“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him…”

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him…”


Lamentations 3:19-27


The book of Lamentations is a collection of poetic laments (“passionate expression of grief or sorrow”) over the destruction of Jerusalem, the temple, and the exile of Judah’s inhabitants by the Babylonians in 586 BC.  My study bible says the authorship of  Lamentations is uncertain, although ancient tradition claims that the prophet Jeremiah wrote it.  The book consists of five chapters with one, two, four, and five each containing 22 verses of lament (the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet).  Chapter three, (today’s reading) which has 66 chapters (3 x 22), brings hope!  


If we review today’s reading we learn of a God of hope, love, compassion, faithfulness, and salvation.  Verses 26 and 27 read as follows:  “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”


We are currently in the season of Advent.  Based on the Latin word “coming”, Advent is a time of anticipation and preparation for Christ’s coming to us, not only at Christmas as a baby, but through the Word and Sacraments, and ultimately as “Christ Triumphant” on the last day.  


Like the author of Lamentations, we have sorrows and failures that are part of the sinful world that we live in.  But we have so much more -- the fulfillment of God’s love for us through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Let us give thanks during this season of Advent for Jesus and our God of hope, love, faithfulness, and salvation!


Dear God, thank-you for Christmas.  Thank you for remembering us and sending the gift of your Son to rescue us from sin and our “sorrows”.  Help us share that gift with others during this Advent season. Amen.

Spotlight on the Baby

“Listen to me, my people;
hear me, my nation:
Instruction will go out from me;
my justice will become a light to the nations.

My righteousness draws near speedily,
my salvation is on the way,
and my arm will bring justice to the nations.(Isaiah 51:4-5)

God used His prophet, Isaiah, to spread hope, to tell the people to 'listen,' Isaiah has been told by God, things He wants the people to hear. Things like: justice will become a light to the nations, righteousness draws near, salvation is on the way. These are encouraging words for a suffering people to hear.

Waiting for a Messiah to appear is not easy, especially when you have heard of this promise all your life and don't really understand what it is all about. Then, one day, you see for yourself. All the waiting and anticipation is over. The Star shines above, the shepherds follow the light and are rewarded when they find the baby, the light to the nations, the righteousness and the longed-for Savior.

Fast forward a couple thousand years. Imagine you are a shepherd and you have just seen the bright star shining above. Light has covered your once dark world. Things look different. Your life is new and laid out before you are opportunities to embrace; a Savior to follow. 

Do you remember when you first basked in the light of your Savior? Do you recall how everything changed when you first encountered the baby Jesus, when you saw Him for the first time? Tell about that blessed moment. Comment below or email here.

Isaiah 51:4-16

Life or Death is What You Set Your Heart Upon

by Thomas Denegre

See Past Articles

How we identify ourselves in life is not done through our performance, but by whom we are through God. What we believe in our heart can bring us either life or death, "for the heart is the wellspring of life."  (Proverbs 4:20)

Watch the Video

Take for example a young man named Jacob. Raised as a Christian he sought his identity through his performance lifestyle. Whether it was through sports, religion, or the party scene; popularity was his idol.  Drugs and alcohol gripped him early in life.  In college he lost two sports scholarships when he flunked a drug test, and then things spiraled downward. As the old saying goes, he was looking for love in all the wrong places.  He found short success as a martial arts fighter, but that too failed from drug addiction.  Down to 119 pounds his parents found him living in their backyard shed. As Jesus once said, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.” John 10:10 

We find a similar destructive path during the reign of Jeroboam II.  The nation of Israel was prosperous, but the people no longer trusted, loved, nor depended on God. Idols took over their hearts. They went into a moral and spiritual decay. Materialism and secularism captured their hearts allowing the full force of their sins to be manifested.  If you didn’t know any better, you think the list of sins was from today’s newspapers such as; killing, sexual immorality, lying, drunkenness, perversion, perjury, deceit, swearing, falsehoods, and deceptions. What grieved the heart of God more than anything else was idolatry as they placed their hearts on something else besides God. 

At this time God spoke to his prophet Hosea to marry a promiscuous woman named Gomer.  The short story is that Hosea fell madly in love with Gomer and had two children.  While Hosea prophesied to Israel to return to God, Gomer was left to her own devices by seeking a better life and a new lover.  Betrayed by his wife, Hosea felt his heart being ripped away by her rejection and distrust.  Similarly, God felt the pains of rejection from his chosen bride, the nation of Israel. While God can be jealous, he is also filled with justice, mercy, and an unstoppable love. He also has a long-term plan. 

