Thursday, March 27, 2014

Lamentations 3 NIV and Matthew Henry Commentary (Concise)

Lamentations 3

New International Version (NIV)

3 ^[a]I am the man who has seen affliction
    by the rod of the Lord’s wrath.
²He has driven me away and made me walk
    in darkness rather than light;
³indeed, he has turned his hand against me
    again and again, all day long.

⁴He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
    and has broken my bones.
⁵He has besieged me and surrounded me
    with bitterness and hardship.
⁶He has made me dwell in darkness
    like those long dead.

⁷He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
    he has weighed me down with chains.
⁸Even when I call out or cry for help,
    he shuts out my prayer.
⁹He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
    he has made my paths crooked.

¹⁰Like a bear lying in wait,
    like a lion in hiding,
¹¹he dragged me from the path and mangled me
    and left me without help.
¹²He drew his bow
    and made me the target for his arrows.

¹³He pierced my heart
    with arrows from his quiver.
¹⁴I became the laughingstock of all my people;
    they mock me in song all day long.
¹⁵He has filled me with bitter herbs
    and given me gall to drink.

¹⁶He has broken my teeth with gravel;
    he has trampled me in the dust.
¹⁷I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is.
¹⁸So I say, “My splendor is gone
    and all that I had hoped from the Lord.”

¹⁹I remember my affliction and my wandering,
    the bitterness and the gall.
²⁰I well remember them,
    and my soul is downcast within me.
²¹Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

²²Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
²⁶it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.
²⁷It is good for a man to bear the yoke
    while he is young.

²⁸Let him sit alone in silence,
    for the Lord has laid it on him.
²⁹Let him bury his face in the dust—
    there may yet be hope.
³⁰Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
    and let him be filled with disgrace.

³¹For no one is cast off
    by the Lord forever.
³²Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
    so great is his unfailing love.
³³For he does not willingly bring affliction
    or grief to anyone.

³⁴To crush underfoot
    all prisoners in the land,
³⁵to deny people their rights
    before the Most High,
³⁶to deprive them of justice—
    would not the Lord see such things?

³⁷Who can speak and have it happen
    if the Lord has not decreed it?
³⁸Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that both calamities and good things come?
³⁹Why should the living complain
    when punished for their sins?

⁴⁰Let us examine our ways and test them,
    and let us return to the Lord.
⁴¹Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
    to God in heaven, and say:
⁴²“We have sinned and rebelled
    and you have not forgiven.

⁴³“You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us;
    you have slain without pity.
⁴⁴You have covered yourself with a cloud
    so that no prayer can get through.
⁴⁵You have made us scum and refuse
    among the nations.

⁴⁶“All our enemies have opened their mouths
    wide against us.
⁴⁷We have suffered terror and pitfalls,
    ruin and destruction.”
⁴⁸Streams of tears flow from my eyes
    because my people are destroyed.

⁴⁹My eyes will flow unceasingly,
    without relief,
⁵⁰until the Lord looks down
    from heaven and sees.
⁵¹What I see brings grief to my soul
    because of all the women of my city.

⁵²Those who were my enemies without cause
    hunted me like a bird.
⁵³They tried to end my life in a pit
    and threw stones at me;
⁵⁴the waters closed over my head,
    and I thought I was about to perish.

⁵⁵I called on your name, Lord,
    from the depths of the pit.
⁵⁶You heard my plea: “Do not close your ears
    to my cry for relief.”
⁵⁷You came near when I called you,
    and you said, “Do not fear.”

⁵⁸You, Lord, took up my case;
    you redeemed my life.
⁵⁹Lord, you have seen the wrong done to me.
    Uphold my cause!
⁶⁰You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
    all their plots against me.

⁶¹Lord, you have heard their insults,
    all their plots against me—
⁶²what my enemies whisper and mutter
    against me all day long.
⁶³Look at them! Sitting or standing,
    they mock me in their songs.

⁶⁴Pay them back what they deserve, Lord,
    for what their hands have done.
⁶⁵Put a veil over their hearts,
    and may your curse be on them!
⁶⁶Pursue them in anger and destroy them
    from under the heavens of the Lord.

