Page Two

Lamentations 3: 22 – 25

The Lord’s lovingkindesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I have hope in Him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.

I didn’t want to leave you with the woe of Israel. Some of you remember Paul Harvey and his radio broadcasts. He used to say, “Page Two” as he moved on with his story telling. There is often a page two in life. As you see in these verses, Jeremiah knows, and tells, “the rest of the story.” He knows from where salvation comes. And let us not only think of salvation as the divider between heaven and hell. God wishes to save us from every unfavorable situation. In these verses, God’s saving grace is exposed and proclaimed.

There is trouble in life. Jesus told us that. Read David’s psalms and it becomes clear. Of course, there is an entire book of lamentations. However, at the end of the day, at the end of the book, behind every worry there is the faithfulness of God. He is always there to scoop us up and carry us away from the turmoil and tribulation. He is our shield and our fortress. We really can hide in Him while the world spins away.

In the Old Testament, specifically the Psalms, we read about our Father as the stronghold, the fortress, our refuge. These are all places into which a person can retreat and find security. In the New Testament, Jesus calls this being “in Him.” In Christ and in the Father, is fullness of compassion and hope. We have a promise here in Lamentations that God shows His goodness to those who wait for Him, to those who seek Him. So, the way I hear this is that God has little choice. I have power in this situation. If I seek Him, if I wait for Him, He will pour out His good upon me. I mean, the formula is already there, just plug in the variable over which you have control and it has to produce its equivalent counter-part which is the goodness of God.

Our father waits on high to pour His goodness out upon us. He longs to show us His tender mercies and benevolence. He is so overflowing with lovingkindness that it is without end or limitation. Each day He begins with goodness to give to us. So, though there is trouble in the world, there is goodness, salvation and kindness is our Father. We do not have to reside in the trouble, we can choose to move into God’s loving nature.

Let Him pour Himself out to you. He is without end. Everything you need or want in this hour is in Him. Seek His face, even right now in this moment. Let Him hear your voice and let Him be a loving Father.

Woe is Me

Lamentations 1: 12

Is it nothing to all you who pass this way? Look and see if there is any pain like my pain which was severely dealt out to me, which the Lord inflicted on the day of His fierce anger.

Have you spent any time in Lamentations recently? Whoa! It is a veritable gold mine for Country-Western writers who need some good “cry in your beer” songs. Whew! It is good to read it every now and then but I certainly can’t take a steady diet of it.

I thought this verse might pique a few of you though. Read all of chapter one if you want the real low down on the situation. Still, there are few things that repulse and irritate me more than a person blaming my beloved Father for the ills they suffer. Truthfully, half, at least, of our troubles, we bring on ourselves. There is this principle of the seed and the harvest and unfortunately for us, the seed will produce a harvest regardless of the character of the seed. In other words, bad seeds will produce an unfavorable harvest just like good seed yields a desired crop.

Did you know this book was written by Jeremiah? He knew a few things even if you don’t get that from reading this verse alone. He is an important prophet and you can see that he totally gets it when you get to verse 22. He is speaking here, not for himself but for the entire nation, a nation which struggled in their devotion to following God’s ways, not unlike us, right? Verse 22 reads, “Let all their wickedness come before Thee; and deal with them as Thou has dealt with me for all my transgressions; for my groans are many, and my heart is faint.” You see, Jeremiah spends 21 verses pouring out the lamentation of the nation. He articulates their woes in vibrant, expressive language. In the end, the prophet, the mouthpiece of God comes out. He knows that it is their own transgressions which have brought them to their point of suffering. God doesn’t have to punish us for our stupidity, those ill-advised seeds which we, ourselves, have strewn far and wide are going to do all the damage we can bear.

When we finally are bowed down under the weight of the repercussions of our acts, then we cry out to the Lord and He is there to rescue us. Lamentations 3: 19 – 20 expresses this tragedy so clearly, “Remember my affliction and the wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down with me.” What tragic language, worthy even of Shakespeare. Hopefully, this is when we turn to the Lord and allow Him to save us from ourselves. He is always there for us, even when we have crucified ourselves.

Stocked Refrigerator

Mark 1: 14

The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

This comes from the very early days of Jesus’ ministry. This is one of those cases where reading the footnotes is as enlightening as the verse. The notes reveal that what Jesus was communicating to the people there was that the Kingdom of God had come near them. It is at hand, or maybe better said, it is here. Jesus told them that the time they had look forward to was fulfilled and the kingdom was no longer a promise but rather, a reality. Well, if it had come to pass 2000 years ago then we certainly are not waiting for it today.

