16/8/11 2 Kings 24; Jeremiah 22; Psalm 112; John 18
S: 2 Kings 24:12 King Nebuchadnezzar took all of Jerusalem captive, including all the commanders and the best of the soldiers, craftsmen, and artisans—10,000 in all. Only the poorest people were left in the land.
Jeremiah 22:3 This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent!
Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.
O: Judah had become exceedingly wicked. They stopped following the Lord, and were practising all sorts of injustice. However, when God allowed Babylon to conquer Judah as a consequence of this, the minority who still followed the Lord also suffered the consequences.
Nonetheless, people like Jeremiah, Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah*, even as they got carried off to exile, stayed faithful to the Lord and the Lord blessed them even in exile. Doubtless some of the people who still followed the Lord died in the war, but they ended up in Abraham's bosom.
A: Juliane & I were just discussing over dinner that we fear for the future of Malaysia, what with the corruption in high places and the mistreatment of foreigners. God may well bring judgement upon our land, and we as Malaysians would be caught up in that judgement.
However, we need not fear and can still trust the Lord, that even if we are caught up in God's judgement, as we are faithful to Him, He will look after us like He did Jeremiah, Daniel, Mishael, Hannaniah and Azariah.
P: Father, help us to trust You, keep following You, and not fear even as we see evil abound. In Jesus' name, amen.
* Otherwise known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
Acts 17:23-26 KJV
ReplyDeleteFor as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
Because according to the above God has predetermined both the time and the location of our sojurn here on earth, He has also given us a mission to fulfil. Your mission is to declare the unknown God whom you represent, to those into whose midst you are sent. Circumstances and adverse situations are really just opportunities to make Him known. Of course He is with you and will never forsake you. Your response to every situation is to sing praise and thanks to the Lord, and it'll be all right.