Articles
Weekly Devotionals for 7/21/2024
“But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them” Jeremiah 1:17. All looked bleak but God was in control of all. That’s what Jeremiah knew. He did not yet know how much he would suffer by faithfully doing the work that God set before him. He did not yet know just how strongly God’s chosen people who were no longer living for Him would seek to dismay him or fight against him. He only had God’s promises to uphold him. But he was not just to sit (shrink) back while all these things just happened to him by his own brothers and sisters. No, he had to dress, arise, and say! God’s chosen people today have much to learn from this. Much is taught about putting on the full armor of God to face whatever challenges that we may encounter, but we strive to avoid unpleasant encounters with the world by hiding within the walls of our church buildings and interacting only with those who agree with us. We must arise—or get out into the world around us—with words of life coming from our lips that will surely fall upon all four types of soil that includes the good, not just poorer soils that Jeremiah would find.
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“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation” Psalm 62:1. A Christian is like a lonely lighthouse, shining the light of the gospel that illuminates the dangers for others to avoid, while the storms of the world ravage us. And, we’re like the lonely lighthouse keeper, often isolated from the family and friends who love him, who can only trust in God to protect him. We recognize that “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress” and conclude “I shall not be greatly shaken.” We, after all, are “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,” and so we must “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28). But how to do that while the wind and waves buffet us, sometimes unmercilessly? The tendency is to withdraw to a safer place, perhaps behind the thick walls and strong roof where our loved ones gather, and let the storm rage outside while we tend to a cozy fire. But, that leaves the lighthouse empty. As hard as it is to allow the soul to wait in silence, trusting in Him alone, this is what we must do. The ships full of precious souls are approaching and may soon break apart on the rocks. Our message to them is that God is our only refuge.
