The 3rd Lament: God's Great Faithfulness

When I think of Lamentations it's not usually a go-to source for encouraging scripture. But Lamentations 3:19-24 paints an incredible word picture of the beauty of God's love for us. I want to visit this wonderful passage over the next few days in hopes that it will encourage you as much as it has encouraged me.

... there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope: GOD ’s loyal love couldn’t have run out, his merciful love couldn’t have dried up. They’re created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I’m sticking with GOD (I say it over and over). He’s all I’ve got left. (‭Lamentations‬ ‭3‬:‭19-24‬ MSG Emphasis Added)

How great is the faithfulness of God? Have you ever considered that question? I mean, after all, what is faithfulness? It is the condition of being full of faith. An ongoing permeation of belief in something.

God has great faithfulness. God permeates faith.

After all it is by him that we believe in him. It is by his words that we have faith. It his because of his great limitless love that we are adopted in.

God's faithfulness is not measured by moments, actions, or attempts. It is not defined by works, not even those wondrous things by which we come to him. God's great faithfulness is measured only by him. That is to say, God is inseparable from his great faithfulness.

He will always believe. He will always be the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of the unseen. (See Hebrews 11:1) Or as one translation puts it, he is our confidence.

God's great faithfulness is as reliable as he is. Always. He has great faith. Both in himself, and in his love for you. Yes, God's great faithfulness means something for you. It means God always believes in the you that you could be. Because the blueprint for your potential rests in the grace of God alone.

God's great faithfulness is pointed right at you.

December 19 - Through Faith

Romans 4:13-25

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:20, 21 ESV)

Abraham trusted God's promise. He wasn't the only one. There are numerous examples in scripture of God leading his people toward something, and them putting their faith in Him.

Faith in Jesus is a powerful thing. It is the foundation of hope, and the cradle of belief. It is precious. It is up-lifting. It is life-giving and life-changing.

Abraham's faith was potent, not because of his mental capacity to understand, or his soulful yearning to believe. Abraham had a complete faith, in that his faith influenced his behavior. Faith caused him to do stuff.

It is through our faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior that we find freedom from sin and death. This faith is demonstrated by our actions and reactions. It informs and influences the initiative we take to help others, and the way we respond to how we are treated. Faith carries us through hard times, but it's also through faith that we will know everlasting peace and assurance.

October 20 - Choosing to Believe

Mark 15:21-32

"Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. (Mark 15:32 ESV)

As Jesus hung upon the cross there were many people gathered to watch the horrible event unfold. Many of the onlookers were hostile, but not all of them. Some that had gathered were believers, and still others were not. Those that had yet to believe were frightening the cruelty of the crucifixion by heaping prideful mockery upon Christ.

We don't know the numbers but many people who followed Jesus to Golgotha where he was crucified were there to lament and mourn for him. There also were those present who did not believe. But the one defining difference in the two groups was their ideas about who Jesus was. It was a difference of belief.

My position is that belief is a choice. You choose what you do or do not believe. The scribes and religious people regularly asked Jesus to perform signs, but when he did they didn't meet their super religious criteria, or they somehow cut out their scandalous religious pyramid scheme. So those guys chose not to believe in Jesus despite all the miracles he had performed in front of their eyes.

They taunted him. Casting their doubts in the form of dangling skepticism and might-have-been-belief, but the simple truth is that they had chosen not to believe Jesus was the messiah. What do you believe?

October 4 - What Is Truth?

John 18:28-40

Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. (John 18:38 ESV)

What is truth? That philosophical pursuit has been the chief question for many thinkers across history. What makes something true? What makes something untrue? And what the implications for either?

Pilate was faced with the truth of Jesus' identity. A truth each of us must also face. Pilate had the added complication of a volatile geopolitically charged climate. You and I must merely answer the question of the truth of Christ for ourselves.

We're not told of Pilate's answer. We don't know what he determined truth to be. However, he did state that he found Jesus to be not guilty of the charges leveled against him. He found him undeserving of the death penalty. And then, in action both contradictory and concessional—he turned Jesus over to be crucified as an appeasement for the Jewish mob.

Pilate's own mixed wonderings about truth led to his perplexing actions. And it is a reality in which we share. Our view of truth will shape our actions. What we believe in forms the context and motivation for all of our most meaningful behavior. So, it might be a good time to go look in the mirror and ask the person staring back, "What is truth?"

