Author: Pastor Doug

Our scripture today is Lamentations 5:21 (NIV).

“Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old”

Lamentations ends with a plea from the people to be restored to God. This is the basis of the Parable of the Prodigal Son that Jesus tells us in Luke 15. Thinking we can do it ourselves and don’t need God’s guidance always leads to disaster. He is a God of mercy and compassion and no matter how badly we screw up, we can’t “out-sin” His love for us. God is always ready to welcome us back when we admit our wrongdoing and ask His help in changing.

Loving Lord, we know You are the only one who can save us from sin and death. Forgive us and send us to share the wonder of what You have done for us with the world. Amen.

Our scripture today is Lamentations 4:16 (NIV).

The Lord himself has scattered them; he no longer watches over them. The priests are shown no honor, the elders no favor.

There was special condemnation for the priests and elders who did not speak out against the apostasy and idol worship that was widespread. There is a reason the First Commandment is “You shall have no other gods before Me.” When God is not honored, He allows us to experience what living in the world can be like. It is sad to see our repeated failures – banished from Eden, the Flood, Sodom and Gomorra, and now the destruction of Jerusalem. However, God still has not given up on us and He still has a plan for His children.

Gracious God, thank You for mercy instead of what justice would demand of us. Bless us to be new creatures through the gift of our Savior, and send us in Your name everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture today is Lamentations 3:25-26 (NIV).

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.

These two verses are similar to Psalm 34:8 “Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Even in the midst of disaster, God’s people are not forgotten or without hope. If our faith falters because of difficulty it was shaky faith at best. Jesus told us there would be tough times for believers. We can’t see God’s eternal plan, we can only trust His promise of salvation for those who believe in Christ our Savior. Many times I have thought “I’m sure going to ask God about this when I get there!” However, when we do, I doubt we will have anything to ask at all!

Heavenly Father, we know Your will is ever directed for our good. Forgive us our doubts as well as our sins, refresh us in faith, and send us to share Your love with the world. Amen.

Our scripture today is Lamentations 2:6 (NIV).

He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden; he has destroyed his place of meeting. The Lord has made Zion forget her appointed festivals and her Sabbaths; in his fierce anger he has spurned both king and priest.

It is hard to read about God allowing the destruction of the beautiful temple but it had become just another building. It was no longer the symbol of God dwelling with His people. He effectively says “You want to live according to your own ways, this is what it is like.” God has not abandoned us but He wants us to see very clearly had badly we and this world are broken and how very badly we need to live in His love and mercy.

Gracious God, we are sorry when we trust in our own feeble strength and wisdom rather than Your love and power. Forgive us and fill us with Your Spirit that we may tell the Good News everywhere. Amen.

Our scripture today is Lamentations 1:3 (NIV).

After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.

As we have seen, God allows His people to “dwell among the nations”, that is, to be no different than the people who do not know God. The Book of Lamentations consists of five poems detailing the emotions of those who have been left in ruined Jerusalem during the exile. They mirror some of the psalms of sadness we have read before, but these deal with a specific situation – the destroyed city and those struggling to understand and exist. It is a little difficult to read because it deals with pain, but reminds us that even in the worst of times, God is still there for us.

Loving Lord, we know our sin is the cause of our separation from You. Forgive us and heal us, and use us as You intend for the good of all Your children. Amen.

Our scripture today is Jeremiah 52:12-13 (MEV).

Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard who served the king of Babylon came into Jerusalem, and burned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem. Even all the large houses, he burned with fire.

We have read this before in 2 Kings 24-25. It is no less sad and stunning here. Israel and Judah both fall to outside invaders. After dividing themselves into two separate kingdoms and abandoning their relationship with God, He allows them to be part of the world of that time as they have chosen. As we see, it does not end well for them. However, God still remembers His promise even when we forget ours, and this is not the end for His people.

Gracious God, we are sorry for our disobedient ways and our selfishness. Forgive us and help us to be faithful representatives of Your kingdom. Amen.

Our scripture today is Jeremiah 33:8 (MEV).

I will cleanse them from all their iniquity whereby they have sinned against Me. And I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned and whereby they have transgressed against Me.

God sends a message of hope to mitigate our disobedience. He promises a way for us to be made clean and able to be in relationship with Him again. Previously the prophet spoke of a “new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31). At the Last Supper in Luke 22:20 Jesus says “This cup is the new covenant in My blood which is shed for you.” When we accept His sacrifice for us and ask forgiveness, we are able to be born again and be the people He intends.

Loving Lord, in Your mercy You sent Jesus to be our Savior and example. Help us to live as He taught and share Your love with everyone. Amen.

Our scripture today is Jeremiah 10:10 (MEV).

But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and an everlasting King. At His wrath the earth trembles, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.

While Jeremiah may weep over the peoples’ failure, he also brings the unfiltered truth: the God of creation can be righteously angry with His creation. Sometimes we don’t respond to guidance and for our own good, stricter actions are needed. We are willful people and discipline is rarely seen as a blessing until we learn the harm from which it turns us. God wants us to follow His way because we love Him, not because we were given a cosmic timeout.

Patient God, You have given us so many chances to change, but You remain open to our return. Forgive us and send us to share Your law and Your love with the world. Amen.

Our scripture today is Jeremiah 8:6 (MEV).

I listened and heard, but they did not speak what is right. No man repented of his wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Everyone turned to his course, as the horse rushes into the battle.

Jeremiah gives us a lesson that is repeated several times in scripture -“everyone turned to his course”. We hear this in Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” In 2 Timothy 4:3 Paul tells us “For the time will come when people will not endure sound teaching, but they will gather to themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires.” This human tendency to hear what we want to hear and do what we want to do was the cause of our original separation from God. Thankfully, God has made a way for us to repent and return to Him through the blessing of His Son.

Loving Lord, we are sorry for our selfish ways that hurt our relationship with You and our brothers and sisters. Help us to see and hear Your truth and share it with the world. Amen.

Our scripture today is Jeremiah 7:11 (MEV).

Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, says the Lord.

Jesus quotes this verse and Isaiah 56:7 when He says in Matthew 21:13 “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it ‘a den of thieves.’”  Mark 11:17 and Luke 19:46 also record Him using these verses from the prophets. Jesus is telling them they have fallen away from the path God intended and like the people Jeremiah wept over, the Temple and their nation would be swept away. Without a connection to the Lord we are lost.

Heavenly Father, we are ashamed of our wandering and want to return to Your way. Forgive us, wash us clean through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, and send us to share the Good News among Your children. Amen.