DEVOTIONAL

Prayer: Father thank you for loving me and calling me to love others. Help me this to love others. I confess that sometimes it’s hard but thank you that you have given me all I need to love. As I commit myself to you today, I ask please touch my life and help me live out all the commandments you have given in and through the name of you beloved Son the Lord Jesus my Saviour. Father God,, I come before your throne of grace and mercy, I confess and acknowledge I have sinned against you in thought and deed, today I ask to forgive me and, in your grace, purify my heart, cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. And in your great love lead me and help me to walk in the paths of righteousness, so that I may bring glory to you the one triune God. Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy. I now receive your forgiveness and mercy in the name of my Lord and saviour, Jesus Christ.

Scripture Reading for Prayer and Praise: Psalm 121:1-2

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” 

Worship Song Sung or Said:  As The Deer Pants (Robin Mark)

https://youtu.be/LthkibTzuj8

As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after Thee
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee
You alone are my Strength, my Shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee.

You’re my Friend and You are my Brother
Even though You are a King
I love You more than any other
So much more than anything
You alone are my Strength, my Shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee.

I want You more than gold or silver
Only You can satisfy
You alone are the real joy-giver
And the apple of my eye
You alone are my Strength, my Shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship Thee.

God’s Word for Today: Jeremiah 17:5-8

"7 But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.” 8 They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.” It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.” It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” 

Devotional/Study: 

Today I want to think about one of the most amazing prophets of the Old Testament. The prophet Jeremiah who was called by God to take God’s word to all Israel and to the nations Jeremiah 1:5 "I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” As I was thinking about this, it raised a question for you and me. What has and is God calling us to do in these days where it is becoming harder to follow Christ and to live out the teachings of the Holy Bible? Jeremiah came on to the scene when the nation of Israel, had stopped putting God first, and had replaced Him with false gods. 

They had been un-faithful to the laws of the covenant and had forsaken God by worshiping Baal. God said Jeremiah 2:11 "But exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols, and therefore they had turned their hearts away from their one and true living God.” 

In the world we live in, millions of people are worshipping false gods and been led astray by Satan. Even the church is now conforming to the pattern and principles of the world and values that I believe that are against what the Holy Bible teaches. It seems to me the church is sacrificing the gospel message to gain acceptance. 

And for those who preach and live out the gospel are facing much more hostility. I believe one the messages we must proclaim is for people to turn to the one true living God and believe in Jesus. 

For 40 years he served as God's spokesman to Judah, calling the people to turn back to God, but no matter how hard he tried, the people would not listen. In his 40 years of minister, he suffered greatly, he was persecuted, he faced hostility and death threats and even his own relatives conspired against him and betrayed him. 

He had his ups and downs; his life was one of loneliness and isolation. He was someone who experienced rejection, depression, and discouragement. However, amid all that he went through he continued to trust in God and kept on calling the people to trust and turn back to the living God. 

In chapter 17 Jeremiah contrasts two kinds of people: those who trust in human beings and those who trust in the Lord. And he points out that those who trust in human beings are accursed Jeremiah 17:5 "This is what the LORD says: Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD.” 

He says that the person "who trusts in man and whose heart turns away from God will be like a bush in the waste-lands.” v6. Jeremiah is using the desert shrub as a metaphor. I want you imaging a bush in the desert. The bush may not be dead, but it is struggling to stay alive. It is dry and has no fruit. 

Jeremiah than says v7-8 "But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.” They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.” It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.” It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” 

Brothers and sisters, a Christian whose roots are firmly planted in the word of God will remain faithful and trust in the Lord. Our strength and nourishment will come from the well of living water that Jesus gives us to drink. Our strength and nourishment will come when we spend time in God’s word. Psalm 1 reminds us that the person "whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— what-ever they do prospers.” 

Jeremiah was nourished and sustained by God’s spoken word. This enabled him to stand up against the fiercest opposition and to be fully confident that God would provide him with all he needed. Jeremiah put his trust and confidence in the Lord. It’s important to remember that God not only provides our nourishment, He protects and preserves us not necessarily from hardship, but in the midst of hardship and difficulties He is with us. 

Brothers and sisters when we put our trust in God, we will find strength in Him and because He is our help and refuge, we don’t have to worry about tomorrow. We don’t have to worry about what the future is going to bring. Because, while the future is uncertain, the one that holds your future is trustworthy! 

Remember the words of Jesus: Matthew 6:25-27 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.” Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?   Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.” Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Brothers and sisters as a follower of Jesus the one thing I know is, if I we put our trust in Him; He will never leave us nor forsake us.” Jeremiah reminds us to place our trust and confidence in God, who alone is trustworthy.”

He will never bring us to a valley that he can’t take us through, He will always be with us in a storm. He will never leave us to face trials on our own. He is our strength, He is our shield, He is our fortress, our Rock, and deliverer! He is the Lord of our lives. Brothers and sisters when we trust in our God and look to Him, we will discover He is our strength. It’s in Him we will find refreshment and will be like a well-watered tree bearing fruit. Many of us are experiencing dryness because so many times we are putting so many other things before God. Sometimes this spiritual dryness creeps up unaware, on us because we are so busy, so involved in other things we forget to spend time with our father in heaven.         

Brothers and sisters are you in that place where you can say with the Psalmist Psalm 42:1-2 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.”  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” I believe this morning God wants to release the flow of His blessing, His mercy, love and forgiveness, especially those of you who may be going through a dry and barren time and those of you who may be in a place of darkness, fear, depression and stress. If you are in that place of Hungering and Thirsting and Longing for God, God wants to meet you and reveal His amazing love and purpose and will for your life. 

Brothers and sisters when we put our trust in God, we will be able to say with David "He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”  He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him" Ps 40:2-3.” 

Let us today open our hearts today to the life-giving refreshment of the Holy Spirit. Let us open our most inner being to the presence of the Living God.

Personal Prayer: