Bible In One Year-Day 146 (Monday, May 26, 2014)

Commentary: Jer25-27. The main discontentment between God and His people was the issue of idolatry. Judah went after another god. Despite God’s love, mercy and grace for them, they never repented. For 23 years, Jeremiah declared God’s mind to Judah, but they never repented. The decision of God was to send them into 70 years captivity, where His splendor was withdrawn from them for a while. In that land, according to God, it would be difficult for them to even laugh, talk less of partying. To accomplish this, God has put some things on ground; sword and wine; cup of fury. The cup of fury was to make them unreasonable. Whoever is drunk acts foolishly and takes stupid decisions;

Jeremiah 25:15-16 “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it.And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.”

Perhaps as a last opportunity, Jeremiah was asked to go and speak repentance to Judah at the gate of the house of the Lord before God takes action according to His word; what a lenient God we serve. On hearing the prophecies at the gate, they gathered to kill Jeremiah. He proved his innocence that what He said was what God asked him to say. In chapter26, we could see the court of law set up to visit the case. History was visited and past prophets who at some times in the past prophesied were cited (versed17-24). Jeremiah’s advocate was Ahikam who had at one time served under King Josiah (2Kings22:12-14). Though Nebuchadnezzar was a king in Babylon, he was an instrument in the hand of God to effect His plan. Nebuchadnezzar received God’s backing to head the nations far and near. It would have been a useless prayer to stand to pray against him. This is why we need to know, as Christians, how to pray an enquiry prayer. Through that we could receive God’s mind. The interpretation of the parable in Jer24 is what we read in Jer27. God allow some unpleasant things to happen to us for our own good a times;

Jeremiah 24:5 “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.”

Each time we find ourselves in unpleasant situations, it is good for us to sit and ask God what He wants us to know. God is not evil and everything He has put in place is to lead us into the expected end or plan. Nebuchadnezzar was an instrument in the hand of God to changed Judah and all nations;

Jeremiah 27:5-8 “I have made the earth, the man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son’s son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of him.And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.”

The main thing God wanted to achieve was to prepare them to receive a new heart which hungers and thirst for God;

Jeremiah 24:7 “And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.”

Let us ask for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. Our reading for today is Jer28-30. Keep the fire burning and alive

Bible In One Year-Day 145 (Sunday, May 25, 2014)

Commentary: Jer22-24. God, in His infinite mercies always sound series of warnings before He takes action against any injustice. He admonished the kings of Judah concerning their duties going by the covenant on Mount Sinai;

Jeremiah 22:3 “Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.”

At the same time He gave clues to receiving rewards for both obedience and disobedience (verses4-5). Unfortunately, they disobeyed God’s instruction. In subsequent verses, He proclaimed judgment over them. The most terrible of the pronouncement was against Jehoiachin, otherwise called Coniah.

Jeremiah 22:28-30 “Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.”

God called nature (earth) to take record against him and his descendants. There was no way he would not walk on the face of the earth and there was no way he would not eat of the produce from the earth. Unfortunately, the same earth had taken record of God’s judgment against him. The earth was never to favor him and his descendants because of this. Jehoiachin was in captivity for 37 years. All the food he ate was not for him but that which was given by the king of Babylon. He used the prime of his life in captivity

The earth is bearing record against a lot of people right from their ancestry and the battle they are fighting now springs from that aspect. Only Jesus, the Ancient of days, can bring total deliverance to such people.

Colossians 2:14-15 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”

If a man’s battle is linked with the earth, the prayers of such should not be done with full stomach; which means to fast and pray until something happens. The contents of the prayer points should be dictated by the Holy Spirit. However, I encourage us to fight all battles in the name of Jesus; that is the only name that could do the miraculous. There is no sin committed that is not in the record of the earth and there is no sin perpetrated that is not done on earth. Only the blood of Jesus can remove such records. If you have to commit any known sin, remember that the earth bears record. It is good for us to note that the blotting out of the evil handwriting is a finished work of the Lord Jesus, we only need to apply it to the situation with repentance.

Jeremiah 23:6 “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

Let us ask for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. May His mercy speak for us in the name of Jesus. Our reading for today is Jer25-27. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 144 (Saturday, May 24, 2014)

Commentary: Jer19-21. Jeremiah was used to taking prophetic actions according to God’s instructions. He faced serious verbal persecutions from the people because of his uncomfortable prophecies. The summary of the prophecy of chapter19 was demonstrated in prophetic action;

Jeremiah 19:10-11 “Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.”

