Caffè Americano

¹ 

Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

² For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.

³ He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

⁴ Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.

- Isaiah 53:1-5

My four year old daughter asked me today to make her a coffee. "But don't put any of that bad stuff that you put in it last time"

That "bad stuff" that I put in it was coffee. She wanted milk and french vanilla creamer and I put the smallest bit of coffee in it and it really bothered her.

Anyways today I made her a "coffee" that was just milk with french vanilla creamer.

I think Christianity in North America is a bit like this. Some people want to be Christians without any trouble, trials or tribulation. Trouble in this world would be hard enough on its own, it would be extremely disheartening if you expected it to be all sugary.

One of my sisters once said to me, "I think God is more concerned with our character than our happiness". Things might make more sense looking at our lives in this world through that lens.  

Thankfully Christ has overcome the world.

Up from the stoney ground

Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men; so shall He sprinkle many nations.

Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.
Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. - Isaiah 52:13 - 53:7

The youth pastor at our church preached recently on Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and then how He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. He drew a connection between that and the common saying tt March sometimes comes in as a lion and goes out like a lamb... I have never thought about that before.
 
This year where I live, March came in like a lion, roared most of the month and then went out like a lion as well. Perhaps thats fitting as well. Jesus allowed Himself to be mocked, spit upon, tortured until ultimately His body was marred more than any man. Throughout all this and when He defeated death and ascended into heaven He was definitely still the Lion of Judah. This makes what He willingly endured even more amazing.
   
But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.

He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour. - John 12:23-26

Lamentation #3

The LORD is my shepherd I shall not want (Ps 23:1)
He has been to me like a bear lying in wait, like a lion in ambush (Lam 3:10)

Many believers assert that God intends for us to live healthy wealthy, and prosperous lives. These people will quote scriptures they believe supports this belief but tend to ignore others that don’t. Most people know the 23rd Psalm but how many know the 3rd Lamentation? Not as many I imagine and I can understand why. David in the 23rd Psalm described God as a shepherd who provided guidance, protection and fulfillment. Conversely, Jeremiah in Lamentations 3 described God as a hunter who attacked and injured him.

I know God has provided the deliverance and ultimate victory for our eternal souls through His Son Jesus Christ but our temporal bodies are dying every day. Moth and rust will decay every worldly possession that we have and if your heart is found with those treasures you’re in danger of losing your soul. It disturbs me when Christians say if you're sick or suffering that you musn't have enough faith or something. Jesus promised us that we would have trouble in this world. Recently, a Christian musician lost one of his children in a tragic accident. This affected me so keenly that I avoided listening to his music for awhile because I was uncomfortable with the feelings of sorrow and regret. Their family doesn't have that luxury and they have clung to their hope in Jesus Christ.

What is the reason for suffering? The best answer to that is found when you see the result of suffering. People who have everything they need don’t tend to go looking for God but when faced with terrible adversity they tend to either curse Him or cling to Him. Jeremiah also chose the latter.

This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him!" The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. - Lamentations 3:21-25