“18. And I said, my strength and my hope is perished from the Lord.” “21. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
One does not normally think of going to Lamentations for encouragement, since it is as its name implies, lamentations of Jeremiah over the destruction of Jerusalem. Yet in the middle of his lamentation, Jeremiah sees a glimmer of hope. Jeremiah is the Old Testament’s version of “chicken little” who went about saying “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” (Except that, in a sense, it really was.) He is like the watchman who says, “All if lost, all is lost.” At this time in Judah’s history it would certainly seem that all was lost. Look at what has happened: (1) The king has been taken into exile, (2) The walls of Jerusalem are either being torn down at this time, or have already been torn down. (3) The temple at Jerusalem has been destroyed. (4) People are being carried everyday into exile in Babylon, or being killed. It would certainly seem that all is lost. In one sense, all was lost. A whole civilization, which had been ordained by God, was being torn down person by person and brick by brick. There was death and destruction on every hand. No wonder that Jeremiah said, “My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord.” Don’t you think that if we saw all of our great institutions being destroyed, and our people being either killed or taken into exile, that we would think that all was lost? But then, Jeremiah has a thought: “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” The Lord was letting Jeremiah see all of the death and destruction around Him, but He was also working in Jeremiah’s mind the hope that is always ours in Him. Here is what the Lord put on Jeremiah’s mind: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” In the midst of all of the negativity, to put it mildly, Jeremiah saw a glimmer of hope, not in the situation, but in Yahweh, the great God of Israel and the world. Jeremiah knew that all was not lost because God was not dead. In the midst of his great depression, Jeremiah fell back on some things about Yahweh that he knew he could depend on. First, he remembered that God is a God of mercy and grace. Just because God allows us to be disciplined for disobedience, does not mean that He does not love us anymore, or that He is no longer the God of love and mercy. Whatever you are going through it might not be discipline from the Lord, but it is at least allowed by the Lord. This doesn’t mean that God has ceased to be whom and what He is in His very nature. He has not stopped loving you and He will show His mercy in His time. No matter what is going on around us, God has not ceased to be the God of mercy and hope. Second, Jeremiah remembered that Yahweh is the compassionate God. This means that not only does God love us, He feels deeply for us and His actions show the great agape (ahgahpay) love that was eventually revealed in Jesus Christ. The temple being torn down, did not mean that God’s compassion had been torn down. Our circumstances can, and must change, but God does not. Take great joy in that. Third, Jeremiah remembered the faithfulness of God. His love, mercy and compassion for us are new every morning and in all things, He will prove to be faithful. Isn’t this what the coming of Jesus meant in the economy of the whole Bible? Take heart! This God described in Lamentations, is at work in your life through the Holy Spirit. Praise Him! Bro. Joe
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“Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.”