Footnotes:

Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.

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Lamentations 3 Matthew Henry Commentary (Concise)

Chapter 3

The faithful lament their calamities, and hope in God's mercies. Verses 1-20 The prophet relates the more gloomy and discouraging part of his experience, and how he found support and relief. In the time of his trial the Lord had become terrible to him. It was an affliction that was misery itself; for sin makes the cup of affliction a bitter cup. The struggle between unbelief and faith is often very severe. But the weakest believer is wrong, if he thinks that his strength and hope are perished from the Lord. Verses 21-36 Having stated his distress and temptation, the prophet shows how he was raised above it. Bad as things are, it is owing to the mercy of God that they are not worse. We should observe what makes for us, as well as what is against us. God's compassions fail not; of this we have fresh instances every morning. Portions on earth are perishing things, but God is a portion for ever. It is our duty, and will be our comfort and satisfaction, to hope and quietly to wait for the salvation of the Lord. Afflictions do and will work very much for good: many have found it good to bear this yoke in their youth; it has made many humble and serious, and has weaned them from the world, who otherwise would have been proud and unruly. If tribulation work patience, that patience will work experience, and that experience a hope that makes not ashamed. Due thoughts of the evil of sin, and of our own sinfulness, will convince us that it is of the Lord's mercies we are not consumed. If we cannot say with unwavering voice, The Lord is my portion; may we not say, I desire to have Him for my portion and salvation, and in his word do I hope? Happy shall we be, if we learn to receive affliction as laid upon us by the hand of God. Verses 37-41 While there is life there is hope; and instead of complaining that things are bad, we should encourage ourselves with the hope they will be better. We are sinful men, and what we complain of, is far less than our sins deserve. We should complain to God, and not of him. We are apt, in times of calamity, to reflect on other people's ways, and blame them; but our duty is to search and try our own ways, that we may turn from evil to God. Our hearts must go with our prayers. If inward impressions do not answer to outward expressions, we mock God, and deceive ourselves. Verses 42-54 The more the prophet looked on the desolations, the more he was grieved. Here is one word of comfort. While they continued weeping, they continued waiting; and neither did nor would expect relief and succour from any but the Lord.
Verses 55-66 Faith comes off conqueror, for in these verses the prophet concludes with some comfort. Prayer is the breath of the new man, drawing in the air of mercy in petitions, and returning it in praises; it proves and maintains the spiritual life. He silenced their fears, and quieted their spirits. Thou saidst, Fear not. This was the language of God's grace, by the witness of his Spirit with their spirits. And what are all our sorrows, compared with those of the Redeemer? He will deliver his people from every trouble, and revive his church from every persecution. He will save believers with everlasting salvation, while his enemies perish with everlasting destruction.

Romans 3 (NIV)

Romans 3 (New International Version, ©2010)

Romans 3

God's Faithfulness

1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.
3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their unfaithfulness nullify God's faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."[a]

5 But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" 8 Why not say—as some slanderously claim that we say—"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is just!

No One Is Righteous

9 What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. 10 As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good, not even one."[b]
13 "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit."[c]
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."[d]
14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."[e]
15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know."[f]
18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."[g]

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.

Righteousness Through Faith

21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

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Proverbs 15 (NIV)

Proverbs 15 (New International Version)

Proverbs 15

1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.

3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

5 A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

6 The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the wicked brings them trouble.

7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.

8 The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.

9 The LORD detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

10 Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die.

11 Death and Destruction [a] lie open before the LORD— how much more the hearts of men!

12 A mocker resents correction; he will not consult the wise.

13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.

14 The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly.

15 All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

16 Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.

17 Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.

