Daily Bread – October 30, 2023 (The Second Day – Genesis 1:6-8) Jeremiah 12:2 – You have planted them, they also took root. They grow, they also bore fruit. You are near in their mouth, but far from what controls their conduct. Deeds Follow The Heart The true evidence of a person belonging to God is revealed by the conduct of life (Matthew 7:16-18; Titus 1:16; Romans 8:1,14-16). God gave the children of Israel a Covenant so He might plant them and build them as His people. Each person in Israel was blessed with the grace to come into this Covenant. Many had become ritualistic with the Covenant of God. They attended the assembly, participated in all of the rituals and had a really good story to tell about their trust in God, but it never came from their inward parts. It was always a show and never the truth of what they were motivated to do inwardly. Inwardly, their desires and impulses were those of a ravenous wolf – a people whose eyes were full of adultery which could not cease from doing evil. The people thought all they had to do was offer a sacrifice to God and all would be well – as though God was only interested in ritual. Then, without conviction they continued on in their sin and rebellion, justifying their wickedness with no regard to the fact that God looks on the hidden man of the heart (Jeremiah 13:27, 23:14; Ezekiel 22:27; Zephaniah 3:3; Isaiah 1:21; and Matthew 7:15, 23:27; 2 Peter 2:14; 1 Peter 3:4). People do wrong and say, “Well, God knows my heart.” These people Jeremiah is addressing did what seemed to be right, and God also knew their heart. If your heart is truly right, then your deeds will be right. Your walk with God will be far more than just lip service and ritual or legal obligation (Matthew 15:8; Mark 7:6). Rather, you will love God and love His ways and His presence, and be unwilling to do anything to lose that blessed place of fellowship with Him. When people can worship God in His sanctuary and then rejoice in sinning, their light has turned to darkness (Matthew 6:23-24). The greatest tragedy of all is the effect the sin and iniquity of God’s people has on the rest of humanity. When the people of God commit acts of sin and iniquity, they pollute the Name of the Lord (Jeremiah 34:16; Ezekiel 39:7). Transgression among God’s people causes the Name of the Lord to be blasphemed among the Gentiles, Jesus to be brought to an open shame, the Spirit of God to be outraged, and the blood of the Covenant to be trampled under foot (Romans 2:24; Hebrews 10:29; 2 Timothy 2:19). Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 10/30/2023
