God is loving and forgiving!

SCRIPTURE

Jeremiah 16:1-13 (NRSV)
Jeremiah's celibacy and message

The word of the Lord came to me: You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who beget them in this land: They shall die of deadly diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried; they shall become like dung on the surface of the ground. They shall perish by the sword and by famine, and their dead bodies shall become food for the birds of the air and for the wild animals of the earth.

For thus says the Lord: Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament, or bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, my steadfast love and mercy. Both great and small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them; there shall be no gashing, no shaving of the head for them. No one shall break bread for the mourner, to offer comfort for the dead; nor shall anyone give them the cup of consolation to drink for their fathers or their mothers. You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to banish from this place, in your days and before your eyes, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, "Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?" then you shall say to them: It is because your ancestors have forsaken me, says the Lord, and have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law; and because you have behaved worse than your ancestors, for here you are, every one of you, following your stubborn evil will, refusing to listen to me. Therefore I will hurl you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.

DEVOTION

Oh my goodness! Today’s scripture really makes it clear that there are grave consequences for the sin of idolatry.

It appears that God hates idol worship so much that it was punishable in Jeremiah’s day by deadly disease, war, famine, and death.

God warned Jeremiah not to associate, or make merry with, people who were worshiping other gods, but rather to warn them that certain doom and gloom was coming if they did not repent of their sinful ways!

Wow! This sounds like terrible bad news!

But, wait, my friends! This side of the cross there is GOOD NEWS for us!

Although we are sinners and we miss the mark, God loves us so much that God gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life.

It is true that we are guilty of the sin of idolatry. So often, we chase the gods of money, wealth, power, prestige and stuff! We bow down day after day to our houses, cars, bank accounts, employers, and/or possessions—large and small.

We know that failing to hear and heed the voice of God is punishable by death; for the Bible clearly says, “the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23).”

But, God has loved us so much that God has made provision for our sin to be forgiven. When we put all of our hope in Jesus, asking Him to forgive our sin and fill us with the Holy Spirit, God’s Amazing Grace meets us just where we are and immediately restores us to right relationship with God Almighty!

As we walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, we will live into a life full of love, joy, peace, hope for the future and an attitude of gratitude, that is well pleasing to our God!
Instead of the just punishment which we deserve, God grants us healing, peace, forgiveness, abundance, favor and eternal life!

I don’t know about you, but I am so glad that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Ex 34:6)!

It is so wonderful that although God has just laws that we are expected to follow, when we make mistakes and/or miss the mark we need not be afraid to ask for God’s forgiveness; for when we are truly repentant we will always find that God is quick to forgive us of all our sin and cleanse us of all unrighteousness!

I am so glad that GOD is loving and forgiving; aren't you?

Do you love something more than God? If so, that is your idol god. Will you cast down your idols and put all of your hope in Jesus today?

If so, please pray with me:

Loving and forgiving God, I confess to you that I have been worshipping idols. I have failed to hear and heed your commandments. I have been lawless and determined to do my own thing! Today, I ask you to please forgive me of all my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit. I put all of my hope in Jesus trusting that you love me so much that you gave Jesus to die on the cross to save me from my sin and gift me with eternal life! Thank you so much for Your great sacrifice. I will share this GOOD NEWS message everywhere that I go! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! I would be so honored if you would let me know about your decision by clicking “Yes” in the poll located at the top/right of today’s devotional! I am so happy for you! Happy Spiritual Re-Birth-Day!

Next steps: In response to what God did for you just now, let me suggest that you consider telling another Christian so that they can celebrate with you! Ask them to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand so that you can learn more about your new-found faith! Ask them to help you find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your new journey! You are already saved; now let God mature you by faith! Congratulations!



ANNOUNCEMENTS

If you would like to put all of your hope in Jesus today, please visit my blog entitled, “Putting All Your Hope In Jesus” located at
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/putting-all-your-hope-in-jesus.html

If you have additional questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, "Come to Jesus"
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html

Pastor Yolanda is now publishing another blog entitled, “A Spoken WORD” in celebration of Holy Hip Hop, Gospel/Christian Rap and Spoken Word. Please check it out @ http://aspokenword.blogspot.com/

You are invited to follow Pastor Yolanda on Twitter www.twitter.com/PastorYolanda

Good News has now added a Prayer Ministry. http://www.kindlejoy.com/groups/goodnews

You are invited to leave comments or questions regarding today’s devotional. These comments are public.

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Thanks for reading and please come again. Pastor Yolanda extends a very special welcome to all of our friends reading outside of the United States of America! We are honored that you are sharing with us today.

From Pastor Yolanda's blog http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com