Day 42 - 50 Day Journey To Christ

Daily Reading:

Lamentations 3

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Hope through God’s Mercy

א Alef

1 I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of God’s wrath.

2 He has driven me away and forced me to walk

in darkness instead of light.

3 Yes, He repeatedly turns His hand

against me all day long.

ב Bet

4 He has worn away my flesh and skin;

He has shattered my bones.

5 He has laid siege against me,

encircling me with bitterness and hardship.

6 He has made me dwell in darkness

like those who have been dead for ages.

ג Gimel

7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;

He has weighed me down with chains.

8 Even when I cry out and plead for help,

He rejects my prayer.

9 He has walled in my ways with cut stones;

He has made my paths crooked.

ד Dalet

10 He is a bear waiting in ambush,

a lion in hiding.

11 He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces;

He left me desolate.

12 He strung His bow

and set me as the target for His arrow.

ה He

13 He pierced my kidneys

with His arrows.

14 I am a laughingstock to all my people,

mocked by their songs all day long.

15 He filled me with bitterness,

satiated me with wormwood.

ו Vav

16 He ground my teeth on gravel

and made me cower in the dust.

17 My soul has been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what happiness is.

18 Then I thought: My future is lost,

as well as my hope from the Lord.

ז Zayin

19 Remember my affliction and my homelessness,

the wormwood and the poison.

20 I continually remember them

and have become depressed.

21 Yet I call this to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

ח Khet

22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love

we do not perish,

for His mercies never end.

23 They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!

24 I say: The Lord is my portion,

therefore I will put my hope in Him.

ט Tet

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,

to the person who seeks Him.

26 It is good to wait quietly

for deliverance from the Lord.

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is still young.

י Yod

28 Let him sit alone and be silent,

for God has disciplined him.

29 Let him put his mouth in the dust—

perhaps there is still hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek

to the one who would strike him;

let him be filled with shame.

כ Kaf

31 For the Lord

will not reject us forever.

32 Even if He causes suffering,

He will show compassion

according to His abundant, faithful love.

33 For He does not enjoy bringing affliction

or suffering on mankind.

ל Lamed

34 Crushing all the prisoners of the land

beneath one’s feet,

35 denying justice to a man

in the presence of the Most High,

36 or suppressing a person’s lawsuit—

the Lord does not approve of these things.

מ Mem

37 Who is there who speaks and it happens,

unless the Lord has ordained it?

38 Do not both adversity and good

come from the mouth of the Most High?

39 Why should any living person complain,

any man, because of the punishment for his sins?

נ Nun

40 Let us search out and examine our ways,

and turn back to the Lord.

41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands

to God in heaven:

42 We have sinned and rebelled;

You have not forgiven.

ס Samek

43 You have covered Yourself in anger and pursued us;

You have killed without compassion.

44 You have covered Yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can pass through.

45 You have made us disgusting filth

among the peoples.

פ Pe

46 All our enemies

open their mouths against us.

47 We have experienced panic and pitfall,

devastation and destruction.

48 My eyes flow with streams of tears

because of the destruction of my dear people.

ע Ayin

49 My eyes overflow unceasingly,

without end,

50 until the Lord looks down

from heaven and sees.

51 My eyes bring me grief

because of the fate of all the women in my city.

צ Tsade

52 For no apparent reason, my enemies

hunted me like a bird.

53 They dropped me alive into a pit

and threw stones at me.

54 Water flooded over my head,

and I thought: I’m going to die!

ק Qof

55 I called on Your name, Yahweh,

from the depths of the Pit.

56 You hear my plea:

Do not ignore my cry for relief.

57 You come near when I call on You;

You say: “Do not be afraid.”

ר Resh

58 You defend my cause, Lord;

You redeem my life.

59 Lord, You see the wrong done to me;

judge my case.

60 You see all their malice,

all their plots against me.

שׂ Sin/ שׁ Shin

61 Lord, You hear their insults,

all their plots against me.

62 The slander and murmuring of my opponents

attack me all day long.

63 When they sit and when they rise, look,

I am mocked by their songs.

ת Tav

64 You will pay them back what they deserve, Lord,

according to the work of their hands.

65 You will give them a heart filled with anguish.

May Your curse be on them!

66 You will pursue them in anger and destroy them

under Your heavens.

