Daily Bread_May 10, 2013

Title: What is the Condition of Your Heart?

Text:

Jeremiah 24:1-7 (NLT)
¹ After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and artisans, the LORD gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the LORD's Temple in Jerusalem.
² One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with bad figs that were too rotten to eat.
³ Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I replied, "Figs, some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat."
⁴ Then the LORD gave me this message:
⁵ "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians.
⁶ I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them.
⁷ I will give them hearts that recognize me as the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.

Observation:

There is an important lesson to learn from this story of God's dealing with Israel. We don't have to have ideal circumstances to accomplish God's purpose for our life.

It's not what life does to us that matters most; rather, it is more about what life finds in us. The most important thing is not the circumstances that happen to us; rather, it is about the size of the God who lives within us.

The wisest thing for us to do is to heed the advice of the wisest man who ever lived. This is what he said about the heart.

Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)
²³ Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.

The circumstances that we encounter during the course of life are often not under our control. However, they are under the control of God. It is comforting to know that there is a God in heaven who said to his people of old, "I will watch over and care for them". This is what he says to you and me.

Romans 8:28 (NLT)
²⁸ And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Prayer:

Our Father in heaven, my dear Father, I am so thankful that I don't have to be fearful and fretful about the ups and downs of things that are happening around me, and even to me. Father, help me to guard my heart, and to wholly trust in you. Lord, thank you for being a God who cares and watches over your people. Father, I am comforted by the knowledge that you are sovereign over all things. In Jesus name, Amen.

--

Acts 6:4 (KJV)
⁴ But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

 

My blog: Sharing the Word of God Daily:

 http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/