DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR MONDAY AUGUST 17:
WORD OF WISDOM
The next time your wife gets angry, drape a towel over her shoulders (like a
cape) and say, "Now you're SUPER ANGRY!" Maybe she'll laugh; maybe you'll
die.
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DAILY DEVOTION
Wrong Praying
From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of
your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and
desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not,
because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye
may consume it upon your lusts.
James 4:1-3
The Bible tells us that there are things we do not have simply because we do
not ask God for them. That is a tragedy, because prayer is the means which
God has ordained for our needs to be met. One preacher of the past told of a
dream in which he was taken by an angel to a large warehouse in Heaven.
Shelves were piled high with packages. He asked the angel what he was
seeing, and the angel replied, "These are things God had for you for which
you never asked."
But a second tragedy is when we pray for the wrong things or with the wrong
motives. It is not wrong for us to ask for what we want or what we need, but
we must be careful not to put ourselves in the place of God, asking Him to
fulfill our will. That is not the purpose of prayer, and there is no basis
for expecting answers to selfish prayers. Our desires will lead us astray
unless we submit them to God's will.
As in everything, Jesus is our pattern for proper motivation in prayer. In
the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed for the cup to pass, but then said,
"nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). God's wisdom so
far exceeds ours that we must trust Him to give us what is best. The many
wonderful promises of Scripture concerning answered prayer are true, but
they are conditioned on proper attitudes and asking in our praying.
When your prayers are in keeping with the will of God, you will be amazed at
the answers you see.
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DAILY BIBLE READING
Jeremiah 35-37 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Obedient Rechabites
35 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 "Go to the house of the
Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into
one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink."
3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his
brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4 and I
brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of
Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the
princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the
[a]door. 5 Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls
full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, "Drink wine."
6 But they said, "We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our
father, commanded us, saying, 'You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons,
forever. 7 You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have
any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live
many days in the land where you are sojourners.' 8 Thus we have obeyed the
voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us,
to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9
nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field,
or seed. 10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according
to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But it came to pass, when
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, 'Come,
let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of
the army of the Syrians.' So we dwell at Jerusalem."
12 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying, 13 "Thus says the
Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Go and tell the men of Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, "Will you not receive instruction to [b]obey My
words?" says the Lord. 14 "The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he
commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they
drink none, and obey their father's commandment. But although I have spoken
to you, rising early and speaking, you did not [c]obey Me. 15 I have also
sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them,
saying, 'Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not
go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I
have given you and your fathers.' But you have not inclined your ear, nor
obeyed Me. 16 Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed
the commandment of their father, which he commanded them, but this people
has not obeyed Me." '
17 "Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I
will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the doom
that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them but they
have not heard, and I have called to them but they have not answered.' "
18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, "Thus says the Lord of
hosts, the God of Israel: 'Because you have obeyed the commandment of
Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all
that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of
Israel: "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me
forever." ' "
The Scroll Read in the Temple
36 Now it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah,
king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: 2
"Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to
you against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day
I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day. 3 It may be that
the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring
upon them, that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive
their iniquity and their sin."
4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote on a
scroll of a book, [d]at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the
Lord which He had spoken to him. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, "I
am confined, I cannot go into the house of the Lord. 6 You go, therefore,
and read from the scroll which you have written [e]at my instruction, the
words of the Lord, in the hearing of the people in the Lord's house on the
day of fasting. And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who
come from their cities. 7 It may be that they will present their
supplication before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way. For
great is the anger and the fury that the Lord has pronounced against this
people." 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah
the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in
the Lord's house.
9 Now it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king
of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to
all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people who came from the cities
of Judah to Jerusalem. 10 Then Baruch read from the book the words of
Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of
Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court at the entry of the New Gate of the
Lord's house, in the [f]hearing of all the people.
