Lamentations 3

 

“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalm 100:5

 

After my quiet time this morning, I was already contemplating writing a blog post today.  But then I went to church and heard a sermon on Psalm 100 about giving thanks to the Lord for both who He is and what He’s done.  And then we sang Goodness of God, Abide, and Thank You Jesus.  God’s goodness has been running after me.  He has taught me to abide in Him.  He also deserves all thanks I can give Him – because His death and resurrection sealed my future and give hope to my present.

 

So, let’s do this.

 

Let’s talk about Lamentations 3.

 

This summer I bought a page from a KJV Bible printed in 1630.  It is amazing to hold a nearly 400 year old piece of paper in your hand!  As I flipped through the potential pages I could buy, I was so excited to find that the page that held Lamentations 3 was still available.  Here it is:

 

 The prophet Jeremiah wrote the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations.  He was known as the weeping prophet, a man who spoke to the people for God and watched with dismay the people’s disobedience and later destruction as they were conquered by Babylon. 

 

Jeremiah doesn’t sugarcoat his sadness.  He laments. 

 

“Oh that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain daughter of my people!”  (Jeremiah 9:1)

 

“My eyes are spent with weeping; my stomach churns; my bile is poured out on the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people…”  (Lamentations 2:11)

 

Chapters 1 and 2 of Lamentations are filled with Jeremiah’s mourning for Jerusalem.  Yet he recognizes that “The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word which he commanded long ago…” (Lamentations 2:17).

 

In Chapter 3, Jeremiah talks of his own sorrows.  (And if you read the book of Jeremiah, you’ll see how poorly he was treated as he warned commoners and royalty alike to turn back to the Lord and away from idols).  He expresses hurt, anguish, pain, and bitterness in the first 18 verses of chapter 3.  He sounds frustrated as he doesn’t understand what God has allowed to happen.  Yet all of this is so important to note before we get to the next verses. 

 

“He has made my teeth grind on gravel, and made me cower in ashes;

my soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is;

so I say, ‘My endurance has perished; so has my hope from the LORD.’” (3:16-18)

 

Strong words, eh?

 Happiness is the Hebrew word טוֹב /“tob” (Strongs H2896), which can be translated “good things, goodness, kindness, happiness”. 

Hope is the Hebrew word תּוֹחֶלֶת /“tohelet” (H8431) which can be translated as “expectation; hope” from a root word that means “to wait”. 

 

Essentially, Jeremiah has forgotten what goodness is and has ceased daring to hope.

 

So what does Jeremiah do?  Let’s continue on to read the most famous of the verses from Lamentations 3.

 

“Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall!

My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope.” (3:19-20)

 

Jeremiah doesn’t deny hard things have happened.  But he chooses to set his mind on something that brings 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.’” (3:22-24)

 

The LORD is where hope is found!  His steadfast love (חֶסֶד/hesed – H2617) is sometimes translated goodness – the very thing Jeremiah said he had forgotten.

 

“The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” (3:25-27)

 

Three more good things Jeremiah is calling to mind.  All of these are the word tob, the same word used in 3:17.  Not only is God good, but he is good to those who wait for him.  It is actually good to wait.  And it is good to learn lessons about waiting and God’s goodness early in life.

 

“Let him sit alone in silence when it is laid on him;

Let him put his mouth in the dust – there may yet be hope;

Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes, and let him be filled with insults.” (3:28-30)

 

Well, this sounds less than fun.  But this directly follows what it looks like to “bear the yoke” from verse 27.  We must learn how to wait.  Sometimes God allows trials and hardships into our lives.  Some may be punishment from the Lord caused by our own sin; yet some are caused by the sinfulness of others and/or the overall brokenness of the world.  Does this mean that God is cruel? 

 

No.

 

“For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

For he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.” (3:31-33)

 

The Lord’s heart is full of compassion and steadfast love toward us (hesed).  He is ultimately good.  And although he sometimes causes grief in our lives by allowing circumstances to be difficult, he will always have compassion. 

We never have to worry that God is like people here on this earth described in the next verses.

 

“To crush underfoot all the prisoners of the earth,

To deny a man justice in the presence of the Most High,

To subvert a man in his lawsuit,

The Lord does not approve.” (3:34-36)

 

The Lord is just.  He doesn’t approve of wanton destruction, false accusations or denials of truth.  He is compassionate.

 

Remember, from verse 16-18, we know that Jeremiah was tempted to forget goodness and forgo hope.  Yet, to remember goodness, Jeremiah looked at God.  He remembered the character of the God and the ways of God:  how God forges our own character and takes away our dross in fires of affliction.

