SIGHT AND SOUNDS OF THE HEART

John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled......

As I lay on the table with the cardiac technician, Janet, rubbing her stylus over my chest to record the shape, movement, and sound of my heart, I was reminded of how everything in my body is dependent on the function of this organ.  I began to compare this to our Christian life in which every part of our life with Christ is dependent on the condition of our spiritual heart.

In our culture the biblical “heart” can be translated mind, will and emotions, the seat of our being.  We live in a world of “heart trouble” for sin damaged our heart from the beginning. People’s minds are full of lies; their wills are enveloped in “I can’t,” and their emotions control them instead of them controlling their emotions.  Until we transfer our heart to Jesus’ control we will continue to have this “heart problem”....seeing everything from our selfish me, myself, and I perspective.  Until my heart beats in rhythm with His it will never be completely healthy. He tells us in Proverbs 4: 23 “Watch over your heart with all diligence for from it flow the springs of life.”

What does God see as He looks into my heart? One likeminded, whose heart beats in rhythm with His or one whose heart beats in rhythm with the world around me? 

Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Devotions For Different Occupations

The Nephrologist

II Cor 5;17  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, [he is] a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

My training has given me ways to treat kidney diseases.  Many times the disease destroys the kidney to the degree that it cannot function enough to sustain life.  In our lifetime we have been privileged to be able to put our patients on a life support called kidney dialysis. The patient is put on a machine for 4-6 hours on several days a week.

One day while reading Ezekiel 36: 26-27 about God giving us a new heart, I was reminded of the great joy our patients experience when kidney transplants became available. It is a wonderful analogy of the Old Testament sacrifices and temporary cleansing being like a dialysis machine and the contrast we have in the New Testament of God giving us a new heart being like a new kidney with a onetime placement of internal continual cleansing...free from a machine or continual animal blood sacrifices.

Just as the donor of a kidney (living or dead) offers a onetime sacrifice for the patient’s internal cleansing, Christ offered Himself for our continual internal cleansing.

Heb 7: 26  For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;  27  who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the [sins] of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

NEW WARDROBE

Col:12  And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;  13  bearing with one another, and forgiving each other.

My dear friend has lost a considerable amount of weight and her old clothes don’t fit her any longer. She has to shop for a complete new wardrobe with a much trimmer look.

Jesus tells us to “put off” many old characteristics which don’t fit us anymore as Christians.

But like my friend as she went through her old wardrobe, we may be reluctant to part with our old favorites or garments that cost us greatly.  But with a fresh new look and a healthy new life style before her, she is doing just that.  She is also not settling for just any new garment, but choosing ones that enhance her new look and feeling about herself.

Christ tells us to put on the very qualities He wears and walk among others with a new heart and harmony in our relationships with others: family co-workers and other relationships.

Just as she adds tops, dresses, slacks, underwear, and even pajamas to her shopping list, we have to add compassion, kindness, humility, patience, gentleness, and love to our moral wardrobe. This new underwear will not be seen by others, just as our some of our new characteristics and attitudes from the Holy Spirit may not be seen by others, but they are the foundation on which we build our new wardrobe to be worn at home, at work, everywhere we goes and our new characteristics will be “worn” as we walk before all the people in our lives.

 Eph 4:23  and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,  24  and put on the new self, which in [the likeness of] God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

(322)

All It Takes Is a Word

ALL IT TAKES IS A WORD

Have you ever had a word grab you?  Yes, I mean just grab your attention and compel you to look at it.  Maybe out of a conversation or something you are reading?  It startles you and you begin to roll it around in your mind and look at it from different perspectives.  It begins to change shape and fit in different places and you begin to build around it.

This is what writing is to me.  I heard the word “continuing” this morning in a conversation and I don’t know where it will go but I will be expecting God to build on it as I listen quietly for what He gives me to put around it; just as a child builds with Lego pieces, fitting them here and there until they suit what is in his mind.

This afternoon I read another word that halted my reading...”answers.”  I had just finished a devotion in which I used the words “God answered” and I began to remember how many times He had answered me, sometimes long after I asked the question...more words!

Thank You, Father for words.  They are the “things of life.”  They wound; they encourage; they create tears and laughter; they entertain; they reveal truth; they show emotions; they show love and hate.  Sometimes they reveal your age.  They cause trust and distrust.  They prod us on; they convict; they condemn; and they show forgiveness and grace!  They swirl around in our minds like ice skaters.

I love them for what they do in my life.  I am reminded of John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”    Who is this Word that was with God and was God?  It was Christ Jesus!

How appropriate that You, Lord, embody man’s way of communication, with words!  Even sign language has word meanings.  Without them, we are isolated; Without You we are isolated, unable to communicate fully with one another or with You.

Thank You, Lord, for words!!!

  

His Mysterious Ways

His Mysterious Ways

God uses many diverse ways to speak to us to draw us unto Him.  Several years at an all day ladies retreat at my church He allowed me to see myself in a truer light than I had previously been able to admit.

