I think that one of my favorite scriptures in the whole Bible is found in Lamentations 3:22-24, here quoted in the New Living Translation.
The faithful love of the LORD never ends
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!” NLT
The book of Lamentations is generally considered a real “downer”, you can kind of tell by the name of the book, to “lament” means to grieve, to sorrow, even to wail. The original Hebrew name of the book translates to “How!”… in today’s language, “What the Heck?!”. Most Bible scholars agree that the author was the prophet Jeremiah. The book was written at a really tough time for Israel. Through their disobedience to God they had been taken captive by Babylon, the city of Jerusalem destroyed, the Temple burned and all that Judah held precious gone.
Through all that Israel was experiencing, Jeremiah reminds the people of who their God is and how He feels towards His children. One of the most awesome things about God is that He never changes. No matter what we do, how we mess up, miss it, whatever, He still feels the same. Maybe there are things that took place in 2009 that make you want a fresh start for 2010. You could want change in one or two areas or maybe you wish the whole year was a “do over”. I have good news; you serve the God of the fresh start. Look at our scripture and you see several characteristics about our God: His love never ends, His mercies never cease, and He is faithful to us. If that weren’t enough, here the Bible says that God’s mercies “begin afresh each morning”. Wow a do over every day! Can you think of a time in your life when you needed that?
I think we should all have the desire to grow and change, that through spiritual growth and faith we overcome the challenges in our life. But we will always be reliant on the mercy of the Lord. If you need a fresh start in an area of your life or for your whole life, I want to encourage you to remember that no matter what you have done or where you are at in your life that God’s love, faithfulness and mercy are there for you. Call on Him today in prayer and receive His loving mercies and His help to change!
The faithful love of the LORD never ends
His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The LORD is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!” NLT
The book of Lamentations is generally considered a real “downer”, you can kind of tell by the name of the book, to “lament” means to grieve, to sorrow, even to wail. The original Hebrew name of the book translates to “How!”… in today’s language, “What the Heck?!”. Most Bible scholars agree that the author was the prophet Jeremiah. The book was written at a really tough time for Israel. Through their disobedience to God they had been taken captive by Babylon, the city of Jerusalem destroyed, the Temple burned and all that Judah held precious gone.
Through all that Israel was experiencing, Jeremiah reminds the people of who their God is and how He feels towards His children. One of the most awesome things about God is that He never changes. No matter what we do, how we mess up, miss it, whatever, He still feels the same. Maybe there are things that took place in 2009 that make you want a fresh start for 2010. You could want change in one or two areas or maybe you wish the whole year was a “do over”. I have good news; you serve the God of the fresh start. Look at our scripture and you see several characteristics about our God: His love never ends, His mercies never cease, and He is faithful to us. If that weren’t enough, here the Bible says that God’s mercies “begin afresh each morning”. Wow a do over every day! Can you think of a time in your life when you needed that?
I think we should all have the desire to grow and change, that through spiritual growth and faith we overcome the challenges in our life. But we will always be reliant on the mercy of the Lord. If you need a fresh start in an area of your life or for your whole life, I want to encourage you to remember that no matter what you have done or where you are at in your life that God’s love, faithfulness and mercy are there for you. Call on Him today in prayer and receive His loving mercies and His help to change!
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