Prayers of Remembrance

Readings for today: Lamentations 4-5, Psalms 30

It’s okay to let God know how you really feel. It’s okay to recite back to God all you have gone through. Of course He knows it already but it’s good for us to say out loud to Him. It’s good for us to share our heartbreak and hurts with Him. God wants a dialogue not a monologue. He doesn’t want to have to read your mind or rely on His omniscience to know what’s happening in your life. He wants a relationship and in relationships, we share everything.

Lamentations five is a prayer for restoration and it begins with an interesting turn of phrase. “Lord, remember what has happened to us. Look, and see our disgrace!” (Lamentations‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Why does Jeremiah pray for God to remember? Has God forgotten all that’s happened? Is God absent-minded? Is He forgetful? Surely not, right? Of course God remembers everything. He knows everything from beginning to end. He sees all and knows all. Past, present, and future are always laid out before Him so what is Jeremiah actually praying for here? Whenever someone prays for God to “remember” in the Bible, they are actually calling on God to act. To do something in concert with His character and the covenant promises He’s made to His people. Lord, remember what has happened to us. Lord, see our disgrace. And (implied in the text) do something about it. Restore us. Renew us. Make us righteous again in your sight. This is the heart of the prayer of remembrance. It’s calling on God to act in accordance with His will and character.

Look at how Lamentations 5 ends, “You, Lord, are enthroned forever; your throne endures from generation to generation. Why do you continually forget us, abandon us for our entire lives? Lord, bring us back to yourself, so we may return; renew our days as in former times, unless you have completely rejected us and are intensely angry with us.” (Lamentations‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭22‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Jeremiah looks around sees all Israel has suffered and he asks God if it’s enough. Have we suffered enough for our sins? Have we been punished enough for our iniquities? Have we paid for our crimes? If so, bring us back to Yourself, O God, so we may return. Renew our days as in former times. Unless it’s not enough. Unless you are still righteously angry with us. Unless there is still time to be served and a price yet to be paid.

The glorious thing about these verses for Christians is that we know God has remembered. He has acted in human history to bring us back to Himself. He has acted to renew and restore us to our rightful place. The price has been paid. The time has been served. The punishment has been dealt out. All through Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus, we have nothing to fear. We are not completely rejected. God is no longer angry with us. We are at peace with Him forever.

Readings for tomorrow: Ezekiel 1-4, Psalms 31

Prayers of Lament

Readings for today: Lamentations 3, Psalms 29

There are many categories to prayer. There are the praises we sing to God like the ones in Psalm 29 today. “Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.” (Psalms 29:1-2 CSB) Again, these are good words to pray out loud if you are struggling to pray or just learning how to pray. These words rightly honor God for who He has revealed Himself to be. There are prayers of confession like the one listed in Lamentations 3:40-42 CSB, “Let’s examine and probe our ways, and turn back to the Lord. Let’s lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven (and say): We have sinned and rebelled; you have not forgiven.” These are harder words to pray because they force us to do some honest self-reflection. They force us to come face to face with our complicity in the sin and evil of our world. They force us to understand we are not the victim; we are the perpetrator. And it’s not because God doesn’t want to forgive us for our sin, it’s because we’ve refused to confess it before Him. If we do not offer it to Him with a humble and open heart, He will not let our sin pass. There are prayers of comfort like the one listed in Lamentations 3:57-58 CSB, “You came near whenever I called you; you said, “Do not be afraid.” You championed my cause, Lord, you redeemed my life.” God is so good. He draws near to those who draw near to Him. He comes to comfort not to condemn. These are just a few of the many categories of prayer found in today’s reading.

The one I want to draw our attention to may be the hardest of them all. Prayers of lament are deep cries of grief. They almost must be wrested from the deepest, darkest places of our souls. They are prayers that arise when we are at our most vulnerable, our most desperate. Remember, Jeremiah has seen the destruction of his beloved city. He has watched his leaders ignore his warnings, resist Babylon, and pay a terrible price. He has seen the horrors of war firsthand. Think about the images we see on the news today from Gaza or Ukraine. They are almost impossible to watch. This is why Jeremiah pens the Book of Lamentations. It’s a raw, firsthand account of his own experience as he wrestles with God over why such harsh judgment had to fall. He has endured the wrath of God in all its unbridled fury. He has walked in darkness and experienced starvation and suffering on a level we cannot imagine. He has wept more tears than he thought possible. He has felt trapped and harassed and abused. He has lost all hope. This is the null point of the prayer. This is the kind of prayer you pray when you hit rock bottom. A prayer from the gut. A prayer with no filter. God welcomes such prayers.

Biblical lament doesn’t end in despair and even in the midst of Jeremiah’s pain, you can see glimpses of hope break through. However, it’s important not to make more of these than Jeremiah himself does. They bear but fleeting mention in the book. But they are important. Lamentations 3:22-26 CSB, “Because of the Lord’s faithful love, we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.” Yes, Biblical lament acknowledges hope but doesn’t forget despair. It actually lays them side by side. And this is what makes such prayers so powerful. They fully acknowledge the desperation of the human condition and fully acknowledge the holiness and faithfulness of God’s character. In this way, they are almost “incarnational” when you stop to think about it.

Readings for tomorrow: Lamentations 4-5, Psalms 30

Learning to Pray

Readings for today: Lamentations 1-2, Psalms 28

Most of the Christians I know struggle to some extent with their prayer life. Some feel deeply inadequate. Some feel like they just go through the motions. Some feel like their prayers bounce off the ceiling. Some feel like they don’t have the right words. Some feel they are unworthy. There may be any number of feelings we associate with prayer, sadly too many of them are negative. There may be any number of reasons we give as to why our prayer life suffers, sadly too many of them are just not true. Here’s the reality, friends…God loves to hear His people pray. God loves it when we babble like infants before His throne. God loves it when we tell him all the good, bad, and ugly of our day. God loves it when we come to Him like a teenager, excited about something new in our lives. God loves it when we come to Him in the midst of suffering when all our hopes and dreams have been shattered and the life we’ve spent so much time and energy building has come crashing down around us. God loves it when we celebrate and thank Him for the blessings He pours out on our lives. God loves it when we bring Him impossible problems and insurmountable obstacles. Most of all, God loves it when we express to Him the deepest desires and deepest sorrows of our hearts. God loves it all.

There is no one way to pray. There is no language of prayer per se. You can use whatever words you like. God is far more interested in you being real than He is in you offering up empty platitudes or cliches. Perhaps that’s why I love the Psalms so much. Recently, I’ve taken to reading the daily Psalm out loud as a prayer. I’ve tried offer it almost as a closing prayer to my devotional time each day. It’s been rich and fruitful to say the words out loud. To take my time and reflect on each and every phrase. To allow the Holy Spirit to direct my attention to particular words or phrases or ideas in the text. If you haven’t tried it before, I invite you to take up this spiritual practice. Consider the Psalm we read yesterday…Psalm 27…

“The Lord is my light and my salvation — whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life — whom should I dread? When evildoers came against me to devour my flesh, my foes and my enemies stumbled and fell. Though an army deploys against me, my heart will not be afraid; though a war breaks out against me, I will still be confident. I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire: to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord and seeking him in his temple. For he will conceal me in his shelter in the day of adversity; he will hide me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock. Then my head will be high above my enemies around me; I will offer sacrifices in his tent with shouts of joy. I will sing and make music to the Lord. Lord, hear my voice when I call; be gracious to me and answer me. My heart says this about you: “Seek his face.” Lord, I will seek your face. Do not hide your face from me; do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or abandon me, God of my salvation. Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me. Because of my adversaries, show me your way, Lord, and lead me on a level path. Do not give me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing violence. I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord.” (Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭1‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

What stands out to you as you read it out loud? What words jump out at you? What phrases bring you comfort and peace? How is God speaking to you through the text? For me, I love the opening lines. Always have and always will. They remind me of God’s protection when I am afraid. God’s provision in the midst of difficult times. They remind me God is setting a table for me even as I dwell in the midst of my enemies, a table full of abundance where my cup overflows. Most of all, they remind me with God on my side, there is nothing I cannot do, no obstacle I cannot overcome, no problem I cannot solve, no issue I cannot talk out, no person I cannot forgive, no enemy I cannot serve. Or consider the Psalm for today…Psalm 28…

“Lord, I call to you; my rock, do not be deaf to me. If you remain silent to me, I will be like those going down to the Pit. Listen to the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your holy sanctuary. Do not drag me away with the wicked, with the evildoers, who speak in friendly ways with their neighbors while malice is in their hearts. Repay them according to what they have done — according to the evil of their deeds. Repay them according to the work of their hands; give them back what they deserve. Because they do not consider what the Lord has done or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and not rebuild them. Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the sound of my pleading. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song. The Lord is the strength of his people; he is a stronghold of salvation for his anointed. Save your people, bless your possession, shepherd them, and carry them forever.” (Psalms‬ ‭28‬:‭1‬-‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Do you ever feel like God isn’t listening? Do you ever feel like God is deaf to your cries? Does God seem silent at times? Let God know! Pray like David! He too felt those same feelings at times and he pleaded with God to answer his cries. He lifted his hands before the holy sanctuary. He reaffirmed his trust in God’s eternal nature and character. And as he prayed, God’s comfort eventually came. Bless the Lord for He has heard the sound of my pleading! I don’t know about you but I often find myself in this position and I have to remind myself continually to wait for God’s response. It will come if I am willing to wait on Him.

Friends, prayer isn’t magic. It’s not about getting the words right or the inflections down or speaking in some kind of pious language that no one really can understand. It’s simply about you bringing your most authentic, sinful, broken self before the Lord and letting the grace and peace that flows from His presence comfort and heal you.

Readings for tomorrow: Lamentations 3, Psalms 29

God is on our Side

Readings for today: Jeremiah 49-50, Psalms 26

There is nothing like knowing God is on your side. With God, you can endure every hardship. You can overcome every obstacle. You can persevere through every trial. With God, the battle is already won. The power of sin is already broken. The defeat of evil has already been accomplished. With God, no weapon that is formed against you can stand. No scheme of the enemy can prevail. No attack against you will succeed. God is your strength. God is your redeemer. God is your protector. God is the strong warrior who stands at your side.

Consider all Jeremiah has gone through in his life. He has been to the mountaintop and he has lived in the valley of deep shadow and despair. He has been imprisoned. He has been beaten. He has been ostracized by society. He has been persecuted in so many ways. But as he watches his beloved city fall and his beloved people get carried off into exile, he is preserved. God protects him. God keeps him safe. Not only that but God gives him a promise. One day, the Babylonians will fall. One day, they too will be overcome. One day, the Lord will bring His judgment against them and deliver His people yet again. Why? God is faithful. He is faithful to His promises. He is faithful to His covenant. He loves Israel with an everlasting love. And He loves us the same.

How do I know the God of Israel stands at my side? Jesus Christ. He literally came to earth to show me He is with us. To show me the lengths He is willing to go to save us. Like Jeremiah, Jesus spoke the truth. Like Jeremiah, Jesus was beaten. Jesus was betrayed. Jesus was imprisoned. But unlike Jeremiah, Jesus was not saved. He went to His death in accordance with God’s perfect plan. He laid down His life in order that we might be redeemed. Listen again to how Jeremiah describes it and rejoice in God’s faithfulness to you and to His people…

“This is what the Lord of Armies says: Israelites and Judeans alike have been oppressed. All their captors hold them fast; they refuse to release them. Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of Armies is his name. He will fervently champion their cause so that he might bring rest to the earth but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭50‬:‭33‬-‭34‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 51-52, Psalms 27 (No devotionals on Sundays)

The Sovereignty of God

Readings for today: Jeremiah 45-48, Psalms 25

Over the years, I’ve been blessed to have friends from many different faith backgrounds and life experiences. Some of my friends are not believers. They are agnostic or atheist. They don’t think there is anything beyond this world. Some of my friends are deists. They believe in a higher power of some sort but not necessarily a Christian one. In fact, many of them would argue all gods are the same. Some of my friends are Muslim. They believe in Allah and what the Prophet Muhammed taught. Some of my friends are Hindu. They believe in a pantheon of gods and goddesses. Some of my friends are Buddhist and their desire is to seek enlightenment. Their god isn’t personal per se though becoming one with him is the very definition of enlightenment. When we have conversations about faith, I often hear my friends say something along the lines of “that’s okay for you Christians to believe, it’s just not for me.” Essentially, you do you and I’ll do me. And while that sounds nice and the epitome of tolerance, it’s actually dangerous. Why? Because Jesus Christ isn’t just the “Christian god.” He is the God of the universe and everyone will one day appear before His judgment seat.

Consider our reading from today. God exercises His judgment over the nations. Each of these nations had their own gods. They each had their own belief systems. They each had their own religions but all of them are still subject to God. They live and move and have their being under His sovereign authority. They exist at His pleasure. They are subject to His righteous judgment. Pharaoh, Philistia, Moab…none of them shall escape. They shall all fall before the Lord. The same will be true with Babylon. It’s the same for every nation on the earth. Every nation that has ever or will ever exist. All of them are subject to the Lord of hosts. This is the mistake so many make when they pursue other religions or worship other gods. They make the same mistake the ancient pagan nations made. They fall into the trap of believing all gods are the same and belief in god is a matter of personal choice. They are wrong. There is only one God who holds all authority in heaven and earth and under the earth and all of us will one day appear before His judgment seat.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 49-50, Psalms 26

Walk by Faith

Readings for today: Jeremiah 40-44, Psalms 24

As a pastor, one of the things I get to do is help churches who find themselves in crisis. Leadership failings. Trust issues. Organizational chaos. There are lots of reasons churches struggle and when it gets to a certain point, they cry out for help. That’s often when I am called to go in. I begin working with the pastors. Working with the elders. Working with the leaders. And the biggest challenge I face in these situations is to help people who are often hurting, angry, fearful, and afraid, learn to walk by faith. 

