A Life Worth Fighting For!

Jesus, the lover of your soul! 

Do you know this love- His tender touch and sweet words?  Or are they as foreign to you as a language you do not know?

Song of Songs 7:10
10 I belong to my beloved, 
   and his desire is for me.

Psalm 34:8
 8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; 
   blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

What becomes of the man or woman who says they are a Christ follower, yet has not tasted and found that the Lord is good? The one who says they know God but have never sensed and felt His delight and pleasure? The one who has not proved it true over and over again?  If that describes you my friend- I have consolatory news for you! You are not alone!  I dare say that most people who claim to be religious or go a step further and call themselves Christians or Spiritually minded, have no idea what I am talking about. 

I was one of them!  Though, not at first.  When I was a new believer over 30 years ago, I did get a taste of His love- His sweet fellowship. But as “life happened” and failed to go as I hoped and dreamed it would, my heart became hard and my poser came to the forefront. My “poser” was quite “The Man”. He had all the answers, priding himself on his ability to fix all the pour and broken souls around him!  He focused his “powers” on the needy and less fortunate, appearing to care, to empathize to understand. Now, before I appear to throw my poser out with the bath water- I must clarify!  The tricky thing about the poser is this- it is you, but it is the flawed, broken and unredeemed you!  It is the prideful, self centered you- the taker- the manipulator- the controler- the user!  The thing is, I did care about people but in my brokenness and sin was unequipped to really help. I have since learned this- 

Wounded Souls Wound!

Healed Souls Heal! 

Jeremiah 31:3
 3 The LORD appeared to us in the past,[a] saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; 
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”

In order to truly know the love of Jesus I described above, we must first realize that we are sick and wounded and in desparate need of “The Divine Physician”.  We must bring our wounded and broken hearts to Him and be healed. Realizing that we can’t save or fix ourselves – that we are truly helpless and hopeless – THAT WE NEED A SAVIOUR!! And the reality my friend is this! There is only ONE, and you are not it! 

 I heard a great definition of insanity-  insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result! 

John 10:10
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.- Jesus of Nazareth 

I close this confessional with a song by Tenth Avenue North and a devotional from Streams in the Desert-

 Peace, Jonathan 

On And On

Love, I have waited for you 

And love, I was wounded for you 

Won’t you look into my eyes 

Through the pain and through your pride 

And find I am true 

You’re the one I can’t deny 

And I’ll never leave your side 

I gave my life for you 

So what are you waiting for? 

On and on we go 

Come love take my hand 

On and on we go 

Time and time again 

On and on we go 

Back to where this all began 

Come love take my hand 

Life is waiting for you 

And life I have given to you 

Tell me what else can I do 

What more have I left to prove? 

That I am what you need 

Still I will hold on to your heart 

Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com 
Through the chaos and the dark 

When your eyes fail to see 

So what are you waiting for? 

On and on we go 

Come love take my hand 

On and on we go 

As you run away again 

On and on we go 

Back to where this all began 

Broken I was for you 

Broken I’m still for you 

My broken heart breaks for you 

Broken I’m over you 

On and on we go 

Come love take my hand 

On and on we go 

Time and time again 

On and on we go 

Back to where this all began 

Come love take my hand 

Come love take my hand 

God is Waiting Upon Us

“And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you…blessed are all they that wait f or him” (Isa. 30:18).

We must not only think of our waiting upon God, but also of what is more wonderful still, of God’s waiting upon us. The vision of Him waiting on us, will give new impulse and inspiration to our waiting upon Him. It will give us unspeakable confidence that our waiting cannot be in vain. Let us seek even now, at this moment, in the spirit of waiting on God, to find out something of what it means. He has inconceivably glorious purposes concerning every one of His children. And you ask, “How is it, if He waits to be gracious, that even after I come and wait upon Him, He does not give the. help I seek, but waits on longer and longer?”

