Lake Erie Baptist Church

09/07/2026

We live in a fallen, sin-cursed world. That sin results in brokenness.

Broken health, broken bodies, broken relationships, broken circumstances.

You've had your share of brokenness, pain, and tears. We all have.

What does the Bible have to say about our tears? This isn't a comprehensive study (the Bible mentions tears, weeping, and crying many times), but simply three things God's Word states about our tears.

1. Tears are a part of human existence here on earth, and even Jesus wept.

The psalmist laments in Psalm 6:6-7, "I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies."

Jesus wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35), and wept with compassion over the city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). Hebrews 5:7-9 states that Jesus "offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears."

Jesus knows what it means to weep, mourn, and cry tears of deep anguish.

2. God sees and keeps our tears.

"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" (Psalm 56:8) This verse shows that our tears are not meaningless to God. He sees and records each one.

3. One day God will wipe away all tears from our eyes.

In times of deep grief, one of the most comforting portions of Scripture is Revelation 21:3-4, "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."

My friend, it's okay to weep and shed tears. Even your Savior mourned while He walked upon this earth.

But in the midst of your pain, know this:

As a child of God, your Heavenly Father hears every cry of your anguished heart, and He sees every tear you cry.

And one day, He will wipe all your tears away.

For the child of God, the best is always yet to come.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

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09/06/2026

09/05/2026

Have you ever heard the story of the One-Way Missionaries? In the early 1900s, there was a group of missionaries who dedicated their lives to following Jesus, no matter the cost. Instead of packing suitcases, they would use a coffin to transport their belongings to the mission field, purchasing a one-way ticket.

In doing so, they demonstrated their intention to serve Jesus as long as they lived, and to die in their new land.

An amazing example of this level of commitment was a missionary named Peter Milne. He felt the Lord's leading to a tribe of headhunters in the New Hebrides islands of the south Pacific, off Australia's coast. Every missionary that had tried to reach this tribe had been killed.

Undaunted, Peter packed his belongings in a coffin and set out for the islands. He spent more than fifty years preaching the gospel of Jesus to this people group. When he died of natural causes, the tribe buried him and inscribed this on his tombstone:

"When he came, there was no light. When he left, there was no darkness."

What a powerful testimony of a true servant of Christ!

Today, let's determine to spread the light of Jesus in the darkness of this world.

And to keep serving Him, no matter the cost.

"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." (Matthew 16:24-25)

📖 devotional books + biblical encouragement here:

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09/03/2026

A few days ago, I sat down at the front desk in our clinic to enter an appointment into our scheduling system. But as I tapped away on the keyboard, the words did not appear on the computer screen.

What was going on?

I glanced down at my hands.

Oh. My fingers rested on the keyboard of my laptop, and not on the keyboard of the front desk PC. "Well, that's not going to work," I laughed to myself as I switched to the correct keyboard.

It's a simple concept: Input always equals output.

I could type away all day, but if I'm not connected to the office computer, there will be zero output.

The opposite is also true. When I switched keyboards, the words I typed on the keyboard showed up on the screen.

Did you know that input equals output with your heart, as well?

Proverbs 4:23 admonishes us, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

In other words, guard your heart. What you allow into it, will soon flow out of it.

An extreme focus on distressing news and negative media will yield a flow of anxiety and worry.

An input of ungodly entertainment will produce a hardened heart and a desensitization to sin.

On the other hand, a daily diet of time in God's Word, prayer, and godly influences will bring forth a heart bursting with love, peace, joy, and contentment.

Guard your heart carefully, my friend.

For what you allow into it will affect every area of your life.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

📖 devotional books + biblical encouragement here:

📖 amazon.com/dp/1734335041