Are you in an awful spot? Probably not as bad as Jeremiah’s! Read Lamentations 3:1-20.
What did Jeremiah do? What should we do?
This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. The LORD is my portion…therefore I have hope in Him. The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. (Lamentations 3:21-25)
Here is what to do when you’re in an awful spot:
Remember God’s grace to you. Remember His mighty deeds.
What do you think is the world’s biggest problem? The biggest problem in your country?
Do you think the biggest problem is the people in office? The climate? The economy? Racial issues?
Whatever you think is the biggest problem, you are apt to think the solution is related to that issue.
You might choose to focus on electing other people Or agitate for whatever is thought to improve the climate. Or promote changes designed to strengthen the economy. Or join a group to protest racism.
Beware! The biggest problem, the problem underlying EVERY problem is sin.
What are you doing about sin? In yourself? In helping others see their own jeopardy with respect to sin?
Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)
Christians
If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9)
When a person repents and believes in Jesus Christ, he or she receives Him as Lord and Savior. He is eternally Lord and Savior. He is Lord of all.
While, as we grow in the Lord, we increasingly submit to His Lordship, He is, now and eternally, Lord.
When ww ask Him for guidance, do we think of Him as giving advice or issuing commands? Are we going to do what He says? Or do we think of Him as giving us good counsel? Do we think of Him as under retainer, available to us when we think we need Him?
He is our (believers) Lord!
Those who reject Christ
For those who reject Christ, one day they will confess Him as Lord. But too late. They are headed to hell.
At the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and … every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10-11)
So NOW
Repent! Believe! Receive Him as Lord and Savior.
Determine to live your life under His Lordship. This, of course, is part of sanctification, and none of us are perfect. But decide to seek Him and do what He says. Just as He says.
“Not my fault” is heard in endless variations. “He hit me first.” “If she hadn’t done x, I wouldn’t have…” “It wasn’t me.” “It was her fault.” “It was his fault.” “If only I had had (this resource, this experience, this teacher, these parents)…” “If the car owner had locked his car…”
Blaming rather than taking responsibility is a huge issue in personal relationships. And in personally growing…or not.
AND WITH GOD!
Failing to take responsibility is spiritually fatal.
John the Baptist: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 3:2)
Jesus: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matthew 4:17)
Repentance starts when we are honest. When blame-shifting ends. Repentance requires admission of our own sinfulness, and our own failure to meet God’s requirements.
Repentance and belief function together. A person who doesn’t believe in God wouldn’t have a reason to repent. A person who believes in God knows they must repent.
ETERNAL LIFE
Jesus called us to repent and follow Him. We wouldn’t follow without belief in Him.
Following Him means we become life-long repenters.
IT IS OUR FAULT. IT IS OUR RESPONSIBILITY.
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Father, help us see where we have sinned, where we need to take responsibility, where we need to repent. Help us walk in a manner worthy of You.
Have you ever prayed for a pony and received the entire ranch? (So to speak!)
I recently saw a potential answer to prayer that was so above and beyond, I wondered if it could possibly be true.
But we are told repeatedly that nothing is impossible for God.
And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)
For nothing will be impossible with God. (Luke 1:37)
Not only does He love us (here I am talking about believers, those He has redeemed), but God is immeasurably gracious and giving.
We see His beyond-our-comprehension love in our daily lives and in our salvation. We don’t deserve anything but hell. But God saved us! We are bound for glory, not of ourselves, but as a gift of God. (Ephesians 2:4-10)
Harry Durgin; Kilauea eruption; September 29, 2021; Mauna Loa strip road.
When Barnabas arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord. (Acts 11:23)
When we walk into a room, into a situation, or experience something ourselves, are we apt to see the grace of God, or are we more likely to see problems we must address?
Seeing the grace of God leads us to worship Him. Focusing on problems is apt to center us on ourselves.
The absolute requirement to see God’s grace
The absolute requirement to see God’s grace is to be His child, for Him to have rescued us from the domain of darkness, to be called out of darkness, and to be transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son, into His marvelous light. (Colossians 1:13, 1 Peter 2:9)
Barnabas was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. (Acts 11:24)
We will more often, more consistently, see the grace of God in all circumstances, as we grow in the Lord.
We need to practice!
We are to discipline ourselves for the purpose of godliness. (1 Timothy 4:7)
We are to practice having our senses trained to discern good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14)
We are to practice the things [we] have learned and received and heard and seen in me (Paul). (Philippians 4:9)
Ideas
Before you get out of bed, ask the Lord to make you conscious of Him through the day.
When you encounter various situations, seek the Lord. Ask Him to show you Himself in that circumstance.
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We want to see the grace of God. Father, help us see.
I am self-critical, and the verses telling us to examine ourselves always result in my seeing my sins. (Which I need, of course, but God blesses me also.)
I do regularly list God’s blessings to me.
But I don’t regularly examine my life to see God’s myriad grace in my life (apart from His awesome saving work). I am missing encouragement, joy, and gratitude.
I need to look for:
How I’ve grown spiritually.
His protection.
His providence.
How has God:
Worked in me to please Him more?
Taught me to walk in a manner more worthy of Him?
Brought people and circumstances into my life that helped me and others?
His grace in my life:
I can think of times He kept me safe, when left to myself I would have been hurt or at risk. I remember reaching just the right physician on call on a Sunday who ended up changing the course of an illness for a loved one. I know I am living a more mature spiritual life. I remember times I felt His pleasure at my obedience. Things I used to think about are no longer on my mind. Some sinful behaviors are now rare, if ever.
This is evidence that He is working in me to want to do His will and to actually do His will (Philippians 2:13). And I rejoice that He will keep working in me until I am taken to glory (Philippians 1:6). And it is evidence about His miraculous providence.
And now
While I will still work to identify sins confess it, and tackle it with His power, I am also going to watch for His grace in my daily walk. And thank Him!
Certainly, I will keep watching for sin, but I am now determined to watch for His daily grace as well.
We’re humans, so we need to learn HOW to seek Him first. This is a process of becoming increasingly godly, habitually seeking Him first. How do we learn this?
First: We have to decide we are going to seek Him first. Determine. Resolve. Set our minds. This is probably the hardest step. The resolution has to stay in place regardless of temptations, habits, fatigue, whatever.
Second: We have to have Him top of mind. One way to do that is step 3, but you may have additional ideas. (This doesn’t mean we don’t pay attention to our families, our jobs, our schooling, but He is in mind throughout.)
Third: We need to study His Word and keep mulling it over. Memorizing is helpful and then we can recall what we’ve memorized and recite verses to ourselves.
Fourth: Pray! Pray He will recall Himself to our minds throughout the day. Pray that our resolution holds.
Impossible?
Seeking Him first is a daunting command, I’m actually overwhelmed thinking about how to do this. But He has commanded it, so I know He will enable me to keep His command. More than that, He has already given us everything we need for life and godliness. Already! (2 Peter 1:3)
So my first step is to set my mind to keep His command.
God’s love for His children* knows no bounds; His love for His children is infinite and eternal. He has a plan to make us into the image of His Son, glorifying us, and He is working in us to that end. (Philippians 1:6, 2:13).
And there’s more!
We also experience special times, special instances of His love, just because He loves us. We’ll feel His love when we know we’ve done what He asked, or in a special time with a loved one, or a beautiful sunset, or just feeling especially well, or …. (you fill in that sentence!)
I am so grateful for what He has done to give me eternal life. I am also grateful for times of “just cuz He loves me.”
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*God created all of us, but only believers enter into a Father/child relationship with Him. (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1-2)
