Jesus taught that all scripture testifies about him so that in him we might have life (John 5v39-40). King David taught that it is only by living according to God's word that we're kept on the right path (Psalm 119v9). What then could be better than reading the entire Bible? Click the menu to read about the program, choose a month or Bible book - or just work through the blog posts day by day.
BEGIN WITH PRAYER
"Lord open my eyes and my heart."
Read slowly so that you take in. And as you do, turn your heart to God, thanking him for the good you discover and praying his will home for you, your family, your church and the world.
Wisdom to chew on
Understanding to grow in
Jeremiah's message against God's people is stark. The God who once fought for them against the nations will now fight against them using the nations - Babylon (21v5). This is how serious the people's sin is. It has effectively made them no longer God's people. But rather than repent, they persecute Jeremiah. And his song is pertinent as a foreshadowing of Christ's experience, and that of all in him might experience in seeking to share the gospel. God's spokesman faces insult and reproach for what he says, making him profoundly depressed (20v8, 14-18). But he cannot but keep speaking because the message he has burns in his heart like fire, making it burdensome not to speak. God grant that his ministers and people today might so burn with the message of Christ, and share it no matter how low resistence to it makes them. They can at least be comforted as Jeremiah was, that ultimately God will bring to judgment those who treat them badly. Though, they must take the lesson from Jesus of praying "father forgive them, for they know not what they do." As you read consider Jeremiah's struggles.
Finish this reading by pausing to ask yourself:
1) What’s the main thing it teaches me about God or his purposes in Christ? Then praise him for this.
2) What’s the main thing it teaches me about his will for me or the world? Then pray that home.
Devotion to offer up
You could read this aloud and perhaps as a springboard to further prayer.