Thursday
9-10-15 (Monterey, California
District Minister’s Retreat)
Scripture reading: Lam 3-5 Rev. 15
S=Scripture O=Observation A=Application P=Prayer SOAP for
the soul.
S. Lam 3:22-27 The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been
kept from complete destruction. Great is
his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The LORD is my
inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" The LORD is wonderfully good to those who
wait for him and seek him. So it is good
to wait quietly for salvation from the LORD.
And it is good for the young to submit to the yoke of his
discipline. NLT
O. Jeremiah has described
vividly, complete with tears, the total destruction of Jerusalem and the
horrible condition of the few survivors.
He has been faithful to the Lord as His prophet, yet he is suffering
along with his people. He remembers
better days of long ago. He seems to be
starving with the others. All is lost...
Yet sitting in the middle of all this rubble, Jeremiah writes these words of
hope based upon his concept of a just, good, loving, faithful God.
A. Would my faith hold up in
similar circumstances? I don’t ever want
to try to find out.
P. Lord, when a nation ignores
Your Words and despises Your warnings... and when it falls under Your strong
hand of judgment, unfortunately the minority of righteous may suffer along with
the rebellious. I cannot remove myself
from the destruction that surrounds me.
And even if I were spared, I would suffer for others that I see
suffering around me. I think my heart
reflects Your heart in this. For You
say, “I take no pleasure in the death
of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn
from your evil ways!”
(Ezek 33:11) How much better it
would be for our national leadership to humble themselves along with many of
our people and cry out in repentance... and "turn" before judgment falls. Lord, help us see and heed your warnings,
“Detour”... “Turn” there is danger ahead.
Amen.
Ralph
No comments:
Post a Comment