Daily Devotional, Year 3 – June 19 ((Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets, Part 4: “Jeremiah Came Out From Among Them!”)
By admin On February 16th, 2021.
Click credit links below each pic, for licensing names/details/tags/etc.. Most pics cropped/reduced in size
.
.
.
Daily Devotional, Year 3 – June 19
.
.
.
.
Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets, Part 4: “Jeremiah Came Out From Among Them!”
To read Part 1, go here…April 1 (Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets)
.
.
.
.
“I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced;
I sat alone because of Thy hand:
for Thou hast filled me with indignation…
Therefore thus saith the LORD,
If thou return (to the Lord),
then will I bring thee again,
and thou shalt stand before Me:
and if thou take forth the precious from the vile,
thou shalt be as My mouth:
let them return unto thee;
but return not thou unto them.”
Jeremiah 15:17, 19
.
.
.
.
.
This above passage is a testimony to Jeremiah’s separation from the apostasy which had prevailed in the congregation of God back in his day.
.
Cry of prophet Jeremiah on the Ruins of Jerusalem – Wikiart – US Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“I SAT ALONE, BECAUSE OF THY HAND”
.
Now, did God approve of Jeremiah’s decision to separate himself from the apostate portion of God’s house?
.
Well, listen again, as God answers him back in verse 19… “Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return (to the Lord), then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.” Jeremiah 5:19 (parenthetical comment supplied by this editor for clarification purpose only)
.
Here above, the Lord makes a declaration about His expectations for Jeremiah. But even though this declaration was a harsh exhortation, it did not include any command to return to a fellowship with, “the assembly of mockers” (Jeremiah 15:17). As a matter of fact, God instead commanded Jeremiah to, “return NOT thou unto them! (v.19)
.
Prophet Jeremiah Dictates to Baruch – Wikiart.com – US Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“THE ASSEMBLING OF OURSELVES TOGETHER”
.
Well, this is a far cry from what today’s apostate churches would have us to believe!
.
And the primary passage used to support this erroneous idea that Believers must remain in the apostate churches is found in Hebrews 10:25…“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
.
Now even though this verse seems to make a strong command to not forsake a regular fellowship with other Believers, it must be compared with other passages which add more information: such passages as today’s signature passage from Jeremiah…“let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.”
.
ABOVE PHOTO: Speaker and Audience hands – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“THE CONGREGATION OF THE DEAD”
. 
“The man that wandereth out of the way of understanding shall remain in the congregation of the dead.” Proverbs 21:16
.
Oh yes, even though the Lord had created the churches to be a safe-haven for Believers to fellowship together, He in no way is advocating Believers to remain in an apostate and spiritually dead organization.
.
Falling Backwards – cropped/altered image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Share-alike License
.
.
.
.
.
“ITCHING EARS” GOSPELS TODAY
.
And let’s face it! Today’s church-world has devolved to the low-level of which Paul foretold of…“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2nd Timothy 4:3, 4
.
.
.
.
.
.
THOSE “FAR-OUT” CHURCHES OVER THERE!
.
Now how could the church-world be as bad as this above passage by Paul? “Oh yes”, many might say, “Those liberal churches and those crazy, ‘signs-and-wonders’ churches may indeed be apostate. But not my church! My church teaches straight from the Bible!”
.
Well yes, compared to those liberal and ‘crazy’ churches, the so-called “conservative” churches look pretty good by comparison!
.
Rock Music Christian CHURCH Pomona – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“SUPPOSING THAT GAIN IS GODLINESS,
.
FROM SUCH WITHDRAW THYSELF!”
1st Timothy 6:5
.
But the fact is, this apostasy runs deeply through the so-called ‘conservative’ churches, too!
.
First of all, the “liberal” churches, and those “crazy” churches aren’t the only ones who embrace the prosperity-driven gospel. No, even in the conservative churches embrace this same earthly-prosperity gospel, howbeit in a more conservative form, often tagged as, “The Entrepreneurial Spirit”, or “The American Dream”.
.