The Scroll Read in the Palace
11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the
words of the Lord from the book, 12 he then went down to the king's house,
into the scribe's chamber; and there all the princes were sitting-Elishama
the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor,
Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the
princes. 13 Then Michaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard
when Baruch read the book in the hearing of the people. 14 Therefore all the
princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of
Cushi, to Baruch, saying, "Take in your hand the scroll from which you have
read in the hearing of the people, and come." So Baruch the son of Neriah
took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, "Sit
down now, and read it in our hearing." So Baruch read it in their hearing.
16 Now it happened, when they had heard all the words, that they looked in
fear from one to another, and said to Baruch, "We will surely tell the king
of all these words." 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, "Tell us now, how did
you write all these words-[g]at his instruction?"
18 So Baruch answered them, "He proclaimed with his mouth all these words to
me, and I wrote them with ink in the book."
19 Then the princes said to Baruch, "Go and hide, you and Jeremiah; and let
no one know where you are."
The King Destroys Jeremiah's Scroll
20 And they went to the king, into the court; but they stored the scroll in
the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the hearing of
the king. 21 So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll, and he took it
from Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the hearing of the
king and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. 22 Now
the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire
burning on the hearth before him. 23 And it happened, when Jehudi had read
three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe's knife and cast
it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed
in the fire that was on the hearth. 24 Yet they were not afraid, nor did
they tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all
these words. 25 Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the
king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. 26 And the
king commanded Jerahmeel [h]the king's son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and
Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the
prophet, but the Lord hid them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27 Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had
written [i]at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the Lord came to
Jeremiah, saying: 28 "Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the
former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah
has burned. 29 And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, 'Thus says the
Lord: "You have burned this scroll, saying, 'Why have you written in it that
the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and cause man
and beast to cease from here?' " 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning
Jehoiakim king of Judah: "He shall have no one to sit on the throne of
David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the
frost of the night. 31 I will punish him, his [j]family, and his servants
for their iniquity; and I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah all the doom that I have pronounced
against them; but they did not heed." ' "
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the
son of Neriah, who wrote on it [k]at the instruction of Jeremiah all the
words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And
besides, there were added to them many similar words.
Zedekiah's Vain Hope
37 Now King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of
Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of
Judah. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land gave
heed to the words of the Lord which He spoke by the prophet Jeremiah.
3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the
son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "Pray now to
the Lord our God for us." 4 Now Jeremiah was coming and going among the
people, for they had not yet put him in prison. 5 Then Pharaoh's army came
up from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard
news of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the Lord came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7 "Thus
says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'Thus you shall say to the king of Judah,
who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, Pharaoh's army which has come
up to help you will return to Egypt, to their own land. 8 And the Chaldeans
shall come back and fight against this city, and take it and burn it with
fire." ' 9 Thus says the Lord: 'Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The
Chaldeans will surely depart from us," for they will not depart. 10 For
though you had defeated the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against
you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up,
every man in his tent, and burn the city with fire.' "
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11 And it happened, when the army of the Chaldeans left the siege of
Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, 12 that Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem
to go into the land of Benjamin to claim his property there among the
people. 13 And when he was in the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard
was there whose name was Irijah the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah;
and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are defecting to the
Chaldeans!"
14 Then Jeremiah said, [l]"False! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans." But
he did not listen to him.
So Irijah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 Therefore the
princes were angry with Jeremiah, and they struck him and put him in prison
in the house of Jonathan the scribe. For they had made that the prison.
16 When Jeremiah entered the dungeon and the cells, and Jeremiah had
remained there many days, 17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out.
The king asked him secretly in his house, and said, "Is there any word from
the Lord?"
And Jeremiah said, "There is." Then he said, "You shall be delivered into
the hand of the king of Babylon!"
18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "What offense have I committed
against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have
put me in prison? 19 Where now are your prophets who prophesied to you,
saying, 'The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this
land'? 20 Therefore please hear now, O my lord the king. Please, let my
petition be accepted before you, and do not make me return to the house of
Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there."
21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah to the
court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread
from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus
Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
