In the last several days we have been looking at the book of First John chapter one. We have realized that God desires fellowship with people, and that sin separates a person from God. This is a problem, however, God has given the provision of the blood of His Son Jesus to forgive and to cleanse all unrighteousness that anyone has committed if they will simply confess and turn from those sins. We discovered that there is a sin nature within every person, and without the redemption of that sin nature, no one will have a relationship with God. Anyone who denies that there is a sin nature makes God a liar, and the word of God is not in them. Today, parenthetically, I'd like to look at a passage of warning to a nation given by the Prophet Jeremiah in chapter eighteen verses seven through thirteen in the book in the Bible named after him:
[At what] instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy [it]; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And [at what] instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant [it];
If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. 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. And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. 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.
Before we delve into this passage any further, let me remind the reader that the writer of the book of Hebrews in chapter thirteen verse eight says:
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
The scripture in Jeremiah refers to “a nation” and not just the nation of Israel. Specifically it mentions Judah and Jerusalem, but the warning is to “a nation.” Consider the overall desire of God who is speaking through Jeremiah in these verses: God desires not to destroy “a nation”. He desires to do good to “a nation”, however, the determining factor is whether or not that nation will “turn from their evil”, “return from their evil way” and “make your ways and your doings good”. Lest I be less than clear, what if we were to insert the United States of America and Washington into this passage? Have we as a nation “turned from our evil”, “return from our evil way” and “made our ways and our doings good”?
Oh hear the cry of a Great and Awesome God, Creator, and Lover of people who desires fellowship and relationship with every person and nation. Will we as a nation “make him a liar” as John the Apostle wrote, or will we hear God's call to forsake evil ways, do good, and return to Him again? May God's grace be shed upon us.
Until tomorrow...there is more...
Look for the new devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ; www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, find locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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