Heartbreak!

Do you ever wonder what you really care about? It’s not hard to tell if you ask yourself: what has the greatest potential for heartbreak?  

·    Love your stuff? You will be heartbroken when it is taken away by a thief or decay.

·    Love your family? Then you will dread the inevitable separations that come through growth or death!

·    Love the Lord? You will feel heart break when His Name is disgraced by your sinful failure.
Love your friends? You will feel the pain of rejection like a punch to the gut!

I know the ache of a broken heart.  Sorrow can be so deep that it makes me nauseous, robs my appetite, erases my ability to see the sun. Grief is spiritual, too. It can turn worship into a duty, not a delight. In those time, I hang desperately to the promise of God:   "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." (Psalm 34:18, NLT) Is your heart broken today, disciple?

This is not a cliché nor is it just an emotional pat on the back. It is truth to live by: God cares and He understands even that sorrow that defies definition with words!   He does not ask you to ignore your pain, nor does He try to cheer you with jokes or slogans like "The sun will shine again tomorrow!"  He is our Comforter, One who listens when we cry and holds us together with hope.    

Please live cautiously in times of grief. A broken heart leaves us vulnerable to temptation. Many a person in the middle of heartbreak has only deepened his sorrow by seeking solace in the arms of woman other than his wife, by drinking too much, by spending way too much, walking way from a good job, or abandoning faith. Remember, too, it is a short trip from broken to bitter.  It is so easy to justify becoming full of rage and/or vengeful when the heart is filled with grief. When we are tempted to slip into isolation, nursing our grudges and licking our wounds, the Spirit calls us to a better choice: "Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:31-32, NLT)  

There is no heartbreak deeper than that which comes when we fail the Lord. The closer we walk with Him, the greater our sorrow if we should fail Him! Don’t say it could not happen to you. Temptation is ever-present. The sinful nature probes our defenses looking for an opening. None other than the ‘man after God’s own heart’ failed terribly. David's heart was broken by his own perfidy.  When his adultery and the murder he planned to cover it up were revealed by Nathan, the prophet, the king's heart was crushed.  His prayer, more of a heart cry, is one of the most beautiful passages in all of the Bible. Psalm 51 is raw, emotional, and full of hope. 

Be it today or tomorrow, each of us will experience heartbreak. This prayer is worthy of having in our memory. It draws us to the highest, the best Comfort.  

"Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you." (Psalm 51:9-12, NLT)  "The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God." (Psalm 51:17, NLT)

________________________

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

O God my Father

There is no shadow

Of turning with Thee

Thou changest not

Thy compassions they fail not

As Thou hast been

Thou forever wilt be

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning

New mercies I see

All I have needed

Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness

Lord unto me

© 1923. Renewed 1951 Hope Publishing Company \Thomas Obediah Chisholm | William Marion Runyan

CCLI License No. 810055

A Rebel Heart?

The young couple rejoiced in the blessing of God’s provision. In our conversation, he related how his faith was tested during the time of his unemployment, how worry would come over him from time to time. His choice was to adopt the humility portrayed by Job in the face of unfathomable trials.  This man told me, “I put my hand over my mouth,” (Job 40:4) to keep from accusing the Lord falsely! This faith allowed this couple to live at peace. They made their requests of the Lord, but without demand. They were willing to accept what He provided, to let Him lead.

What a contrast to so many who lash out at God when disappointment comes, who question Him and point out His ‘failures.’  The great paradox is that the humble live in peace; the rebels in turmoil. The people of God complained when He told them that He would use a Gentile king to deliver them and that His grace would extend to all nations. The Lord replied to their complaint through the prophet Isaiah: 

“Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, … Does the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you making?’ … Woe to him who says to his father, ‘What have you begotten?’ or to his mother, ‘What have you brought to birth?’

“This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker: Concerning things to come, do you question me about my children, or give me orders about the work of my hands? It is I who made the earth and created mankind upon it. My own hands stretched out the heavens; I marshaled their starry hosts." (Isaiah 45:9-12, NIV)

If we want to trust God for blessings, we must be willing to trust Him in the silences, too. If we praise Him for bringing us the good times, we must thank Him for the dark days, too. Yes, it is hard for me to accept that He allows suffering to continue, that He lets evil roam and ruin; that He does not stop the terrible tyrants who exert their cruel will. But, if He swept all sin and its fruit from the earth with a wave of His hand, how could I stand? Am I guiltless? Are you?

