First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Devotional: Romans 1:18-32

Today’s passage: Romans 1:18-32

Helpful thoughts:

  • Every single soul on the face of the earth knows enough about God through general revelation to be able to reject Him.  They do so by suppressing the truth and turning to other things.
    • Every person who has seen and perceived God’s creation is without excuse.
    • Psalm 14:1 – The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
      • Disbelief is not enlightenment, it is darkness.
  • Darkened minds want dark things and do dark things…and approve (Or even expect the approval/affirmation) of others who do the same.
    • We should not be shocked by what we see in the world today.
  • We have all committed at least some of the sin in this list from verses 26-32.
    • The Gospel reminds us that people who are in bondage to these sins need the same rescue that we have received.  We don’t look down on them, we point them to our Savior.

Questions to consider:

  1. What does the whole world know about God?  Which attributes does this passage say are clearly on display (Vs. 20)?  How does the world see these attributes on display?  What has the world done to explain these truths away to justify their rejection?
  2. How might the first few verses of this passage fit into an argument about the eternal destiny of those who died in the womb or before they were able to see and perceive these attributes of God in creation?
  3. All the sins listed in this passage, from homosexual sin to disobedience to parents, all started with an exchange of glory (Verse 23).  Who is our Lord?  Who is worthy of all honor, praise, and our whole-hearted love and obedience?  How does a right view of the glory of God and the Lordship of Christ change/correct our perspective on life and result in fruitful repentance?

Devotional: Romans 1:8-17

Today’s passage: Romans 1:8-17

Helpful thoughts:

  • As Paul often does, he includes early on in this letter a thanksgiving and prayer to God for the church to whom he is writing (Verses 8-15), along with a purpose statement for the letter (Verses 16-17).
  • Paul is not the giver of spiritual gifts, that’s the Holy Spirit’s job (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).  His desire is to exercise his gifting from God for the benefit of the church in Rome.
  • In the Jewish perspective, the world was divided between Jews and Gentiles.  In the mind of the Greeks, the world was divided between the Greeks and barbarians…or the Romans and the barbarians.  Christ came to save people from every tribe, tongue, and nation (Revelation 7:9-10).
  • God’s perfect righteousness is revealed in the Gospel.  Knowing the Gospel deeply is to know God more deeply.
    • Studying this book will give us a greater understanding of the Gospel, the God who designed it, and we who so desperately need it.

Questions to consider:

  1. If Paul used the terms, Greeks and barbarians instead of Jews and Gentiles, what must be true of his original audience?  When you think of yourself and others, what designation(s) do you make?  What identifies you first?  What is the difference between you and those who differ from you in this primary identification?  How does that affect how you treat others?
  2. If the Gospel teaches us about who God is, why is it only right to not be ashamed by it?  If we are ashamed of the Gospel, what else are we ashamed of?  What does the Gospel teach us about ourselves (And God) that would cause us to despise any shame we might feel?
  3. How are you using your spiritual gifts to strengthen others in your local church?  Think of real examples.  What could you do today, this week, moving forward to give of yourself for the benefit of others?

Devotional: Romans 1:1-7

Today’s passage: Romans 1:1-7

Helpful thoughts:

  • The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Romans from Corinth near the end of his third missionary journey around AD 57.  He did not plant the church there and had not yet personally been to Rome.
  • The word for “servant” could be translated as “slave.”  Paul (As all Christians do) belongs to God and has been given work to do.
    • Paul was given the task of serving as an Apostle to preach the Gospel (Good news) primarily to the Gentile peoples.
  • Jesus, the son of David, also proved to be the Son of God through His resurrection from the dead.

Questions to consider:

  1. Do you see the Trinity in this passage?  Where are the Father, Son and Spirit in these verses?  What are they doing?
  2. What is Paul’s view of himself in relation to his Lord and Master?  We have not been called to be Apostles, but we have been called, to whom does this day belong in “your” life?  How does this truth actually reduce your stress and give you focus and purpose?
  3. What does faith in the Gospel message result in (Verse 5)?  Are we doing “good” to get into God’s favor…OR…Has God shown us unmerited favor in saving us, and in the aftermath and continual enjoyment of that favor, we are growing in “goodness”?

Devotional: Jeremiah 52:1-34

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 52:1-34

Helpful thoughts:

  • This chapter reads much like the historical accounts of 2 Kings (2 Kings 24:18-25:30).  The purpose is to show the truthfulness of Jeremiah’s prophecies…or perhaps better said, to show the faithfulness of God’s word.
  • The chapter could be broken into three sections:
    • The final fall of Jerusalem.
      • This happened in waves.  First in 605 B.C., which was the beginning of the seventy years of exile.  Then in 597 B.C. under Jehoiachin.  Then in 586 B.C. under Zedekiah.
    • The looting of the city and Temple.
      • The account of the looting of the Temple is shocking, to think of a foreign pagan nation coming in and destroying the Temple of God.  However, we must remember that Israel and Judah had not treated it very well themselves.  God allowed this in His sovereignty.
    • The exiling of the people.
      • The number of exiles given (4,600) may only be counting the males.

Questions to consider:

  1. Why is this chapter a fitting end to the book of Jeremiah?  What does it wrap up in the mind of the reader?  What do we learn about God through it?
  2. What are some of your biggest take-aways or some of the things you learned in this study of the book of Jeremiah?
  3. Look back at Jeremiah 31:31-34.  Was the Mosaic Covenant (The Law) conditional or unconditional?  Why has Jerusalem fallen?  Is the New Covenant conditional or unconditional?  If you are a born again follower of Christ, why are you saved?  Is your participation in this covenant conditional or unconditional?  How does this make us all the more thankful and desirous to praise and glorify the Lord?

Devotional: Jeremiah 51:1-64

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 51:1-64

Helpful thoughts:

  • The LORD of hosts is the name of God which refers to the vast power of God and his angel armies.  Our God has never and will never know defeat.
    • The “mighty” Babylon…knew defeat.  And they knew it “suddenly.”
  • A contrast is given between the gods of Babylon and the one true God.  There is no contest!
    • The gods of our day and culture are not metal statues.  They are us.  People worship themselves…and there is still no contest.
  • This prophecy was read in Babylon, to the Jewish and Babylonian people.  This was not prophecy in hiding for us to find out about later.  God called His next moves to the very people He was about to defeat, and then did it.

Questions to consider:

  1. Was Israel amazing and therefore held onto God?  OR, is God the Lord of Hosts, and whoever clings to Him will see victory?  Who is our salvation?
  2. Why is it only right for the Lord to swear by Himself (Verse 14)?  What else could He swear by?  When He does swear by Himself, which attributes can you think of that make His promise absolutely sure?
  3. What promises has God given to us that we can rejoice in today?  What promises has he made for the future that we look forward to in eager hope?

Devotional: Jeremiah 50:1-46

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 50:1-46

Helpful thoughts:

  • After seeing several nations receive word of judgment coming from the Lord, Babylon (The tool God used for judgment on those preceding nations) now has two full chapters committed to themselves.
  • Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians in 539 B.C.
  • God used Babylon to punish Israel, and Babylon would be judged for being a curse to Israel.  (Romans 9:14-24)
  • As we read this chapter, we see many promises that are partially fulfilled in the return of Israel from Babylonian Exile…but these promises will be finally and fully accomplished still in the future.
    • Verse 20 is a good example of this.  The Remnant that God preserves will all be seen as without sin, having their righteousness imputed to them through Christ!

