“‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul,
‘therefore I will hope in him.’”
– Lamentations 3:24

The Book of Lamentations is exactly what its name says: it is the lament of Jeremiah as he witnesses the destruction of every earthly thing he knows and loves. His beloved Jerusalem is ruined. The people of his land have been carried away to exile. He himself is deeply unpopular with his own people because God has used him to prophesy terrible devastation. For Jeremiah, the situation is about as grim as it can be!

Nonetheless, Jeremiah knows he isn’t alone! He knows the Lord…and that’s enough! The Lord will never leave him or forsake him. Jeremiah knows he can find true and lasting satisfaction in God’s person and presence, regardless of his external circumstance. Jeremiah places all his hope and trust in God. His earthly circumstance seemingly couldn’t be worse, but He knows that God is trustworthy and sufficient for all he needs.

We too are invited to find true and lasting contentment in our relationship with the God of the Universe through faith in Jesus Christ. It doesn’t happen automatically. We can easily be Christians for years without rooting our joy and contentment in a vibrant relationship with God. We need to pursue God, nurturing our relationship with Him through regular and consistent prayer, worship, and meditation on Scripture. We too will likely experience unstable, ever-shifting, painful seasons in life. We too may lose everything we treasure on this earth. But we’re called to experience the deeper contentment that’s only available in Christ. Pursue that relationship every day! Put your hope in Jesus, not your earthly situation or circumstance!

“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” – Titus 3:8-9

Every Christian should carefully note what is and is not profitable for those who’ve been saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ…

Devoting ourselves to good works is excellent and profitable! Paul implores Titus to insist on this point with church congregations. Devote themselves… Christians should wholeheartedly invest their time, energy, money, emotions, thoughts, and passion into good works. Feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, providing clean drinking water, visiting the sick, encouraging the downtrodden, comforting mourners, defending the unborn, speaking up for the vulnerable, praying for those in need, offering the sure hope of Jesus Christ…

Getting involved in dumb arguments – amongst ourselves and with others – over trivial matters, controversies, disagreements, and quarrels is worthless and unprofitable. Christians today often flip Paul’s instructions on their head! Many love to get into endless debates and disputes about small things while failing to invest anything like that kind of energy into good works. Churches and fellowships are tearing themselves apart before our eyes, often over the very things Paul calls unprofitable and worthless.

Meanwhile, good works go undone. It’s not only unprofitable, it’s arguably Satanic! At a minimum, this utter reversal of plain biblical truth reflects a sorrowful reality that many in American Christianity today have fallen into the same Pharisaical patterns of majoring on minor things while missing the heart of God that Jesus explicitly condemned! Let us devote ourselves to good works and not foolish disputes with other believers!

“Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.”
– Habakkuk 3:17-18

These verses come at the end of a series of hard conversations between the prophet and the Lord. Hard times were coming at the hands of the Babylonians. Not only was God permitting it, the coming season of devastation was actually the answer to Habakkuk’s prayers for justice to be done. The scourging of Israel would ultimately serve greater spiritual good.

This was a bitter pill for Habakkuk to swallow! Nonetheless, by the time this book concludes, Habakkuk rests in the knowledge that he can trust God. During times of barrenness and hunger. During times of emptiness and loss. During times of disappointment and failure. God is still good. He is ultimately trustworthy and faithful. He knows what is truly best across all of time and space. And so, Habakkuk can rejoice and essentially say, “Not my will but thine.” Habakkuk doesn’t rejoice in hardship or suffering. He rejoices in the Lord. He doesn’t take joy in hunger or war, he takes joy in the God Who saves Him.

Likewise, each of us will experience seasons of hardship and hurt in this life. There will be times of grief and desolation. They may be short or they may be long. They may be shallow or they may seem endlessly deep. Regardless of the season or situation, trust in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord Who saves you through His Son Jesus. Take joy in the God Who is always with you and in you through faith in Christ. Remember that one day, in Christ, every tear will be wiped away, our faith will be our sight, and our joy will be complete!

“They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.” – Titus 1:16

Scripture is quite emphatic that ultimately the fruit of our lives reveals our heart and mind. Though people can certainly fake holiness for a limited time, ultimately a person’s words and works will reveal their true spiritual condition. Those who profess to know God, who claim to be holy, and assume the mantle of spiritual leadership, yet don’t display the character of Christ and don’t prioritize the priorities of Christ are indeed detestable, disobedient, and unfit for the work of the Lord!

As Christians, we should each spend so much time in the Bible getting to know our Lord and Savior – His words, His works, and His heart – that we can easily discern these wolves in shepherd’s clothing! A Christian leader should care for the lost, the vulnerable, the wavering, and the weak because Jesus does. A Christian leader should not be concerned for wealth, status, or popular acclaim because Jesus wasn’t concerned for these things. A Christian leader must be known for increasing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control because these are the character traits of Jesus. If they are not known for these things, there’s a profound disconnect between their public profession and their private practice of faith.

Everyone makes mistakes and everyone has bad days. There must always be grace for that, especially during challenging times. However, we cannot be continually making excuses for those claiming to be followers of Jesus who characteristically deny God by their conduct. We must reject their leadership and lovingly but firmly confront their unholiness – for their sake and ours!

“Luke alone is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry.” – 2 Timothy 4:11

This verse is a wonderful encouragement that the Gospel can also heal broken relationships between believers. There was a time when Mark had so thoroughly failed Paul that Paul refused to travel with him. Indeed, Paul’s feelings were so strong about Mark that in Acts 15 he parted ways with his long-time partner in missions and ministry, Barnabas, rather than work with Mark.

Nonetheless, by the end of his life, Paul considered Mark very useful in his ministry! Clearly, things changed dramatically between the two men. We’ll never know the details this side of heaven, but it’s a wonderful proof then when a relationship between Christians is broken, it can also be healed by Christ.

Too often in our culture, we permanently slam the door on a relationship after a significant failure or falling out. We repeatedly remind ourselves of the wrong they did and allow our hearts to become embittered. However, as Christians, the Gospel that reconciles us to God also means Jesus died to empower us to reconcile with one another. Rather than assuming a broken relationship must remain unhealed or become a lasting scar, we should acknowledge that God loves to bring dead things to life!

The Gospel permits us to look honestly at ourselves, our past, and our heart. It permits us to recognize and humbly confess where we own part of the responsibility for broken relationships. The Gospel empowers us to make the first move toward reconciliation, even if we believe firmly that we were wronged. God made the first move to reconcile with us and He did nothing wrong! Therefore, so can we. The Gospel enables us to go to the other person, express a desire to be reconciled, take responsibility for what we were responsible for, seek forgiveness, and offer it freely if asked.

Does this mean that every relationship will be healed? Certainly not. However, it means that we have all the spiritual tools needed to reopen doors to relationship that seem permanently closed and to invite the Holy Spirit to heal what’s been broken.