Thursday 18 Jul 2013

Thursday Reading: Jeremiah 5:1-9

Key Verse: Jeremiah 5:4
4  Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God.

Devotion:
There are going to be times when you look around you and you see all manner of people doing the right things and saying the right things but you just know that they don’t mean it in their hearts. Do not be discouraged by such people because there are many more out there that are ignorant of the truth and need to be told the truth. God has given us the task of spreading the good news, the Gospel message, the truth; however you look at it or describe it, the truth must be told!

When I go out to work with children I go out and see a society that has hidden the truth from their children. Why have they done this? Well, as I see it they have done this for a couple of reasons. People do not want to pay attention to rules and regulations when they stop them from being able to do their own thing. The second is that if they did pay attention to the commandments they would be undone – hence they think by sweeping it under the carpet they can ignore it! This leaves us with a generation or two that have not heard the gospel message because of ignorance or fear. We need to fill that gap!

How can we expect people to see the light when they are completely surrounded by darkness? We like to think that we need missionaries sent out into third world countries because they need them there. In reality we are turning out the lights in our own back yards first and leaving our neighbours in the darkness that we are trying to stop in other places. God’s Word need to go out into all the world and not just places we want it to go. Jonah did not want to go into Nineveh because he could not see any light to start with; but if we do not switch on the first light, how are people going to see that there is light to start with?

We can make people rich in God’s Word by telling them the Gospel message. That richness is going to bring more light into their lives than a new light bulb because it will reach inside their souls where God is battling. Do not ignore people just because they choose to ignore God; allow them to see that God is real by living for Him and with Him in open sight, encouraging others to see how good life with God is!

Points to Ponder:
Where do you live your life?

Are you using God’s light?