Jesus Fixes Broken

Sometimes we just need to hear that message.  As I was driving around running errands the other day I was feeling very broken.  I felt disconnected and not for the first time.  "Is there something wrong with me Lord?" I cried.   I'm sure many people have "broken" in their lives that they don't understand and don't know how to fix.  It can take many forms, anger, sadness, addiction, emptiness. Loneliness, guilt and shame may walk with you every day.  In my case it's an inability to connect with others.  I sometimes feel there is something missing in me.   It can last for a season, come sporadically or be a constant background to your days.  But I know someone who fixes broken.  His name is Jesus.  

So of course, God being God, He heard my heart's cry and sent a new song to remind me of His love and acceptance.  He sent a song to remind me I am not alone or disconnected...He searches me out comes along side in my heartache.  The song is called "Woman at the Well" by Olivia Lane.  

The woman at the well mentioned in John 4 was an outcast, broken and seeking love in all the wrong places.  I'm sure she felt empty and rejected and ashamed...disconnected from God and those around her.  But Jesus....Jesus welcomed her.  He offered her a gift, the gift of healing and of eternal life.  He told her God was seeking true worshipers and that she would not find satisfaction in the world, but only in this God who sought her.  He came to fix her broken, not just in her present day life, but for all eternity.  He took time to sit with her, talk with her and love her.  And He wants to do the same for each of us.  She didn't have to "fix herself" first...Jesus already knew all about her and met her where she was.  He offered her love and salvation before she ever did anything for Him.  

John 4:1-42  Jesus knew the Pharisees had heard that he was baptizing and making more disciples than John 2 (though Jesus himself didn’t baptize them—his disciples did). 3 So he left Judea and returned to Galilee.  4 He had to go through Samaria on the way. 5 Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. 7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.  9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”  10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”  11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”  13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”  15 “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.”  16 “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her.  17 “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.  Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— 18 for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”  19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”  21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”  25 The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  26 Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah!”  27 Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” 28 The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, 29 “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” 30 So the people came streaming from the village to see him.  31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, “Rabbi, eat something.”32 But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.”  33 “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other.  34 Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. 35 You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! 37 You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. 38 I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.”  39 Many Samaritans from the village believed in Jesus because the woman had said, “He told me everything I ever did!” 40 When they came out to see him, they begged him to stay in their village. So he stayed for two days, 41 long enough for many more to hear his message and believe. 42 Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

So my prayer today is that you will listen to this song as you sit with the Healer, and let the knowledge of His love surround you.  He sees the broken in your heart and life and if you let Him and follow Him He will give you beauty for ashes.  He accepts us as we are, but has so much more for us, both now and in eternity.  Lord, heal Your children.  Heal hearts and lives.  Thank You.  

Take Time to Think

Does God sometimes seem unreal to you?  Maybe not quite unreal, but abstract.  It's almost like, we know God, but we don't recognize His Presence in our world.  We forget or neglect the fact that He is with us, in us and surrounding us all the time.  It's so much easier for the tactile world to be more real to us than the Lord Himself because it's easily touched, seen and felt.   Our human senses are tuned into the reality around, and we forget to use our spiritual senses.  Our spiritual eyes are weak because we live by what we can see.  The Lord warned us of this in Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. and in 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by believing and not by seeing.

I've been convicted of this lately.  Of neglecting to see God around me.  Of forgetting He is here and more real than anything I can see of this world.  I've been reminded that everything in this world is fading day by day.   And so the Holy Spirit has led me to some "exercises" to strengthen my spiritual eyes.  

Firstly we need to make spending time with the Lord our number one priority.  No matter where we are in life, that is our greatest need.  And whether you can take ten minutes or three hours, He needs to have that number one spot in your day.  So we work out with the Lord how that is to look in our lives.  A retired person is not going to have the same responsibilities as a single parent.  Every life is different and the Lord will work with us where we are.  

Secondly, and this is where the Holy Spirit is really working with me, is focus exercises.  When I go outside, I breath the air, I see the sky, the grass and the sun, the trees and the roads.  All this is created by God.  I remind myself of that.  I focus on His wisdom and creativity in making creation.  I remember His care of each detail.  And He's adding something new to that....His detailed, individual care of me.

