Monday, January 24, 2022

MY SOUL! MY SOUL!

Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 3-4

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

You can still see the enormous cut rocks that were thrown down onto the street from the upper walls of the Temple Mount by the Roman soldiers in 70 AD.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verses: Jeremiah 3:14a, 4:19a

“Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; “for I am married to you…”

…O my soul, my soul! I am pained in my very heart! My heart makes a noise in me…

 

In today’s Bible reading, the word, “BACKSLIDING” is repeated four times, and the word “RETURN” five times. Taking note of significant words repeated over and over lets us know what the writer is trying to emphasize for our benefit! God’s message to the backslider is “RETURN!” Ask ourselves this question and let’s make it personal: “Have I ever loved and served God in the past more than I do today?” If so, “RETURN.”

Jeremiah, in our key verses, expresses the heart pain that God feels…the pain of a Parent rejected by His children…the pain of a Husband who truly loves His bride and wife but has been rejected in favour of other lovers. Some who read this may have experienced such pain, which is not only crushing emotionally but also produces devastating mental anguish and even has negative physical effects. As a prophet, Jeremiah represents God and is feeling a measure of God’s pain. As a priest, he represents the human family before God in intercession. He identifies with the pain of our separation from God. We are beginning to understand why Jeremiah is called “The Weeping Prophet.”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, my eternal loving heavenly Father, I return to You and run into Your loving arms, which are wide open and waiting for me to come closer than ever. Lord God, You have described Yourself as my Lover/Spouse. I do love You with all my heart. Give me grace to be 100% true to You at all times. Forgive me of my backsliding. Thank You for promising Your willingness to forgive and restore. I pray these mercies through Jesus Christ, the One who never backslid and, therefore, never needed to return. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

The person who loves the most is most deeply hurt when rejected by the one they love. The mother who has nursed a child at her breast and then lives to be rejected by a son or daughter knows the pain of which Jeremiah writes. The husband or wife who has given themselves totally in love with their spouse and is then rejected knows such deep inner pain, such that it’s impossible to describe in words. I have never felt that rejection personally, but I’ve put my arms around many whose body is wracked with such immeasurable pain. All I could do was to be there, as there were no words which I could speak that would be adequate. Surely God, Whose very nature is infinitely loving, must feel this pain much more than man. This is the pain Jesus bore when He suffered on the cross…the pain of rejection, separation and loss. I can’t even begin to imagine His pain. All I can do is cry and say, “I’m here Lord. I’ve returned! I’m determined to move closer to You and not backslide!!!”

Yours for loving God faithfully and showing love for Him by our love for others,

David

7 thoughts on “Monday, January 24, 2022

  1. Father, as David and Jeremiah cried, help all Your people hear You calling and return to You. You love all people and desire that they come to You, saved from the terrible devastation of life without You. Send out Your workers, Lord, so all will hear Your invitation to come and be saved, in Jesus’s great name, amen

  2. The Kingdom Is Ours

    Oh,Lord,though we have sinned against You
    And have done evil in your sight,
    You still love us the ages through,
    Withholding from us Your just might.

    To each of us You have been a Friend,
    Your guidance led those who would hear
    And shown Your mercy has no end;
    As we repent,you draw us near.

    Lord,restore to us a right spirit,
    For You have washed away our sin
    And we know we’re not to fear it
    When evil seeks to come within.

    Oh,my Savior,You are always true
    And we want to walk in Your light
    But there is one who will undo
    And e’er seeks to bind us in fright.

    Oh Lord,we know Your word is our shield
    But relentless thoughts from the snake,
    Seek to steal what we must not yield,
    For the kingdom is ours to take.
    G W(Bill) Marshall/13 Sept, 2015

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