Text covered: Jeremiah 33:23, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel 8:27Memory verse: Jeremiah 42:3: ‘Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.’
Ezekiel 34:11 & 12: ‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.’
Reading Status: ‘Red’ :0
Lamentations 3:22-27, 32-33, 39-41a
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."
The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the on who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.
It is good for a man to bear the yoke
while he is young.
...
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
so great is his unfailing love.
For he does not willingly bring affliction
or grief to the children of men.
...
Why should any living man complain
when punished for his sins?
Let us examine our ways and test them,
and let us return to the Lord.
Let us lift up our hears and our hands
to God in heaven
Ezekiel 34:16, 31
I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock of justice.
...
You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and i am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.
I was so excited to get to the Book of Daniel! While I have enjoyed every minute of my opportunity to read the Bible through, only so much excitement can be had while reading the dimensions of every aspect of the temple (and I'm an architect!)
Enter Daniel, Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego. Wow! These 4 young men had such undescribable and unwavering faith. Reading through their story made me wish for more background on these guys. How did they come to such a strong faith in the Lord? Did they grow up together? Meet for prayer breakfast on Friday mornings? Experience a series of lesser tests that assured them of God's faithfulness? I just wonder.
What I do know is that none of them folded when the going got rough and were tested. I long to have the same faith that these young men did.
Daniel 3:16-18, 28
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from you hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.
...
then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who as sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Do you ever feel like the world we live in is one big giant furnace, lashing flames toward us from every direction? The Bible says that when Nebuchadnezzar looked in the furnace where they had thrown Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego a fourth man-who looked like the son of God-was seen in the furnace with them. I think that this very happens when Satan looks at believers; Jesus walking beside you and me everywhere we go. How awesome is that? It reminds me of the incredible poem Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson and would like to end this blog on these beautiful truths:
One night I had a dream.
I dreamed I was walking along the beach
with the Lord.
Across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand,
one belonging to me, and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me
and I questioned the Lord about it:
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why
when I need you most you would leave me."
The Lord replied:
"My precious child, I love you and would
never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints, it was then
that I carried you."
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