S. O. A. P.

Here’s Your 90 second AM Devotional!

S-cripture:

Jeremiah 34:4
Yet hear the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword.

O-bservation:

Zedekiah was the twentieth and final king of Judah before Babylon invaded Jerusalem and burned it down in 586BC. Nebuchadnezzar took most of Jerusalem’s inhabitants back to Babylon with him to be exiled there for seventy years. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord spoke hope into Zedekiah’s life by telling him that he would not die by the sword of the Babylonians but would be moved to Babylon for the rest of his life but die in peace. “Even When He Didn’t Deserve It!” All of this happened, but Zedekiah couldn’t just obey the Lord and walk away. NO! He just kept doing the opposite thing that the Lord wanted him to do. When Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem, Zedekiah’s sons were killed, and Zedekiah’s eyes were blinded. Yes, he spent the rest of his life in Babylon alive but blind and thinking about what might have been.

A-pplication:

Zedekiah reminds me of so many people I’ve met through the years who have been given a very clear path to the future but refuse to do what the Lord wants them to do. As I’ve watched them over and over, they’ve wanted to do the opposite thing that God asked them to do, just like Zedekiah did. “Even When They Didn’t Deserve It,” God still blesses them. But there comes a point that the Lord refuses to continue walking side by side with a rebel. In time this individual who really had it all, is left with no one. For the next several years, Zedekiah stayed in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, blind and useless. Jesus is with you today whether you deserve it or not. Never forget that. When he speaks, don’t argue. Just do what he asks you to do, and you will be rewarded, “Even When You Don’t Deserve It!”

P-rayer:

Dear Jesus,

Several times this AM, I’ve begun to choke up as I’ve remembered people from my past who had every opportunity to just say “YES” to your command. But instead, they saw this Christian race as a terrible cross to bear. And so consequently argued with you at every turn. Today a number of them have little or no influence whatsoever when they could have been such a blessing. Help me not make that mistake. Amen

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