Leaders ( 1 Timothy 3 v 1 - 7 )

                                                          Lamentations 4 v 13                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It was for the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her                                                                      priests,who shed the blood of  the righteous in the midst of                                                                      her.                                                                                                                          These may appear strange words,to accuse those spiritual leaders of the nation of  killing the righteous,surely that would be the  last thing you would expect from them. We must remember the spiritual deterioration  of the nation that brought about the judgement of God,in Jeremiah 6 v 13,  we read,'For from the least to the greatest of them,everyone is greedy for unjust gain,and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely'. 8 v 10,stresses the same thing, v 11,tells us how they proclaimed that which was false,and v 12 , accuses them of acting shamefully and committing abominations.In Jeremiah 18 v 18 Jeremiah was under threat from the priests,let us never forget that it was the religious leaders who hounded our Saviour to death.The inquisition was carried out by priests,likewise many martyrs were burned to death by priests. Godless religious leaders are  guilty of child abuse,of fleecing  the poor, and a multitude of other things,Let me remind you of the potential evil that lies deep in the human heart,whither it be a priest,prophet,pastor, yes and even  in our own hearts.                                                                                                             

In a pit. ( Psalm 50 v 15 )

God is mainly silent in the book of Lamentations, it is mainly about speaking to God, but in 3 v 57, we have the one time that He does speak, three simple words, ''Do not fear''.This was in answer to a prayer  by Jeremiah, when he was in a pit,we read about it in Jeremiah 38, he had proclaimed defeat and was arrested,they wanted him to be put to death,but they threw him into a cistern, and he sank into the mud. It is C. Wright describes it, ''Jeremiah sank down into the watery slime,which would have made it impossible to lie down without danger of death by drowning.The suffocating terror of such a nightmare he screams out in verse 57,''I am finished''..' .The Man was recounting a moment when he faced certain death.' God heard the cry of  his servant, he records these lovely words,''You came near when I called on you, you said,'Do not fear' Let us all take encouragement from what we have read, Jeremiah may have been in a pit ,but God saw him,God heard him,and God delivered him.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            1 Peter 3 v 12.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,                                                                                            and His ears are open to their prayers.                                               

The Lord is good. ( Isaiah 55 v 6 - 9 )

In Lamentations 3 v 25 we read ,''The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him''.Let us remember when these words were written, the contexts is important. After Gods awful judgement  fell upon Judah because of their sin ,Jeremiah had acknowledged the rightness of God in His judgement ( 1 v 18 ) . Although they were his people  God can never overlook sin ,it must be dealt with, and that is what He did,but that was not the end of the matter.  Before this judgement fell God had spoken through Jeremiah and told them ,''I have loved you, my people with an everlasting love'', ( 31 v 3 ) and they had a future ,C P. 29 V 10 - 14 ).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    'The Lord is good.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            For the Lord will not reject for ever                                                                                                          Although he causes grief, he will have                                                                                                      compassion, according to the abundance                                                                                                  of his steadfast love, for he does not                                                                                                          willingly afflict or grieve anyone.                                                                                                                         (Lam 3 v 31 - 33 )

We need a Saviour. ( Matthew 1 v 21 )

Let us consider further readings on Lamentations,and ask a question that goes much further than the nation of Israel,consider it in light of the the world. Here is a question, in all the world,who ever lived ,who lives now ,and who will ever live,deserves to go to hell ?.Now there are vast amounts of people who would say I don' t deserve to go to hell.,surely hell is to extreme and and only for very, very wicked people. Surely it is not for people who commit minor offences,after all they do not hang people for breaking the speed limit,or for spitting,surely not.Does not  even the Bible teach that the punishment should fit the crime.We read in Victorian times people were hung for stealing a loaf of bread, that was very extreme and surely God did not approve. These arguments seem reasonable,rational,sensible, but they lack something that's very important,the seriousness of sin.The points we have raised are purely at a human level, but when we speak about sin,then we are using Gods definition for wrongs committed against Him. Sin reminds us that we are answerable to a higher power, who will  judge according to His standard, all sin brings with it a price tag, Gods righteous judgement.Does that mean that a minor infringement could send us to hell ?,the answer is yes. If that is so ,and it is,how can anyone escape going to hell,its humanly impossible. So what can one do? I was talking to my barber ,who is a Muslim, I mentioned to him that they believe in a Jesus who is a prophet,just like Muhammad,but then I said to him, we need more than a prophet we need a Saviour,and Jesus is that Saviour,the one who saves us from our sins, and there consequences..

A Robin red breast. ( Romans 4 v 13 - 21 )

There is one bird I am very fond of, no not my wife, I mean the feathered kind, a Robin red breast,yet I never see any in my garden. We do put food out for the birds ,I even put up a little bird box ,and yet so far no tenants, I live in hope,maybe I should put a little sign up in the trees ,with the words home for let,and another with words ,'Robins welcome'. Just the other day I notice a Robin on a neighbours fence, maybe I should bribe it to come and visit my garden. I am sure you are wondering why I am writing this,so am I ,I suppose I am just sharing something with you, I suppose we all have something that we wish,that doesn't happen,but we can hope. Hope is so very important for all of us,it is devastating for someone to hear the words,'I am sorry, there's no hope'. There was a man in the Bible his name was Abraham ,he had a wife called Sarah and God promised him that  his wife would have a child ,and yet nothing happen,he grew older,and his wife grew older'They had reached the point were they could have no children, but Abraham believed what God had promised,we read that,hoping against hope he believed it would happen,and you know something , it happened. Who knows maybe a Robin will come into my garden one day,I can hope.

God is ( Jeremiah 31 v 3 )

                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Lamentations 3 v 22 - 23.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases                                                                                               His mercies never come to an end;                                                                                                           they are new every morning;                                                                                                                     great is your faithfulness.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Most Christians are familiar with these words ,because of the hymn written by Thomas O. Chisholm, I wonder if many appreciate or know that it is based on Lam 3 v 22- 23 ?. These words were written by a man who witnessed terrible suffering ,he also had experienced a great deal of difficulties in relation to his God given ministry. Many of us can understand much of the pain that comes with suffering, but  the words in Lam 3 v 22 - 23,are a challenge to all of us ,to look at life as this man declared it. In the midst of all the devastation, he speaks of the steadfast love of God and His mercies. Why did he say this? why was he able to say this, because if you read the history of the nation of Israel/ Judah,he realised that they all deserved to be judged,but in spite of that God did show mercy and did show love,.In NT terms, God was manifesting His grace, to His sinful people.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Amazing Grace.                                                                                                                                                                       

Bad memories ,Good memories. ( Lamentations 3 v 16 - 33 )

Things were awful ,death, destruction, all appeared hopeless,he declares, my soul is bereft of peace, I have forgotten what happiness is  CP Lamentations 3 v 17 - 18,C Wright comments,''Beaten, broken,imprisoned, mauled, shot,mocked, trampled...reeling under such a battery of injuries the Man reaches the point of total despair''.he calls this ,' Bad memory'. it is very hard to forget bad memories,or to escape their depressing wounds .What does the writer do?,he replaces them  with , 'Good memories',Joseph did that, when faced with what his brothers had done to him ,( Read the account of his life in Genesis 37 -50 ) ,but he also knew his God, and why it had happened,Here is what he said to  these wicked brothers,'' Even though you intended to do harm to me,God intended it for good''.God is sovereign in the best of times ,and in the worst of times, it is a hard lesson to learn, We can let the bad memories,rule our lives,and destroy us,or we can focus on the good memories ,on a God who loves us,a God who  is good,and will work everything out for his children's good. ( Romans 8 v 28 )