Yield without delay to the conviction of the Holy Spirit (2Ch 34:21). #Repent #TurnFromSin #ConvictionOfSin
Repent; Seek God’s Face, NOW
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Having heard a reading of the “Book of the Law,“ King Josiah realizes the danger Israel is in because they had not followed God’s prescribed law (Deu 28:15ff). Josiah’s instructions at that point, to the High Priest and other officials, was to go and inquire about the meaning of what had been read to him.
In other words, Josiah said, “Go now and seek counsel from the Prophet. Confirm what had been read to him. Inquire what should be done.” The nearest prophet was Huldah, the Prophetess, who lived near the Temple (v22). Lord, I understand that conviction of sin will lead me to further and quickly inquiry as to what next to do. Do it now, not tomorrow.
Remain open to the convicting power of God’s word (2Ch 34:19–21). #RepentOfSin #TurnFromSin #TurntoGod
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
King Josiah‘s response to what he heard as God‘s word to all of Israel was great remorse and conviction. He immediately recognized the sin of his nation. His grief led him to repentance (2Co 7:9-11). He did not cast off his sin, or blame another or excuse it. He owned it.
God‘s word leads us to acknowledge sin, leads us away from sin and expresses sorrow for sin. Conviction of sin causes a desire within us to change. It leads us to turn away from that sin and follow God. God‘s word is powerful to judge the intentions and motives of the heart (Heb 4:12). Lord, may I daily consider my obedience to you, make course corrections in my life and be reconciled with you.
May the national leaders in America repent and seek after the heart of God; may we see revival and spiritual awakening (2Ch 34:8-13; 2Ki 22:3-7).
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
On the surface, this passage seems all very administrative and organizational. But what is apparent here is the heart of a 26-year-old king (of Judah). His heart was for God, even in the face of much pagan worship, and idolatry in the land. He is contemporary with Jeremiah, the Prophet of God (there is a compelling connection between national leadership and religious leaders).
Young King Josiah sees the temple of God (symbol of the presence of God in the national life of Israel) in disrepair. What previous kings had allowed to fall into ruin, Josiah restored. Revival was close at hand. Likewise, if the national leaders in America (any country) would repent, seek God’s face and point the people to God, we would be a better nation. America would have a road to awakening.
Lord, I pray that America might experience another spiritual awakening of national proportions.
May we quickly surrender our sinful lives to God (Jer 19:1-6). #ConfessSin #Repent #TurnNowToGod
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
God instructed Jeremiah to purchase a clay pot (jar). Then Jeremiah is instructed to call together some of the leaders and priests of Israel and walk to the “valley of Ben Hinnom” just outside the South Gate of the city (the “Potshard Gate” of Jerusalem – also called the “Dung Gate”). This symbolizes the broken relationship to God. This was the city dump. All the refuse of the city went through this gate. Also many sacrifices to pagan gods took place here.
This passage informs us that this valley was the place of grotesque, idol worship and child sacrifice by fire. It pictures the life of sin before God. God’s people are no longer his joy, but a garbage dump of stinking refuse. This valley would soon be called the “Valley of Slaughter“ because of the judgment about to fall on Judah (see also 7:30-33). Lord, could my heart ever be so cold and indifferent to you? Yes, it has been (17:9,10); may it never be so again.
Do not ignore the pleadings of God to repent and turn to him (Jer 18:18–23). #TurnNowToGod #RepentAndTurnToGod
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
While the obstinate people of God and their leaders are saying, “Do not listen to Jeremiah’s thunderous words of repentance,“ Jeremiah is saying to God “Listen to their words of evil” towards him. Jeremiah has warned the people of God’s of coming judgment (vv15–17). Their response is to discredit and kill Jeremiah.
Jeremiah‘s prayer is not one of vengeance, for he has earnestly contended for their souls (14:7-9; 19-22). Jeremiah is now praying for protection, because of his faithfulness to deliver the message. He is also praying that God would now allow his stated judgments for sin to roll down on his unrepentant people. Lord, remove any obstinate way within my heart.
Sincerely, open your heart to examination by God (Jer 18:11,12). #ThePotter’sHouse #RepentOfSin #ThePotterAndTheClay #TurnToGod
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
It is hard to read these words, Israel’s reply to Jeremiah‘s message of “The Potter & The Clay.“ The people said, “Don’t waste your breath, we will continue to live how we want to live.“ I wish I could say I have never said that to God. But I have. I pushed God to the limits of his mercy. (See my testimony: this blog)
Even now, as I read the message of “The Potter,“ I am urged by God to stop and reflect this morning. I’m asking God to search my heart for any wicked way; that I may be lead in the way, everlasting (Psm139:23,24; Jas 4:7-10). Lord, I open my whole heart and life for your close examination. Show me any sin I need to confess that I may change. (See the end of self: this blog)
Act quickly to repent of sin at any rebuke from God (Jer 18:5–11). #ThePotter’sHouse #RepentOfSin #ThePotterAndTheClay #TurnToGod
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
There is no misinterpretating God’s message to Jeremiah concerning the potter and the clay. Just as the potter fashions the clay in his hands, so God may do with Israel. Having found defect (sin) in the pot he was molding, the potter crushes the form. He removes the defect and starts over to refashion his clay into the mold he desires.
Just so, God will do the same to Israel (and any other nation). But if the nation renounces its sin (defect) God will not crush her. If she refuses to obey, then God will not bless Israel (or any other nation), he will judge her harshly. Lord, may any stern rebuke from you over sin (defect) found in me be met quickly with repentance towards you (Psm 51:10ff).
May the great nation of America turn from her sin before it is too late (Jer 17:1-4). #SendRevival #SendAwakening #TurnToGod #Repent
9/11 Precursor of Judgment to Come
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Judah’s sin had gone unchecked for so long the hearts of the people had become impervious to counsel, change or repentance – they were “stone cold“ sinners. Even the children worshiped at pagan alters and were exposed to godless rituals. Judah’s idolatrous worship went on in all the high and fertile places. Clearly an affront to Jehovah God (Psm 95:4).
For Judah’s affronting sin – going after pagan gods in wanton fashion – God determines to hand his people and their prized land [Jerusalem] over to the pagan nation of Babylon. He would send his people into captivity.
America today has become just as hardened toward God as Judah. God will judge America; far more devastatingly than 9/11. She is on the very cusp of calamitous judgment.
It is hard to see America becoming as “stone cold” a nation as the people of Judah had become. Lord, I am pleading for a far reaching revival in the church and a spiritual awakening of national proportions.
Give thanks and praise to God for his daily renewal towards you (Psm 103:5). #RefreshedAndRenewed #ShakeATailFeather
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Caring for a loved one 24/7 is draining. But I have felt the extraordinary energy described in this Psalm. I have often been awakened in the course of caregiving and surprised by how physically alert I feel. Pretty amazing.
Psm 103:5 says, “God renews youth within me like the eagle renews its feathers annually; gets a new set of wings.” [my trans.]
That kind of refreshing comes only by prayer. The prayers of fellow believers on my behalf calls forth from God renewed lift and energy. Truly amazing!
_______
So, stop and give thanks for all the good things God has done for you (vv3,4). If that is not enough for which to thank God, consider the continual renewal of heart, soul and spirit that God regularly bestows on you. The picture here has to do with the molting process of the eagle.
Annually, the eagle loses all his feathers. The old feathers are shed, and the new feathers grow in their place. It is a fascinating process.*
God performs a quiet and continual renewing process of our heart, soul and mind (his mercies are new every morning – Lam 3:22-24). Lord, in all your goodness, you also renew my heart and soul. Thank you Lord.
Blaze new faith trails that are renewed daily in God’s grace (Heb 13:22,25). #WalkInDailyRenewal #FaithRenewedDaily
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
This is the final word of our writer. Some may debate the meaning of having “written to you in a few words.“ But the point in the conclusion of this letter is simply this. You have been enlightened to the truth about Christ. It is time for you to move forward in a new way of faith.
Shed the former rituals and traditions of religion and press on into this new frontier of faith in Christ. Do this, knowing that the grace of God and empowerment of Christ (v21) goes ever before you. Lord, may I maintain a fresh forward looking faith for the frontier of every new day before me.
