Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.

Romans 4:7

Recommended Reading

Romans 4:1-8

Ramona grew up in a troubled home. Her mother was a Christian, but her father was an abusive alcoholic. As a young adult, Ramona made many unwise choices, married multiple times, and descended into drug and alcohol abuse. One night at the Pagoda Hotel in Hawaii, she saw a Gideon Bible in one of the drawers and she took it home with her. About two years later, she started reading it. “After reading a while,” she said, “it was like the words on the pages came to life and opened my eyes. God cleansed me of the anger and resentfulness. He set me free.” Her life changed so dramatically that she forgave her father, cared for him in his latter days, and had the joy of leading him to Christ before his death.1

The grace of God is a shaft of light that can penetrate any darkness, illumine any heart, and brighten any life. God’s arms are open to receive us always—regardless of where we’ve been or what we’ve done.

How blessed we are to find and receive the forgiveness of God!

Believe in God’s instant forgiveness. How long does it take you to forgive your child? Time is not considered in forgiveness. The estrangement of a lifetime may be forgiven in the twinkling of an eye.

1. B. Meyer, in Steps Into the Blessed Life

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Ezekiel 5 – 8

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

Recommended Reading

Jeremiah 29:1-11

Poor Donald Pugh. He was very upset over the unflattering photograph of him released by the Lima, Ohio, police. He appeared overweight and puffy. Pugh was so unhappy he sent them a much better picture of himself—which led to his arrest. It reminds us of the line by poet Robert Burns: “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry.”

Our schemes often go awry. God’s never do. Look back over the course of your life. If you’re a child of God, you’ll undoubtedly see how God opened doors, closed doors, directed and redirected, ruled and overruled, and led in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

In Jeremiah 29, the Lord told the exiles in Babylonian refugee camps to trust the Lord, for His plans for them were good and He would give them a future and a hope. The plans we make for ourselves are far exceeded by God’s plan for us. So trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths (see Proverbs 3:5-6).

When we want to know God’s will there are three things which always concur: the inward impulse, the Word of God, and the trend of circumstances.

1. B. Meyer

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Ezekiel 1 – 4

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word.

Psalm 148:7-8

Recommended Reading

Psalm 148

Author Jack London wrote a tragic short story called “To Build a Fire” about a man who froze to death on the Yukon Trail because he couldn’t get his fire lit or keep it burning. It’s an illustration of a world that has forgotten to worship.

A lot of churches are like big stacks of waterlogged firewood that will never catch fire on their own. The big backlog of church membership has grown cold and the coals have nearly gone out. The fire in many churches is burning low. God is looking for men and women to serve as kindling wood; and if He can set them on fire, He can bring about revival to the church and set the world on fire with the Gospel. He is looking for true worshipers.

Kindle a fire of worship in your heart and let the Holy Spirit fan it to flames. God cannot be brought down to us; we can only direct our hearts of worship upward to Him. Let’s join the writer of Psalm 148 saying, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him from the heights!”

Yes, friends, love God extravagantly. Thank Him profusely. Worship Him lavishly.

Vernon M. Whaley in “Called to Worship”

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Lamentations 3 – 5

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

Revelation 21:1

Christians often ask, Where is heaven? Heaven is mentioned more than 500 times in Scripture, but the only location suggested is “up.” The apostles of Jesus stood “gazing up into heaven” as Jesus ascended (Acts 1:11). The apostle Paul was “caught up” into a “third heaven”—but he doesn’t say any more than “up” about location (2 Corinthians 12:2).

Recommended Reading: 2 Peter 3:10-13

Given the lack of specificity about heaven’s location, Christians by default think it is somewhere overhead, somewhere in the “heavens.” But Scripture seems to suggest that heaven will be on earth, not in the sky. When the apostle John saw the New Jerusalem “coming down out of heaven,” it came to the earth (Revelation 21:2). And Peter described the present heavens and earth being “burned up” and “dissolved” (2 Peter 3:10-11), replaced by “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (verse 13). So it seems that God will renovate and restore His original creation by creating heaven on earth.

You may love where you live now, but you will love your heaven-on-earth home that is coming much more!

Heaven will chiefly consist in the enjoyment of God.

William S. Plummer

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Jeremiah 50 – 52

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Titus 2:14, KJV

Recommended Reading

Titus 2:11-15

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world,” wrote George Bernard Shaw. “The unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”1

Christians are, in a sense, unreasonable people. We are nonconformists and counter culturists. We don’t love the world or the things in the world. We’re citizens of another kingdom, and we don’t adapt well to this one. We do our best to get along, to love our neighbor, to do all the good we can, and to be wise and winsome. But the older translations called us “peculiar.”

Exodus 19:5 says if we obey His voice and keep His covenant, we’ll be His “peculiar treasure.” Deuteronomy 14:2 says God has chosen us to be a “peculiar people unto himself.” First Peter 2:9 says we are “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people.”2 The essence of who we are matters, for we belong to Almighty God and we’re His peculiar treasure.

Our business today is to be New Testament Christians, proclaim New Testament Christianity, and build New Testament churches. That seems simple enough … but just try it in dead-earnest and see what happens!

Vance Havner

1George Bernard Shaw, Men and Superman (Cambridge, MA: The University Press, 1903), 124.

2References quoted from the King James Version.

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Jeremiah 49

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

James 5:11

Recommended Reading

James 5:9-12

Different translations give us different insights. The New International Version renders James 5:11 like this: “You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about.”

Notice that word “finally.” Finally, after waves of attacks, after months of suffering, after hours of conversations, after countless tears. Finally, after loss of life, loss of property, loss of health. Finally, after feckless friends and miserable comforters. Finally, after endless pain and ceaseless prayers. Finally … in His timing … in His will … for His reasons. Finally, God brought it all around for good.

James was writing to Christians who were facing pressures that made them feel like Job, but he told them to persevere. He advised them to work through it to see what the Lord would finally bring about.

God gives us insights during our trials to help us along our journey, and He often weaves them into the simplest words of the Bible such as finally. If you’re facing adversity today, persevere. Wait to see what the Lord will finally bring about.

I’m grateful for those little insights God gives us, aren’t you? I don’t think we’d get through the furnace if He didn’t break through our consciousness and say, “Now wait a minute. I’m here. I’m in this place with you. I’m in the midst of this trial with you.”

David Jeremiah

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Jeremiah 47 – 48

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

John 13:7

Recommended Reading

John 13:1-7

Maxwell Cornelius left his family’s farm in Pennsylvania to become a brick mason in Pittsburgh, but tragedy struck when he was a young man. He lost his leg when the wall of a house collapsed. Leaving the construction trade, he went into the ministry. His wife battled disability, forcing them to leave their church and move to California for the climate. There he led another congregation into a building program, but the economy failed. Despite all his hardships and setbacks, Cornelius maintained a positive attitude and later wrote a hymn, which was quite popular in its day. The words are timeless: “Not now, but in the coming years, / It may be in the better land, / We’ll read the meaning of our tears, / And there, some time, we’ll understand.”

We won’t understand life completely on earth, but one day we’ll be with the One who does. As Pastor Adrian Rogers said, “In the storms of our lives, we never see the full picture. But one day we will see it all; one day the circle will be complete.”1

God knows the way, He holds the key, / He guides us with unerring hand; / Some time with tearless eyes we’ll see; / Yes, there, up there, we’ll understand.

Maxwell Cornelius, from the hymn “Sometime We’ll Understand”

1Adrian Rogers, Unveiling the End Times (Nashville: B&H, 2013), 77.

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Jeremiah 44 – 46

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection.

Philippians 3:10

Recommended Reading

Philippians 3:1-11

In The King and I, Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote a toe-tapping little song for Anna to sing about striking up a friendship with the King of Siam and his family. “Haven’t you noticed,” sang Anna, “suddenly I’m bright and breezy? Because of all the beautiful and new things I’m learning about you.” The chorus keeps repeating the thought: “Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.”

If that’s true about the King of Siam, it’s much truer about the King of Kings!

As we mature in our walk with the Lord, we’ll learn more about His goodness with every step we take. Our Christian faith isn’t a religion but a relationship. Prayer and Bible study aren’t simply rituals, but conversations. Our God isn’t just a distant force; He’s an ever-present friend. The focus of our faith is getting to know Him better.

The Amplified Bible Classic Edition renders Philippians 3:10 like this: “[For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly].”

Does not every child of God long… to know just as much about his heavenly Father as he can learn?

