Date: Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Chapters: Jeremiah 51-52
Message: Putting On The Righteousness Of Christ
Hello My Friend,
I was in a store looking for an ingredient down an isle that was along the cashier line, for some reason it was so busy that the line was half way down the isle. I witnessed a black man attempt to help a white woman who was just complaining about everything, she immediately changed her attitude and made a remark that there are still good people in the world, she did not care about the color of his skin. Now, with all the talk about blacks and whites, Jews, Christians, and now Muslims, hating each other you would think that there is no goodness in our nations anymore. You see, while sometimes race does play a factor, God help us all for being the color of our skin, the majority of people are not hateful, it is the ones who spread the hate that make it seem like everyone is against each other.
“For
where envying and strife is,
there is
confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is
first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and
easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without
partiality, and without hypocrisy.” - James 3:16,17
God often gets accused of being a hater, rather the people that
are faithful to Him, they pick through the Bible, take every verse
that talks about sin and judgments the He placed on people and become
defensive, haters of God, and everyone who follows Him. The haters of
this world are the very people that are cruel, mean, and spiteful,
not God, or anyone that truly follows Him, and His Word. God is a
just God, He will not hesitate to use the world to chasten His
people, but His people are His people, He will never forsake them,
and when He is done chastening them with the world, He will come back
to not only judge the world, but destroy everything and everyone who
is a hater.
“For
Israel hath
not been
forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their
land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel. Flee out of
the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off
in her iniquity; for this is
the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a
recompence. Babylon hath
been a
golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the
nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are
mad. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her;
take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed. We would
have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us
go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto
heaven, and is lifted up even
to the skies.” - Jeremiah 51:5-9.
“and deliver every man
his soul:” The utter destruction of the nation of
Babylon is a picture of the utter destruction of the world that will
take place when Christ returns for Judgment Day, Israel here is a
picture of the saved, Jews and Gentiles. People do not realize that
when Christ returns this time it will not be Judgment Day, this will
be the time when the saved are taken to a safe place and He sets up
His temporary Kingdom in the millennial age in Jerusalem. The living
Jews will finally accept Him as their King, and a few more will get
saved.
“For
the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in
Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
- I Thessalonians 4:16,17.
I admit it, sometimes I read through the Bible and wonder why God
is so angry, why we suffer so much when we are just trying to makes
something out of this life He has given us. Then I realize something,
this is God, our Creator, He built us from the ground up, naturally
if you built something you would want total control over its matters.
It is not a matter of being in bondage, it is a matter of keeping
things in check. Ever see a person start a business, and have it
suddenly taken over to where they lost all control of it? This is how
God feels when His people rebel or take matters into their own hands.
“He
hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by
his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven by his
understanding. When he uttereth his
voice, there
is a
multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to
ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain,
and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is
brutish by his
knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his
molten image is
falsehood, and there
is no
breath in them. They are
vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they
shall perish. The portion of Jacob is
not like them; for he is
the former of all things: and Israel
is the rod
of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is
his name.” - Jeremiah 51:15-19.
“and Israel is the rod
of his inheritance:” Salvation has always been about
redemption, Christ made that permanent when He went to the cross,
suffered, and died, then resurrected. All who are saved are one with
Israel, they are God’s inheritance, yes, they will face some
chastening if they live in sin, and sometimes when they are not, but
we belong to Him, He will never leave nor forsake us, and one day
there will be an end to all suffering.
“Beloved,
think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you,
as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch
as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory
shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be
reproached for the name of Christ, happy are
ye; for
the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is
evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you
suffer as a murderer, or as
a thief, or as
an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any
man suffer
as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on
this behalf.” - I Peter 4:12-16.
God may allow suffering, chasten His people, and let them fall
into trouble sometimes, but He never stops loving or caring for them,
and if you look carefully you will see that He never lets you down if
you put your faith and trust in Him. Making Christ King is not about
being perfect, we will never be perfect, it is about having a
relationship with Him that separates us from the world and brings
others to Him. The last chapter of Jeremiah, gives an account,
four-thousand and six hundred Jews were carried
into captivity while Nebuchadrezzar was king, but during
their seventy year captivity something
amazing began to happen, they turned to
God, the result, they all prospered, and the last living king of
Judah was released from the prison and
spent the rest of his days with the new king of Babylon.
“And
it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of
Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and
twentieth day
of the month, that
Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first
year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and
brought him forth out of prison, And spake kindly unto him, and
set his throne above the throne of the kings that were
with him in Babylon, And changed his prison garments: and he did
continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. And for
his diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of
Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days
of his life.” - Jeremiah 52:31-34
“And changed his prison
garments:” This is an example of a soul that receives
Christ as its Saviour, we are no longer covered in filthy rags, and
have put on the righteousness of Christ. God's mercy and grace are
endless for the saved, we can mess up a million times, but He will
never stop forgiving us, if we come to Him with a humble heart, there
is no sin that can separate us. Sin hurts, it
destroys us, and literally is the death of us, but Christ is eternal,
and literally the life of us.
“He
that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that
believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God
hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that
hath the Son hath life; and
he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
- I John 5:10-12.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.” - Jeremiah 51:57. Jesus is King and LORD, He will give life to all who come to Him.
Today's Prayer: God, There is no amount of words that can describe just how merciful and forgiving You are, no matter what we have done. To think of the things we have allowed in our lives or been caught up in due to others is astounding, but You are always there to catch us, pick us up, mend the wounds, and heal everything from a broken heart to a broken ego. Lord, give us your power and strength to set free anything that we are on bondage to. Give us the strength to endure, let us not escape Your sight. Lead us, guide us, and fill us Your mercy and grace. Keep us looking to You through all of our joys, trials, and sufferings, for they will all come to an end. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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