Lamentations

Turn Back Time 

pjimgallagherLeave a comment

Lamentations 5:16-17

“The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Because of this our heart is faint;
Because of these things our eyes grow dim”

Sin is a funny thing. It promises pleasure, but can only bring pain. Day after day the Word of God was presented to the people, and day after day they rejected it. It was not until the walls of the city were breeched, and the city lit on fire, that many realized their mistake. The sin they thought was giving them life, was actually leading them into bondage.

It is highly doubtful that an army is encircling your home, waiting for you to turn from the Lord for a pursuit of the flesh. But it is certain, fleshly pursuits will lead to bondage. Everyone who is enslaved to drugs, alcohol, pornography or any other vice, began their journey thinking their sin was bringing them pleasure. The key to ensure we do not end up bound to these things, is to never get started. I am certain, if you never take the first drink, you will never be bound to a bottle. But what about those who find themselves enslaved to sin? Is there any hope ?

Lamentations 5:21 “Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; renew our days as of old”

The wonderful promise of Scripture is that no matter how far we have fallen, if we turn to the Lord, we will be restored. Like the thief on the cross, there remains hope for us as long as we have breath.

Don’t wait another moment, turn to the Lord today. His mercies are new every morning.

Pastor Jim

 

Renewable Energy

pjimgallagherLeave a comment

Lamentations 3:22-23
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

Life is filled with things that run out. Many of us have had the unfortunate experience of running out of gas and being left stranded. Others have felt the embarrassment of running out of money and having to ask someone for help. All of us have had those times when we “ran out of steam” and could not complete the task at hand. We could go on and on with examples, like empty milk cartons in the fridge, or time expiring during a comeback effort in the big game. All these things remind us, there is a limit to our resources. How wonderful to be reminded that the resources of God are without limit. His mercies will endure forever.

This is much more than a beautiful sentiment. It is a practical truth which enables us to carry on in our walk with God. As Jeremiah penned these words, the city of Jerusalem sat in rubble caused by their disobedience to God. Rather than declaring the judgments of God were final, he reminds us, that even in the worse conditions of life, His mercies remain.

Whatever guilt you may be carrying, from whatever sins you may have committed, there is a fresh flow of the mercy of God waiting for you. All you need to do is cry out to Him,  ask for His forgiveness, and watch as He is able to restore your relationship with Him. He will begin to make something beautiful out of the ashes of your life.

Psalms 6:2“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak. O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.”

Psalms 25:16“Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted.”

Psalms 31:9“Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; My eye wastes away with grief, Yes, my soul and my body!”

Pastor Jim

 

For The Kids 

pjimgallagherLeave a comment

Lamentations 2:19
“Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches; pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift your hands toward Him for the life of your young children, who faint from hunger at the head of every street.”

As Jeremiah looked out over the rubble that was once the city of Jerusalem, his eyes welled up with tears. A nation that was designed to honor and glorify the Lord, was now devastated by its own sin. A lifetime of pleading with the people and their rulers had failed to stop the inevitable consequences of their repeated actions.

Now, with a broken heart, he once again pleads with the people to return to the Lord. This time his motivation is different. Instead of warning them of a Babylonian invasion, he draws their attention to a more personal matter. He pleads with the parents to return to the Lord for the sake of their children.

Most parents claim they would do anything for their children, and in many cases, they can site example after example of selfless acts of love. These may include sleepless nights, hours of overtime, setting aside personal ambitions, and giving up friendships, hobbies, or other extracurricular activities. All of these are surely expressions of love, but the highest expression, is to submit to Christ and live a life that honors the Lord and sets a pattern for your children to follow.

Children will always imitate their parents, so the first step in seeing our children walk with Jesus is to set the example for them. The first step in setting that example, is to get our own lives right with God. If we want to see our children love and serve Christ, we need to be modeling that life ourselves. Children don’t learn best by being told what to do, they learn best by watching an example and mimicking what they have seen.

What example are you setting?

Pastor Jim

 

The Good Old Days

pjimgallagherLeave a comment

Lamentations 1:7
“In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old.”

Lamentations is a book of mourning that has been compared to a funeral durge. Jeremiah is not weeping over the death of a family member, but over the fall of a nation. We know that, although Judah fell, they would be restored. Seventy years after the captivity began, a remnant of believers would return to rebuild the Temple and the city. Within a century, Jerusalem would be bustling again; cured of idolatry and actively worshipping the Lord. In our text, we see the first step that led them back to the Lord.

“In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things That she had in the days of old.”

The first step back was to remember; a word that implies the use of our minds. For them to return to Jehovah, they had to think about how much better life was when they were walking with Him. This was true of the prodigal son who “came to his senses” and remembered what life was like in his father’s house (Luke 15:11-31). It was also true of the church of Ephesus, who had left their first love and needed to remember from where they had fallen (Revelation 2:1-6). This is also true of us. Those who will take the time to consider how much better off they were when they were following Christ, will take the necessary steps to return to Him.

Sin has a way of blinding us. We get so caught up in what we are doing, we fail to simply lift our heads, look around, and see if we truly want to be living like this. Most backsliders are not happy. They are guilt ridden because of their failures. The things that allured them away from the Lord no longer provide the pleasures they once did. It is time to take the Psalmist’s advice and look up. Get your eyes off of what you are doing, look around, and determine if you are better off since you wandered from the Lord.

Just as remembering is a thinking word, so is repentance. It means to change your mind. To repent, we simply decide we are no longer going to live in the things that keep us from walking with Christ. We then set those down and begin to follow Him once again.

“In the days of her affliction and roaming, Jerusalem remembers all her pleasant things that she had in the days of old.”

Pastor Jim