Hurting Hearts

Reading: Hosea 1-7

You can’t stay mad forever; you love them too much. No matter how selfish or silly they have been, you find it in your heart to forgive them. And they all lived happily ever after.

If only it were that easy.

Hosea experiences in the most vivid way the pain of loving the faithless. He marries a woman who was unfaithful to him. He experienced both the anguish and the determination of love.

That’s the kind of love God has for you. His heart is torn to pieces by your unfaithfulness. But he is determined to love you anyway. He makes a promise of forever and faithful love for his people.

So be faithful to Him.

Next reading: Hosea 8-14

Fear Not

Reading: Jeremiah 45-49

“Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will discipline you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished.” (Jeremiah 46:28)

What scares you? For the Jews, it was their enemies. Their fear was entirely justified; God had sent foreign nations to persecute and punish them. But God still cared for His people.

This is a comforting message: You don’t have to be afraid that God doesn’t love you. No matter what you have done, He still does and always will. Fear not.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Jeremiah 50-52; Lamentations 1

Back To Their Fold

Reading: Jeremiah 20-24

Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 23:3-4)

Famine, sword, pestilence and captivity are assured to God’s people because of their idolatry and corruption. God will not relent. Yet, amidst all the promises of judgment, promises of restoration prevail.

Both God’s judgment and His love are unrelenting.

Tomorrow’s Reading: Jeremiah 25-29

True Love

Today’s reading is Song of Solomon 3-8.

We live in a love-crazed world. From the first princess movie to the latest chick flick, we are told our greatest goal is to find true love, and perhaps worse, true love’s kiss. But the singers of our song give a little different twist: “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases (Song of Solomon 2:7; 3:5; cf. 8:4). Think of this in two ways. First, we idolize “love at first sight,” but perhaps we should be careful about awakening love too quickly. Second, we start asking elementary age kids about having boyfriends and girlfriends, but perhaps we should let someone get old enough to figure out their commitment to God before we start asking them to commit to another person. The God Filled know that the greatest goal in life is to find true love in God, not another person. Once we’ve worked on that, we can let God who truly loves us help us find romantic love; and when He does, it will be like a song. Until He does, it will simply be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. Go against the grain; don’t stir up or awaken love until it pleases.

Monday’s reading is Isaiah 1-5.

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

Today’s reading is Psalm 116-118, 120.

Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let those who fear the LORD say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let Christ’s church say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let all God’s children say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let all the brothers and sisters say (to one another),
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let the abandoned, betrayed, and broken say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let the returning prodigals say,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Let all the world learn,
“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good:
for his steadfast love endures forever.
(Adapted from Psalm 118:1-3, 29, ESV)

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 119.

Hope for the Repeat Prodigal

Today’s reading is Psalm 106-110.

I appreciate the story of the prodigal, but what I really need is the story of a prodigal who slopped with the hogs, came home, then messed up and did it again, came home, then messed up and did it again, etc. There have been times when I wondered if God could possibly forgive me again. Praise the Lord, there is such a story in Psalm 106. Again and again, Israel slopped with the hogs and came back; again and again, God for the sake of His covenant forgave and delivered them. The psalm itself is another request for deliverance, presumably needed because Israel once again slopped with the hogs. If you have fallen again and wonder if God can forgive you, note vss. 44-45: “Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remember his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love” (ESV). This is not permission to slop with the hogs, but if you are in Christ’s covenant and have stumbled, strayed, and gone to the hogs again, cry out to Him; He will deliver…again. Praise the Lord!!!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 111-115.

Remember!

Today’s reading is Psalm 76-80.

Some days it feels like God is gone. We may ask, “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” (Psalm 77:6-9, ESV). Sadly, if we don’t see some new work from God each day, we can begin to think He has vanished. However, “I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old” (Psalm 77:11, ESV). For the Psalmist that meant remembering the exodus from Egypt, but for us that means remembering the deliverance from and victory over sin accomplished through the sacrifice, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, God’s Son. What new thing can God do to show His love for us more than that? Remember!

Monday’s reading is Psalm 81-85.

P.S. I’d love to invite you to meet with the church of Christ that meets in Brownsburg this Sunday as we REMEMBER by participating in the Lord’s memorial supper. See you there.

The God Filled Admit Sin

Today’s reading is Psalm 51-55.

Mistakes, errors in judgments, shortcomings, flaws, failures, faux pas, mess ups, struggles, stumbles: so many of us go to great lengths to avoid saying the truth–we sin. In Psalm 51, David, a man after God’s own heart, doesn’t talk about his mistakes and shortcomings. He begs, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:2; ESV). How can he do this? Because he is not trying to impress God or trying to deserve salvation. He understands there is no deserving; there is only mercy and grace. The only way to have mercy and grace is to be completely honest with ourselves and God about our need for it. If David didn’t fear being honest about his sins, how much more should we be fearless about it since we fully know how God will respond to our confessions–by sending His Son to die for our transgressions. No, this is not permission to pursue sin, but permission to pursue God again when we’ve fallen into sin. What a great God we serve!

Monday’s reading is Psalm 56-60.

 

Let God Be the Fixer

Today’s reading is Job 38-42.

If you are like me, you fall into the miserable comforter mold like Job’s three friends again and again and again (Job 16:2). There are many great lessons to learn about comforting the suffering from Job, but perhaps the best is seen at the very end. One of the biggest hindrances to being a comforter is trying to be a fixer. Job’s three friends collectively spent nine chapters trying to fix Job’s problem with poor advice, and it wouldn’t work. But, in the last chapter, God fixes Job’s problems. What is the lesson to learn? Most of the time, when folks need comfort, I just need to silently sympathize. God can fix the problem without my help.

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 1-5.

The Shocking Source of God Filled Strength

Today’s reading is Nehemiah 6-10.

What makes the God Filled strong? The ultimate source of God Filled strength according to Nehemiah 8:10 is: “And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength” (ESV). Reading the Law, the Jews saw with clarity just how guilty they were, and their grief was visceral and abundant. You would think the priests would encourage that grief, prompting them to feel even worse because they weren’t nearly sorry enough for their sinfulness (who is?). Instead, they declared a day of feasting because of God’s mercy that had led their ancestors out of Egyptian captivity, through the wilderness, and into the Promised Land and had now led them out of Assyrian and Babylonian captivity and back into the Promised Land. Where is our strength? Is it in mourning over our sinfulness and considering how much of God’s punishment we deserve? Or is it in the joy that comes from knowing that “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5, ESV)? Certainly, know your guilt, but find your God Filled strength from the joy that accompanies forgiveness, mercy, and God’s grace through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Tomorrow’s reading is Nehemiah 11-13, Esther 1-2.