Thursday January, 7 2021 Devotional
"I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, then they would have proclaimed my words to my people, and they would have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their deeds." - Jeremiah 23:21-22
In Jeremiah’s day as well as in our own, there were false prophets who preached what people wanted to hear. They made up their sermons out of their own hearts. They skipped the step of “standing in the Lord’s council chamber,” hearing His Word and getting their message from Him.
They preached a message of mere human opinion, of pious platitudes. They assured people that God loved them but failed to call them to repentance so that they could know God’s love and be delivered from the judgment that was coming.
As we seek to know the Lord, be drawn closer to Him, and call our loved ones to know Him as well, we must not skip this essential step. Time spent in prayer and immersing ourselves in God’s Word is essential. There is no substitute for time in the presence of God, listening to Him. We can’t lead other people to a place we haven’t gone ourselves.
Lord, I need to spend more time in your presence. I need to hear You speak Your Word into my heart. Fill me with Your presence and give me understanding as I read and meditate on Your Word. Keep me from error and confusion. Let me speak a Word from Your heart into the hearts of my loved ones, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Pastor Dan Giles