You probably read the title and said, “I know what distress is.” I guess we all know what it means to have stress and distress. According to Psalm 107, the Israelites had been in distress because of their rebellion against God. (That is shared in verses 11-12.) They had been in distress because of rebellion and God saved them out of it. I am going to dare to say that most of our distresses are not as a result of out and out rebellion against God; therefore it should be no surprise to us that God will deliver us out of them. The fact is that we will all have times of distress, for suffering is an integral part of the human experience. Mankind has always struggled with why a loving God allows suffering and distress in our lives. Well, for one thing, we live in a fallen world. The first three chapters of the Bible make that plain. As a result of sin, suffering entered into the world. Don’t understand me to be saying that all of our suffering is a result of some particular sin. That might be true sometimes, but the sinful condition of the world means there will be suffering to the good and the bad. Various psalmists and prophets dealt with this issue, and the Book Job is all about the suffering of a man who was living a righteous life. In other words, we do not have to be out and out sinners to have distress. Also, we are allowed distresses to test us and to make us stronger. Barbara Jordan wrote: “Our afflictions are designed not to break us but to bend us toward the eternal and the holy.” The great Oswald Chambers wrote: “Despair is always the gateway of faith.” Now this is not “happy life” theology, but it is true. When we go through the “valley of the shadow of death,” we come out on the other side either bitter or better. It is when we go through dark valleys in our lives that we prove the validity of our faith in Jesus. Someone wrote that a Christian is like a tea bag: “You don’t know what’s inside of him or her until they are put in hot water.” I imagine that we have all been disappointed in ourselves because we did not handle a time of distress better. (This is when we thank God that He is a forgiving God.) Jesus dealt with a time of distress in His temptation experience. He had not eaten in forty days, and the first thing Satan did was to tempt Him to make something to eat out of the rocks. He could have done it, but following Satan’s advice was not the answer. Jesus did what we should do when we are being tempted to become bitter in a time of distress, i.e., He quoted scripture to Satan. He leaned on the word of God. If Jesus felt the need to lean on scripture in a time of distress, it shouldn’t surprise us that we will too. The point of the text from Psalm 107:13 is that God delivered His errant people from their distresses. We should read that and say: “No matter the cause of my distress, I know that God will deliver me from it.” Let me share with you one of my favorite sayings in a time distress, namely, “this too shall pass.” Nothing will last forever, and if we will just “be still and know that (God) is God,” we will have the patience to wait for His deliverance. I certainly can’t promise you that if you have faith in Jesus, you will never have distress. I can promise you that if you will lean on Jesus, and on His word, you will be delivered. I did not just write that you might be delivered; I wrote that you will be delivered. Believe it. Bro. Joe “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25. Thrice I was beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep….”
“But you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
This was a promise and challenge that Jesus gave His disciples just before He ascended to the Father. It was a promise of power to witness, but it was also a promise for every aspect of Christian living. I want to share with you some areas of our lives that we receive the power of the Spirit. Acts 1:8 promises the power to witness. The first way that we witness is to live the Christian life, and be lights in the darkness. When we speak to someone about Christ, we are promised the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not doing this on our own, and we are to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit. He knows those to whom we should witness, and again, we need to follow His leadership. We receive the promise to live the abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10: “The thief comes to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” The Holy Spirit is present in our lives to enable us to live the Christian life. He gives us the victory over the sins that easily cause us only heartache and loss. I know that I can look back on my life and wish that I had followed the leadership of the Spirit. I have a feeling that I am not alone in this regret. The abundant life is to live for Jesus, serving Him in the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us. I cannot possibly tell you all that the abundant life involves, but I want to share a text with you that will give you a good idea of what the abundant life is like. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23) I think that you will agree that these “fruits” or gifts would result in abundant life. We have received the power to overcome. We have received the power to overcome Satan and his many temptations. We have been given the power to overcome sin. Sin destroys our lives and keeps us from really living the abundant life. The Spirit enables us to refuse to be overcome by sin. We have received the power to overcome ourselves. This power is important. Most trouble caused in Christian fellowship in churches by many members have not overcome their own self-importance. Believe me I understand this temptation in my own life. Perhaps you need to understand and see this tendency in your own life. This article falls far short in detailing the importance of Holy Spirit living in our lives. I hope that you read something that will help you to effectively live the Christian life. Bro. Joe “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our Lord stands forever…”
There are some verses in the Bible that speak volumes about the human situation. Isaiah 40:8 is one of those verses. It has always been true, and will remain so, that “the grass withers, the flowers fade.” You can substitute any number of things for “grass” and “flowers,” and the verse will remain true. But the verse gives a promise that is just as sure and true: “but the word of our Lord stands forever.” This can be widely interpreted. We can say that it is true of the Bible, for it certainly is, but beyond that it also means that we can take God’s word for it that all of His promises will stand. In other words, we can take God’s word for it that all of His promises are true. Let’s take a look at few of these promises. We have God’s promise that we can receive the salvation that He has provided through His Son. This promise is succinctly stated in John 6:37: “All that the Father gives me shall come to me: and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” We have God’s promise that those who come to Him for salvation will not be turned away if they come in repentance and faith. We have God’s promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. This promise is found in Hebrews 13:5-6: “Let your conversation (conduct) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Before Jesus was crucified and resurrected, He promised His disciples that He would be with them through the “comforter,” the Holy Spirit who He would send to them after He ascended to the Father. One of Jesus’ final promises to His disciples, and to us, just before He ascended was: “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages….” (Matthew 28:20) We can be content and secure in this life knowing that we will never be alone, that God will never forsake us. There are times when it might seem that He has forsaken us, but we can take His word for it that He has not forsaken us. Throughout the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, we see the reality of this great promise. We can experience this promise in our lives if we will just be aware of it. We have His promise that: “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) The promise is not that “all things will work for good” for God’s people. The promise is that all things will “work together for good…” “Together” is a big word here and defines what the promise entails. It means that God is at work in our lives and as we face everything in this life, good or bad, God will work them all together for our good. I have found this to be true in my life, and I imagine that many of you reading this have found it to be true in your lives. I have not even scratched the surface of this great promise that “the word of our Lord stands forever,” but what I have shared should be sufficient to show that it is true. Don’t just take my word for it; take God’s word for it. Bro. Joe “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation/trouble: but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.”
I want to share with you what I found in this text that I have read many times, and quoted on several occasions, but, until now, has escaped my notice. I found three promises that Jesus made to those who would serve Him. Jesus gave a promise of tribulation/trouble. Jesus did not want his disciples to think that by serving Him they would escape trouble. Actually, this is a promise for the ages: “In the world…. you shall have trouble." This is a result of what we call “the fall of man (and woman).” No one escapes troubles of some kind. This is especially true of followers of Jesus. Anyone who enters into the Christian life and has to serve in this fallen world should not expect that all problems have been solved. We encounter troubles in the church, which has to serve in the fallen world. In fact, we create our own problems. Jesus promised peace, but not without trouble. He gives us peace in the midst of trouble. Jesus gave a promise of cheer, or courage. When we encounter life’s inevitable troubles, we should not meet them with a spirit of fear, but in a spirit of cheer or courage. (The Greek word can be translated both ways.) When I have encountered troubles, I have found that my innate sense of humor has come to my rescue. (I think I laugh a lot of times when I should cry.) Let me share a secret that is difficult to do, but will help us to meet trouble with cheer or courage: Are you ready for it? Here it is: We should love the people who cause us trouble. Wow! What a Christian concept. Another thing that I have learned is to realize that troubles come and go. One of my favorite sayings is: “This too shall pass.” And it will. Our faith in Christ will help us to encounter troubles with cheer and courage. Jesus gave a promise of victory: “I have overcome the world.” In Jesus, we can be victorious when we put our faith in Him in any and all circumstances. 