Thus, whatever true doctrines they might teach become defiled, infected, polluted, and compromised by their prosperity-driven gospel!
.
.
.
.
.
.
“THE LORD…HATES ‘PUTTING AWAY’! (DIVORCE)
Malachi 2:16
.
Second, just look at the divorce rate in today’s churches! Statistics show that divorce in the 
church-world is about the same as in secular society!
.
And then, to make matters even worse, there is the encouragement for divorcees to remarry after the divorce!
.
Thus, the church-world follows the dictates of the secular society, rather than follow the Bible only. (see Matthew 19:9)
.
.
.
.
.
.
MANY ABOMINATIONS
.
But these two abominations (prosperity-driven gospel & divorce/remarriage) are just, “the tip of the iceberg”, as they say!
.
Time could be spent listing many other abominations: such as the sensual music often heard in today’s worship services.
.
Or the “buying-and-selling” commercialism in the church-world, or the erroneous doctrines, such as “The Pre-Tribulation Rapture”, or “Dispensationalism”, or “Eternal Torment of Unbelievers”, or the false, “unbiblical heremeneutic which forbids allegorical interpretation of Scripture”.
.
Cyrus Scofield – 1920 – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
Music Song Singer – cropped – Wikimedia – C.C. Share-alike License
.
.
.
.
.
VARIOUS OTHER ABOMINATIONS!
.
Well, much time could also be spent enumerating all the various other abominations which have entered into today’s church-world.
.
But there are enough articles on this website which already do that.
.
And the reader is highly encouraged to explore those various other articles.
.
ABOVE PICTURE: Dream Maker of Babylon – Signs Of Heaven.org
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
But let’s get back to Jeremiah.
.
Prophet Jeremiah – www.christianimagesource.com – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“…PURIFIES HIMSELF EVEN AS CHRIST IS PURE!”
1st John 3:3
.
When God answered Jeremiah’s complaint, it became evident that Jeremiah had work to do in his own life.
.
Listen once again to God’s reproof of Jeremiah…“Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return (unto the Lord), then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.” Jeremiah 5:19 (parenthetical comment supplied by this editor for clarification only)
.
Here was Jeremiah’s problem. He still needed to purify his heart from the defilement that was commonly accepted in that day. No doubt, Jeremiah’s daily association with the apostate people of God had taken its toll on Jeremiah.
.
.
.
.
.
“PURIFY YOUR HEARTS YE DOUBLE-MINDED!”
James 4:8
.
And in his own apostasy, Jeremiah had unknowingly separated himself from the Lord to the point that he was beginning to question the Lord’s honesty (see Jeremiah 15:18).
.
And God was letting Jeremiah know in no uncertain terms, that he had work to do in his own life: the work of heart purification!
.
The Prophet Jeremiah – by G. Dore – Wikipedia – US Public Domain
.
.
.
.
“YE CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON!”
Matthew 6:24
.
And so it is today! The Church has become so self-absorbed with seeking after the earthly pleasures and worldly treasures of this opulent and hedonistic cornucopian super-society, that the great commission of heart-purification has been put on the proverbial “back-burner” in most cases!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“WHOSOEVER…FORSAKES NOT ALL…CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE!”
Luke 14:33
.
Yes, we have been detoured and derailed by the False Prophet (Satan), who has deceived us into thinking that we can pursue many of the seemingly innocent indulgences that the secular world 
takes for granted: television, secular radio & Internet, novels, newspapers, magazines, clubs, theater, movies, ballets, dramas, sensual music, comedy, sports, hobbies, amusements, politics, parties, fellowship-with-unbelievers, energy-sapping-time-consuming-careers, luxury-resorts, extravagant vehicles, lavish homes, gardens, furnishings, marrying-and-giving-in-marriage, are just a few of the distractions which caused the Church to become overcharged with, “surfeiting, drunkenness, and the cares and pleasures of this life!” (see Luke 21:34-36)
.
Of course, some of the indulgences mentioned above are not inherently evil by themselves. But together, collectively, these distractions have been combined to the point that the Gospel has taken a back-seat to these worldly pursuits, in the lives of far too many church-goers.