Seek a faith that is unquenched by the fires of evil (Heb 11:35b–38). #unquenchableFaith #FaithInTheFire #VictoriousThroughEvil
Faith Through the Fires of Evil
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
These verses fly in the face of “Feel Good Religion“ and the “Prosperity Gospel.“ While many have been victorious “quenching” the fires of evil (Heb 11:32–35a), still others have a faith that is “unquenchable,” victorious in/through the fires of evil. Many there are who have suffered horrific persecution. Yet, they have clung to the promise of a better hope in the resurrection. Their faith was “unquenchable.“
Our God in Christ stands with those who suffer great indignities, torture, jeerings, beatings, imprisonment, were/are poor and destitute at the hands of evil men. These believers were labeled as unfit by their society (“Cancel Culture”). But the opposite was true. Society was/is unfit for them (note Psm 44:22; Rom 8:35-39). Lord, should I be called upon to suffer for my faith, may I do so with honor.
While you still can, strive by faith to understand and follow God’s mission for you (Heb 6:7-8). #WindowOfOpportunity #FulfillGodsPlan #StandingStrongInFaith
Use Your Window
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
The writer is speaking to believers here (vv1-6 describes it beautifully clear). Verses 7 and 8 illustrate a principal of discipline in the believer’s life. When rain falls on a field, it bears fruit. If that same field bears only thorns, thistles and weeds, the farmer burns the worthless brush away. I don’t conclude this to mean that believers will lose their salvation or maybe they weren’t believers to begin with (read vv1-6 again).
My understanding and life experience of this leads me to conclude that believers who are rebellious, unwilling to listen to God and grow to maturity (5:11) are in danger. They have “fallen aside from,” “side-stepped,” their responsibility, their opportunities to be productive for God. They bring harm to the work of the Kingdom. God WILL bring correction and judgment on his children for their own good. Heb 3:12-19 is evidence of that. (Also note 1Co 3:12,13; 2Co 5:9-11)
Lord, may I never miss a window of opportunity to grow in my faith and obedience to you.
________
THIS SENTRY’S TESTIMONY:
“Last Call”
God is serious about his children’s growth and obedience.
As an eight year old boy I gave my heart to Jesus. That’s when I met the Lamb of God. I had some growth in my early years. But later, in spite of my faith and upbringing, I became rebellious.
In college my life went completely off the rails. God often spoke to my heart, but I would not listen. I’ll spare you the details, but I wanted God to butt out of my life. I spurned my faith. Yet, in the deepest recesses of my heart, I knew that Jesus was tenaciously and compassionately striving with me.
Fast forward: through my rebellion I squandered my college opportunity. I was failing after three years of mischief. I was asked not to return to campus. As a result, I was drafted into the military. I soon found myself thousands of miles away from home in the war torn land of Vietnam.
God was bringing severe judgment and discipline into my life to get my attention. After many previous calls for me to return to him, to mature in my faith, to be used of him, he was about to issue the “Last Call.”
As a believer I was doing more harm to the faith than good. I was “falling aside from,” “side-stepping,” my responsibility, my opportunity to be productive for God. My lifestyle as a “believer” had brought me dangerously close to holding Jesus up to open shame. God was ready to set me aside, leaving the likelihood of my repentance for renewal as a remote and unlikely possibility (Heb 6:6).
On December 28, 1968, I was standing watch in a guard tower. It was in the early morning hours. I was lonely and I was scarred. I had a small New Testament in the pocket of my flak jacket (my church gave it to me before I left – it felt more like a good luck charm to me; maybe it would stop a bullet).
I pulled that New Testament from my pocket. I opened it up to the Gospel of John and began to read: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” (Jhn 1:1, 4-5, 10-12)
When I read the words, “He came to his own and his own did not receive him”, my heart was deeply convicted. I heard God distinctly speak into my heart. He said to me, “I have come to to you over and over again. You have not received what I have for you.”
In my heart I knew that I was living dangerously close to even more severe judgment than being in a hostile far away country (maybe committing a sin unto death – 1Jn 5:16,17. That’s when God issued what I knew then was my “Last Call.” He said to me, “Tonight you have a choice. You can go home in a body bag or you can go home serving me. The choice is yours and the time is now.”