Key:  Bold - Verse of the Day

Reflection:  Lamentations is a series of poems written by the prophet Jeremiah as he processed the destruction of Jerusalem.  If you study the entire series of poems so see it ascend, peak and then begin its emotional discension back down.  We see the apex in verse 24, when Jeremiah realizes that its not about him, or the city or anything, but that his hope is in the Lord.  

Discussion Topic:  Think about a rough time in your life, at what point did you look to the Lord and realize that everything is in His control.  

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Prayer:  Father, thank you for your judgement and the hope that comes from the midst of it.  Lord, we pray that as we take one step closer to You, that You search our hearts, and speak to us Lord.  Prepare us to come face to face with You, amongst the death and destruction we see all around us.  

Acknowledgements: Text - BibleGateway.com, Artwork - http://searchforbibletruths.blogspot.com/2011/10/destruction-of-jerusalem-607-bce.html

Day 39 - 50 Day Journey To Christ

Daily Reading:

Jeremiah 11

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

Reminder of the Covenant

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the words of this covenant and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. 3 You must tell them: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let a curse be on the man who does not obey the words of this covenant, 4 which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace.’ I declared: ‘Obey Me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 in order to establish the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.”

I answered, “Amen, Lord.”

6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out. 7 For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again, ‘Obey My voice.’ 8 Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”

9 The Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors who refused to obey My words and have followed other gods to worship them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant I made with their ancestors.

11 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not hear them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster. 13 Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah, and the altars you have set up to Shame—altars to burn incense to Baal—as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.

14 “As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster.

15 What right does My beloved have

to be in My house,

having carried out so many evil schemes?

Can holy meat prevent your disaster

so you can rejoice?

16 The Lord named you

a flourishing olive tree,

beautiful with well-formed fruit.

He has set fire to it,

and its branches are consumed

with a great roaring sound.

17 “The Lord of Hosts who planted you has decreed disaster against you, because of the harm the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”

18 The Lord informed me, so I knew.

Then You helped me to see their deeds,

19 for I was like a docile lamb led to slaughter.

I didn’t know that they had devised plots against me:

“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit;

let’s cut him off from the land of the living

so that his name will no longer be remembered.”

20 But, Lord of Hosts, who judges righteously,

who tests heart and mind,

let me see Your vengeance on them,

for I have presented my case to You.

21 Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth who want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will certainly die at our hand.” 22 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine. 23 They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

(Note: Read Jeremiah 25)

Key:  Bold - Verse of the Day

Reflection:  Jeremiah was the Lord's prophet, hand picked from an early age (like Samuel), the Lord placed His words into Jeremiah's mouth (Jer 1:10).  When YHWH spoke to the people of Jerusalem, He spoke through Jeremiah.  This did not make Jeremiah a very popular person, nor the book of Jeremiah a very popular book.  In today's selection the Word of the Lord is calling us to examine ourselves, reminding us that we are His, and we must return to Him.  We have put other things, priorities and altars before our God.  We have made it more about the program, and not the Programmer; the gifts and not the Gift; the lights and not the Light; the tree and not the Tree. We fill our lives with things to do, promising to say grace @ dinner, and go to church on Sunday.  We must repent.  We must turn back to God.  Examine your heart before its too late.  We too have been sealed by a covenant, we too are guilty of the sins of Israel. 

Discussion Topic:  What idols do you have in your own life that you are not aware of?   

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Prayer:  Father in Heaven, Your grace overwhelms my heart, Your judgment my soul.  I long to be made whole in You.  Thank You for Your Covenant, thank You for Your Law.  Holy Spirit, please search my heart and reveal to me the idols I have suppressed  or passed off as normal or tolerable.  Show me, Lord, the things I do that keep me from the fullness of Your grace.  Lord Jesus, thank You for Your obedience, that despite my disobedience, You gave up Heaven to come to earth for my salvation.  You were led to slaughter, docile. You were chopped down for our sins.  Teach me to always make it about You.  It is for Your name, in Your name, and because of Your name I pray.  Amen. 

Acknowledgements: Text - BibleGateway.com, Artwork - Stories Of

Day 38 - 50 Day Journey To Christ

Daily Reading:

Jeremiah 5

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

The Depravity of Jerusalem

1 Roam through the streets of Jerusalem.

Look and take note;

search in her squares.