Jeremiah faced the same challenge. The national crisis of God’s people deepens with the murder of the Babylonian governor. The people of God come to Jeremiah and ask him to pray on their behalf. What should they do? How should they respond? They are naturally afraid of the wrath of Nebuchadnezzar. Will he return and utterly destroy them? Will he seek retribution for the murder of his official? What’s going to happen? Jeremiah seeks the Lord on their behalf and the Lord graciously answers. “If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will rebuild and not demolish you, and I will plant and not uproot you, because I relent concerning the disaster that I have brought on you. Don’t be afraid of the king of Babylon whom you now fear; don’t be afraid of him’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘because I am with you to save you and rescue you from him. I will grant you compassion, and he will have compassion on you and allow you to return to your own soil.’” (Jeremiah‬ ‭42‬:‭10‬-‭12‬ ‭CSB‬‬) What an amazing promise! Even now, after all their sin and rebellion, God is willing to forgive and show mercy and establish them in the Promised Land. Even now, God is willing to bless them and help them and come to their aid. Yes, it will require a step of faith. Yes, it will require them to be humble. Yes, they will have to submit to Nebuchadnezzar once again. But if they will do these things, God will be with them. 

Sadly, their fear gets the best of them. “Azariah son of Hoshaiah, Johanan son of Kareah, and all the other arrogant men responded to Jeremiah, “You are speaking a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You must not go to Egypt to stay there for a while!’ Rather, Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Chaldeans to put us to death or to deport us to Babylon!” (Jeremiah‬ ‭43‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭CSB‬‬) So they flee to Egypt. Back to the place where they were once enslaved. They begin to worship Egyptian gods. They leave the land of promise for a foreign land to serve foreign masters with the hope they will protect them and keep them safe. 

Walking by faith is not easy. It often seems illogical to our human minds. Azariah and Johanan were doing what made sense. It makes sense to run for cover when you are afraid. It makes sense to run to Egypt, the world’s only other superpower, to escape the wrath of the Babylonians. It makes sense to flee when you’ve just been conquered. It is natural to be afraid in such situations. But it is precisely in these moments, when things are at their darkest and most bleak, that we turn to God.  

Many churches I’ve worked with over the years have sadly not been able to make this turn. They keep trying to handle things on their own. They keep turning to their own wisdom. They keep trying to operate according to their own strength. They falsely believe if they can just get another pastor…if they can just get rid of a certain leader…if they can just hit on the right program…attract the right kind of people then success will come. They turn to business principles. They go to conferences. They talk vision and values and policies and procedures. They try so hard and all the while God is in heaven reaching out to them. Calling them to slow down. Simplify. Sit with Him in prayer. Rebuild trust by spending time in the Word and just sharing life together in Him.

Thankfully, I’ve seen some wonderful successes along the way as well. Churches who finally come to the end of themselves and are ready to submit to God. Ready to walk by faith not by sight. Ready to look past attendance and budget and building issues and let God restore them. They are ready to put aside all the talk about vision and values and leadership and let the Spirit show them the way. They are ready to stop looking to organizational solutions for spiritual problems and instead rely on God. It’s a beautiful thing to watch as God builds them back up. Replants the fields and brings in a harvest. Friends, if we trust God, He will come through! 

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 45-48, Psalms 25

There’s Always More Grace

Readings for today: Jeremiah 33-36, Psalms 22

God’s grace is truly amazing. No matter how bad things get. No matter how far we fall. No matter how fast we run. God is always quick to forgive. Quick to relent of the judgment our sin rightfully deserves. Zedekiah is another in a long line of evil kings. Kings who reject the will of God. Kings who worship idols. Kings who seek their own glory and power instead of humbly serving God. Judgment is coming. Jeremiah has been sent to proclaim the impending doom. The sins of Israel are many and have piled up over the years, creating a mess God intends to use Babylon to clean up. It’s going to be ugly. It’s going to be tragic. It’s going to be painful. Many will suffer. Many will die. All they hold dear will be destroyed as God’s justice rolls down on the earth. 

But even now at the eleventh hour, there is hope. God’s mercy makes one last appearance. God commands Jeremiah to speak a word of grace to the nation. To speak words of life instead of death. “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not knowI will certainly bring health and healing to Jerusalem and will indeed heal them. I will let them experience the abundance of true peace. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and of Israel and will rebuild them as in former times. I will purify them from all the iniquity they have committed against me, and I will forgive all the iniquities they have committed against me, rebelling against me. This city will bear on my behalf a name of joy, praise, and glory before all the nations of the earth, who will hear of all the prosperity I will give them. They will tremble with awe because of all the good and all the peace I will bring about for them.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭3‬, ‭6‬-‭9‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Yes, they cannot escape God’s judgment. Yes, they cannot escape the exile to come. But this is not the final word. God will not allow His eternal covenant to be broken.

"Look, the days are coming” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will fulfill the good promise that I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a Righteous Branch to sprout up for David, and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely, and this is what she will be named: The Lord Is Our Righteousness. For this is what the Lord says: David will never fail to have a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel. The Levitical priests will never fail to have a man always before me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to make sacrifices.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭33‬:‭14‬-‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Friends, Jesus is the righteous Branch God has caused to spring up out of the waste and desolation that is left of Israel. God sends His Messiah to executive justice and righteousness in the land once more. God sends His Messiah to save His people and secure His city. Jesus is the greater David. The righteous King who now sits on His throne. Jesus is our great High Priest constantly making intercession for us before the Ancient of Days. Jesus is God’s answer to all that has gone wrong in this world and Jesus is God’s solution to the perpetual problem of human sin.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 37-39, Psalms 23

A New Covenant

Readings for today: Jeremiah 30-32, Psalms 21

God is faithful. This is the bedrock belief for the Christian. No matter what life may bring. No matter what hardship comes our way. No matter how much grief and suffering we have to endure. No matter how dark the days may get. No matter how terrible and terrifying life may become. No matter how far we go astray. No matter how much we sin. God is faithful. He is faithful to discipline us, often by letting us face the consequences of the choices we have made. He is faithful to restore us, after we repent and turn from our wicked ways. He is faithful to stand by our side, drawing near the broken-hearted and crushed in spirit. He is faithful to find us and lead us back home, leaving the ninety-nine sheep to find the one who is lost.

