Jeremiah 15:16 "Hope in His Word!" on this week's Word of Grace Radio with Pastor Joe Marquez.

​The Word of Grace Devotion for the Week of October 10, 2016
Hope In His Word!
Jeremiah 15:16- “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.”
Beloved, while reading through the Book of Jeremiah for my morning devotion, I was found to be despondent. The Lord was dealing with Israel and He was not so kind. For instance, read what Jeremiah 14:11-12 has to say, “The Lord said to me: “Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
As I read that I wondered if this was a prophecy not only against Israel but also against us! Have we gone so far away from the Lord that the two main people running for office are utterly deplorable? Are they a true representation of our country and if so, is there any hope for us or is the Lord about to lay down some heavy judgment against us?
Thankfully, however, hope came in Jeremiah 15:16. When Israel was falling apart at the seams because of their unrighteousness, Jeremiah took solace and hope from God’s Word, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.” Hence I found the answer for others and myself. When it seems hopeless, we place our hope in God’s word.
Therefore, we awake to hope in God’s word and not man’s words. We open our Bibles, we read them and His word becomes the, “joy and the delight of my heart.” In addition, we also know that we can hope in God’s word because we are, “called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.”
Beloved, I will continue to pray our country. I will continue to hope that the Lord still desires to use this country as a light and beacon of hope to a lost and dying world. But most of all, I will trust in His Word and in the midst of despair His word will be, “a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O Lord, God of hosts.”
I pray that you will have a blessed week! I love you and I will be praying for you! Please pray for our men’s retreat this week. We will have 60 plus guys getting away to focus on the Lord and His Word!
 
In His Love,
Pastor Joe