1 John 5:5 reminds us of this promise: “Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” Our victory is not in our own tact, but it is in the one who has overcome the world on our behalf. We sing a song called “Victory in Jesus.” Do we really believe it, or do we just sing it? (I imagine that you are humming that tune. I know that I am.) When you encounter trouble of any kind, look to Jesus in faith and courage and claim victory in Him. Bro. Joe “And lest I be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8. For this thing I sought the Lord three times, that it might depart from me. 9. And He said unto me, “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Paul was given an unknown “thorn in the flesh” from Satan to humble him. He wanted it removed, but Jesus reminded him that His grace was sufficient to handle this situation. Jesus’ strength is “made perfect in weakness.” We have the power of Christ to help us to live above whatever “thorns” Satan might use to hamper us. Let me share with you two of my “thorns,” which are probably also yours. Sometimes I am my own thorn. (You might as well admit it.) For example, Satan will zero in on my doubts and fears to hamper my Christian growth and witness. What I have found that the best thing to do when my doubts and fears start to get the best of me is to go directly to prayer and seek the strength of the grace of Jesus to help me overcome them. When Satan assails me with the temptations to sins of the flesh, so to speak, I MUST go immediately to Jesus. My ability to overcome the sins of my mind and my flesh is made possible through the strength that Jesus gives. I can know the strength of the grace of Jesus by submitting my weaknesses to Him. This can be true for you. There is, indeed power in prayer. Sometimes people are my thorn. I think that Satan works overtime in his temptations in the matter of “other people.” He will use this thorn to ruin relationships in the workplace. He will also use this temptation to ruin relationships in church. Face it, we get on one another’s nerves sometimes, and this happens as much in church as it does at work. A person who is obnoxious to us at work is as obnoxious at church. I have found in these cases that I MUST take these people to prayer. I don’t mean a “quickie” prayer, but that I MUST pray for them daily until I look at them differently. Sometimes I have discovered that I was also obnoxious to them. Don’t let Satan ruin your relationships at home, at work at play or at church. Ask for the strength of the grace of Jesus to help you overcome. You will discover as much about yourself in this exercise in prayer as you do about the other person. (Just saying!) I think that you will agree that the two thorns that I dealt with here are also thorns in your life. If Jesus overcomes these thorns, I think that He will overcome a lot of our problems with ourselves and with other people. You will probably agree. Bro. Joe “Wherefore seeing that we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. 2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
The title might lead you to believe that I’m trying to “whip a guilt trip” on you. Nope! I’m just dealing with a fact of life. Romans 3:23 reminds us that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The text mentioned the need to rid ourselves of “the sin which so easily besets us.” The NIV translates it, “the sin that so easily entangles us…” However, we translate it, we know that sin is human problem. What sin besets you, or entangles you? Could it be that your besetting sin is that you do not take time for prayer and Bible reading? It is wise for a Christian to develop a “prayer habit.” We need a special time of prayer, but we need to be aware of the presence of God all day. We can reach Him anytime. Don’t leave prayer and Bible reading out of your life. Could it be that your besetting sin is a critical spirit. You read that right, a critical spirit is a sin. I’ve seen this sin cripple the fellowship of a church. Criticism should always be made in love, and should be constructive. Could it be that your besetting sin is a habit that Satan has convinced you is not really wrong. One thing that comes to mind is a gossiping habit. Does it make you feel good to tear someone else down to their backs? One of the besetting sins today is internet pornography. With a click on your computer you can find any kind of filth that is being shown. We need to be careful to participate in habits that will do good for other people, or that will serve some good purpose. It would be good to have a habit of saying good things that would minister to them. We need to develop habits that would be uplifting and that would not entangle us in sin. Could it be that your besetting sin is envy of other people. Yes, envy is a sin. Envy leads to covetousness. On top of that envying someone else makes us feel miserable. I know how it feels. I haven’t been entangled in it, but I have to remind myself to be happy with someone else’s successes. We should not let envy lead to hope the worse for someone else. We should never rejoice at another person’s failure. Envy is not based on love, and we should react to people with love. None of us does this perfectly, but this is not an excuse. It is possible that I have not listed your besetting sin. What I want you to take out of this the danger of becoming entangled in sinful behavior. When you know that it is happening, let the Savior help you to become disentangled. Bro. Joe “To everything there is a season, and time to every purpose under the heaven….4. A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance…7. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak….12. I know there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13. And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.”