September 23 - Are You?

John 18:12-18

The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” (John 18:17 ESV)

In every journey of faith there is a decision point. Truthfully there are many many times you will be faced with tough decisions. But some of those will be more difficult than others.

Jesus had been arrested and his disciples fled. Well, almost all of them. Peter and another disciple had followed Jesus into the compound of the Jewish High Priest. It was a dangerous place for them to be found.

While there Peter was identified as a follower of Jesus. Suddenly his anonymity was gone, and he was faced with a potentially mortal question. "Are you a disciple?" And Peter did the unthinkable, he denied Jesus.

You will probably find yourself in a similar place in this life. At some point down the road you will be on hostile territory, surrounded by people who don't understand you, and they will pointedly ask if you have any allegiance to Jesus. Sometimes this can be an overt kind of persecution that leads possible violence. Or, as is often the case in western cultures, it is the prelude to quiet disdain and snarky rejection.

How will you answer the question when you are asked? Will the weight of the circumstances influence your decision?

September 22 - Jesus, the Christ

Mark 14: 53-65

But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” (Mark 14:61 ESV)

Jesus was put on trial as a sham. Those in power had predetermined the trial's outcome. They had orchestrated false witnesses, with disagreeing testimonies. All of it was done under pretenses of maintaining Judaism. In reality, it was about squeezing Jesus out. The religious fat cats were afraid of the affect Jesus would have on their coffers.

But the seeds had been sown. Not all of those in power doubted Jesus' claims. Many of the common people had been undeniably touched by Jesus' miracles. The disciples and many others had come to see Jesus as the Christ. The Messiah the Old Testament writers promised would bring redemption to Jews and the rest of the world.

The high priest was a different matter all together. He had the most to lose because of Jesus. And using a tool straight out of the pit of Hell, a tactic used by Satan himself during the temptation in the wilderness, he attacked Jesus' identity.

Jesus answered boldly. He loudly declared the truth of his identity for all in attendance to hear. He gave them a chance to believe. Jesus, the Christ, gives all who would ask of him the chance to believe.

September 8 - Do You?

John 16:25-33 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? (John 16:31 ESV)

Belief is powerful. It shapes our hearts. Shapes our motives. It drives us toward many things. There are so many different kinds of beliefs. They are nigh innumerable. Some beliefs people merely jump into with little in the way of evidence, while others are based off of things they have seen, heard, and understood.

Jesus heard what his disciples had to say about him. Their reassurances about who he was. He desired to further reinforce their belief in him and was communicating to them an aspect of his relationship with God the Father. He was building their belief, much as he had done for nearly three years.

What do you believe pr disbelieve about Jesus? What is your belief in Jesus based on? Do you believe in him? Who is he to you?

September 5 - Falling Away

John 16:1-4

I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. (John 16:1 ESV)

Have you ever known someone who walked away from their faith in Jesus? Perhaps not. Theologians and all manner of people smarter than myself have argued over even the possibility of such a thing for years.

Jesus said it was possible for people to fall away from their faith. He was warning his followers of some of the terrible things to come in hopes that they would maintain faith. He didn't want the trials and afflictions of persecution to drive them away from their belief in him.

It worked. Nearly all of the original twelve disciples went on to give their lives for their belief in Christ. Christianity spread like a flame in a forest. People have continued to believe in Jesus as their savior for nearly two millennia.

In western culture we as Christ followers don't generally face direct physical persecution. Instead we often come up against simmering ridicule, sarcastic academic scrutiny, and posturing political posers. It is sometimes a nearly subconscious or passive aggressive kind of tension that wears away at our faith, if we let it. We have a choice in all things, we choose to let these things push us closer to Christ, or we choose let them erode our faith. If we do succumb to the pressure until the foundations of our faith erode away, we too may one day run the risk of falling away.

September 1 - The Holy Spirit

John 14:15-31

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, (John 14:16 ESV)

Jesus' time with his disciples was drawing to an end. Soon he would no longer be with them in the common way we think of when we talk about companionship. Instead, Jesus said that the Helper was going to come. That actually by him leaving it would empower the disciples to serve God in even more incredible ways. The Helper Jesus was speaking of is the Holy Spirit.

