Meditations on Lamentations...

The book of Lamentations is a collection of five poems of grief that the author uses to express his grief over the impending captivity of Israel.  Though the grief of Lamentations is as deep and heavy as any ever recorded, hope lies at the bottom.  The author does not say "Cheer up!" to himself or anyone else.  He mourns passionately and fully.  But in mourning he looks to recovery.  The author expresses the full and dreadful horror of what he has seen, and he gives God full responsibility.  Yet, remembering that the Lord is a loving God, he counts on God to heal Israel's wounds.  This time of mourning will be followed by another time, a time to dance.  As you read the following passage, take a few moments to think about how it can encourage and challenge you in your walk with God.  The questions following the passage are designed to bring encouragement and challenge where needed.


"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall.  I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.  Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."  Lamentations 3:19-24

This passage offers hope to the afflicted.  How might God be offering you hope through this passage?

Does the passage give you confidence in God's unfailing and faithful love even during trials?

The passage says, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."  Are you finding your contentment in the Lord, or are you looking elsewhere for it (things, pleasure, relationships, etc.)?

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
  Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
    Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
(Intro adapted from the NIV 2011 Student Bible.  Great is Thy Faithfulness, words and music by William Runyan and Thomas Chislom.)

"Here I am!"

The other day I was reading in 1 Samuel chapter 3 and was struck with the attitude of the young boy Samuel.  If you have heard this classic Bible story before, bear with me as I give us all a quick recap to refresh our memories.

The boy, Samuel, was living at the temple of God in a town called Shiloh.  His mother had dedicated his life to service before God before he was even born!  One night as he was going to bed, he heard a voice calling to him.  He answered, "Here I am," and went to see what his master Eli wanted.  Eli said to him, "I did not call; go back and lie down."  Each time, the obedient little boy would go and lie down on his little bed.  Twice more as he was lying there, Samuel heard someone calling his name, and each time he went to see what Eli wanted.  Finally Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy.  Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'"  Samuel went and lay down in his place.  The Lord came and stood there calling as the other times, "Samuel!  Samuel!"  Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening."  The Lord then gave a message to Samuel regarding the wicked sons of Eli.

Okay, do you get a basic sense of the story now?  If you want to read it for yourself, it is in 1 Samuel chapter 3.

So, what's the moral of the story?  What can we learn from Samuel?

First of all, he listened!  Listening to God isn't always easy to do, especially when we let all of the stresses of daily life crowd in.  Samuel might have been young, but he was already learning the importance of paying attention to what God had to say to him

Second, he obeyed.  Samuel didn't just listen to what God had to say and then blow it of because he didn't feel like it.  He didn't procrastinate and say, "It can wait until tomorrow."  No!  He responded in obedience to God by making himself available and willing to listen to the message that God had for him.

What happened as a result of Samuel's willingness to listen and obey?

God used Samuel.  Starting with his obedience in small things as a little kid, God went on to use him as a prophet who was seeking God with his whole heart.  So often, we think that God can't use us because we are too young or too inexperienced to be used by Him.  We have so many excuses to attempt to get out of all of the opportunities that God has in store for us.  1 Timothy 4:12 says, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."  1 Samuel 3:19 says, "The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's words fall to the ground."  Samuel was just a kid when God started using him!  Think what God can do with you!

I Challenge You.....

I think we all love to be a little competitive at times, and so I thought it was time to give a little challenge.  If you complete the challenge successfully, you will be entered into a drawing to win a $10 Amazon gift card.  Are you up for the challenge?

Here it is:

I challenge you to read your Bible every single day in the month of March.  I am not asking you to devote hours and hours of your day to reading, just a few minutes each day.  March is only 31 days long.  If you spent an average of five minutes each day reading your Bible, you will have spent a total of 155 minutes reading.  This is not a huge time commitment.  Consider how much time you spend on your phone or social media each day.  Do you think you could take 5 of those minutes to read a little bit of the Bible?

Okay, I have given you the challenge.  Now I get to convince you to take it!

As Christians, it is vitally important for us to know what the Bible teaches so that we can "take our stand against the devil's schemes."  (Ephesians 6:11)  How will you know what to believe if you don't read God's Word?  In Jeremiah 29:13 it says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  Have you noticed that it is a little difficult to learn something without studying?  The same is true of God's Word.  Without reading it, we will never learn the depths of the truths in it.  If we don't learn the truths, how are we going to grow in our faith?

Are you convinced?  Reading the Bible is essential to the Christian life!

Now that you are convinced, let me give you the details on how to take the challenge.

If you are really committed to taking this challenge, then here's how you start:  1. pick a book of the Bible or passage that you want to read through.  If you want to start in a short easy-to-read book, try Proverbs.  The chapters are short, and it isn't too hard to understand.  Give it a go!  There are exactly 31 chapters, so it would perfectly match up with the days there are in March.  If you want to try the New Testament, try the book of Mark.  It isn't too long, and it is packed full of high-action stories.  2.  Send me an email at sistersinchrist.girlz@gmail.com with your name, age, and address.  (This information will not be used for any purpose other than this specific contest.)  I would love to know if you are taking the challenge so that I can pray for you as you take it.  3.  Be serious about it!  If you aren't committed to this challenge, you probably won't make it through to then end.  Don't hesitate to ask God for some help in doing this.  He will give you the perseverance to make it for the whole month!

Don't hesitate to challenge your friends and family to do this with you.  Some moral support can go a long way in accomplishing a goal!

As Far as the East is From the West...