There is another interesting footnote. Jesus said to repent and believe in the gospel. The fullness of what he was saying about belief is in the word “trust”. Jesus told them to trust in the gospel. What does that mean? How does he intend that we “trust” in the gospel? Is this something our heart does? Or, does it perhaps involve our actions as well? Either way, I think Jesus is telling us, even as he spoke to those saints 2000 years ago, there is something we are supposed to do now that the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Jesus told people several times that the Kingdom of God had come near them. It was right within their grasp. The same is true for us. Everything Jesus is has come within our reach. There is an action involved, however, and that is the part which so often trips us up. We must reach out and grasp all that Jesus won for us. I wish it would just rain down on me and I wouldn’t have to lift a finger. I don’t want to do the emotional and spiritual work necessary to receive his Kingdom victories but I guess that is just laziness. It is like someone has stocked the refrigerator. I want a drink. I want the benefit that drink will give me but I don’t want to get out of my chair and go get it.

Some of us just didn’t realize Jesus has stocked the refrigerator for us. We are dying of thirst when there is every kind of drink waiting for us. We have to learn to trust this gospel and expect the refrigerator to be loaded. We should begin to expect that the coming of the Kingdom brought with it life-altering properties. Certainly, this would be a great subject for our walks with Jesus. You can ask him to tell you exactly what he meant by, “repent and trust in this gospel.” I don’t want any of us to miss out on the Kingdom or its resources. The time is fulfilled. The Kingdom of God is here. Repent and trust in the gospel.

Musings

Isaiah 30: 18

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him.

One of the jobs of any minister is to bring you the Word of God. I also share with you what God is telling me, but in delivering passages of scripture, there is an impartation of the Word to you. What I write will, hopefully, bring enlightenment to the scripture and inspire you. The most important part of this, or any devotional, though, is what comes to you through your meditation on the Word.

Today’s verse seems very powerful to me. I wonder, though, what you hear as you read and reread it. Why does the Lord long to be gracious to you? He is waiting to show you the depth of His compassion. Why does He long to show you His compassion and upon what, or whom, is He waiting.

Isaiah seems to suggest that our longing for God is a key to unlocking these blessings and perhaps even others. Is God awaiting us? What does He need from you and from me in order to rain down His love, compassion and blessings upon us.

While you are pondering today, let me give you one more question to consider. If God longs to be gracious to us, what is stopping Him? If He awaits on high to show His compassion, for what is He waiting? If God can do anything, at anytime, then what is restricting Him from showering us with His graciousness and compassion? This passage makes it clear that God is limited in this realm. How can that be, except that He limited Himself? For those who stand on God’s absolute sovereignty this verse should give pause.

I hope you will take a walk with Jesus today and talk with him about all these musings.

Honor and Esteem

Isaiah 43: 4

You are honored and I love you.

This quote is part of verse four. I left out the word “since” because it is italicized which means the translators added it. There is another part I left out which I really do wish to share with you. It reads that you are precious in God’s sight. So, let’s see if we can really take this in. God is saying to each one of us that we are precious, honored and He loves us.

At some point you have to wonder why the ruler of the universe would even stoop to say such crazy stuff to us. Why does He really care? I mean, look around. Are we really such a great prize? You would think that the guy who made everything we can see, the one for whom miracles are common place could do much better than us.

At one level, He loves us because in the beginning He chose to. He made a decision and He hasn’t backed off of it. Are we worthy? No way! But God knew what He was doing. He knows, even now, who we will become. When we finally see His face, we will be transformed and we will become the family He has long desired. He sees who we are on the inside and He knows the journey we are on. There is no mystery to Him. We may be stumbling around now but He will lead us in the way and we will finally see in ourselves what He has seen all along.

There is something about you that made you worth sending Jesus into the earth as a ransom. God loves us. It sounds silly when you really think about it but the sooner we can accept it, the better for us all. If we are honored and precious, it is because of whose children we are and in the end, our love for Him will shine like the sun, perhaps even like the “son.”

God knows you and even so, still loves you. He sees how precious you are. He sees in your heart and you are a delight to Him. Okay, we mess up routinely but He knows we are growing and we will outgrow all of this foolishness. We have been made completely worthy, even as we are now, in Jesus. There is nothing more precious than the blood which has redeemed us.

Today, start this week as the honored, precious and highly esteemed child of the Lord. Let Him raise you up in your own eyes, not because of anything you have done but because of who you are – His child. Be humble, but be accepting. Let God love on you. I tell you the truth, if you will let His love permeate your being, you will grow and you will find His manifested presence with you constantly. If you have been looking for the secret, this is it. Let God love you. Accept His love. Believe in His lovingkindness towards you. There is no greater power in the universe than His love and nothing better you can do to live in power than to surrender to His uncompromising love. Go, highly honored, precious child of the King, and have a great life.

Least of All

Judges 6: 13

“O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about?”

An angel appeared to Gideon calling him a “valiant warrior.” Gideon was not buying into it though. You see  his response above.

