Do You Cry?

I cry often;  not for myself, not because I am weak, not even because my life is miserable. I am quite blessed, really!  I am not a crybaby. In the first half of my life I seldom cried, careful to maintain a distance from the sorrows of others. Now I find tears in my eyes just about every day for the broken hearts in the flock God has entrusted to my care.  Hidden in the corners of the world where we live many are sad.  I see them more clearly now than I once did. There are the elderly that I visit who are often so lonely. I visited a nursing home yesterday where I found an old saint confused about where she was. I sat by her bed, held her hand, and we cried together as I read the Word to her. There are those whose sins have crushed them. A letter from a young man in jail crossed my desk and as I read his words of regret and remorse, I cried with him.  There are those for whom the future is frightening. A teenage boy called, his voice full of emotion as he described his life, and I felt his angst, my heart moved for him.  There are those who are in crisis. Another person spoke with me about her struggle with anxiety, of trying to find her way through a really hard time, and yes… tears welled up, again!

Do you let the pain of this broken world touch your heart?  Are you willing to empathize, willing to enter into the grief?  Yes, tears can be a cheap substitute for action.  We can choose to wear our emotions openly but never really commit to making a difference. Or, we can weep with those who weep and share their burden, prayerfully and with compassionate action.  Jesus refused to stand apart from those who suffered. He was a strong man who was not afraid of tears and sorrow.  That famous little verse in John tells us that when He saw the grief of Mary and Martha and stood with them at the tomb where their brother’s body lay that He wept!  Then, He prayed!  Life was restored!

When we see people around us with eyes that see like Jesus’ eyes, we will be moved.  Compassion is a powerful thing, compelling us to make a difference. Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, a ministry cares for millions of suffering and poor people, wrote this prayer on the flyleaf of his Bible when we first found himself confronted with terrible poverty. "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God."  Out of his willingness to weep came a vision, and from that vision, emerged a mission that is changing lives.

One day Jesus and his friends were making the trip from Jerusalem to Galilee. He chose to take them through Samaria, a place generally avoided by the devout Jews of that era.  John says that at Noon, He sat down near a well and sent the men into a village to find food.  While he was there a woman whose life was broken, whose heart was bruised, showed up.  He saw her real need, shared the promise of living water with her and changed her life.  When His friends returned they were full of questions, seeing only the obvious, not the hidden need.  Jesus challenged them. "As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time! " (John 4:35, The Message)   See the need, men, and get involved!

See the need!  Some say that ‘ignorance is bliss,’ and perhaps, in one sense, it is. If we choose to avert our eyes from need we can avoid shedding tears of compassion. But, is this God’s way?   Jesus quoted Isaiah as He revealed His Messianic mission. One line stands out and it is not about great glory, but of profound empathy. " The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me… He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted." (Isaiah 61:1, NIV)  We are like Him when we weep with those who weep.

Here’s the word from the Word, a promise of healing. 
"Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God." (Psalm 69:1-3, NIV)  

"But I pray to you, O LORD, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation." (Psalm 69:13, NIV)  

"The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people." (Psalm 69:33, NIV)

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Healer Of Broken Hearts

Is your life full of heartaches and sadness?

Are your dreams all shattered and torn?

There is One who through mercy and suff'ring,

For you ev'ry sorrow has borne.

Do the threads of your life seem so tangled,

That you wish you had never been born?

There is One who is willing to help you,

He knows ev'ry sorrow you've borne.

He's the healer of broken hearts,

He'll mend your shattered dreams.

He'll pick up the threads,

Of your broken life,

And weave them together again.

To your soul He'll bring peace and joy,

A Friend in need He'll be.

The Healer of broken hearts,

Is Jesus of Galilee.

Georgia Stiffler

© 1945. Renewed 1972 Fred Bock Music Company (Admin. by Fred Bock Music Company, Inc.)

CCLI License # 810055

The Saddest Story in the Bible

She was an unfaithful wife, a woman who strayed outside her marriage and home, not just once, but repeatedly. Her husband’s heartbreak was awful to see.  Soon his tears turned into a terrible, justifiable anger.  In his angriest moment, he declared -   “You don’t belong to me!”  “You are not loved!” “You are going to pay for this!”  But, his love was stronger than her infidelity and when she was impoverished, broken, and at the bottom of life’s barrel, he reached out and told her to come home.  He changed his words, and now he says, “You are mine.”  “You are beloved.” “You are forgiven!” Sound like a movie script?  It isn’t.  It is a true story, straight out of the saddest book in the Bible.

Hosea, the prophet, took at wife who broke his heart. At first, she was fine, supported by her lovers, laughing and forgetful of her husband and her children. Then, life collapsed under the weight of her sin and irresponsibility. Her found her at the slave market, paid 15 pieces of silver for her, and brought her home to find restoration.  His book is difficult to read without feeling first disgust, then horror, and finally amazement.  How could he love her so, even after such betrayal?

Why does the Bible contain such a story? 

Hosea’s life was a parable of God’s experience with His people.  “When Israel was a child, I loved him as a son, and I called my son out of Egypt. But the more I called to him, the more he rebelled, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal (the fertility god of the region) and burning incense to idols. It was I who taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped to feed him. 
“But since my people refuse to return to me, they will go back to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria. War will swirl through their cities; their enemies will crash through their gates and destroy them, trapping them in their own evil plans. For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me.

“Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go? … 
My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. No, I will not punish you as much as my burning anger tells me to. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy. “For someday the people will follow the Lord. I will roar like a lion, and my people will return trembling from the west. Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt. Flying like doves, they will return from Assyria. And I will bring them home again,” says the Lord." (Hosea 11:1-11, NLT)

Christian, some of us choose to forget that God is our husband, the Church His  bride.  We choose to forget that we are His by covenant, that leaving Him for other lovers breaks His heart and invites His anger.  “Anger,” you ask? “God cannot be angry, He is loving.”  Oh, but He does grow angry when we abandon Him for the trinkets of life, when we leave His embrace.  But, as we learn from Hosea and many other passages in the Scripture, His love is amazingly deep.  His desire is our return.  “Come home,” He says.   Listen to God’s words about His people then and hear His love for us still.  “And now, here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to start all over again. I’m taking her back out into the wilderness where we had our first date, and I’ll court her. I’ll give her bouquets of roses. I’ll turn Heartbreak Valley into Acres of Hope. She’ll respond like she did as a young girl, those days when she was fresh out of Egypt. “At that time”—this is God’s Message still— “you’ll address me, ‘Dear husband!’ Never again will you address me, ‘My slave-master!’" (Hosea 2:14-16, The Message)

I am so thankful for the Gospel of Christ.  That story is not one that glosses over the rebellion of humanity, nor does it teach us that God chooses not to know our sins. He sees. He is angered, but He loves. "God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s judgment." (Romans 5:8-9, NLT)   Will we respond with love, with fidelity, giving Him all our love – heart, soul, mind, and strength?

Here is the word from the Word.  Jesus, the Lord, speaks to His Church with a call to ‘come home.’  "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." (Revelation 2:2-5, NIV)

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Lord I Need You

Lord, I come, I confess.

Bowing here, I find my rest,

And without You I fall apart,

You're the one that guides my heart.

Lord,I need You, oh, I need You.

Ev'ry hour I need You.

My one defense, my righteousness,

Oh God, how I need You.

Where sin runs deep Your grace is more.

Where grace is found is where You are.

And where You are, Lord, I am free.

Holiness is Christ in me.

Where You are, Lord, I am free,

Holiness is Christ in me.

So teach my song to rise to You,

When temptation comes my way.

And when I cannot stand, I'll fall on You.

Jesus, You're my hope and stay,

And when I cannot stand, I'll fall on You.

Jesus, You're my hope and stay.

Lord, I need You, oh I need You.

Ev'ry hour I need You,

My one defense, my righteousness,

Oh God, how I need You.

Christy Nockels | Daniel Carson | Jesse Reeves | Kristian Stanfill | Matt Maher

© 2011 sixsteps Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

Sweater Weather Music (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

He will make you beautiful!

My wife surrounds me with beauty. She is always neatly and attractively dressed, simply yet beautifully.  The atmosphere in our house is always inviting; ordered, clean, and prepared, so that I love to be there!  She is a woman with a beautiful spirit, godly and kind.  I try not to take any of that for granted, realizing that the life of beauty that I enjoy requires significant effort to create and maintain.  Some people like to ‘get away’ to enjoy the beauty of a resort.  Bev makes our home a beautiful retreat for me. How blessed I am.

The power of beauty is sometimes overlooked.  It can soothe a troubled soul, heal a broken heart, comfort those who mourn. Why do you think that we play music and bring flowers to funerals? We know that the beauty found in those things are helpful, a bridge to carry us over our grief.  Beauty inspires us, too.  We walk in the natural beauty of Creation and our soul is renewed. We enter a building created for beauty and our heart soars. When we spend time around a person who has become beautiful in spirit, our hope is strengthened.

Beauty is a delightful gift. We are irresistibly drawn to it and, when our hearts are full of God’s Spirit, we will desire to create beauty, just as He does. The opening lines of the Bible speak of His love of beauty. "The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface." (Genesis 1:2, NLT)  Then, the text says He called Light into existence. He spoke the seas and mountains into being. He gave flowers, trees, and all living things their beginning.  Then, we learn that "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7, NIV)  The whole of those texts are poetic praises of the amazing beauty that poured from the mind of God!

On this Monday morning, let God, the Beautiful One, bring beauty into your life.  Jesus quoted Isaiah as He described His mission.  He said that He came to “provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3   Meditate on those phrases.  Each is a promise of restoration, calling the beauty made by the Spirit from the chaos that comes from sin.

What we experience as ‘beauty’ will vary to some degree, but we all love the beauty of virtue.  No matter our age, sex, race, or culture – we recognize the beauty of love, of kindness, of a gentle heart, of goodness. In the same way that a gorgeous garden does not spring the earth without the attention of a gardener, those things do not flourish without our application of ourselves.  God has given us the seed and the tools of His Spirit. Now, we are privileged to create beauty. Will we?

Let Him make you beautiful today. Share that beauty with the world where you live.  Then, as Isaiah said, you will be one “planted by God to display his glory. " (Isaiah 61:3, The Message)

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Beautiful Things

(play it with this link)

All this pain,

I wonder if I'll ever find my way?

I wonder if my life could really change,

At all?

All this earth,

Could all that is lost ever be found?

Could a garden come up from this ground,

At all?

You make beautiful things,

You make beautiful things out of the dust!

You make beautiful things,

You make beautiful things out of us!

All around,

Hope is springing up from this old ground.

Out of chaos life is being found

In You!

You make me new,
You are making me new.

You make me new,

You are making me new.

CCLI Song # 5665521

Lisa Gungor | Michael Gungor

© 2009 worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055