Job 1:22
“In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”
The verse above is quite the statement about a man coming from the mouth of God. This statement didn't come from someone trying to impress others of their spirituality. This statement didn't come from someone who was bragging about an admired person. This statement came from a God Who knows everything about everyone.
Ezekiel 19:5
“Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.”
God uses a parable about a lion to show what was going to happen to Israel. He said that the lioness had two whelps which she nourished. One grew up and became a lion that learned to catch prey and eat men. The men of Egypt saw what this lion did, so they came and captured this young lion and brought him in chains back to Egypt.
Ezekiel 3:17
“Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.”
When God called Ezekiel to be a prophet to Israel, one of the greatest responsibilities God gave him was to be a watchman. The watchman was the person who stood in the tower on the wall and watched for the enemy. It was the responsibility of the watchman to warn those within the city of any dangers that could hurt the inhabitants. God was careful to warn Ezekiel of the grave responsibility of being a watchman.
Lamentations 2:15
“All that pass by clap their hands at thee; they hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, Is this the city that men call The perfection of beauty, The joy of the whole earth?”
Have you ever taken a trip to see something that was supposed to have a significant place in history only to be disappointed? Several years ago, my wife and I took a trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts, to see the first rock that the Pilgrims stepped upon when they came onto American soil. When we got to the place where the rock was, we were so disappointed because it was nothing that we imagined it to be.
Proverbs 31:27
“She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”
We live in times when the woman’s priorities has been realigned to fit the model of the world. Many Christians don't take into consideration that what the world wants and what God wants are two different things. The world tries to redefine the priorities of the woman because the world’s agenda is to destroy the home. Yes, the world hates the home because God is the One Who established the home. James 4:4 reminds us, “…whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” You must always consider that anything the world wants is contradictory to what God wants because they are enemies. Thus, the priorities the world wants the woman to perform are in direct contradiction to the role God wants her to perform.
Jeremiah 40:16
“But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.”
When the King of Babylon invaded Israel and Judah, he left a remnant of poor people in the land to care for it so that the wilderness would not overtake it. He also knew that he needed to leave someone in charge, so he set Gedaliah as the governor of the land. We don't know what qualities Gedaliah had that caused the king to set him up as governor, but one thing we do know is that he certainly was not the best of leaders or else he would have been taken to Babylon.
Psalm 137:1
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.”
As Israel sat captive in Babylon, all they did was talk about what it used to be like. They reminisced about their homeland and what it used to be like. The time of reminiscing caused them to do nothing. In fact, it says that they hung their “harps upon the willows.” They got to the point when they were asked to sing one of the songs of Zion that they responded in verse 4, “How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?” They thought that all they had left were memories.
Jeremiah 26:15
“But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.”
We live in times when if you don't like the message, it is easy to move to another messenger who will give you a message that you do like. Churches, and I use that word loosely, abound everywhere. What I have seen happen with many Christians is, instead of dealing with their own issues that have been discovered, they would rather go to another church hoping this new pastor won’t be as “restrictive” as the previous one. The problem that these Christians face is that the messenger was not the problem, the problem was the listener who wouldn't repent.
Jeremiah 10:2
“Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.”
A banker once explained to me how they were trained to spot a counterfeit. He told me that the bank did not show them counterfeit money, but they were taught how to spot a counterfeit by being very familiar with real money. He said that the familiarity with the real thing would cause them to easily spot a counterfeit.
Jeremiah 1:4
“Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,”
It was June 21, 1973. I was sitting in my living room and my mother was giving devotions because my father was out soul winning. That was the first time in my life that the LORD spoke to me. It was that night that He spoke to me about my need of a Saviour, and it was that night that I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be my personal Saviour.