Lamentations 3:26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
The Bible was written to provide us with doctrine, reproof, correction, and instructions (2 Timothy 4:16). Thus, when we read the personal stories of the bible characters, we should receive guidance and clearly see a roadmap to success by following the positive steps of these individuals and avoiding their pitfalls.
On this week the above scripture not only reinforced what I previously knew but it gave me additional instructions and encouragement to do better, for this was written by a man named Jeremiah that endured a great deal of pain and abuse while he effectively carried out his ministry.
Jeremiah the prophet prophesied doom to the people of Judah because of their disobedience to the laws of God, and unfortunately, they refused to listen to him and change their ways. So, he wrote the book of Lamentations where he lamented over the fate of Jerusalem and its inhabitants.
In the exact middle of the book, Jeremiah declares there is hope, but you must quietly wait on it. What does that mean? Most of us complain, cry, whine, and become depressed when we are going through trials, test, suffering, and persecution. Instead of being quiet, we usually confess our problems rather than our faith. In his writings, Jeremiah informs us that God responds and is merciful to those that seek Him. Plus, the Hebrew word “salvation” in the above verse means to rescue, deliver, help, or provide safety. So our actions are to be peaceful and unruffled as we wait on God to rescue, deliver, help, or provide safety for us.
The Bible also shares this same thought by other writers. James admonished us to be slow to speak (James 1:19), and Paul told us to study to be quiet (1Thessalonians 4:11). To hesitate in expressing ourselves and to be quiet takes effort, it does not come easily for most of us. However, if the bible instructs us to do something in a specific manner, apparently, it is achievable. With the help of the Holy Spirit, I am more determined to put Lamentations 3:26 into practice, and I pray you will attempt to do the same.
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. (John 6:12)
Rather than go to a restaurant and order an entrée, I love buffets because I can eat a variety of food and as much as I so desire. I usually eat what I take because I don’t like the idea of wasting food; however, there are many people that don’t mind wasting. Sometimes the management will put up a sign requesting people to take only what they will eat or they will have someone serving and placing small portions on your plate.
Though going to a buffet exposes a prime example of wasting in our culture there is a host of other areas where we do the same thing. Quite a few of us purchase large quantities of the thing we love only to use it occasionally and many of us hold on to things that we frequently or never use. Many times we spend our monies on frivolous items that after a few days we wish we never purchased and we keep it because we are too lazy to return it. Some of us discard items that others would gladly use for we forget the saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” and I can honestly say I have often gladly received another man’s trash.
In the above scripture Jesus fed five thousand men plus women and children with five barley loaves and two small fishes from a lad that was in the crowd of people that had followed Him. Jesus did not regard the beginning small quantity; He blessed it and gave it to His disciples to be distributed. A miracle took place and the meal was multiplied over and over again. After all the people had eaten and were full He had His disciples pick up the fragments which filled twelve baskets because He did not want anything that was edible to be wasted. He showed us that just because things appear small it does not mean that it cannot increase. Though people may have touched the fish and bread someone who was hungry would enjoy and appreciate the scrapes.
With this in mind I encourage each of you, “Don’t let these things go to waste.” Gather the things that you have and are not using for distribution for though you handled things before others received it, it is still good and usable.
Proverb 29:2 When the righteous are in authority the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule the peoples mourn.
Proverb 16:13 Righteous lips are the delight of the kings; and they love him that speaketh right
Proverbs 11: 10 -11 When it goeth well with the righteous, the city rejoiceth: and when the wicked perish, there is shouting. By blessing the upright the city is exalted; but it is overthrown by the mouth of the wicked
Our United States presidential election is about 17 days from now, and I like so many others cannot wait for this election to be over. In all my life I have never experienced such a contention election as this one has been. This election has sent me to my knees with tears in my eyes, asking God for help and direction for our country and political system.
Our nation is not only divided by political parties but also within our religious organizations; there are disagreements over the religious stance of our candidates. Each party believes God has ordained for their candidate to be the president. It makes me wonder who is hearing from God and is God allowing whoever wins the election to be in charge so our nation can be punished for our godless society.
When I was growing up, the church believed that politicians were corrupt, so they discouraged believers from running for any kind of office. However, in my adult years, I now understand and see the merit of having a righteous person in the office. In the three scriptures above written by Solomon, he shares his thoughts on the righteous being in a place of authority, the effect, and outcome of this position on people and the adverse effect of the ungodly. Thus, I can surmise if believers were running the world and obeying God’s Word many of the crises we are now experiencing would be abated.
