December 26 – Hope In Faithfulness

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” – Lamentations 3:21-25 (ESV)

At Christmas time we might hear and say much about “peace” and “joy” and experience great happiness.  But not always. Not for everyone. Christmas time can also be a very difficult time for many. Who we celebrate and what we remember at Christmas is the birth of Jesus who was born in Bethlehem and lived there for maybe two years or more. The birth of Jesus, who is the Christ (Messiah) was the fulfillment of prophecies given by God to prophets, whose stories are written in the books of the Old Testament. Jeremiah was one of those prophets. Today’s verse, found right in the middle of the Lamentations of Jeremiah. He states clearly his reason for hope in the middle of his sorrow over the destruction, captivity, and exile of Judah. He calls to mind the lovingkindness, the mercies, the faithfulness of God.  He declares that God is enough – his portion – and the reason for Jeremiah’s hope. Then the promise for us, that the LORD, is good to those who wait and seek him. Today, whatever our circumstances or memories, let’s seek Him while we wait and find in His word His goodness. It will give us hope also.  

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December 31 – Watchnight

“Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the night watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord!”  Lamentations 2:19 (ESV)

For the final visit on this blog for this year, we are sharing some words and thoughts from “365 Days with C.H. Spurgeon.” Slightly modified for our time this is from Spurgeon’s watchnight sermon on New Year’s Eve 1855. 

“Dear friends, may grace be given unto you, that ye may be able to pour out your hearts this night! Remember, my hearers, it may seem a light thing for us to assemble tonight at such an hour, but listen for one moment to the ticking of that clock!  It is the beating of the pulse of eternity. We hear the ticking of that clock! Each time the clock ticks, death’s footsteps are falling on the ground close behind us. We will soon enter another year. This year will be gone in a few moments. 1855 (2020) is almost gone; where will the next year be spent, my friends? One has been spent on earth; where will we spend the next? But do we know how to estimate our time, my hearers? Do we know how to measure our days? Do we know that every hour we are nearing the tomb? That every hour we are nearing judgment? We do not live stationary lives, but we are always going on, on, on, towards the grave. Do you know where the stream of life is hastening some of you? We who have harkened to the call of God know where we are to be. What shall the end of those be who obey not the gospel of God? We will not have so many years to live as we had last year!”

Spurgeon must have the last word: “Now, my friends, in the highest and best sense, I wish you all a happy New Year.”

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August 1 – Love Never Ceasing

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

Our verse for today comes out of the Book of Lamentations. As the book's name implies, it is filled with words written at a very difficult time in the life of Jeremiah the prophet and for the city of Jerusalem. We believe though that what he wrote is true for our lives because he was writing about God and God is the same today as He was then. God's love and His feeling of compassion for us are great and they do not fail. We're thinking especially today of the truth that God's compassions are new every morning. We trust that you were aware yesterday of God's compassion and love for you and are aware of them again today. Our verse says they are new every morning. God renews His love for you today and He'll do that again tomorrow and it will never fail or come to an end. 

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April 8 – Wait and Seek, Seek and Wait

“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26 (NASB)

The command to seek the Lord and the command to wait on the Lord have the same general meaning, and the same general promises are given to each in scripture. Waiting and seeking for our Lord God are terms that frequently describe earnest and effectual prayer.  Waiting and seeking are also ways we are to worship our God.  In our verse today waiting and seeking are used in a combination that suggests a certain difference between them as well as a devotion as a result of coupling these actions.  There is an eagerness and earnestness in our daily walk and communion with God expressed here.  We are enjoined to actively seek God while at the same time passively wait for His answer and action. This is the promise we are given today – The Lord is good to us who wait and seek.  It is good that we make our seeking and waiting silently not just an act of communion but that it becomes habit of our lives as we work out our salvation to His glory. (Philippians 2:12-13)

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April 3 – Considering Our Portion, Have Hope

““The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”” Lamentations 3:24 (ESV)

Need a bit of hope in the circumstances of life the days?  Have the “things of earth” pressed in on your heart and soul and are they deflecting your spirit from the Lord God and His promises?  There is a source where hope can be found.  Hope comes from knowing and trusting in what is true.  When we consider the mercies, compassions, and faithfulness of God we find our portion of our inheritance is Almighty God.  He is our LORD and He is who we have received as our portion.  (Numbers 8:20; Psalm 16:5).  Can we envision anything that is more blessed than receiving a portion of God, or God as our spiritual inheritance?  It is the Lord that we have in life and in death. He is our portion in time and to eternity. All He is, and all He has, is ours in Christ. Considering that we are heirs of Him, shall enjoy Him forever, and we shall never be used up, we affirm that God is a large and full portion that is indescribably rich and great, satisfies our soul, and will last forever.  Therefore, we have hope that will never disappoint us.  

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April 2 –Mercies Every Morning

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:21-23 (ESV)

The book of Lamentations is also referred to as the Book of Tears.  The Prophet Jeremiah is accepted as the author of this book.  Jeremiah was a Prophet who proclaimed the Word of God to the people.  He saw first-hand the destruction of the Jerusalem’s walls and the Temple.  Given many warnings, which the people ignored, God’s promised judgment comes.  Now the people are gone. Carried off to Babylon except for a few.  Jeremiah was one left.   This book is written recording the process of grieving over what God had done to His own people and city.  In the very middle of the book, God gives Jeremiah this assurance.  Our promise is clear. God’s love never stops.  God’s mercies never quit. New mercies come every morning.  God’s faithfulness is great.  God “mercies” is a comprehensive term that encompasses love, grace, mercy, goodness, forgiveness, truth, compassion and faithfulness.  Jeremiah recalled all this in the middle of recounting all the sorrow and tears for the city.  He recalled these truths as we can and they gave him hope as they can give us hope.  God’s mercies are for us, his steadfast love is also for us. God gives us all we need.

