Believe and Abide

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Thursday, April 2, 2009
Devotions: Ps 131-33, 140, 142; Jer 26:1-16; Rom 11:1-12; Jn 10:19-42

Lord, I’m not puffed up; I have stilled and quieted my soul like a child at its mother’s breast. I will rest and hope in God. God has blessed the house of David and has chosen Zion for His habitation on earth. How wonderful it is to live in unity with my brothers and sisters in God’s household! We share abundant, eternal life, and the mighty Presence of our God. Lord, deliver me from violent men and from the hands of the arrogant and wicked. Let the evil they intend for others fall upon them. I pour out my troubles to You, Lord, my Refuge and my Protector. My struggles are too much for me, but they present no impediment to You!

YHWH tells Jeremiah to station himself in the Temple court, and there to proclaim God’s message to the Judeans who came to worship: ‘If you don’t listen to My words and walk in My law and heed the urgent warnings I give through My prophets, then I will make this house like the fallen temple at Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.’ But instead of repenting, the priests and worshipers attacked Jeremiah; they demanded that he be put to death for speaking against the temple and the city. Jeremiah repeated his prophecy, and warned those assembled to judge him: ‘Do whatever you will to me, but these are the words and the consequences God has set before you! If you kill me, you’re shedding innocent blood, and God will judge you accordingly.' As the authorities reflected, they recalled previous times when similar prophecies were spoken, when the hearers had repented and changed their faithless behavior—and in doing this, they had forestalled the doom facing their temple and city.

Paul wrote: God has not rejected His people; always, an elect remnant respond faithfully to God, and a hard-hearted majority suffer God’s judgment. But through Jewish trespass, Gentiles have been blessed. Much more will their eventual blessing bring benefits to all people!

The Jewish authorities continued to hound Jesus: ‘If you are the Messiah, tell us so plainly!’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you refuse to believe. You ignore the mighty works I do in my Father’s name. Your refusal proves that you are not among those God has chosen; My sheep recognize Me; they believe and obey My words. I and the Father are One.’ The Jews responded by taking up stones to execute Jesus. He asked, ‘For which of My actions are you preparing to stone Me?’ They answered, ‘For the blasphemy of saying you are equal to God!’ Jesus quoted their scriptures: ‘It is written, “I said, you are gods.” God said it, and I embody what God has spoken. If I Am not doing the works of God, then don’t believe Me. But if I do them, then believe the evidence of My actions, so that you can understand that the Father is in Me, and I Am in the Father.’ But the Jews continued to seek to destroy Jesus. He withdrew across the Jordan; many people came to Him there, and placed their faith in Him.