II Corinthians 4: 1-2 ” Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God.”

In a Believer’s life I think there isn’t anything potentially more volatile than  secret sins.   Hidden sins will lead us to compromise and dilute the truth in our own mind…rationalizing things until we can live with ourselves.   They cause us to hide things out of shameful awareness and dispair…which spirals us down the slippery slope into depression.  Secret sins need to be dealt with…not left to simmer and develop into more.  Besides, you’re only fooling yourself if you think that hidden sins are really  hidden.

Numbers 13: 27-28 ” They gave Moses this account: ‘We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.’ “

In Exodus 3:8, the Lord had promised Moses a land flowing with milk and honey, and the 12 spies hadn’t denied this was what they observed.  But of the 12 spies, only Caleb and Joshua brought back a good report…the rest only saw the negatives and potential threats.  How many times have you allowed the word “but” to totally stop the will of God in your life?  How many times have you heard the voice of the Lord,  but the “giants in the land” scared you into doing nothing?  It’s time to move beyond fear, and what we perceive as unsurmountable odds…it’s time to claim our nation  again for God.

Judges 21:25 ” In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”

Have you ever gone to a committee meeting that has no set head person?  Lots of ideas get bounced around…many people express their opinions…emotions can run high, but without someone to run the meeting, not much gets accomplished.  That’s what it’s like without  leadership in our world today…we’re all just out there “doing our own thing”.  But the problem with that is,  what I think is just and prudent to do, you may think is inappropriate or outrageous.  What happens in the end is chaos, conflict, and confusion.

Colossians 2:2 ” My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God…”

Unite us O Lord.    Join us together as one Nation,  one World.  Let us stand together , oblivious to color, race or religious background.  Lord help us to lock arms together for the good of all, and in one voice,  declare that you are God.  Unite us O Lord.

Psalm 44: 6-7 ” I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory; but You give us victory over our enemies, You put our adversaries to shame.”

We can’t put our trust in others.  Our security can’t be found in our  shrewdness or the most noblest of acts.  For the confident expectation we seek can only be found in God.   Zechariah 4:6 states, ” Not by might nor power, but by My spirit, says the Lord Almighty.”  Our victory can only be in and by the Lord.

II Corinthians 6:2 ” For He says, ‘In the time of My favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”

Isaiah echoes this verse in Chapter 49, verses 8 and 9, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the time of My favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you; I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances, to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ ”  Today the Lord is extending His favor towards you…offering His grace and kindness in order to deliver your soul from the guilt and punishment of sin.  He’s uncovering and revealing to you the sin in your life…He’s shedding light upon your spiritual blindness and beckoning  you to come out of the darkness and be free.

Psalm 33:6 ” By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.”

Have you ever gone out into the dark and looked up into the sky?  The vastness of the heavens and the brilliance of the stars are awe-inspiring, and seem to go on forever.  This wonder was created by the Lord in His mighty power… His creative activity on display for our enjoyment.

Lamentations 3: 55-57 ” I called on Your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea: ‘Do not close Your ears to my cry for relief.’ You came near when I called You, and You said, ‘Do not fear.’ “

The Hebrews conceived of death as a giant pit.  And when we’re in the darkest deeps of that pit mentality and emotionally…when depression and disappointment have taken over our lives, we have only one thing we can do.  Out of the very depths of that hole  we must cry out to the Lord… for  He will hear us, listen to our pleas, and bring peace as only He can.

II Samuel 22:29 You are my lamp, O Lord; the Lord turns my darkness into light.”

I really hate getting up in the middle of the night and stumbling around in the dark.  It can be scary and potentially  dangerous.  But if I simply first turn on a lamp, it changes everything.  My fear of falling or tripping over some unseen thing goes away…for now I can see clearly  my path.  God’s light…His truth, is like a floodlight to our life’s path…illuminating all the precarious obstacles in front of us, so that we may walk in safety.

Lamentations 3: 19-20 ” I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.”

Life does not spare anyone from loss, sorrow, and pain.  So when we’re in the middle of  trials,  it’s difficult to take our eyes off the sadness and onto God. But here in Lamentations,  Jeremiah voices his grief and suffering, yet he reminds himself that God’s great love and compassion never fail…and thus there is hope.