Like Job and my young friend with whom I spoke yesterday, when I cannot see His purposes, I will “put my hand over my mouth” and pray for faith to flourish.  I am not passively accepting fate, but I am placing myself in His hands. In that place of security, I ask to be used to shed light into dark places, to resist evil and seek to bring justice.  Those who live with great faith make a huge difference. Jesus says they are like salt that preserves, light that dispels confusion. They do not know why all things happen, nor are they so arrogant to assume they will know such things on this side of eternity. But, they live in hope of the great reversal of which Jesus spoke. “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. … You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom." (Matthew 5:3-4, 10, The Message)

Let’s give up our rebel heart. With faith let’s become like children of a loving Father. Make no mistake. Our aspiration is not to some kind of Zen-like detachment from the sufferings of this world, nor will we rejoice in evil! Jesus wept over the pain that He visited on people. He cried for relief from His own deepest pain, but in the end His prayer was, “not my will, but Yours!”  Today, make that your prayer and confusion will dissolve into trust, trust into strength, and strength into new depth in His Kingdom.

___________________

Blessings

We pray for blessings,

We pray for peace, comfort for family,

Protection while we sleep.

We pray for healing, for prosperity,

We pray for Your mighty hand

To ease our suffering.

And all the while You hear each spoken need,

Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your healing comes through tears?

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near?

And what if trials of this life

Are Your mercies in disguise?

We pray for wisdom,

Your voice to hear.

We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.

We doubt Your goodness,

We doubt Your love.

As if ev'ry promise from Your Word is not enough.

And all the while You hear each desp'rate plea,

And long that we'd have faith to believe.

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?

What if Your healing comes through tears?

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near?

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the aching of this life

Is a revealing of a greater thirst

This world can't satisfy?

And what if trials of this life,

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights;

Are Your mercies in disguise?

© 2011 New Spring | Laura Stories (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.) | (Admin. by Brentwood-Benson Music Publishing, Inc.)

CCLI License No. 810055

To Infinity and Beyond - Buzz Lightyear

Buzz Lightyear, one of the stars of “Toy Story” the 1995 movie, gave us the phrase – to infinity and beyond. The toy astronaut has seen the outposts in space. He attempts to inspire his fellows in the toybox with his line, as he charges off to each new adventure!  Yes, of course, it is just a story, but…

Jesus really does offer eternity to us. When we are stuck in the mud, eyes to the ground, plodding along – He comes to us with a reminder that though we are made from the dirt and our bodies are destined to decay, there is more beyond.  The disciples gathered around the Passover table and heard of His impending death. The news left them stunned, confused, and sad. Their Lord would die? One of them would be a traitor? Peter, the rock, would become a denier? It was incomprehensible. The shouts of the crowd that welcomed them into Jerusalem, cheering Jesus with loud “Hosannas” (an expression of triumph and joy) were still fresh in their minds. Now He says, “I must leave you. I will be crucified.”

Then He told them that there a promise that would change everything. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”  To infinity and beyond! See past this moment, men. It’s a great statement, but how do I connect with it? I am glad that somebody spoke up. “Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:1-6, NIV)  What they would only come to fully understand sometime later was that He was building a bridge from time to eternity, making it possible for those living in time to exist simultaneously in eternity.

Heaven is often on my mind. It is not that I am escaping my miseries with fantasies of paradise. My life now is made richer when I keep eternity in view. Heaven makes service noble, gives meaning to trials, and helps defeat temptation’s seductions. Because I have a place prepared, I am not overwhelmed with despair. There is no end of the road in sight! Jesus showed that the grave is a door through which I will set up to unending life.

As we walk through Lent, remember that Good Friday is followed by Easter! Though we make much of the Cross and the forgiveness of our sins purchased there, our real hope is the Empty Tomb that confirms His promise that He has room waiting in the Father’s house.

Here’s the word from the Word. Make it yours. Own the Hope.
"If all we get out of Christ is a little inspiration for a few short years, we’re a pretty sorry lot. But the truth is that Christ has been raised up, the first in a long legacy of those who are going to leave the cemeteries. There is a nice symmetry in this: Death initially came by a man, and resurrection from death came by a man. Everybody dies in Adam; everybody comes alive in Christ. But we have to wait our turn: Christ is first, then those with him at his Coming." (1 Corinthians 15:19-23, The Message)

"With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort." (1 Corinthians 15:58, The Message)

__________________

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,

Sing His mercy and His grace!

In the mansions bright and blessed,

He'll prepare for us a place.

While we walk the pilgrim pathway

Clouds will overspread the sky.

But when trav'ling days are over

Not a shadow not a sigh.

When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus,

We'll sing and shout the victory!

Eliza Edmunds Hewitt | Emily D. Wilson

© Public Domain

Words that Give Life

Ed’s face lit up as I commended him. He soaked up my affirmation like dry ground taking in the rain. Despite our 45 year difference in age, I know how he feels. Who doesn’t like being appreciated, having their efforts noted?  

 A conversation that lasted perhaps 20 minutes, one early November morning 25 years ago, stands as a pivotal moment in my life. Many thing had gone wrong, my best intentions had been terribly misunderstood, and many were telling me, by words and actions, that I was finished as a minister of the Gospel. A an older Pastor, a respected leader, sat down with me in the lobby of a conference center.  “I believe in you,” he said. He offered insights from his years of experience, reminded me that time would provide a whole new perspective, that I was not defined by the opinions others had of me, and that God was not through with me. He did not gloss over the mistakes and sins of my life, but he pointed me towards the future. His words were a lifeline that I held onto for the next two years and he was right!

The Word says, “Encourage.”  "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first." (Hebrews 3:12-14, NIV) Encouragement is found in both commendation and correction, in warning and affirming. The word translated ‘encourage’ is, in the original Greek text of the New Testament, “parakaleo,” which means to “stand alongside of another.” One of the titles of the Holy Spirit is “Parakletos” – a variant of that same word. God, the Holy Spirit, comes to stand alongside of us, to give us encouragement. And, we are to do the same for others.

My prayer is that I will consistently be a life-giving man, a person who sees the possibilities in others. I will not become the captive of politically correct speech, of a false ideal of ‘nice,’ that is incapable of challenging failure and sin, yet I want to be, as the Bible teaches, a man who infuses people with hope. 

Here’s a word from the Word. My prayer is that it is a word of true encouragement for you today.

"God didn’t set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ.
He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we’re awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we’re alive with him!
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind.  I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it." (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, The Message)

__________________

Sing them over again to me,

Wonderful words of life.

Let me more of their beauty see,

Wonderful words of life.

Words of life and beauty,

Teach me faith and duty;

Beautiful words, wonderful words,

Wonderful words of Life!

Beautiful words, wonderful words,

Wonderful words of Life!

Wonderful Words Of Life

Philip Paul Bliss

© Public Domain

Power, Death, and Destruction

The story out of Afghanistan yesterday only got worse.  The report of a US Army sergeant going down a village street, kicking in doors, and gunning down civilians;        16 in all, mostly women and children, was beyond heart-breaking. Grim news continues to flow out of Syria where hundreds are dying, caught in the cross fire of a civil war, the flames stoked by money from powers outside of that small nation. The unending conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis meant that they were trading rocket fire, the cycle of revenge and killing unbroken! The demons dance. The profiteers of war rejoice. People die!

Guns and violence are glorified in our culture. Our movies create imaginary heroes who solve major problems with a spray of bullets. Our kids play video games in which they learn to kill efficiently. It is as if the only answer to evil in the world is making more bullets! Politicians afraid to appear weak and willing to exploit the fears of people vote for more ‘defense’ spending, building an ever bigger machine of war, consuming our national treasure and lives in ever greater numbers. And the Church is largely silent; unable or unwilling to challenge the insanity.  Prayers for peace are offered tepidly from a few pulpits. On the whole, Bible-quoting devout Christians seem blind and deaf to the message of the Gospel, which is opposed to war and violence. Jesus said that “peacemakers are blessed and will be called the children of God.” 

God loves life! Those who love Him will highly value life as well. The culture of death is intolerable to one who is filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Murder came, the book of Genesis tells us, on the heels of envy when Cain killed his brother, Abel. Before that murder, we read the Lord’s call to Cain, one we need to hear anew. "Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:6-7, NIV) By the power of the Spirit, our hearts transformed by the Gospel of Christ, we can defeat the temptation to violence, first in ourselves, then in our culture.

Christians need to remember that God defeated evil, not with an awesome display of angelic armies on the loose, but with the offering of His Son on the Cross. In the surrender of Himself to suffering and death, He broke the power of the Devil and in dying gave us life. In that moment of apparent powerlessness, a man of war, the Roman centurion, stood by and uttered those memorable words,  “Surely this man was the Son of God!” (Mark 15:39, NIV) He conquered with love, bold and active; and so must we!

We must not be complicit with this culture of death. We must raise our voice, even if it means ridicule or even, at the most extreme, our own death! We must insist that God loves life – starting with the life of the weakest, the unborn child. We must give witness that He is on the side of the poor and those who have no voice cannot be subjected to violence because they have no defender. We come alongside and stand with them, in the Name of Christ.

Today, prayerfully read this story that Jesus told. My prayer is that in its simplicity, it will pierce us through the heart with Truth. May each of us ask again – “Who is my neighbor?” and hear the answer of Christ.
"But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
(Luke 10:29-38, NIV)