The next thing I remember, I was on my hands and knees in that guard tower over the Saigon River. I was weeping and asking God to forgive my rebelliousness. I was broken, weeping and confessing sin.
[1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”]
On my knees in that guard tower before God I felt his cleansing touch. It washed me clean from the top of my combat helmet to the bottom of my combat boots. My heart and life was revived in joy and total surrender to God.
[When I was an eight year old boy I met the Lamb of God. At age twenty-one, I met the Lion of Judah. Jesus became the Undisputed Lord of my life.
I never looked back. Life changed for me in that solitary moment of surrender to God. For fifty-five years now God has continuously done gracious undeserved works in my life.
“Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion” (Heb 3:15).
Lord, may our children have godly, righteous leaders worthy of following (Heb 3:7–11; Psm 95:10,11). #ActionsHaveConsequences #LegacyMatters #GenerationLost
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
I heard Henry Blackeby (author and pastor) say of Psalm 95:10,11, “An entire adult generation cost the youth of their day much suffering in the wilderness.“ These words have haunted me for days as I have meditated on this Hebrews 3:7–11 text. I am left with a equally haunting question. In what conditions are we leaving our children in America?
A disobedient adult generation were the cause of Hebrew children and their families to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Forty years of eating manna. Forty years of windy dusty traveling nonstop. When the last adult of that disobedient generation died a child born at the beginning of the wilderness journey would have been 40ish. The oldest, like Caleb & Joshua (adjusting for ancient calendars), were in their 80s (Joshua 14:10). I learn that my actions have consequences for those I lead. Lord, may I leave the NEXT GEN a godly example to follow.
_________
A brief read of modern day Great Awakenings in America reveals them occurring approximately every fifty years (1740s, 1790s, 1850s, 1900s). There is some disagreement on specific dates. But following this pattern, America should have seen an Awakening around the 1950s-60s.
But what did we see? Well, what we saw was twenty to thirty year olds in the those years who were busy burning bras and American flags. They were busy removing prayer and the Bible from schools. They have been at work ever since, developing Progressivism, a WOKE culture, restricting chaplaincy programs in the military and prison systems, removing oaths that contain the words, “So help me God.” They have been aborting babies, changing gender definitions and so much more. God forgive us.
What generation was this? This would be the generation who gave us leaders like Richard Nixon, Nelson Rockefeller, George Romney, Colin Powell, Earl Warren, Joe Biden, Harry Reid, Dianne Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi to name a few. Lord, forgive us all.
So, as with that ancient Hebrew generation, perhaps, in God’s displeasure, he has discarded this 20th, 21st Century generation. Perhaps we are in the midst of a generation that God has chosen to bypass. Perhaps there will be no revival in the immediate days ahead.
[THIS OLD SENTRY IS JUST ASKING]
___________
But our hope may be for awakening and revival in our children’s generation. Maybe in the next 10-15 years. Better yet, the soon return of Christ. I PRAY FOR BOTH!
Live a godly life made exceptional by the grace of God (Jer 16:10). #GodlyExceptionalism #NoExceptionToTheRule
Exceptionalism Depends On God’s Grace
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Jeremiah was to exhibit extraordinary behavior to act out and explain God’s displeasure with Judah, his people (vv1-9). The people denied God. Yet, in verse 10, they ask indignantly, “Why is God unhappy with us? What have we done – how have we sinned against him?“ They were religious in their outward actions but far from God in their hearts.
Far from being the exceptional people God intended them to be, they thought they were the exception to the rule. They believed God was obligated to protect and provide for them. Exceptionalism does not make one an exception to the rule – in this case devotion to God. Lord may I live my life as a child of God, made exceptional in repentance by the grace of God.
I believe in “American Exceptionalism.” But America is not an exception to the rule, free to live in defiance of God and his Word. Her “Exceptionalism” is a God-given attribute. She needs to turn from her sin and act like it. May repentance be the rule of the day.
Take seriously sin and drifting from God (Jer 16:1–9). #PainfulSnub #Repent #TurnNowToGod
Really God? Join The Party!
