God Builds
11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, 12 but in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”
13 “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice,
who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing
and does not give him his wages,
14 who says, ‘I will build myself a great house
with spacious upper rooms,’
who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar
and painting it with vermilion.
15 Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
declares the Lord.
17 But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.”
Jeremiah 22:11-17
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God Builds
We push away the Lord and his gifts. God's Word is foolishness to the world and a stumbling block. We do not believe his Word and we do not trust his promises. Our sinful nature sets us up as an enemy of God. We'd have a name for ourselves. We'd build our own palaces and cities. It is the old Tower of Babel sin. The Lord must knock down the towers of our own rebellion. He is the only one that can rescue us from our own demise. This is the God that builds a temple in our hearts. He is the God that establishes righteousness by his own blood. Jesus is the Cornerstone. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain. Thus, the Lord comes down and creates a clean and new heart within you. He makes you a living stone and is using you in the construction of a Spiritual House. Together with every member of his Church you are his own building material. It is there that we have life and have it to the full. Thanks be to God that he is the builder.
13 “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice,
who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing
and does not give him his wages,
14 who says, ‘I will build myself a great house
with spacious upper rooms,’
who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar
and painting it with vermilion.
15 Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
and do justice and righteousness?
Then it was well with him.
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well.
Is not this to know me?
declares the Lord.
17 But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.”
Jeremiah 22:11-17
+
God Builds
We push away the Lord and his gifts. God's Word is foolishness to the world and a stumbling block. We do not believe his Word and we do not trust his promises. Our sinful nature sets us up as an enemy of God. We'd have a name for ourselves. We'd build our own palaces and cities. It is the old Tower of Babel sin. The Lord must knock down the towers of our own rebellion. He is the only one that can rescue us from our own demise. This is the God that builds a temple in our hearts. He is the God that establishes righteousness by his own blood. Jesus is the Cornerstone. Unless the Lord builds the house, those who labor, labor in vain. Thus, the Lord comes down and creates a clean and new heart within you. He makes you a living stone and is using you in the construction of a Spiritual House. Together with every member of his Church you are his own building material. It is there that we have life and have it to the full. Thanks be to God that he is the builder.
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2026
January
In The GardenBy Your Own LawA Kingdom Not From HereThe King Who Bears Witness to the TruthWhich Jesus Will You Have?Behold the King We MockedBehold the Man, Lifted for YouAuthority from Above, Glory from the CrossBehold Your King, Lifted Up to JudgeThe Place of the SkullIt Is WrittenEvery Promise KeptStabat MaterIt Is FinishedThese Three TestifyA True TestimonyA Quiet Courage at the CrossThe Empty Tomb and the Wounded SaviorSeeing, Believing, and the Linen Left BehindCalled by Name in the GardenDo Not Cling, Go and TellPeace in Wounded HandsThe Wounds That Speak PeaceYou May Have LifeMy Lord and My GodFishingIt Is the LordThey KnewFeed My LambsFollow HimFollowing Jesus, Not Comparing Paths
February
The Testimony That Is EnoughBefore Kings, Before the CrossBefore You Were Born, the Word Was GivenSet Like FlintRemembering First LoveForsaking the FountainBroken Cisterns and the Living CrossAshamed of Our False RescuesForgottenWe Have SinnedLift Up Your EyesLike SisterReturn to the LordThe Gift of ShepherdsOur Only HopeShame That Leads to SalvationCircumcised HeartsBlow the Trumpet in the LandWhen Wisdom FailsThe Storm We Have SummonedThe Sound of the TrumpetWhen Wisdom Becomes FollyThe Earth Shall MournCan You Find One?There Is No DifferenceThe Lord Must InterveneSpeak TruthEnduring Nation
March
A RemnantA Deaf People, a Faithful GodFlee to the StrongholdCut Down to Be HealedNo Superficial PeaceStand at the CrossroadsRefined by Fire, Redeemed by the CrossTrust in the Lord, Not in Your HandsHe Flipped TablesPoured Out on JesusYou Are His PeopleTruth Has RisenSilence in the CitiesWhat Have I Done?Not a Bone Shall Be BrokenWhen Wisdom Becomes FoolishnessBitter MedicineThe Hiss of Judgment, the Promise of the CrossThe Wound of Sin and the Healing of ChristIs There No Balm?Truth at the CrossRefined by the LordScatteredRuinedDeath Has ComeBoast In The LordLike ScarecrowsNone Like Our GodGods That PerishWounded, Yet Not ForsakenDisciplined, Not Destroyed