It was a beautiful fall day.  We had listened to a speaker and had fellowshipped around a good lunch.  Then we were given instructions for the rest of the day.  It was to be an afternoon of silence and reflection.  We were to go somewhere on the church grounds and spend the time alone, without any distractions, and write our assignment.  Whenever we felt that had been accomplished we were free to go home.

Our assignment: Write in your own words a description of your relationship with God.

I settled down on a towel I spread out on the grass with my back against a tree.  It was warm; other women were dotted around the grounds, but it was silent, except for the birds.

Where to begin?  I doubted the very existence of God...No, I hoped He was there, but who could be sure?  I had a very hard time believing a lot of the Bible.  I had been taught evolution and that made creation and the miracles hard to swallow.  God?   God?  What is my relationship with You?

Years before, in a high school Sunday school class, I had been convicted by the teaching that God wanted nothing less from us than total commitment.  Was that what I was fighting?  Was that why I argued that the Bible could not be true?

Then as I sat there sorting out my thoughts, a picture began to form in my mind.  God was holding out a large gold cross to me.  But my hands were full.  I was carrying a giant silver “I.”  It kept getting tarnished and I was continually rubbing and polishing it to make it look good.  The gold cross was beautiful and didn’t tarnish, didn’t have to be cleaned up.  I wanted it.  I really did.  But in order to take it I would have to put down my big silver “I.”  I couldn’t.  I was not willing to do that.

I didn’t sit there much longer.  I had done the assignment.  I gathered my things and headed for the car.  At home I stuck it all in a drawer and tried to forget it.

About a year and a half later, I came across what I had written.  What a relief!  In the time since writing that, God had slowly led me step by step to be able to know Him and trust Him so I could put down that heavy tarnished silver “I” and pick up His golden cross....and you know His burden is light!

That is another story in itself.

ENTERING HIS REST

Entering His Rest

Phil 4:7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Are you troubled?  Do you crave rest in your soul?

Unless you make regular time and room for quiet communion with God, it will not be God that leads you.  It will be people, pressures, fears, doubts, and the world’s values.

Don’t misunderstand me;  people, pressures, deadlines, and legitimate responsibilities must be attended to, but they must never drive or motivate you!

You must find inner rest.  What troubles us most is not the outside circumstances, but what we find within ourselves...the inner struggle.

So I urge you, build an island of quiet within yourself; carry the calmness within you.  Hold in your heart this quiet place of God’s rest.  It is only entered into by faith, by knowing His character, and by realizing His great love for you.

The only way you can know of His great love for you is by digging deep into His Word, for He longs for you to know Him well.  He is not hiding from you.  He has opened His heart to you if you will take the time to learn of Him.

Now acquaint yourself with Him and be at peace;

Thereby good will come to you.

Job 22:21 (Webster’s translation)

NECESSARY LOSSES

NECESSARY LOSSES

Malachi 3:6 "For I, the Lord, do not change;

A friend is moving away.  It is hard to lose a likeminded friend.  I have lost several through the years.  So I face another change in my life, another loss.  It seems like a continuous cycle.

I remember a phrase I read years ago when I was young in my Christian faith...”necessary loses” and  I had asked God at that time “Why are they necessary?  What does it accomplish?”

And of course after many years, many loses and many changes, I can answer my own question!  It accomplishes greater trust in Him who never changes and who turns losses into gains.  Have I learned from my losses?  Yes, I have learned that though I do not know the plans He has for me, He does, and they are for a future and a hope.  (Jer. 29: 11  'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.).   I look with great expectation for the next gain He will bring about from this loss.

Hebrew 13:8  Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday and today, [yes] and forever.

Jobs Well Done :The Defense Lawyer

The Defense Lawyer

I John 2: 1  My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2  and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for [those of] the whole world.

As a defense lawyer in God’ service, my job is to provide defense for the accused.  My part is not to sit in judgment, that belongs to Another. But somehow judgment is part of my sin makeup.  I pray for impartial reasoning as I seek truth and try to see my fellow men who are accused as You see them.  In the back of my mind is the fact that we all are guilty before our heavenly Judge and He provided for us (at His own expense) our Advocate, who also paid our penalty.  As the prosecution lawyer presents all the charges against my client, I am reminded that we also have an “accuser” before God.  But our Advocate tells Him “I have paid their penalty.  Release them in My custody for My Spirit will become their Parole Officer.”

 Father, help me do my job as defender with diligence so that I will hear Your words  “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

God's Psychiatry Chapter

God’s Psychiatry Chapter (part 1)

Phil 4:6-9 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  8  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.  9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.

How many of us are anxious, fearful, doubting or complaining? God never intended for us to be miserable in our Christian walk.  His plan is for us to live with peace, joy and contentment in all our circumstances.  How do we do this???

It all comes down to our thought life!  Where do your thoughts take you?  Into dark places, into fearful “what if” places?  Or into the abundant life God intends for us.  I have had to practice taking every thought captive and putting them through the sieve of Phil 4:8.

It has bought about a radical change in my outlook, in my ability to pray, to see good in everything, and to be thankful in situations that look impossible. The world we live in is full of discouragement and we must choose to break the old thought patterns and control our thought life.