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
There are times when God will ask hard things of his messengers, sometimes extreme things. His purpose is to wake people up, to jolt them into reality. Therefore, Jeremiah was told he could not marry and have children in a culture where this was obligatory. He was not to mourn the dead – unthinkable among the Jews at that time. Nor was he allowed to participate in festivals, joyful events.
All of these things were to show the drastic nature of God‘s intentions to judge a wayward and sinful people. The destruction would be thorough and complete. It would (and did) happen in Jeremiah‘s lifetime (v9). Woe to those who think they can snub their nose at God. Lord, keep old sentry alert to the seriousness of sin and drifting from God.
Do not put off repentance before God (Jer 13:24-27). #TutnNowToGod #Repent #DoNotHardenYourHeart
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
God now makes clear his intentions. If there was any doubt before, it is clear now. God will scatter the people of Judah. They will no longer have a homeland. Just as they have done detestable acts of idolatry, shamelessly done acts of prostitution (pagan orgies) in the open for all to see, so God will expose their naked lust for all to see.
It is decreed by God what is to be their lot…their end. Judgment will fall on them. Lord, my beloved nation is guilty of all of this and more. She flaunts her sin in your face. May she turn back to you before it is too late.
Give us righteous leaders who seek God‘s leadership & govern wisely (Jer 13:20,21a) #NeededRighteousLeaders #ShepherdLeaders
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Jeremiah addresses the leaders of Judah as shepherds. He asks rhetorically – “Where are your beautiful flocks that God gave you?“ That is, where are your people who once loved and followed God? The implication is that these shepherds have ignored their flocks. Leaders, CIVIC and religious, are called into account. They ought to be embarrassed at the question. But they are not.
Judah’s leaders have ignored the people. They have spent more time pandering to allies, padding their own pockets and following other gods (who are no gods) than listening to Jehovah God and leading righteously. The Prophet says these godless allies will become their rulers. They will be the instruments God’s judgment.
There is blatant rejection of God in American politics and in certain segments of religious influence. They have led the people astray. These shepherd/leaders in America should be embarrassed. But they are not. America won’t like the alternative that will surely come. Lord, may my beloved nation have leaders who seek God‘s counsel & govern righteously.
Repent of a self-centered, self-righteous, know-it-all, attitude (Jer 13:15–17). #DoNotDelayRepentance #TurnNowToGod #Repent
Weep for the rejecting souls in darkness
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Following two parables of sin and judgment (vv 1-14), Jeremiah warned the people of Judah once again. (Oh, how the Lord is long-suffering)
“Listen to the warnings of God. Give him honor before it is too late. The day is coming when you will find yourself groping in the darkness of your own soul. You will look for light, but there will be no light.”
Then, Jeremiah says, “I will weep great tears for you because your pride feeds your refusal to listen to God. Your exile (judgment) is on the way.” Lord, I humbly bow before you in repentance for my own self-centered, self-righteous and frequently know-it-all attitude.
Would that our beloved nation, America, turn now from her pride and rejection of God to the light, while there is still time.
Humble yourself, seek God‘s counsel, listen to him and follow (Jer 13:12–14) #Don’tGetSmashed #Revival #SpiritualAwakening
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Following Jeremiah’s living parable of the loincloth, illustrating how Judah had become so disgusting to God (v10), God explains the purpose of his choosing Israel. God chose Israel to be a people of praise, renown and glory unto him.
But the nation became proud, arrogant and stubbornly unwilling to follow after God. Therefore, God would fill their wine jugs with wine (signifying “drunkenness;“ that is judgment). Then God says he will “smash“ the jugs to smithereens. Every person from least to great will be mercilessly destroyed for their sin of rebellion.
May this Old Testament lesson be an example to me (1Co 10:6-12), that my arrogance and foolish pride doesn’t prevent me from listening to God and becoming all that God wants me to be. Oh Lord, may I humbly seek your counsel. May I listen and follow, that your purposes might be fulfilled in my life (that is, the glory of the Lord Jesus and the spread of the Gospel).
