Lam 3:1-66 | PS 102:1-28 | Prov 26:21-22 | Heb 1:1-14
We read in Romans 3:4, "...let God be true but every man a liar...". Recently I mentioned to a patient that from the outset I strongly disagreed with the Covid vaccine for a multitude of reasons. She mentioned that she had taken it initially because a "really big rabbi in Israel" said to take it. When I mentioned that I believe that this rabbi was wrong, she looked at me incredulously. It's not that my opinion was necessarily correct. The problem arises when we lift up individuals or systems above the word of God, and I have seen this over and over again. Priests, pastors, rabbis, etc. are only men, nothing more, nothing less. Religious denominations and systems were formulated by men are simply systems, nothing more, nothing less. "Experts" in respective fields are only men and women, nothing more, nothing less. Whenever a person or a denomination or a system separates an individual from God's Word, they are wrong every time. If the followers are told only a specific individual, a group of individuals, or a system is able to properly interpret God's Word, implying that the common individual cannot adequately glean truth from God's Word personally they are misleading others. Our hope rests in Jesus Christ. If you go through the entirety of God's Word you will see this and hope, real hope, eternal hope, is available to you. If you cast your eyes on anyone or anything else, you can be misled, and when that person or system is shown to be the imperfection which all but God is, hope is often dashed, because it was misplaced to begin with. When you place your trust in God and His Word, you will be impervious to corruption in your denomination, and religious individuals who do and say wrong things, etc.
We see the transition of utter despair to hope, as the prophet Jeremiah reflects not on the city of Jerusalem and fallen religious system which is up in smoke, but on the Lord, Himself, as we read in Lamentations 3:19-26, "The thought of my suffering and homelessness is bitter beyond words, I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss. Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! 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!" The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord." As the prophet Daniel lived for years in the midst of pagan Babylon, we read in Daniel 9:2, "During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years." Daniel maintained hope through the promise of the Scripture. This is further clarified in the book of Hebrews, as we see Jesus Christ elevated above the prophets, above the angels, above Moses, above Joshua, above the Levitical priesthood, etc. We see this clearly beginning in Hebrews 1. Our hope lies in our living hope, the Lord, Jesus Christ, and no other.
God will never let you down, but people might, even "good" people. So many resist reading through the entirety of Scripture. Perhaps they are convinced they are incapable of understanding, perhaps out of laziness, perhaps out of being "too busy", perhaps by being misled by others, even exalted leaders in their respective religious system. God gave us His love letter, the Word of God. He gave it all to us. To read it in context, we need to read all of it, just as you would any book or how you would view any movie. If you choose to pick it apart, focus on only certain sections, meditate on only those sections expounded on by your leaders you might find yourselves seeking a god of your own making, rather than the One True God as revealed in Scripture. This needs to be a lifetime pursuit until you enter eternity, not just a sprint over a period of time. Immerse yourself, get to know Him, and hope will be yours, even in the most difficult of circumstances.
Messages from Pastor Lloyd Pulley: