DATE POSTED
Tuesday, February 11, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read it in your Bible or click Jeremiah 10 to read it in the New Living Translation (NLT).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
Some of us older folk will remember how challenging it was to live in the home of Pastors, Church leaders, Bible Scholars, and godly parents, for there may have been some very strict rules. These types were different, especially back in the day! But wait, isn’t that what the Word of God teaches us? I found an online document that makes it easy for us to see how we are doing, compared to what the Bible teaches about God’s people living like He intended. Take a moment to look over this list, perhaps you will be reminded of why you were brought up under certain rules, if you lived in a Christian home. But as for today’s devotional, let’s remember that Jeremiah was known as the ‘Weeping Prophet’, because He was so concerned about the spiritual condition of his people, compared to what He knew that God had taught through His Word. Also remember that Jeremiah saw that his fellow Israelites came back from Egypt as a very changed people. He heard about the ones that didn’t complete the journey because of their sin during their rescue journey. He saw that many were still worshipping idols, in spite of the awesome blessings God had extended to these people in releasing them from slavery, protection them and providing for their daily needs during their journey and making them very aware of the blessings He had prepared for them after they completed their journey. Now unless we overlook our current journey in life and pounce on the Israelites by calling them ungrateful and disrespectful of God, we should quickly look inward and answer very challenging questions such as ‘Are we doing any better after learning from our Israelite ancestors and our parents, who tried with everything at their disposal to ensure that we were taught God’s Word for life, direction and eternity?’. What might be your answer today dear friends? Perhaps you are following in Jeremiah’s steps by weeping for your family, your friends, your church and your country. It’s always sad to read the statistics and see how little difference there is in Christian based families and churches, compared to the world, when it comes to sin that leads to crime, out of wedlock pregnancies, divorces, back-biting, hating our neighbor, etc, etc, Can’t we all the more identify with the sad heart of Jeremiah for his people? Wouldn’t God still find reason to accuse us of following, what we believe to be, more successful countries, churches and families, regardless of their obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Word of God? How many of us would conclude that we are following what our parents and grandparents taught us and exampled before us? Yes, they were not perfect, but some of us can really brag about these ancestors who took the Word of God seriously and did their very best to follow in what they understood God intended for us in His Word. Perhaps start, or be encouraged in, your journey to better align your life with the Word of God, by attending a church that teaches the full Word of God. I am overjoyed that our pastor teaches verse-by-verse from the Bible, and not just basing his sermons on the unusual happenings in the world over recent days. God released the Israelites from slavery, and He led them towards a place He had prepared for them. If you have allowed Jesus to be Lord of your life, God has released you from your sin and He will lead you towards a place He has prepared for you. I pray that I will meet every reader of these devotionals in Heaven one day, because you were reminded once again to accept Jesus as Lord, then follow His teachings and His commands even while still here on earth amidst the increasing pressures of sin. Jesus loves you my friend, love Him back through your commitment and obedience to His Word.

PRAYER
The Israelites demonstrated how challenging it was to return thanks through obedience to You, even though You rescued them from a horrible situation – Egypt’s slavery. Unfortunately, this is still often the case with believers today, oh God, and it saddens us to read this account in Jeremiah, knowing full well that many of us are still following in their ungrateful and hypocritical footsteps. Please forgive us and grant us an extra dose of strength and determination to show our appreciation for salvation by honoring the One who suffered and died for our salvation. In surrendering our lives to You, we committed to turning away from the sin of this world, but too often we find that Satan has kept on our heels, and he continues to pressure us into hanging on to his ways while saying that we are Your forgiven children. Lord we are Yours and Yours alone, please help us to live like that, so that the world will overlook our weakness and know who You are and how powerful You are. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!