This particular prophecy invoked serious rage which led to physical humiliation under the supervision of Pashhur, a priest in charge of the house of the Lord who had been deceiving people with false prophecies. This was the same man Jeremiah reported to God in Jer14: 13-15 “Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: … By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.”

This prophecy stuck to Pashhur in Jer20:6. Jeremiah was so embittered that he accused God of seducing him into the ministry he found himself. To him, the more he spoke God’s word, the more he suffers attack from the people; people mocked him and he could not stand the reproach any longer. At a point, he decided not to talk again, either in the name of the Lord or otherwise. He tried to hold the words back in his heart but he could not because of the fire in it;

Jeremiah 20:9 “Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”

It was so horrible that he wished he was not born. He went to the extent of cursing the day he was born. What Jeremiah faced at this time is what is called Ministerial challenges. There are ways in which God makes His ministers grow up. As we discussed in the earlier postings, there is no double promotion in the school of the Holy Spirit, you go through every course or subject in detail. And this is to refine you towards maturity so that even at old age you become fat and flourishing;

2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”

Challenges in ministry are not to kill you but they are cautions for you to think very well before any leap. When God told Jeremiah that “they will fight against you but they shall not prevail”, that statement has cautionary remarks of the challenges he was facing. The only thing was that he did not know to what extent the fight would be and perhaps that was what caused his weariness. God’s word to us is always a full package; what to do, what we shall face, preparation of our hearts to withstand oppositions and assurance of victory. Wherever God sends you, He makes provision for help to withstand every challenge in that course. Through affliction we could measure the root of your strength in Jesus;

Mark 4:17 “And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”

A genuine prophet of God suffers persecutions but his words exonerate him with time. To be a good example and a blessing to men, it is not by mouth but by active involvement in what you have said;

James 5:10 “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.”

Beloved outside of ministry or destiny there are trials and within ministry or destiny there are trials. There is no divine provision for help in trials outside of ministry or destiny because where the word of the Lord is not, God Himself is not there. The trial that will end in joy is that which carries the rod of prayer, shield of patience, spirit of obedience and the garment of humility.

Let us ask for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. May the Lord lead us through our trying times to the glory of His Holy name. Our reading for today is Jer22-24. Keep the fire burning and alive

Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

Bible In One Year-Day 143 (Friday, May 23, 2014)

Commentary: Jer16-18. Jeremiah was told not to marry in that land because God’s grace, which is very important for man’s existence, had been withdrawn. The elements of God’s grace are peace, loving-kindness, mercy and divine favor. Without them the land was void of real life; the curse of untimely death was in the land, Jer16:3-4.

Jeremiah 16:3-5 “For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.”

Jeremiah was further instructed not to participate in any funeral and social celebrations or parties because it was of no use; the dead crying for the dead.

Jeremiah 16:9 “For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.”

The people of the land had taken after another god and abandoned the true God of the universe. Relationship between them and God was broken and people began to treacherously relate with one another. They got involved in sexual sacrifices to worship Asherah, the Canaanites’ gods (Jer17:2/ Judg3:7). Gradually, their heritage, which was the Promised Land, was slipping away from their grip into the hands of their enemies. Their trust was no longer in the God of Abraham but in men. God made them to weigh where they put their trust and choose; in man or in God, Jer17:5-8. If in man, the reward is ‘curse’ and if in God, the reward is ‘blessing’. Many things turned upside down in the land which God couldn’t tolerate anymore sinfulness. For Jeremiah to know what God wanted to do as a result, he was given instruction to go to the Potter’s house to observe another prophetic action. He saw how the potter made vessels from clay and how he destroyed some that are displeasing to him.

Jeremiah 18:6 “O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.”

However God made him to know that there was room for repentance.

Jeremiah 18:11 “Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.”

Funny enough, they refused to heed to God’s option, rather they ridiculed God’s word and regarded it as hopeless. Jeremiah told them the consequence of their decision;

Jeremiah 18:17 “I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.”

God turned His back against them because they had forsaken Him and rejected His merciful option. They then planned to attack the ministry of Jeremiah and, of course, to kill him. The prayer of Jeremiah changed;

Jeremiah 18:19-23 “… Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.”

He realized that his ministry was his destiny and he was not ready to take it kindly with whoever had decided to terminate his destiny. This is the actions we ought to take against the enemies of our destiny. Matters that have to do with destiny must not be taken lightly but serious. Attacks against destiny are in two basic forms; external and internal. External attack is when the enemy wages war against your destiny and internal attack is when you go into sin. For the external attack, when you call unto God in truth and righteousness, he will defend you as He promised Jeremiah in Jer1:19. But of that internal attack, you need repentance.

