Jeremiah 13 - 11.4.25
SCRIPTURE: JEREMIAH 13:1-11
1 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[a] and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’
OBSERVATION
The Lord is providing a visual story to reflect several things. One is that it shows how their pride has caused them to become useless in the big picture of what God wants from His people. The other part is the belt, a personal and important part of clothing, is used to show how close God wants to be to His people. Unfortunately, Israel and Judah have stubborn hearts, are prideful, wicked, refuse to listen, and worship idols which caused them to be useless.
Even though Judah and Israel had turned their back on God, verse 11 shows He still wants to be bound to them, to be “my people” seeking their praise and worship. He could have said “that’s it, I’ve had enough!” – just like most of us would say in His situation. Now don’t get me wrong, God is also about judgment and Judah and Israel will soon see the results of their disobedience, but how can God still want to be bound to them when they’re full of pride? Sometimes It’s hard to fathom the depth of God’s love. He is so patient, full of love, and forgiving. This reminds me of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross:
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
APPLICATION
We see in this Scripture how pride has infected the hearts of the people of Israel and Judah and turned them away from their purpose in God. A prideful heart leads to all the things mentioned in Jeremiah: refuse to listen, are stubborn, and worship other gods.
Pride is a topic that is covered in many ways in Scripture:
”Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
“In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” Psalm 10:4
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” Proverbs 11:2
“Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.” Proverbs 13:10
A prideful heart turns to “self” and not to God. This was so true of my teenage years when I thought “I don’t need God.” For about 5 years, I led a very sinful, prideful, and destructive lifestyle. Those years were also the loneliest, and I felt so distant from God. I can remember the day I fell to my knees crying out to God to forgive me and bring me back to relationship with Him. I knew that doing “life” on my own was impossible and I desperately needed God back in my life.
Do you ever feel “I can do this on my own”? Maybe you’re going along in life without God’s direction. Do you feel there is any pride in your life? You’ll need to first remove your “self” from the throne of your life, and humbly come before His throne because you need and want Him in your life. Just like Judah and Israel, God wants to be bound to you in an intimate and special relationship where His love can flourish in your life.
PRAYER
Lord, I come before your throne asking forgiveness for any time where pride caused me to think I don’t need you. God, I need you more now than ever! I can’t live without you in my life and only want to be bound to you. My heart craves to know you more, to seek your face, and to hear your voice. Help me when the busyness of life gets in the way of spending more time with you. In Jesus name. Amen
- Mary Oberg
Revelation 19 - 11.3.25
Scripture
Revelation 19:10
10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
Observation
John was so in awe of the prophecy from God that the angel told him to write down. As a result, he started to worship the angel. The angel quickly corrected him and said to worship Jesus only because he (the angel) was only a fellow servant too.
Angels have power because of God. Their mission is the same as ours though, to testify about our good Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Their job is to be His messengers and point others to Him alone!
Application
Worship Christ alone, not any of His created beings. Give honor and glory to Him alone for the good things He has done!
The only One who conquered sin and death is Jesus. The only One who is eternal is the Lord. The only One who has the power to save us from our sins and get us in right relationship with God is Jesus.
When we are tempted to put our hope not just in angels, but in any amazing servant of the Lord, please be reminded they (we) are still fallible (aka imperfect). God is the only One who is infallible. He never fails. He never grows tired or weary.
We are limited in wisdom, power and strength. None of us has ever conquered sin or death. People are just a reflection of who Christ is, but they were never meant to replace Christ to us.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” -Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV
Prayer
Dear Lord,
You are God alone and the only One worthy of my worship and praise! Please forgive me when I try to replace You with anything or anyone who can’t even save my soul. Thank You for all of Your messengers and amazing servants, both in Heaven and on earth, but I pray that I would never put my hope in them, but only on You. As Jesus prayed, “For YOURS is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” Amen!
-Michelle Gaddi
Jeremiah 7 - 10.31.25
Scripture: Jeremiah 7:1-7
“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
“Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:
“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” “If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.”
Observation:
Jeremiah was commissioned by God to warn the people that they need to reform their ways. My Bible has a note that the lie the people believed is they were safe from judgment because the temple was there. Isaiah had prophesied over 100 years earlier that the temple would be protected from attack. Repeating “the temple of the Lord” three time was a literary device used for emphasis. The people were saying this with false hope that they were safe from judgement due to their disobedience. God then gave Jeremiah the key to change their ways to be in right standing and remain in Jerusalem.
Do not oppress foreigners, the fatherless, and the widows
Do not shed innocent blood
Do not follow other gods
Trust God, not deceptive words
Some of us may say we follow the above. However, we need to look at our actions and see if we have let the enemy deceive us in any way. He is crafty in twisting truth for another time and deceiving many. He used God’s word to tempt Jesus: John 4:10-12. He will use it to tempt us. Also, are we helping those who need it as Jesus asked us to? Do we truly trust God’s plan? Another thing that stuck me is this could be a call to people today to proclaim to those being deceived. This generation has believed many lies. We know the truth and are called to share it.
Application:
I want to be sure I have not let the enemy deceive me in any way. I need to pray and ask God how I can proclaim the message to those who are deceived. Many think they are a “good person” and believe Heaven will be their home without surrendering to God and following His plan. Others do not know of God’s love and sacrifice for them.
Prayer:
Lord, your mercy is wonderful. You have given us your Word to follow, sent Jesus to proclaim truth, die for our sins, and be raised to life again as our Savior and Intercessor. Please search my heart and show me if there is something that has deceived me. Help me know what promises are for today and what was a specific instruction given at a certain time and circumstance. Please help me seek you and be obedient when you speak something for me to proclaim from a simple “God bless you” or a smile to something more deep that will cause someone to repent and turn from destruction. Thank you for your sovereign plan and love for people like me.
Amen
- Cindy Howard