1. I. Packer, in Knowing God

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Jeremiah 40 – 43

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth.
Job 19:25

The Innocence Project, founded in 1992, is dedicated to proving that wrongly convicted and imprisoned suspects are innocent. It uses DNA technology to establish innocence and also to find the truly guilty person.

Innocent people who are wrongfully convicted are desperate for someone to speak out for them. That was Job’s situation in the Old Testament. He was a righteous man (a sinner, but one who atoned carefully for his sins) who suffered greatly—a sign of guilt and divine judgment in his day. The book of Job is the record of his friends’ accusations of guilt and Job’s protestations of his innocence. Job longed for someone in heaven or on earth to be his defender, his advocate, his redeemer, and to declare his innocence (Job 9:33-34; 16:18-21). Ultimately, Job realized that if no one on earth would defend him, God Himself would. And even if it came after his death, he would “in [his] flesh . . . see God” (Job 19:26).

Job needed what we need—someone to redeem us from the guilt of our intentional and unintentional sins. Thank God that our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, lives—our Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1)!

I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
George Frideric Händel, Messiah

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Jeremiah 37 – 39

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

You . . . have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
Revelation 5:9

“Immigration” is presently the hottest geo-political word in the world. America is trying to solve the question of undocumented aliens entering without legal permission. And Europe is wrestling with additional millions who are fleeing persecution and war in their Middle Eastern homelands.

Recommended Reading: Colossians 1:9-29

“Birds of a feather flock together” is a truism for a reason. Human beings prefer the comfort of familiarity to the discomfort of changing surroundings—including new languages, customs, and religions. But in heaven, God’s original vision for humanity will be restored. Humanity will be unified, on the basis of faith in Christ, as a physical body that manifests the spiritual body we are on earth. Christians will be redeemed “out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” on earth. That doesn’t mean our “tribes” and “tongues” will be preserved in heaven. It does mean that the fears we have now of “others” will be erased as we are united in love for eternity.

Better to live now as we will live in heaven—immigrants united as one in Christ.

You must therefore live, in the present, as far as possible like you will live in the future. 
N. T. Wright

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Jeremiah 31 – 36

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

Recommended Reading

Psalm 27:7-14

How many times do you need to hear it?

“He will not leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). “I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5). “Blessed be the LORD, who has not forsaken His kindness to the living” (Ruth 2:20). “The LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake” (1 Samuel 12:22). “He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 28:20). “God did not forsake us in our bondage” (Ezra 9:9). “You did not forsake them in the wilderness” (Nehemiah 9:19). “When my father and mother forsake me, then the LORD will take care of me” (Psalm 27:10). “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken” (Psalm 37:25). “We are…persecuted but not forsaken” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).

Only one person has been utterly forsaken. He cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) Because of the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus, our Father in heaven will never forsake us; so don’t despair over anything today. You are not forsaken.

The enemies have more chariots, experience, and artillery? Yes, they are strong, but I am stronger still. And I will not leave you or forsake you.

Max Lucado in Glory Days

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Jeremiah 28 – 30

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.

2 Chronicles 20:12b

Recommended Reading

Psalm 25:12-15

Imagine landing a jet on the rolling deck of an aircraft carrier in the pouring rain—in the middle of the night. It’s complicated, but it boils down to a single request from the Landing Signal Officer to the incoming pilot: “Call the ball.” The “ball” is a round light shining toward the plane that the pilot uses to line his plane up with the carrier’s deck. When the pilot sees the “ball” and is confident of his path, he responds, “Ball.” From that point until he lands he has one lifesaving task: to keep his eye on the ball.

Think now of dark times in life when you’re looking for a port in the storm, a place to land safely and in one spiritual and emotional piece. Lots of things may help—friends, funds, family. But there is one thing absolutely essential: keeping your eyes on the Lord. When Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, was surrounded by a vast army, the people of Judah came together. Jehoshaphat led in a prayer for God’s help, the last words of which were these, “Nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

You can only follow God if your eyes are on Him. The destination is wherever He leads.

It costs to follow Jesus Christ, but it costs more not to.

Unknown

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Jeremiah 22 – 24

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

Ephesians 1:11

Recommended Reading

Romans 9:11-18

When an adult does something surprising or unexpected, she may be asked, “Was quitting your job an impulsive act?” And the answer comes back: “No, I did it on purpose.” It was intentional, planned, and thoughtful. But when a child spills his milk, he may defend himself by saying, “I didn’t do it on purpose, Mommy!” It was an accident, something unplanned.

When the Bible speaks about God’s purposes, it never suggests that anything God does is accidental or arbitrary. Everything God does is intentional, planned, and thoughtful. Everything God does is on purpose. It is “predestined according to the . . . counsel of His will.” When we see the equivalent of spilled milk in life, it is important to view it through the lens of God’s purpose and God’s will. Trying to understand “why” is not the motivation. Rather, the motivation is developing trust and faith in God.

Look at life through purpose-colored lenses. See everything from God’s perspective. Trust that He is acting “according to the counsel of His will.”

If life is an accident, it cannot conceivably have any purpose, for accident and purpose are mutually exclusive.

John Blanchard

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Jeremiah 18 – 21

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:2

The largest private home in the world is Istana Nurul Iman Palace, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah. The home consists of more than 2 million square feet of space, 1,788 rooms, 257 bathrooms, 5 swimming pools, a 110-car garage, air-conditioned stables for 200 polo ponies, a banquet hall, and a mosque large enough for 1,500 worshipers. It cost around $1.4 billion to build in the mid-1980s.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 23:6

Grand as it is, that mansion pales in significance to what Jesus is preparing for His followers. The home He is preparing is called the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation 21:2—and it is large. Shaped like a cube, it measures 1,500 miles in each of its three dimensions—length, width, and height (Revelation 21:16). It is built of precious stones and minerals, and its worth, in human dollars, would be incalculable. But more important than its worth in dollars is its worth in security and joy for all who dwell there for eternity.

When comparing man’s greatest with God’s greatest, there is no comparison. Make sure you have secured your reservation in the mansion Jesus is preparing.

The nearer to heaven in hopes, the farther from earth in desires.

William Gurnall, from The Christian in Complete Armor

Read-Thru-the-Bible: Jeremiah 9 – 14

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

Recommended Reading

2 Corinthians 4:1-9

Everyone knows what it’s like to be disappointed by someone we love or admire. Our husbands, wives, children, or parents sometimes let us down. Our heroes stumble. Our leaders falter. It can devastate us and damage our relationships because we place high expectations on those we love. Sometimes we forget they are broken people just like we are.

According to 2 Corinthians 4:7, we are all earthen vessels, jugs of clay, easily chipped. The Voice translates 2 Corinthians 4:7 like this: “But this beautiful treasure (the Gospel) is contained in us—cracked pots made of earth and clay—so that the transcendent character of this power will be clearly seen as coming from God and not from us.”

God blesses us cracked pots in spite of our sinful, undeserving nature; and high on His list of blessings is forgiveness. As we look to Him alone, He gives us grace (He imparts a million blessings we don’t deserve) and mercy (He withholds a million judgments we do deserve).

If He gives grace and mercy to cracked pots like us, perhaps we need to extend the same to those we love.

Let us make sure that we are not so hard on others because if the shoe were on the other foot, we would want someone to understand our circumstances and help us to redeem ourselves.

Jesse R. Watson, Jr., in Morning Coffee

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Jeremiah 4 – 5

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

Psalm 4:1

Recommended Reading

Psalm 32:1-5

According to the federal government, Americans spent $135 billion on “behavioral health” services in 2005. That includes medicine, counseling, hospitalization, and more. Part of that big number represents people who just needed “someone to talk to.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in 2010 that there were 156,300 mental health counselors—so the amount spent on face-to-face counseling is no small number.

And it can be money well-spent. Professional counselors can be objective and clear when life feels subjective and confused. But let us not forget that we have a “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6, NASB) in the person of Jesus Christ. Prayer to the Father through our Advocate-Counselor should be our first step when we lose clarity in life. The Spirit of God is also a Counselor (John 15:26; 16:7, NIV). Father, Son, and Spirit are available at any hour and for any reason with infallible guidance. The only cost is time in prayer.

Talk to friends and counselors when necessary. But don’t fail to talk to God in prayer and seek His counsel first.

Most Christians learned at an early age how to talk to God, but they did not learn to listen as well.

Gordon MacDonald, from Men of Integrity

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Jeremiah 1 – 3

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/