#102825

God, I am looking to You. In the midst of all that's going on in my life, I want You to be the center of everything. Help me to keep my eyes fixed on You-the One who never changes and already knows it all. Help me to remember that there's more to life and eternity than what I currently see. In Jesus' name, Amen.

God, in all situations, at all times, You are good. Nothing compares to You, and there is no one like You. You are worthy of al glory, honor, and praise, simply because You are. Nothing can add to You, and nothing can take away from You. You are constantly powerful, kind, loving, just, merciful, and all-knowing. And I am humbled that I get to know You. Thank You! in Jesus' name, Amen.

1 PETER 5:7 casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

What's on your heart today? Spend some time talking to God about whatever comes to mind. If you want to pray about them again later.

Father God, thank You for giving me Your Word. Scripture is brimming with truth and life, and I never want to take that for granted. I know that I am easily distracted, but I also know that You give me the strength to persevere. Show me how to meditate on Your Word so that I don't disobey You. Teach me to prioritize my relationship with You above everything else. In Jesus' name, Amen.

EPHESIANS 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask of think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, Amen.

DAILY BIBLE READING: JEREMIAH 15-17 2 TIMOTHY 2 THE LORD WILL NOT RELENT I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, I am weary of relenting. 7 I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land; I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people; they did not turn from their ways. JEREMIAH'S COMPLAINT O Lord, you know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your forbearance take me not away; know that for your sake I bear reproach. Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts. Therefore thus says the Lord: “If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, out of the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless. FAMINE, SWORD, AND DEATH THE LORD WILL RESTORE ISRAEL I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers. 6“Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. 17For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. O Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the Lord.” THE SIN OF JUDAH “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” JEREMIAH PRAYS FOR DELIVERANCE Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise. You know what came out of my lips; it was before your face. you are my refuge in the day of disaster. 18 Let those be put to shame who persecute me, but let me not be put to shame; let me not be dismayed; KEEP THE SABBATH HOLY Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.’” A GOOD SOLDIER OF CHRIST JESUS be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus. entrust to faithful men who will teach others. Share in the suffering, please God, compete according to the rules, work hard and persevere like a farmer, reap the first fruits, think over and understand. Remember Jesus Christ, the Word of God is not bound! endure everything for the sake of the elect. We have died with Him, we will live with Him, We endure with Him, we will reign with Him, He remains faithful for he cannot deny Himself. A WORKER APPROVED BY GOD Do your best, rightly handle the word of truth. Do not upset the faith of others. God's firm foundation stand bearing this seal, The Lord knows those who are His. “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

MATTHEW 7:24-27 BUILD YOUR HOUSE ON THE ROCK 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” INSIGHT Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)—His first major public preaching event—begins with words of blessing in the Beatitudes (5:3-12) that welcome us into the life of the kingdom of God and conclude with a statement of assurance about what gives stability to kingdom life in this broken world (7:24). Being “poor in spirit” (5:3) helps us to recognize our great need of Him. But that need is ongoing and continual. It’s not just needed at the outset of our walk of faith but every single day. Living as we do in a turbulent, confusing, and chaotic world, we’re to build our lives (our “house,” 7:24) on the solid rock of Christ and His words to strengthen and sustain us every day. Trusting in Jesus as our firm foundation prepares us for storms before they come.

By: Bill Crowder

SURE FOUNDATION IN CHRIST American football quarterback C.J. Stroud is young, talented, and an unashamed believer in Jesus. In a profession where the average career span is just 3.3 years, Stroud has been outspoken about where his trust lies. “Football has a lot of . . . twists and turns. But, at the end of the day, it’s all about your foundation. And something that’s set my foundation is my faith.”

Football, or any other profession, isn’t the only sphere of life with ups and downs, twists and turns. Jesus’ story in Matthew 7:24-27 features two houses, each pummeled by rain, floods, and wind. But only one survived the storm: “because it had its foundation on the rock” (v. 25)—Christ’s metaphor for His teaching (vv. 24, 26).

Yes, storms happen in this life. Sickness and countless other dilemmas can leave us spinning. Life isn’t “stormproof,” but building our lives on Jesus and His teaching—our sure “foundation” (see 1 Corinthians 3:11)—makes the difference. Those who refuse to embrace Christ are more vulnerable when life’s storms come. But those who listen to His words will find stability: “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 7:25). Indeed, it’s all about our foundation.

