Thursday, June 6th, 2024
For all of us who have lifted our rocks just enough to get a glimpse of what is going on in the world, it’s safe to say the next few months may get worse before they get better. In my 41 years on this earth, I have never seen so much hate, anger, fear, deception and brainwashing. It seems to have come on suddenly, but the truth is that none of these things are new. Perhaps we are just getting better at recognizing the craftiness of the enemy.
I’ve been reading in Jeremiah the last few weeks and I find myself doing a lot of reading and re-reading. While this book was written more than 2,500 years ago, a lot of what Jeremiah was prophesying to the wayward Israelites could be copied and pasted to our current times. Let’s look at a few verses in Jeremiah 23:16-17, 21-24:
16 Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace” ’; and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’ ”
21 “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied 22 But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. 23 “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off? 24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places, so I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.
I keep getting the sense that we need to be careful over the next few months what we are listening to and/or what we are putting our trust in. The longer this goes on and the crazier things get the more people will come forward saying they know what is going to happen or what we should do or think. There is a reason scripture says to test every spirit (1 John 4:1). Not everything you hear is true. Not everyone that says they heard from the Lord has truly heard from Him. Let’s look at Jeremiah 23:1-4:
1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord. 2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord. 3 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.
Final Thoughts…
This is the prayer of my heart. Lord, raise up the shepherds that will feed Your remnant. Silence those who are leading the blind astray and promising things that do no line up with Your Word. We declare that Your Church will arise into the fullness for which You created her. We prophetically adorn her in a robe of righteousness. That Your Church will not be about political correctness, people-pleasing or muddying that which is clear. That she will stand firm on the foundation of Your Word. Lord, bring clarity to our vision so that we will know truth from lies and light from darkness like never before. Guard your Jeremiahs of today. That they will no longer be censored or silenced. That they will be bold as lions and declare Your Words without fear.