Day 223

2 Kings 24:5-9; 2 Chronicles 36:6-9; Jeremiah 22:24-23:32; 49:1-33.  “Judging the Shepherds”

         “Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness” (James 3:1).
         James knew there was nothing wrong with aspiring to teach but he was fully aware of an additional responsibility that came with the position.  James had read these same passages we are reading today.  He knew how the life of a leader could affect others.  God made that very clear in the passages today.  God accused the present leaders of Judah with leading God’s flock to destruction and abandonment (Jer. 23:2).  Therefore, He declares; “I will send disaster upon the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for.”
         God expects us to be serious with the gifts and positions he has given to each of us.  There is nothing flippant about the way God bestows things upon us, nor in the way He expects us to act.  He has entrusted each us with something special.  How are you tending what He has entrusted to you? 

General Questions for each day:
Summarize the day’s Bible passage in your own words.
What thoughts, actions, attitudes or beliefs are addressed in the passage?
How is the Holy Spirit leading you to apply this passage to your life today?