Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 23:1-8.

“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord.  ² Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people:  “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them;  behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord.  ³ “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.  ⁴ I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them;  and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.

⁷ “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ ⁸ but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’  Then they will live on their own soil.”  Jeremiah 23:1-8.

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“In His days Judah will be saved,
And Israel will dwell securely;
And this is His name by which He will be called,
‘The Lord our righteousness.’  Verse 6.

“²¹ “Declare and set forth your case;
Indeed, let them consult together.
Who has announced this from of old?
Who has long since declared it?
Is it not I, the Lord?
And there is no other God besides Me,
A righteous God and a Savior;
There is none except Me.
²² “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth;
For I am God, and there is no other.
²³ “I have sworn by Myself,
The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness
And will not turn back,
That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.
²⁴ “They will say of Me, ‘Only in the Lord are righteousness and strength.’
Men will come to Him,
And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
²⁵ “In the Lord all the offspring of Israel
Will be justified and will glory.”  Isaiah 45:21-25.

“But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”  1 Corinthians 1:30-31.

“For if by the transgression of the one (Adam), death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.”  Romans 5:17.

“He (God) made Him (Christ) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ).”  2 Corinthians 5:21.

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah chapter 22.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+22&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word ² and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.  ³ Thus says the Lord, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor.  Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow;  and do not shed innocent blood in this place.  ⁴ For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.  ⁵ But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.”’”

…

“¹³ “Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness
And his upper rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And does not give him his wages,
¹⁴ Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house
With spacious upper rooms,
And cut out its windows,
Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’
¹⁵ “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
And do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
¹⁶ “He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy;
Then it was well.
Is not that what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 22:1-5 and 13-16.

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“Thus says the Lord, “Do justice and righteousness …”  Verse 3.

We cannot just worship God and pray and expect the LORD will bless us.  We must do justice and righteousness.

We are reminded of Isaiah 58:6-11.  We may even fast in our worship to show our devotion and try to get favor from the LORD, but such fasts do not impress the LORD.  The LORD favors those who do justice and righteousness.   

“⁶ “Is this not the fast which I choose,
To loosen the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the bands of the yoke,
And to let the oppressed go free
And break every yoke?
⁷ “Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry
And bring the homeless poor into the house;
When you see the naked, to cover him;
And not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
⁸ “Then your light will break out like the dawn,
And your recovery will speedily spring forth;
And your righteousness will go before you;
The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
⁹ “Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
You will cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you remove the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness,
¹⁰ And if you give yourself to the hungry
And satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
Then your light will rise in darkness
And your gloom will become like midday.
¹¹ “And the Lord will continually guide you,
And satisfy your desire in scorched places,
And give strength to your bones;
And you will be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”  Isaiah 58:6-11.

The LORD Himself exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness.  

“Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;  but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth;  for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.”  Jeremiah 9:23-24.

Those who know the LORD will seek to do those same things (justice and righteousness) that they see the Father do.  

“…  Is not that what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.”  Verse 16.

“Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing;  for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.”  John 5:19. 

And, we who were born of the Spirit do these same things (justice and righteousness).

“If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”  1 John 2:29.

“We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.  God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.  By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment;  because as He is, so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love;  but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.  We love, because He first loved us.”  I John 4:16-19. 

God created us to practice justice and righteousness.  God gives us the will to do His will.  God works within us.  God guides us in the paths of righteousness.  God completes the good work that He started in us.  Praise God!!!!!

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:10.

“for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13.

“…  He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.”  Psalm 23:3.

“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 1:6.

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah chapter 21.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+21&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ² “Please inquire of the Lord on our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is warring against us;  perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

³ Then Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows:  ⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall;  and I will gather them into the center of this city.  ⁵ I Myself will war against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in anger and wrath and great indignation.  ⁶ I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast;  they will die of a great pestilence.  ⁷ Then afterwards,” declares the Lord, “I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who survive in this city from the pestilence, the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives;  and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’

⁸ “You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.  ⁹ He who dwells in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence;  but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as booty.  ¹⁰ For I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord.  “It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire.”’