God is faithful. I can’t tell you how often this thought has brought me comfort. God’s faithfulness comforted me when I was a teenager, wrestling with the shame over my father’s alcoholism. God’s faithfulness comforted me when I was newly married and we lost our first child. God’s faithfulness comforted me when I was in the depths of despair after the church I tried to plant imploded all around me. God has always been faithful. He has never left me or forsaken me. He heard every cry. He saw every tear. He took every harsh word I threw His way when I was angry and afraid. He descended with me into the depths of the darkness of depression. And when I had nothing left. When I was exhausted and emotionally spent. When I was physically at the end of my strength. When I had no way out. No more moves to make or schemes to hatch or ways to escape. When the walls closed in all around me and everything was taken away. He remained. He was there. He walked with me through the ruins of my shattered life and promised healing and restoration.

God is faithful. This is the testimony of Jeremiah from our passage today. He is faithful to His people. Faithful to His covenant. Faithful to Himself. He will not leave us in exile forever. He will not let death and destruction have the last word. He will not let His world go to ruin. He is faithful. He is at work. He will heal. He will restore. He will redeem. He will prevail. He is God. Listen again to the beautiful words from Jeremiah, promising a new day, a new hope, and a new future. “Look, the days are coming”  — this is the Lord’s declaration — “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt — my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”  — the Lord’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” — the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”  — this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭31‬:‭31‬-‭34‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

These days aren’t just coming, friends, they are already here! Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God makes a new covenant. He offers anyone who would believe in Him eternal life. He extends this offer beyond the borders of Israel to every tribe, tongue, and nation on the earth. His plan is to redeem all creation and invite every people group into His Kingdom. This is God’s plan and God is faithful. He is at work even now to bring it to pass. Will you join Him?

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 33-36, Psalms 22

Reality is the Best Teacher

Readings for today: Jeremiah 23-25, Psalms 19

“Reality is the best teacher.” We talk about this all the time in my home. As each of my children has grown up, we have done our best to teach them and instruct them in the ways of the Lord. We’ve done our best to help them understand the consequences - good or bad - of the choices they make. We’ve done our best to come alongside them when they stumble and fall. But at the end of the day, each of them in their own way has had to figure some things out on their own. They’ve had to come face to face with reality and learn that the world is not very accommodating. When I take a step back, it’s a fascinating process to watch unfold. I’ve gone from being the smartest person they know when they are young to the dumbest person they know when they are teenagers back to pretty smart again when they get into their early twenties. Through it all, my wife and I’ve learned to be patient. To wait on the Lord. To wait on our children. To let them go through hard experiences and learn difficult lessons so that they will be better for it in the long run. Does it mean crying a lot of tears? Yes. Does it mean dealing with the anxieties and fears that come with parenting? Absolutely. Is it hard to watch your children go through suffering? Without a doubt. It continually keeps us on our knees before the Lord, hoping our children will relent and see the light and return to Him. Thankfully, all of them are on that journey and because we’ve loved them well, we get to be part of it.

Now step back and try to put yourself in God’s position. For generations, He has been reaching out to His people. He has sent them prophets and preachers. He has performed miracle after miracle. He has given them His Word and provided for them a Land. He has done all these things out of love but they have rejected Him. “The Lord sent all his servants the prophets to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed or even paid attention. He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds. Live in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever. Do not follow other gods to serve them and to bow in worship to them, and do not anger me by the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm. “‘But you have not obeyed me’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘with the result that you have angered me by the work of your hands and brought disaster on yourselves.’” (Jeremiah‬ ‭25‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬) The natural consequence of the people’s rejection of God is judgment. God will send Babylon against His people and all the surrounding nations. None shall escape. The whole land will become a ruin and a waste. And lest we think God is being too harsh here, God makes it clear that His judgment is righteous and just and good. “I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭25‬:‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Human beings have never truly grasped the depths of their sin. We have never truly understood the depths of our depravity. We were given authority and dominion by God at the beginning but we have made a complete mess of things. We want to be like God but we reign like a tyrant over a world that is suffering and tormented. We are selfish and greedy. We treat the earth like a disposable resource. We dismiss or ignore or disdain other human beings made in the image of God simply because they look different or act different or speak different or spend money different or vote different. And still God loves us. Still God reaches out to us. Still God is patient with us. God longs for us to return to Him. He longs for us to return to His ways. He longs for us to return to His love. Today is yet another opportunity to turn back to Him. Why delay any longer? Why keep holding out? Why keep running from Him? The God who loves you so much is patiently waiting for you to come home.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 26-29, Psalms 20 (No devotionals on Sundays)

Burning in the Bones

Readings for today: Jeremiah 18-22, Psalms 18

I remember when I first came to saving faith in Jesus Christ. One day my life was headed in one direction. A direction that would lead to a lot of failure and pain and suffering, mostly self-inflicted. The next day, my life was headed in a completely different direction. A direction that has led to life and blessing and success. However, it would be a lie to say this second road was not without its challenges. I have faced all kinds of hardship and suffering as I sought to follow the call of God on my life. I have had to make all kinds of sacrifices I wouldn’t have otherwise made. I have struggled a great deal at times with depression and despair and a desire to run back to my old ways. What has kept me going? In short, God. God’s Word burns in my heart and in my bones. God’s Spirit put a call on my life I simply cannot deny. Perhaps that’s why I appreciate and understand on some level Jeremiah’s words from chapter 20…

“You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived. You seized me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all the time; everyone ridicules me. For whenever I speak, I cry out, I proclaim, “Violence and destruction!” so the word of the Lord has become my constant disgrace and derision. I say, “I won’t mention him or speak any longer in his name.” But his message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones. I become tired of holding it in, and I cannot prevail...But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed, an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten. Lord of Armies, testing the righteous and seeing the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for I have presented my case to you. Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord, for he rescues the life of the needy from evil people. May the day I was born be cursed. May the day my mother bore me never be blessed. May the man be cursed who brought the news to my father, saying, “A male child is born to you,” bringing him great joy. Let that man be like the cities the Lord demolished without compassion. Let him hear an outcry in the morning and a war cry at noontime because he didn’t kill me in the womb so that my mother might have been my grave, her womb eternally pregnant. Why did I come out of the womb to see only struggle and sorrow, to end my life in shame?” (Jeremiah‬ ‭20‬:‭7‬-‭9‬, ‭11‬-‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Reading Jeremiah is like riding a rollercoaster. The highs are extremely high. The lows are extremely low. The shifts in perspective seemingly come without warning. One moment, Jeremiah is lashing out at God accusing Him of coercion and deceit while in the next moment, he is clinging to God as a strong, protective warrior. He praises the Lord for His salvation and then curses the day he was born. It’s exhausting to be honest. And yet, it is also why his words resonate so deeply. Jeremiah’s vulnerability before the Lord is deeply compelling. It draws us into a life of faith that is real and raw and honest. It invites us to take the same journey with God. To walk with Him through every dark valley of shadow and rejoice with Him on every mountaintop. The reality is Jeremiah simply cannot escape the call of God on his life. Nor can we. Our lives are not our own. We’ve been bought with a price. We are God’s to use as He sees fit. And the sooner we embrace this truth, the better.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 23-25, Psalms 19

Getting Real with God

Readings for today: Jeremiah 14-17, Psalms 17

There is a myth many Christians believe. If we are walking faithfully with the Lord. If we are obeying His commands and living according to His Word. If we are praying and worshipping and serving Him then we will not face hardship. We will not struggle or suffer or endure any pain. Life will be good and blessed and we will be happy. Fundamentally, we believe if we do our part, God is bound to do His and our lives should reflect His favor. 

But then we read a passage like this one from Jeremiah today...“Woe is me, my mother, that you gave birth to me, a man who incites dispute and conflict in all the land. I did not lend or borrow, yet everyone curses me…You know, Lord; remember me and take note of me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In your patience, don’t take me away. Know that I suffer disgrace for your honor. Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart, for I bear your name, Lord God of Armies. I never sat with the band of revelers, and I did not celebrate with them. Because your hand was on me, I sat alone, for you filled me with indignation. Why has my pain become unending, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You truly have become like a mirage to me — water that is not reliable.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭15‬:‭10‬, ‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Jeremiah is angry with God. He’s bitter and frustrated. He’s fulfilled the call of God. He’s been faithful. He took God’s Word and proclaimed it at great personal cost. The people beat and persecute him. They spit on him and mock him. He has no friends. No family. He sits alone. Who knows how long he has suffered? We only know he’s finally reached a breaking point. He is in anguish. He is in pain. He is depressed. He is discouraged. He accuses God of being deceitful. Lying to him. Pulling a bait and switch. 

It’s real. It’s raw. It’s honest. It’s not uncommon. I’ve been there myself. I remember well the 19 months we spent in Wisconsin. We were fully convinced God called us to go there to plant a church. We were excited. We were passionate. We couldn’t wait to get started. God had given us a vision. He had given us plenty of resources. We were confident we would do great things for Jesus. Within a few months, our dream became a nightmare. For the first time in my life, I became a man of “strife and contention” to those I worked for. I felt cursed. Afflicted. Unjustly accused. I didn’t handle it well. I complained. I grew frustrated. I got angry with God. I felt like He had let me down. I felt like He had broken faith with me. After all, I had given up a thriving ministry and uprooted my family and poured my heart and soul into this new work. All to no avail. I ended up broken. Battered. Bruised. I contemplated throwing in the towel on ministry altogether.

In the midst of our heartache, I cried out to God and this is what He said. In essence, “Should you accept good from me and not hardship? Did you think this life I called you to was only going to be up and to the right? One success after another? What if it is my will to crush you? To break your pride? To make you suffer so you learn to depend on Me? Am I not enough for you?” It was sobering and convicting and strangely...comforting. Even in our darkest moments, God was there. Though His presence was a refiner’s fire, it felt good. The kind of good one feels after a hard workout or when one has overcome something incredibly difficult. You may still bear the scars but they become badges of honor along the way. 

Such was true for Jeremiah as well. Listen to the Lord’s response to him in the midst of his pain. "Therefore, this is what the Lord says: If you return, I will take you back; you will stand in my presence. And if you speak noble words, rather than worthless ones, you will be my spokesman. It is they who must return to you; you must not return to them. Then I will make you a fortified wall of bronze to this people. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save you and rescue you. This is the Lord’s declaration. I will rescue you from the power of evil people and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭15‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭CSB‬‬) The call on Jeremiah’s life will be a hard one. God is relentless. He will use Jeremiah as a hammer to break the nation’s pride. He will be ostracized. Isolated. Hated. Persecuted. He will suffer and struggle and endure tremendous pain. But through it all, God will be with him. God will give him the strength he needs to bear up under the burden. 

Only you know the burdens you carry in life. Only you know the source of those burdens. Sometime we suffer because of our sin. The choices we make lead us down dark paths. We have to own those choices. Take responsibility. Repent and turn back to the Lord. Sometimes the Lord leads us into suffering. To refine us. Test us. Break sinful patterns of pride and self-sufficiency in our lives. In those times, we must submit. Accept. Surrender to His sovereign will and trust even the hard times serve His purposes in our lives.  

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 18-22, Psalms 18

Futility of Idolatry

Readings for today: Jeremiah 10-13, Psalms 16

Many years ago, I met a young woman in crisis. She was depressed. She was struggling with thoughts of self-harm. She was beginning to have suicidal ideation. She was not a Christian but came to me through a mutual friend, looking for help. As she shared her story with me, I asked her if she had any connection to spirituality and/or religious faith. She told me about her spirit animal, a purple fluffy dinosaur who she turned to when things really got dark and hard. I asked her if her dinosaur ever responded. She wasn’t sure. Just the thought, however, brought her comfort on some level. I told her I was glad she found comfort but asked her if it mattered that her dinosaur wasn’t real. She hadn’t given it much thought. “What if I told you I could introduce you to a God who is real, is actually with you in your suffering, and is able to heal?” I asked. She said she had never even heard such a thing was possible. So I shared the gospel with her and encouraged her to work with a licensed, professional Christian counselor who could help her address her depression and include a faith perspective.

I share this story to illustrate the futility of idolatry. One of the reasons the Bible considers idolatry so dangerous is because it is empty. It cannot deliver on what it promises. It cannot solve our problems. It cannot bind up our wounds. It cannot heal our disease. It cannot bring any real comfort or hope because it is all just wishful thinking. The gods and goddesses and spirit animals we believe in just aren’t real. They don’t exist. It doesn’t matter how many times we pray. It doesn’t matter how many sacrifices we make. It doesn’t matter how we feel. They aren’t real and will fail us in the long term.

Sadly, this isn’t a new problem. It’s a persistent one throughout the history of humanity, including among the people of God. Listen again to how the prophet Jeremiah talks about it, “This is what the Lord says: Do not learn the way of the nations or be terrified by signs in the heavens, although the nations are terrified by them, for the customs of the peoples are worthless. Someone cuts down a tree from the forest; it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel. He decorates it with silver and gold. It is fastened with hammer and nails, so it won’t totter. Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them for they can do no harm  — and they cannot do any good.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭10‬:‭2‬-‭5‬ ‭CSB) The imagery is striking. Scarecrows in a field? Trees turned into totems by craftsmen? Pagan customs that are worthless? This is why God speaks so strongly against the ways of the nations. Do not learn them. Do not copy them. Do not adopt them. Hold yourself apart from them. These gods didn’t make the heavens and the earth. They have no real impact on the world. They cannot affect a person’s life.

So what should we do? Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call on Him while He may be heard. Why? Because there is no one like the Lord. Jeremiah 10:6, “Lord, there is no one like you. You are great; your name is great in power.” God is great and God is powerful. Unlike the false gods we surround ourselves with, God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He rules over all He has made. His impact on the world is real. His work in a person’s life is transformative. He can meet all our needs and address all our issues and heal all our hurts. Most of all, His love is real. We can have an actual relationship with Him. Furthermore, He wants to be with us. He laid down His life for us. His life and death and resurrection is a fact of human history. So let me encourage you to turn from your futile idolatry and turn back to the Living God.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 14-17, Psalms 17

A Life God Blesses

Readings for today: Jeremiah 7-9, Psalms 15

The Psalmist asks and answers a great question in our reading for today. “Lord, who can dwell in your tent? Who can live on your holy mountain?” (Psalms‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬ ‭CSB‬‬) The holy mountain, of course, is Jerusalem. Even more specifically, the holy mountain refers to the Temple Mount where Solomon’s Temple originally stood. This is the very place the people of Israel look for hope in the midst of their suffering and affliction. Sadly, however, they fix their eyes on the wrong thing. Instead of lifting their eyes above the hills to look to the One who actually brings help, they keep looking at the Temple, treating it like a sacred totem or talisman that will keep them safe. How often do we do the same? How often do we take the worship of God and turn it into an idol? Particular instruments? Particular spaces? Particular styles of worship? Particular buildings or properties? It’s so easy for us to place our trust in the blessings of God rather than God Himself.

God is clear. He wants obedience over sacrifice. It’s far more important to God that we follow His Word than go through the motions of worship. This is why He tells Jeremiah to prophesy against the Temple. The people of God are neglecting the very things that are supposed to set them apart. They neglect justice and mercy. They neglect truth and righteousness. Instead, they pursue selfishness and greed and then come to worship, assuming they can placate God. God will not be mocked. He is not some pagan deity who can be appeased. He is jealous for us. Jealous for a true, authentic relationship with us. He refuses to share our devotion or settle for a divided heart. He will not rest until He is first and foremost in our hearts.

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 10-13, Psalms 16

The Surprising Impact of Repentance

Readings for today: Jeremiah 4-6, Psalms 14

What’s your first thought when you hear the word, “repentance?” I bet it has something to do with personal confession. Asking for forgiveness. Saying you are sorry for something you have done. Feeling bad about a sin you committed. Something like that. Certainly there is an aspect to repentance that is personal. It definitely involves sorrow over sin and asking for forgiveness and confession to God or to those we’ve hurt along the way. It also takes the next step to effect a change in behavior. You may have heard the word literally means “turn around.” Make a U-turn. Go the opposite way. Refuse to continue walking in the path of sinners. I love all of this about repentance but Jeremiah introduces yet another aspect to it in our reading today. The impact of repentance on others.

“If you return, Israel — this is the Lord’s declaration — you will return to me, if you remove your abhorrent idols from my presence and do not waver, then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,” in truth, justice, and righteousness, and then the nations will be blessed by him and will boast in him.” (Jeremiah‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭CSB) Israel’s “return” is another way of calling Israel to “repent.” They have wandered far from the Lord and He is calling them back home through the prophet Jeremiah. As if to sweeten the deal, God makes Israel a promise. If they return in faith to God, if they will return in truth and justice and righteousness, then God will use their repentance to bless the nations surrounding them and they, in turn, will also come to saving faith. The point God is trying to make here is that repentance is a powerful witness. It’s a demonstration of the grace of God in action. It shows the world what true, humble faith looks like and it is incredibly compelling.

As a pastor, I’ve been given the opportunity to speak across the nation and around the world. One of the things I always do when I am speaking to a new group of people is share my testimony. I want them to know a bit of my story and I always make sure to share the many times God has called me to repentance. The response I get when I share openly and vulnerably about my own struggles with sin is powerful. People feel drawn to those who are authentic and humble and who don’t pretend to have all the answers. Repentance opens doors that might otherwise remain closed. It softens hearts. It draws people in rather than push them away. It levels the playing field. It’s almost like God has hard-wired human beings to respond to it.

When was the last time you shared your testimony? Openly? Honestly? Authentically? When was the last time you were vulnerable with another person about your own struggles with sin and how the Holy Spirit has helped you along the way? Have you ever shared your story with another person? Friends, sharing about our struggles isn’t embarrassing or shameful if it points people to Christ. Sharing about the difficulties we’ve had in life or our “thorns in the flesh” and how God has met us and sustained us and transformed us along the way gives people hope that it can happen to them. Humbling ourselves, confessing our sin, and asking for forgiveness builds deep intimacy as we relate to other people which makes sharing our faith even more compelling and profound. Let me encourage you to begin sharing your story with others today!

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 7-9, Psalms 15

The Love of God

Readings for today: Song of Solomon 5-8, Psalms 12

There is nothing like the love of God. No force in the universe is as powerful. Not gravity. Not electromagnetism. Not the strong or weak nuclear forces that hold together the atom. Not the laws of quantum physics or thermodynamics. God’s love is the connective tissue that holds all space and time and matter together. It is the animating force for all of life. Everything that has breath. Everything that crawls on the earth or swims in the sea or flies in the air. Every person on earth. All of it held together by the love of God. God’s love is the operating system of all of life. It is both the hardware and the software off which everything runs. It operates in the background and the foreground. It is both tangible and intangible. Concrete and incorporeal. Expressive and ineffable. And there may not be a better description of it than what’s written here at the end of the Song of Solomon…

“Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death; jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol. Love’s flames are fiery flames  — an almighty flame! A huge torrent cannot extinguish love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all his wealth for love, it would be utterly scorned.” (Song of Songs‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Imagine how your life would change if you truly believed and walked in the love described here by Solomon. Imagine if you believed God had set you as a seal on His heart and arm. Imagine if you believed God’s love for you transcended death and Hades. Imagine if you believed God’s love for you was fierce and jealous. Imagine you believed God’s love for you could never be lost or expire or be extinguished, no matter what you said or did. Imagine if you believed God’s love could not be bought or earned but was a gift of grace. How would it change your life? How would it change how you lived? How would it change the relationships in your life? How would it change how you spent your time and money and energy? Imagine how different things would be for you if you tapped into this unquenchable, inexhaustible love every single day?

Readings for tomorrow: Jeremiah 1-3, Psalms 13 (No devotionals on Sundays)

Relationship with God

Readings for today: Song of Solomon 1-4, Psalms 11

For centuries, both Jewish and Christian interpreters of the Song of Solomon understood it as an allegorical poem depicting the love God has for His people. A love that is deep and intimate. A love that is stronger than death. Perhaps this is why the Song of Solomon is read during Passover each year. Passover is the celebration of the seminal event in Israel’s history, the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt. Because of His steadfast, faithful, covenantal love, God acted within human history to set His people free. We celebrate a similar act of salvation at the Lord’s Table which is why some Christian traditions read the Song of Solomon whenever they eat the bread and drink the cup. They are honoring the God’s eternal, unchangeable, relentless love for His people. A love that will never let us go. A love that holds us together when everything else in this world is tearing us apart.

Yes, I know it sounds strange to our 21st century, post-modern, Western ears. We read the Song of Solomon and almost blush at the graphic imagery. We are uncomfortable with the sexual connotations and struggle to understand how this book could depict anything other than the erotic love a man has for a woman. It feels almost unholy to suggest otherwise. But this attitude only serves to underscore how little we understand about the love of God and the kind of relationship God wants with us. God wants a relationship that is deep and intimate with His people. He wants us to look forward with anticipation to the time we get to spend with Him. He wants us to be filled with longing for His presence in our lives. He wants us to search for Him earnestly until we find Him. Listen again to the words of the poem…

“Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your caresses are more delightful than wine. The fragrance of your perfume is intoxicating; your name is perfume poured out. No wonder young women adore you. Take me with you  — let’s hurry. Oh, that the king would bring me to his chambers.” (Song of Songs‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

“Listen! My love is approaching. Look! Here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills. My love is like a gazelle or a young stag. See, he is standing behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice. My love calls to me: Arise, my darling. Come away, my beautiful one.” (Song of Songs‬ ‭2‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

“In my bed at night I sought the one I love; I sought him, but did not find him. I will arise now and go about the city, through the streets and the plazas. I will seek the one I love. I sought him, but did not find him. The guards who go about the city found me. I asked them, “Have you seen the one I love?” I had just passed them when I found the one I love. I held on to him and would not let him go until I brought him to my mother’s house  — to the chamber of the one who conceived me.” (Song of Songs‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭CSB)

Doesn’t it change how you hear it? How you read it? How you understand it? With this frame of mind, listen to how God describes His beloved. How He describes His people. How He describes you and me.

“I compare you, my darling, to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots. Your cheeks are beautiful with jewelry, your neck with its necklace…How beautiful you are, my darling. How very beautiful! Your eyes are doves.” (Song of Songs‬ ‭1‬:‭9‬-‭10‬, ‭15‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

“Arise, my darling. Come away, my beautiful one. For now the winter is past; the rain has ended and gone away. The blossoms appear in the countryside. The time of singing has come, and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines give off their fragrance. Arise, my darling. Come away, my beautiful one. My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crevices of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” (Song of Songs‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬-‭14‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

“You are absolutely beautiful, my darling; there is no imperfection in you.” (Song of Songs‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Imagine how it would change you if you truly believed these things about yourself. Imagine how it would change you if you truly saw yourself as God sees you. Beautiful. Perfect. Beloved. Can you not see why God desires to have a relationship with you? Why He takes great delight in you? Why He has lavished on you every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places? God is deeply in love with you. He is eternally committed to you. He will never leave you or forsake you. He has your name graven on His hand and written on His heart and He will not rest until you, His beloved, turns and embraces Him with all your heart.

Readings for tomorrow: Song of Solomon 5-8, Psalms 12

True Joy

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 9-12, Psalms 10

Lost in all the writer of Ecclesiastes’ talk about vanity and emptiness and chasing the wind is the number of times he encourages the reader to enjoy life. Enjoy the time they have been given. Enjoy the hours and days of blessing. Enjoy the seasons when life is good. Yes, you will experience bad times. Yes, you will experience hardship and adversity. Yes, you cannot place your trust in wisdom, wealth, influence, or a good name. But you can still find joy. Simple pleasures of feasting, friendship, and family. 

“Go, eat your bread with pleasure, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already accepted your works. Let your clothes be white all the time, and never let oil be lacking on your head. Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life, which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle under the sun. Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭9‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

To be sure, Ecclesiastes encourages a “sober” joy. A joy tempered by the realities of hard work, adversity, judgment, and death. A joy that transcends superficial happiness. A joy that springs from a deep love of life and all the blessings God has given. The profound joy that comes from a life lived before God in this world. The joyful life for Solomon is not all bubbles and rainbows and unicorns. It’s an utterly realistic joy. A joy that acknowledges the harsh truth about our broken world. A joy that walks eyes wide open to pain and suffering. A joy that doesn’t run from trouble. 

I’ve been a pastor for over twenty years. I’ve spent countless hours counseling people from all walks of life. I’ve served congregations on the East Coast, Deep South, Midwest, and, for the last fifteen years, out West in Colorado. A common thread running throughout all those conversations and cultures is the universal desire for happiness. A craving for joy. But far too often it’s a joy without hardship. A happiness without sorrow. An unrealistic expectation that life can be lived...indeed should be lived...without pain and suffering. In the most extreme cases, the person seems to believe God “owes” them such a life. It’s why one of the most frequent questions I have to help people wrestle with is “Why, God?” Why did God let this happen to me? Why didn’t God protect me from this tragedy? Why does God allow suffering? Why does a good God allow evil to exist in the world? Such questions, at their best, reveal the longing we all have for the world to come. The world where God will wipe away every tear, end all injustice, and heal every hurt. At their worst, they reveal a deep misunderstanding of the world around us. A false expectation that this life can be lived without experiencing hardship and pain. Ecclesiastes is clearly confronting the latter attitude. 

So how do you experience the world? When you wake up in the morning, what’s your expectation? Do you walk into life eyes wide open to both the good and the bad? Are you willing to embrace the ups and downs? Do you understand that life will be filled with pleasure and pain? Accomplishment and adversity? Success and failure? And do you seek the deeper joy God offers us in Jesus Christ?

Readings for tomorrow: Song of Solomon 1-4, Psalms 11

Smoke and Mirrors

Readings for today: Ecclesiastes 5-8, Psalms 9

The writer of Ecclesiastes is brutally honest about life. All is vanity, he says, over and over again. The original Hebrew of the phrase meaning, “all is smoke, all is vapor, all is hot air.” It doesn’t make life meaningless, it makes it confusing. It makes it contradictory. It lacks any kind of consistency. All of us know deep down this isn’t how it should be. The righteous should be rewarded and the wicked punished. Every single time. There should be no exceptions to this rule. Long life, deep joy, great wealth and honor should be reserved for those who live according to God’s law. Short life, deep bitterness, poverty and shame should be the fate of those who reject God’s law and go their own way. But what happens when the wicked flourish and the righteous perish? What happens when the lawless seem to be happy and the lawful struggle to find joy? What happens when the righteous are poor and powerless and oppressed while the unrighteous are wealthy and honored and accumulate great power and influence? These are the questions the writer of Ecclesiastes is struggling to answer and, if we’re honest, we’re still struggling to answer them to this day.

