Rely on the Lord's Love - Lamentations 1 - 6

Most people would agree that experience is a super teacher. Students have their best and easiest opportunity to learn from any great teacher. Learning from any source, results in physical, mental and spiritual growth. Most people would also agree that suffering is an experience that everyone must face at some time in life. Therefore, since suffering is an experience, we grow from suffering and through the suffering believers can grow to be more like Christ. Since older adults usually suffer many aches and pain these truths should help us to be able to accept the discomforts of life as a part of God’s plan. If young people study and believe God’s word, they too can understand and accept the fact that their suffering can be useful in drawing them closer to God. It is another paradox in life, but joy, peace and happiness can sometimes arrive over the bumpy road of suffering. It takes faith and trust to turn a painful problem into a valuable experience.

God loved the people of this world so much that He gave his Only Son to suffer and die for their redemption. Therefore, because of God’s love and the suffering of Christ on the Cross, we have eternal salvation. At the age of accountability and on through life, it is imperative that we learn to RELY ON THE LORD’S LOVE and we must never consider our infirmities and misfortunes as punishment. Instead we should see them as building stones that help form the foundation for our faith in God and growth in service to Him and our fellow man.

Even though you agree with the facts stated above, at some time in life the question will still arise in our minds—“Why does God allow me to suffer?” Have you ever been in a difficult situation and wanted to ask, “Why me Lord?” “What did I do to deserve this?” The truth is—you may not deserve it, but it is just a warning to prevent you from doing something that would cause you to deserve it. The important question is; did you act on the warning? Or, did you react to the situation? Does personal difficulty increase or decrease your faith? I can tell you—that it depends on whether or not you believe God’s Holy Word to be Truth.

This question [“Why me Lord?”] has perplexed people throughout the ages, ever since the early trials of the Jewish people, and reached it’s zenith during the days of Jeremiah when Jerusalem and the country of Judah suffered through their destruction by the Babylonians. We must remember that God did not cause the suffering of his people; He only allowed it to take place because of their sins, especially their rejection of Him and His authority over them. In some ways it is hard to understand this concept; but the truth is that their suffering resulted from the fact that He loved them so much. In just a few hundred years, He proved this paradox by sending his Son to die for man kind, to provide freedom from fear and sorrow and make this freedom everlasting.

There are several reasons why people must suffer. In Hebrews 12: 5-11, we find that God permits suffering in order to discipline His people. In the case of Job, his suffering was a test [Job 2: 3-10]. Peter taught us that suffering will help us to grow in faith [1 Peter 4: 1-2]. It may be hard to grasp and fully understand but sometimes our suffering may benefit others who are watching our reaction to our misfortunes. Then, there is the case of Christ, who had no sin, but suffered for the sins of others [2 Cor. 5:21]. Through it all, we must simply learn to RELY ON THE LORD’S LOVE AND FAITHFULNESS. We should never feel that trials come because of our weakness, and we must always remember that the All-powerful Son of God, The Lord Jesus Christ, was there [right where we are, only worse] and his situation was so difficult that he cried out asking God why He was being forsaken. “Why have You forsaken Me?” God sustained his Son. And because of God’s faithful love for us—He sustains us in the midst of our suffering. He will not leave or forsake us!

Here is a digression in this thought process, but a true to life example of the subject, that is being addressed in this lesson. Just [a moment ago] as I finished the above paragraph, the phone rang, and the news was that two of our dear Christian friends of many years passed away today; one this morning and one early this afternoon. Our church seems to have had more than its share of losses in the last very few years, and my question is why this must happen to First Baptist in Heber?

It is hard for me to understand how a retirement community can possibly grow in numbers. In order to assist my family, I prepared a funeral arrangement document [back in 1994] that listed six honorary pall bearers, six of my best friends, and today they are all deceased. My question is; Lord, why have you honored me with longer life? In comparison to God’s time, life here on earth is like a vapor or fog; we are here for only a moment and then vanish away. Now, redirect your thoughts to Lamentations.

Following the study of the Book of Jeremiah and the fall of Judah, you must now read the short five chapters in the Book of Lamentations. You won’t regret it! In some ways it is a brief look back at what was a long story of troubles. It reviews the destruction of Jerusalem; it proclaims God’s mercy; it tells you again the consequences of sin; and best of all, it gives you a beautiful picture of our HOPE that is found only in Jesus Christ. Please read Lamentations today before you sleep tonight. I only have time to tell you briefly about the hope we have in the midst of our afflictions which is recorded in chapter 3. Our lives are reflected in the life of the author, Jeremiah.