The state of the Israelites and the Judeans are the state of the church today. Things that should not be heard among the gentiles are the doctrine of the pulpits;

Jeremiah 18:13 “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.”

On today’s pulpits are many ‘Pastor Pashhurs’ who tell the people what they want to hear and not what God has for them. People read the Bible because they have to preach and not to feed their own soul; more of entertainments than inspirations. The preaching of the truth becomes a taboo in the hearing of the people and philosophy has taken over.

Colossians 2:8 “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

Motivational messages, and not inspirational (of the Holy Spirit) are the order of the day. The word is no more from God but from the deceitful hearts of men. People trust in men and not in God.

1 Corinthians 2:5 “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

The government of the church is no more on the shoulder of Christ but on the shoulders of “men of God” (Isa9:6-7). The children are growing in the philosophies of men and not in God and grace. Jeremiah who had the word of the true God was seriously confronted and his life became miserable. The mere fact that you are a genuine Christian does not mean you will not face some challenges, the difference is that your own challenges are different; a just course that leads to eternal life. Conspiracies could be against you, people might reject your side of the version and powerful people might pervert justice in their favor, remember Joseph and Jeremiah;

Jeremiah 15:20 “And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.”

Let us ask for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. May the good God give us the grace to remain in His word. Reading for today is Jer19-21. Keep the fire burning and alive. ALL ABOUT JESUS

Bible In One Year-Day 142 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)

Commentary: Jer13-15. I just learnt from Jeremiah how to be a prophet of God. The heart must be as that of Jeremiah, an obedient heart which sees God as a Master that cannot make a mistake. God gave Jeremiah a step-by-step instruction towards a goal and Jeremiah never asked what He wanted to achieve. Each stage never made any sense, but the totality of it made serious sense and that is God for you. He takes you through different stages in life (which might have no meaning as it goes), but if you obey Him, the end is always amazingly unimaginable;

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

On the other hand, if you obey the first two instructions and refuse to do the third one, He will not give the forth instruction. In God’s plan, there is no shortcut and in God’s school, there is no double promotion, you will go through each stage He had laid down. The only thing is that the reward for a stage well done might be multiplied, but the training will never be cut short; you need the experience of each stage of God’s training for the next level. People who get frustrated are those who always try to skip stages. It is at stage one that you get the anointing for stage two; you don’t get the anointing for stage two in stage two. Jeremiah was given some instructions to carry out a prophetic action. Linen was a piece of cloth with high prestige in the days of Jeremiah. The wrapping round his waist signifies Judah and Israel round the waist of God. It was God who gave them the glory which they took pride in, but unfortunately, they abandoned God. A cloth locked up in the wardrobe is not appreciated until it is worn by somebody. Jeremiah was told to bury it and after sometime, he exhumed it but the glory was gone;

Jeremiah 13:7 “Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing”.

This was what the Israelites were in the spirit as far as God was concerned. The spiritual definition of pride is attributing the glory of God to oneself; it is saying that you have seen the whole of God without remaining anything. The devil had equal access to the presence of God as Jesus had and he thought he had seen all of God. He therefore demanded for the rotation of chairmanship with God. It is better for God to be proud of you than for you taking undue pride in yourself. Whatever He gives you should be humbly used to bless people. Three times Jesus warned about pride;

Luke 18:14 “… for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”

Nothing one does in pride is accepted by God, Jer14:11-12.

Jeremiah 14:11-12 “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.”

James 4:6 “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.”

A person of pride is a prey to false prophets. It is pride that makes people to go from prophet to prophet seeking for the God of tomorrow when they have not obeyed the God of today (Jer14:13-14). The situation of the Israelites and Judeans was so bad that God reject even any plea from Moses and Samuel on their behalf, Jeremiah 15:1 “Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.”

As far as heaven was concerned, judgment had been distributed accordingly in four different forms, Jer15:2-4, just because of what one person did.

Jeremiah 15:2-3 “And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.”

God hates pride with perfect hatred. Many did saw the visions of heaven and Jesus Christ in the past, but due to pride, they have lost that grace. The greatest havoc pride does is that it disconnects one from God faster than any other thing, just as Lucifer was cast out from God’s presence. For you to be an oracle of God or make heaven, you need to get the garment of humility by all means. That garment of pride must be burnt and let God be glorified.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”

Let us ask for the old path where we could find rest. Let us listen to the trumpet’s sound, wherewith we could escape the calamity to come. May the fire of God destroy the wings of pride in our lives and His grace hide pride from us in the name of Jesus. Reading for today is Jer16-18. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Isaiah 14:12-15 “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.”