.
ABOVE PICTURE: Satan, The False Prophet who offers a world-loving gospel
.
.
.
.
.
GOOD NEWS FROM A FAR COUNTRY!”
Proverbs 25:25
.
Well, the Good News is that God is giving us this warning in an hour in which the doors of mercy are still ajar!
.
And like the prophet Jeremiah, if we will purify our heart and life from our love of this selfish world, God gives us the same promise as He gave to Jeremiah… “Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before Me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.” Jeremiah 5:19
.
And like Jeremiah, God also warns us to, “return not thou unto them (the apostate churches)”, but “let them return unto thee!” Jeremiah 5:19
.
Yes, the Lord wants His people to, “Wherefore, come out from among them, and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you, and be a Father to you, and ye shall be My sons and daughter, saith the Lord” (read 2nd Corinthians 6:14-18 for entire quote)
.
USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain
.
.
.
.
.
“THE REDEEMED SHALL RETURN…WITH SINGING UNTO ZION!”
Isaiah 51:11
.
Wha
t a great and precious promise! God will be a Father to us, should we separate ourselves from these aforementioned defilements!
.
And as Jeremiah promises, “if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as My mouth:”
.
Yes, God will not only be our Father, but He will begin to bless our evangelistic efforts as well, as we call others to likewise come out of today’s apostasy, and join this end-time exodus as we begin our upward sojourn to the Celestial City of God!
.
ABOVE PICTURE: The True Upward Pathway www.signsofheaven.org
.
.
.
.
.
TO READ PART 5, GO HERE…September 2 (Jeremiah & the Smooth Prophets, Part 5: “When ‘Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet!’”)
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S PRAYER…
.
“Dear Lord, Give me such a Spirit of meekness and deep, heartfelt repentance. Give me a love for correction and chastisement. Make me glad to hear Thy faithful rebukes, that I may become wise…
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
.
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Fleeing to the Mountains: The Abomination in the Church, Part 1” or you can also read this shorter article… March 1st (A Designer Jesus!)
.
.
.
THE END
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
TODAY’S FEATURED HEAVENLY SIGN
.
.
.
VARIOUS SIGNS SPOKEN OF…
.
Now as far as those who search Bible prophecy concerning “signs of the End”, most of us were expecting extraordinary heavenly phenomena; you know, such things as giant asteroids or other colossal cataclysmic occurrences.
.
VARIOUS SIGNS MENTIONED…
.
But you see, God has mentioned various constellations in Scriptures: Orion, The Pleiades, Mazzaroth, etc.. But He also spoke in Revelation of “great signs” in the heavens: a woman with child, a dragon who swept a third of the stars, and Michael who fought against that dragon (see Revelation, Ch. 12).
.
The Bible also speaks of other signs in the heavens, and it is the purpose of Signs Of Heaven website, to introduce these wonderful signs and to reveal the many Bible passages which explain them. And if you are one of the fortunate ones to receive this amazing message, then you too can begin to proclaim this heavenly love story to anyone willing to listen.
.
.
.
.
.
.
“LAY UP…TREASURES IN HEAVEN”
Matthew 6:20
.
.
“My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.” Proverbs 8:19-21. This above passage speaks of a pathway which leads to riches and treasures.
.
Yes, God is just now revealing the long-awaited signs, as it is written, “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;” Luke 21:25. And God is just now opening up a pathway to the stars: a figurative gate to Heaven itself!
.
ABOVE PICTURE – Fleeing Woman Constellation
.
.
.
.
.
READ MORE…
.
To explore deeper into this subject, please read… “Arcturus (the star that wise-men follow!)”
.
.
.
TOMORROW
June 20 (The Evil-Eyed Pharisee Scorner, Part 6: “The Moral Majority in the Churches”)
.
.
Those who are interested in using photos on this page may click on provided link below each photo, to get to Wikimedia Commons for various licensing details & tags, and all other necessary information on any particular photo. Most tall, narrow photos have been cropped or reduced by this website to make them a better fit on phone screens.