Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a video of three friends, Clay Crosse, Bebe Wynans, and Bob Carlisle, singing, I Will Follow Christ,… declaring their desire to stand strong and follow Christ … NO MATTER WHAT!!!
Highlight Passage: Jeremiah 1:5 [NKJV] …
5 [From God’s call] … “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; [and] before you were born I sanctified you; … I ordained you [to be] a Prophet to the nations.”
… Jeremiah’s calling was set by God even before his birth.
===========
Highlight Context – Jeremiah 1:4-9 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jeremiah called so young to do so much!
============
Reference Passage #1 - Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
… When we trust in God’s calling and direction, He will forge our ways.
Reference Passage #2 - Acts 1: 8 [NKJV] …
8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
…Our calling is clear … to be His witnesses …
Reference Passage #3 - Romans 8:28 [NKJV] …
28 All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are the called according to His purposes.
…Yes … ALL things we face teach us to face ALL things we will face.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Tim Gustafson, used an illustrative story of the popular Bible teacher, John Piper. He wrote: In 1986, John Piper nearly quit as minister of a large church. At that time he admitted in his journal: “I am so discouraged. I am so blank. I feel like there are opponents on every hand.” But Piper didn’t walk away, and God used him to lead a thriving ministry that would eventually reach far beyond his church.
Certainly by all current standards of Christian ministry, John Piper would be called a “successful” Pastor, Bible teacher, Christian apologist and author. But our ODB author, Tim G, asks, … what if Piper’s calling to ministry had not flourished when he decided not to walk away from the road God had paved for this dynamic Christian servant?
And that was the challenge faced by the Prophet Jeremiah, wasn’t it? As we read in the journal of the “weeping Prophet,” [see Jeremiah 1:4-9 linked above] the road was paved for Jeremiah to be a Prophet to Judah when the Babylonians were besieging God’s people and carrying them off to Babylon. Jeremiah stepped into that calling; but by worldly standards, Jeremiah’s ministry would have probably been seen as a bust. However, as we read in Jeremiah’s book and his follow up in Lamentations, the Prophet didn’t walk out on God; and even though he was chided by God’s people, beaten, imprisoned and ultimately stoned, he never walked away from God.
Perhaps those who read here are, like me, in the midst of some challenging time in our life. So, … are we going to turn around and walk away from God or will we walk on in faith and, no matter what happens, will we follow the road God has paved for us?
My Prayer Today: Heavenly Father, …Thank You, Lord, for You calling on my life unto salvation and sanctification into the ministry of discipleship. Help me to stay the course. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
No comments:
Post a Comment