The Ring

As is often the case, our pastor said something in his Sunday sermon that made me think. If you have your Bible handy, you could open it to Romans 2.

When my wife and I got married (49 years ago this coming July) we put rings on each other's fingers. Why did we do that? Well, tradition. Our parents did it, and THEIR parents, etc. But do wedding rings really DO anything, other than to show others that we are married?

Back in the day, God gave Moses the command (Genesis 17) that all males must be circumcised. It was a physical act, a sign to others, of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. But then Paul came along, and under the NEW Covenant, said this:

"A man is not a Jew because he is one outwardly, nor is circumcision only outward and physical. ²⁹No, a man is a Jew because he is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise does not come from men, but from God." - Romans 2:28-29

Do you remember Gollum's obsession with "the ring" in the Lord of The Rings movies? That's basically the same obsession that the Pharisees had with The Law of Moses. But then God offered a NEW Covenant through Jesus. The Pharisees didn't like it so they killed Jesus, because of their obsession.

A wedding ring means nothing, if it is not accompanied by loving, sacrificial hearts.

And how about our "wedding" with Jesus. Is He not the bridegroom and we are the bride? John The Baptist's disciples came to John and asked him about this Jesus who was also baptizing. John told them...

"The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom stands and listens for him, and is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete." - John 3:29

It is not the cross we wear around our necks, or the communion wafers and wine we sample at church, it's our hearts!

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." - Ezekiel 36:26

This question must be asked then: Do our hearts truly belong to Jesus, or do they follow ritual or tradition? Do we follow Him because He is our Lord, or do we go to church because of our tradition?

“Watch your life and doctrine closely." - 1 Timothy 4:16

A New Heart

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." - Ezekiel 36:26

I'm not really sure where to begin today's story. Perhaps by rewinding to 2008 - (sixteen years ago? That long??). I had just volunteered to be a youth leader at church.

Kortney was just "one of the kids" in the youth group back then. We met a few times at Dairy Queen to talk, but our conversations weren't as weighty then as they are today.

These days we talk about transplants and tests, families and bucket lists.

I thank God for our renewed friendship, but always in the background is the thought that our future conversations may be few. So I make a point to be positive and funny while also being encouraging and empathetic at the same time. 

There are currently 103,223 people on the National Organ Donation Waiting List. 3,436 of those are waiting for a heart to become available. 943 are waiting for a lung, or two.

My friend recently completed five LONG days of testing at UW - Madison's hospital. She is now on the official waiting list. Can you imagine what that must be like? I can't.

What is the Christian response in situations like this? Prayer, of course. But James tells us that "faith without works is dead." So, what can we do?

My Wisconsin driver's license has a little star on it in the lower right corner. That means that I checked a box on an application at some point. It also means that I am an organ donor. Are you one? If not, please consider it. 17 people die each day, waiting for a life-saving organ transplant.

But what else can be done? Hmm. That's a tough one but here it is. Talk to people about Jesus. It's a critical conversation to have when someone is facing an unknown future.

Another thing you can do is to pray WITH them. Let people hear your words. Ask if you can pray for them, then do it. Right then and there.

The thing we need to remember that anyone who is struggling just needs to know that they are loved and that someone cares. It's sounds simple but it requires being open and vulnerable.

Just look at the world we live in. Pain and suffering seem to be everywhere. It's almost like the world needs a giant heart transplant, right? And only God can do that.

Love, pray, act, repeat.

From The Beginning

"For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another." - 1 John 3:11

I cannot sleep tonight, therefore I write.

I'm scrolling through YouTube yesterday in between chores; giving my body some time to recover from yard work, and I came across a video of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's song "From The Beginning" (1972).

The 70's sure had some good music, and ELP provided a few of the greats, that's for sure. But some songs feature lyrics that can have multiple meanings. Kind of like a parable.

You see it's all clear

You were meant to be here

From the beginning

I touched on this a bit a few stories ago. About how we were chosen before the creation of the world.

For most of my life I was obvilious to God's Word. I knew some verses. But none of them meant anything. I didn't go to church. So what happened?

