Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 31, 2017

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.”

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.”

19 Do give heed to me, O Lord,
And listen to what my opponents are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have dug a pit for me.
Remember how I stood before You
To speak good on their behalf,
So as to turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore, give their children over to famine
And deliver them up to the power of the sword;
And let their wives become childless and widowed.
Let their men also be smitten to death,
Their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May an outcry be heard from their houses,
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
For they have dug a pit to capture me
And hidden snares for my feet.
23 Yet You, O Lord, know
All their deadly designs against me;
Do not forgive their iniquity
Or blot out their sin from Your sight.
But may they be overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the time of Your anger!”  Jeremiah 18:18-23.

——————–

“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.”  Verse 18.

“Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?
The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.
2 Your tongue devises destruction,
Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.
3 You love evil more than good,
Falsehood more than speaking what is right.  Selah.
4 You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.

5 But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and tear you away from your tent,
And uproot you from the land of the living.  Selah.
6 The righteous will see and fear,
And will laugh at him, saying,
7 “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But trusted in the abundance of his riches
And was strong in his evil desire.”

8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
9 I will give You thanks forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.”  Psalm chapter 52.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 30, 2017

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

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.’

13 “Therefore thus says the Lord,
‘Ask now among the nations,
Who ever heard the like of this?
The virgin of Israel
Has done a most appalling thing.
14 ‘Does the snow of Lebanon forsake the rock of the open country?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever snatched away?
15 ‘For My people have forgotten Me,
They burn incense to worthless gods
And they have stumbled from their ways,
From the ancient paths,
To walk in bypaths,
Not on a highway,
16 To make their land a desolation,
An object of perpetual hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake his head.
17 ‘Like an east wind I will scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will show them My back and not My face
In the day of their calamity.’”  Jeremiah 18:1-17.

———————————-

God is good and calls people to repentance and reform.  “…  Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds.”  Verse 11.

But, because of “Total Depravity”, the natural condition of man, they will not repent nor reform.  “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.’”  Verse 12.

The hope is not based on man’s alleged free-will.

The hope is based on God’s sovereign power (as The Potter) to save whom He chooses.

“15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  16 So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.  17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.”  18 So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?”  20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?  The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?  21 Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?  22 What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?  23 And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.  25 As He says also in Hosea,

“I will call those who were not My people, ‘My people,’
And her who was not beloved, ‘beloved.’”
26 “And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, ‘you are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved;  28 for the Lord will execute His word on the earth, thoroughly and quickly.”  Romans 9:15-27.

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Matthew 22:14.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 28, 2017

“keep the sabbath day holy”: “we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter”

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.

——————–

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.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 27, 2017

“Save me and I will be saved”

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

I quote only the following verses.

“9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
10 “I, the Lord, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
11 “As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is he who makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him,
And in the end he will be a fool.”

12 A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You will be put to shame.
Those who turn away on earth will be written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the Lord.
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.”  Jeremiah 17:9-14. 

——————————

“Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed;
Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.”  Verse 14.

The reason that we are saved is simply because the LORD saved us.  The LORD deserves all of the credit and praise. 

There is nothing good within us that causes or contributes to us being saved.

“The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?”  Verse 9.

And yet, other doctrine teaches that there is some goodness within us or some wisdom within us or some alleged free-will within us that causes or contributes to us being saved.

But Reformed Doctrine, consistent with today’s Scripture understanding of the deceitfulness of the heart, teaches that there is nothing good within us that causes or contributes to us being saved. 

If we are to be saved, it must be entirely a work of God.

“…  Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.”  Verse 14.

“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.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 26, 2017

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord.”

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 17:1-9.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+17&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“5 Thus says the Lord,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 “For he will be like a bush in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land of salt without inhabitant.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.
8 “For he will be like a tree planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.  Jeremiah 17:5-8.

——————-

Other doctrine trusts in man’s goodness, man’s wisdom, man’s alleged free-will, and man’s works.

But, Reformed Doctrine trusts in God’s goodness, God’s wisdom, God’s will, and God’s work.

And, Reformed Doctrine even recognizes that its trust is a gift from God.  “… And whose trust is the Lord.”  Verse 7.

Reformed Doctrine recognizes that Scriptures teaches than the natural condition of man is that man is dead in sin which it summarizes as “Total Depravity”, the “T” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

“10 as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one;
11 There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”  Romans 3:10-12.

