“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

These verses are comforting. They are reassuring.

What is astonishing is not these words, but these words in the context of the chapter:

“I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of the LORD’s wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long…he has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead…I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me…YET THIS I CALL TO MIND AND THEREFORE I HAVE HOPE. Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Jeremiah 3:1-3, 5-6, 19-23).

God’s compassion and faithfulness are not negated because of suffering, darkness, bitterness, or hardship. Even in suffering and darkness, bitterness and hardship cannot strip away God’s compassion and faithfulness toward us.

God is compassionate and faithful toward us not only in times of joy and light, but even in suffering and darkness. And that’s good news. There is never a place or a time when God’s compassion and faithfulness is not present.

The suffering that the writer of Lamenations is describing is the result of Israel and Judah’s generational unfaithfulness to God. The suffering is the result of the choices and decisions of Israel and Judah, it’s the result of their rejection of God and God’s ways.

But even in our rejection of God, God continues to be compassionate and faithful. God continues to call on his unfaithful people to repent and return.

What amazing words of comfort and reassurance.

God loves you. Repent and return. That’s an open invitation.

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).

Happy New Year!!!

As you start the new year, I am sure you have been thinking about resolutions to make this year better than the years before. Making resolutions is a good thing. If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to consider doing so as soon as you read the entry for today.

Look at the verse from today. It says something remarkable about Jesus. Think about it. We’re talking about Jesus – Jesus who is fully God and fully man. Jesus who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Look at what the gospel writer Luke tells us about Jesus:

“And Jesus grew…”

WOW!!! Jesus grew!

Listen if Jesus grew, don’t you think we ought to grow? It’s not enough for us to just show up to church. Showing up to church is great. It’s a fantastic starting point. But we need to do more than show up. We need to grow up. We need to grow in our faith, our commitment, and our impact.

The text tells us Jesus grew in three ways. It would be really wise to include these three areas of growth for your personal resolutions for 2025:

• Jesus grew in wisdom
• Jesus grew in stature
• Jesus grew in favor with God and man

Jesus grew in wisdom. Jesus continued to grow in his understanding of who he was in light of who God is. How did he grow in his wisdom? Through growing in the knowledge of God through God’s word. Today is a fantastic day to start a Bible reading plan for the year. Here’s a plan that will take you through the entire Bible in one year: https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/60-the-one-year-bible.

Jesus grew in stature. This isn’t just talking about physical girth. On the other hand, if it were, most of us already have that one covered. We don’t even have to work at it. We’re experts at growing our physical girth. What this has in mind is our knowledge. Jesus grew in knowledge. How can you grow in knowledge? Commit to reading a book for ten to fifteen minutes a day. If you do that, you will be able to read one book every month. Imagine if you read a book about cooking every month for the next twelve months. Do you think you might know how to cook better? What about a book a month about God-honoring leadership? Or about God-honoring parenting? Marriage? Ten to fifteen minutes a day. You can do it. Grow in knowledge.

Jesus grew in favor with God and man. This is talking about impact. Jesus increased his capacity to make an impact. Commit to adding value to the people in your life. Add value to your family. Add value to your friendships. Add value to your company, your school, your neighborhood. AND add value to your church. Get involved. Increase your giving of time and talents. That’s how you add value. That’s how you increase your impact. And your church needs you. Commit to growing in your impact.

Can you imagine how much you will have changed in the course of 2025 if you read through the Bible, read twelve books, and increased your commitment to add value?

MY GOODNESS! That would be an awesome 2025.

So make it happen! Happy New Year!!!