure before God's mercy does run out. We can become discouraged when we are doing what we can to live the way God wants us to live and yet we have to suffer also. Jeremiah, discouraged and dismayed over all that is going on, does what many faithful servants of God do, he loses his zeal for serving Him, but it's only making things worse. A bit angry, he reminds God that he has been living by His Word. “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail? Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.” - Jeremiah 15:16-19.

God wants to restore the relationship He has with Jeremiah, He wants him back on the streets telling the people about the judgment. God wants to restore His relationship with all His faithful, He is with us, and will protect us, sometimes that means we must endure some suffering here, maybe even death, but God sees what we do not see, and if death is what is needed to protect us then that is what He will do. Saved, faithful Christians are God's mouth, we are the only ones who know the truth about Jesus, and while we are to go into the world to preach the Gospel, we are not to be of the world. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” - Matthew 5:10-12.

You know, God is not done with the world just yet, if He was, Jesus would be here and we who are saved would be safe in the clouds while the earth and the devil gets destroyed. God's mercy may run out for some, but it has not run out on the lost, and as long as there are some looking to be found, His mercy still endures. God talks to Jeremiah about bringing His people back to Jerusalem from all over the world. “Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.” - Jeremiah 16:14-17.

We must never forget that God is always with us, even if we have walked away from Him, He never looses sight of us. Yeah, we can get into a mess of trouble, but God will find us and bring us back home, even if death is the only way to do it. Now, that is God's grace. While His mercy pardons us from the punishment we deserve, His grace keeps us saved from the punishment no matter how many times we mess up. The key to enduing all the affliction we will face here in earth is trusting God, not the world, not a false god, and certainly not a man who is just as much of a sinner as we are. “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.” - Jeremiah 17:5-7.


Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercy, You could have made me suffer the well needed punishment I deserved for my sins, but through Your Son I got pardoned from that. Thank You for Your grace, as much as I mess up, Your are always there to help me clean it up. You promised to never leave nor forsake me, and for that I am truly grateful, I know many times I have come to the edge, only to have You bring me back to solid ground. Lord, I am Your mouth, let me speak boldly about Your Son, and give me the strength to endure all the affliction I face for remaining faithful to You. Give me Your power to stay faithful, keep my eyes straight on You, and keep my feet from following the world. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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