First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Devotional: Micah 3

Today’s passage: Micah 3

Helpful thoughts:

  • The leaders of Israel wanted to reject the Lord and disobey Him…but expect Him to answer them at their beck and call.
  • In our sin nature, we excuse our own injustice and demand justice from others.  In humility by the grace of God, we confess our sin and plead for His mercy through Christ.
  • God is the one who defines and exhibits perfect justice.  God is the one who sets the standard of goodness and righteousness.  He has no need to measure up to our often skewed expectations.

Questions to consider:

  1. If people think they can do whatever they want and then feel justified with their anger against God for not doing what they asked Him to, who is truly the lord or the god of their life?  Who is the god and who is the servant who must answer to a master?  But, who is God in truth?  Why must those who are angry with God change their thinking?
  2. What was the true motivation for the lies the prophets were proclaiming? (Verse 5)  Even in the midst of trouble, how was Micah’s perception of where he stood? (Verse 8)  How does a right fear of the Lord combat any potential fear of man or desire for a life of ease which tempts us to sin?
  3. How does this chapter correlate with the truth of James 2:17?  What do Christians grow in doing after their conversion (Ephesians 4:1)?

Devotional: Micah 2

Today’s passage: Micah 2

Helpful thoughts:

  • There are statements in this chapter which are similar to 2 Timothy 4:1-5.
    • There are two layers to this challenge that can be applicable to us today.
      • First, is the Word of God being taught and valued more than the sinful feelings/desires of people or the trends of society? (Verses 6 & 11)
      • Second, is the church responding to the work of the Holy Spirit or is the ministry of the Word falling on deaf/dead ears? (Verse 7)
  • Our sin affects others in ways we hardly ever think about (Verse 9).
  • In the midst of the rebellion and false teaching, the people are being challenged in this chapter to arise and go!  Micah calls for repentance.

Questions to consider:

  1. How are you doing at loving the Word of God more than the opinions of man?  How would you gauge that accurately?  How could you grow?  How could Christian fellowship help you to grow in this area?
  2. How are we doing in not just “knowing” that the Word of God is more important, but also then being obedient and following the will of God in our lives?  Do we simply love “knowing” that we value the Word or is the Word changing us to become more like Christ in our thoughts, desires and actions?
  3. What is the reasoning Micah calls for repentance?  What does a refusal to turn result in (Verse 10)?  What will the Lord do for His sheep (Verses 12-13)?  Who will lead the way (End of verse 13)?

Devotional: Micah 1

Today’s passage: Micah 1

Helpful thoughts:

  • Micah’s prophetic ministry ran from Jotham’s to Hezekiah’s reign in Judah.  He prophesied of events prior to the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel.  His ministry to Hezekiah is later recounted in Jeremiah 26:16-19.
  • This chapter consists of the promised judgment of Samaria and the northern kingdom of Israel in verses 2-7 and then Micah’s lament in verses 8-16.
  • In Micah’s lament, we are reminded of the Israelites hope in something “good” (Verse 12) coming from their human allies in their time of distress.  The people of Samaria trusted in man to protect them, but man could not protect Israel from the judgment of their God.

Questions to consider:

  1. Micah knew Israel would try to get around or escape God’s pronouncement of judgment (Verse 10), but what was the only thing left to do (Verses 8-9)?  Why are God’s pronouncements final?  How does this finality of God’s determination become a matter of rejoicing for those in Christ (Revelation 21:3-4)?
  2. God compared Israel’s sinfulness, their worship of pagan gods, and trusting in other nations for protection with adultery.  Why were their actions spiritual adultery?  What picture is the church given for a marriage and who is our groom (Ephesians 5:22-33)?
  3. How does this add to our understanding of our calling, purpose and relationship with God?  How does this add to our understanding of the gravity of our sin?  How does this add to our understanding of the faithful love of Christ?

Devotional: Lamentations 5

Today’s passage: Lamentations 5

Helpful thoughts:

  • We see in today’s prayer a devastating list of the realities in Jerusalem at this time in her history.
  • Jeremiah was praying what God already knew and yet, Jeremiah’s prayer has been preserved for us as God’s own word.
    • Christians, cast “all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7
  • Jeremiah confesses the sin of the people and then calls on God for rescue based on His promises and His attributes. (Verses 15-22).
    • Paul answers this question of complete rejection in Romans 11:1-2 and following.

Questions to consider:

  1. How can the apparent honesty and rawness of Jeremiah’s prayer be an encouragement to us and our prayer life?  Does God already know what is in your heart?  How would your honesty with God encourage your relationship with Him?
  2. What would this prayer be without verse 16?  If the hardships of our lives are never our fault or God’s loving discipline, then how are we perceiving God?  What is the right view which yields the fruits of joy and peace?
  3. How does Jeremiah’s tone and wording in this prayer remind us that the God who is transcendent in His being is also a God who is near?  How amazing is it that the God of the universe is also a “very present help”? (Psalm 46)

Devotional: Lamentations 4

Today’s passage: Lamentations 4

Helpful thoughts:

  • I can’t help but think of abortion in our culture after reading verse 3.  God help us!
  • Verse 6 is a striking observation.  Jerusalem sat under siege and then was left to wallow in its destruction.  Jeremiah observes that, in contrast, Sodom was entirely destroyed in an instant.  What an immense grief to prefer the destruction of Sodom!
  • This chapter closes with a prophecy of judgment on Edom.  Their enjoyment of the fall of Jerusalem would be short lived.

Questions to consider:

  1. How does Proverbs 14:34 contrast and give instruction to Jerusalem (Or any nation)?  How would it contrast the idea that all Israel needed was better leaders?  Who in Israel/Judah/Jerusalem needed to repent?
  2. How could these truths apply to the people of God today?  Who are the people of God in the New Covenant?  What would be the true correlation and application for this text in our time?  Whose leaders need to lead in a godly way?  Whose “citizens” need to love the Lord and follow Him?  To what kingdom do those citizens belong?
  3. From our perspective, what transpired over the years in the Middle East in the absence of Israel’s devotion to God?  What influence could the church have in the nations within which we live as we fear God and fervently follow Christ?

Devotional: Lamentations 3

Today’s passage: Lamentations 3

Helpful thoughts:

  • In verses 1-20, Jeremiah shares his heart (Or the heart of a man in Jerusalem) with honesty.  These are the things he would have been thinking.  In the honesty, others who are in depression and pain can receive a sympathetic comfort.
  • This depression is moved toward hope however when truths about God are called to mind.
  • Jerusalem had lived in unrepentant sin.  They were under the Lord’s discipline.
    • God remains faithful.  The repentant sinner’s view will look like what we see in verses 22-39.

Questions to consider:

  1. How does the flow of this lament mimic the heart of man?  Is there a clear break from sin, to repentance and then sinning no more?  What is the progression of the struggling in this heart and in these words?  What was done in order to try to break the pattern of depressive thinking?
  2. What important truths do we learn about God in verses 22-39?
  3. How would Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5:3-12 correlate with this lament?

Devotional: Lamentations 2

Today’s passage: Lamentations 2

Helpful thoughts:

  • In Jeremiah’s eyes, the Lord had become like an enemy.  This chapter gives more focus on God’s judgment against Jerusalem.
  • God is the judge and His judgment is always just.  Therefore, when people are truly guilty, only He can rescue (Verse 13).
  • If pastors and teachers only share happy good words and rebuke or correction never come, disaster is ahead (Verse 14).

Questions to consider:

  1. What statements or requests in this lament were the most striking to you?  Why had this disaster come on Jerusalem?  What had the people done to the prophets who spoke the truth?
  2. Is it ever too soon or ever too late to pray? (Verse 19)  What does Jeremiah plead with the people to pray?  What was the basis of his appeal in the latter verses of the chapter?
  3. What is the answer to the question at the end of verse 13?  (Isaiah 53:5)

Devotional: Lamentations 1

Today’s passage: Lamentations 1

Helpful thoughts:

  • Jeremiah wrote these Lamentations in the wake of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple of God.
    • The whole book is written in Hebrew poetry and flows together as a single unit.  Chapter 3 is the climax of the book.
    • Most of the poetry is written as an acrostic, following the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet (Somewhat like Psalm 119).
  • The Lord likened Israel’s desire to worship false gods and trust in the strength of man for their protection to spiritual adultery.  Verses 18 and 19 give a good summary of the whole chapter in explaining the sin and the justice served.
  • We read in this book a man’s broken heart expressing honest remorse, sadness, and crying out to the Lord.  Our prayers in times of despair won’t always look pretty or polished, but the Spirit is also praying on our behalf, God already knows our hearts, and He has already committed to use all things for our good.

Questions to consider:

  1. What did the “lovers” of Israel do when she cried out for help (Verse 21)?  Why would those who have rejected God be the rescuers or lovers of God’s people?  Why do you think we tend to fear man or desire their approval when our identity is to be rooted entirely in Jesus Christ, whom they reject?  If we gain the world’s complete approval, what would we have forfeited?
  2. How is Jeremiah’s despair revealed in the final verses (21-22)?  How does he interact with the reality of God’s judgment on the world in the midst of God’s judgment against Israel/Jerusalem?  Do you think seeing other nations suffer would have truly cheered Jeremiah’s heart?
  3. Even in His pain, Jeremiah acknowledges the justice of God for the nation.  How does God use consequences for our sin for our benefit?  How was God’s perfect justice served? (Hebrews 12:11, Romans 3:21-26)

 

Devotional: Psalm 106

Today’s passage: Psalm 106

Helpful thoughts:

  • After recounting all God had done for Israel in Psalm 105, today’s psalm recounts what Israel had done.  A much different feel to this psalm.
  • Verses 34-39 are devastating to read.  Understand, the first step was a sin of omission (Verse 34), the second step was mingling/mixing with the nations (Verse 35), and after that the people of Israel did what they “felt” was right!
  • What the people of God need is rescue (“Save us, O Lord.” from vs. 47).
    • Israel was not a nation of good people who needed to be rescued from the world.
    • Israel was a nation of sinners who needed rescue from their own sin.
      • We are no different.

Questions to consider:

  1. If not for God’s grace, what would we be “mixed” up in right now?  If you are mixed up in the world, if the world’s desires are your desires, where must you run for hope and rescue?
  2. For whose sake does God rescue people (Verse 8)?  Why does your salvation bring so much glory to God?  Why is it actually better for you that is does?  Why is it better that the Bible is more about God than it is about you?
  3. If you were to write your own Psalm 106, what might it look like?  What is your story of desperate need and God’s gracious rescue?  How does remembering how much grace God has shown us give us even more gratitude and love for Him?