In the future believers will reign on earth with Jesus during His millennium reign (Revelation 20:4). Also, because there will be a mixed group of people on earth (mortals and immortals) Jesus will need to rule with a rod of iron, and He will enforce mortal men to adhere to His laws (Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15). However, after the millennial reign and the White Throne judgment, there is coming a day when we will live in peace for only the righteous will inhabited the new earth. Until that time, believers are admonished to have dominion in the earth (Genesis 1:27) and to occupy the earth until Jesus returns to it (Luke 19:13). We are to be influential, we are to be change agents, we are to be ambassadors, and we need to run for public offices. Don’t you agree?
This morning as I was praying, the Holy Spirit prompted me to go to the wall and rest on it. As I followed these directions I was reminded of a lesson I taught many years ago on “Resting in God,” and for this blog I am going to share portions of that lesson with you; however, before I start sharing let me say in this tumultuous world I am so glad I know God and can find a resting place in Him. Without His presence in my life, I would probably be crazy. I am so grateful that He chose me and allowed me to be a citizen in His kingdom, and I pray you to feel the same as I do.
The ideal spiritual life is one of unspoken joy, peace, prosperity, and continual favor. Believers erroneously feel that to be saved means to live an enchanted life entirely trouble free or where problems are instantaneously fixed and where miracles never cease. These feeling and thoughts are lovely and can be found in the promises of God; however, these promises can be foreshadowed with sacrifices, weariness, pain, desperate days, and trying nights. As believers, we will have test, trials, and temptations, but we can make it through them all if we learn to rest in God.
First and foremost, we can rest in God because He owns everything (Psalms 24:1). His supply is unlimited, and He can meet our needs (Philippians 4:19), and He is there to pick us up whenever we need His assistance (Psalms 37:23-25).
As God does His part, I am responsible for not holding anything back, but I am to cast all my cares on Him (1 Peter 5:7). I am to daily follow Him (Luke 9:23), wholly trust Him (Proverbs 3: 5-6), not be anxious for anything (Philippians 4:6), and continually thank Him for His provisions (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
While I am patiently and consistently doing my part, God is restoring and bringing me peace. Despite what I may be feeling or see coming to pass, I am to be assured that everything is working together for my good (Romans 8:28; Corinthians 4: 17-18).
Lastly, because I acknowledge God as my King I rest confidently in His Word and ability. He is unchangeable, He is dependable, He is omnipresent, and He has an eternal plan; so I gratefully rest in Him.
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers (manifold) temptations. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (James 1:2-3 KJV)
Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort, or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. (James 1:2-3 AMP)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your face develops perseverance. (James 1:2-3 NIV)
On today, most of us are facing obstacles that are causing problems in our lives, and there are some of us that probably feel like we are on overload. Some of us feel like we will never get to the end of the tunnel, some of us are mad at the persons that are causing us grief and still others are mad at God for allowing them to experience pain. Many of us can attest to the old saying, “If it is not one thing, it is another.” However, all of our trials and pain are part of the life experience.
Knowing this, God inspired James to write about what the attitude and action of believers should be when they are going through. Above, using various translations, I shared his admonishment about what our attitude should be when we are in hard times. As you see, this scripture encourages us to handle problems with jubilance and expect that our character is being worked on while faith, endurance, patience, and perseverance are being developed.
Some of you may feel that people just don’t understand your mental, physical, and emotional anguish. Knowing this, God inspired Paul to share in 2 Corinthians 11:23 – 27 & 2 Corinthians 12:10 portions of his life. He says, “Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool [as one beside himself]) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prison more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen [Gentiles], in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness [labor] and painfulness [travail] in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fasting often in cold and nakedness,” and “Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then I am strong.” Paul’s life appears arduous, yet we do not see him complaining but glorying in his sufferings and that same strength that Paul received is available to all of us.
Yes, none of us wants to experience discomfort, but God at this time has deemed it part of the life process. There is something to be gained, there is a great testimony in the making, and Christian maturity is being generated. So, don’t fret or be depressed by your trials but joy in them and maybe even welcome them for they can make you into what God wants you to be.
The dictionary gives the following definition for the word testimony. A testimony is a statement or declaration given under oath in a court of law or the sharing of information about a religious experience.
When I was younger a consistent part of our religious service was given over to the congregation to share their testimonies. I must admit quite a few testimonies were little sermonettes, while others were what I call religious rhetoric and then there were a few that gave what I now believe was a true testimony that expressed their traumatic reality and their victorious outcome. This last kind of testimony is what Revelation 12:11 states believers used to overcome the enemy.
Often the enemy attempts to intimidate and shame us with our horrible life experiences. He attempts to isolate people and make them think they are the only one with their problem. He makes us embarrassed to share what has happen in our lives with others but all of us have had experiences that someone needs to hear. Someone is waiting for your words, someone will be encouraged to know what they are going thru is not a new occurrence but others have been thru the same kind of event and survived.
