Consider Carefully – Day 306 Through the Bible

Fall Transformation at the Cabin in Celo Lands – near Mt. Celo Church

My Meditations on Today’s Readings

(Ellipses are mine and are used for contemplation)

Key Words: Lamentations resulting from continued sin: Consider, lament, wail, weep, dire straits, sorrow, affliction, mourning, hard servitude, no rest, slavery, desolation, no comfort, deception, destruction  Sovereignty of God:  Consider, the LORD has purposed to destroy, the LORD has done what He purposed, He has fulfilled His Word

Consider Carefully: Judah’s Refusal to Listen to God – Lamentations 1 and 2 (Facts: What It Says – Summarized)  Judah, the weeping prophet, now begins his long lamentation over Judah.  His doomed prophetic mission – to warn Judah to repent  or face doom – has come to an end.  The nation would not listen, and now the very words of God have come to pass.  Doom: “Judah has gone into captivity, under affliction and hard servitude; she dwells among the nations; she finds no rest; all her persecutors overtake her in dire straits…Her adversaries have become the master; her enemies prosper.”  Cause:  “For the LORD has afflicted her…because…of the multitude of her transgressions…SHE DID NOT CONSIDER HER DESTINY.” Therefore, her collapse was awesome; she had no comforter.”  Ultimate Source of Doom: The LORD has done what He purposed; He has fulfilled His word, which He commanded in days of old.  He has thrown down and has not pitied, and He has caused an enemy to rejoice over you; He has exalted the horn of your adversaries. The Lament to God: “See, O LORD, and consider, for I am scorned…All her people sigh…they seek bread. See, O LORD, that I am in distress.  O LORD, behold my affliction, for the enemy is exalted! Save, O, LORD, and consider!  To whom have You done this?” Acknowledgement:  “The yoke of my transgressions was bound; they were woven together by His hands, and thrust upon my neck.”  Admission:  “The LORD is righteous, for I rebelled against His commandments. Confession: “See, O LORD, that I am in distress; my soul is troubled; my heart is overturned within me…FOR…I   been very rebellious.  BUT No repentance.  Consider their prayer for revenge:  “All my enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that You have done it.  Bring on the day You have announced, that…they may become like me.”  Sin’s effect on God’s dwelling with His people:  “For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary, those whom you commanded not to enter Your assembly…the Law is no more…and her prophets find no vision from the LORD…my eye, my eye overflows with water; because…the comforter…who should restore my life…is far from me.”  Principle:  God’s Word stands.  When he says He will punish sin, He will.  Our gravest danger is that in His grace and mercy – in allowing time for repentance – we become indifferent, thinking God will not act in vengeance against our sin.  We don’t necessarily deny God; we just reinvent Him according to our own preferences and proclivities – not truth of His Word.  He becomes the God of Love only but not the God of Wrath and Judgment as well.  (Commentary from Charles Stanley: “Sin does not make us cool, hip, fashionable, or trendy.  It does not make us sophisticated, mature or attractive.  It only makes us vile.” Life Principles Daily Bible, pg. 1329)

Consider Carefully: David’s Commitment to Listen to God – Psalm 119:137-144 (Facts: What It says – Summarized) First, Praise of God:  “Righteous…upright…very faithful…very pure…an everlasting righteousness…truth… are You, O LORD…are Your testimonies, Your word. Complaint to God: “Trouble and anguish have overtaken me…because…my enemies have forgotten Your Word.”  The effect of God’s Word on David:  “Your servant loves it…Your commandments are my delights.  My zeal has consumed me. David’s request of God:  Give me understanding, and I shall live.” Principle: David, as all true believers, finds solace, passion, and delight in God…in God’s Word. Through the illumination of Scripture by His Holy Spirit, David – and we – are enabled to live in the midst of and rise above our anguish and troubles. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

Consider How We Once Were / Consider How We Are To Be Now (Titus 3) Facts: What It Says – Summarized) What we once were: foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  How we are to be now: subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to men…careful to maintain good works…meet urgent needs that they may not be unfruitful…avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reason for the change in us: “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared…not by works of righteousness which we have done…but according to His mercy…He saved us.”  How He saved us: “through the washing of regeneration…and renewing of the Holy Spirit…whom He poured out on us abundantly…through Jesus Christ our Savior…that…having been justified by His grace…we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Principle:  The transformed life for the glory of God is the work of the Triune Godhead – our Father’s mercy and grace shown to us through the sacrificial work of His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and enablement to live this new life for Him through the work of His Holy Spirit, “whom He poured out on us abundantly.”

My Lessons and Applications:  Let us consider carefully:  What do we do with the Word of God?  Does it even have a place in our homes…much less in our hearts?  Is it a mere decoration…a pretense before others, or is it our delight, our zeal, our love?  Are we more interested in God’s honor or our own?  Have we read, studied, and meditated on the Word of God - the full counsel of God - not just a verse here or there that lends credence to our own prejudices and proclivities?  Do we just assume that what we have heard about the Bible is correct?  Do we ask the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word for us personally, to speak God’s will and way for our lives through His Word?  What shapes our thinking and our lives and the lives of those who influence us?  What is the consequence of this now and from an eternal perspective?  Is my life committed and submitted to the furtherance of God’s kingdom for His glory or in creating my own realm of glory for my own earthly pleasure, regardless of who or what I have destroyed in the process?  What about my family?  My church? Our nation? Where are we now?  Where are we headed?

One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.

Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he himself will fall into his own pit; but the blameless will inherit good.  (Today’s Proverbs readings – 28:9,10)

 “Barriers to Knowing God’s Will – Charles Stanley, Life Principles Daily Bible, pg. 1330) 1) Self-will:  Sometimes we decide what we are going to do without God’s input. 2) Influence: Believers must be careful whom they allow to influence them. 3) Sin: It so clouds our spirit that we cannot determine His mind, and God may be waiting for us to repent and become willing to obey before He reveals the next step in His plan. 4) Distraction: Busyness.  Slow down.  Have the patience to wait and listen, to focus on Him.  CONSIDER whether you might have allowed one of these barriers to be constructed between you and God.  Ask, and He will gladly help you to dismantle it.”