Daily Devotional For Saturday, August 29, 2026
Good morning Southside! Our devotional for today comes from Jeremiah 44:1-14:
“This is the message Jeremiah received concerning the Judeans living in northern Egypt in the cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis,* and in southern Egypt* as well: (2) “This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You saw the calamity I brought on Jerusalem and all the towns of Judah. They now lie deserted and in ruins. (3) They provoked my anger with all their wickedness. They burned incense and worshiped other gods—gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors had ever even known. (4) “Again and again I sent my servants, the prophets, to plead with them, ‘Don’t do these horrible things that I hate so much.’ (5) But my people would not listen or turn back from their wicked ways. They kept on burning incense to these gods. (6) And so my fury boiled over and fell like fire on the towns of Judah and into the streets of Jerusalem, and they are still a desolate ruin today. (7) “And now the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, asks you: Why are you destroying yourselves? For not one of you will survive—“not a man, woman, or child among you who has come here from Judah, not even the babies in your arms. (8) Why provoke my anger by burning incense to the idols you have made here in Egypt? You will only destroy yourselves and make yourselves an object of cursing and mockery for all the nations of the earth. (9) Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors, the sins of the kings and queens of Judah, and the sins you and your wives committed in Judah and Jerusalem? (10) To this very hour you have shown no remorse or reverence. No one has chosen to follow my word and the decrees I gave to you and your ancestors before you. (11) “Therefore, this is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you! (12) I will take this remnant of Judah—those who were determined to come here and live in Egypt—and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and “mockery. (13) I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease. (14) Of that remnant who fled to Egypt, hoping someday to return to Judah, there will be no survivors. Even though they long to return home, only a handful will do so” (NLT).
I realize this is a much longer passage than we normally read, but to break it up causes it to lose its thrust and emphasis. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever known someone you love seem bent on destroying themselves? They have all this potential that God gave them but they waste their lives on sinful things that in the end may even take their lives.
For centuries God warned both Israel and Judah that He would punish both of them for destroying themselves as the covenant people of Abraham Isaac, and Jacob. The tragedy of this is “these are the lives that might have been.” But instead they became the lives destroyed by sin, rebellion and idolatry. We know other cultures in other countries worship idols, but here in America we tend to think we do not.
The truth is: we have our own idols here in America: power, positions, prestige, possessions, pleasure, partying, and people to name a few of them. For many people, one or more of these are their idols and they serve them and sacrifice their lives and family for them. And if you challenge them on this, they will get spiteful and upset with you about it saying, “This is not a problem. I have this under control. Leave me alone. This is none of your business.” Ever heard that? Ever said that? And as in our text for today, by the time they may realize this error of their ways, it is too late. The marriage falls apart. The children will have nothing to do with that parent. The creditors are taking your idols to pay your bills. You end up in jail or worse, you lose your health and die.
The remnant left in Judah after the 3 military campaigns by Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon (606 BC, 598 BC, & 586 BC) fled to Egypt, thinking they could escape God’s wrath against them. To show you how delusional they were, they thought they would be safe in Egypt. Why? In that day, idol worshippers believed their gods’ domains and powers were limited geographically. Their gods’ rule went only as far as that idol was able to be physically present in a house, a town, or a nation. So, if the whole town or nation had the same idols, then they believed where those actual physical idols were, that god ruled and reigned.
Judah believed this lie and assumed they were out of God’s reach since they saw Him only being present in Judah geographically. Judah no longer believed the words of David in Psalm. 139:1-12; Jer. 23:24; Pr. 15:3 and Acts 17:27. There is no place in the universe we can go and be outside of God’s knowledge, presence and reign. So, I ask you again: have you ever watched someone destroy and waste their life on stuff that eventually destroys them? If they came to you and asked you, “Will you help me change to live life the way the Lord wants, what would you say and do for them? Tomorrow I will give you some suggestions.
As a pastor, I have been by the bedside of dying people numerous times and not one time, have I ever heard any of them say, “Oh, I wish I had more time to spend more hours at work.” Or, “I wish I had more time to neglect my marriage, family and relationship to God.” NO! What I have heard is painful regret that they had lived a different life. In the final moments of their life, the stark, cold reality hit them and now they see it, but sadly, it is way too late.
Reflection Assignment: If someone you love came to you and asked you, “Will you help me change to live life the way the Lord wants, what would you say and do for them? (Tomorrow I will give you some suggestions, but for today, what would you do and say to them?). Are you living your life to the fullest for the glory and service to God and to the joy of your family so that you minimize your regret in the end? If so, what is the proof? If not, what changes do you need to make now to start doing this?
Scripture To Meditate On: Colossians 3:23, “Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, help me to live my life for Your glory, maximizing my potential for You, not chasing unfulfilling idols and selfish dreams. I want to live my life and end it well for You. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly