July 1, 2024 

Today's Reading: Lamentations 3:22-33 

Daily Lectionary: Joshua 6:6-27; Acts 10:18-33

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Every day, we go through the motions of our daily routine– wake up, jog, make coffee, have breakfast, wash, rinse, and repeat. But some days, memories of our past mistakes and sins creep up on us, making us feel hopeless and weighed down. Read all of Jeremiah's words in Lamentations chapter three. Up until our appointed verse, Jeremiah's lament is all over his sin and the wrath of God. He, too, remembers and despairs over the sins of the past. “Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. My soul still remembers And sinks within me.” (Lamentations 3:19-20, NKJV).

 It takes 22 verses for Jeremiah to get to the mercy and promises of God. God's message to us is clear, “Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,... they are new every morning;” (Lamentations 3:22a; 23a, NKJV). This mercy has been poured for you freely by the blood of Jesus. The same blood that has washed you clean in your Baptism. As we wake up each morning, let us remember that we are baptized into Christ. You have been marked with the sign of the cross on your forehead and heart. This mark is permanent, a promise from the blood of Christ that can never be removed. 

Your Baptism is a reminder that there is forgiveness for all sins, and your past mistakes are no longer remembered by the Lord. They have been drowned in the depths of the sea, and as far as the east is from the west, they are no longer remembered. This is the faithfulness that Jeremiah speaks to himself and to the sin-ridden people of Israel. It is the faithful love of God that is here for you every morning. 

So try a new routine! Before the coffee pot turns on or you put on your jogging shoes, remember your Baptism daily. When you wake up, make the sign of the cross, say the Lord's prayer and the Creed, and remember that you are a child of God. You are changed, and no matter what the day holds for you, God's merciful forgiveness will never be consumed; He is faithful to you. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Sin, disturb my soul no longer: I am baptized into Christ! I have comfort even stronger: Jesus' cleansing sacrifice. Should a guilty conscience seize me Since my Baptism did release me In a dear forgiving flood, Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood? (LSB 594:2)

-Rev. Kent Schaaf is pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Little Rock, AR.

Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, Ky.

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