God is a wise husbandman, “who waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it.” He cannot gather the fruit till it is ripe. He knows when we are spiritually ready to receive the blessing to our profit and His glory. Waiting in the sunshine of His love is what will ripen the soul for His blessing. Waiting under the cloud of trial, that breaks in showers of blessings, is as needful. Be assured that if God waits longer than you could wish, it is only to make the blessing doubly precious. God waited four thousand years, till the fullness of time, ere He sent His Son. Our times are in His hands; He will avenge His elect speedily; He will make haste for our help, and not delay one hour too long. 
–Andrew Murray

Doesn’t it seem like we – in our humanity, look for … or using a fishing term, cast for burdens?  Its like there is an Evil Matchmaker, looking to match up burdens with poor, unsuspecting folk. Us! A match made in …..Hell. Strange thing is, even though they are poison to our souls, we keep dating them!  We, in essence say, ” I know he/ she is bad for me but I have hope that they will change”.  We become “missionary burden daters!”   They become a source of pride and control. How twisted is that?! 

We seem to be drawn to them and them to us! 

 My wife,  Sue, struggles with chronic neck and shoulder pain- she is one of my heroes! She never complains about it. God gives her the grace to deal with it, everyday!

I, though, can grow weary of it and burdened. – sometimes out of selfishness. The thinking, “One more thing to deal with in this broken world, why does life have to be so hard” can creep in and lead me down a sin laden path, hindering and if not tended to- breaking my fellowship with the Father and others. Robbing me and rendering me ineffective- powerless!  

This impatience showed itself Sunday morning before I left for church. I directed it toward the Father asking Him, boldly, w hutzpah, ” is it asking too much that you heal my wife of this burden?”. ” I really do want to carry this burden to you, believing that you will heal her as you did the woman that had been bleeding all those years”.

 I believe I should do this for her and others but I must not come w a spirit of impatience clinging to my back. It comes down to control, as it does most always. Funny though , even though I was carrying this “poisonous” spirit in me, the Lords sweet will was still done before, during and after church. It was like He said as we have many times as parents, ” there’s work to be done right now, you and I will deal with this later!”  

He showed me my impatience several times yesterday , but I was too busy with my agenda. It was a great agenda, something He wanted me to do, but….. After we had dealt with my sin of impatience, desire to be in control and lack of thanksgiving as “I gave” the burden to Him before church. 

I think it important to note how I “came around” and am now writing about it. 

When I was walking Sue to her car this morning, she noticed I was out of kilter. I told her that I had a spirit of impatience I needed to deal with and asked her to pray for me. I proceeded to go on my run, listening to Jaden Lavik’s Roots Run Deep CD on my I-phone. As I listened, prayed and sang I ran along anticipating a breakthrough. The Spirit generally will pull a word or phrase from one of the songs and lead me to repentance and restoration. As my run was coming to a close at the next to last song I heard what I needed to hear. It was the hymn, 

What A Friend We have in Jesus.  

Songwriters: Jadon Lavik
What a friend we have in JesusAll our sins and griefs to bearWhat a privilege to carryEverything to God in prayer

Oh, what peace we often forfeitOh, what needless pain we bearAll because we do not carryEverything to God in prayerHave we trials and temptations?Is there trouble anywhere?We should never be discouragedTake it to the Lord in prayerCan we find a friend so faithfulWho will all our sorrows share?Jesus He knows our every weaknessTake it to the Lord in prayerAre we weak and heavy ladenCumbered with a load of care?Precious Savior still our refugeTake it to the Lord in prayerDo thy friends despise, forsake theeTake it to the Lord in prayerIn His arms He’ll take and shield theeThou will find a solace thereThou will find a solace thereThou will find a solace there.
I played it four times, letting the message wash over me, leading me to repentance and freedom in Christ. So, let’s wrap this up with this – realizing something is wrong in your spirit is half the battle- the sooner the better! Then taking the time to deal with it, unwrapping it, layer by layer. It’s seldom simple because we are complex creations and sin has roots too, that spread out looking for footing. We must be intentional, positioning ourselves before the Father- asking for illumination and then listening. Reading the word or listening to a favorite word-based CD is great. Old Hymns of the Faith are awesome because they are so filled with truth.  It is so important to stick with it, don’t give up. He is faithful and will show up! Come believing and expectantly with thanksgiving. Trusting your “Friend” to meet you where you are, just as you are. 

