I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Roman’s 12:1-2 ESV
Paul appeals to us to offer to God daily, our will, our choices, and desires as an act of worship. Then, he promises that by following this new way of thinking about life that we will gradually be able to make out our surroundings as the fog lifts (discern). Then we will see clearly what is good in God’s eyes: what is acceptable to Him and how He would have us take the next step towards becoming perfect like Christ.
May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
May he send you help from the sanctuary,
and give you support from Zion!
Psalm 20:1-2 ESV
One day when our seven-year-old son was walking home from school, a group of three older boys began pushing him, throwing his books in the snow and giving him a hard time. Unfortunately for them, my wife, Nancy, happened to be watching out our apartment window, and immediately went into action. In seconds she flew down the stairs and out the door. You never saw three kids runs so fast once they had caught sight of their victim’s angry mom bearing down on them. Fortunately for everyone involved she never quite caught them, but it was the last time that they picked on Chris that year! In the same way God is looking out the window and watching for us as we are on the way home to Him. But you might think that asking God for help when we have problems is a spiritual no-no or even a bit selfish. But nothing could be further from the truth. God loves to answer our cry. Just as Nancy was not annoyed to immediately come Chris’ defense, the Lord eagerly runs to our aid. Today’s verse also tells us that the name of the Lord is our protection. When we call for help in Jesus’ name, our enemies are terrified and scurry for cover, not because of us but because they see Him angrily chasing them down! Finally, the Psalm tells us that God sends help from His sanctuary. Now this sanctuary is not some place that God goes to hide, instead it is the holiest place in Heaven. It is where the Father sits on His throne, surrounded by millions of angels and saints falling down in worship. Its floor is pure gold, and its support columns shake at the sound of His voice. Yet surrounded by all this eternal splendor, God is not irritated when He hears our cry. He does not mind putting down what He is doing to get involved in our life. No! God rushes to our rescue because we are His. He cares about us and we are precious and loved. So, if you are facing trouble, grief or even life-threatening circumstances today, remember that your Heavenly Father is watching over you. He is listening for your cry and will eagerly answer our prayers when we cry to Him in the day of our trouble!
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
Lamentation 3:21-23 ESV
When we look around at our society, there are some days when we wonder how things could possibly get any worse. But more than 2,500 years ago as Jeremiah wrote today’s passage, things were worse: far worse. His home city lay in ruins; many people had either been killed by the Babylonians, or simply died of starvation during the siege of Jerusalem. Afterwards Jeremiah reacted much as you or I would have done – he wept uncontrollably. Though his own life had been spared, everything around him had been burned, torn down or stolen. But instead of giving up, he tells us that he called to mind God’s promises.
First, he called to mind, that God’s steadfast love had not changed. It was not altered by their failure or success, or even their sins. His care was not based on His people’s performance, but on the unchanging nature of His heart. And today, God still so loves the world so much that He still sends His only Son into the world by the good news of the Gospel. It is still true that anyone who believes Him will NOT perish but begin to experience eternal life. Now that kind of love gives me hope, and yet God is not done!
Then Jeremiah tells us that God’s mercies never come to an end. Yes, His nation was defeated, and their enemies were busy plundering and burning the temple, yet God wasn’t finished with His people. The people of Jeremiah’s day discovered, there are times when God allows His children to reap what they have been sowing and stands back to let us experience the results of our selfish choices. But God isn’t through with us! He hasn’t now, nor will He ever, stop being merciful to His children. Our very real hope is that even when we reach the bottom of the barrel of our sin, God is still willing to reach down and pull us out, when we cry to Him for mercy and put our hope in Him alone!
Last of all Jeremiah remembered that God’s faithfulness is not dependent on ours. God stands by His promises and faithfully keeps covenant with His people. At the Last Supper, while Jesus was blessing the bread and passing the cup, one disciple was running off to betray Him, another would soon deny knowing Him and all the rest were arguing about which one of them was the most important. Why would Jesus choose to lay down His life for them? Because Jesus was not giving a new philosophy to be understood, a new club to join or a cause to defend. Jesus was offering His own body and blood for a New Covenant for them to receive. So, the next time you take the bread and drink from the cup as you receive communion, remember. Remember His loving sacrifice, receive the mercy that has never come to an end and call to mind once again the unchanging faithfulness of God in Jesus Christ at Calvary!
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