“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.

God is Faithful - You Can Count on It

Psalm 138

For the next four weeks at UALC, our sermons are going to focus on thankfulness.  Each sermon will feature one of the Psalms. Four weeks in the Psalms - now that's a great place to dig into thankfulness.

I would encourage you to read this psalm out loud. There is something about reading scripture aloud that will help you focus your heart on what God wants for you. Try it!

The psalmist focuses on God's unfailing love and faithfulness (v. 3). And he adds that "when I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. (v. 3). Note that there is action on the psalmist's part:  When I called. Yes, there are times when God calls us, but there are many times when we need to call on Him.

And he is always faithful to answer. It might not be the answer we think we want or deserve. Indeed, we will have trouble - take a look at verse 7 - 'though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life. You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes; with your right hand you save. '

What is the constant in the life of a Christian?  Surely not the absence of trouble, of hardship, or heartache. All of those we will experience in this earthly life.

The constant, unchanging truth is that God's love endures forever.  The  beloved hymn, Great is Thy faithfulness, has endured for more than 100 years because it clearly states truth:

Great is thy faithfulness
Great is thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed thy hand has provided
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.

Yes, Lord, you are faithful, despite my faithlessness. Thank you for your word, and for psalm 138  Help me to plant these words deeply in my heart, and to call on you and know that your love will endure forever.  Amen.  

Fruit Insptector

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited,provoking and envying each other. -Galatians 5:22-26

My Father-In-Law used to own an orange grove. This was over 40 years ago, but he has shared stories of how he, and a crew of people, would have to go out into the grove and inspect the fruit. The grove was in Florida, so one of the things they had to be aware of was the temperature. If it got too cold, they would light tires on fire throughout the grove which would raise the temperature and keep the fruit safe.

We are called to be fruit inspectors too. We are to inspect the fruit in our own lives and make sure we are keeping with the Spirit. Our passage today says, "Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." How can we know we are keeping in step with the Spirit?

Well, we need to inspect our fruit. Is the fruit we produce in our lives consistent with the fruit of the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says,

 "22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." 

If we can see the fruit of the Spirit at work in our lives then we know we are keeping in step with the Spirit, if not then we know we have some work to do.  One great way to make sure you are on a good path is to allow others to be fruit inspectors in your life.  They will see things that you may overlook.  

It is always nice to have safe accountability, someone who knows us and loves us and wants the best for us and others around us.  We need someone we can trust to inspect the fruit we are producing, because as you know, one rotten apple can ruin the whole bunch.

Common Ground?

Reading: Acts 13:17-26

 

In the reading of this passage from Acts, I am struck again by two things: First, the great faithfulness of God toward His chosen people, and second, the poor memory of the Israelites. In these verses, Paul enumerates many ways the Lord cared for His people – from choosing them in the first place, to prospering them in Egypt, from putting up with them in the wilderness (Paul’s words in verse 18 in NASB translation!), to getting them safely to the Promised Land.  How could these people so easily forget His care for them and resort to complaining and self-pity?

 

God’s ultimate goal was to bring to and through Israel the Savior of the world (as promised through the Old Testament prophets).  These words of the prophets were read every Sabbath, yet the “people of Jerusalem and their rulers (13:27)” missed the fulfillment of the promised Savior in Jesus, whom they condemned.  There are plenty of things the prophets said about the coming Savior that were clues to His identity.  Jesus himself used the scriptures to show who he was to two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus: “and beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27).”  With all the evidence God so faithfully provided, how could the Jews miss recognizing their Messiah? 

 

In focusing on these questions about the Israelites, I am struck again by two things:  First, the great faithfulness of God toward me, and second, my poor memory.  There are many things I can enumerate throughout my life that show how God has cared for me.  How can I so easily forget His care for me and resort to complaining and self-pity?

 

God’s ultimate goal for my life is to bring me to himself through Jesus.  He provides his word to teach me who he is.  One way it comes to me is every Sunday as it is read in church.  There are times that I can listen and be unaffected by God’s word.  It’s not that I haven’t believed in Jesus, but perhaps I miss out on many blessings when I don’t allow listening to go beyond my ears.

With all the evidence God so faithfully provided, how could I miss recognizing all God has for me to live the abundant life?

 

Someone once said that when you are pointing your finger at someone else, there are four other fingers pointing back at you.  Hum…perhaps I might have more in common with the Israelites than I want to admit!  Lord, keep my memory focused on your faithfulness, and my mind set on the blessing of You.

Peter's First Denial of Jesus -- John 18:12-18

Talk is cheap. Anyone of us can claim our loyalty to another when everything is going along good. It is easy to vow faithfulness and support to a colleague when life is running smooth. It is humbling to recognize we all have the potential to be a "fair-weather friend' to someone we care about. It is difficult to admit, but I might crumble just like Peter did if faced with a similar situation.

The rubber meets the road when we are called upon to follow through with our pledge; to stand with a friend when they are in the midst of major troubles. This is where we find Peter right now. Jesus and all the disciples were in the garden, praying, when the Roman contingent arrived.

Peter watched as his beloved friend was bound, and arrested. An army of Roman soldiers took Him away like a common criminal. Peter, like many of us might, allowed his fear to override his promise to lay down his life for his Lord. In fact, Peter denied being a disciple. Jesus knew this would happen; knew and yet still loved Peter.

We all can take such comfort from this fact. There is nothing we can do to make Jesus love us more, and there is nothing we can do to make Him love us less. Wow, that is powerful Good News!

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All Israel to Egypt - Genesis 45:16 - 46:34

It is fascinating to look back at the lives of Jacob and Joseph, two ordinary men, chosen by God. God blesses them and many future generations.

Jacob did his share of rebellion and disobedience, confession and repentance. God’s special love for Jacob shows as we witness Him working through Jacob’s many human flaws to prepare him for greatness.

Joseph suffered misfortunes, anguish and loneliness, but he relied on God’s help in his troubles. We see Joseph faithful and strong, facing hardships, resisting temptation and offering forgiveness. We see God’s plan fulfilled. Joseph becomes a leader of a nation!

Did they understand and comprehend God's plan? I don’t think so, but both men remained faithful and trusted God. Their obedience allowed God to work his plan through them.

God spoke to Jacob, "I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there." (v 46:3) Jacob came to Egypt, and with his sons settled in Goshen. There they grew into the nation that God had planned.

When I am in the midst of unsettling times, I can see and feel God's presence, but. I don’t always understand His plan. I am grateful that I don’t need to understand. I need to pray, listen, trust, obey, and rejoice in the comfort and peace of knowing it is God's plan. He is right by my side making it work out in spite of all my imperfections.

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Read the entire text for today, Genesis 45:16 - 46:34, on Biblegateway.

Joseph-faithful while tempted -- Genesis 39

In a day when it is common for spouses to cheat on one another, for partners to steal from their businesses and for elected officials to fail to perform the duties of their offices, the word faithful might seem foreign. Mother Teresa said, "Be faithful in the small things because it is in them that your strength lies."

What does it mean to be faithful?  Hebrews 11:1 says^{, "}Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  The dictionary lists faith, faithful, and faithfulness as somewhat synonymous.  Trust, true to life, loyal are listed as attributes a faithful person would have. 

Joseph is an example to us all, of faithfulness under fire.  He was true to his earthly master, taking care of his accounts and household matters honestly; he was even faithful to his master's wife by not allowing her to break her marriage vows with him.  He was loyal to himself, as he never took the easy way out.  Finally, and most importantly, Joseph was true to his God.  Joseph could have given up and given in but he was faithful and proved his allegiance to his God.  And God proved His faithfulness to Joseph and loved him dearly and blessed him mightily. 

Joseph may have lived thousands of years ago, but we can learn from his behavior even today.

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