Matthew 11:28
 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Hebrews 4:15
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 1:6

6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. – Paul of Tarsus 

John 10:10
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – Jesus, Master Carpenter 

Have you ever bought a house, car or anything with the intent of renovating it? A restoration is restoring something to its original intended glory! There is great cost, in this process- for the restorer and restored. 

Let’s take a deeper look…. First, the restorer must have an eye and vision for the original intent of the subject. This is vital because of the great time, cost and love that will be required to complete the task. There will be unforeseen costs that come up which will threaten the restorers resolve. Day after day the restorer must keep the vision in view as he labors and counts the cost. He reminds himself over and over of the joy that will be his when his subject is complete. 

I love buying something old, with good bones as they say, and bringing it back to life- to it’s original intent! Whether big project or small the joy is just as great and lasting. Years pass and thrill does not fade. You still love to show and tell- it never gets old to the restorer! 

You see, the Spiritual life is a lot like the picture I have just painted with my words. God never intended for us to be broken-down and abandoned in our sin – struggling for life! Wondering why we were born and what our purpose is. His original intent has been lost, not by Him, but by us! That’s right, even the religious have lost their way. Stuck on the scrap heap of striving. Always striving to, in reality, save themselves!

Here’s the reality! God has not lost His vision, nor forgotten His Original Intent. He is open for business, so to speak, and is looking for souls willing to go through the restoration process. The beautiful thing for us is – we don’t have to pay a cent to be chosen, nor do we need to ” clean up” to be chosen- to make ourselves look worthy of being selected. He has the vision and all the resources to bring out our original glory- As He intended from the beginning. By now you should know my favorite quote- The Glory of God is Man Fully Alive! – St. Irenaeus.   Or, let’s say it this way… The Glory of the Restorer is Man Fully Restored! 

The question for you is two-fold. One, will you accept the Restorers free offer through Jesus’ perfect work on the cross? And Two- Will you then trust Him to do all the restoring work necessary? Will you, time and again,keep in mind and heart how much He loves you and the price He paid and the commitment He has made to finish the restoration process? He promises to finish, to restore you to your original Glory- walking splendidly with your Creator! Free, healed, holy and wholly His. Because He paid the Ultimate price- His own Life!  So stop squirming under the pain of the restoration process. Let Him have complete reign for He knows what He is doing! He created you for Glory! 

For those of you who have not yet fully commited your life to Gods free restoration- What are you waiting for? How bad does life have to get before you say Yes to the Great Restorer of Souls? 

Peace, Jonathan 

God Has Chosen Me- From Streams in the Desert

“I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isa. 48:10).

Does not the Word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? Yes, is it not an asbestos armor, against which the heat has no power? Let the affliction come–God has chosen me. Poverty, thou mayest stride in at my door; but God is in the house already, and He has chosen me. Sickness, thou mayest intrude; but I have a balsam ready–God has chosen me. Whatever befall me in this vale of tears, I know that He has chosen me.

Fear not, Christian; Jesus is with thee. In all thy fiery trials, His presence is both thy comfort and safety. He will never leave one whom He has chosen for His own. “Fear not, for I am with thee,” is His sure word of promise to His chosen ones in “the furnace of affliction.” –C. H. Spurgeon

***

Pain’s furnace heat within me quivers, God’s breath upon the flame doth blow; And all my heart in anguish shivers And trembles at the fiery glow; And yet I whisper, “As God will!” And in the hottest fire hold still.

He comes and lays my heart, all heated, On the hard anvil, minded so Into His own fair shape to beat it With His great hammer, blow on blow; And yet I whisper, “As God will!” And at His heaviest blows hold still.

He takes my softened heart and beats it; The sparks fly off at every blow; He turns it o’er and o’er and heats it, And lets it cool, and makes it glow; And yet I whisper, “As God will!” And in His mighty hand hold still.

Why should I murmur? for the sorrow Thus only longer-lived would be; The end may come, and will tomorrow, When God has done His work in me; So I say trusting, “As God will!” And, trusting to the end, hold still. –Julius Sturm

***

The burden of suffering seems a tombstone hung about our necks, while in reality it is only the weight which is necessary to keep down the diver while he is hunting for pearls. –Richter