MAY YOUR DESIRES BE DONE THROUGH ME May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed. —Psalm 20:4 May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands. —Psalm 90:17             Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  Our Lord has work for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).  So, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.”  Truly, “May he give you the desire of your heart…

HIS PERFECT WORD TO BE PROCLAIMED— OUR ONLY HOPE So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long.  But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.  I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. —Jeremiah 20:8-9 O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord! —Jeremiah 22:29 As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. —Psalm 18:30             The only hope for this world, for any nation or for…

DON’T HEAR— “HE LET THEM GO” OR “HE GAVE THEM OVER!” Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people. Send them away from my presence! Let them go! —Jeremiah 15:1 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me. —Jeremiah 16:12 “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.  They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when…

JESUS, KING OF GLORY AND MY KING! Who should not fear you, King of the nations?  This is your due.  Among all the wise leaders of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no one like you. —Jeremiah 10:7 But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, the eternal King. —Jeremiah 10:10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! —Jeremiah 13:10 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.” —Psalm 16:2             The…

BEING FAITHFUL OR FAITHLESS… Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. —Jeremiah 7:23-24 This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and…

FOOLS LIVE AS THOUGH THERE IS NO GOD “Your own conduct and actions have brought this on you.  This is your punishment.  How bitter it is!  How it pierces to the heart!” —Jeremiah 4:18 They do not say to themselves, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’  Your wrongdoings have kept these away; your sins have deprived you of good. —Jeremiah 5:24-25 To whom can I speak and give warning?  Who will listen to me?  Their ears are closed so they cannot hear.  The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in…

KNOWN BEFORE BEING FORMED IN THE WOMB The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” —Jeremiah 1:4-5             The specific and individual knowledge of one yet to be formed in the womb is known already by our Lord.  In fact, before Jeremiah was created in the womb our Lord knew him and had an appointment for him.  Truly, our Lord had set Jeremiah apart for a special work.             What does this tell us about those formed in the womb?  It tells us— Every individual…

I LOVE YOU! Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.  If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned. —Song of Solomon 8:7             What is more valuable than love?  Nothing can be given that would reach the importance of love in a relationship.  Material wealth does not come close to the jewel of love in a relationship.  The greatest love relationship is that for God— “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37).  It is easier…

YOUR APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH IS MUCH CLOSER! For the living know that they will die… —Ecclesiastes 9:5 Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come… —Ecclesiastes 9:12             This Book of Ecclesiastes started out with saying, “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.  “Utterly meaningless!  Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2).  Then toward the end of this book we hear those words again— “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher.  “Everything is meaningless!” (Ecclesiastes 12:8).  The word, Meaningless, has the thought of vapor or smoke and is similar to the thought in James 4:14— “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears…

ENJOY GOD’S GIFTS! Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.  This too is meaningless. —Ecclesiastes 5:10 Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God. They seldom reflect on the days of their life, because God keeps them occupied with gladness of heart. —Ecclesiastes 5:19-20 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.  It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for…