Questions to consider:

  1. How do these prophecies and promises expand and refine our view of the providence, justice, eternality and holiness of God?
  2. As powerful as Babylon surely would have been considered in their day, what were they compared to Almighty God?  What is the most powerful, most talented, most wealthy person, or corporation, or nation in the world compared to the Lord?  What will Jesus have to do to win the victory at the final battle (Revelation 19:11-16)?
  3. How do all these truths infuse life and power into a passage like Proverbs 3:5-6?  How can you trust in the Lord today?

Devotional: Jeremiah 49:1-39

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 49:1-39

Helpful thoughts:

  • Today’s first prophecy is given to the people of Ammon (Ammonites).  Like the Moabites, they are also descended from Lot (Genesis 19:38).
    • Milcom is another name for the false god Molech.  The Ammonites were living in land that God had promised to Israel, therefore Israel will eventually live in the land.
  • The second prophecy of judgment is against the Edomites, the descendants of Esau (Genesis 36:1).
    • The Edomites were proud and felt unbeatable because of the mountainous area they lived in.  But they were defeated by the Babylonians and even ceased to exist as a political entity after the Roman conquest.
  • Judgment number three: Damascus
    • Nebuchadnezzar conquered Damascus in 605 B.C.
  • Judgment number four: Kedar and Hazor
    • These are Ishmaelite people who lived in the desert areas east of the Jordan.  They were conquered in 599/598 B.C.
  • Judgment number five: Elam
    • Elam was east of Babylon and west of the Tigris river.  King Darius of the Persians would later rule from its capital, Susa (Nehemiah 1:1).  They were conquered by Babylon in 596 B.C. and then changed hands to the Persians in 539 B.C.

Questions to consider:

  1. What does Acts 2:9 prove concerning God’s promise to the Elamites in verse 39?  What does the fulfillment of all these prophecies confirm to us about our God?  Which of His attributes are on display?
  2. Compare and contrast what these different nations seem to be trusting in for their safety and well-being?  What is different about them…and yet, what is similar?
  3. How can these varying trusts and hopes be contrasted with all the things that God is for us?  What does God commit to do for His children that frees us from relying on ourselves, weapons, terrain, false gods, etc.?

Devotional: Jeremiah 48:1-47

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 48:1-47

Helpful thoughts:

  • Our attention is turned now to the Lord’s judgment against Moab, the descendants of Lot (Genesis 19:37).
  • Chemosh was the main god worshipped by the Moabites (Verse 7).
    • Chemosh did not exists.  But, the Word of God tells us that behind every false god, there is demonic activity (Deuteronomy 32:16-17).
  • The “horn” is symbolic of a nations military power. (Verse 25)
  • Moab refused to be humbled by God’s judgment.  Their pride resulted in their loss of joy and hope…and the weeping of God.

Questions to consider:

  1. If the Moabites were to be ashamed of their god in their defeat, and if their shame was being compared to the way Israel saw “Bethel” (The house of God), how did Israel view God?  Why don’t we view God the same way the nations view their false gods?  Beyond the fact that our God actually exists, what are the other differences of view?
  2. If we treat God the way the Moabites would have treated Chemosh, what would we not be understanding?
  3. What do we learn about the heart of God even as He renders judgment to those who have rejected Him?  Did God get enjoyment out of judging Moab?  What was their downfall?  What accompanied their pride in themselves?

Devotional: Jeremiah 47:1-7

Today’s passage: Jeremiah 47:1-7

Helpful thoughts:

  • God’s promise of judgment now turns toward the Philistines.
  • The phrase, “Sword of the Lord” is used here as a figure of speech for judgment. (Judges 7:20)
  • The Philistines were attacked and defeated by the Egyptians around 587 B.C.  Yet, this judgment was of the Lord.

Questions to consider:

  1. Do you think these nations would have expected to be judged by, or even used in judgment by the Lord who was the God of Israel?  Why or why not?
  2. How far does God’s sovereignty, omniscience and justice extend?  Only to Israel?  Only to the church?
  3. How far does the love of God extend?  What is our role on this earth as the body of Christ (As ambassadors)? (Matthew 5:13-16, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8)