In Lamentations 3, we read these words: “Why should a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Let us search out and examine our ways, and turn back to the Lord; let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven. We have transgressed and rebelled; You have not pardoned” (39-42).

When we, by our own sinfulness, bring God’s judgments upon us — whether it be financial difficulties, marital problems, health issues, etc. — we are so often quick to grumble and complain against the Lord as though we are undeserving of the troubles which have come upon us.

But why should we complain? What would we receive of the Lord if He dealt with us as we deserve on account of our sins?

Earlier in the chapter, Jeremiah wrote: “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (v. 22-23).

It is for this reason that Jeremiah saw the horrific judgments which fell upon God’s people in Judah and Jerusalem (including upon himself) not as unfairness and injustice on the part of God, for they certainly deserved worse. He saw them as God calling them to examine their ways and turn back to the Lord for mercy and forgiveness!

These same words have an application to us today. Rather than complain when trouble comes and things do not go our way, why not remember that the Lord is being merciful to us — not dealing with us as we deserve on account of our sins but calling us to examine our ways, repent of our sins and return to the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness!

Remember that it is “through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not” (v. 22).

Again, the Bible tells us: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). And how can God forgive us sinners when we acknowledge our sins and look to Him for mercy? “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2).

As you prepare for worship and the reception of Christ’s body and blood, given and shed for you for the remission of sins, don’t be angry at God because of your shortcomings. Acknowledge your sin and unworthiness and look to God to show you mercy for the sake of Christ Jesus and His cross?

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9

God commanded His people to listen carefully and hold fast to this truth. The God of Israel was different than the many false gods of the peoples around them. “Jehovah (or Yahweh) our God, Jehovah is one!” The God of Israel — the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (cf. Psalm 2; Isa. 48:16ff.; Matt. 28:19; John 1) — is one God. He is the Triune (three/one) God.

Though any who reject the truth that Jehovah God — the Father, Son and Holy Spirit — is one Jehovah do not know and worship the true God, we (by the grace of God) know Him — the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is, in part, through the answer of believers like Athanasius and the early creeds of the Church (the Creed of Nicea and the Nicene Creed, as well as the later Athanasian Creed) to the errors of Origen, Arius and others who denied the full deity of the Son and the Holy Spirit or confused the two natures in Christ or misunderstood His person. And, of course, some of those same ancient heresies still trouble the Church today due to false teachers who have fallen into similar errors.

But to just know and profess that God is one comes far short of what God requires of us. It is not enough to just profess to believe that the true God is the Triune God. In James 2:19, we read: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble!”

God would have us trust in Him for our salvation. Jesus said in His high priestly prayer: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). He told his Jewish hearers, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins”; and He then told them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (John 8:24, 58) — identifying Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the God who appeared to Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3). Jesus called upon all to trust in Him and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross for salvation and pointed out that apart from Him there is no salvation (John 3:16-18; 14:6).

Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah God in the flesh (cf. Isa. 9:6-7; Luke 1:30ff.; 2:10-11; John 8:58; Heb. 1; etc.), so loved us that He went to the cross and died for our sins (cf. Rom. 5:8; Rev. 1:5). He paid in full that we might have pardon and forgiveness, and He rose again in victory!

To worship and believe in the Triune God, Jehovah God of the Bible, is to trust in Him for our life and salvation. And then, as a fruit of our faith, it is to love Him with all our heart, soul and strength. It is to treasure His Word in our hearts and to keep His Word continually before our eyes. It is to speak of Him to our children when we sit in the house, when we walk (or drive) down the road, when we lie down and when we rise up (vv. 5-9; cf. Matt. 22:37; Col. 3:16; Psalm 119:11; Eph. 6:4).

The Bible tells us that “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15).

Jesus redeemed us with His holy and precious blood that we might now trust in Him, love Him and serve Him with all our heart, soul and might. And, He also dwells in us by His Spirit and strengthens us that we might truly worship and serve Jehovah God — the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

O God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the one Jehovah, forgive us for our failures to love You, keep Your Word before our eyes continually, and teach our children of You and the salvation You have provided for us in the Son. For the sake of Jesus’ holy life and innocent sufferings and death in our stead, pardon our iniquity and sin, and strengthen us that we might live our lives for You. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:9-14

I think we are all aware of this account told by Jesus. It was directed toward those who were confident in their own works and righteousness and is certainly fitting for all of us to consider.

We could say that the Pharisee thought he was righteous but wasn’t. The tax collector, on the other hand, knew he was a sinner but was counted righteous and acceptable before God. How could this be?

Outwardly, the Pharisee may have appeared to be righteous. As he said, he fasted twice a week, he gave a tenth of all that he had to his church; and he wasn’t an extortioner, unfair in his dealings, an adulterer, or a traitor and thief like tax collectors. But, did He love the LORD God with all his heart, soul and mind? Did he love his neighbor — even tax collectors — as much as he loved himself?

