And therefore I have hope
Lamentations 3:17 (NIV) 17 I have been deprived of peace;
I have forgotten what prosperity is.
Lamentations 3:20-26 (NIV)
20 I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
for the salvation of the LORD.
Psalms 46:1 (NIV) 1 God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Job 19:25-27 (NIV) 25 I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes —I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
In preparing for the great winter storm of 2026, I worked diligently not to be caught off guard. I bought groceries, prepared meals, washed, dried and put up one load of laundry after another. Everything was going fine until Friday night when one load of clothes would not dry. Larry left a message with the repair shop we use, but it would be Wednesday before they could come.
Wednesday came and went, and parts would have to be ordered and a later visit scheduled Bottom line, this was the third repair on my dryer and the cost was now more than the cost of a new appliance. So next week I will receive a new dryer. If anyone needs me over the next few days, I will be in the laundry room.
In today’s reading, I am reminded that life is not aways smooth sailing. Yet, regardless of what comes our way we can be assured that God will not leave us nor forsake us. A broken dryer can be referred to as a “first world problem.” You know, the kind of problems that do not plague those who live in third world countries where the floors are not just dirty but made of dirt, the food is neither plentiful nor nutritious, and clothes are still washed in a creek.
As I read today’s scripture and ponder upon the goodness of God, I know, believe and understand that my life is never so despairing that I could ever give up on God. How about you? Is God still your hope? If not, pray with me now: Father God, today we approach You in the midst of turmoil, knowing that You alone are our help, you are our deliverer, and you are our Redeemer. By the blood of Jesus, we have been bought back and brought back into Your presence. May we live daily in the hope found only in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
May we rejoice in the Lord today and every day.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
To be or not to be: Merciful
Micah 6:8 (NKJV) 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you, But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Hebrews 4:14-16 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
How often do we consider the mercy of God? We know that grace, in its simplest form, is unmerited favor. In other words, God gives us what we can not earn and do not deserve.
Conversely, mercy is God sparing us from what we deserve. And what do we deserve? We deserve the penalty of death. But while we were dead in our sins, Jesus came, paid the penalty, and reconciled us to the Father. And that is called mercy.
The issue for many of us is that we are eager to receive mercy, but we are not always ready to show others the same. Why? I think we simply cannot find it within ourselves to forgive multiple times, but often this is what mercy requires.
Additionally, we want mercy to be conditional upon the one who offended us being penitent, perhaps even begging us for forgiveness. But pay attention to Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:7 (NKJV) 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Showing mercy is not dependent upon another’s words or actions. How hard is that? We simply cannot live into the righteousness of Jesus without appealing to Him daily for HIS strength, HIS guidance, HIS unconditional love.
May we who have received abundant mercy from God, choose to give mercy to others for no other reason than because we can.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
To Be or Not To Be: Righteous
Psalms 34:7-19 7 The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.
8 Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
9 Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him.
10 The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
I love these verses. I have talked often about the pathway of holiness. You see, in Psalm 14, Psalm 53 and Romans 3:10 we are told none is righteous, no not one. None except Jesus, that is.
Remember, Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is as filthy rags. This means we have no right standing before God apart from Jesus. So how do we clothe ourselves in righteousness? It is a daily choice to follow Jesus. The pathway of holiness is the way we achieve this choice.
Ps 34:11 Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Who is the man who desires life,
And loves many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
14 Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
May we return to fearing God, seeking God, speaking good, and declaring that Jesus is Lord, now and forever.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
He Brought Me Out
Psalms 40:2-10 (ASV) 2 He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay;
And he set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God:
Many shall see it, and fear,
And shall trust in Jehovah.
4 Blessed is the man that maketh Jehovah his trust,
And respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O Jehovah my God, are the wonderful works which thou hast done,
And thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
They cannot be set in order unto thee;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering thou hast no delight in;
Mine ears hast thou opened:
Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not required.
7 Then said I, Lo, I am come;
In the roll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God;
Yea, thy law is within my heart.
9 I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great assembly;
Lo, I will not refrain my lips,
O Jehovah, thou knowest.
10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart;
I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation;
I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great assembly.
Psalms 107:13-15 (NRSV) 13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
14 he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.
15 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
Isn’t it odd how life takes its twists and turns? We plan, we save our money, we try to do the right things, yet the control we have over our own circumstances is sometimes tenuous at best.
David was well aware of the difficulties life throws our way. He knew where to turn when he was in despair, and he knew how to reach God in prayer. If we can learn nothing else, we must gain the understanding that God is our very present help in time of need—in good times and in troubled times we should praise the Lord.
What does praise in the time of discouragement accomplish? First, we take our focus off ourselves and turn it to God. There are no circumstances so great that God is overwhelmed. Secondly, when we praise God even in times of trouble, we are declaring our faith for all to see. What a great witness to sing with true joy even in the storm. Finally, we are lifted up by the mighty hand of God.
I am closing today with another hymn of the church.
He Brought Me Out
4. I’ll sing of His wonderful mercy to me,
I’ll praise Him till all men His goodness shall see;
I’ll sing of salvation at home and abroad,
Till many shall hear the truth and trust in God.
Refrain:
He brought me out of the miry clay,
He set my feet on the Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my soul today,
A song of praise, hallelujah!
May we share today the deliverance of God, giving hope to the hopeless and peace to the those in conflict.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6-9 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise
Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Faith and hope-are they two sides of the same coin or are they completely different entities? When I think of the Old Testament saints, I am amazed by the faith they displayed. If we need to see to believe then we do not have faith, for by faith we believe in the unseen and hope in the impossible.
Faith, a strong belief or trust, when paired with hope, a confident expectation, is what keeps us going when we are tempted to give up. I know of no one whose life has been untouched by disappointment or disease. But God, in His mercy, gives us the ability to face whatever comes our way.
May we let our faith and hope grow and continue to grow, so that we can accomplish God’s will.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 