 

This doesn’t mean we don’t cry.  Jeremiah goes back to weeping again in verse 49, even after stating all these truths about God’s faithfulness and love.

 

But in verse 58-59 Jeremiah once again remembers that when he calls out to the Lord, He will hear.

 

“You have taken up my cause, O Lord;

You have redeemed my life.

You have seen the wrong done to me, O LORD; judge my cause.” (3:58-59)

 

So, why was I so excited to find a page of Lamentations 3?

 

I know I’m not alone in experiencing sorrow.  I’ve walked through a hard season:  false accusations and brokenness have caused me to lament and cry.

 

BUT. 

 

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.

His goodness has followed me (Psalm 23) – or you could even say/sing has been running after me.

He has taught me to abide and draw close to Him.

He has forged in me a heart that is hopefully more like Jesus’ than it was even 2 years ago.

 

I choose to be thankful.  

To lament without losing sight of the One who is always faithful.

To remember that we serve a God of justice who deserves all the worship and praise we can give.

To remember that this life is precious and we have only the briefest of moments before we spend eternity in the presence of the Lord.

To praise a God who never leaves us or forsakes us.

To never forget that God supplies daily provisions AND makes a way through the desert and the storm.

 

So, whatever may come our way, let us wait with expectation for how the King will move.

 

Glory to His Name.

 

 ____________________________________________

 

***and if you’d like to read Eugene Peterson’s take on Lamentations 3 in the Message, here it is:

 

^19-21 I’ll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
    the taste of ashes, the poison I’ve swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
    the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there’s one other thing I remember,
    and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

 

^22-24 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.

 

^25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
    to the woman who diligently seeks.
It’s a good thing to quietly hope,
    quietly hope for help from God.
It’s a good thing when you’re young
    to stick it out through the hard times.

 

^28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take,
    go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don’t ask questions:
    Wait for hope to appear.
Don’t run from trouble. Take it full-face.
    The “worst” is never the worst.

 

^31-33 Why? Because the Master won’t ever
    walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
    His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.
He takes no pleasure in making life hard,
    in throwing roadblocks in the way:

 

^34-36 Stomping down hard
    on luckless prisoners,
Refusing justice to victims
    in the court of High God,
Tampering with evidence—
    the Master does not approve of such things.

Good Morning, Theologians!

It has been recorded that while walking out in the woods one day, Martin Luther said to the birds:

“Good morning, theologians! 

You wake and sing,

but I, an old fool,

know less than you and worry over everything

instead of simply trusting in the Heavenly Father’s care.”

 

How convicting, eh?  Birds are such a simple (and prolific) reminder to us that God does care.

 

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”  Matthew 6:26

 

So, if He cares for the seemingly small things such as sparrows and lilies (Matthew 6, 10, Luke 12)… 

If He says that He is good and does good (Psalm 119:68)…

If He tells us He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5-6)…

If He reminds us that He is near when we call (Psalm 145:18)…

Then we can trust Him. 

 

God calls us to hope in Him and in His Word (Psalm 119:74, 114).

Christmas is the reminder that The Word (Jesus) became flesh (John 1). 

He didn’t just see the world in pain/darkness…He cared for us by showing up to walk with us through it.

 

This week I read a passage from Katherine Wolf’s Treasures in the Dark, and it made Christmas that much more precious to me.  After experiencing a stroke at 26 and multiple health complications in the following years, Katherine explained what had been most beneficial to her in her pain:

 

“I have discovered the single foolproof response to someone else’s pain:  just show up.

Literally, physically, actually put your body in the same room as them if at all possible.  

The great comfort of the Christian tradition is 

the incarnation of Christ among us in the person of Jesus.  

The Bible even calls Him by a name that means “God with us”.  

Not “God over us” or “God kinda near by us.” 

Incarnation – showing up in the flesh – is the final world in solidarity.”  

(pg. 175-176)

 

This Christmas season – may we give thanks that God shows up in any darkness or pain we might be experiencing – and may we praise Him as consistently as the theologians perched in the trees right outside our windows. 

The Growth of the Chambered Nautilus

 

This is the ship of pearl which, poets feign,

Sails the unshadowed main, -

The venturous bark that flings

On the sweet summer wind its purpled wings

In gulfs enchanted, where Siren sings,

And coral reefs lie bare,

Where cold sea-maids rise to sun their streaming hair.

 

In webs of living gauze no more unfurl;

Wrecked is the ship of pearl!

And every chambered cell,

Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,

As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,

Before thee lies revealed, -

Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!