Isaiah wrote: “We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6).

Even our best works are tainted with sin and unclean before the righteous and holy God! Our motives are less than holy and pure, and what we do is not done out of repect, love and trust in the LORD God. And, if we say or think we are not guilty of sin, the Bible tells us that we are deceiving ourselves, “and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). When we think that we are just and righteous before God by our own works and lives, we are not justified before God — we are guilty and stand condemned by God’s law!

What about the tax collector. He didn’t measure up to the demands of God’s law, either. He was a sinner, guilty before God, and he knew it. What did he do? Did he try to appease God’s anger by his works? What does the Bible say?

“The tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’” He confessed before God his sin and unworthiness and received in faith God’s pardon and forgiveness! As Jesus said, “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

What does all this have to do with you? How do you come before God? Are you self-righteous and proud, depending upon all your good works? Or, are you humble and honest, acknowledging your sins and unworthiness and appealing to God to have mercy upon you and forgive you for the sake of Christ Jesus and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross?

Again, the Bible tells us: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). And how can God forgive us sinners when we acknowledge our sins and look to Him for mercy? “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world,” (1 John 2:1,2).

As you prepare for worship and the reception of Christ’s body and blood, given and shed for you for the remission of sins, how do you come? Self-righteous and proud, confident in your works? Or humble and penitent, acknowledging your sins and unworthiness but looking to God to show you mercy for the sake of Christ Jesus and His cross?

Those who humble themselves, confess their sinfulness and look to Christ in faith will go to their house justified and forgiven! God grant that to you for Jesus’ sake! Amen.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:2-3

Jesus’ disciples were troubled over His words that He was about to go from them to a place where they could not yet come (cf. John 13:33, 36). Jesus spoke words of comfort to them, telling them of the many mansions (dwelling places) in the house of His Father in heaven. Jesus was going to prepare a place for them, and He would come again and take them to be with Him forever in heaven.

To prepare a place for His followers to be with Him in heaven, Jesus had to go to the cross, suffer and die for the sins of the world, and then rise again and ascend to the right hand of God the Father (cf. Luke 24:46-47). From there (this exalted position of power and authority), He rules and fills all things for the good of His church; He intercedes for believers and leads and guides them by His Spirit (cf. Eph. 1:20-23; Rom. 8:34; John 14:16-18,26). Jesus continues to work for our eternal salvation; and He is preparing a place for us, that we might be with Him in the mansions of His Father’s house.

And Jesus will come again and take us to be with Him where He is! When He comes to judge this evil world, He will gather up all who have trusted in His name and take them to be with Him forever in heaven!

The Scriptures say: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thess. 4:16-18).

O dearest Jesus, cleanse away our sins with Your shed blood and prepare us to meet You on that glorious day when You come again to gather up Your elect and take them to be with You forever in heaven. Amen.

[Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:18-19

Who is a God like our God? Though He carries out judgments against His own people when they turn aside from His ways and disobey His commandments, “He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.”

Our God delights in mercy. He would rather deal with us in His mercy for the sake of Christ Jesus and his innocent sufferings and death on the cross than to deal with us in His just wrath which we merit under His holy law. And though He chastises us because of our sins, His desire is that we repent of our sins and look to Him for mercy in Jesus Christ.

God tells us, in His Word, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’” (Ezek. 33:11). He tells us that He is “longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

For you and me, this means that God desires to deal with us in mercy rather than in wrath. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to fulfill the demands of the law for us and then to suffer and die on the cross to make atonement for the sins of all — God did this that He might deal with us in mercy. As Micah writes, He subdued our iniquities through the shed blood of His Son.

If we continue on in our sinful ways and do not repent and turn to Him for mercy in the cross of Christ Jesus, He will (and must) deal with us in his wrath. But, if we repent of our sins and look to Him for mercy in the atoning blood of Jesus, He casts our sins into the depths of the sea to be remembered against us no more.

God’s Word assures us that when we confess our sins and look to Christ Jesus and His cross for mercy, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (1 John 1:7 — 2:2). And when He forgives our sins, He also accepts us as His own dear children and gives to us the blessings of life eternal in Christ’s heavenly kingdom (cf. Eph. 1:6ff.).

I, therefore, ask you before God: Do you acknowledge that you have sinned? Do you confess and agree with God that you are guilty and deserving of his wrath and punishment?

Do you trust that Christ Jesus has truly redeemed you from the curse of God’s law? That He fulfilled the law’s righteous demands and then took your sins upon Himself, along with the sins of the whole world, and suffered your just punishment when He died upon the cross?

Do you also believe that Jesus, in the Sacrament, gives you to partake of His body and blood which was given and shed that your sins might be forgiven you?

As a fruit of your faith, do you truly desire and seek God’s help to amend your life and live it in accord with God’s Word?

If you are truly sorry for your sins and look to Christ and His atoning sacrifice upon the cross for pardon and forgiveness, I announce unto you the grace of God and, in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. +

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.