While humans will naturally want to seek retaliation when they are betrayed, consider what God said through Isaiah. 

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,  

Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.  

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,  

So are My ways higher than your ways  

And My thoughts than your thoughts.’  Isaiah 55:8-9 

Hosea never stopped loving Gomer and neither did God stop loving Israel; despite the betrayal.  Both were consumed with the love of their bride.  Hosea eventually finds Gomer being sold at a slave auction. Clearly, a life of sin put a great downfall on Gomer. Filled with love and compassion, Hosea purchased Gomer for the cheap price of fifteen shekels. In a merciful act of love, Hosea restores Gomer to be his bride, his beloved, and his wife. This is the way of God too. 

Watch the video

Going back to Jacob’s fallen life, his parents had great love and concern for him, so they placed him in a Christian based recovery program. One day Jacob woke up to find 30 men laying hands on him.   Just as Gomer was purchased for a price and delivered from bondage, so too was Jacob.  The love and the movement of the Holy Spirit touched Jacob’s heart. It was his first experience to taste the authentic love of God.  Later, he humbled himself, opened his heart, and truly surrender his life to Jesus.  As Jesus once said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) 

Just as the relentless love of Hosea rescued Gomer, the divine radical love of Jesus poured mercy and healing into Jacob to transform and restore his life.  To complete the final statement, Jesus said, “I came to bring life and bring it abundantly.” John 10:10 

Jacob now preaches at recovery centers to spread the authentic hope and love of Jesus.  Being the hero of his own story, Jacob carries the identity as a son of God and through love carries the authority of Jesus through his right of inheritance.  As Jesus once said, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matt: 6:9-10) 

By restoring Jacob to be in life union with Jesus, (John 15:7) God not only blesses Jacob to go to heaven, but more importantly to live in that heaven now by living with intimacy and affection with the Lord. Jacob has become a divine instrument of God’s love and affection. For it is written, “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:25) 

“Therefore, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven (Matt 5:16). 

Did Jesus Really Say They Would Certainly Die?

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. …

And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:1-7, 22-24

Do you ever get confused about what Jesus really said? Do you ever question the severity of the consequences if we ignore what he said?

I have. I know others who have. It seems the serpent always begins with the same tactic ...

Did Jesus really say, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me”?

Well, who would want to believe that? Now the faithful adherents of every religion outside of Christianity are separated from God. But Jesus really said it (John 14:6). They will certainly die.

Did Jesus really say, “If you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your sins”?

I once had to teach this verse to a fifth-grader. We began by talking about some of the bad things that could happen to him in school. He carried on for a long while about his righteous anger at the suggestions and the many creative ways he would inflict his wrath on his enemies if such things came about. This verse stopped him cold. Jesus really said it (Matthew 6:15). Those who live in anger and unforgiveness will certainly die.

Did Jesus really say, “If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned”?

Not according to a few Bible studies I’ve attended. Once saved, always saved is a far more comforting doctrine and the easier the path to that label “saved” the better. After all, who wants to consider the possibility that our self-deceived loved ones who said the sinner’s prayer and then went right back to sinful living aren’t going to be with us in Heaven? But Jesus really said it (John 15:6). Those who do not remain in him will certainly die.

Did Jesus really say, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven”?

This verse came up at a Bible study I attended, and one of my friends was so unsettled by it that she decided to stop thinking about it and pretend it didn’t exist. But Jesus did say that (Matthew 7:21). There are those who think they know the Lord who will certainly die.

To some up all this dreariness, here’s what Jesus said: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Earned Salvation Isn't God's Plan

Romans 3:23 is one of those verses you may have memorized: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. It's certainly short, sweet and to the point, isn't it? If you're looking for loopholes in terms of getting around the 'hard stuff' in the Christian faith, this isn't the verse for you.

ALL have sinned. Not just 'bad' people, like murderers, or rapists, or robbers. People like me. People like you. People who gossip. People who are envious of others' success. People who bully others. Yes, people who sin. ALL of us have sinned.

Thanks be to God that verse 23 isn't the only verse in scripture! Take a look at what Paul says next:

ALL are justified FREELY by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (emphasis added).

So let's review:

1. All of us have sinned.

2. No amount of good works can earn our salvation.

3. Jesus paid the price for our sin.

4. Jesus bids us to lay down our life, take up our cross and follow him.

I follow Pastor Tim Keller on Instagram. Keller is the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, a church that has brought many to faith in a city that is not well known for pious living. Keller has written many books on faith and living the Christian life in a post-christian world. He posted this on Instagram, and I am struck by the truth of these words and how they connect to Romans 3:23-26:

"God invites you to come as you are, not stay as you are."

