One of the conundrums of a “New Believer” is the “New” spiritual fight they find within their minds. The Apostle Paul refers to it as the “Flesh lusting against the Spirit” in Gal. 5:17. And for many of those delivered from the darkness of the old sinful habits and into the “…the kingdom of the Son of His love,” Col. 1:13, the war is very pronounced and real. The temptations coming in remembrance of the life from which they have been delivered will subtly sneak up on them at inopportune times, seizing the moment, and begging for attention. If they fall they experience guilt and the lie that God’s forgiveness is no longer available for them; they often fall very hard as they accept this lie. If they do not recover, as God desires they do, in the aftermath what I often hear is, “I am just not good enough” and or “I cannot make commitments to God.” This is sad for the wisdom found in the glorious gospel of the grace of God teaches us that we are to get back up and persist onward in the battle for the weakness of the flesh does not necessitate a weakness in the Grace of God. On the contrary, “where sin abounded, Grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 5:20-21. That statement—that wisdom is a big chunk of the greatness that is the gospel!

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="156"] Jeremiah’s Lament[/caption]

¹ How the gold has grown dim, how the pure gold is changed! The holy stones lie scattered at the head of every street. ² The precious sons of Zion, worth their weight in fine gold, how they are regarded as earthen pots, the work of a potter’s hands! ³ Even jackals offer the breast; they nurse their young, but the daughter of my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. ⁴ The tongue of the nursing infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives to them. Lamentations 4:1-4 (ESV)

To some this may seem to be an enigmatic passage. But I assure you, just as Jeremiah the “Weeping Prophet” penned it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it is as meaningful today as it was when he first delivered it. Let me interpret:

It’s simple. It’s short. Yet it’s incredibly powerful. Proverbs 3:5-6 is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible–with good reason. It sets forth a life-changing truth that is worthy of our attention. Spend three minutes reading this article, and see if you agree.

Just recently a friend of mine introduced me to a couple that he had known for several years. After the introductions were over they were eager to share with me their reasons for not being faithful church-goers. There were many, but the main one being a lack of concern by the church for their welfare. That could mean several things but I did not have to speculate for they were quick to say that no one visited them which spurred their decision to not attend corporate worship. Again, circumstance at the time may have played a part in that churches decision to not communicate, so I will not speculate too much. But I will say there seems to be far too many excuses that people engineer to cover up their lack of personal responsibility and fervor in coming before the Lord to worship. In this case they could have pestered the church for financial gifts over-and-over till the church was overwhelmed. There could have been a word said that they took the wrong way, or even the right way, and it became a reason for offence. Or they simply could have become bored, etc… Surely the church needs to do their best to love as Jesus loves and to put the needs of others ahead of their own (Rom. 15:1). But I do not wish to always place the blame on the church. Sometimes the reason is simply that other things have captured the attention of the individual.