Verse of the Day: V6 “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Prophet Jeremiah wept and warned the pastors, prophets and people to truly live what they preach, teach and believe otherwise the judgments of God shall be upon them. Yet time and time again, they sinned against God, and hence God’s judgments were upon them through enemies’ invasion and disasters such as famines, earthquakes and flood.
1. The Pastors failed to live what they believe.
V1 “Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! Saith the LORD.”
The pastors or the kings were not leading the people according to God’s Word but instead used their own wisdom and led the people astray in worshipping other gods and idols.
V2 “Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.”
2. The Prophets failed to live what they believe.
V30 “Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbor.”
The prophets in order to be appealing in their messages as well as popular with the people who were openly sinning against God, stole God’s Word by preaching their own words of vain hopes without God’s messages of repentance and obedience.
V16 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.”
3. The Righteous Lord never fails His people!
V6 “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
However, God never fails in spite of the false pastors and prophets because He shall preserve a remnant who shall be His righteous pastors, prophets and people!
V3 “And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to live what I believe.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:46 pm
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Verse of the Day: V30 “Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.”
1. God judged Coniah
V28 “Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? Is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? Wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?”
Jeconiah was called Coniah because the “Je” in Jeconiah stood for Jehovah or God, and God had pronounced judgment on him and refused to identify with him as he had forsaken God and worshipped other gods!
V9 “Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.”
2. Jesus was not from Joseph
God pronounced that no child of Coniah, the descendent of Solomon, the son of David, shall sit on the throne of David. This was why Joseph, though he was the legal line of Jesus, was not the blood line of Jesus, as Joseph was from the line of Coniah.
Matthew 1:6 “And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;”
Matthew 1:11 “And Josias begat Jechonias (Je Coniah) and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:”
Matthew 1:16 “And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.”
3. Jesus was from Mary
Luke 3:31 “Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,"
However, God fulfilled His prophecy in that Jesus came through Mary’s blood line from Nathan, another son of David. Ultimately, Jesus was from the legal and blood line of the Holy Ghost or God Himself!
Matthew 1:18 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to know that Jesus is the Son of God.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:08 pm
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Verse of the Day: V8 “And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.”
1. The Way of Life
V8 “And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, ...”
In the beginning, God promised Abraham that He shall make the nation of Israel His chosen people, a great nation above all nations. God shall bless them and grant them the way of life or life with Him forever when they trust Him and obey all His commandments.
Genesis 12:2 “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:”
2. The Way of Death
V8 “And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.”
However, the people failed to trust and obey God and as a result, God became their Judge and punished them by allowing their wicked enemy, the Babylonians, to destroy them and made many of them as slaves in the land of Babylon. It was a tragedy for the people of God as instead of being an example for all nations of the world to emulate them as a great and blessed nation of God, they became an enslaved nation by their enemies.
V14 “But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.”
3. The Choice Is Yours
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
God is our Creator and He knows exactly what we need most, how we can fulfill the duty of man and live life to the fullest. It is just like the maker of the beautiful and reliable Rolex watch who knows exactly what his product needs, how best it can function and how long it will last. As God asked the nation of Israel to choose between the way of life or the way of death, God is also asking you whether you will choose the way of life with Him forever, or the way of death that forever separate you from Him. The choice is yours!
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to live life to the fullest by choosing the way of life with You forever.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 11:26 am
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Verse of the Day: V9 “Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name. But His Word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”
1. Suffering Is Tough
V2 “Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD.”
The Prophet Jeremiah was called a weeping prophet among all prophets because he suffered the most. He was beaten and imprisoned by the High Priest for preaching the Word of God. It was tough for Jeremiah as he lived and preached during the days when the High Priest’s and the people’s hearts were very far away from God. They wanted to kill Jeremiah as he was very persistent in preaching and calling them to repent of their sins and get right with God!
2. Sarcasm is Tough
V7 “O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.”