Whether we are living in the country or the city or somewhere in between...all of it is created and sustained by God.  The materials for those skyscrapers came from our Father's creation.  That sun shines on the urban, suburban and rural areas alike.  If we are homebound, we can look to our homes, our running water, heat and electricity.  That chair you sit down on, yup, all those atoms and the spaces in between made by our awesome God.   We have our own bodies...fearfully and wonderfully and complexly made by a master scientist.  The colors of clothing we wear made by an artistic genius.  The cloth woven by the most skilled craftsman.  Cells, atoms, protons, electrons....all God!   And remember His love in all of this....He designed us to be loved by Him.  He is the most loving of Beings.  

The point is.  Take notice.  Take time to think about the One behind it all.  And remember, He is sustaining it all by His great power.  Our Father is sustaining us by His great power and love.  Try doing these exercises for yourself.  See how much more aware you become of our Savior's Presence.  How much more real He becomes day by day as your "work out" your spiritual eyes!

Lord, thank You for these exercises You have brought to my life.  And thank You for the internet with which I can share them.  I pray that we all get stronger and stronger in our spirits as we take time to focus and lift our eyes to You.  And we give You thanks and praise for all things.  In Jesus' most present Name.  Amen.  

Start a new exercise program today.  

Weaknesses

Weaknesses.  We all have them.  We don't like them, and a lot of times we don't like to admit them.  Some of us believe we need to be perfect.  Whether it's to meet other's expectations or even our own, or  because we think being perfect gives us value, we often try to outrun our weaknesses, seeking to portray this "I've got it all together" person to the world and ourselves. 

The apostle Paul also wanted his weaknesses gone.  2 Corinthians 12:1-10  This boasting will do no good, but I must go on. I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.  5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.  8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

I know I've gone through times when I've begged God to change something in me.  To remove my addictive nature, to make me a person of patience and peace....and yet the battles still go on.  It's frustrating.  It's discouraging.  And yet the Bible tells us in Ephesians 5:20:  And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Everything.  Notice the key word there!  That includes my weaknesses.  

I struggle to find thankfulness for my shortcomings.  I feel defeated by them so many times.  But today I am determined to make friends with them.  To accept them as part of me until the Lord decides they no longer serve a purpose in my life.  As I've read today's devotional from "Thirty-one Days of Praise," I'm finally seeing that if God wanted certain parts of my personality changed instantly He would have done so already.  Arguing, cajoling, whining....none of this will get God to move any faster then He knows is best.  Nothing the Lord does or doesn't do is without purpose, wisdom, kindness and love.  My job is obedience and cooperation with the Holy Spirit.  

Now, I know that when I have a weakness that causes me to treat others badly, and be hurtful then that needs to go...sooner rather than later.  And it is something that needs serious work with the Holy Spirit.  I never want to make the excuse that God hasn't changed that behavior in me so it's all right.  

In all of my shortcomings, to God be the glory.  I know that when He works through them...He shines.  I know when He removes some bad habit from my life (like He did with drug and alcohol addiction) He gets the praise and honor.  And I know when I do something that I have no talent for in obedience to Him, it points people to a powerful, mighty God who is greater then any weakness or problem in our lives.  And it also reminds us to humbly walk with our God, and in His strength.  There really is no other way.  

Lord, thank You today that I have weaknesses.  They drive me to You, the remind me to lose pride, and tell me to be patient with the people around me...we are all in the same boat.  Lord, not only let me be merciful to those around me who have shortcomings just like me...but let me celebrate their strengths and achievements so that You will be glorified.  Lord, forgive me for complaining about the things I struggle with.  I know some of that is born of pride and perfectionism.  Lord, I also know, and am very thankful for that You have given me a heart to desire change, and a heart that longs to glorify You and show love to others.  I know You are working all things our for my good and for Your purpose.  And in Your perfect time You'll change the parts of me that You no longer want here.  Lord, I pray for all of us that we have soft, listening hearts and cooperative spirits.  Help us to be obedient instantly to Your correction and instruction.  Be glorified.  In the Name of our Mighty Savior, Jesus Christ.  

Give thanks in all things with a heart to glorify God.