Every Sunday night my family meets with a group of people from our church to discuss questions from that morning's sermon and to be in community with other believers.  Last night as we all sat in our living room, my Dad decided to do a little object lesson.  Each person in the room took two pieces of paper.  On the first piece, everyone wrote something that they had done in the past week that was Christlike.  On the second piece, we wrote something that we had done that was not Christlike.  Each person folded up their pieces of paper.  The papers with the Christlike action went into Bibles and pockets, but the pieces of unchristlike behaviors stayed out.  My Dad lit a candle that was in the center of the table and asked each of us to burn our second piece of paper in the flame.

You are probably thinking, "Okay, so her Dad likes to burn things...  Why is she telling me this?"

Do you ever feel like you have done something so terrible that God can't forgive you?  Have you ever thought that maybe you messed up your life so badly that there is absolutely no way God will ever forgive you?  If you have ever thought that, I can offer you hope!

Psalm 103:8-12 says, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

Because of our sins, we all deserve death (Romans 3:23), but because of God's grace we can be forgiven (3:24).  When you come to God and confess your sin, He removes it from you as far as the east is from the west and forgives you.  Don't ever let yourself be deceived into thinking that you can't be forgiven!

When each of us burned the piece of paper containing unchristlike actions, it represented the incredible grace and forgiveness that God offers each one of us.  Is there something that you need to ask God forgiveness for?  He is ready and willing to forgive you if you will repent.

A New Look at Valentine's Day

Every year on February 14, we celebrate Valentine’s Day—a specific day when people across the world celebrate their love for one another.  When someone mentions the holiday, we typically think of hearts, flowers, and chocolate.  At least, that is what the stores want us to think of…  While hearts, chocolate, and flowers are nice, there is more to love than the world realizes.

Take a look at what the Bible has to say about love.

“Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”  - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Wow!  There is a little more to the kind of love talked about in the Bible than just the chocolate kind of love that the world likes to celebrate on Valentine’s Day!  Look at the different ways that love is described in the passage.  It is patient, kind, trusting, not selfish, not angry, not proud.

The only person that I know of who can truly love like the Bible describes is Jesus.  As humans, we are sinners and are unable to love perfectly like Jesus did.  But the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  (Philippians 4:13)  I challenge you to try to love like Jesus loves—with patience and kindness.  Hope and trust.  We are human, we will make mistakes, but by God’s grace we can be forgiven and He will give us the strength to love like Him each and every day.

Sacrifice vs. Opportunity

I came across this quote today from Leslie Ludy (a Christian author and speaker) that really made me stop a minute and think about what kind of risks I am willing to take for God.

She said, "Many of us are happy to sing songs about Christ, write about Him, and talk about Him to other believers, but often when the true test of loyalty comes, we choose personal comfort over radical abandon to Him.  We might take a few small risks for our King, but if He asks us to make a significant sacrifice, we often reason, 'If I went that far in my devotion to him, I'd be putting myself at risk.  I'd be making myself vulnerable to discomfort and pain.  I can't give up everything for Him; it's just not reasonable!'  But Jesus Christ gave up everything for us.  And He is asking if we will give Him everything in return.  Saying a whole-hearted 'yes' to this priceless opportunity is the secret to discovering the vibrant, victorious Christianity of the Bible."

Is there a risk that God is asking you to take for Him?
Are you willing to take that risk, if only to discover the amazing adventure God has in store for you?

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship."  - Romans 12:1

Do Not Conform!

As we are beginning a new year, a lot of you probably made New Year's resolutions in some form or another.  A few of you may have already broken the resolutions that you made...  What if every Christian dedicated their year to being different?  You are probably thinking, "What?!  Be different?  No way!  I have spent the last three years of my life trying to fit in and now some crazy person wants me to be different again?"  Sorry to break it to you, but the answer to your question is, Yes, I am suggesting that you stop trying to fit in with the world.

Where on earth did I get this crazy idea?

The Bible!  Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing, and perfect will."

Did you catch that first part of the verse?  "Do not conform to the pattern of this world..."  This verse is telling us that as Christians we are not supposed to act like the rest of the world does.  Let me give you an example of what this might look like.  Your two friends begin saying hurtful things about an acquaintance of theirs.  They tear the girl to shreds verbally and tell each other about all of the girl's failings and flaws.  You have a choice.  You can either go with the flow and join your two friends in their gossip, or you can do what you know is right and put a stop to their unkind words.  Which would be the easiest to do?  I think that most of us would probably rather pick the first option and join in the girls' conversation even if it makes us feel a little guilty.  Here is another question for you:  What do you think Jesus would do in this situation?  We don't have to dye our hair pink or something like that to look different from the rest of the world.  It can be simple things like the way we talk about people or how we treat people.  

The Bible is our ultimate authority that tells us what is right and what is wrong.  Just because everyone else seems to be doing something doesn't make it right.  It is very hard to resist peer pressure, but 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that God will provide a way out when you are tempted so that you can stand up under the temptation.  Sometimes in order to do what is right you will have to do it alone.  While it may seem that no one else is going along with your resistance to the world's way of doing things, God is always there with you.  When you are acting in accordance with His Word, the Bible, He will always be on your side.

Christian author and speaker, Voddie Baucham, once said, "People won't know you are a Christian by the way you mow your lawn."

What did he mean by that?  You can't be a passive Christian.  Being a Christian is an active duty of standing up for the Truth.  Sometimes it isn't enough to just "be a nice person," sometimes you have to be willing to speak up and tell people why your life is different from theirs.  

I challenge you to quit conforming to who the world has decided that you should be and stand up for the truth of the Bible.  If you do this prayerfully with a mind and heart open to God's leading, I believe that He will completely transform you.  Are you willing to be different?  Are you willing to step out of the world's mold that you have squeezed yourself into?  Are you ready to stand up for Jesus and let your words and actions be a light shining for Him?