Traditional (Orthodox) Christianity has always held the belief of a triune God, that means God expressed through three persons. It is all rather complicated sounding, but it is actually really simple. There is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

There are a ton of varied beliefs that revolve around the Holy Spirit. Some movements have very exuberant ideas about what is involved as we interact with the Holy Spirit, while some try not to acknowledge the Spirit at all. There are a few things that are quite clear about the Spirit.

All throughout scripture we see God performing powerful deeds. The Holy Spirit is always at work in these stories. Jesus performed miracles by being filled with the Spirit at his baptism. Many Old Testament heroes did mighty and amazing things under the power of the Spirit of God.

Salvation is a work of the Holy Spirit. After salvation the Holy Spirit continues to urge us toward personal growth in Christ. The Holy Spirit assists us in the ability to better fight temptation. Awareness of the Spirit makes us more sensitive to the way God sometimes chooses to communicate with His kids. The Holy Spirit empowers us to demonstrate fruitful Christian lives. The Holy Spirit sometimes works through us to do the miraculous.

Those are all incredible things. They make life with God outstanding. Indeed, I can not imagine trying to live this God-life without the instruction and influence of the Holy Spirit.

August 31 - Jesus the Way

John 14:1-14

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 ESV)

We live in a time when people proclaim that there are many paths to heaven. For some people the only acceptable explanation of death and the after life is one that is an all inclusive possibility. Based on his own words, it is impossible to follow the teachings of Jesus to the fullest human degree possible and not discount the idea of an all-paths-lead-to-heaven belief system.

Jesus boldly and plainly declared that he was the only way to heaven. Why? Because he is the path to God. He is the connection point. He is the intermediary, the advocate, the sacrifice, and the King. We are coheirs with Christ only because he was first an heir of all that God has in store for us.

There is no secret spell. No hidden agenda. No duplicitous schemes in the story of Jesus. He lived perfect. He died meaningfully. He rose again assuredly. For you, and for me. That he might be the way, the truth, and the life for all that would seek after a way to the Father.

August 30 - The New Commandment

John 13:31-35

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35 ESV)

Historians attribute the rapid spread of Christianity to the fiercely unrelenting kindness the early church demonstrated in the face of great odds. Another way to say that is that Christianity spread far and fast because of how well they demonstrated love. Because true love is relentless.

Jesus explained to his followers that love would be the identifying characteristic of followship. His people were to be a people of love. They were to be set apart from the world around them.

Why then does that not always seem to be the case in our world? Sometimes people who call themselves Christians can be the meanest people around. That stands in stark contrast to the words of Jesus.

The call to love is more than a suggestion. It isn't pop psychology either. It is a commandment straight from the mouth of the Son of God. It isn't optional. We don't get to choose who we will or won't love. We are called, no commanded, to love. It's time we stepped it up.

July 20 - Great Faith

Matthew 15: 21-28 Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:28 ESV)

When the Canaanite woman approached Jesus seeking deliverance for her daughter a very interesting exchange took place. The disciples wanted to send her away because of her persistence. She threw herself at Jesus' feet, pleading for his help and he was moved by her faith.

The Canaanite woman had faith that Jesus would help her daughter. In the face opposition and unlikelihood she persisted. And her faith was met with the miraculous.

I don't know that we can change things based on our personal levels of faith. Perhaps we can, but Im just not sure. I don't think that kind of power lies with us. I believe it to rest firmly in the hands of God. I do believe that God gets a special kind of glory and worship when we persist in our belief. I find that in times of difficulty I sometimes actually feel closer to him as I learn to lean into Him with belief and faith that He will carry me through.

Small faith is easy to come by, at least for me. Not because I am anything special, I just have a lifetime of practicing it. Great faith is another matter altogether. It takes an intimate level of commitment and consideration to invest yourself in great faith. The closer I am to God, the easier I find it to entrust my big stuff to show care.

July 7 - In His Arms

Mark 10:13-16

And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. (Mark 10:16 ESV)

One day some kids were coming up to Jesus. Some of his disciples seemed not to like it very much and started hindering them. Jesus wouldn't stand for it and used the opportunity as a teaching point. He told them that the kingdom of God must be received as a child would receive it. And then he continued to accept children and bless them.

Mark, writing Peter's account of things, said that he took them in his harms. The children enjoyed Jesus. He just have been fun and funny. He hugged them. He showed them innocent affection born of deep love for their young hearts, and pure spirits.