18 A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.

19 The way of the sluggard is blocked with thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway.

20 A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

21 Folly delights a man who lacks judgment, but a man of understanding keeps a straight course.

22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

23 A man finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!

24 The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave. [b]

25 The LORD tears down the proud man's house but he keeps the widow's boundaries intact.

26 The LORD detests the thoughts of the wicked, but those of the pure are pleasing to him.

27 A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.

28 The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.

29 The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

30 A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.

31 He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home among the wise.

32 He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding.

33 The fear of the LORD teaches a man wisdom, [c] and humility comes before honor.

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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

AFWIS Joins Operation World in Prayer for the Republic of Cameroon - Africa

Published on Operation World (http://www.operationworld.org)

Mar 26: Cameroon

Join the Prayer Movement

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Cameroon

Republic of Cameroon

Africa

See Prayer Information

Geography

Area: 475,442 sq km
On the continental "hinge" between West and Central Africa Semi-arid in the north, grasslands in the centre, rainforest in the south.
Population: 19,958,351 Annual Growth: 2.29%
Capital: Yaounde
Urbanites: 58.4%
HDI Rank: 153 of 182 (UN Human Development Reports 2009)

Peoples

Peoples: 291 (6% unreached) All peoples
Unreached Peoples Prayer Card

Official language: French; English Languages: 279 All languages

Religion

Largest Religion: Christian

Religion		Pop %	Ann Gr
Christians	10,737,593	53.80	2.4
Evangelicals	1,804,104	9.0	4.3

Prayercast

Challenges for Prayer

Young people are increasingly restive, frustrated by the unchanging political status quo, the high unemployment and the endemic cheating, bribery and favouritism in the education system. Many turn to crime and prostitution, and violent demonstrations are occurring in a country that has never before dealt with such disruptions. Pray for:
a) Effective Christian discipling in churches and by youth and children’s agencies. Little is available. Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) develops Bible study programmes and BCCs for young people. Also, LHM and others run Christian camps and retreats for young people’s discipleship.
b) Student ministry in schools and universities. YFC is a major ministry among young people, especially in the south. GBEEC(IFES) has a group in each university as well as high school groups in about 80 towns. CCCI sees particular fruit with the military and the military academy. AoG, SU, Academy Campus Forum and Campus Jubilee also have active student work. There are 460,000 secondary schools and 1.3 million tertiary students in the country. Christian groups in the north find themselves under increasing pressure from Muslims.
Less-reached peoples. A national survey in this complex nation is an urgent need; training and some research are underway. The Joshua Project lists 15 peoples as unreached. The major challenges:
a) Muslims – a majority in 59 peoples. These peoples comprise 23% of Cameroon’s population and are almost all from the Chadic and Adamawa-Ubangi people clusters. The Gospel Fellowship Association works among almost all of the following groups:
     i The Fulbe have long been the proud rulers of the area. Christians among them have grown from the 10 known in 1991, but they are still few. Several agencies have ministry among them (Pioneers, Baptist, Lutheran Brethren, Gospel Fellowship Association).
     ii The Hausa, Kanuri, Kotoko and Fali. There are few believers among these groups.
     iii The Shuwa Arabs are nomadic, moving between Chad and Cameroon. Only one or two believers are known, and only one agency is known to be trying to plant churches.
b) The many peoples of the Mandara Mountains, 30% Muslim but mostly fetishist. Some church-planting agencies see the beginnings of breakthroughs.
c) The northern plains peoples – Giziga, Dii, Dowayayo and Mefele – among whom several missionaries and churches are at work. They are predominantly animist in their practices, but Islam has made notable inroads in recent years, polarizing these groups internally.
d) The Baka/Pygmies in the southeastern forests have long been neglected, but increasingly they are the focus of Christian ministry by Baka and cross-cultural workers (Anglican Frontier Missions, WorldTeam, SIL, CMFI). Bible translation is a significant need. Spiritual warfare among this highly animist and spiritual people is a key to seeing fruitfulness and growth.
     For an additional 8 Challenges for Prayer see Operation World book, CD-ROM, or DVD-ROM.

More Information

The Operation World book, CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM provide far more information and fuel for prayer for the people of Cameroon.