Lord, may my beloved nation humble herself, seek God’s counsel and become once again a beacon of light for the Gospel.
Pursue a pure heart for God (Jer 13:1–11). #MessageToGod’sPeople #PursueAPureHeartForGod
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
The Lord directed Jeremiah to act out a parable to the stubborn people of Israel/Judah. God said, “Buy a linen cloth and wear it. Don’t wash it.“ A linen cloth was worn next to the body like underwear. It was a sign of Israel’s once intimate closeness to God.
Then God told Jeremiah to go bury the cloth in a hole near the Euphrates. Sometime later he was told to retrieve it. Exposure to the elements had rotted the cloth. it was now good for nothing. This signified how thoroughly useless and disgusting God’s people had become to him.
Lord, how often this old sentry’s wandering heart is stained by worldly pursuits. May my greatest desire be to pursue a pure heart for you.
May spiritual and national leaders in America lead a hasty return back to God (Jer 12:7-13). #ReturnToGod #Repent
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Having been instructed by God regarding the purpose of adversity (vv5,6), Jeremiah moves on with his final comments to Israel (Judah) regarding her violation of her Covenant with God. God is reluctantly abandoning his “dearest people” to her enemies. Why? Because she has “roared“ against him, treated him with contempt. She shakes her fist in God’s face and ignores every commitment made to him.
Judah, metaphorically, struts around like a strange colored bird of prey. She foolishly claims her dominion over her prey, while powerful other birds of prey and wild animals swoop in and violently thrash her. Then they consume Judah’s corpse. Oh Lord, how far Judah (and America today) has fallen from her love for you. Judah did not turn to God and she suffered. Pray America makes a hasty return to God.
_________________
America is not a people of Covenant with God, like Israel. But she is a people with deep roots in God’s Covenant people. She is a nation upon whom God‘s blessing has rested from her inception.
Will America be like a prideful “different colored bird” who struts over her dominion over her prey; who is completely unaware of the great and powerful other beasts and birds of prey who will pick her apart and consume her carcass?
Lord, open the eyes of America today. May she humble herself in repentance toward God. Forgive us Lord, for our self indulgence, our complacency and selfishness disdain for the things that honor God.
Humbly surrender your heart to God’s lordship (Jer 11:9–17). #GodlySorrow #Repentance #TurnToGod
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
The reforms of king Josiah (2Ch 34) were short-lived. The people secretly conspired to rid themselves of God’s oversight. They soon returned to their idolatries and immoral lives. Now the pagan idols and altars thought to save them would become their very downfall (v12).
“Do not pray for them Jeremiah” (also 7:16; 11:14). Judgment is on the way. The beautiful olive tree of God’s planting (Israel) will suddenly be destroyed for its rejection of God’s leadership. The nation that rejects God will suffer the consequences. Lord, may we in America, as a people, have humble hearts willing to repent and return to you.
Consider: America is not Judah. She is not a theocracy. Judah’s judgment is not America’s judgment. But America was founded upon Judeo Christian principles (biblical principles) of freedom and liberty. America has been blessed by God because of this. For her to conspire against and turn her back on God will bear no less consequences in judgment. Of this she may be certain. I pray God send revival in the church and awakening in the land.
I do not pray for nor wish for any ill will toward any one person or group of people invested in the political system of America. In fact I pray for their redemption who do not know nor honor God. But I do pray for the absolute destruction of any ideology that conspires against God. I pray that lies and deceit would be exposed and that truth, honor, and respect for God be elevated.
May our eyes be opened to sin’s devastation; reverse direction (Jer 10:19–22). #Repentance #GodlySorrow #Awakening
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
The judgment that is about to fall on Judah is inevitable. It will be severe, the grief will be great. The security of one’s home will be destroyed beyond repair. Children will be lost – a generation will be left adrift and unredeemed.
Shepherds (leaders) had lost all sense of direction and no longer sought after God‘s wisdom. Their failures were devastating and all influence with the people was lost. The people will be divided, scattered, left to wander defenseless. The enemy from without will roll down and destroy the nation.
This is what happens to a nation who no longer seeks after God. The privations of my beloved country paint a bleak picture for her future. Lord, may the people of America be awakened to her demise and return to the God of her heritage. May the church be renewed, filled with the Spirit and pointing the way to a loving God.