If you find one person,

any who acts justly,

who seeks to be faithful,

then I will forgive her.

2 When they say, “As the Lord lives,”

they are swearing falsely.

3 Lord, don’t Your eyes look for faithfulness?

You have struck them, but they felt no pain.

You finished them off,

but they refused to accept discipline.

They made their faces harder than rock,

and they refused to return.

4 Then I thought:

They are just the poor;

they have played the fool.

For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,

the justice of their God.

5 I will go to the powerful

and speak to them.

Surely they know the way of the Lord,

the justice of their God.

However, these also had broken the yoke

and torn off the chains.

6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.

A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them.

A leopard keeps watch over their cities.

Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces

because their rebellious acts are many,

their unfaithful deeds numerous.

7 Why should I forgive you?

Your children have abandoned Me

and sworn by those who are not gods.

I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;

they gashed themselves at the prostitute’s house.

8 They are well-fed, eager stallions,

each neighing after someone else’s wife.

9 Should I not punish them for these things?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Should I not avenge Myself

on such a nation as this?

10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,

but do not finish them off.

Prune away her shoots,

for they do not belong to the Lord.

11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

have dealt very treacherously with Me.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

12 They have contradicted the Lord

and insisted, “It won’t happen.

Harm won’t come to us;

we won’t see sword or famine.”

13 The prophets become only wind,

for the Lord’s word is not in them.

This will in fact happen to them.

Coming Judgment

14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says:

Because you have spoken this word,

I am going to make My words

become fire in your mouth.

These people are the wood,

and the fire will consume them.

15 I am about to bring a nation

from far away against you,

house of Israel.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

It is an established nation,

an ancient nation,

a nation whose language you do not know

and whose speech you do not understand.

16 Their quiver is like an open grave;

they are all mighty warriors.

17 They will consume your harvest and your food.

They will consume your sons and your daughters.

They will consume your flocks and your herds.

They will consume your vines and your fig trees.

They will destroy with the sword

your fortified cities in which you trust.

18 “But even in those days”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will not finish you off. 19 When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:

21 Hear this,

you foolish and senseless people.

They have eyes, but they don’t see.

They have ears, but they don’t hear.

22 Do you not fear Me?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Do you not tremble before Me,

the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,

an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?

The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.

They roar but cannot pass over it.

23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.

They have turned aside and have gone away.

24 They have not said to themselves,

‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,

who gives the rain, both early and late, in its season,

who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’

25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.

Your sins have withheld My bounty from you,

26 for wicked men live among My people.

They watch like fowlers lying in wait.

They set a trap;

they catch men.

27 Like a cage full of birds,

so their houses are full of deceit.

Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.

28 They have become fat and sleek.

They have also excelled in evil matters.

They have not taken up cases,

such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,

and they have not defended the rights of the needy.

29 Should I not punish them for these things?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Should I not avenge Myself

on such a nation as this?

30 A horrible, terrible thing

has taken place in the land.

31 The prophets prophesy falsely,

and the priests rule by their own authority.

My people love it like this.

But what will you do at the end of it?

Key:  Bold - Verse of the Day

Reflection:  The Lord speaks, and used Jeremiah to speak his message of impending judgement, and fortold destruction.  The Lords message didn't sit well with the people of Israel when Jeremiah prophesied it.  He was ostersized from the community, and ridiculed by his peers.  Think about this, did the way Jeremiah was treated, change the message of God?  Where the questions and statements God made true of humanity?

Discussion Topic:  I would like to talk about a history that repeats itself, and discuss the implications of this prophesy.. v28 talks about obsesity, evil deeds, rampant injustice, and the rights of the fatherless, or disregaurd for the needy.    Are we just as guilty now as Israel was then.  Does Gods judgement still apply?

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Prayer:  Father, I am without words.  My heart is broken, I too represent a broken people, a broken government, a broken land.  My only hope is in You.  Your loving patience endures, Your abundent mercy overshadows our sins.  Please forgive us Lord, and lead us back to you.  Point us to a place of repentance, in our own lives, the lives of our families and within our own communities.  Break us Lord, with Your loving correction.   

Acknowledgements: Text - BibleGateway.com, Artwork - http://jerusalem.com/files/articles/mainpics/374511886Jerus.jpg