Lamentations

I declare my power and authority over the enemy and all his weapons in the name of Jesus Christ by the power in His Blood!!!

So todays scripture is Lamentations 3 which was written by Jeremiah during the afflictions he went through while watching Israel, God’s people afflicted and suffering because of sins and disobedience!!! This goes back to what I was saying about living His word not just reading it and admitting when we have done wrong and correcting ourselves, if we confess our sins He is just to cleanse us and forgive us for our sins, but we need to acknowledge them first!! It is so easy to overlook your own shortcomings while pointing out others shortcomings which makes me think of this passage from Matthew 7:1-5 – Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

So everything begins with self-judgement before you can judge others which is something so many people get wrong because they are so busy looking at other people and not first looking to themselves!! This is why He said first cast out the beam which is in your own eye, only then will you be able to see clearly to cast out the mote in your brothers eye!!! You cannot judge anyone if you are still partaking in sins and doing the very thing which you are judging in others!! We need to asking God every morning in prayer that He guide us in His Spirit to walk in the same light He walked in when here and do the work He did when here rather than be guided by this world system of lies which has turned evil into good and good into evil!!! He said none of us will be left unpunished for our sins and He meant that!! We need to submit fully under obedience to His Will everyday and ask that He be our only guide in this world!!! Also He sends afflictions on us for many different reasons like pain to bring us closer to Him and grow us in our Faith, lessons to learn from and grow from, hardships to learn to put our trust and faith in Him to deliver us.  There are always reasons for everything we go through and everyone of them will turn out to be for our own good and growth, it may not seem like that when you are going through trials but don’t push Him away in these times use it as an opportunity to get even closer to Him! The biggest cause of afflictions is on people who hold resentments against others, unforgiveness is one of the biggest causes of affliction in peoples lives and the biggest open door for the devil also the only one who is affected by your unforgiveness is YOU because the other person has no idea!!! This is because God forgave us while we were sinners and still living in sin, so we have to forgive others who do us wrong and pray for them rather than curse them, He said He will curse those who curse you and Bless those who bless you!!! When going through trials ask Him what He wants you to learn from these because He is actually building you up for His Kingdom not this world, He is trying and refining you just like the silver smith does with silver and the most amazing thing about the silversmith when he is refining silver is He never once takes His eyes off it because the silver can ruin so quickly!! So just know no matter what you are facing that He is with you and will never forsake you ever!!! He tells us to have patience in tribulation and never stop trusting, believing and having faith that He will deliver us after we have learnt and grown in the challenge He has sent us!! The thing is you are in the hands of the creator of everything you can see, hear, touch and smell, the genius who created every single thing and who knows everything and always makes everything work together for the good of His people!!! I had a heavy heart this morning when reading this because I know the book of Jeremiah so well and understand the pain and suffering going on not only in my own life but also all around me!! Everyday just now when I open the news feed in fb which I do while having my coffee in the morning wakening up, all I am seeing is pain and suffering, murder and death!! It is everywhere and the worst thing about it is, it is all judgement on SIN and DISOBEDIENCE which makes me so sad that the world has gotten to this stage in the first place!!! So check yourself before you check others and make sure you are perfect in your walk with God and are blameless in His eyes because no man or woman’s opinion of you matters but God’s does because He will be the one JUDGING YOU not man/woman!! You will loose family, friends and people you love by picking up your cross everyday make no mistake about that in Matthew He tells us that the enemies we will face will be within our own households and never a truer word spoken than that!! However God can reach people you cannot and can change hearts so never give up hope and never stop praying for them!!!!!!! We ALL need God to show us the way and to be fruitful in the gifts of the Holy Spirit walking in the Spirit rather than the flesh read Galatians 5 below also go read 1 Corinthians 12!!!

Lamentations 3        King James Version

I Am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.

2 He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.

3 Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day.

4 My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.

5 He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.

6 He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.

7 He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy.

8 Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.

9 He hath inclosed my ways with hewn stone, he hath made my paths crooked.

10 He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret places.

11 He hath turned aside my ways, and pulled me in pieces: he hath made me desolate.

12 He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for the arrow.

13 He hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins.

14 I was a derision to all my people; and their song all the day.

15 He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.

16 He hath also broken my teeth with gravel stones, he hath covered me with ashes.

17 And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace: I forgot prosperity.

18 And I said, My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord:

19 Remembering mine affliction and my misery, the wormwood and the gall.

20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.

21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.

22 It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.

25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.

27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

28 He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him.

29 He putteth his mouth in the dust; if so be there may be hope.

30 He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him: he is filled full with reproach.

31 For the Lord will not cast off for ever:

32 But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.

33 For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.

34 To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth.

35 To turn aside the right of a man before the face of the most High,

36 To subvert a man in his cause, the Lord approveth not.

37 Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?

38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

39 Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?

40 Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.

41 Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.

42 We have transgressed and have rebelled: thou hast not pardoned.

43 Thou hast covered with anger, and persecuted us: thou hast slain, thou hast not pitied.

44 Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.

45 Thou hast made us as the offscouring and refuse in the midst of the people.

46 All our enemies have opened their mouths against us.

47 Fear and a snare is come upon us, desolation and destruction.

48 Mine eye runneth down with rivers of water for the destruction of the daughter of my people.

49 Mine eye trickleth down, and ceaseth not, without any intermission.

50 Till the Lord look down, and behold from heaven.

51 Mine eye affecteth mine heart because of all the daughters of my city.

52 Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.

53 They have cut off my life in the dungeon, and cast a stone upon me.

54 Waters flowed over mine head; then I said, I am cut off.

55 I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.

56 Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.

57 Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.

58 O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.

59 O Lord, thou hast seen my wrong: judge thou my cause.

60 Thou hast seen all their vengeance and all their imaginations against me.

61 Thou hast heard their reproach, O Lord, and all their imaginations against me;

62 The lips of those that rose up against me, and their device against me all the day.

63 Behold their sitting down, and their rising up; I am their musick.

64 Render unto them a recompence, O Lord, according to the work of their hands.

65 Give them sorrow of heart, thy curse unto them.

66 Persecute and destroy them in anger from under the heavens of the Lord.

Galatians 5       King James Version

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.

3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.

7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

10 I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.

11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.

12 I would they were even cut off which trouble you.

13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.

14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.

16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.