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August 1 – Never Ending Love, Mercy, and Faithfulness

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”  Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

We believe that the prophet Jeremiah wrote these words just after Jerusalem had been taken by the Babylonian army.  The writer had witnessed the destruction of the city, his city.  He had also had seen most of the people taken captive and their deportation into exile in Babylon.  We notice that the writer was still trusting the love and compassion of the Lord.  We read these words because of what they say about our Lord. We read that the compassions of the Lord are new every morning.  We can always look to the Lord and trust Him to show His love and His compassions because of this promise. They are new every morning and they last all day.  If we experienced God's love yesterday in some situation.  We can count on His love today even if our circumstances have changed.  God will meet our every need, His compassions or mercies never run out.  His faithfulness is true to his promises. His love never ends. Let's hold fast to these promises today, especially as we see more and more people becoming hateful toward God and those who believe in Him.  

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April 22 – Never Fail. Always New.

“This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”  Lamentations 3:21-23 (NASB)

Two weeks ago we considered words from Lamentations. We believe it was Jeremiah the Prophet who was writing in a situation where the City of Jerusalem has been razed and left in rubble.  The small population in the city was without any defense and exposed. This grieved Jeremiah greatly as he wrote many words expressing his discouragement.  But in the middle of the book comes this encouragement. Jeremiah recalls the truth about the Lord and it gives him hope.  He affirms that the Lord's love and mercy is steadfast and never ends.  He reminds us that the Lord's compassion for us never fails. Every morning He is with us and brings new compassions, and help, and encouragement.  Even in the darkest times of our lives, God is faithful to His Word and His Character.  In fact God's faithfulness is GREAT and we should cling to that when we believe there is no hope.  In the middle of times that are discouraging and bleak there is hope if we will remember who God is and what He has promised. 

April 8 – Our Portion, Our Possession

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” Lamentations 3:24 (ESV)

The writings in the book of Lamentations were most likely by the prophet Jeremiah. He wrote them during the dark days after the City of Jerusalem had been conquered by the Babylonians who left the city in ruins. Those were long sad days for the writer.  With so much around him all destroyed the writer knew that he still had the Lord with him.  This truth was a great comfort to him and he was determined to always trust the Lord. We need to be reminded that no matter what happens around us we still have the Lord.  When we read that He is our portion it means that He belongs to us just as anything does that might have come to us during a distribution of items.  Yes the Lord is ours no matter what happens. We have the promise that He will never leave us and will never desert us no matter what happens.  Trust that promise today and every day.  

April 3 – He Takes Up Our Cause

“I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit;” Lamentations 3:55 (ESV)

“You came near when I called on you; you said, ‘Do not fear!’ “You have taken up my cause, O Lord; you have redeemed my life.” Lamentations 3:57-58 (ESV)

One of the prophets in the Old Testament was Jeremiah. He was faithful in delivering  the messages God gave to him to give to His people. Jeremiah suffered much for people who didn't want to hear these messages. They hated hearing the warnings against them.  After God's judgment fell on the City of Jerusalem, Jeremiah expressed his feeling in the book of Lamentations. These verses from that book are selected for us today. When once Jeremiah was thrown into a cistern and sank into the mud at the bottom he did not forget God. And God had not forgotten Jeremiah either. He heard the prophet call out to Him and He acted to save him.  This is just one example of how our God watches over His people, even if we are not sinking into an actual pit as Jeremiah did. It might just be a pit of discouragement or of depression or emotional difficulty. He will take up your case when you call on him because He has redeemed your life and He has promised to never desert you and He has promised to carry you when you need Him to. 

October 30 – Waiting Quietly

“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.” Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV)

It was during the days following the destruction of the city of Jerusalem by the Babylonians that the words in the book of Lamentations were written.  There was much weeping over the destruction of their city and of the Temple of God. So the words in today's verses are like a breath of encouragement. The writer recognized that great suffering had come because people had forsaken God and had turned from believing in Him. But God was still good to those who trusted and obeyed Him. He had not changed. It was the people who changed. So today, as we are pressed on every side and even threatened, let us continue in our confidence in God and His Word.  After all it is good to wait quietly for the salvation the Lord has promised. It will be here for us. 

August 1 – Love Never Ceasing

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

Our verse for today comes out of the Book of Lamentations. As the book's name implies, it is filled with words written at a very difficult time in the life of Jeremiah the prophet and for the city of Jerusalem. We believe though that what he wrote is true for our lives because he was writing about God and God is the same today as He was then. God's love and His feeling of compassion for us are great and they do not fail. We're thinking especially today of the truth that God's compassions are new every morning. We trust that you were aware yesterday of God's compassion and love for you and are aware of them again today. Our verse says they are new every morning. God renews His love for you today and He'll do that again tomorrow and it will never fail or come to an end. 

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February 17

“I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”” Lamentations 3:24 (NIV)

This is a wonderful and very comforting truth in today’s verse. Our God has made Himself available to us. We can depend on His response to us when we turn to Him. And this relationship is very personal. Our verse says that the Lord is our portion. He has made Himself available to us so that we can think of him as ours – as belonging to us. We have received our portion and that is all we need. When we think this way we are not presuming something. This is really not our idea originally. God originated this idea and He is the one who wants us to consider our relationship in that way. And, if that is true then we will look to Him expectantly. So let us say with the words of our verse what Jeremiah said, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”