The Family Bible Journey Podcast

There is a growing "prophetic" movement in America today. These "prophets" often claim to have foreseen events after they happen. Their prophecies are vague and subject to interpretation. Jeremiah, and all true prophets are allowed to speak clearly about the future, but only when God allows. Instead of presumptuously claiming to be something we are not, or listening to those who lie, let us test the words of the prophets. Sadly, most "prophets" are delusional, and leading many astray.

Jeremiah is here imprisoned and faces capital punishment, is threatened with death, for preaching the truth. Here we see that often the godly suffer at the hands of the godless. Jeremiah is a great encouragement to those who are called to speak the truth in love and suffer for doing so. Ahikam is a great example for those who are called to support prophets and pastors called to speak truth, regardless of the personal cost.

God's Word is not inert. It is the very power of God for salvation. Having warned against ungodliness and unbelief, the writer to the Hebrews assures us of God's ever-present work and power in our lives.

Good people produce good fruit, and evil people produce bad. Even though sin lives in everyone of us, Christians are led by the Holy Spirit to turn from sin and live. If we refuse, we are destined to follow the ways of the world and our sinful flesh. When we do bad, and are punished, we get what we deserve. When we do good and are blessed, God gets all the glory and honor.

God's Word, we are told, is as a hammer that breaks hard hearts to pieces. God breaks hearts of stone to soften them for His life-giving gospel. It is only when He breaks our stubborn hearts of pride that we are receptive to His love in the gospel.

We are challenged with the uncomfortable reality that some walk away from God. If it is possible for us to walk away from God, how can we be sure of our salvation? Only when we look to Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith, will we find the full assurance of the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting.

God's Word is truth and life, even when we don't believe it. As the Babylonians drew near to Jerusalem, Jeremiah encouraged the people to turn themselves over that they may live. This earthly mercy is a foreshadowing of God's eternal mercy shown to those who turn from sin in this life to receive life and forgiveness eternally in Christ.

Jeremiah is thrown into the stocks for faithfully carrying the Lord's Word to His obstinant people. Sometimes we suffer for doing the right things, not the wrong. God's opponents can't take their anger out on the Lord, so they often take it out on God's people. When this is the case, and we despair even of life, it is good to know that the Lord is on our side and will deliver us in the end.

We learn here how even Jesus was perfected through suffering. God's love overcomes sin and death for us by experiencing the pain, even of death, for us. God is not unjust when we suffer, but rather redeems even our suffering, when He suffers for us and with us.

Jeremiah uses yet another object lesson to dramatically depict the total destruction awaiting God's people. God did not say these things because He hated them, but because He loved them. He wanted them to come to repentence when unimaginable suffering came down upon them. Here we learn to be honest about even our shortcomings and turn to the Lord before its too late.

We think so much of ourselves, we don't like being compared to a lump of clay in the hands of a potter. But God is God and we are not. This Old Testament object lesson reminds us who is really in charge, whether we like it or not.

Hebrews is a mini Old Testament within the New. Written to Hebrew believers, it faithfully demonstrates how God, in Christ Jesus, has fulfilled God's plans for humanity. His Word does not change because it doesn't have to. It is right, and God is justified because He is holy.

We hear echoes of Psalm 1 when Jeremiah compares the faithful to a tree planted by streams of water. It bears fruit even in seasons of drought. This was likely a great comfort to Jeremiah who was bearing fruit for the Lord, but suffering mightily for it.

Jeremiah despaired even of life itself when the people fixed all their anger and frustration on him. In this passage, we see that Jeremiah was a type of Christ. We also see back-to-back laments that give us encouragement to be honest with God when we are weak or beaten, because He will answer our prayers according to His mercy.

Philemon was a slave owner and Onesimus was his slave. Paul sent this letter to Philemon by the hand of Onesimus. In this short epistle, we see the power of God's redeeming love that saves us for eternity and redeems our earthly relationships.

God used chaffing and underwear to show HIs people how He felt about their behavior. They forced His hand, by continually running away from Him. This Old Testament parable, as uncomfortable as it may be, gave them a clear picture of how He felt about their insolence.

The love of the Lord is our strength! In these chapters, we hear a beautiful description of the Lord's love that went all the way through the cross and the grave to earn our salvation. We draw strength from His love when we struggle in this life, because Christ has overcome the world! In Him, even when we lose, or feel like we're losing, we still win!

Baptism is God's gift to us, whereby He blesses us in every way by His Holy Spirit's power. Too many empty baptism of its redeeming power by reducing it to a human work. We instead receive it as a great blessing whereby God redeems us with saving faith in Christ Jesus.

In Jeremiah's day, people chose to worship "gods" they made and decorated, instead of the God who made and clothed them. We also get to choose who we worship. Would you rather worship a god who expects everything from you, or the God who's given all for you?

God's people had so left the Lord that there was no hope for their relationship with Him. Even migrating birds know when to go home, but Israel refused to return to the Lord. So long as we hold fast our sin and reject God, there is no hope for us. But thanks be to God that He is always loving and caring for His people. Even when we don't deserve it, He opens His arms to us when we return to Him in faith and repentance because in Christ, He offers full forgiveness of sin.

The gospel of God's redeeming love in Christ jesus is the only truly transformative power in the world. Paul encouraged Titus to teach the Word in Crete, so that God's work would speed and prosper.

This passage of Jeremiah is one of only about a dozen or so Old Testament passages quoted in all of the synoptic gospels. For these words to appear in Matthew, Mark and Luke, show us how seriously God guards the sanctity of His Holy House, even when men are intent on spoiling it for greedy gain.

Jeremiah shares hard, but necessary words, with God's people then and now. Whether we admit it or not, our nature and our ways, the thoughts and feelings of our hearts are opposed to God. Despite our faithlessness, God is faithful! We thank the Lord for His faithfulness to His faithless people, because without it, nobody could be saved.

Titus was sent as Paul's emissary to Crete. He established churches throughout the island nation, redeeming a corrupt and affluent nation. In order to do so, Titus's first order of business was finding able and competent leaders for his churches.

Turning to the "wisdom of men" is no better than looking for clean water in a dry well. We do well to seek the Lord where He may be found in His Word. We thank Him when He sends tried and true teachers, who will point us to His Wisdom and Righteousness in Christ.

Jeremiah was established as an "iron man," a prophet whose words would withstand the assaults of a most disobedient people hell-bent on their own destruction. He would prove faithful to the faithless. In him we see a man of such staunch determination that we are inspired to stay true to God no matter what man throws at us.

Paul's final exhortation to Timothy was to preach the Word! Whether it was popular or not, he was to preach the Word, so that God's Holy Spirit could work in the lives and minds of his hearers.

Isaiah ends with vivid descriptions of hell and the fate that awaits those who stubbornly reject the Lord. We who acknowledge our sin and cling to our Savior receive His favor instead. Not because we are any better than anyone else, but simply because God loves us and has redeemed us.

In this chapter, we see ferocious beasts such as lion and wolf lying with lambs and calves. In this paradise of peace, God does away with our old ancient foe, bringing everlasting peace, life and joy to His creation.

Terrible times are upon us when everyone acts as if they are god! These self-proclaimed gods demand worship and sacrifice. Instead of being bewitched by the enticing lure of selfishness, acting as if we are god, let us seek the One True God by being rooted in His Word.

We hear again the promise that God Himself is going to come and be our Savior. The ancient Israelites may have wondered how this would happen, but we know it is by taking on human flesh to become one of us. In treading the winepress of God's wrath alone, He has become our Salvation!

The cross stands as the symbol of God's love for us. This once-and-for-all symbol of God's mercy was once the symbol of oppression and death. We take comfort from this symbol because of the redeeming power of God's love, which can even turn death into life.

In the military, there is a clear chain of command. Everyone knows to whom they report. In this life of competing allegiances, how can we live confidently, trying to please all who are over us? By endeavoring to serve Christ in all things, we will be fulfilled and approved by God.

Jesus chose this passage as the text for His homecoming sermon in Nazareth. Even though his neighbors didn't appreciate these words coming from His mouth, we appreciate them as his promise to free us from slavery to sin. He has given us freedom so that we can serve Him in faith and love.

When we are in heaven, Christ will be the uninterrupted source of light. Until we see Him in His presence, the light of His life lightens our times of personal darkness. His redeeming power is able to redeem even the things we would not want or ask for, as they direct our hearts and minds back to Him.

Timothy was blessed by a godly mother and grandmother who raised him in the Jewish faith. When Paul came to their town preaching the gospel, they readily accepted Christ as the fulfillment of all God's promises to mankind. May we likewise bless our family by leaving the legacy of faith.

Isaiah reminds Judah that God seems to be ignoring their prayers because they are acting in ungodliness. Their sin has seperated them from the Lord's favor. But instead of condemning them eternally, God is going to rescue them from their sin. God's undeserved love is a great encouragement to us in righteousness, knowing that His great power to redeem is at work in us when we walk in His way.

Genuine faith is a hard article to come by. Living in the age of infulencers and filters, people are trained to put forward a preferred (dare I say false) view of themselves. This leads to hurt and costly ruin. If we want to see the power of God at work in our lives, we will put the Lord to the test, by walking in His way, to see what only He can do in us and through us.

How we adorn ourselves and our lives tells more about our actual belief than we may want to admit. Paul encouraged Timothy to serve "with godliness." When we embrace the Lord and His way, we are a great blessing to those God uses us to reach with his gospel.

This chapter begins with the sad reality that it often appears, at least in this life, that the righteous fare no better than the unrighteous. Yet, we are reminded that the righteous die in peace, and that the immoral will receive the due for their immorality in judgment. Even so, there is hope for both, because God loves to forgive the lowly, healing us with His mercy and love.

Neither barren women nor eunuchs have biological children, but God promises both an abundance of descendants in heaven. We are greatly encouraged to share the faith in this passage, where God tells of the multitude of descendants those who share His love will have in glory.

If we offered others the respect Paul encourages in this passage, the Church would be a safe haven for all! He goes on to discuss the special honor due family members, pastors, and I add those who serve for the common good. The helping professions, especially those that require some to put themselves in harm's way, are a powerful expression of God's love at work in the world.

God's Word will accomplish what He wills. This passage is my ordination passage. As a young pastor, I was reminded to found my life and ministry on the only thing that will matter 10,000 years from now. What God accomplishes for us in His Word.

Here Isaiah gives us a glimpse of our heavenly abode. The few descriptions we have of heaven are breathtaking, and incomprehensible. Looking forward to a life we can't even imagine gives God's people great hope for our future.

Because we serve a living God, we serve with a spirit of humility and godly fear. Too many today, even Christians, live their lives as if God is distant, or doesn't even exist. When we serve with an awarenes of His presence, we have good reason to conduct ourselves with loving kindness and humility.

This most cherished and beloved prophecy is unknown by many Christians who skip over the Old Testament to get to the New. When we recognize how crystal clear the work of Christ was described in this passage, we are brought to silence. In reverential fear and faith, we rejoice in the work of our salvation, accomplished for us by Jesus.

We hear specific prophecies of the Savior in these chapters that feel like New Testament passages. How our hearts soar with confidence and assurance, knowing that God had perfectly planned the work of our salvation, and that Jesus has accomplished it for our everlasting salvation.

We distinguish between those who are called to serve in a public office and all of us who serve the Lord as Christians. Not everyone is called to be a pastor, those public proclaimers of the gospel, but we are all called to be share Christ. The main difference isn't the work we are called to do, but rather how and where we are called to bring God's love to bear on the world.

Here the prophet describes the depth of God's love by saying that He has "engraved us upon His Hands." This is one of the most explicit prophecies of the manner of Jesus's death on the cross, in the entire Old Testament. This vivid prophecy gives us great hope because we know that God is the Author of the future, because He told His people over 600 years before the fact, how Jesus would die for His people.

God uses even our stubborness to draw us back to Himself. He knows we are hard headed, so He gets our attention through the affliction and suffering we cause ourselves when we walk in our own way. But He also softens our hearts when He reaches out to us in mercy and love, because His love overcomes even our human obstinance.