Taking a step back, I believe the fact that we wrestle with these questions is a clear indicator that God has indeed set eternity in our hearts. The very fact that every single human being no matter their faith or culture or life experience all ask these questions demonstrates there has to be something beyond this life. Something beyond this world. Something beyond that is calling to us. An echo of Eden in all our hearts. A longing for a return to true justice and righteousness and peace in the world. The very fact that we continue to strive for it despite all our failures throughout all of human history is strong evidence to me that there is a God who created us in a particular way and desires to have a relationship with us. Why else would we care? Why else would we fight so hard for things like universal human rights and to end slavery and oppression and provide relief for the poor? Why not survival of the fittest? Why not might makes right? Why not use my wealth and power and privilege to simply accumulate as much as I can throughout my lifetime?

Everything is smoke. Vapor. Hot air. It’s like we’re living in a steam room. Our vision of the world and other people and even ourselves is obscured by the water in the air. Even if we try to understand it, we will fail. If we work as hard as we can to probe the mystery, we simply cannot find clarity. Listen again to how the writer of Ecclesiastes puts it, “There is a futility that is done on the earth: there are righteous people who get what the actions of the wicked deserve, and there are wicked people who get what the actions of the righteous deserve. I say that this too is futile…I observed all the work of God and concluded that a person is unable to discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though a person labors hard to explore it, he cannot find it; even if a wise person claims to know it, he is unable to discover it.” (Ecclesiastes‬ ‭8‬:‭14‬, ‭17‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

So what’s the answer then? Resignation? Fatalism? Just put our heads down and endure? No. Over and over again, the writer encourages us to embrace contentment. Embrace the gifts we have been given. Enjoy them for as long as we can. Just don’t hold onto them. Don’t assume you will have them forever. Don’t place your trust in them. Instead, fear the Lord. This is the beginning and the end of all wisdom.

Readings for tomorrow: Ecclesiastes 9-12, Psalms 10

The Impact of Righteousness

Readings for today: Proverbs 28-31, Psalms 7

Righteousness is one of the most important qualities a person can develop in their life. The more righteous a person, the more the people around them are blessed. The greater the influence or authority or power a righteous person is entrusted with, the greater the impact they can make on the world. This is why God encourages the pursuit of righteousness above anything else. Jesus Himself, the truly Righteous One, says in the Gospel of Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all the rest will be added unto you.” In other words, make the righteousness of God your aim in life and everything else you may be tempted to pursue - like wealth, reputation, influence, position, etc. - will follow. Not because you have earned it but because God has given it to you. He knows you can be trusted with it.

I often talk about this with the church I am privileged to serve. We have made it our goal to seek the Kingdom of God and God’s righteousness first as a community. We give generously and sacrificially to God’s mission both locally and around the world. We serve one another faithfully and well. We love each other unconditionally and we welcome the broken and hurting and suffering so they can find healing and restoration. We do all we can to minister at the intersection of the least reached and least resourced because we believe this is where God calls us to go. Do we do it perfectly? Of course not. We make all sorts of mistakes along the way but this is our general trajectory for which I am thankful. As we have pursued God’s vision for our life together, He continues to entrust with more and more souls, more and more resources, more and more responsibility, and more and more ministry opportunity. It’s deeply humbling and an example of what happens when God’s people seek to live righteously before the Lord.

Our reading today contains all kinds of promises for those who pursue righteousness. Imagine what would happen if more and more Christians would pursue righteousness? Imagine how our lives might change? How our communities might change? How our nation might change? How our world might change? The ripple of effect of the righteousness of God mediated through His people simply cannot be measured. Listen again to how the author of Proverbs describes it…

“When the righteous triumph, there is great rejoicing, but when the wicked come to power, people hide.”

“When the wicked come to power, people hide, but when they are destroyed, the righteous flourish.”

“When the righteous flourish, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, people groan.”

“The righteous person knows the rights of the poor, but the wicked one does not understand these concerns.”

“When the wicked increase, rebellion increases, but the righteous will see their downfall.”

“An unjust person is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭28:12, 28, 29‬:‭2‬, ‭7‬, ‭16‬, ‭27‬ ‭CSB‬‬

Think about all that’s wrong in the world today. Think about everything you read in the headlines or as you scroll through your social media feeds or hear on cable news. Think about the leaders we elect or appoint or follow. Think about the institutions we support. The cultural trends we help perpetuate. Think about the relationships in your life. Now ask yourself this simple question…are they righteous? If not, what can you do today to begin moving the needle?

Readings for tomorrow: Ecclesiastes 1-4, Psalms 8

More Humility

Readings for today: Proverbs 22-24, Psalms 5

There is nothing in this world that more humility won’t solve. There is no problem that cannot be tackled if all parties come to the table with open hands, open hearts, and open minds. We can talk about anything if we are willing to relinquish our need to protect our ego. Unfortunately, humility is one of the most difficult qualities to cultivate in our world today. From the moment we wake up until we go to bed, we are inundated with messages to put ourselves first, take care of ourselves first, and guard ourselves against anyone who would offer a critique. We have been conditioned to react rather than thoughtfully respond which means our conversations are often over-heated and unproductive and only perpetuate conflict, fear, hurt, and brokenness. Our pride is so costly. I’ve seen it cost people their marriages and families. I’ve seen it break apart businesses and cause people to lose their jobs. I’ve seen it split churches and small groups. Once you start down the road of pride, it’s hard to find the exit ramp.

Perhaps that’s why the Bible promotes the virtue of humility so often. It’s almost like we can’t hear it enough. “Humility, the fear of the Lord, results in wealth, honor, and life.” (Proverbs‬ ‭22‬:‭4‬ ‭CSB‬‬) Can God be any more clear? He promises to reward those who are humble with wealth and honor and life. Don’t make the mistake of thinking humility is a means to an end. If that’s how you read this verse, you are still fostering pride and ego. No, this verse is simply pointing to the fact that those who are humble and fear the Lord can be trusted with wealth and honor and life because they aren’t driven by these things. And because they aren’t driven by these things, they don’t play the comparison game. And because they don’t play the comparison game, what passes for “wealth and honor and life” can look different depending on the context.

When you read a verse like Proverbs 22:4, where you do find yourself focusing? Is it on the back half? Wealth and honor and life? If so, let me encourage you to confess to the Lord and ask His Spirit to purify you of your pride. If you find yourself focusing on the first half of the verse, then you are probably on the right track. Ask the Spirit to keep you there and to continue His sanctifying work within you.

Readings for tomorrow: Proverbs 25-27, Psalms 6 (No devotionals on Sundays)