106 Jeremiah 20:1-3 Cosmic War Part 1
JMD Devotional 106 Jeremiah 20:1-3 Cosmic War Part 1
NOW PASHHUR son of Immer, the priest, who was [also] chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate by the house of the Lord. And the next day Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Magor-missabib [terror on every side].
(Jeremiah had to endure several incarcerations, and his relatives being ashamed of his prophecies, and being branded a traitor and a collaborator with the enemy (Babylon). But God was with him and saw him through every trial. Ultimately Pashure and his host of false prophets were carried off into exile and Jeremiah was vindicated, but not until the latter part of his life.)
Contemplate the principles found in these two verses:
Romans 1:18 (NASB) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness...(God will avenge wrong doing in His time table).
2 Timothy 3:12 (KJV) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (God's servants will be persecuted in the mean time, there is a cosmic war going on in which we are considered combatants).
It challenges our faith and baffles our mind when we go through trials, tribulation and persecution. We want God to act NOW, and we don't understand the strategy behind the delays. We are naturally ego-centric, carrying the strongly-held but rarely articulated belief that the Universe revolves around us and our immediate needs. We extend this to believe that God should always step in and prevent hardship, and protect us from every adversary and reward our commitment to Him with an easy life. But God is sovereign, and reigns over a grand plan. It is not all about us. The smallest detail (and person) does not escape His notice; but He will sacrifice noble pieces to win the cosmic war. The reality is that most of what we, His people have to go through is seldom fatal; it is pain, inconvenience, infirmity, loneliness, rejection and resistance. Each difficulty we face gives us the opportunity to endure it nobly or beggarly; it is always a test of character. We need to be reminded that we suffer and make sacrifices for a greater good. Our faith in eternal things redeem daily temporal losses. We can choose to add to or diminish our holiness.
Philippians 1:27-30 (NIV) Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Philippians 1:29 (KJV) For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
Dear God,
Sometimes I regress to infantile thinking and behavior when things aren't going my way. Please keep working the soil of my heart until the fruit of patience, steadfastness and all other virtues emerge in abundance. I am such a child emotionally and intellectually, especially when I face my physical limitations. Help me to turn the negatives into positives as I express faith in difficult circumstances. May your Kingdom really be foremost in my devotion and what I'm about.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
My Poetry
http://saintjamespoetry.blog.com/
(Some) of my Devotionals
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
NOW PASHHUR son of Immer, the priest, who was [also] chief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate by the house of the Lord. And the next day Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, The Lord does not call your name Pashhur, but Magor-missabib [terror on every side].
(Jeremiah had to endure several incarcerations, and his relatives being ashamed of his prophecies, and being branded a traitor and a collaborator with the enemy (Babylon). But God was with him and saw him through every trial. Ultimately Pashure and his host of false prophets were carried off into exile and Jeremiah was vindicated, but not until the latter part of his life.)
Contemplate the principles found in these two verses:
Romans 1:18 (NASB) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness...(God will avenge wrong doing in His time table).
2 Timothy 3:12 (KJV) Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. (God's servants will be persecuted in the mean time, there is a cosmic war going on in which we are considered combatants).
It challenges our faith and baffles our mind when we go through trials, tribulation and persecution. We want God to act NOW, and we don't understand the strategy behind the delays. We are naturally ego-centric, carrying the strongly-held but rarely articulated belief that the Universe revolves around us and our immediate needs. We extend this to believe that God should always step in and prevent hardship, and protect us from every adversary and reward our commitment to Him with an easy life. But God is sovereign, and reigns over a grand plan. It is not all about us. The smallest detail (and person) does not escape His notice; but He will sacrifice noble pieces to win the cosmic war. The reality is that most of what we, His people have to go through is seldom fatal; it is pain, inconvenience, infirmity, loneliness, rejection and resistance. Each difficulty we face gives us the opportunity to endure it nobly or beggarly; it is always a test of character. We need to be reminded that we suffer and make sacrifices for a greater good. Our faith in eternal things redeem daily temporal losses. We can choose to add to or diminish our holiness.
Philippians 1:27-30 (NIV) Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
Philippians 1:29 (KJV) For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;
Dear God,
Sometimes I regress to infantile thinking and behavior when things aren't going my way. Please keep working the soil of my heart until the fruit of patience, steadfastness and all other virtues emerge in abundance. I am such a child emotionally and intellectually, especially when I face my physical limitations. Help me to turn the negatives into positives as I express faith in difficult circumstances. May your Kingdom really be foremost in my devotion and what I'm about.
Amen
All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)
If you know of someone who would like to subscribe to
my daily devotional, please forward.
jamesdinsmore_32907@yahoo.com
Short, concise, thought-provoking.
More features:
My Poetry
http://saintjamespoetry.blog.com/
(Some) of my Devotionals
http://recoverydevotional.blogspot.com/
posted by James M. Dinsmore at 9:11 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home