Yes, I'm a broken sinner, and I can never "out-good" God. But he longs for me to experience wholeness and forgiveness, and the only way I can do that is to come to the foot of the cross, acknowledge my sin, and ask him to change me. What an adventure it is when we follow Jesus! While your life as a Christ follower will not be pain free, it will be an adventure of a lifetime as you grow into the person who will sing God's praises for all eternity!

Romans 3:23-26

A Great Light

Read Isaiah 9:2-3

In the beginning God said, "Let there be light," and saw that it was good. Light was crucial for the rest of creation. Unfortunately, our sinfulness dimmed that light and darkness ruled the world. Isaiah was prophesying about a time when the true light, the source of all light would come breaking through the darkness. Indeed Jesus’ birth was announced by light, both as a bright star shining in the east and when the angels appeared to the shepherds ("the glory of the Lord shone round about them").

As John so eloquently states: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4-5). Matthew also alludes to Isaiah this way: "The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned" (Matthew 4:16). The gospel then comes in light and power bringing joy with it, and those who receive it rejoice. Today we celebrate the light of the world who humbled Himself among us so that we can call ourselves children of the Most High.

QUESTIONS:

1. How does the light help you to overcome the darkness in your life?

2. As believers we are to reflect the light of Christ. How is your light shining through? What can you do to increase it?

PRAYER:

Father, we thank and praise You for the gift of the gospel, the light that has broken through the darkness for our salvation. Amen

Helga Spence

Am I Going to Heaven or Not?

READ: Romans 3:21-31

Scripture often reveals truth in stark contrast to what we hear about Christianity. Such is the case today.

Ever hear that good people go to Heaven and bad people go to Hell? Big problem: There are no good people. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. All deserve to be punished, yet all are freely justified by Christ’s sacrificial atonement. Does that mean all are going to Heaven? No. Only those who accept this atonement Christ freely offers are saved; without it, any one of us would be going to Hell. No wonder Paul instructs us not to boast in our good works, but to boast only in the cross of Christ!

So, then, if it’s not what you do, but what you believe, is God’s grace a free pass to sin? Little problem: Definitions. Believe doesn’t mean profess as true; it means accept as true. And if we accept something as true, we act on it. So to believe in Christ is to obey his teaching - all of it! Hence the conclusion in James 2:14-26: Faith without works is dead.

But I thought the New Covenant of God’s grace replaced the Old Covenant of the Mosaic Law? Nope. As it turns out, we don’t nullify the law by faith, we uphold the law. By believing in Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit he gives, we live according to the moral law God gave Moses. When we fail, the sacrifice of Christ atones for us, but by the Spirit we are assured of God’s final victory: not only our freedom from the penalty of sin, but our freedom from the power and presence of sin as well.

Best News Ever!

Ephesians 2:16-18 (MSG)
¹⁶  Christ brought us together through his death on the Cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility.
¹⁷  Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders.
¹⁸  He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father. 

One of the most difficult things to do is love those who are so different from us. The race issue is one thing, but what about the economic divide? How many times have we avoided someone because the main difference between us was the neighborhood where we lived. The phrase 'from the wrong side of the tracks' is a real thing. We often fear people who live in certain neighborhoods.

I wonder how Jesus would deal with this? Would he be afraid to walk down some streets? Would he avoid some neighborhoods where the people were poor?  Or sick? What do you think? Verse 18 says He treated us as equals, and so made us equals.

There are many barriers that can divide us from other Christians: age, appearance, intelligence, political persuasion, economic status, race, theological perspective. One of the best ways to stifle Christ's love is to be friendly with only those people that we like. Fortunately, Christ has knocked down the barriers and has unified all believers in one family. His cross should be the focus of our unity. The Holy Spirit helps us look beyond the barriers to the unity we are called to enjoy.

                                                                                                               ---Life Application Study Bible

The Jews were near to God and they knew Him and studied scriptures. The Gentiles were far from God, they knew little or nothing about Him. But, neither group could be saved on their own, they could not be saved by their good deeds or knowledge. They both needed to hear about the Good News of salvation through Jesus Christ. They are/were united in that fact.

The same is true today. We all need the salvation of Jesus. None can achieve eternal life on out own, we are alike and united in this truth. And the best news ever is that Jesus came of all of us!

Ephesians 2:14-21

Do You Love Me?

READ: John 14:15-27

If you love me, keep my commands.

There’s a love language I don’t speak well. You probably don’t either. “All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:12)

Jesus, we break your commands daily. We don’t love you. Do you still love us?

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

Back up to 1 John 4:8, “God is love.” Think about that. God must love because God is love. What great irony, then, that love itself is unrequited!

Ever felt that pain? Ever been driven by an obsessive desire to bless someone in any way you are able only to see your efforts come to nothing? Your gifts not received; your warmth met with coldness; your love met with apathy or spite?

Multiply the pain by seven billion and you’ve got God’s relationship with this world. Big problem, but God has a big solution: He’s going to teach us how to love him by dwelling within us in the form of the Holy Spirit.

The night I put my faith in Christ, I received this Spirit. He does what Christ promised he would do. He teaches me. He reminds me. He advocates for me. He never leaves me. 

As it is written, “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession - to the praise of his glory,” (Ephesians 1:13-14) and, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6)

Glory to God! By the Spirit’s presence I see a miracle at work within me. I am learning to obey Christ’s commands, and in so doing I am learning to love my God.

Legacy of Love

Note Jesus' methods of leadership. He empowered his disciples (9:1), gave them specific instructions so they knew what to do (9:3, 4), told them how to deal with tough times (9:5), and held them accountable (9:10). As you lead others, study the Master Leader's pattern. Which of these elements do you need to incorporate into your leadership?      ---Life Application Study Bible.

When I saw this in my Life Application Study Bible, I had to share it here. As we learn about leadership and begin to develop strategies for leading, we can be certain that Scripture has lots to say about it. We can learn from studying many leaders and stories in the Bible.

Jesus prepared His followers to continue on with the plan. That plan being to share the Good News and to bring others into faith. That is still our job today; to share the new of Jesus and salvation to a suffering and hurting world. The Lenten season we just experienced, prepared us for this next step.

Jesus made a deep and lasting impression on these men. He not only taught them how to do what He did, but he loved them deeply. He was a mentor and a dear friend. When someone has such a profound effect on our lives, we want to remember them. We want to tell everyone about them. We want to experience this relationship again and again.

Carry on the legacy of love which Jesus left behind.

Luke 9:1-6

The Cornerstone

JANUARY 5                                                                                                  

Scripture Reading
Read Acts 4:8-12 and reflect on the passage.

Peter’s life changed when he knew salvation through Jesus Christ, the Chief Cornerstone. He knew there was no other path to salvation, no other name to salvation. Filled with the Holy Spirit, he spoke boldly, preached boldly of salvation and how to obtain it!

Man rejected Jesus, “the stone the builders rejected,” but He was exalted by the Father “which has become the Cornerstone.”

Peter is echoing what Jesus said, “Salvation is found in no one else.” We can’t be saved by being good, keeping the law, being sincere, kind, or religious; we can’t buy our salvation.

Scripture tells us “there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” It was just proven –- the lame man had never been able to walk, yet through the power of the name of Jesus, he now stood healed! 

Peter didn’t suggest that Jesus is a way to salvation. He proclaimed that Jesus is the only way to salvation. God designated Jesus to be the Savior of the world, no one else his equal. Our focus should be on Jesus, the Cornerstone, the way to an eternal relationship with God. No other name, no other way!

QuestionsDo you believe that the name of Jesus is the only way to salvation? 

Are you willing to call on His name, in all circumstances?What will it take for you to boldly and confidently proclaim salvation through Jesus’ name to others who may not know?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, fill me with Your Holy Spirit; embolden me to profess Your saving name now and always. I pray in Your name. Amen.

                                                                                                                                    Becki Bork

Weak Made Strong, In Christ Alone

Cornerstone

11 Jesus is

  “‘the stone you builders rejected,
   which has become the cornerstone.’
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:11-12

I am not an architect, so after reading today’s passage I quickly went to google to look up the meaning of cornerstone.  Wikipedia defined cornerstone as,

The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.

How cool is it that? Jesus is called the cornerstone, or the “stone” that will be a reference to all other “stones”, which is us.  Jesus is our reference.  Salvation is found in no one else. We look to him for how to live. We look to him when we need to know how to respond to conflict. He is our reference when striving to put others needs before our own. We don't need to look any further.

I couldn’t help but be reminded of a worship song that I love titled, “Cornerstone”, by Hillsong.  

The chorus says,

“Christ alone, cornerstone.

Weak made strong in the Saviors love.  

Through the storm He is Lord, Lord of all.

Christ alone is Lord of all!  He is the answer to the problems of the world.  Seek him today for your comfort.  I have linked the song, Cornerstone if you want to listen to it.  Just click here or on the picture above to enjoy the music.

Have a blessed day.

Read today's passage here Acts 4:8-12