As near as I could figure, something in me got 'activated.' I began reading the Bible and found out what it was.

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." - Revelation 3:20

Of course, Jesus is not standing at any door. This is a figure of speech. 'The door' is our heart. Jesus wants us to open our hearts to Him. And when we do, THEN He comes in.

God gave us free will. "Our will" is us opening the door that Jesus is knocking on - our heart.

He has been waiting to "come in and eat with us" for a long time. From the beginning. Is Jesus knocking on your door right now?

Nothing got 'activated' in me. I was given something.

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." - Acts 1:8

“Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." - Acts 2:8

Do youself a favor. Open the door. Let Jesus come into your life.

"For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few." - Matthew 7:14

From The Beginning - Emerson Lake & Palmer

The Empty Heart

I heard a story once about a professor who began his philosophy class by asking his class a question. He pulled a large, empty jar out and set it on the desk.

"Is this full?" he asked.

"No," the class replied.

The professor then put in some rocks, right up to the rim, and asked, "How about now?"

"Yes. It s full."

Then the professor poured some sand into the jar, right to the top.

"There. Now it's full, right?"

"Yep," they answered. 

Then, he took a pitcher and added water to the jar.

"I guess it wasn't really full, was it?"

Each time the class thought the jar was full, they were proved wrong.

The question for today is, is your heart full? Maybe you will answer 'no'. There are many people whose hearts are not as full as they could be. Many more have empty hearts but they only THINK they are full.

Maybe 'yes' will be the answer. That's good. But what is your heart filled with? Does it contain any rocks or sand? Do you have any bad feelings about someone? Does it contain worry, strife, anxiety, pride?

Jesus can remove all of that bad stuff that fills our hearts and can replace it with pure, life-giving water.

“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” - John 4:10

So I guess the big question is, "Is your heart full of living water? Pure, uncontaminated, life-giving water? If not, ask Jesus to fill it. He has an endless supply and He offers it freely. Drink deep!

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." - Matthew 5:6

May God bless you today. May your heart be full. Who knows. Perhaps god will use your overflowing heart to fill the empty hearts of those around you. Drink deep!

"My cup runneth over." - Psalm 23:5

The Cry of My Heart

We can sometimes hear our hearts beating, if we are quiet enough. Or if we exercise hard enough. But have you ever heard your heart weeping?

Just before leaving for church yesterday I checked Facebook and learned that a friend of mine had suffered a stroke. He's married, has two kids, and is just 34 years old.

My heart sank. A father and husband suddenly hit with a life-changing medical emergency. So incredibly sad. My friend has a long period of recovery ahead of him. I prayed for him and his family.

During worship we sang a song that had these words in it. They served as a reminder to me. Especially the last seven.

"It is the cry of my heart to follow you, all of the days of my life."

Each of us has both good days and bad days. We're supposed to worship God and follow Him ALL of the days of our lives. Not just the good days.

When we experience bad days in our lives, we should rejoice. Those are the days our hearts cry out to God the loudest. They are the days when we draw nearer to God.

What does 'the cry of my heart' sound like?

It sounds like a prayer.

I hope you have a good day today, but if you don't, take heart. And let your heart cry out to The Lord. All of the days of your life.

"In my distress I cried out to the LORD, and he answered me." - Psalm 120:1

Cry of My Heart - Terry Butler 

The Abundant Heart

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." - Luke 6:45

And sometimes the heart uses words.

We all have people in our lives that speak and act hatefully. They speak lies and half-truths, deceiving those who they are supposed to love and help. And most of them are in Washington D.C.

But we DO have people in our lives that hurt us with their words. Why is that? Our opening verse for today tells us why. The "abundance of the heart" is speaking. The people who speak hate have hearts that are filled with it.

Hateful people also use other means to convey what's inside. Some choose their silence. Silence also speaks volumes. Some use weapons, some use their fists. Some use sexual assault. Whatever the weapon of choice is, they wield it without thought of others. Only themselves. Their heart speaks, inflicting wounds on the undeserving.

Do you remember that old saying that goes, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never harm me." Yeah, well, that's a lie.

