No Lament

Scripture

But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.

~Luke 19:41, NLT

Quote

The one virtually foolproof way for getting noticed in our culture is to do something bad–the worse the act, the higher the profile.

~Eugene L. Peterson

Every where I went last Wednesday, the TV’s were covering the tragic school shooting in Texas. Then the following day I read Peterson’s devotion and the quote above. David wrote more than half the Psalms and over half of those he wrote are laments. A lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow. Between the ages fifteen and thirty, David lived on death’s door step. Saul hunted him like he was an animal. Then when David’s life became more secure, he continued to face loss and disappointment. In all these things David was honest and he poured his heart out to God. Tears stained the parchment on which he wrote many of his Psalms. This is what we are missing today–there is no lament. There is no grief and sorrow over sin. Matter of fact, the only sin in our present culture is to call sin a sin. On the wake of these tragic events, news commentators pontificate, congress enacts new legislation, presidents create a new bureaucracies at tax payers expense. FEMA was born out of tragedy and FEMA is corrupt. But we don’t mention the word sin or talk about the real problem, which is sin.

There is a huge elephant in the room and we refuse to talk about it. The elephant is sin. Sin is the problem but it is politically incorrect to talk about sin. There is no lament because we do not take truth seriously. The Bible has become just another book and human life is no longer sacred. Instead of lamenting over our sin and the destruction it brings, we laud sin and glorify the sinner. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because He came from heaven to visit them, yet they left Him standing at the door and refused to invite Him inside. Instead of getting heaven’s best, they got the world’s worse. The Romans laid siege and Jerusalem was totally destroyed. Those last months inside the walls of Jerusalem were the most horrible in human history. The Jews inside the walls resorted to cannabilism and worse and the sad thing is–it did not have to be this way. All this happened because the Jews refused to repent and turn to Christ. When we turn away from God, we turn away from creation to disintegration and chaos. The wages of sin is disintegration. Christ is the answer; not humanism or communism.

Extra

I do thank and praise the LORD for another good day of worship and rest. I came straight home from church, ate a sandwich and went to bed. Our attendance was down drastically. I have a lot on my mind today and have not decided what I need to do most. I definitely plan to visit the grave of Jon Erik Loney. This is Memorial Day, not a holiday. A lot of folks get the two confused. Jon was killed in 2006 in operation Iraqi Freedom. His memorial service was conducted at Iron Man Baptist Church. He was a graduate of Danville High School. Jon was awarded a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Today I am remembering Jon Erik’s sacrifice and his families grief over his loss. Think of all the moms and dads today who will not be celebrating because their son or daughter did not come back home alive.

I attended the memorial services for all three of these young men. Joshua Rath’s service was at Calvary Assembly when it was on the Beltline. Jonathan Smith’s service was at the Funeral Home on Eva road just before you get to 157 in Cullman. I will tell you what I noticed about all three. There was no one in attendance from the State Department. Are you telling me that a governor, a representative or a Senator is too busy to attend the service of a fallen hero. They ought to be ashamed. We are free today because of boys like the ones above; not because of politicians like the ones in Montgomery and Washington.

 

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