 

Year after year beheld silent toil

That spread his lustrous coil;

Still, as the spiral grew,

He left the past year’s dwelling for the new,

Stole with soft step its shining archway through,

Built up its idle door,

Stretched in his last-found home, and knew the old no more.

 

Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee,

Child of the wandering sea,

Cast from her lap, forlorn!

From thy dead lips a clearer note is born

Than ever Triton blew from wreathѐd horn!

While on mine ear it rings,

Through the deep caves of thought I hear a voice that sings: -

 

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,

As the swift seasons roll!

Leave thy low-vaulted past!

Let each new temple, nobler than the last,

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,

Till thou art free,

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!

The Chambered Nautilus, Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

I recently acquired a book of poems at a birthday party….and it wasn’t even my birthday! 😊  My friend hosted a group of women who each brought a gift that they considered to be one of their “favorite things”.  Then we played a game similar to a white elephant gift exchange, and after some rounds of opening gifts and stealing, I went home with a book of poems. 

 

Admittedly, I don’t read a lot of poetry.  But I know that often stories and poems have a way of putting truth into witty and memorable prose.  The song, “To All the Poets I Have Known” encapsulates that thought so well.

 

So, when I read The Chambered Nautilus last weekend, it was just what my soul needed to be reminded of.  As the poem describes, a nautilus is a marine invertebrate with a remarkable shell.  Every 150 days or so, it adds a new, larger chamber and moves into it.  It uses the past chambers as floatation devices – filling them with the right amount of air to suspend themselves at whatever level of the oceanic column they desire.  They are able to balance weight and buoyancy as they grow.  This beautiful shell is a testament to a creature that is always moving forward, always growing, and uniquely able to use the past to rise above.

 

Oliver Wendell Holmes’ line, “Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,” struck me.

Like the nautilus, what does it look like to keep moving forward - regardless of the joys or sorrows of the past?  What does it look like to increase in soul size…and each year have a bigger perspective?

 

I believe that type of growth can only happen when we look outside our circumstances or emotions and choose to dwell on a larger, eternal vision.  When we choose to focus on eternal life.

 

Those who follow Jesus are promised eternal life (John 3:16).  But eternal life is not something that starts after we die.  In John 17:3, we are told what eternal life is:

“And this is eternal life, that they may know you the only true God, 

and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

 

Eternal life is to know God!  And the more I know God, the more I will grow.

 

Just 2 nights ago, I was driving in my car and heard a radio host talking.  Her musings threw me into a deep dive into Scripture as soon as I arrived home.  She mentioned a concept I never thought about before.  Here’s what I learned:

 

1.        No one can see the face of God and live.

a.        Exodus 33:20 “‘But’, he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’”

b.       Earlier in the chapter, we see that Moses spoke with the Lord “face to face, as a man speaks with his friend” (v.11), so clearly you can interact with God.  But the above verse seems to imply that you cannot see God in his fullness and glory or you will die. 

c.        Someday, after death, we will see God’s face (Revelation 22:4).

2.        We are told to continually seek His face.

a.        2 Chronicles 7:14 tells people to humble themselves, pray and seek God’s face.

b.       Psalm 105:4 “See the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!”

c.        Psalm 24 says that those who have clean hands and a pure heart can stand in God’s holy place, and “such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob” (verse 5).

d.       Psalm 27:8-9 says, “You have said, ‘Seek my face.’  My heart says to you, ‘Your face, LORD, do I seek.’”

Why are we told that we could die by seeing God in his fullness and yet also told to seek His face?  Are these two things contradictory?

Nope.

The Christian life is all about taking up our cross and dying.

When we see God for who He really is, we die to ourselves.  We become who we were meant to be:  bigger in soul and more enamored with and focused on Jesus.

If we want to be like a nautilus, continually moving forward and growing in size, then we need to focus on staring at the face of Jesus.  Eternal life is knowing God…not focusing on or being overrun by our own circumstances…whether they be pleasant or unpleasant.

These ideas have been such an encouragement to me in the past few days, and I pray that they encourage you as well.  Each day, may we focus on Jesus and gain a bigger vision so we may, like the nautilus, build more stately mansions for our soul.  Eternal life of knowing God can start now! 

And one day we will leave our “shells” behind and experience I John 3:2: 

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

 

 

 

 

  

A Weighty Matter

As I sat down at my computer this morning to type up what I think is my theme/thought for a new school year, I opened up “Hymns for the Little Flock” and happened to read the poetry of hymn #142. 

“Glory to God on high!  Peace upon earth and joy; Good will to man.  We who God’s blessings prove; His name all names above; Sing now the Savior’s love – Too vast to scan.

