For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I am away this weekend Friday night through Sunday (October 16-18). I have gotten my studies for the weekend done in advance. I published both Saturday’s and Sunday’s studies Friday evening before I departed. I hope this does not cause anyone a problem.
The damage which can be caused by lies is just as great as the damage caused by weapons, even if it is less obvious. If you depend on an unreliable person in times of trouble, you will suffer as much as if you tried to walk on a freshly sprained ankle.
The psalmist tells us that some day the people of every nation will be counted as citizens of the City of God. Everyone who trusts and follows Jesus is a citizen of God’s Kingdom. There are people from every nation who know and obey God. I will praise His name. I am forever thankful that God has chosen to make me a citizen of His city.
Today’s passage starts off with a reminder once more to pray. In particular, we are told to pray for all people, to ask God to help them, to intercede with God on their behalf, and to thank God for them. That last is definitely a challenge. We are to thank God for the people we know whom we do not like, the people who have made our life more difficult. That means that we need to be thankful for those people. It can be easy for us to ask God to help them. After all, the ways in which God helps people makes them better people and we expect that if they are better people they will be less likely to make our life difficult. We have a lot more trouble being thankful that God has brought people into our life who make things more difficult for us.
Jeremiah prophesied that God would restore Israel to its land. He said that God would bring them healing even though they had received an incurable wound. It is important to remember that God can bring us healing no matter how badly we have been wounded. As I read Jeremiah’s prophecy it seems to bear a greater resemblance to modern Israel than to any previous period. We must never forget that God has given prophesies concerning the people of Israel.