Jeremiah 14:11-16:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13, Psalms 80:1-19, Proverbs 25:1-5
Jeremiah 14:11-16:15, 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13, Psalms 80:1-19, Proverbs 25:1-5
Today is the 10th day of the month of October. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian… I say the day every day but there are times that it’s just like it blips out…like what month are we in? Where are we? You ever feel that way? Anyway, I’m looking at it now. I’m looking at the calendar it’s the 10th of October and we’re here to take the next step forward in the Scriptures, which will take us into the book of Jeremiah today as the first letter to the Thessalonians, which we began yesterday. We’re reading from the New International Version this week. Jeremiah chapter 14 verse 11 through 16 verse 15 today.
Okay. Have you ever felt like you are under a lot of pressure, right? There’s a lot of us right now going, “yeah! Right now. I feel that way right now.” Like, can…we all know what this feels like. You get stressed out. The pressure is descending upon us. We feel like we’re being crushed. And that’s kind of what we read about in both the Old and the New Testaments today. So, in Thessalonica, we’ve already talked about this. This church was formed under pressure and it was formed quickly, and Paul was concerned because he had to…they had to run out of town, like they had to escape. And, so, he’d been wondering and he sent Timothy and Timothy came back and gave good news that they were holding to their faith, which prompted Paul to write this letter in part because he wanted them to know that they weren’t alone, like they weren’t the only ones facing opposition. I mean, for sure they were experiencing intimidation and they were being harassed by their own countrymen, but the Hebrew believers were experience the same kind of thing from their own fellow countrymen. So, Paul wanted the Thessalonian believers to know they were not abandoned. Instead, they’d actually taken their place. Liked they’d locked arms and hearts with thousands of other brothers and sisters who were in the struggle for spiritual freedom.
So, if you’re feeling crushed, if you’re feeling spiritually worn out and opposed and marginalized, then…then first of all understand that you’ve taken your place to in this long and unbroken line of brothers and sisters, stretching all the way back to the day that Paul wrote this letter who have all endured the same thing. Opposition is how the gospel spread throughout the earth and the Scriptures continually tell us not to be surprised by it. But the Scriptures also continually tell us are not alone.
So, like in Jeremiah today. The prophet was feeling marginalized and…and…and opposed and he received direct comfort from the Lord when he cried out to God about these things. And God said, “if you repent, I will restore you, that you may serve me. If you utter worthy not worthless words you will be my spokesman that this people turn to you. But you must not turn to them. In other words, not become like them. I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze. They will fight against you but will not overcome you for I am with you to rescue and save you, declares the Lord. I will save you from the hands of the wicked and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.
And then resume back forward into the letter to the Thessalonians and we have Paul praying a prayer of encouragement and benediction. And he says, “may the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones. Take those prayers and encouragement that span thousands of years and remember them when you’re feeling alone, or when you’re overwhelmed, or when you’re crushed or opposed. Remember these words spoken by God and remember the prayer of the apostle Paul, you are not alone. And in this is important. Don’t mistake challenge for abandonment. They’re very different things. God’s presence and the presence of our fellow brothers and sisters, that does…like that’s not the recipe for making life easy, it’s simply the promise that we can rise to the challenges and become stronger through them. It was challenge that spread the gospel of Jesus around the world. Jesus told us we should expect nothing different. Challenge doesn’t mean we’re gonna be abandoned. That will never happen. We will never be alone in it. So, understand that you are not alone, and you will never be alone. As you walk through this day your brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kinds of things and we have the same Holy Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwelling in us. We are equipped to rise to the challenge, and we must.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit come. Encourage us. Give us courage to rise to the challenges that we face every day in life. And we draw near to You and know that You will draw near to us. Lead us forward on the way that we should go. And we pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.