Mercy and truth unite, Oh! ‘tis a wondrous sight, All sights above!  Jesus the curse sustains!  Guilt’s bitter cup He drains!  Nothing for us remains – Nothing but love.

Love that no tongue can teach, Love that no thought can reach, No love like His.  God is its blessed Source, Death ne’er can stop its course, Nothing can stay its force; Matchless it is.

Blest in this love, we sing; To God our praises bring; All sins forgiven.  Jesus, our Lord, to Thee; Honor and majesty, Now and forever be, Here and in heaven.”

I can’t start another school year well without being overcome by the truth, mercy and hope displayed by Jesus on the cross.  Truly, His love is “love that no tongue can teach, love that no thought can reach.” 

In itself, this is a weighty matter.  It’s glory beyond all compare.  In fact, it’s so weighty that it should displace thoughts of lesser value in my mind.

But before I go any further, a thesis:  This year, with God’s help, I believe I am supposed to handle the weight (burden/pressure) of the sin and evil in and around me by weighing (pondering) my thoughts, deeds and actions so that I can understand more of the weight (glory/honor) of God and rest in His victory. 

Heavy, eh? 😊.  Let me try to explain the metaphors running amuck in my mind.

Weight #1:  Burden.   (I feel weighed down at times).

Let’s face it:  the world is heavy right now.  You can’t open up an internet browser without being stuck by sorrow, confusion and evil.  And even if you don’t look on the internet or social media, the divisions in families over health decisions, the confusions over identity and purpose in multiple generations (young and old), and the changing political and social climate is everywhere. 

There couldn’t be a more important time to determine truthful statements over lies and to help teach others to do so.  That is a burden I feel heavily this year. 

Weight #2:  Pondering.  (I need to weigh things to determine truth and best action).

We, as people of the 21^st century, are not as skilled in thinking as we used to be.  We react rather than prepare.  We assume rather than ask.  We are led by emotions, not logic.

But, as Christians, are told to have renewed minds (Romans 12:2) and to ponder.

The Hebrew word “palas” (H6424) shows up repeatedly in Proverbs. 

1. Proverbs 4:26  “Ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure.”
2. Proverbs 5:6 “She does not ponder the path of life…”
3. Proverbs 5:21 “For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.”

“Palas” means “to roll flat; prepare; weigh (mentally)”. 

Another Hebrew word “azan” (H238/9) means to ponder with the image of weighing as scales between the ears.  It is often translated “give ear” or “hear”. 

Listening and pondering.  These are two abilities which seem to be lost in our world right now.  We are quick to speak before hearing or thinking.

Proverbs 18:13 says “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.”

Ooof.

But also, Romans 12:1-2 states “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

This year, I know I need to be pondering and weighing and thinking.  And if I understand the true weight of matters – my decisions will be correct.  So, what weighs the most?

Weight #3:  Glory/Honor.  (God’s glory should have the most weight in my life/decisions).

The Hebrew word “kabod” (H3519) literally means weight or splendor.  It is translated into English most often as glory and honor. 

As I mentioned earlier, the weight of God’s mercy and forgiveness through the cross should displace thoughts of lesser value.  Think about dropping a rock into a container filled with water – the rock displaces the water because it is heavier.  In a similar way – I want to spend enough time with God that the knowledge of His character and glory weighs more than anything else on my mind…and allows my decisions and actions to be based more off of His character than anything else.  My concern for His glory should tip the scales.    

 

In my role as a teacher or daughter/sister or friend, I am convinced that God has called me to carry the burdens of others.  (Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”)

But if I neglect looking at the Savior and relying on His strength, I will collapse under such burdens.  The burdens I feel as I interact with those in the world should spur me to action –not to indecision or gripping fear.  And that only will occur when my vision of the cross and the recognition of His glory outweighs any burden/weight/pressure I experience here. 

This year, I will experience the weight of this world.

In response, I need to carry burdens (mine and others') to the cross.  

Once I ponder what He's already done - I can let those burdens go and rest in the realization that He will take care of them.

But I also need to ponder/think about how He most wants me to respond.

May I take care that my life is so filled with the vision of His glory that I act the way He wants me to.

And then, I’ll pick up my cross (Matthew 16:24-26), another weight worth carrying, and follow Him.

Light in the Midst of Darkness

December of 2020.  What a year it’s been!  As we look at the Christmas season – normally so full of busyness and shopping, of packed calendars and traveling to family and friends– sometimes it’s easy to wonder about how to celebrate the joy of Christmas in a year with such turmoil, upheaval, confusion and sadness.  

But the truth about Christmas has not changed. 

It is still about Light shining out of darkness.

It is still about a God who sees people in their pain and remembers His promises.

The promise of Jesus the Messiah coming has always brought joy to the people who waited for Him.  But it wasn’t until this morning that I put myself in the place of the people who would have first heard the prophecies.      

Let’s set the stage and talk about King Ahaz.  Not Ahab, the evil Israelite king who married Jezebel and threw a pity party over Naboth’s vineyard.  This is Ahaz, who ruled over the southern kingdom of Judah for 16 years.  (But he wasn’t much better than Ahab.)

Here’s what life was like during his reign (2 Kings 16; 2 Chronicles 28):

            1.       It was a time of war (with the king of Aram and the king of Israel). (2 Chronicles 28:5-8)

            2.       It was a time of unholy alliances (with the king of Assyria) that cost precious things. (2 Chronicles 28:16)

            3.       It was a time of misguided/evil worship.

a.       God’s temple was destroyed:

                                                               i.      The temple of the Lord was broken apart (2 Kings 16:17-19);

                                                             ii.      Silver and gold from God’s temple were offered to Assyria (2 Kings 16:8; 2 Chronicles 28:21)

                                                           iii.      The doors of the Lords temple were shut (2 Chronicles 28:24)

b.       False gods were promoted:

                                                               i.      Various idols were cast and set up for worship (2 Chronicles 28:2-4)

                                                             ii.      Altars were built designed off of the pagan deities of Aram, to try to win the favor of the “gods” who defeated them (2 Kings 16:10-14; 2 Chronicles 28:23-25)

                                                           iii.      Altars and high places were set up in “every town” and on “every street corner” (2 Chronicles 28:24-25)

                                                           iv.      Ahaz even offered his own children as sacrifices to other gods (2 Kings 16:3-4; 2 Chronicles 28:3).

Ahaz was described by these two phrases: 

        1.       “He had promoted wickedness in Judah and had been most unfaithful to the LORD.”  (2 Chronicles 28:19b)   

        2.       “In his time of trouble, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.”  (2 Chronicles 28:22)

Whew.  Wicked and unfaithful.

And when he died, Ahaz was not placed in the tombs of the kings.  He was buried in Jerusalem, but not in the royal tombs (most likely because of his unfaithfulness).

Now I couldn’t help but imagine being a faithful Jew living during the reign of Ahaz.  Talk about turmoil, upheaval, confusion and sadness!  How discouraging would it have been to watch the nation crumble and leadership refuse to be faithful to the God you knew to be true?

And in the midst of this chaos and evil, some of the most beloved prophecies proclaiming the Messiah’s birth were penned.  We still sing some of them today.

        1.       When talking with Ahaz, Isaiah the prophet said:  “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”  (Isaiah 7:14).  Immanuel.  God with us. 

        2.       A few chapters later, in the midst of describing the darkness and gloom that results from looking away from the LORD God, Isaiah talked about the promise of a future great light.  And as Handel so famously put to music in the masterpiece, the Messiah, Isaiah said:  “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing it and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”  (9:6-7)

        3.       Around this same time, Micah the prophet penned:  “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.  Therefore Israel will be abandoned until the time when she who is in labor gives birth and the rest of his brothers return to join the Israelites.  He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the LORD his God.  And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.  And he will be their peace.”  (Micah 5:2-5).

At the time of these prophecies, the nations of Israel and Judah were DARK. 

But the promise of an Eternal, Undefeatable, Peaceful Ruler broke light a beam of light through the darkness.

That beam of light still shines.   

I’m not here to argue about the current political climate or whether 2020 is more or less dark than the time of Ahaz.  I don’t think that anyone would would argue that we’re living in darkness right now.  But I’d rather focus on remembering the God that chooses to remember us. 

This Christmas we get to celebrate that He came 2000 years ago.  The promise of His first coming from the prophecies of Isaiah and Micah was fulfilled!  Yet, we also get to look forward to when He comes again soon to make all things right – to wipe away every tear from our eyes, and to bring us to a place that will have no more sadness or mourning or pain.

Until that time, we wait. 

In the waiting, may we believers (especially me!) be searching our own hearts and asking for God to do a work in us so that we can share that light with others.   May we seek to spend time with Him so that we can see His movements in the midst of what is visibly happening in our world.  It could be that the time is ripe for many people to turn towards Him and find Him!  I want to be a part of telling the world this good news…this hopeful beam of light in the midst of darkness…that a good King, a humble King, a selfless King is coming one day to rule. 

2020 doesn’t have the last word.  And neither will COVID restrictions, political turmoil, wars, or whatever comes in 2021. 

Jesus will.  And the Bible fittingly ends with:

“Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus.