Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for Thou art my praise. Behold, they say unto me, “Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.” As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow Thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; Thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before Thee. Be not a terror unto me: Thou art my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Jeremiah 17:14-18
saved
Turn Us Again, O God
“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up Thy strength, and come and save us.
Turn us again, O God, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved. O LORD God of Hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry against the prayer of Thy people?
Thou feedest them with the bread of tears; and givest them tears to drink in great measure. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours: and our enemies laugh among themselves.
Turn us again, O God of Hosts, and cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.” Psalm 80:1-7 (KJB)
I Am With You
“The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
‘Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, ‘Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of My people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’ And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
For thus saith the LORD; ‘We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? Wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of Hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: but they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make afraid. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.’ ” Jeremiah 30:1-11 (KJB)
God was not at all pleased with the nation of Israel. He was sending them into captivity to bring out a people who were holy, and wholly given to Him, had a heart for Him, His word, and were obedient to all that He commanded.
The above words of the prophecy have not yet been fully fulfilled. They will be at the end of Jacob’s trouble.
“David their King” is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. They have had no king since the return from Babylon; with the exception of maybe puppet kings of Rome.
This should give every Christian assurance. God is working in us as well to complete what He has began in us (Philippians 1:6).
The Saving of Sinners
“And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily.” Acts 16:5 (KJV)
The early Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is reaching further and further into the then known world. People are coming to faith in Jesus in notable numbers. Lives are being changed wonderfully, powerfully, and God is being glorified.
They are being “Established in the faith”, they are also “Increasing in number daily”. If we stop to think about it the Church of 2017 is being established in the faith more and more, and increasing in number as well. We are just not so aware of it; maybe as we ought to be.
In chapter sixteen we have the witness of three individuals being delivered from the power of evil and sin;
- There is Lydia (vv. 14-15) who has been called “A Cultured Sinner”;
- Then, we have the sorceress (vv. 16-24) who has been called “A Captive Sinner”;
- Finally, there is the Philippian Jailer (vv. 25-34) who has been called “A Calloused Sinner”.
As the Christians of that day went about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ many people came to Jesus believing that He alone paid their sin debt.
The Philippian Jailer came asking, “What must I do to be saved?” (v.30). That is an appropriate answer for all to ask. You may need to ask that today; and the answer is… “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, and your house.” (v. 31). When the jailer believed, then his whole household believed too.
God is still saving souls through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus the Christ, Son of the Living God, God the Living Son.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, and your house”.
Day Two Hundred Ninety and One
What do I want for Christmas?
I want to meet someone who is lost and condemned by their sin; knows they are lost and condemned by their sins; will listen to the Lord’s word concerning their lostness, and condemnation; hear the gospel of Jesus Christ – that He died for our sins, was buried, and He rose again bodily from the grave – and by the Spirit of God lead that individual to saving faith in Christ Jesus.
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up: that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believes on Him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:14-18 (KJV)
The Fire and Hammer 