October 26

Jeremiah 49:23-50:46; Titus 1:1-16, Psalm 97:1-98:9; Proverbs 26:13-16

I bet Israel was so glad to hear Jeremiah prophesying against Babylon and Assyria. After so much doom and gloom directed at them, I’m sure the words, “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. But I will bring Israel back to his own pasture,” vindicated some of the impending disaster on their own nation (Jer. 50:18-19a). In fact, Jeremiah spends a good deal of time prophesying punishment and retribution on the evil nations surrounding Israel. So even though they may seem to have the upper hand at this time, their day is coming too.

When I read our psalm for today, it seemed to just tie in beautifully to Jeremiah. “The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice…..righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne” (Ps. 97:1-2).  The Lord is seated on high and is in control!

In our world today, wicked nations seem to prosper. Innocent and helpless people are exploited and abused. God’s people, those who he calls his own, face great tragedies and devastation in their life. At times it does seem like God has turned his back on us and that his kingdom is not moving forward or triumphing.

“The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations….He has remembered his love….All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God” (Ps. 98:2, 3).

God will remember. God will heal. God will restore.

Life on earth is so much about cycles and seasons. We as people go through them personally. But nations, and whole people groups, also go through seasons. This brings me great comfort as it seems like the world is really in turmoil and nations totter in volatile instability. But God is on high. He is in control. All things will come around in due season. The evil man will get his due. We can rejoice and praise his name, for he will do marvelous things. We don’t have to fear the evil around us.

Real quick, let’s touch on our Titus reading. How many men do you know who have that list of qualifications to be an elder outlined by Paul?  I would wager not too many. How many of our churches have men in leadership who don’t meet those requirements? Paul is worried about the church. He is so passionate that the church should be the pure bride of Christ. That is why he commands Titus (and all his church plants) to build the church with these kinds of men.

In our American church, we like to let some things slide a little bit. I know it might seem harsh to have such “strict” standards for our elders or leaders of the church. But this is God’s word - plain, clear, and true. I would love to see more men of God truly excelling in these attributes. “Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless” (Titus 1:7). A tall order indeed. 

We need a holy people for God so that we can have power and fruitfulness to carry out his mission: to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Let us raise up men - and women - who don’t just get close to hitting the mark, but hold “firmly to the trustworthy message as it was taught, so that [they] can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (vs. 9, emphasis mine). Let us be bold, passionate, and protective of the truths in God’s word.

- Mary Matthias

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