A FOUNTAIN OF TEARS
Today’s Reading: Jeremiah 9-10
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
The desolation of one of the ancient streets of Laodicea (in present day Turkey). Today’s reading tells us of Jerusalem becoming “A heap of ruins” (Jeremiah 9:11a).
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Jeremiah 9:1
Oh, that my head were waters,
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah experienced the broken heart of God and he wept! “Jesus wept” (John 11:35), and He also wept over Jerusalem! Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34). The sorrow of Jeremiah is over, but the sorrow of Jesus, because He is alive and He sees all, continues to this very day. Jesus’ compassion continues in His mercy and willingness to forgive us our sins. If we have caused Him to weep over us currently, turn back to Him now. The most often repeated verse in the Bible is, “His mercy endures forever” (the entire 136th Psalm).
According to my son-in-law, Rev. Nizar Shaheen, who reads the Old Testament in the original languages, Jeremiah 10:11 is not in Hebrew but in the universal language of the time, Aramaic. Jeremiah wanted all nations to know that their gods would perish! It was believed that these gods controlled the heavens and the earth, but Jeremiah proclaimed that the Lord God of Israel, the sole Creator of the universe, has sovereign control of it all (read again Jeremiah 10:11-13).
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God of Jeremiah, I recognize that You, and You alone, are the great Creator, and that You, and You alone, took upon Yourself my sin and wrong when You suffered on the Cross. I weep over my sin and over the sin of the world. May I, like Jeremiah, proclaim Your Truth and Your Mercy to the world around me in a way that people can understand. I pray in the Name of the Saviour Who wept over the needs of all people, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I stood in amazement on the street in front of the Ethiopian Orthodox Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital city, as I heard a young priest preaching at the top of his voice that the terrible famine which had devastated the country was the result of the people turning away from God. He did this despite the risk in a country with an atheistic, communist government that had seized power and executed all male members of the family of the late Emperor Haile Selassie. This young man was fearless! He also proclaimed that if the people would turn back to God, He would have mercy on them. Crossroads raised, with matching funds from the Canadian Government, over 7 million dollars for the Ethiopian famine relief. I have no doubt that we were a part of the answer to the weeping prayers of the Ethiopian people. In fact, it was the tears of a former Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, who was seen to weep on the national Canadian news as he visited Ethiopia on his way home from the funeral of Indira Ghandi of India. There was an immediate initiative to act and give to help save lives. “The Wailing Wall” is pictured below. Here, Jews and some non-Jews pray and sometimes weep and wail because of the destruction of Jerusalem. The word “wailing” is repeated three times in today’s reading. Several times during my life, in times of great crisis, I have experienced “wailing,” but not when anyone could hear me. After the death of loved ones in the Middle East, one can often hear the sound of wailing. The people are not ashamed of expressing their extreme grief. These people say that we who live in the west do not know how to grieve properly in order to express our pain. We do tend to keep it all inside and psychologists tell us that failure to express our deep grief is emotionally harmful.
Yours for genuine sorrow for our sins and for those things that break God’s heart!
David
Our former Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, at the “Wailing Wall” in Jerusalem.
In Jeremiah 10:11-13 “HE” did it all. I absolutely agree that people do not take the time to grieve as they should. Many people keep it inside and begin to act out, I’ve seen children do unbelievable things to their bodies after losing a mom or dad and not taking time to grieve. I also feel the pace of our country doesn’t seem to allow time to grieve. I believe that we need to understand more clearly about grieving! It is nothing to be ashamed about and it is very beneficial if we can talk to others, be allowed to cry and wail, and let this take time.
I had a miracle happen yesterday! I posted it! I am still so AMAZED at how God dealt with this situation. Please pray for the young man whose name is Chris! I believe God has something very interesting for his life!