This could easily be our response today. We keep hearing about the greatness of God and all of his miracles but where are they? Gideon accused God of having abandoned his people. Has our God abandoned us? Well, if He has not, then where is His power? Where are His miracles? Why doesn’t He deliver us from the oppression all around us?

Gideon was the least of the least. He was the youngest of the least influential family. You know, David was the youngest also. God isn’t looking for a person the world adorns as mighty or influential. He is looking for someone who will put their faith in Him. When you are least of the least, you recognize you need God if you are going to accomplish anything. Gideon had some audacity though. He challenged the angel as I doubt I would have the courage to do. The angel wanted to enlist Gideon to lead the people of God against their enemies. Gideon had a hard time believing that God would show up on the scene. Too long had he witnessed the mediocrity of his situation. Too long had the God of Israel been silent.

How similar was Gideon’s situation to that which we all face today. Are you like Gideon, wondering where the power of God is? If He loves us so much, why isn’t He showing His power? Where are the miracles? We need our God today. We need some kind of stirring up like the angelic visitation of Gideon. What will it take for us to see the moving of God on the earth in our time?

Are you small, insignificant and unimportant? Are you not so wise, not so learned, not known for your great influence? Are you least of the least? Then maybe you are the person God can visit with a message of deliverance. Maybe you are the person He can use to set us free.

Would that we all cry out to God for His manifestation in the earth. Yahweh, show your face. Send us a message, an angel, your spirit and give us the simplicity of faith to be used of you. Cause us to hear your voice and do your bidding. Send your power Lord. Send your strength. Hear our call and find us worthy by the blood, faith and love of your son. Heal our lands, O Lord. Hear the voice of your people.

The Cure for Anxiety

Matthew 6: 33

But seek first His kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.

Many of us are familiar with Matthew 6: 33, but let us look back a little today. The New American Standard Bible has titles for many sections of scripture. This section is titled “The Cure for Anxiety.” I have verses highlighted in here as do many of you but today I wanted to attempt to look at it with new eyes. So I began reading right after the caption, which begins in verse 25. Of course, Jesus is speaking here so in my mind I translated that as, “Jesus is going to teach me how to be free of anxiety.” Alright, I will sign up for the class.

Jesus began to speak and for seven verses he attempts to reveal the Father’s mind and heart about our needs by showing us examples from nature. Jesus gives us picturesque examples so that in our minds eye we can visually follow what he is teaching in regards to anxiety. Then you hit verse 32. Allow me to quote it for you, “For all these things the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” I don’t know how many times I have read that verse but it stopped me in my tracks today. Without saying it aloud, Jesus declared that I was acting like the Gentiles. “Hey wait, I am not a Gentile. I am a child of the King. Why am I acting like them?” All of a sudden it felt like my worry and anxiety about the material things in my life was an insult to the goodness of God. What Jesus was actually saying is that we do not need to worry about the things the Gentiles worry about because we have a Father who loves us and who has taken on the role of provider.

When you look at a teaching, a speech or a book, you find that the author wishes to make a point at that conclusion is found at the end. However, it is supported by the evidence and examples which come before. Good writers and speakers give you a topical sentence in the first paragraph which is usually a restatement of their conclusion. Jesus absolutely lays out this entire topic in just such an organized fashion. I immediately began going to the end of the section to find out what his conclusion is but I like his opening. In verse 25 he tells us, “For this reason I say to you do not be anxious for your life.” He then uses the remaining verses to illustrate this reason. As we close in on the end of the passage we discover the reason we need not worry about our material needs is because “your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (Matthew 6: 34) Isn’t that good? Jesus goes on to teach the practical side of this message. He tells us to seek God, seek His kingdom and righteousness and all the things of life will be added to us. That is simply putting all of this in to practice. Don’t worry, instead – seek. That is the cure for anxiety, knowing that you have a heavenly Father who loves you and will care for you. Seek Him and let Him worry about all that “stuff.”

How many of us have (and are) seeking the things, worrying about the things we need: clothes, food, drink, tuition, car etc.? I know I think of those things but Jesus is telling us point blank that is how the Gentiles act, and, hence, not how we should behave. We have a heavenly father. We need to learn how to seek His kingdom and allow Him to be “Father.”

Maybe we can all think about that today as we go through our day. How do I seek God’s kingdom? How do I seek His righteousness? Meditate on that as you have that morning cup of coffee or as you drive to work. The revelations could change your life.

Lastly, let me share with you Jesus’ final thought on the matter, his wrap up conclusion, if you will. “Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” You know when you see the word “therefore” that someone is making a conclusion. In other words, because of everything he said in verses 25 through 33, you should not be anxious. Stay in this moment with Jesus rather than casting your concerns forward. Stay ever present and connected with him and with the Father and you will have no need to ever be anxious. That’s good news!