By: Arthur Jackson

REFLECT AND PRAY How “storm-ready” is your life? How have Christ’s teachings helped you to remain stable during difficulties?

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for building my life on things other than Jesus and His words, and help me to rely more on Him. in Jesus' name, Amen.

JONAH: GOD'S SCANDALOUS MERCY JONAH 4 God sends a plant to confront Jonah’s hypocrisy. WHAT'S HAPPENING? God has just relented of the disaster he warned Nineveh about—and Jonah is angry (Jonah 3:10-4:1). Nineveh is the capital of Assyria, an ancient superpower that will soon invade Israel and exile its people. But Jonah has made a name for himself in Israel by prophesying a golden era of military dominance (2 Kings 14:24-25). Nineveh's repentance is a threat to both his career and Israel as a nation. To Jonah, God’s mercy towards these pagans is dangerous.

In Hebrew, Jonah calls God’s mercy “evil.” Jonah says God’s love and mercy are exactly why he ran away in the first place (Jonah 4:2). Jonah did not want to be complicit in the salvation of Nineveh. He would rather die than live to watch God show mercy towards Israel’s enemies (Jonah 4:3). But God asks if Jonah's anger is justified (Jonah 4:4).

Jonah dismisses the question, storms out of Nineveh, and broods on a nearby hilltop. He waits for God to renege on his mercy and destroy the city (Jonah 4:5). But instead, God is merciful to Jonah and sends a plant to shade him on the hot day (Jonah 4:6). We’re told it “eased his discomfort.” But that same phrase can also mean “save him from evil.” God is using the plant to expose Jonah’s hateful heart that calls God’s mercy evil.

God sends a worm to destroy the plant and sends a hot wind to bring further discomfort to Jonah (Jonah 4:7-8). Jonah wants to die under God’s heat and is angry because God has taken away the mercy of the plant. But hoping to expose Jonah’s hypocrisy, God asks again if his anger is justified (Jonah 4:9a).

Jonah responds that he has the right to be angry (Jonah 4:9b). To Jonah, he deserves shade—and Nineveh deserves fire. Not to mention, Nineveh and Assyria represent a military threat to God’s people. To Jonah, it makes no sense to show mercy to evil people while God’s people suffer in the heat. But Jonah doesn’t see the irony in his self-pity and pride.

Jonah is a faithless, disobedient, and blasphemous prophet. Jonah has been God’s enemy since the first verse of this book. Jonah has refused to listen to God. Jonah has run from God. Jonah never repents. And Jonah accuses God of being evil. Jonah has been mercifully and undeservedly shaded from God’s heat, but resents the mercy God has shown to undeserving but repentant Nineveh.

God calls out Jonah’s hypocrisy. Jonah didn’t care for or water his plant, just as he did not earn or qualify himself for the mercy of God’s shade (Jonah 4:10). So God asks: if Jonah is justified in caring about the plant that he did not earn, isn’t God justified in showing mercy to the other undeserving humans he created in Nineveh (Jonah 4:11)?

WHERE IS THE GOSPEL? We never hear Jonah’s response to God’s question. The question is left unanswered intentionally and every reader of Jonah’s book needs to ask themselves, “Do we believe God’s mercy is evil?” When faced with the military and political threat of Nineveh, would we have prayed for their deliverance? Like Jesus, would we forgive the terrorist who hung on the cross next to us? If we were a Jew under Nazi rule, would we preach the Gospel to the Gestappo? And would we be angry if God forgave them?

Just as God gave Jonah the plant, God has given us Jesus to expose our hypocrisy and bring us to repentance. Jesus’ death on the cross should reveal to us that we’re just as faithless, disobedient, and blasphemous as Jonah. We’ve been God’s enemy since the first days of our lives. We refuse to listen to God. We run from God. We hate to repent. We accuse God of being evil. And like Jonah we demand God’s mercy, thinking we deserve it, while resenting God’s mercy towards our enemies.

But the good news is that Jesus died only for sinners and enemies (Romans 5:8). Clearer than a withered plant, Jesus' death shades us from God’s hot anger at hypocrisy and pride (1 John 2:2). The cross reveals that God would rather die himself than allow one undeserving enemy who repents to wither. Our anger is never justified when God forgives enemies because that would mean God is not justified in forgiving you and me (Romans 3:25-26). So like Nineveh, let God’s mercy lead you to repent and be saved.