For many of us it is far too late in life to contemplate existing with a pure and innocent spirit. Because of bad choices or terrible circumstances many of us have either given away or been robbed of innocence. But Jesus came to this earth to restore it to us. And just as he took the children up in his arms, he draws us into his majestic presence to restore to us the purity of spirit with which we were created.

Believing in Christ as Lord takes us into his presence. It begins our life with him. It as an action of desired innocence. It is childlike. And as a result he takes us in his arms. He blesses us. He puts his hand over our lives. A life lived with the Hand of God on it is a blessed life indeed.

June 7 - Help My Unbelief

Read: Mark 9:14-29

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24 ESV)

The disciples encountered a boy possessed by an evil spirit that frequently tried to harm him. It had made him mute and caused other physical manifestations of pain and suffering. For some reason the disciples were not able to make it go away. Jesus alluded to a lack of faith among those present. And I love how the father of the boy responded. "I believe; help my unbelief!"

There are days when faith comes so easy to me. It is nearly effortless to fully, completely, and eagerly accept both the big claims of Christianity and all of its various implications for my life. And then there are the days when I feel like I am having a strong case of unbelief. Not because I have ceased to believe in the truth about Jesus, but because I am internally wrestling with some of what it will mean for my life.

I don't know if you're like that. Maybe you don't have a problem pushing the unbelief out of your life. Or maybe you feel inundated by the doldrums of unbelief on a very frequent basis. Jesus can help. He can help with the prevailing feelings of a lacking belief , and he can help with the root of the issue. All we have to do is ask. All we have to do is communicate our heart to him. He is waiting.

Jesus, we believe; help us with our unbelief.

June 3 - Laughing at Jesus

Read: Luke 8:40-56

And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. (Luke 8:53 ESV)

Jesus had just healed the woman with an issue of blood while on his way to Jairus's house. Arriving at the house he found a crowd of pessimistic and skeptical mourners. They had actually tried to dismiss him from coming at all as they believed her to be dead. When Jesus informed them that the situation was not beyond hope they laughed at him.

I enjoy a good joke. I like to laugh, and try to find humor in things that are sometimes difficult. A dead little girl is not a laughing matter. Neither was Jesus' commitment to minister to the family in the situation.

Why did they laugh at Jesus? Because he spoke with authority and confidence that the girl was going to be ok. Jesus was telling people that a dead girl was going to be fine, that they needed to merely believe and all would be fine. That seemed impossible. It was ridiculous. After all curing someone of something while they were still alive was one thing, but who has the power to make life return to a body that has ceased to function? God does.

Jesus did the inexplicable for Jairus's family. Some of us need him to reach down from heaven and do the inexplicable for us. He can. I believe that he wants to. But if he told us the enormity of the magnitude for what he had planned would we believe him? If Jesus looked at the impossibility of our situation and declared authoritatively that he was about to undo the impossible would we believe? Or we would join the crowd of skeptics and laugh at Jesus?

It's not enough to merely believe in Jesus. We need to move beyond the point of simply believing in his existence and begin to believe in his words. We need to believe in his power. We need to believe that he has our best interest at heart, and in hand. That's no joke.

June 2 - Issues

Read: Mark 5:21-43

For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well." (Mark 5:28 ESV)

We all have our issues. I don't know what your issue is. It may be something horrible that has plagued you for years. Or, maybe it is something recent that has came up in your life and is horribly troubling. Regardless of the duration, severity, or seeming hopelessness of the situation you can take your issue to Jesus.

The poor woman with an issue of blood was an outcast for years. She was ceremonially unclean from her ordeal. She was broken financially, socially, physically, and spiritually. Jesus helped her. But she went to Jesus.

There is no magic formula to receiving comfort and aide from Christ. For some people he inexplicably interrupts their situation with a supernatural kind of sovereign mercy. For others it does not happen that way.

The bottom line is that we are not in control and that is a big part of the big idea. God is in control. Just as the woman took her issue to Jesus we can take it to him today. We can go fearfully, reverently, and boldly into his presence and present ourselves. He is in control. No issue is beyond God.