¹¹ “Then say to the household of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ¹² O house of David, thus says the Lord:

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah chapter 20.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+20&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, ² Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord.  ³ On the next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “Pashhur is not the name the Lord has called you, but rather Magor-missabib.  ⁴ For thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am going to make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends;  and while your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies.  So I will give over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away as exiles to Babylon and will slay them with the sword.  ⁵ I will also give over all the wealth of this city, all its produce and all its costly things;  even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give over to the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away and bring them to Babylon.  ⁶ And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity;  and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have falsely prophesied.’”

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah chapter 19.  Here is a link to this chapter – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+19&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“Thus says the Lord, “Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests.  …

“Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired;  and they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial.”  Jeremiah 19:1 and 10-11.

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The LORD emphasized His sovereign power and authority by commanding Jeremiah to buy a potter’s earthenware jar (verse 1) and then break the jar (verse 10) in front of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests who accompanied him to buy it, and to say to them, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired …” (verse 11). 

Other doctrine portrays the god of their desires and imaginations as more sensitive than sovereign.  Other doctrine portrays their god as some kind of meek Santa Claus who bows down to the alleged free-will of man and who serves man’s every desire.

But, Reformed Doctrine seeks to see and understand the God of Scripture.  Reformed Doctrine presents the God of Scripture as the sovereign God Who has shattering power and authority such as a potter has over his pottery illustrated in today’s Scripture.

“AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES …”  Revelation 2:27.

“⁷ “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
⁸ ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
⁹ ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”  Psalm 2:7-9.

“6 “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power,
Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You;
You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.”  Exodus 15:6-7.

“Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered;
Against them He will thunder in the heavens,
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
And He will give strength to His king,
And will exalt the horn of His anointed.”  1 Samuel 2:10.

“⁴ The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
⁵ The Lord is at Your right hand;
He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath.
⁶ He will judge among the nations,
He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.
⁷ He will drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will lift up His head.”  Psalm 110:4-7.

“¹² In indignation You marched through the earth;
In anger You trampled the nations.
¹³ You went forth for the salvation of Your people,
For the salvation of Your anointed.
You struck the head of the house of the evil
To lay him open from thigh to neck.  Selah.”  Habakkuk 3:12-13.     

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 18:18-23.

“¹⁸ Then they said, “Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah.  Surely the law is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the sage, nor the divine word to the prophet!  Come on and let us strike at him with our tongue, and let us give no heed to any of his words.”

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 18:1-17.

“The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, ² “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.”  ³ Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel.  ⁴ But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter;  so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁶ “Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord.  “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.  ⁷ At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it;  ⁸ if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it.  ⁹ Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it;  ¹⁰ if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it.  ¹¹ So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you.  Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds.”’  ¹² But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 17:19-27.

“Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem;  and say to them, ‘Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates:  Thus says the Lord, “Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem.  You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers.  Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.

“But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me,” declares the Lord, “to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.  They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord.  But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched.”’  Jeremiah 17:19-27.

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If we keep the sabbbath holy, then we will more likely have time to gather and worship God.

If we keep the sabbbath holy, then we will more likely be in the mental condition to worship God.

If we keep the sabbbath holy, then it will be more likely that more people will gather and worship God (because they will not have us to do business on that day).

If we keep the sabbath holy, then the LORD will bless us and not punish us.

There are also certainly other very good reasons to keep the Sabbath holy.

And, in any event, even if there were no apparent reasons to keep the sabbath holy, we should keep the sabbath holy simply because the LORD commanded it.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God;  in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day;  therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.”  Exodus 20:8-11.

But despite the fact that there are very good reasons to keep the sabbath holy and despite the fact that this is one of the Top 10 commandments of the LORD, we still will not do it.

Just like there are very good reasons to keep the commandment “You shall not covet.” and it is also one of the Top 10 commandments of the LORD, sin takes opportunity through the holy and righteous and good commandment (whether it be “You shall not covet” or “keep the sabbath holy” or any other commandment) and produces every kind of violation of the commandment and results in the spiritual death of us.

“…  I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”  But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind;  for apart from the Law sin is dead.  I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;  and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;  for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”  Romans 7:7-11.

But, there is hope!

“Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.  For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.  But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”  Romans 7:4-6.

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 17:9-18.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+17&version=NASB