Give heed to the spiritual laws of God that offer the best for life (Jer 8:4–7). #DoTheRightThing #RepentTowardsGod #PersueRighteousness
Mindless Birds Heed Migration Laws Of Nature; God’s People Ignore The Laws Of God
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Common sense should tell us when something is wrong in our being. But the people of God seem senseless. They live contrary to all that is right. They know they are wrong but refuse to turn back. They cling, like barnacles, to their lies and rationalizations of sin. They run in a herd, down the path of destruction.
Even mindless birds follow their natural instinct [laws of nature] to migrate. But God’s people, who have incredibly capable minds, given by God, do not follow the Laws of God. Those laws that govern goodness and righteousness. The message is to open our eyes and turn to God. Lord, may my beloved country, even this old sentry, heed your Laws and stay on the path of righteousness.
* There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. (Pro 14.12)
Do not minimize or underestimate the consequences of sin (Jer 8:1–3). #WagesOfSinIsDeath #NoTurningBack #ThoroughJudgment
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
How thorough God’s judgment of Judah will be. Even the dead will be irreligiously and irreverently exhumed. Their bare bones will be spread like manure on the ground before the gods whom they loved, served and worshiped (sun, moon, stars). These gods (who are no gods) are powerless to protect and save them.
All who survive this humiliation will live another, wishing death over life in captivity. When that Day of Judgment comes there will be no turning back. This, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has decreed. Lord, how can I think any less of my sin before you? What makes my beloved country think she can escape if she ignores God’s call to salvation (Heb 2:1-3)?
Acknowledge the depths of your depravity before God (Jer 7:30–34). #DeplorableDepravedDevastation #TurnNowToGod #LordSendAwakening
The Soul That Defies God
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
The sins of Judah before God were of the most heinous kinds. The Temple of God in Jerusalem was used to worship odious other gods and idols. Shrines were built outside the city where the abominable practice of child sacrifice was conducted. Children were burned alive in the worship of other gods (who are no gods). This was a practice that Jehovah God neither commanded nor even considered.
God says, “This will come to an end; my people will pay a steep price for their sin. I will make the land a desolate place.” Lord, deliver my soul from any deplorable sin that offends you. Deliver the soul of my beloved country from the sin that offends you. May we humble ourselves, repent and follow after God.
May God turn our hearts toward a meaningful relationship with him (Jer 7:17-24). #PutFaithInGodAlone #Repent #TurnBackToGod
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
When God’s people left Egypt, God put in place a system of sacrifices and feasts. These were symbols and reminders to the people of God‘s love, affection and commitment to them. But the people separated the symbol from the meaning. Soon they went about in heartless ritual, and worship. Having lost sight of the richness of the symbols of worship, they made their offerings and sacrifices to other gods as well.
Of course, this did not hurt God. It hurt the people because they no longer sought or followed after the one true God who loved, protected and guided them. The tragedy of not following God is the devastation it brings to the human soul. Thus, we see today in our own culture, the depraved acts of violence and sin, the tragic ends of the soul separated from God. Lord, keep this duty sentry focused on a meaningful relationship with you.
Learn from the past God’s faithfulness to do what he says he will do (Jer 7:11–15). #BelieveGod #PutFaithInGodAlone
MORNING WATCH NOTES:
Jeremiah‘s message to rebellious Judah was to look to the past for clues in the present. God had destroyed the first site of the Tabernacle of God in Shiloh, because of the rebellion and idolatry of his people. Surely he will not spare the temple in Jerusalem.
The people of Judah should have learned from history and given heed to God’s word. They were warned. Now God was about to do in Jerusalem what he did in Shiloh. This aged sentry may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer. But I am sharp enough to believe God and take him at his word.
America today is in an abyss of sin. She will pay a heavy price for ignoring God; for flaunting her sin. But if she will turn to God he will be merciful. PRAY FOR AWAKENING!
“Unless there is a spiritual renaissance the world will know no peace.”
Dag Hammarskjöld – Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in September 1961.
The Prayer Sentry 