I totally agree with you Sah. My grandson, Jacob, lost his mom a little over six years ago. He was 12 1/2. I became a parent again at age 67 as his guardian. I was suddenly handed this sacred trust to be there to love, help and support him. Living Bible says, “Come to the throne of grace, and stay there”…many times kneeling before the Lord in tears, seeking His Wisdom. The best advise I got was allow him to grieve in his own time and his own pace or the trauma becomes so great that they become suicidal or resort to drugs and alcohol. Starting the Sept 2014 – was his best year. It has been a very slow slow process..and in some ways ongoing. He graduated in June – what a relief! In early January he turned 19 – now taking time to decide what he will do for College or University next September. Internally, he is still catching up emotionally and I continue to beseech God to let him have space as I continue to stand by him as he determines his future steps. His life, his faith and his future is a priority to me as I continue to trust in the Lord to direct Him. God has taught me a lot of lessons through it all. “Through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve Learned to trust in God. Through it all, I’ve learned to trust in God’s own Word.” If you think about, lift Jacob’s name in prayer for on-going inner healing, developing his faith and determining his future…
Bless you and your precious grandson, Jacob, Samuel. I am sorry about him losing his mom. Each person grieves in his or her own way, space, and time. The grieving process is not something that can be forced or scheduled. When my beloved sister, Laura, passed away, 19 years ago, this coming March 29th, I didn’t shed a tear for a year. The emotions just wouldn’t come. When it came time for the crying and for my feelings to come out, it was not at a predicted place or time, and took me by surprise. But did it ever feel good for the lid to burst off the bottle that was holding my emotions inside.
Lord God thank you for placing Jacob in Samuel’s care and bless Samual for taking this responsibility seriously! It is a very difficult situation to look after children in today’s world and when these children have experienced the loss of their parents, there is no acceptable answer when they ask WHY?
Thank you Lord for helping Jacob to complete his schooling and he graduated and is now 19 years of age! Lord I ask that You would speak clearly to this young man, lead him with Your wisdom and guidance and speak to his abilities! Does he have a heart to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with other people? Lord You know his talents! I ask that You lead Jacob into a profession that he would be happy at and that it would give You all the glory and honour! I also pray that Jacob is healed emotionally, and I also pray that Jacob has confessed his sins and realizes the forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lord let Jacob know that he needs to forgive however forgetting is not a bad thing. I pray that when he remembers his mom that he remembers the good things! I pray that he thanks his grandfather for looking after him and praying him
thank You Lord I know that You have a great plan for Jacob and I thank You
Amen Sah!
Amen, David. I have experienced complete wailing. I believe it is a time when the inner depths of our soul have burst and the emotions we have stored for so long, come forward; an emotional shedding, cleansing. The song that keeps playing in my mind, this morning, is a powerful one. Amen, amen. I’m alive, I’m alive, because He lives. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, my sins are gone. Blessings dearest saints, in the Lord. May it be a day of sharing our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ.
You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you. Psalm 86:5
Because He Lives, Matt Maher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqj286qACLA
Thank you Beverlee for that song!
what great Prime Minister we had. We need to continue to pray for our country and the leadership which is going in the wrong direction.
Praying with you, Irene, that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prays, and does not become prayer-less, such as President Obama. We need to keep prayer as the cornerstone of our Canadian government.
I pray regularly, that GOD will raise up men & women who govern our great country, to pray & believe in our LORD & SAVIOR and are willing to follow where GOD leads them as they make decisions.
Amen David! When the Holy Spirit has come upon me, I have experienced wailing as well and it happened three weeks ago at the church altar. There was also a message and interpretation! God bless Prime Minister Steven Harper at the wailing wall. Yes, when I listened to all the things that our Government has to accomplish within a short time, I also saw the need to pray for Prime Minister Trudeau and all politicians as this is a new road for most of them and they are also human. Also for the Toronto minister imprisoned in North Korea and the school teacher in Indonesia. God bless you David and fellow bloggers.