Lamentations 2 NIV and the Matthew Henry Commentary (Concise)

Lamentations 2

New International Version (NIV)

2 ^[a]How the Lord has covered Daughter Zion
    with the cloud of his anger^[b]!
He has hurled down the splendor of Israel
    from heaven to earth;
he has not remembered his footstool
    in the day of his anger.

²Without pity the Lord has swallowed up
    all the dwellings of Jacob;
in his wrath he has torn down
    the strongholds of Daughter Judah.
He has brought her kingdom and its princes
    down to the ground in dishonor.

³In fierce anger he has cut off
    every horn^[c]^[d] of Israel.
He has withdrawn his right hand
    at the approach of the enemy.
He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire
    that consumes everything around it.

⁴Like an enemy he has strung his bow;
    his right hand is ready.
Like a foe he has slain
    all who were pleasing to the eye;
he has poured out his wrath like fire
    on the tent of Daughter Zion.

⁵The Lord is like an enemy;
    he has swallowed up Israel.
He has swallowed up all her palaces
    and destroyed her strongholds.
He has multiplied mourning and lamentation
    for Daughter Judah.

⁶He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden;
    he has destroyed his place of meeting.
The Lord has made Zion forget
    her appointed festivals and her Sabbaths;
in his fierce anger he has spurned
    both king and priest.

⁷The Lord has rejected his altar
    and abandoned his sanctuary.
He has given the walls of her palaces
    into the hands of the enemy;
they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord
    as on the day of an appointed festival.

⁸The Lord determined to tear down
    the wall around Daughter Zion.
He stretched out a measuring line
    and did not withhold his hand from destroying.
He made ramparts and walls lament;
    together they wasted away.

⁹Her gates have sunk into the ground;
    their bars he has broken and destroyed.
Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations,
    the law is no more,
and her prophets no longer find
    visions from the Lord.

¹⁰The elders of Daughter Zion
    sit on the ground in silence;
they have sprinkled dust on their heads
    and put on sackcloth.
The young women of Jerusalem
    have bowed their heads to the ground.

¹¹My eyes fail from weeping,
    I am in torment within;
my heart is poured out on the ground
    because my people are destroyed,
because children and infants faint
    in the streets of the city.

¹²They say to their mothers,
    “Where is bread and wine?”
as they faint like the wounded
    in the streets of the city,
as their lives ebb away
    in their mothers’ arms.

¹³What can I say for you?
    With what can I compare you,
    Daughter Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you,
    that I may comfort you,
    Virgin Daughter Zion?
Your wound is as deep as the sea.
    Who can heal you?

¹⁴The visions of your prophets
    were false and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
    to ward off your captivity.
The prophecies they gave you
    were false and misleading.

¹⁵All who pass your way
    clap their hands at you;
they scoff and shake their heads
    at Daughter Jerusalem:
“Is this the city that was called
    the perfection of beauty,
    the joy of the whole earth?”

¹⁶All your enemies open their mouths
    wide against you;
they scoff and gnash their teeth
    and say, “We have swallowed her up.
This is the day we have waited for;
    we have lived to see it.”

¹⁷The Lord has done what he planned;
    he has fulfilled his word,
    which he decreed long ago.
He has overthrown you without pity,
    he has let the enemy gloat over you,
    he has exalted the horn^[e] of your foes.

¹⁸The hearts of the people
    cry out to the Lord.
You walls of Daughter Zion,
    let your tears flow like a river
    day and night;
give yourself no relief,
    your eyes no rest.

¹⁹Arise, cry out in the night,
    as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
    in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him
    for the lives of your children,
who faint from hunger
    at every street corner.

²⁰“Look, Lord, and consider:
    Whom have you ever treated like this?
Should women eat their offspring,
    the children they have cared for?
Should priest and prophet be killed
    in the sanctuary of the Lord?

²¹“Young and old lie together
    in the dust of the streets;
my young men and young women
    have fallen by the sword.
You have slain them in the day of your anger;
    you have slaughtered them without pity.

²²“As you summon to a feast day,
    so you summoned against me terrors on every side.
In the day of the Lord’s anger
    no one escaped or survived;
those I cared for and reared
    my enemy has destroyed.”