I'm Following Jesus – Page 1725 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Sunday, August 25, 2019
Chapters: Lamentations 1-2
Message: Be Not Ashamed, But Glorify God

Hello My Friend,

“Inasmuch as Jesus has gone before us, things remain not as they would have been had he never passed that way. He has conquered every foe that obstructed the way. Cheer up now thou faint-hearted warrior. Not only has Christ travelled the road, but he has slain thine enemies. Dost thou dread sin? He has nailed it to his cross. Dost thou fear death? He has been the death of Death. Art thou afraid of hell? He has barred it against the advent of any of his children; they shall never see the gulf of perdition. Whatever foes may be before the Christian, they are all overcome.” – Charles Spurgeon

When I read this earlier it occurred to me just how much we as faithful, saved, born again Christians, put ourselves down, especially when we see so many of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ living in sin. I know we are sinners saved by grace, but we need to give Jesus some credit here. He has single-handedly saved us from our worst fears, and even used situations we have gotten ourselves into to free us from sin, strengthen our faith, increase our dependence, and lead others to Him as well. It is not a bad thing to need God, in fact, we need Him every hour of every day to get through life, especially if we are sent out into the evil world to find His lost sheep. “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” – I Peter 4:14-16.

The Book of Lamentations contains five chapters, the timeline is approximately 588 BC. It was written by Jeremiah to the Jews who were captive in Babylon, the purpose of the book was to get the Jews to repent and restore their relationship with God. What we are to learn from the book is that God is faithful in both judgment and mercy. Jeremiah was no different than us faithful Christians today, he was not perfect, but he did live his life the best he could through God’s Word. After things start to settle after the fall of Jerusalem, he laments over both the evil he sees and his fellow people who seemed to care less and gets kind of angry about it.

“How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people! how is she become as a widow! she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks: among all her lovers she hath none to comfort her: all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they are become her enemies. Judah is gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude: she dwelleth among the heathen, she findeth no rest: all her persecutors overtook her between the straits. Her filthiness is in her skirts; she remembereth not her last end; therefore she came down wonderfully: she had no comforter. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself. Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.” – Lamentations 1:1-3,9,12.

“and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow,” Lament; to feel deep sorrow and grief, so much that nothing is of comfort, all you feel is pain in your heart, soul, and spirit. Christians have developed a me, myself, and I mentality, they have twisted Scripture, and in some cases published books that eliminated them all together to make it seem as though you have the right to live the way you want as long as you are saved. Let me tell you, salvation does not mean that there are no consequences for sin before we meet Jesus face to face. And we who are faithful do feel a deep sense of grief in the state of our churches as one after another succumb to sin in the Church. The blind leading the blind, that is who they are, and they are the ones bringing affliction upon of their followers, who are searching for their Comforter and cannot find Him. As Jeremiah continues lamenting over the state of his beloved nation, he cannot find anyone to comfort him, not even God Himself.

“For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed. Zion spreadeth forth her hands, and there is none to comfort her: the LORD hath commanded concerning Jacob, that his adversaries should be round about him: Jerusalem is as a menstruous woman among them. The LORD is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment: hear, I pray you, all people, and behold my sorrow: my virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. I called for my lovers, but they deceived me: my priests and mine elders gave up the ghost in the city, while they sought their meat to relieve their souls. Behold, O LORD; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled; mine heart is turned within me; for I have grievously rebelled: abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death. They have heard that I sigh: there is none to comfort me: all mine enemies have heard of my trouble; they are glad that thou hast done it: thou wilt bring the day that thou hast called, and they shall be like unto me.” – Lamentations 1:16-21.

“because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me:” This is a two fold here, we have Jeremiah weeping, and even wondering what he has done that he cannot feel the presence of God. And Jesus Himself weeping at His people, who cannot find Him because they are consumed in the affliction of their sin. He is also weeping at those who looking to the world for comfort. “they are glad that thou hast done it:” I have seen Christians laugh at the fall of other Christians, spread hate, lies, and accusations, and even seen them rejoice at the suffering of other Christians. The more sinful a nation of “Christians” becomes the more trials and afflictions arise. God sends constant warnings for them to repent, and will take them home prematurely where they will not be able to hurt themselves any longer if they continue. Jeremiah does understand the judgment God’s people were facing was due to the refusal to repent. What he did not understand was why God made a covenant with Israel if He was not going to keep it Himself, and if He even remembers the covenant He made with them at all.

“The Lord was as an enemy: he hath swallowed up Israel, he hath swallowed up all her palaces: he hath destroyed his strong holds, and hath increased in the daughter of Judah mourning and lamentation. And he hath violently taken away his tabernacle, as if it were of a garden: he hath destroyed his places of the assembly: the LORD hath caused the solemn feasts and sabbaths to be forgotten in Zion, and hath despised in the indignation of his anger the king and the priest. The Lord hath cast off his altar, he hath abhorred his sanctuary, he hath given up into the hand of the enemy the walls of her palaces; they have made a noise in the house of the LORD, as in the day of a solemn feast. The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion: he hath stretched out a line, he hath not withdrawn his hand from destroying: therefore he made the rampart and the wall to lament; they languished together. Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.” – Lamentations 2:5-9.

“The LORD hath purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion:” What good is a church with the name of Christ without Christ? You think Jesus enjoys seeing His Church go to ruins, and He will take down those walls of safety, and expose them to those evils of the world for their refusal to repent. Nevertheless, God has not forgotten the covenant He made with His people, He will never leave nor forsake anyone who receives His Son as their Saviour, but will let them suffer in their sin until they either repent or have suffered so much in their sin that He brings them home so they cannot hurt themselves anymore. “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” – Revelation 2:5.

“and do the first works;” When we first receive Christ as our Saviour we have such a great zeal for God, even fearing Him. Somewhere down the line, life and all the trials that go with it, smothers our zeal, and our fear as well. While we may not be living a sinful life, we may not be living the life He wants us to live either. The result, constant affliction without any relief, and no view of God in sight. Let me tell you, no matter how faithful we are to God we are going to face some suffering. Let me tell you, it is okay to ask God questions, to get angry, and to grieve, He understands and knows what we are going through. Jeremiah, through his own affliction, felt such grief that he pleads with Israel to return to God, but also has some questions for God.

“Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street. Behold, O LORD, and consider to whom thou hast done this. Shall the women eat their fruit, and children of a span long? shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied. Thou hast called as in a solemn day my terrors round about, so that in the day of the LORD’S anger none escaped nor remained: those that I have swaddled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.” – Lamentations 2:19-22.

“and consider to whom thou hast done this.” Why do the righteous suffer so much? Why do some live in such poverty, get picked on for saying, “In Jesus’ name”, get sick and never recover, get victimized, or see loved ones die? I know there is a lot suffering that we go through in our faith, things we cannot possibly understand let alone comprehend. These kinds of evils are not from God, it is Satan, but God will use any of these situations for the purpose of saving a soul and seeing them repent. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.” – Lamentations 1:16.

Today’s Prayer: God, I do not know anyone who loves to feel pain and sorrow, and it simply does nothing for our morale either, but whatever You allow us to go through You have a reason for it. The only way we can truly be at peace and find comfort and even an end to the suffering is through You. Lord, we need You, so many people are full of sorrow and do not know where to go, break through the door, open their hearts to show them that You are their help. Great things always come to those who endure their sorrows with You as they draw closer to You and learn to trust You, and depend on You for all things. Give us your power, wisdom, grace, and strength to increase our faith, increase zeal, teach us to fear You at all times, and let us see You do great things in our lives through our faith and faithfulness to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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