There are many stories in the bible that demonstrates the power of a testimony and on today I picked out a few to share with you.
The first is found in John 4 where Jesus is having a dialogue with a Samaritan woman at a well. At first He tells her about her need for the water that will save her and then He tells her about her life. The woman is so impressed with Him that she runs home and tells her townsmen, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Christ?” In response the townspeople sought out Jesus, invited Him to stay in Samaria for a few days, received his teachings and many believed in Him.
The second story found in 2 Kings 5 is about a young servant girl who was taken into the home of Naaman who was a leper and the captain of the host of the king of Syria. This child shared with her mistress her knowledge of the healing power of Elisha the prophet and this information was shared with Naaman who then went to Elisha in Samaria and after reluctantly following his directions was healed and converted.
The final story is found in 2 Kings 7. The city of Samaria had been besieged by King Benhadad of Syria until God frightened off the army with the noise of chariots, horses and a great host. The Syrian army in their haste to escape left all their goods (tents asses, horses, silver, gold, clothing, food) in the camp which was found by four lepers who reported their findings to the porters in Samaria, and the city and its inhabitants were saved from starvation by this report.
In these three stories of a shared testimony the end result was salvation, healing, restoration and revitalization. The lepers whose lives were clocked in humiliation due to their disease moved beyond their plight and said something that saved their countrymen. The Samaritan women did not allow her infidelity to hinder her from sharing her encounter with Jesus with others and the young servant girl did not use her forced labor to prevent her from sharing her knowledge of healing.
True testimonies still have that effect today. What experience do you have that will help someone? If you have yet to share it, I encourage you to do so today because there is power in a testimony.
Galatians 4:4a But when the fullness of time was come, God sent His Son
Ecclesiastes 3:1a To everything there is a season, and a time
When I was younger we would sing this song, “You can’t hurry God, Oh no, you just have to wait. You have to trust Him and give Him time child, no matter how long it takes. You know he is a God, you can’t hurry. He will be there, so don’t worry. He may not come when you want Him, but He is right on time.”
We are an impatient society, and most of us do not enjoy waiting. We like things to come quickly. Instant foods have had great success because it satisfies the needs of the masses for things done quickly. When we have to wait in line a long time before we are served, we become annoyed, and many of us will hang up the phone if we are placed on hold for too long.
However, if you examine the nature of God, you see that He believes in and operates in time. From the beginning, He took time in creating the world (Genesis 1). When He decided to destroy His creations due to their wickedness, it took Noah approximately 100 years to build the ark, and then the rain came (Genesis 6 – 7). He promised Abram a seed when he was 75 years old, but it took him 25 years before his son was born (Genesis 21). Joseph was given a dream when he was a teenager about rulership that did not come to pass until he was 30 years old (Genesis 37 & 41). The children of Israel were in bondage in Egypt for 430 years before God sent them a deliverer (Exodus 12:41). In Genesis 3 God told the serpent a savior would come to earth however it took 42 generations before Christ was born (Matthew 1) and finally it has been over 1000 years that believers have awaited the return of Christ for His bride.
Ecclesiastes 3 reveals that there are seasons and time in the life of man, and Galatians 4 reveals that God has an appointed, proper, right, or set time for events to happen. Though we humans want things quick and in a hurry, God requires us to have patience, trust, and endurance as we wait on Him to bring things to pass in our lives. He also allows us time to get things right. So, use your time wisely because once it passes, it cannot be recaptured.
Several weeks ago I wrote a blog titled, “Wrong Decisions” and I am motivated to continue in that vein in this week’s blogs due to calls I have received on this week concerning events that are taking place in the homes of many believers.
Most of us have heard adults talk about how their lives were affected due to the things they experienced at the hands of their parents while they were children and some of us have our own experiences that we could share. The outcome of some of these experiences has been good, while others have been disastrous. This occurrence is not new for if you read the scriptures, you will find many examples of both of these.
If you have not recognized these kinds of events in the bible let me share from the Word, some positive and negative examples of how the decisions of people affected their lineage:
- Adam and Eve failure to follow God’s instruction caused sin to enter into the world, and we the descendants of Adam and Eve are still experiencing the repercussions of their actions (Genesis 3).
- Abram heeded the voice of his wife Sarai and had sex with Hagar her handmaiden produced a son whose seed remains in contention to this day with the seed of their legal son (Genesis 16).
- Achan’s act of thievery caused him and his whole household to be stoned (Joshua 7:20-26).
- David act of adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah resulted in rebellion against him by his sons (2 Samuel 12:7-12).
- Solomon’s act of idolatry caused the kingdom of Israel to be divided when his son Rehoboam became king (1 Kings 11:1-13).