We are people of affliction because of sin and God’s wrath against it. Life is not easy, often cruel, and we start rapidly growing old the moment we are born, and sometimes life is bitter and full of hardship. Jeremiah’s life was no bed of roses; his life rivaled that of Job’s, but he remained faithful and strong. He is a wonderful example of what we should be. But through it all in verse 21, he said that “Therefore I have hope.”…22 and on “Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They [compassions] are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.’ 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.”

The bible teaches us that God is ultimate perfection and when he finished each phase of His creation He observed it and said “it is good.” Then sin entered and created a huge debt that was impossible for man to pay. Christ paid that sin-debt for us on the cross, but he chose to let sin continue until Salvation’s plan is completed. We must live in this world and bear our portion of the ravages of sin and remain faithful and trust God for our ultimate deliverance when Christ returns to rescue His own. What a day of rejoicing that will be! There will no longer be the question of “Why me LORD? The question will then become a positive statement…truly an announcement…’IT IS ME LORD! God’s answer will be, “Well done good and faithful servant.” The answer for some will be, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

It is sad, but some will receive an answer to their announcement

Recognize the Lord's Authority - Jeremiah 46 - 52

Anyone must believe the Bible to be The True Word of God in order to recognize the Lord’s authority. By studying the Bible we know that God created the heavens and earth and all that is therein. He is the GREAT I AM and as such He is the owner of all and the authorized director of all activity. He is the Authority whether or not any individual recognizes the fact. It is sad, but some believers either forget or simply fail to recognize that God controls our destiny and this simple neglect causes many of our undesirable circumstances in life. As we grow older and gain valuable experience it becomes obvious that our neglect to place God first [recognize his authority] in our lives never brings acceptable results.

There are no exceptions to the rule of accountability; in this lesson today we find that the powerful are accountable by reading [Jer. 50 & 51]—and the privileged are found accountable in [Jer. 52]—in fact every one of us is said to be accountable in [46 to 50]. I believe the writer discussed the accountability of everyone first and then realized that the powerful and privileged might not get the point, so he singled them out in the later chapters. The lesson we learn here is that God is no respecter of any person because of status or position; he requires, yes, even demands, that each individual must recognize his authority. To do otherwise results in spiritual suicide and eternal death starts with unbelief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. If you truly believe in Him, then it is very easy to recognize his authority over you. Christ is the Light of the world, the Salt of the earth, and the only Door to heaven; He said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The failure to recognize God’s position as our Creator is a form of arrogance or false pride which is a sinful attitude or behavior that ascribes to our selves the glory, honor and power that belongs only to God. This attitude can pervade our thinking so easily that we hardly recognize that it is happening. For example; we often pray for what we want instead of praying for what God knows we need. When we do this we are actually saying that we know better than God knows what we need. Am I saying that you should not pray that a love one that is very ill should not be healed? No indeed, I am not. But I am saying that you should recognize that it must be within God’s desire, His plan, and His purpose for you and your love one. Remember that Christ, realizing that he was facing death on the Cross, prayed for his own life in the Garden, but even He said; “Not My will, but “Your will” [God’s will] be done.” I don’t know about you, but when I think of Christ’s prayer, it makes it much easier for me to pray for my wife and children and say to Him—“This is my desire Lord, but never-the-less, your will is acceptable.” We absolutely must avoid personal arrogance.

Follow Orders - Jeremiah 40 - 45

If you are a parent, then you know that children are rebellious at an early age and really find it difficult to follow orders. Most adults can remember the day when it was difficult for them to follow orders especially when they did not fully agree with the orders being given…and in some cases that wasn’t too long ago. May be it is not so hard to understand why God’s People, [the Jews] were reluctant to follow the orders of God whom they had never seen or heard, but only knew about through the Priest and Prophets who proclaimed that they got their orders from God in a vision or dream.

I will be first to admit that God has never spoken to me in an audible voice; and, to my knowledge and remembrance, never in a dream or vision. However, I truly believe that He has given us His Word [in Holly Writ] so that we know what His orders are for us in 2011. It is imperative that we read His Word, study it and know what He would have us say and do. In a nut-shell, that is to BELIEVE, REPENT and OBEY HIM.

I must divert from the bible lesson for a moment to say that I have always thought that officials who are elected by the people are supposed to listen to the orders that the people give them. However, it is very obvious that the house, senate and president of the USA have refused to hear the public cry for them to cut spending and balance the federal budget. As a result, it seems to be imperative that the American people are about to find out, first hand, what it is like when the elected officials refuse to FOLLOW ORDERS. In government [just as it has always been in spiritual matters] there will always be a PAY DAY SOMEDAY. Now that leaders have refused to FOLLOW ORDERS again, our ‘pay day’ may come before 2011 is completed. The legislation that has just been adopted is only ‘patch work’ and will not solve our problems. It is only a beginning, and we have no assurance that things will change for the better.

The leaders, including the kings, and many of the priests, refused to FOLLOW THE ORDERS given by God, through the prophet Jeremiah, in about 627 to 586 BC. We are now studying the effects of their refusal in chapters 40 to 45, even after they have already seen God’s hand at work for several years. One would think that after the invasion by Babylon, loosing the battle, many being taken captive and even more starving from lack of food, that there would no longer be any resistance to the ORDERS OF GOD. However, it is just not human nature to submit to Spiritual guidance. It has always been almost impossible to get political leaders to admit they have failed when their ideas are no longer working in a positive way.

“The Northern Kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians in 722 BC. The Lord had announced through such prophets as Isaiah, Micah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk, and Jeremiah that He would send a similar disaster on the Southern Kingdom of Judah if the people did not turn from their sins and return to Him. In the late 600s BC, Assyria fell to the Babylonians or Chaldeans. The Lord repeatedly warned that He would use the Babylonians as His instrument of judgment on His people’s sins if they did not change their ways.” See footnote [1].

The Bible tells us that “All have sinned’ and that we must “Repent and turn from our wicked ways” or suffer the consequences. He tells us in [Jer. 40: 1-41:18] that failure or refusing to learn from past failures will be devastating. He also says in [Jer. 42:1-43:7] that we must request and follow the Lord’s guidance. And we know that persistent rebellion will bring spiritual sorrow and physical devastation when we study [Jer. 43:8-44:30]. Since God is a loving and just Heavenly Father we can always feel secure and know that He will reward our faithful service [Jer.45: 1-5]. The question keeps arising—why will we not FOLLOW ORDERS? The answer must be either ‘disbelief’ or out-right ‘rebellion.’ Do you believe what God tells you in his Word? I do, and that is why I know that we must trust Him.

The number one sin has always been, and is now, the worship of ‘other gods’ instead of the True God—and that is idolatry. Stated in another way, it has always been man’s failure to accept Jesus Christ as the One and Only Savior. Ancient people are noted for their devotion to other things such as a golden calf, the sun, moon and stars, and various graven images. I believe that some people dream up or think about an imagined God. He is not a god in our head, but must be the God of our heart [soul]. Finally, there is no doubt that accepting or holding a false doctrine of God is a form of idolatry. One can not commit idolatry and receive salvation from it. When we create a mental image of God we have created an idol. Idolatry is much more prevalent today than many of us realize. Even though the common sins like greed, gossip, and hatred are most grievous; and adultery, stealing and misuse of drugs are common—the sins of idolatry and unbelief are still even more important.

Idolatry is commonplace and must be identified and removed from our lives. The Lord has declared judgment on those who engage in idol worship. Do you play golf, go fishing, or visit Aunt May on the Lord’s Day—instead of going to church to Worship God. There is nothing wrong with any of these activities—unless they replace God in your life, and then they become idols. Oh yes—you can even worship God while you fish, hunt or play; but remember he warned us “Not to forsake the gatherings of his people to-gather in His temple to worship.”

I feel compelled to talk to parents of children and teen-agers for a moment. Do you take your children with you to worship? Do you insist that your teen-agers attend Sunday school and adult church, hear the Sunday message and gain the knowledge and background they will need to take our place when we are too old to lead? Where are the teen-agers on Sunday mornings at the eleven o’clock service? Are they sleeping in, playing ball or skiing on the lake?

And one more personal question: do you miss church to go watch them play ball? Do you accompany them to the lake on Sunday morning, share their fun-time, drive the boat, and feel that you are needed to help them stay safe. If you do—you are worshipping a very serious idol. You are putting your own children before God. What a shame because God loves children, before he loves adults; and it is imperative that you love and support them. You just can not afford to do it and leave God out. I plead with you to make sure that you have your priorities in the right order—the order that Christ would use. If you are not in Sunday school and Church, how can you expect your children to believe it is important?

I plead with you to study chapters 40 through 45, and see for yourself what happened to a people that that refused to put God in first place in their lives.

[1] Explore The Bible, Adult Commentary Summer 20111, LifeWay

Stay True to God's Word - Jeremiah 34 - 40

Is it reasonable or even possible for you to believe that a vast majority of the people in the world actually detest the Holly Bible? You should believe because it is sorrowfully true. It is even harder to believe that there are a large percentage of American citizens that reject it; especially since our country was founded as ONE NATION UNDER GOD. One of the best proofs that the Bible is the inspired Word of God is the fact that many prophets, like Jeremiah, foretold, in detail, events that would happen hundreds of years in advance of their happening. How could they have known the future events without God’s revelation to them? Rejection of the Bible has always been a problem, because people just do not want to be reminded of their sins. Jeremiah wrote God’s message to Judah on a scroll and when King Jehoiakim heard it read, he cut the scroll into pieces and burned it in his wintertime fireplace [36:23].

There are at least three ways that rejection takes place. 1. Some refuse to honor the Bible; they attack it instead. Many who proclaimed the Word were attacked or even killed. Some trivialize, mock and ridicule the Bible; and others have burned or otherwise destroyed it. William Tyndale’s version of the English bible was burned in England in A.D. 1526 by the Bishop in London. 2. Some simply ignore the Bible, refuse to read and study the Word and their rejection is through ignorance. 3. Probably the most common rejection of the Bible today is simply by disobeying it. Many have studied the Holly Writ and are able to tell you much about it; however they still reject the message and refuse to be guided by God’s Word.

There seems to be no doubt that God expects his people to read, honor and obey his Word and acknowledge his authority, and STAY TRUE, that is heed his word. He is grieved when anyone fails to accept his word, and for sure there will be a penalty to pay for those that refuse, or even neglect to study. I thank the Lord every day for the privilege I have of studying and sharing His Word with you. I praise Him for making it possible for it to appear in two papers; The Sun Times and the White River Journal. If you read this commentary, please complement the papers for publishing it without charge. The Word tells us to study to show ourselves approved by Him. It is a commandment and is imperative. Do you have a set plan or system to follow that provides regular Bible study?

The lesson today tells us that we must STAY TRUE to God’s Word. Ask yourself the question; how can I stay true to the Word when I do not read and study what it says? In chapter 34, God’s judgment arrived. Jeremiah was directed to remind Judah’s King Zedekiah that following the Exodus from Egyptian bondage, God directed that all Jewish slaves, men and women, be set free after six years of service to their owner. Slaves were set free under this king, and then almost immediately, they were again enslaved. This was repulsive to God and Zedekiah was told that he and his subjects would be taken bondage by the Babylonians.

In chapter 35, the Recabite family was chosen by God to be an example to all people showing that the tribe that followed Jonadab son of Recab was more dedicated to their leaders than the Jews were to Almighty God. The Recabites were a nomadic tribe of Jews; Jonadab, their leader, set forth a rule that the Recabites were never to drink wine, live in houses, or farm fruits and vegetables and they STAYED TRUE to his teaching. Even when Jeremiah set wine before them and told them that God had given them the order to drink, they still refused. God did not approve of the drinking of wine; he used this as a test to prove that the Recabites would remain true to their leader. God directed Jeremiah to tell Judah that they were told to have no other gods, not to marry aliens, to be honest, not to practice extortion, to release their slaves and etc. etc. and since they had refused to STAY TRUE TO HIS TEACHING, He would allow them to go into captivity.

God is a patient and loving God and has never damned any person or people without first giving more than one warning; and I want to remind you that all of these warnings were written for the benefit of all posterity, including the USA. His patience was being tested too far by King Jehoiakim and the people of Judah. Jeremiah dictated and Baruch wrote a scroll demanding their obedience and in chapter 36 we find that God was still patiently waiting for His people to repent. He said; “Perhaps they will bring their petition before the Lord, and each will turn from his wicked ways…” However, even though warned by three of his leaders not to destroy the scroll, the King cut it into shreds and burned it in his fireplace. The Supreme Court has ordered God’s Law, The Ten Commandments, removed from the view of the public—“Because they might read it and could become defiled.”

In chapter 37 & 38, we find that Jeremiah remained true to God, but was taken prisoner and punished and accused of deserting to the Babylonians. He was finally thrown in a cistern with no water, just mud, where he was left to die from starvation. A Cushite official pleaded his case to the King and got permission to rescue Jeremiah. He sent thirty men who used ropes to draw him from the cistern. God will always use his tremendous power to rescue his own when they choose to STAY TRUE to Him in time of need.

God’s patients were frayed to the breaking point in chapter 39, and the fall of Jerusalem was great and disastrous. Space and time prohibits me from telling you the story, so please go there and read what happened. It is both interesting reading and a very definite warning to all who are disobedient. And, what do you think King Nebuchadnezzar did to Jeremiah? Did he take him captive? Or, did he allow him to return home to his own people? You will find the answer if you read all eighteen verses. Now, I ask you, have you paid the price that was paid by Jeremiah for the privilege of worshiping and telling others what the Word of God says to them? Will you STAY TRUE TO GOD, no matter what happens?