How lonely sits the city That was full of people! How like a widow is she, Who was great among the nations! The princess among the provinces Has become a slave! She weeps bitterly in the night, Her tears are on her cheeks; Among all her lovers She has none to comfort her All her friends have dealt treacherously with her They have become her enemies. Judah has gone into captivity, Under affliction and hard servitude; She dwells among the nations, She finds no rest; All her persecutors overtake her in dire straits. The roads to Zion mourn Because no one comes to the set feasts. All her gates are desolate; Her priests sigh, Her virgins are afflicted, And she is in bitterness. Her adversaries have become the master, Her enemies prosper; For the LORD has afflicted her Because of the multitude of her transgressions. Her children have gone into captivity before the enemy.--Lamentations 1:1-5
Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla,
The Book of Lamentations is the book of the prophet Jeremiah's weeping. The first chapter begins with his lamenting the destruction of the Holy City of Jerusalem and the temple. What a tragedy this was. God's people had been warned that judgment was coming...Jeremiah had preached this very message to them for 40 years and not one had turned and repented. They had rebelled and rejected His warnings.
Some of the saddest words in Scriptures are found in 2nd Chronicles 36. I can hear in them a father's plea to his daughter or son to return: And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. there was no remedy.
There was no remedy. Nothing...no hope....they had missed their opportunity. What is truly beautiful is that there was no remedy because He had compassion...He would not let them continue on in their sin ...He needed to afflict them by taking them out of the land he had blessed them with in order to get His message across and bring them back. “For they are a nation void of counsel, Nor is there any understanding in them. Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would consider their latter end!--Deuteronomy 32:28-29
Girls, sin has consequences. We don't always see these consequences when we are immersed in its temporary pleasures. The people of Judah certainly didn't. Sin may be fun for a while but if no turning occurs...it always leads to judgment, captivity and death. YOU WILL REAP WHAT YOU SOW. Look ahead...see the end of what you are doing. See where it leads and turn now while there is still hope! The Lord will have compassion! When you continue in sin. you are sowing much sorrow for yourself. I understand this with heart knowledge having resisted coming to Jesus until 35 years of age. The Lord truly does restore the years the locusts ate and He does make the crooked places straight, but I sowed much sorrow and reaped much heartache and heartbreak not only for me but for those around me. I am so thankful to God not only for His grace and mercy in saving me but for keeping me in His love. If you want or need reasons not to sin keep Lamentations 1 bookmarked...it is full of them. I am including the first two reasons in this post.
Sin leads to affliction and captivity - We will become afflicted by and captive to what we value or worship. (See you are what you worship post) The word afflicted means depressed, cause grief, grieve or sorrowful...none of which are words I am enamored with. If you sin, sorrow will soon be your companion. There is enough sorrow already to go around without manufacturing it for ourselves by sinning.
James 1:25 refers to the Word as the perfect law of liberty. Why? Because it frees us as we obey it. John 8:34: Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. Psalm 119:45 says that we walk at liberty as we obey his precepts.
Now, I know it sounds paradoxical (I love using that word) that a law could bring freedom but God's word is filled with paradoxes...He who loses his life will gain it...etc, etc. You see in our failure to be able to obey the law, we see how hopeless and helpless our condition without Christ truly is...We see our need for a Savior. We just cannot NOT sin! The law then brings us to Jesus when we acknowledge our need for Him. God's grace saves us and our salvation frees us from the power of sin. It no longer has dominion over us...WE ARE FREE now to live as God intended us to live! Not free to do as we please, but we are free to obey God! For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in His Son.
Sin has been likened to a snowball rolling downhill, growing more destructive the more we let it have its way. Make no mistake when I am getting my own way and am allowed to continue to get my own way things do not go well for me or those around me...and as I continue down the road or hill so to speak, the path I took becomes littered with my victims. Girls, the best time to stop sinning is before the sin becomes too strong or is moving too fast to control. Think now of the sin in your own lives...there are some that I have struggled with that if I allowed them to rule they would make the focus of my life narrow crowding out everything else.
The bible tells us that where our treasure is there our heart will be also. Ask yourselves this question....from the outside looking in would others, by examining your words, thoughts, actions and perhaps how you spent your time, be able to discern what your treasure was? Would you be convicted by them as a Christian sold out for the Lord Jesus Christ or not so much? God wants to give us life more abundantly...Our desires must become our servant and not our masters...this can only be done by allowing the word of God to penetrate deep into our hearts and then by surrendering to the Spirit of God as He works in us through us.
What does the Psalmist say: How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.--Psalm 119:9-11
Love
Mom who again hopes you are noticing that the Word is ALWAYS the remedy!