- Gehazi and his seed were cursed with leprosy because of his duplicitous actions with Naaman and Elisha.
- Queen Esther revealed her heritage and the plot of Haman to King Ahasuerus, which ultimately saved her family and the Jewish nation.
- Cornelius invited Peter to his house to share the gospel and in so doing Cornelius’s kinsmen and near friends received salvation (Acts 11).
As I read these stories, the phases, “It’s not about you,” and “Think generationally” came to my mind. I have often said to individuals who made some critical mistakes, “If your decision only affected you it would be o.k.; however, your decision has spilled over into the lives of other individuals, and now they are wounded and suffering. Also, in the midst of our personal crisis, pain, and storms, we make hasty irrational mistakes without taking into consideration the consequences of our decisions. On today I caution you to pray and get direction from God and don’t move quickly.
So, the main point of this blog is to encourage you to think beyond yourself, and to think about how you are affecting the lives of others. I’ll close with this question and advice. Will, your family, be happy about knowing you and having a relationship with you, or will they regret your involvement in their lives? Think generationally.
In Matthew 24 Jesus told His disciples about events that would take place before the rapture and before His return to the earth, and if you are listening to the news or reading news articles, you can attest to the fact that those events are presently being unfolded. I believe that the stage is set for the next big event in history, and that is the return of Jesus to catch away (rapture) His bride. According to the book of Revelation, the bride or body of believers will be with Jesus in heaven during the tribulation period, and then they will return to earth to reign with Jesus during His millennium reign.
Paul cautioned believers not to be deceived, and he informed us that believers would fall from the faith in the last days (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Thus, it is imperative that we also remember the words of Paul that we are children of light, and we are to watch and be sober. This is necessary lest we take life lightly and reject the truth that is in the Word. Therefore, all of us needs to pray and ask God to help us discern the times like the children of Issachar.
Issachar was the ninth son of Jacob and the fifth child born to his mother, Leah. The bible states this fact concerning his lineage, “And the children of Issachar which were men that had an understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do” (1 Chronicles 12:33) and according to the Targum the children of Issachar were astrologers and astronomers, that studied the heavenlies.
In the camp in the wilderness, the tribe of Issachar pitched their tents on the east side of the tabernacle next to the tribe of Judah and when the Israelis journeyed the tribe of Issachar was the second leading tribe for they followed the first tribe which was Judah. It is interesting to note that “Praise” went first followed by “Understanding and Insight.” Could this possibly be a key to a believer’s spiritual success? Praising God first and then receiving and doing what is instructed.
As I previously stated, I am expecting the rapture to happen soon. This present world is so tumultuous; I cannot imagine what this world will be like if Jesus should tarry another ten or twenty years. However, while I am living, I do have a responsibility to occupy this world and evangelize the lost for I understand the times.
Finally, I pray for those of you that are reading this blog that you also will seek to understand the times, that you will speak to the God of the heavenlies and that He will direct your path.
Moses was the designated, anointed leader of Israel and Exodus 12:37 reveals there were six hundred thousand men plus women and children given to his charge when they departed from Egypt. The Bible also states that at the beginning of their wilderness experience Moses would judge the people’s problems from morning till evening and this process went on until Jethro his wise father-in-law said these words to him, “The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou shalt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone” (Exodus 18:17-18). Moses had taken on a huge solo responsibility that needed to be delegated, and shared with others and he needed someone to point out the error of his sincere actions.
In our churches today, we see the same scenario; either the pastor is doing all of the work, or a small percentage of the congregation is assisting in maintaining the ministry. Statistics have shown that many pastors are burned-out because they are doing too much when they really need to be giving themselves over to prayer and to the ministry of the Word (Act 6:1- 4). We need to pray for pastors that they will realize God has not called them to do everything, that they must share the load, that they should not be intimidated by the congregants who expect them to do everything and that they learn to say, “No.”
Also, unfortunately, I have found congregants often think the church belongs to the pastor, they do not think, “this is our church” and even better, “this is the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Many congregants do not realize how we serve in our church reflects how we view our standing in that church. They do not realize the success or failure of their church depends on them.
Paul in his writings to the church of Ephesus states, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted (framed and knit together) by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying (building up) of itself in love.” (Ephesians 4:16) God has equipped each member with the skills and gifts that are to be dispersed. Each individual is needed, and when we lovingly come together, supporting one another and getting the work of the ministry done, no individual will feel stressed, overworked, and abused.
So, today as I concluded this blog, I pray you will join me in praying that each one of us will measure up to the standard that God has purposed for our lives, that we will be doing the work in the ministry where we are assigned and that no one will be able to view or church and say, “It’s not good.”
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