Sunday, June 14, 2015

Sunday, June 14th: Jeremiah 24-26, Matthew 25:1-30 ~ Tammy

Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is Jeremiah 24-26; Matthew 25:1-30

Jeremiah 26:2-3  “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word.  It may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.

Jeremiah did not have a fun message to deliver to the people of Judah.  It was a message of destruction and wrath.  But God commanded him to speak.  And Jeremiah's job was simply that - to speak the message of God.  It was not his job to change the people, it was not his job to get them to repent - that is the work of the Holy Spirit.  It was his job to speak truth.

We have the same job.  Our message is similar.  The automatic path of humanity, our default destination is hell, not heaven.  We need a Saviour.  We cannot save ourselves.  But we also need to be willing to humble ourselves and to repent.  And if we turn from our evil ways, God will have mercy on us, and He will save us for all eternity.

It is a message of wrath and love, of doom and hope.  And it is our job to deliver the message.  We cannot change people's hearts - only the Holy Spirit can do that.  But we can, and must, speak.If we speak, it may be that they will listen!

When is the last time you or I have shared the gospel message with a world that desperately needs it?

Our NT passage follows up on a similar theme.  We are each responsible for our own spiritual condition, and we also need to be ready.  This also means we must also have a sense of urgency when it comes to sharing the gospel.

We also need to use well what God has entrusted to us.   God knows what we are capable of and asks different things from each of us.  But when He gives us something - whether it is time, gifts, talents, or other resources - He expects us to use them wisely until He returns.  It isn't what we've been given, but how, and for whose glory, we use it.


Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: Jeremiah 27-29; Matthew 25:31-46

2 comments:

Conrad said...

Being ready for Christ's return involves more than playing it safe and doing little or nothing. It demands the kind of devoted service that produces results - like the parable of the talents.

Pamela said...

This jumped out at me:

2 “Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word.

Again, "STAND" is important here. It doesn't say "whisper", or "lay down", or "sit idly by". It says to STAND in the court of the Lord's house and speak...even it's hard and even if what you are saying is going to make people mad or sad or crazy.

May I show the courage to stand.