Author: BTP

“I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of His wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light” (Lamentations 3:1-2).

When the prophet Jeremiah wrote these words, he was really referring to himself, and all the difficulties he had passed through while speaking to the children of Israel about their sinful ways. But sometimes in the Old Testament the Spirit of God gave the prophets language that went far beyond their own experiences, and really referred to Christ Himself. That is certainly the case in this chapter.

The Lord Jesus felt very much the pain of being crucified, for it was a most brutal death. However, he felt far more the sufferings at the hands of God, for the Lord Jesus was “the Man” that saw affliction “by the rod of His [God’s] wrath.” It was God the Father Himself who dealt with the whole question of sin in those three hours of darkness, when our Lord Jesus was on the cross. We can never understand what it was for Him to be “made sin” for us, but we can thank and praise Him for all that He endured to put away our sins.

“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly” (Romans 1:26-27).

One final comment on those things which God supposedly does not care about. Another statement is made in the article—“Whether you’re single, married, or have a complicated relationship, God is… not judging your romantic life.” I am not sure what the author means by “a complicated relationship,” but I must point out that God recognizes only one romantic relationship—that of a heterosexual marriage.

Sadly, I have known Christian young men and women who lived together without being married, and have also known Christian men and women who engaged in homosexual relationships. Both of these are condemned in the Word of God, and especially homosexual relationships, as we see in our verse today. Let us not be deceived by some of the modern trends in Western society today; the standards of God’s Word remain the same. God does care about the wickedness of some of those “complicated relationships” that man has invented.

“One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, The Cretians are alway liars, evil beasts, slow bellies. This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:12-13).

Here is another comment in that article about the things that God supposedly does not care about—“God doesn’t play favorites with cultures or judge based on ethnicity or nationality. He appreciates the rich diversity He created and values all people equally.” This statement is also somewhat misleading.

First of all, God did not create culture; man did. Then the world divided up into nations, away back in the book of Genesis. There is some truth in the statement that “God doesn’t play favorites with cultures,” for the early apostles never tried to change the local culture where they preached the gospel, unless that culture interfered with God’s claims. Then, as we see in our verse today, God’s Word judges every culture.

We cannot go against God’s Word by claiming that it is part of our culture. The Apostle Paul did not hesitate to condemn the Cretians for their behavior, even though it was part of their culture. Their practices were a dishonor to the Lord, and they needed to change.

“Using diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, as ye have been also called in one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:3-4 JND).

In that list of things that supposedly God does not care about, it was mentioned that God does not care what denomination we belong to. This is also not true, for if we read the Word of God, we do not find anything about denominations. In the beginning, all believers came together simply as members of the body of Christ. Our verse today emphasizes this, and shows us that all believers should be together, not divided up into different denominations.

It is man who has made the denominations, not God. Also, as we pointed out a few days ago, many denominations hold and teach bad doctrine, and bad doctrine dishonors the Lord Jesus by taking away from His glory, and giving it to man.

If we “use diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit,” as our verse today tells us to do, then we will not want to be part of a denomination, but rather will want to gather together only as members of the body of Christ. The Spirit of God will always gather us to Christ, and to His name alone.

“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

Here in today’s verse we have a warning. God takes notice of all those things we may have done in the past, and has kept a record of them. When we are young we sometimes are tempted to do things without thinking of how sinful they are in the sight of God. This verse reminds us that if we do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we will have to stand before God some day and be judged for them.

Those sins in the past must be accounted for, and we cannot pretend that God does not care about them. We cannot simply “turn over a new leaf,” and think that we will do better from now on. No, God is a God of judgment, and cannot just forget about our past.

World War II has been over for almost 80 years, yet as I write this in 2024, a 99-year-old woman was recently brought to trial in Germany for crimes she allegedly committed as a very young woman under the Nazi administration. If man does not forget the past, surely God is not less righteous than man.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

One of the things mentioned in the list that God (supposedly) does not care about was what we have done in the past. We have all done things in the past that we know were wrong, yet there is nothing we can do to correct those wrong things now. Sometimes the memory of those things is painful.

However, for us who know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, we can be assured that all those sins are gone. They are under the shelter of the blood of Christ, and as our verse today says, God has removed them as far as the east is from the west. Another verse says that God will “cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). We will never see them again, and God will never bring them up again, to judge us for them. What a wonderful salvation we have!

“We also…desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will…that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing” (Colossians 1:9-10).

Recently I happened to see an article on the internet entitled, “17 things God does not actually care about.” The article was trying to encourage people not to be concerned about such things as their body type, whether they were rich or poor, whether they had many natural abilities or only a few, whether they had a good job or a menial job, etc. The entire focus of the article was trying to get people to show love, kindness, sympathy, honesty, etc., rather than being concerned about things that they could not change.

It is true that we should not be overly concerned about things we cannot change, such as our body type, our natural abilities, or whether we are rich or poor. However, God is indeed interested in every aspect of our life, and for us who are Christians, we can be assured that the Lord wants each one of us to use whatever talents and possessions we have for His glory. But there were several things in the list of things on the internet that perhaps deserve a comment.

“I became in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Revelation 1:10 JND).

This verse is the only time in the New Testament where the first day of the week is called “the Lord’s day.” We commonly refer to it as Sunday, but the Bible calls it the Lord’s day. When the expression ‘the Lord” is used in Scripture, it emphasizes the Lordship of Christ over us, and His authority.

The apostle John had been banished by the Roman government to the island of Patmos, and as far as we know, there were no other Christians there. It would have been easy for him to forget which day was the Lord’s day, and evidently John had to make an effort to be “in the Spirit” on that day. But he remembered what was due to the Lord, even if he could not break bread and remember the Lord as he would have liked to have done.

Today it is easy for most of us to attend a meeting to remember the Lord, but then it is also easy to forget that it is the Lord’s day, and perhaps to use the rest of the day for ourselves. Let us remember that it is the Lord’s day, and that we are responsible to use it for Him.

“I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2).

I am sure that these two sisters in Christ, who lived so long ago, never thought that their names would be in the Bible for all to read for generations, telling everyone that they had trouble getting along with each other. How embarrassing! But no, it is there for a reason and for a lesson for us. It is so very important to get along together as Christians. I mean really get along, not just on the surface. The next verse goes on to speak of those laboring with Paul in the gospel. How much better this is, than nursing grudges and hurts. When Christians are working together in the gospel, they usually find it much easier to get along with one another.

Returning to yesterday’s dog sled. If just one of the dogs is not pulling together with the others, the sled may overturn, go off track, land in the water, or go through the ice. The lives of all depend on the pulling together of the team. Let’s remember to “be of the same mind in the Lord.”

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1).

I have always loved the wintertime here in Canada, and for years thought it would be wonderful to participate in dogsledding. But I think the time has passed for me to do that! However, it is beautiful to watch a team of well-matched dogs, running at top speed in response to the commands of their master on the sled.

I saw a quotation once that read, “Unless you are the lead dog, the view never changes!” That meant, of course, that only one dog is in the lead viewing the landscape, and all the others running behind work just as hard, but see only the tail of the dog in front. Not much fun!

The master gives the commands, and the dogs follow the orders. Just the same, our Lord and Master tells us which way He wants us to go. Sometimes we cannot see much of the path ahead, but by faith, if we follow His voice, we will walk or run according to His plan.

At times, the Lord may give us a “lead dog.” He might be the one who tramps down the snowy path, making it easier for those who follow. And…. the sled never goes anywhere well, unless all are pulling together. Lots of lessons for us in a dog team!