The High Priests and the people kept hurling sarcasm at Jeremiah as he kept preaching the Word of God. Instead of being appreciated by his people, Jeremiah became their laughingstock. Jeremiah could not take it anymore as he thought of quitting and even cursed the day he was born.
V14 “Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.”
3. Staying Is Tough
V9 “Then I said, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His name ...”
As Jeremiah considered tendering his resignation as the Prophet of God and never to mentioned God’s name nor speak in His name, the Almighty God spoke and encouraged him to stay put, dig in and press on in his service of the KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS!
V9 “... But His Word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.”
Let us not quit loving and serving the Lord even though the going gets tough as God shall grant us the strength and the grace to serve Him like He gave to His Prophet Jeremiah.
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to keep on trusting You and not quit.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 07:49 pm
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Verse of the Day: V15 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.”
1. Man Rebels
V15 “... because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.”
Since the day of Adam and Eve, man has hardened their necks and rebelled against God. When God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, they rebelled and ate the fruit and caused sin and death to enter into all men.
Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
2. Man Reaps
V5 “They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:”
The people worshipped Baal or the Devil by cruelly sacrificing their sons as burnt offerings and subsequently God punished them by letting them eat the flesh of their friends and even their own children in order to survive the long siege of their enemies!
V9 “And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one of the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.”
3. God Reigns
V15 “Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.”
Since creation and throughout the centuries man has been trying to outsmart and outwit God but they fail to realize that they can never really win God because He reigns forever on earth and in heaven. The truth of the matter is that man shall reap what he sows and if he rebels against God, he shall reap the severe punishment from the Almighty God.
Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me submit to You and not harden my neck against You.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 07:46 pm
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Verse of the Day: V4 “And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”
1. God is Perfect
V4 “And the vessel that he made of clay ...”
The skilful potter already knows the final outcome, design, beauty and function of the vessel before he even start making and molding the plain and muddy clay. Similarly the perfect God already knows the final outcome, design, beauty and function of His people before He even start making and molding His people made in His image and who believe in Him. The workmanship or function of God’s people who believe in Him is ultimately to do good works through loving Him and obeying and walking in His commandments.
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
2. God is Forgiving
V4 “And the vessel that He made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, ...”
God never gives up on Christians even when we fail Him time and time again. Just like the potter who makes the marred or spoilt vessel again and again into perfection, God shall forgive us again and again as we confess and forsake our sins. It may take years but we shall finally be the perfect vessels as God calls us home in heaven one day!
Revelation 22:5 “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
3. God is Good
V4 “And the vessel that He made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”
The beauty and perfection of the vessel shall reflect upon the beauty and perfection of the potter. Similarly, the beauty and perfection of Christians shall reflect the beauty and perfection of the good God. However, there is a great price of suffering and humbling of Christians in order for us to attain perfection for the eternal glory of Christ Jesus.
1 Peter 5:10 “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to be perfect as You are perfect.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 07:43 pm
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Verse of the Day: V9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Many people have heart troubles because of our stressful lifestyle as we worry much and fail to eat healthy food and fail to exercise regularly. Some developed serious heart diseases and suffered heart attacks and died. However, there is one heart trouble which is far worse than medical heart trouble; it is spiritual heart trouble.
1. Don’t Trust Man
V5 “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.”
What is spiritual heart trouble? Spiritual heart trouble is that without God, we are cursed by God.
How do we seek the cure for our spiritual heart trouble? We must seek the cure from God as only He can truly heal our spiritual heart disease.
V7 “Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.”
2. Don’t Trust Heart
V9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
Many think that we are not as evil and wicked as those who kill or rob others. Yet deep in our heart we know we need God to be our Great Surgeon to do a heart transplant for us to replace our deceitful and wicked heart with a pure and holy heart.
3. Only Trust God
V10 “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”
Let us confess our wickedness and believe in our heart that Jesus is our Lord and receive Him into our heart that we shall have a new heart from Him to live a new life for Him!
