The First Time Is the Best Time

Daily Reading: Jeremiah 25

Scripture Focus: You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying, ”Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever.” (Jeremiah 25.4-5)

Devotional Thought: When my children were growing up, they often heard me use the phrase, "The first time is the best time."  I said it often to remind them that listening to Daddy was best when he first said something.  Daddy didn't like having to repeat his messages.

God found that his children needed him to repeat his messages over and over, and so he "persistently sent... the prophets."  Those prophets were God's servants, speaking God's words.  The people, however, were just like the people of our day who ignore God's Word.

What was God's message to his children then and today?

·       Turn from the evil way.  The Bible says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death" (Proverbs 14.12).  What are the "systems" and "values" that lead to death in our day?

·       Turn from evil deeds.  When we are on an evil path, we do evil things.  We see that displayed daily on the news.

·       Dwell upon the land.  God has a "place" for us to dwell.  It is within the boundaries of his grace and blessing.  The Israelites, sadly, chose to reject that place for one of their own choosing.  They ended up enslaved again.

·       The Lord has given it to you and your fathers from of old.  Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain "from the foundation of the world."  From the very beginning, God has planned our salvation.

Pray that we in our day would not be like those in Jeremiah's generation who "neither listened nor inclined [their] ears to hear."

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for your prophetic Word and for the voice of your Holy Spirit.  Help me to hear and to believe that there is abundance as I live within your grace.  Through Jesus Christ my Lord I pray.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 118.19-24

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.

20 This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous shall enter through it.

21 I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.