Here’s the link to download the manuscript if you are interested:
Author Archives: Jason Snider
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Daily Encouragement
I am encouraged as I read through Jeremiah to see the obedience of some to accept hard things God pronounced against them that will essentially last for 70 years. In chapters 26-29 this morning, their obedience to give themselves over to Babylon which came from the Lord through Jeremiah was displaying their TRUST in the Lord.
This has been a good reminder of how obedience works with faith. They heard His word prophesied and it was a hard word but they trusted the Lord to do what He promised. Like this one:
Jeremiah 24:6-7
[6] I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. [7] I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.
Jeremiah sent the exiles a letter that said, “Settle in. It’s going to be a while.” Build houses. Plant gardens. Get married. Pray for the city to prosper and you will prosper too. But remember that the Lord will keep his eye on you and you will return to the promised land someday.
There’s a nice connection in my reading from James this morning too concerning endurance.
James 5:7-8
[7] Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. [8] You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
We too are waiting for that heavenly city, the lasting one. There we will be under the perfect reign of our perfect King who will also be our Shepherd/Pastor forever as our great High Priest. He will protect us forever and lead us in worship and service of our great God—forever.
Daily Exhortation
James 5:1-6 is a sad reality that exposes the lure of pleasure in this present life by way of unrighteousness. Take a look.
James 5:1-6
[1] Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. [2] Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. [3] Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. [4] Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. [5] You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. [6] You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.
A few observations: Misery is coming. Therefore they ought to be very troubled by that coming reality. It seems they have so much that it’s just lying around getting rusty and moth eaten but much is never enough.
They’ve either gotten this excess by withholding due payment for services they had hired others to do or they already have excess and continue to pile up their riches by withholding the rightful payment of services rendered. Either way, both are wrong in the eyes of God.
Look, it’s not that we cannot enjoy pleasures now in this life. The problem is that we would do evil to pursue pleasure. It would be like us wanting to go to the Vols football game this weekend but robbing a bank on the way to Knoxville to pay for the tickets or let’s say we had the money but it would take away from our family’s needs. Do not pursue pleasure by doing evil.
But don’t miss the last verse. It seems the righteous live in light of future pleasures that will have no end. They do not resist the rich who do them evil. They expect to be taken advantage of in this world. But one day, that will be over forever. Disadvantaged now but only advantage on that glorious day.
Do not fret in the day of trouble. The Lord is with you and the sufferings of this world cannot compare with that glorious day for those who long for Christ’s return.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
[17] For this light *momentary affliction is preparing for us an *eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are *transient, but the things that are unseen are *eternal.
Daily Encouragement
“Thou hast given me to read my pardon in the wounds of Jesus.”
That’s it. That’s the encouragement for the day.
—Divine Promises, “Valley of Vision” p. 240
The Lord’s Day Sermon Manuscript for October 8, 2023
Here’s the link to download the manuscript if you are interested: (the introduction will explain the picture of the semi-truck and fire extinguisher)
Daily Encouragement
At the beginning of our journey with Christ, we see things differently than we do later. It seems one way but later we see the true reality of what happened.
Notice how the disciples understand how they found Jesus but in reality notice how it really happened:
John 1:35-37
[35] The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, [36] and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” [37] The two disciples *heard him say this, and they *followed Jesus.
We know that God sent John to testify of the coming of the LORD. He does that to these two disciples and they follow Jesus. But notice how they explain that to Peter:
John 1:41
[41] He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have *found the Messiah” (which means Christ).
The pattern continues with Jesus and Philip:
John 1:43
[43] The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He *found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”
John 1:45
[45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have *found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
God is the one who pursues us and finds us! But you might say, “But were they not looking for Messiah anyway?” But then I’d ask, “Why are they looking for Messiah and how do they know what to look for?” The answer is God had made promises to them through his word.
We must not miss the fact that God sought us and bought us with his redeeming blood. He is the one who reconciled himself to us. If we get this wrong we will not live a very Christ-centered life. It will be me-centered and we know how that plays out. It is simple but true: God saves! Turn your eyes upon Jesus!
The Lord’s Day Sermon Manuscript for October 1, 2023
Here’s the link to download the manuscript if you are interested:
Daily Encouragement
As I was reading these psalms together, I kept hearing a lot of the same things but presented differently. By that I mean for example the statements made in Psalm 23 given as what is believed. They declare certain things to be true.
Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
But notice this…
Psalm 25:4–5 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 25:6 Remember your mercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
I only offer two parallels though there are more to be sure. I’m sure you noticed that Psalm 25 sounds like petitions to the Lord to do and be what David believes to be true of the Lord. Both are necessary. In fact, I’m not sure why you would pray these things if you did not believe them to be certain of God’s nature.
We don’t pray to change his nature but rather we appeal to him to be who he be! So, the exhortation is to believe and pray. Hold confidently these amazing truths about who God is and hold him to be who he says he is.
Maybe to understand this on a more human level let’s think about it this way. Let’s say I’ve neglected to be the father I should be and the kids notice it. Would it not make perfect sense for the kids to ask the father to be who he is supposed to be? Would it not be fitting for the father to hear that and rejoice in the desire of his children to want that to be so of him?
In other words, not asking may indicate that you do not want or have even noticed or need your father or the Lord to be who they are supposed to be. This is a relationship in which we walk with the Lord now albeit in a strange and distant land for which we long to be in his presence forever on that glorious day.
Let us love the Lord now by believing and pleading and longing for this…
Psalm 26:8 O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
and the place where your glory dwells.
The Word Is Not Imprisoned 