Jeremiah 15:16
Make an end to them, and Your word shall be the gladness and joy of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord, the Almighty.
Encouraging Words
For those of us who proclaim Jesus as our Lord and strive to follow in His footsteps, He is our gladness and joy. We know that He holds us in His loving arms and gives us life eternal. He will put an end to the trials and tribulations of this temporal life and those who perpetrate them. Glory be to God!
Jeremiah 9:23-24
Instead, let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows that I am the Lord, who shows mercy, judgment, and righteousness on earth, for in these is My will,” says the Lord. “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, “that I will visit upon all the circumcised their uncircumcision.”
Personal Challenge
So who is this warning targeted at? Who is this “circumcised” that Jeremiah is talking about? In the day that Jeremiah gave this prophecy, the circumcised would be his fellow Jews. In today’s day, it would be those who proclaim Jesus as their Lord. So, what is the uncircumcision that they will be shown? Jesus and the apostles taught that under the new covenant, the covenant of the new law ushered in by Jesus we no longer need to be circumcised in the flesh to be God’s people, but that our hearts need to be circumcised, or set apart In Him. Jeremiah is pointing out that if we are not living our lives God’s way, we will be shown our uncircumcision. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!
THRONE AND FOOTSTOOL
Isaiah 66:1-2
Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, and earth is the footstool of My feet. What kind of house will you build for Me? Or what kind is the place of My rest? For My hand made all these things, and all these things are Mine,” says the Lord; “and upon whom will I show respect, but to the humble and the peaceful and to him who trembles at My words.”
Encouraging Words
The prophet Isaiah dearly articulates that our God has heaven as His throne and the earth as His footstool. His glory and magnitude exceed everything that we can conceive. And yet He chooses the humble and submissive heart to dwell in. He chooses the lowly to lift up. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner! Glory to You!
Isaiah 61:1-4
Isaiah 60:1-2
“Shine, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the nations, but the Lord will shine on you; and His glory shall be seen upon you.”
Encouraging Words
Ever since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, there has been a veil of darkness over Gods’ creation. It is soiled. It is broken. And everyone of us throughout the history of mankind have also been soiled and broken… except for One. Jesus Christ was born into this fallen world just like the rest of us. The difference, however, was that His Father was of heaven and not of earth. He was, and is, fully human and fully God. He is the one that has shone the light of God into this dark world and removed all darkness and gloom. In Him we can be living in God’s Kingdom today. Glory be to God!
Isaiah 58:11
God shall be with you continually, and you shall be satisfied as your soul desires. Your bones shall be enriched, and you shall be like a well-watered garden and like a spring of water that does not fail. Your bones will arise and be enriched like a green plant, and they shall inherit generations of generations.
Encouraging Words
If we choose to heed the words from the verses before this one and be the people, both individually and collectively, that the verses call us to be, then we will see the blessings of God. He will be with us continually. Our soul will be satisfied, not by achieving or acquiring much in this world, but by becoming aligned with God’s desires. Our health will be enriched, not that we won’t encounter trials and tribulations in this world, but that He will strengthen us to endure and overcome them. We, and the generations coming up behind us, will be enriched by Him. Glory be to God!
Isaiah 58:9-10
Then you shall cry out, and God will hear you. While you are still speaking, He will say, ‘Behold, I am here.’ If you take away your fetter and the pointing of the finger, and the word of grumbling, and if you give bread to the hungry from your soul, and satisfy the humble soul, then your light shall rise up in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as midday.
Personal Challenge
God truly does want the best for us. He wants everything to be returned to how He created it before we broke it with our sin. However, in His love for mankind, He patiently waits for more of us to turn to Him and to do what glorifies Him. If we cry out to Him, He hears us and runs to us as the father of the prodigal son did. If we stop living the way that the world wants us to and start treating our brothers and sisters with love and mercy, we will see His light shine through us. We must give our all to Him. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!
Isaiah 58:3-8
saying, ‘Why have we fasted, but You did not see it? Why have we humbled our souls, but You did not know it?’ Because in the days of your fasts, you seek your own wills, and mistreat those under your authority. If you fast for condemnations and quarrels, and strike a humble man with your fists, why do you fast to Me as you do today, so your voice may be heard in crying? I did not choose this fast, and such a day for a man to humble his soul; nor if you should bow your neck like a ring and spread sackcloth and ashes under yourself, could you thus call such a fast acceptable. I did not choose such a fast,” says the Lord; “rather, loose every bond of wrongdoing; untie the knots of violent dealings; cancel the debts of the oppressed; and tear apart every unjust contract. Break your bread for the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house. If you see a naked man, clothe him, nor shall you disregard your offspring in your own household. Then your light shall break forth as the morning, and your healing shall spring forth quickly. Your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall cover you.”
Personal Challenge
How many times have we called out to God asking why He has abandoned us and laid out all of the wonderful spiritual things that we are doing? I know that I have done this, just to be reminded by Him that it is not the number of times that I go to church or the piety of my prostrations or the completeness of my fasting that He cares about. He cares about the state of my heart and the actions towards Him and those around me which flow from that state. If I am being mean and nasty toward those around me, then my heart is mean and nasty, if I am hoarding the wealth that He bestows upon me and not taking care of those in need, then my heart is hoarding the things of this earth. God wants my love. He wants my actions to be filled with love. He wants me, not my empty sacrifices. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!
Isaiah 57:15
The Lord, the Most High who dwells on high forever, the Holy One among His saints, whose name is the Lord Most High, who rests among His saints, and who gives patience to the fainthearted and life to the broken-hearted, says this:
Encouraging Words
Our God has many names that define so many of His characteristics. Some of them are in this verse. They are, the Lord, the Most High, He who dwells forever, the Holy One, Lord Most High, lives and rests among His saints, the giver of patience to the fainthearted, the giver of life to the broken-hearted. He is our God and He loves us.
Verse of the Day 