II Cor 10:4  for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.  5  [We are] destroying speculations (and vain imaginations) and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and [we are] taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

Rear View Mirror

Why is it so much easier to see God's hand at work in our lives"after the fact" than when we are living through the situation? I believe it is because we are more influenced by our emotions and feelings than we are by our knowledge of His character and ways.
For years I struggled with being consistent about having a quiet time---a time when I put aside every other thought or responsibility and paid attention to my Lord. I would have good intentions and follow through for a few days, sometimes even for a few weeks, but then let other things get in the way.
I cried out to God, "Why can't I follow through with my intentions? You know I want to be close to You, to have a more intimate relationship with You...Why can't I be consistent?"
Silence....from God, but not disinterest or neglect or rejection, for He heard and He was at work. That was several years ago. In the summer of 1995 we were spending a week with friends in Wisconsin. I fell down the steps in the middle of the night going to the bathroom. I landed on three steps bump-bump-bump- right between my shoulder blades and yes it crushed two vertebrae. Although there were two doctors in the house the break was not diagnosed until a week later when I was in so much pain that I finally saw a doctor and was put into a back brace for six weeks. A year later my internist suggested I have a bone density test. It showed that I had considerable bone loss. I was shocked for I had been taking hormones, calcium and exercising for years, all the things to prevent osteoporosis. I immediately started taking Fosamex--a medicine to stop bone loss and reverse it.
But it had to be taken every morning with 8 ounces of water and the patient must sit or stand for 30 minutes before eating or drinking anthing else.
What was a very inconvenient situation turned out for my good, just as Paul said that his being in jail had turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. (Phil 1:12) {for from jail Paul wrote to the churches many of his epistles that we study today} and as Joseph told his brothers in Gen 50:20 "You meant it for evil but God meant it for good."
How did this turn out for my good? Because I had 30 minutes every morning that I could sit down and meet with my Lord. This began to run into 45 minutes or an hour or more, as I had a greater desire to meet with Him and hear what He spoke into my heart.
After several years, they developed a pill to be taken every week instead of every day, but by then my quiet time had become a deeply ingrained habit in my life.
Years ago I ran across a saying that I put in my Bible to remember when things were hard...."Never despise the circumstances that bring you closer to the Lord." My back still hurts when I get very tired or strain it, but it serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness in answereing prayers and doing it in unexpected and inspiring ways...ways we could never imagine.
I Cor2:9... just as it is written: things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him."

The "Forerunner"

Heb 6:19-20  This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both secure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, 20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

It was night, dark, no moon and driving on a two lane state road in the county seemed a lonely place to be.  I was not familiar with the road; it's turns, hills and crossroads.  This slowed me down for I recognized the dangers of driving the unknown.  And yet I needed to make good time so as not to arrive late to my appointed meeting.

Suddenly a car entered the road ahead of me.  After following it for a few miles I realized driving was easier.  His lights lit up the road further ahead: he made the turns and hills more evident by his lights and his turns.  His speed was what I need to reach my destination on time!

Oncoming cars dimmed their lights for him first and did not blind me.  What a relief!  I did not have to drive unaware of where I was going.

One had gone before!

All of the sudden the word "forerunner" jumped into my mind.

Jesus had been called our "forerunner" in Hebrews 6:20.  He had entered into life on the earth and into death, and had come into life on the other side so that when we enter into death, following Him, we also will enter into life with Him.  Jesus entered into the presence of the Father behind the rent veil that we might enter in behind Him.  Before Jesus, only the Israelites' High Priest could enter behind the veil once a year to make atonement offering for the people's sin.  This was a fearful entering, but our entering behind our "forerunner," Jesus Christ. is a welcome entering.  Because He went before with eternal payment for forgiveness of sins, we can "come boldly into the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need."  Heb 4:16

The Sword

The Sword

Hebrews 4:12 - For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The Word of God in Hebrews 4 is not a threat. It is a gift!  It is not a literal sword, but likened to one in its amazing properties. A sword is not always meant for judgment and destruction, but can be used for clearing a path through dense undergrowth. It cuts into our thought life and lops off things that are not consistent with Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. It is like the surgeon’s scalpel, in that it exposes and cuts out diseased tissue from our hearts and souls, our doubts, selfishness, defensiveness, and self-justification. If we place ourselves in the surgeon’s hands for wellness, should we not place ourselves in God’s hands for healing and correction by His Word to be able to walk strong in His ways?

Ephesians 6:17 - And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 

Jobs Well Done--Devotions for Different Occupations

The Store Clerk:

Matt 25:21 Well done good and faithful servant.

The Lord is the store Owner.
As the clerk of His choosing (hiring) this is my job description.
My part is to turn the management over to Him. He is my Overseer.
My part is to be responsible for cleaning up and restocking the shelves of my life...taking my old sinful habits off the shelves and replacing them with His choices.
My part is to be a faithful clerk, not robbing Him of time, productivity or resources.
My part is to trust His management decisions on how to present His products. (salvation and forgiveness)
My part is to rearrage His resources so as to present in an attractive way  to those who come seeking them and to always give them a warm welcome.
May His words to me be "Well done good and faithful clerk."