OUR DAILY BREAD : DON'T TOUCH THE FENCE!

[cimi]

THURSDAY OCTOBER 29


DON'T TOUCH THE FENCE!

READ:
2 Chronicles 36:15
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
The LORD...sent
word to them...
again and again,
because he had
pity on his people.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

As a young girl I went with my parents to visit my great-grandmother, who lived near a farm. Her yard was enclosed by an electric fence, which prevented cows from grazing on her grass. When I asked my parents if I could play outside, they consented, but explained that touching the fence would result in an electric shock.

unfortunately I ignored their warning, put a finger to the barbed wire, and was zapped by an electrical current strong enough to teach a cow a lesson. I knew then that my parents had warned me because they loved me and didn't want me to get hurt.

When God saw the ancient Israelites in Jerusalem crafting and worshiping idols, He "sent word to them...again and again, because he had pity on his people" (2 CHRON. 36:15). God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, but the people said, "We will continue with our own plans" (JER. 18:12). Because of this, God allowed Nebuchadnezar to destroy Jerusalem and capture most of its inhabitants.

Maybe God is warning you today about some sin in your life. If so, be encouraged. That is proof of His compassion for us (HEB. 12:5-6). He sees what's ahead and wants us to avoid the problems that will come.
___Jennifer Benson schuldt

**Lord, give me the ability to hear not just Your words but also Your heart.
Help me to learn from the mistakes of those whose stories
You have given us. Help me to honor You with my life.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
God's warnings are to protect us, not to punish us.

*******************************Today's Bible Reading __ Jeremiah 18:1-12*********************************
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2 "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give
you my message. 3 So I went down to the potter's house,
and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was
shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter
formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

5 Then the word of the LORD came to me. 6 He said, "Can I
not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?" declares the LORD.
"Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,
Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is
to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation
I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict
on it the disaster I had planned. 9 And if at another time I
announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and
planted, 10 and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me,
then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

11 "Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those
living in Jerusalem, 'This is what the LORD says: Look! I am
preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you.
So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform
your ways and your actions.' 12 But they will reply, 'It's no use.
We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the
stubbornness of our evil hearts.' "

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
We sometimes wonder whether God can
change His mind. Today's passage in the book of Jeremiah helps
us answer this question. God tells Jeremiah that sometimes His
actions are affected by our actions. God has decided to act in
certain ways depending on how we act. This is God's freedom.
He is not changing His mind; He has simply determined how He
will respond to our stubbornness or our repentance. We don't
determine what God will do; in His goodness He has told us how
He will respond to us.