July 13, 2026 Devo

July 13th, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, “Remind the people of Judah and Jerusalem about the terms of my covenant with them.” – Jeremiah 11:1-2 (NLT)
“Keeping the Covenant”

It’s funny how verses like this, which are so straightforward on the surface, can hit you between the eyes when you sit with it for a moment or two. Reading it today caused me to reflect on the whole idea of covenants—and how easy it is to not live by them. Marriage is a good example of that. At a wedding ceremony, we make these covenants to “love, honor, and cherish.” All you married people out there, think about those words for a moment or two. Are you truly loving your spouse with the “agape” love that you committed to? Because that kind of love means to put the other person first. It means “to be patient, kind, and not keep a record of wrongs.” Are you loving them that way?
Or how about to “honor” them. That means to hold them in high esteem. The sense of that word is to regard them as though they were royalty. It means you speak honoring words to them, and not words that degrade them, hurt them, or belittle them. It means to treat them with the utmost respect. Be honest for a moment. For many of us, if we talked to our boss like we talk to our spouse, we’d be fired. Honoring is part of our covenant.
To “cherish” is another piece of the covenant. That speaks to the idea of valuing. To cherish someone is to treat them as something precious, priceless, and irreplaceable. How are you doing with that one?
God tells Jeremiah to remind the people that they have entered into a covenant with Him, just like He has entered into a covenant with them. He has been completely faithful in living up to His part of the covenant. They have not. They’ve forgotten what they have committed themselves to. Time to remember.
The same is true with us. Just like we entered into a marriage covenant with our spouse, we entered into one with God as well. As Christians, we commit to love Him, seek Him wholeheartedly, and obey Him in all things. And though none of us do that perfectly, we probably all need to be reminded from time to time of what our part in the covenant is because we tend to forget. Oh yeah, and if you’re wondering what God’s part in the covenant is, it was dying on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin. And He promises to never leave us or forsake us. God’s living up to His part of the covenant. How are YOU doing? That’s God’s Word for you today.