“And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.  Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”  Ephesians 2:1-3.

And, Reformed Doctrine recognizes that if man is to be saved, then God must do everything to save him from the beginning to the end:  from the beginning of “Unconditional Election” to “Limited Atonement” to “Irresistible Grace” to the end of “Preservation of the Saints”, the “U”, “L”, “I”, and “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

In a nutshell, if man is to be saved, then God must make the man dead in sin alive.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith;  and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Ephesians 2:4-8.

Article 8.  For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gracious will and purpose of God the Father, that the quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious death of his Son should extend to all the elect, for bestowing upon them alone the gift of justifying faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:  that is, it was the will of God, that Christ by the blood of the cross, whereby he confirmed the new covenant, should effectually redeem out of every people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, and those only, who were from eternity chosen to salvation, and given to him by the Father;  that he should confer upon them faith, which together with all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, he purchased for them by his death;  should purge them from all sin, both original and actual, whether committed before or after believing;  and having faithfully preserved them even to the end, should at last bring them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoyment of glory in his own presence forever.  SECOND HEAD OF DOCTRINE Of the Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby of the Canons of Dordt.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord
And whose trust is the Lord.”  Verse 7.

And, those dead in sin whom God made alive are truly blessed, “so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”  Ephesians 2:7.  

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 25, 2017

“This time I will make them know My power and My might; And they shall know that My name is the Lord.”

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah chapter 16.  Here is a link to this chapter –  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+16&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“The word of the Lord also came to me saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.”  3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bear them, and their fathers who beget them in this land:  4 “They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be lamented or buried;  they will be as dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth.”

…

10 “Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘For what reason has the Lord declared all this great calamity against us?  And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the Lord our God?’  11 Then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them;  but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law.  12 You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers;  for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me.  13 So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers;  and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor.’

14 “Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.’  For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

…

21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will make them know
My power and My might;
And they shall know that My name is the Lord.”  Jeremiah 16:1-4 and 10-15 and 21.

———————-

In this chapter, we see that the LORD punishes, and the LORD restores.  The LORD demonstrates His justice through punishment, and the LORD demonstrates His lovingkindness through restoration.  The LORD does both things to:  “… make them know My power and My might;  And they shall know that My name is the Lord.”  Verse 21.

“6 We have sinned like our fathers,
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,
But rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name,
That He might make His power known.”  Psalm 106:6-8.

Although both the saved and the unsaved see God’s power and God’s might, God causes only His elect, the saved, to understand and know and believe in the LORD.    

“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.”  So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires.

You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault?  For who resists His will?”  On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?  The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?  Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use?  What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?  And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory, even us, whom He also called, not from among Jews only, but also from among Gentiles.”  Romans 9:17-24.

Other doctrine sees the LORD’s power and might but does not understand and believe, preferring to believe in man’s goodness, man’s wisdom, and man’s alleged free-will.

Reformed Doctrine understands and knows and believes in the incredible power and might of the LORD to save, the power and might to make those dead in sin alive, and Reformed Doctrine embraces it and teaches it.

“10 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed,
And there will be none after Me.
11 “I, even I, am the Lord,
And there is no savior besides Me.
12 “It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed,
And there was no strange god among you;
So you are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,
“And I am God.
13 “Even from eternity I am He,
And there is none who can deliver out of My hand;
I act and who can reverse it?”  Isaiah 43:10-13.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 24, 2017

“For I am with you to save you And deliver you,” declares the Lord.”

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 15:15-21.

“15 You who know, O Lord,
Remember me, take notice of me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that for Your sake I endure reproach.
16 Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
17 I did not sit in the circle of merrymakers,
Nor did I exult.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat alone,
For You filled me with indignation.
18 Why has my pain been perpetual
And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?

19 Therefore, thus says the Lord,
“If you return, then I will restore you—
Before Me you will stand;
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.
20 “Then I will make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And though they fight against you,
They will not prevail over you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” declares the Lord.
21 “So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.”  Jeremiah 15:15-21.

—————————

Jeremiah poured out his soul in prayer, and we glean some understanding of God’s work of “Preservation of the Saints”, the “P” of “TULIP”, the Five Points of Calvinism, the Reformed Doctrine of Salvation.

First, we see humility in Jeremiah.  “…  humility goes before honor.”  Proverbs 18:12.  And, we also reflect on the humbling that comes from the “Total Depravity” which starts “TULIP” and which goes before “Preservation of the Saints”.  

“You who know, O Lord,
Remember me, take notice of me,
And take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that for Your sake I endure reproach.”  Verse 15.

Second, we see a love of God’s words in Jeremiah which built faith in God.

“Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart …”  Verse 16.

Third, we see that although Jeremiah felt vulnerable and weak (verse 18), his safety and salvation were not dependent on his feelings but on God’s faithfulness.

“…  For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” declares the Lord.
21 “So I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.”  Verses 20-21.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 23, 2017

“a fire was kindled against Jacob … Because they did not believe in God And did not trust in His salvation.”

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 15:5-14.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+15&version=NASB

I quote only the following verses.

“5 “Indeed, who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
Or who will mourn for you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
6 “You who have forsaken Me,” declares the Lord,
“You keep going backward.
So I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am tired of relenting!
7 “I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people;
They did not repent of their ways.
8 “Their widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
A destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and dismay.
9 “She who bore seven sons pines away;
Her breathing is labored.
Her sun has set while it was yet day;
She has been shamed and humiliated.
So I will give over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.

…

“12 “Can anyone smash iron,
Iron from the north, or bronze?
13 “Your wealth and your treasures
I will give for booty without cost,
Even for all your sins
And within all your borders.
14 “Then I will cause your enemies to bring it
Into a land you do not know;
For a fire has been kindled in My anger,
It will burn upon you.”  Jeremiah 15:5-9 and 12-14.

—————————

Reformed Doctrine has shown the salvation of God built on God’s goodness, God’s wisdom, God’s will, and God’s work. 

But, other doctrine rejects it, preferring a salvation built on man’s goodness, man’s wisdom, man’s alleged free-will, and man’s work.

Today’s Scripture reminds of the terrifying fire and fury of God’s anger and that it is directed against those who do not trust in His salvation.

“11 Worship the Lord with reverence
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to the Son (Jesus Christ), that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”  Psalm 2:11-12.

“18 “You neglected the Rock who begot you,
And forgot the God who gave you birth.

19 “The Lord saw this, and spurned them
Because of the provocation of His sons and daughters.
20 “Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them,
I will see what their end shall be;
For they are a perverse generation,
Sons in whom is no faithfulness.
21 ‘They have made Me jealous with what is not God;
They have provoked Me to anger with their idols.
So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;
I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,
22 For a fire is kindled in My anger,
And burns to the lowest part of Sheol,
And consumes the earth with its yield,
And sets on fire the foundations of the mountains.”  Deuteronomy 32:18-22.  

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.  Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.  How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?  For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.”  And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”  It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”  Hebrews 10:29-31.

Other doctrine falsely teaches that Jesus died for everyone (“Universal Atonement” – The Third Point of Arminianism) and they love to speak about the power in Christ’s blood. But, they realize that their doctrine forces them to conclude that Christ’s blood (as they claim, shed for everyone) by itself did not save, “purchase”, or “redeem” anyone, because they admit that most people are not saved.  They claim that it is up to man to generate his own faith through his own free will in order to make Christ’s blood effective to save.  They claim that the only difference between the saved and the unsaved is not Christ’s blood, because they claim that everyone gets Christ’s blood, but rather the only difference is whether or not a certain individual will generate his own faith through his own free will to make the blood effective.  According to their logic, man’s faith, not Christ’s blood, is the determining factor as to whether or not one will be saved.

Because they talk about the blood all the time, it is true that in a sense they are trampling it, not in the sense of being hateful to it but in the sense of treating it as ineffective by itself, like the description in Matthew 5: 13:  “…if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again?  It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.”

This Hebrews 10:29-31 Scripture does not apply to the person who steadfastly rejects Christ.  That person did not receive the knowledge of truth as stated in Hebrews 10:26.  That person is not sanctified, so to speak, as is stated in Hebrews 10:29.  That person does not talk about the blood of Christ.  Rather, this Hebrews 10:26-31 Scripture speaks about those received or were exposed to knowledge of the truth and were sanctified so to speak but nevertheless denied the power of the blood and insulted the Spirit of grace.

“21 Therefore the Lord heard and was full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.”  Psalm 78:21-22.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 21, 2017

“destined”

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 15:1-4.

“Then the Lord said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with this people;  send them away from My presence and let them go! 2 And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:

“Those destined for death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’

3 I will appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord:  “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag off, and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.  4 I will make them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.”  Jeremiah 15:1-4.

——————–

The word “destined” is emphasized in today’s Scripture.  I am not sure who put the word in italic font;  I did not do it.  But, in any event, the word “destined” is repeated four times in verse 2.

And so, we meditate on the emphasis of the word “destined”.

The emphasis of the word “destined” leads us to think about the sovereignty of God.  

There are those who are destined for salvation, and there are those who are destined for wrath such as we read in today’s Scripture.

“For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”  1 Thessalonians 5:9.

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him (the beast from the sea), everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.  If anyone has an ear, let him hear.  If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes;  if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed.  Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”  Revelation 13:8-10.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”  Ephesians 1:3-6.

“…  In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,”  Ephesians 1:10-11. 

Even if we neglect meditating on the word “destined”, there is the word “appoint” in verse 3 to lead us to think about the sovereignty of God.  “I will appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord …”

“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.”  John 15:16.

“… for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;  for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God;  you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”  1 Peter 2:8-10.

Other doctrine rebels against the sovereignty of God, futilely clinging to the alleged free-will of man.

But, Reformed Doctrine embraces the sovereignty of God, seeing it throughout Scripture. 

“The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.”  Psalm 103:19.

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Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | July 20, 2017

“Therefore we hope in You, For You are the one who has done all these things.”

Today’s devotion comes from Jeremiah 14:13-22.  Here is a link to this Scripture – https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah+14&version=NASB

I quote only the following Scripture.

“17 “You will say this word to them,
‘Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow,
With a sorely infected wound.
18 ‘If I go out to the country,
Behold, those slain with the sword!
Or if I enter the city,
Behold, diseases of famine!
For both prophet and priest
Have gone roving about in the land that they do not know.’”

19 Have You completely rejected Judah?
Or have You loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing?
We waited for peace, but nothing good came;
And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
20 We know our wickedness, O Lord,
The iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You.
21 Do not despise us, for Your own name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory;
Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain?
Or can the heavens grant showers?
Is it not You, O Lord our God?
Therefore we hope in You,
For You are the one who has done all these things.”   Jeremiah 14:17-22. 

——————————–

Jeremiah recognized the punishment of the LORD on Judah and the justice of it.

“We know our wickedness, O Lord,
The iniquity of our fathers, for we have sinned against You.”  Verse 20.

But, Jeremiah also recognized the lovingkindness of the LORD.

“Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain?
Or can the heavens grant showers?
Is it not You, O Lord our God?  …”  Verse 22.

Jeremiah concludes:

“…  Therefore we hope in You,
For You are the one who has done all these things.”  Verse 22.

“For if He causes grief,
Then He will have compassion
According to His abundant lovingkindness.”  Lamentations 3:32.

Like the false prophets in today’s Scripture who falsely prophesied “You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.” (verse 13), other doctrine presents their false image of a god of their imaginations and desires who only shows lovingkindness.

But, Reformed Doctrine understands and knows and presents the true God of Scripture Who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for He delights in these things.

“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.

Our hope is not based on only receiving things that immediately please us upon receipt.  We do experience grief.  We do experience droughts and sickness.  Our hope is based on the Sovereign God of Scripture Who will preserve us through grief and will show us lovingkindness and will work all things for our good and our salvation.

“Q. 26.  What believest thou when thou sayest, “I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth”?
A.  That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them;  who likewise upholds and governs the same by His eternal counsel and providence is, for the sake of Christ His Son, my God and my Father;  on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt but He will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body;  and further, that He will make whatever evils He sends upon me, in this valley of tears, turn out to my advantage;  for He is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father.  Heidelberg Catechism.

“21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22 The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.
26 It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he should bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him sit alone and be silent
Since He has laid it on him.
29 Let him put his mouth in the dust,
Perhaps there is hope.
30 Let him give his cheek to the smiter,
Let him be filled with reproach.
31 For the Lord will not reject forever,
32 For if He causes grief,
Then He will have compassion
According to His abundant lovingkindness.”  Lamentations 3:21-32.

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