Devotionals

Enjoy our daily devotionals written by Pastor Randy Dubois. These devotionals can be used as another way to grow in your walk with Jesus and to grow in your understanding of God and His Word.

Judgment for Disobedience (Day 18)

Read Jeremiah 9:1-26
 
   Jeremiah felt conflicting emotions concerning his people. Lying, deceit, treachery, adultery, and idolatry had become common sins. He was angered by their sin, but he had compassion, too. He was set apart from them by his mission for God, but he was also one of them. Jesus had similar feelings when He stood before Jerusalem, the city that would reject Him (Matthew 23:37). 

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Deception by False Prophets (Day 17)

Read Jeremiah 8:4-22
 
   When people fall down or realize that they are headed in the wrong direction, it only makes sense for them to get up or change directions. But as God watched the nation, He saw people living sinful lives by choice, deceiving themselves that there would be no consequences. They had lost perspective concerning God’s will for their lives and were trying to minimize their sin. Are there some indicators that you have fallen down or are heading the wrong way? What are you doing to get back onto the right path? 

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The Valley of Slaughter (Day 16)

Read Jeremiah 7:30-8:3
 
   The shrines of Topheth, which means fireplace, were set up in the valley of the son of Hinnom, where debris and rubbish from the city were thrown away. This altar was used to worship Molech; a god who required child sacrifice (2 Kings 23). Their valley of sacrifice would become their valley of slaughter by the Babylonians. At the place where the people had killed their children in sinful idol worship, they themselves would be slaughtered. 

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Judah’s Persistent Idolatry (Day 15)

Read Jeremiah 7:16-29
 
   The Queen of Heaven was a name for Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love and fertility. After the fall of Jerusalem, the refugees from Judah who fled to Egypt continued to worship her. A papyrus dating from the 5th century B.C., found at Hermopolis in Egypt, mentions the Queen of Heaven among the gods honored by the Jewish community living there. 

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Jeremiah Speaks at the Temple (Day 14)

Read Jeremiah 7:1-15
 
   The people followed a worship ritual but maintained a sinful lifestyle. It was religion without personal commitment to God. Attending church, taking communion, teaching Sunday school, singing in the choir, are all empty exercises unless we are truly doing them for God. It is good to do these activities, not because we ought to do them for the church, but because we want to do them for God. 

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Paul’s Please to Accept the Message (Day 38)

Read 2 Corinthians 6:1-2
 
    How could the Corinthian believers reject God’s message? Perhaps they were doubting Paul and his words, confused by false teachers, who taught a different message. The people heard God’s message but did not let it affect what they said and did. How often do you reject God’s message? 

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Paul’s Joy That Christ is Preached (Day 3)

Read Philippians 1:12-19
   How did Paul end up in chains in a Roman prison? While he was visiting Jerusalem, some Jews had him arrested for preaching the Gospel, but he appealed to Caesar to hear his case (Acts 21 thru 25). He was then escorted by soldiers to Rome, where he was placed under house arrest while awaiting trial: Not a trial for breaking civil law, but for proclaiming the Gospel of Christ.At that time, the Roman authorities did not consider this to be a serious charge. A few years later, however, Rome would take a different view of Christianity and make every effort to stamp it out of existence. Paul’s house arrest allowed him some degree of freedom. He could have visitors, continue to preach, and write letters such as this one. A brief record of Paul’s time in Rome is found in Acts 28. 

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The Longing of Paul’s Heart (Day 22)

Read Romans 10:1-4
 
   What will happen to the Jewish people who believe in God but not in Christ? Since they believe in the same God, won’t they be saved? If that were true, Paul would not have worked so hard and sacrificed so much to teach them about Christ. Because Jesus is the most complete revelation of God, we cannot fully know God apart from Christ; and because God appointed Jesus to bring God and people together, we cannot come to God by another way. The Jews, like everyone else, must find salvation through Jesus Christ (John 14; Acts 4). Like Paul, we should pray that all Jews might be saved and lovingly share the Gospel with them. 

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A Woman Anoints Jesus With Perfume (Day 58)

Read Mark 14:1-9
 
   The Passover commemorated the night the Israelites were freed from Egypt (Exodus 12), when God “passed over” homes marked by the blood of the lamb while killing the firstborn sons in unmarked homes. The day of Passover was followed by a seven-day festival called the Festival of Unleavened Bread. This, too, recalled the Israelites’ quick escape from Egypt when they didn’t have time to let their bread rise, so they baked it without yeast. This holiday found people gathering for a special meal that included lamb, wine, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread. Eventually the whole week came to be called Passover. 

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