Amen for prayer and support for Former PM Harper who did so much for our country but also for PM Justin Trudeau who has a monumental task as he faces a diversity of huge challenges; also the Toronto Minister imprisoned in North Korea, and the School Teacher – all Christians who are under severe persecution in so many countries. As Bob Pierce prayed, “Let my heart be broken by the thinks that break the heart of God” – when we think of all the things happening in the world, as well abortions, now planning to legally assist suicide in our country – we should all be wailing before God. I am praying this morning, ‘that my heart my be broken” but do I really knowing what I am asking God to do… if we really believe God answers prayer…it is scary..what he may ask us to do…Sorry for commenting so much today. Jeremiah is an amazing prophet. His words affect us. His words are challenges to our world today – a world that accept every other spiritual path or modern man made gods rather than to our Creator God and honor the Name of Jesus, the Name above all names. The christian foundations of our society are deteriorating… and we need to pray more than ever. Samuel
Fellow prayer warriors I have s request for our 7 year old granddaughter who is to have a scope and colonoscopy tomorrow morning. Amelia loves Jesus and I pray she will sense His arms holding her tight. Bless you as you pray.
Holding your granddaughter Amelia up to the Lord, Catherine, for a successful and pain-free colonoscopy and scope, tomorrow morning. Will put her forth in prayer on the blog tomorrow morning, for you, so that you need not worry, dear sister-in-Christ!
Praying that Amelia will get through this procedure with no stress or discomfort. Jesus is with her.
AMEN and AMEN…YES INDEED, WE NEED TO PRAY MORE THAN EVER!!!
Blessings to all . I wasn’t able to post earlier so I don’t know how many will see this. My friend Elizabeth that has terminal cancer, lost her husband on Sunday. We were at the visitation today and tomorrow is the funeral. I would appreciate prayer for her and the family. Thank you in advance. Love to all. Eleanor M.
Lord we grieve for Eleanor and her friend whom we’ve brought before You Lord to heal her of her cancer and now Lord she has lost her husband! Lord Your Word tells us that You won’t give us more than we can handle!
I pray Lord that Eleanor’s friend will be given an extra measure of strength to deal with this loss and Lord I ask that You would heal her cancer and bring the right people to help her through this very difficult time!
Lord bless Eleanor, give her also the energy to be with her friend, a good friend is a great blessing, thank You Lord for Eleanor, give her wisdom and guidance to be able to help her friend but still keep her own health in balance.
Thank You Lord for this day and all its blessings! We pray that Eleanor and her friend will feel the love of God surrounding them at this time.
Thank you so much Sah, your prayer means a lot to me. Praise The Lord that you had your prayer answered yesterday. The Lord is so good to us .
Amen Sah I stand in agreement with you in your prayer and ask for Elizabeth’s healing and for comfort for her and her family.
Yes indeed! we need to pray for our leaders and I especially am asking for prayers for our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau! I am praying that our leaders of our Governments will work together to help our homeless (1/4 million in Canada) and help the First Nations (126) still have no water or sewage treatment facilities. There is an ad where a First Nations man says “if I had water in my home (and he points to his cabin) the same cabin that my mother lived in, it sure would be a good thing. I’ve had to haul water for the last 40 years!”
I wonder if Christians doctors and nurses put on courses for young people teaching them proper sexual conduct according to God’s Word and tellling it like it is: you sleep around and you can become with child, disease or much worse! Something is amiss that young people feel they need to be sexual to have friends and “my friends do it” and I also realize that children need to feel they belong.
It just seems so odd to hear grown men and women who have been fortunate to clean up and they are completely off drugs and alcohol and their story is always the same: as children they felt they were not loved; not valued; they felt they didn’t matter……they felt they were not good enough! They felt when they looked in the mirror they saw an ugly person, and yes we know that the technology of today does everything except build confidence!
Lord I was exactly like the children of today; I knew nothing abaout sex! I didn’t feel loved or care for and I was only 10-11 years of age and alcohol was all around me because my dad made liquor, and the smell was so sweet and I began to drink and it numbed the pain, made way for alot of abuse, but that was the only time it seemed “someone loved me”! After all is said and done I am thankful for everything that God has done in my life! I pray that He gives me ears to listen to those hurting, I pray that He gives me wisdom to speak words of encouragement to others!