I think, Solomon is telling us, in today’s vernacular: It is what it is, accept it - as if we have a choice. We can plan our lives, and attempt to avoid all the pitfalls, but the good will come as well as the pitfalls. We just need to meet life head on and live it to its fullest. In verse 1 we are told that there is a season for everything, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” The word that stood out to me here was the word “purpose.” It is for sure that life will not always be as we want it, but if we realize that God has a purpose for our lives, that is, that He is involved in our lives, we will be able to meet the good and the bad with faith and courage. If we realize that God is in the equation, we will be more careful how we live. Verse 4 tells us that there is: “A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.” The way this is worded we are led to understand that we do not have choice in the matter. Indeed, there will be times that we will weep and mourn. We like to think that those times will not come, but inevitably they will come. My point here is that if we see God working His purpose in our lives, we will not “lose it,” so to speak, but will meet those times head on. This also tells us to go ahead and weep and not try to keep a “stiff upper lip,” but to accept the time of weeping and mourning as part of our lives. But there is also a “time to laugh” and a “time to dance.” When those times come, we should really laugh and really dance. The bad times in life should not keep us from really enjoying the good times to laugh and to dance. Again, if we see God’s purpose at work in our lives, we will be able to fully rejoice. Verse 7b tells us that there is “a time to keep silence and time to speak.” This is one piece of advice that we should all take. I would word it this way: “There is a time to shut up, and a time to speak up.” Real godly wisdom is to know the difference between the two times. As one who has spoken out of turn a few times in my life, I can say that the better part of wisdom is to shut up until there is really something to say. Again, we can lean to God’s purpose for our lives. Some wise person said that God gave us two ears and one mouth. This means that we should listen twice as much as we talk. I can imagine that you, like me, have had times in your life when you wish that you had followed this admonition. Finally, verses 12-13 tell us: “I know that there is not good in them, but for a (person) to rejoice, and do good in his/her life. And also that every (person) should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.” God has gifted us with the capacity to enjoy life in all of its ups and downs, and to rejoice. That, too, is part of God’s purpose for your life and mine. Let’s do it. Amen Bro. Joe “And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest.”
There is something about us that makes us want “to get away from it all.” Sometimes the realities of the moment just seem too much for us. David was going through such a time as this, and he wanted to just get away and “be at rest.” For example, look at verses 1-3 of Psalm 55: “Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not thyself from my supplication. 2. Attend unto me, and hear me. I mourn in my complaint and make a noise. 3. Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.” If we were surrounded by enemies like David's, we would probably want to sprout wings and fly away.. Like David, we will not fly away. Where would we go to get away? Let’s say that you are having trouble at work. Maybe there is a person, or people, there who are just making life miserable for you. The first thing is that if you “fly away,” say to the beach, your problems and your anger will just go with you. Besides that, you will have to return to work and the problems will still be there. Getting away might have helped for the moment, but it did not solve the problem at work. It could be that you are just plain tired of politics in America right now. I know that I am. I have caught myself thinking like David, I wish that I could sprout wings, fly away, and get away from the animosity and hatred. “But,” I ask myself, “Where would you go?” There is no hiding place on earth that can shield us permanently from the realities of daily living. What in the world can we do? Is there no hope? You have probably already guessed what the first thing is that I will write here is that we can pray! This is what David did. Look at verses 16-18 and 22: “As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me. 17. Evening and morning and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and He shall answer me. 18. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there are many with me. 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.” David flew away, not from the circumstances, but into the arms of God. Another insight that David got through prayer is seen in verse 18: “He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there are many with me.” We sometimes want to “fly away” because we feel that we are in our circumstances alone. This is never true of God’s people. We have God with us at all times, and we have our fellow Christians. Do you remember when Elijah ran away in fear of Jezebel? One of his problems was that he thought he was fighting the battle alone, but God gave him reassurance in 1 Kings 19:18: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” (I suggest that you turn to 1 Kings 19 and read this whole account.) Through prayer and trust in God, we will not need to fly away, but we will learn to cope with the realities of our lives. It doesn’t hurt to take time away from the problem, but that will not heal it. We need to learn to trust God, and in trusting Him to cope with our lives as they are. Let Paul reassure you here in what he wrote in Philippians 4:6-7: "Be careful (do not be anxious) for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God, 7. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Don't think about "flying away," but "hanging in there." Bro. Joe |
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