June 1 -Fear the Good

Read: Mark 5:15-17

And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. (Mark 5:15-17 ESV)

The first portion of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Mark records the incredible encounter between Jesus Christ and a man possessed by a legion of unclean spirits (demons). Christ sends the demons away from the tormented man, allowing them to enter a herd of pigs. The pigs run down a hill and throw themselves into the water, and the herdsmen run to the nearby community to spread the tidings of this startling event. Afterwards a gathering of curious people come to the site of the exorcism, a graveyard near the coast.

I find it really interesting that the locals were afraid of the events that took place. They clearly saw they changes that had come over the demoniac. He was no longer tormenting himself and loving among graves. He was no longer dwelling in a state of perpetual uncleanliness. He was in his right mind. He was clothed. And they were afraid. What were they afraid of?

They were afraid of the unknown. Jesus did and said things that had never been done before. It rattled people. It was a departure from the known and familiar.

His actions consistently forced people to make a gut check. He was calling people to faithfully embrace the plan of the Father by forsaking the comfort of the status quo. Jesus wanted them to unleash the full freedoms of unfettered faith.

He still wants that. It's time for a gut check. It is time to fearlessly set aside the stale positions of our present in favor of the future set aside for us by God. The difference is drastic. It is the difference between life and death. It is the difference between heaven and hell. The only good we have to fear is the one we fail to follow.

May 31 - When He Saw Jesus

Read: Mark 5:1-20

Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. (Mark 5:5, 6 ESV)

Demons are real and people can fall under their power. I know that sounds like some kind of horror movie mumbo-jumbo, but it is true. There are dark spirits in existence and they want to harm us.

The man from the tombs had tragically discovered the truth of malevolent spirits in the worst possible way. They had led him to place of death, separated him from his people, his culture, and his spiritual heritage. The evil spirits had isolated him in every possible way.

I don't believe in coincidences. I think Jesus knew just where his boat would wash up that day. I think he went there with the express purpose of freeing the man from the legion of demons.

Notice how the situation changed when Christ arrived. The man who had been mutilating himself suddenly ran to Jesus and fell before him. Here is the kicker. His response wasn't out of his human desire to be free from those entities. The action of submission and supplication was actually a response by the demonic spirits to the presence of Christ. Jesus changes everything. When the demons saw his arrival they took note. They cast themselves upon the mercy of the Son of God.

If a demonic legion would seek the mercy of Jesus with such fearful reverence shouldn't we take note and consider our response to Jesus?

May 30 - Possible With God

Read: Mark 10:17-22

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God." (Mark 10:27 ESV)

You can not save yourself. You just can't. None of us can. But God did. And only by journeying through this life with Him will we know the joyous peace of our intended eternal home. Apart from God arriving at this place is impossible. With God the impossible becomes possible.

Why? Because there is nothing that is beyond the scope or ability of God.

I'm certainly no mathematician, but I think it could look something like this.

If: X + Man = Impossible Then: (X + Man) + God = Possible

God is the change agent in your life. These are the words of Jesus. Nothing is beyond Him. Nothing is above Him. Nothing is impossible.

That is a truth that is so powerful it holds the potential to uproot and alter every discouraging piece of news, every negative circumstance, and every bad day. The fact is that facts change when God gets involved. Why? Because apart from God we are impossible, but with God the impossible becomes possible.

May 29- He Went Away

Read: Matthew 19:16-30

When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:22 ESV)

During the final stretch of Jesus' public ministry a young religious ruler secretly came to him to find out the truth about eternal life. Jesus shared with him several insights about living a devout Godly life. The young man met all of the criteria, he was on his way to experiencing eternity with God, until Jesus revealed the final piece of the young man's personal journey.

Some biblical translations call this man a rich young ruler, a name that adequately describes his place in life. At a young age this fellow had amassed great power and wealth. That was a problem. Not because either of those things are bad things, but because when Jesus asked him to leave it all behind he was unwilling. He went away sorrowful.

I am not rich and powerful. If God called me to lay aside my finances it would not be a monumental request. For this man it was. I believe that is exactly what Jesus asks of his followers sometimes. He sees into our hearts, and knowing the very things that would distract us from following him with the greatest sense of passion, he sometimes asks us to lay them aside in favor of a simpler life in pursuit of him.

In those moments we are presented with a choose similar to that of the rich young ruler. Either we will lay aside our idolatrous distraction and follow Jesus without reservation, or we will walk away sorrowful, unwilling to part ways with the gods of our own making. What will you choose?