SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/30/2014
9:03 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
More Pictures from Jeremiah
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Jeremiah
4:1-4
Message of the
verses: We will look at two more pictures from Jeremiah’s writing in the 4th
chapter.
The Unplowed Field(Jeremiah
4:1-3): “1
"If you will return, O Israel," declares the LORD, "Then you
should return to Me. And if you will put away your detested things from My
presence, And will not waver, 2 And you
will swear, ’As the LORD lives,’ In truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the nations will bless themselves in Him, And in Him they will
glory." 3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
"Break up your fallow
ground, And do not sow among thorns.” (NASB)
1 "If you will return, O
Israel, return to me," declares the LORD. "If you put your detestable
idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, 2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, ‘As surely as the LORD lives,’ then the nations will be blessed by
him and in him they will glory." 3 This
is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: "Break up your
unploughed ground
and do not sow among thorns.” (NIV)
I
rarely use the NIV, but I was having a difficult time understanding how the
NASB wrote verse one so that is why I also have used the NIV in this section.
To
begin this section I want to look at two different passages, one from the book
of Hosea, and one from Matthew where we will look at a parable of our Lord
Jesus Christ. “Sow with a view to
righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you
Hosea 10:12).”
“3 And He spoke many things to them in
parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed,
some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 “Others
fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately
they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 “But when the sun had
risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7
“Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 “And
others fell on the good soil and *yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some
sixty, and some thirty. 9 "He who
has ears, let him hear." 10 And the
disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?’” (Matthew 13:3-9)
Now
we look at the meaning of this parable in Matthew 13:18-23 “18 “Hear then the
parable of the sower. 19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does
not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in
his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 “The one
on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word
and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself,
but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the
word, immediately he falls away. 22 “And the one on whom seed was sown among
the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and
the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on
the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who
indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some
thirty.’” I believe that when we read
from verse 23 that the man whom the parable refers to as producing fruit is the
only one who has become a true believer.
When we look at the verses in Jeremiah 4:1-4 we see that these people
were not producing fruit, and they were not being truthful with the Lord and so
they were compared to a field that was unplowed and full of thorns, thus they
were pretty much worthless in their worship of the Lord.
The Uncircumcised Heart (Jeremiah 4:4): “4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, circumcise your hearts, you men of
Judah and people of Jerusalem, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done— burn with no-one to quench it.”
We
find the word circumcision 21 times in the NT and the word circumcise four
times in the NT. Jewish boys were
circumcised when they were eight days old and then they were given a name and
they believed that this brought about their salvation for they were made a son
of the covenant as seen in Genesis 17:9-14; Lev. 12:3; Luke 1:59. In some circles of religion today some
believe that when a person is baptized they are given salvation from the
Lord. Both of these “rituals” are
important, but neither of them save a person.
Jeremiah is saying to these Jews that they need their heart circumcised
for it is the heart that needs to change.
I
want to look at some of the verses in the NT that speak of circumcision:
“Ro 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is
circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.” “Ro 2:29
But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the
Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
“Col
2:11 and in Him you
were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of
the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.”
Dr.
Wiersbe writes about baptism and the Lords Table as we finish this portion of
today’s SD: “Many people today depend on
baptism, the Lord’s Supper (Communion, the Eucharist), confirmation, or some
other religious ritual for their salvation when what God wants from us is
sincere faith from a repentant heart.
Salvation is a gift that we receive by faith; it’s not a reward that we
earn by being religious.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Romans 10:17
says “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” I am not only saved through faith, but I am
to walk by faith and my faith grows as by looking into the Word of God and
having the Holy Spirit apply these truths to my life.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Depend upon the Lord so that I can live
my life in a way that is pleasing to Him.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “John” (Acts 3:8).
Today’s Bible
Question: “Which book of the Bible has
the most chapters?”
Answer in our next SD.
1/30/2014 10:07 AM
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