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Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”Lamentations 3:21-24
Read through the book of Lamentations and you’ll see why the book gets its title. Lamentations, to lament, to live in despair and hopelessness.
Traditionally, the prophet Jeremiah is given credit for this book of poetry. It was written in a time of tremendous struggle for God’s people. They were under attack physically, politically and spiritually. It seemed as though God had either abandoned them completely or was unleashing his wrath on his people.
Yet, in the middle of this book there is an oasis so to speak. A refreshing reminder each of us can hold onto in perilous times. When the darkness is thick enough to cut with a knife; when it gets harder and harder to believe; when God seems angry, there is hope.
True hope, lasting hope has as its foundation, love. When the glitter and glitz of Christmas fades, when the turmoil in your heart seems too much to bear, remember these words of the prophet. No matter what struggle you find yourself in, God’s love for you is new every morning. Read that again. Every. Single. Morning.
You may have the dust from yesterday’s worries still on your shoes, but not God. Today is a new day. Today is a new day of love. Today is a day when you can remember there is hope. And if things are hard today? Tomorrow is another new day of hope because his love endures forever.
I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:4
Two of the most powerful words in language are ‘Thank You’. You learned it as a kid. Always say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. That’s the way life works. Sometimes it’s easy to say thank you. When someone opens a door for you, lets you in to traffic, offers you a cold drink on a hot day, ‘thank you’s’ are in order.
But what about those other times. Do you say thank you to the rude store clerk. Do you say thank you to the person who cuts you off in traffic? Do you say thank you to the person who, once again, is critical of you or how you do your job? ‘Of course not’ you say, right?
But Jesus would. So would the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote a very difficult letter to one of the churches he planted. The church in the city of Corinth started strong in grace, mercy, love and generosity. But sin and conflict broke out and in concern for his spiritual children, Paul was forced to write a letter to this group of struggling ‘Christ followers.’
It’s interesting that at the very beginning of this difficult letter, Paul expresses his appreciation for them. He didn’t appreciate them because they were people of character. He didn’t appreciate them for the way they held to God’s word. He didn’t appreciate them because of their high moral standards. Those things weren’t praiseworthy to First Church – Corinth.
Yet Paul appreciated them because of the grace they found in Jesus. There will always be people who annoy us. There will always be people who ridicule us or don’t meet our expectations. There will never be people who are outside of the reach of God’s grace. Appreciation of others doesn’t mean we agree with them, it simply means we value them because Jesus values them.
Who do you need to show value to today? Showing appreciation to others is a great way to show the grace Jesus offers everyone.
Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting. Psalms 133:3
What do you do during the dry times of life? When the doctor delivers a report that catches you totally off guard and leaves you numb? When you get that horrible call about a loved one’s accident? When you get divorce papers delivered to you without any warning? (You knew things were bad, but not that bad) When your job/business/career suddenly ends?
You pray, but your prayers don’ t make it past the ceiling. You try to read your Bible but the words are just letters on a page. You reach out to those who you thought would support you but find no one that is willing to listen, but plenty of people have all the answers for ‘what you need to do?’
It’s during those times that we just long for a hug, a little understanding, someone who will stand by us whether our struggles are a result of our own poor choices, or factors beyond our control.
The good news is that Jesus has an answer. Way back at creation, when He saw your life and the trials you’d need to endure. He implemented the perfect plan for your life and that plan is the church.
Now, before you stop reading, try to take a look at the church Jesus envisioned. The church isn’t a building with programs and music and those gifted with teaching and Biblical knowledge presenting a well-rehearsed diatribe.
Nope, the church Jesus envisioned was people. People with a common goal of helping each other endure life. People with a knack for being encouragers and intercessors. He tells us that a group of two or three is a church where he dwells. It’s not about numbers!
Hours before Jesus was brutally murdered he prayed in a garden to His Father. He didn’t pray for churches to have strong programs and classy buildings. He prayed for people. He prayed we would be united by a common bond of love. He prayed for unity.
Unity is best exemplified by harmony. If you’ve ever heard an orchestra or choir sing you know how beautiful harmony can be. Look up an A cappella group on YouTube. I love A cappella music. One of the things I try to do is try to figure out who is singing which part. If the group is good, it’s hard to tell because they sound like one voice.
David gives a beautiful picture of harmony in Psalm 133. He likens harmony as refreshing as dew from Mt Hermon. It’s said that while Mount Hermon was very dry, the dew would form so heavily that it poured off the mountain as waterfalls.
Dew forms during the darkness, yet refreshes in the morning. God’s blessings are like dew. They come as a refreshment during the dry times of life and often come to those who live in harmony. Too often we miss harmony because we seek uniformity. We aren’t all the same!
If you are in a dry time seek those who can be like dew in your life. Seek out those who accept you regardless of why you are where you are. If you are living in the blessing of God’s ‘dew’ share it with those who are dry.
We aren’t all the same, but with Jesus’ help we can live in harmony. We can be dew to each other!
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 