Ezekiel 18:31 “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to believe in You and give me a new heart to love You with all my heart.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 07:33 pm
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Verse of the Day: V16 “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”
1. Moses
V1 “Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.”
God assured His prophet Jeremiah that it was not because of Jeremiah’s failure as a prophet or his lack of faith, that the people continued in sins and wickedness, but it is because the people themselves had chosen to sin against God. Even if Moses (who received and taught the people of Israel God’s Ten Commandments written with the finger of God) was to stand before God and plead with God not to judge and punish Israel, God would still judge and punish Israel. Israel had willfully stretched the love and longsuffering of God and it was time for God to execute His judgment upon them.
Exodus 31:18 “And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony (God’s Ten Commandments), tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”
2. Samuel
God also encouraged Jeremiah that even Samuel (the first prophet of Israel who showed or taught God’s word to Saul, the first king of Israel) was to stand before God and plead with God not to judge and punish Israel, God would still judge and punish Israel.
1 Samuel 9:27 “And as they were going down to the end of the city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant pass on before us, (and he passed on,) but stand thou still a while, that I may shew thee the word of God.”
3. Jeremiah
V16 “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.”
The only remedy for Israel to be spared from God’s judgment was to truly love God’s word by eating His word like what Jeremiah did. To eat God’s word is to hide God’s word in our hearts that we may not sin against Him. Indeed, only God’s word can keep us away from sins, otherwise sins will keep us away from God’s Word.
Psalms 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to truly love Your Word and to enjoy reading, meditating, memorizing and hiding it in my heart that I might not sin against You.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:47 pm
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Verse of the Day: V17 “For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.”
Many people try to run away from God as they refuse to trust and obey God and His Word. Yet no matter, how far we try to run even to the ends of the world, the North or the South Pole, we can never hide from God because He is omnipresent or everywhere.
1. God Knows Your Ways
V17 “For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, …”
God knows your ways since He created you in your mother’s womb. He knows every single rein or inner part of you. There is nothing in you that God does not know.
Psalms 139:13-14 “For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”
King David of the Old Testament acknowledged and praised God for fearfully and wonderfully creating him in his mother’s womb long before he knew that he would be anointed as the King of Israel and called a man after God’s heart.
2. God Knows Your Sins
V17 “For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.”
Just like King David, prophet Jeremiah knew that the nation of Israel could never hide their ways and iniquities or sins from God. They knew that they shall reap the grave consequences of their sins if they refused to repent and turn to God.
V18 “And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.”
3. God Knows You
V21 “Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.”
Let us stop wasting our time and life by running away from God but fully commit our lives to the Lord. The Lord is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscience (all knowing) and omnipresent (all present) and there is nothing He cannot do, nothing He does not know and no where He cannot go!
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to be in the centre of Your perfect will, work and Word.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 02:51 am
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Verse of the Day: V20 “We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.”
How do you know the true prophets from the false prophets?
1. The False Prophets
V14 “Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”
The false prophets preach what people want to hear. They would preach on ways of getting rich and famous, and how God can prosper them as they give generously to Him. The false prophets would never preach on holiness, repentance of sins and the judgment of God as these are unpopular sermons for people in sins!
2 Timothy 4:3-4 “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
2. The True Prophets
V17 “Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.”
The true prophets preach what is in the heart of God. They preach God’s holiness and righteousness and that the people of God must be holy and righteous. We will never fully understand and experience God’s sorrow and tears until we have rebellious children who have strayed away from us. We will pray day and night in sorrow and tears and even to the extent that God will chastise and punish them so that they will come back to God!
Hebrews 12:11 “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercise thereby.”
3. The Forgiving God
V20 “We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.”
As the true prophet Jeremiah preached to the people, they repented their sins and turned to God, and God forgave them!
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, please help me to be righteous before You.
Posted by: Pastor Davy Sim AT 04:43 pm
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