When Jesus spoke His "abundance of the heart" message it was to His disciples and those who had come to hear Him speak or to be healed. He told them not to judge others, but then went on to tell them HOW to judge others - with righteous judgement.

If someone sends us a nasty text, what are we to do? Reply in kind? No. Our first step, after we absorb the hurt, should be to pray. WE can't change them. But God can.

Next, we must exhibit some grace. Clearly, "the abundance of their heart" is not love. Give them some time to calm themselves, then speak or text. Tell them how YOU feel. What is the most abundant thing in OUR hearts? As Christians, it should be the fruit of the Spirit.

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control." - Galatians 5:22-23

Do WE exhibit those characteristics as a believer in Jesus Christ? We might have a cross around our necks and go to church but is our heart truly filled with God's love, with His Holy Spirit? If it is, then we cannot help but speak and act in love, in patience, in kindness.

With All Your Heart

"I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart." - Jeremiah 24:7

Do you remember a guy named Christiaan Barnard? He was a heart surgeon from South Africa. Dr. Bernard performed the world's first heart transplant back in 1967. Or did he?

According to our opening Bible verse, GOD has performed millions of heart transplants, LONG before 1967.

God removes hearts of stone and installs hearts of flesh.

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." - Ezekiel 36:26

A heart of stone is not good. Uncaring, unfeeling, a heart of stone is something that God does not want us to have. God wants us to love Him and to love others. It's His first and greatest commandment.

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” - Mark 12:30-31

What does it mean to love God "with all your heart?" I think it means to love God without conditions. To love Him above ALL things. To place God first in our lives. Even above ourselves.

That's the first question we have to ask ourselves. Is God first in our lives? If not, the next question must be, "How can we change that?" How can we place God first in everything we do? How can we serve others without thinking of ourselves first?

That's easy. Ask God to give you a new heart. Ask Him for renewed energy for doing His will. As God for the courage to walk up to someone and ask them, "How is your heart feeling today? Would you like a transplant?"

Open My Eyes

"Though seeing they do not see; though hearing they do not hear or understand." - Matthew 13:13

That's me most of the time. I can be staring right at something and still can't see it. It has nothing to do with my eyesight. It has everything to do with my heart.

Sometimes our sinful nature can blind us when it comes to following God's will for our lives. "Me" get's in the way of "Thee", Lord. So how do we keep that from happening?

Jesus healed the blind, but he didn't just heal those who had no physical sight. He healed those with spiritual blindness as well. This world is awash in spiritual blindness these days. We are in desperate need of a healer.

Often, Jesus healed those who believed He could do it. saying, "Your faith has made you well." Do WE have that kind of faith? Are we hearing and seeing with our hearts?

You know, that's a pretty good prayer - Open my eyes. It encompasses so many things - obedience, love, compassion, acts of service, Let us pray that prayer today and "see" what God has in store for our eyes. And our hearts.

"Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things" - Psalm 119:18

Open The Eyes of My Heart - Michael W. Smith

Piercings

Do you have any piercings? I do. Most people would be surprised to hear that. "Bob? Piercings? No!" But it's true. Only a few people know about them. Even fewer have actually seen them, but they exist.

My piercings are more hard core than most. Most people have piercings in their eyebrows, lips, noses, tongues, nipples, belly buttons or ears. Not me. Those are for sissies. Try having your HEART pierced sometime!

Piercings of the heart are usually involuntary. They are inflicted upon us rather than obtained during an appointment. Their initial "installation" is extremely painful and , in some cases, the pain of getting them never really goes away.

My wife's sister lost her husband to cancer. Her heart was pierced in a major way this past weekend when he died. Yet the first news he had pancreatic cancer was worse, I think, than his actual death.

My former boss walked into a room this past weekend and found his brother, dead. Another piercing that very few will ever see. He's too proud to let anyone have a look at THAT piercing.

Have you had your heart pierced?

Heart piercings are basically invisible. All we can see is symptoms as even seeing those is rare. Ironically, the only way to ease the pain from the piercing is    to reveal them to someone else.

Showing our heart piercings to someone who has no piercings themselves seldom results in any healing. Only someone else who has been pierced can truly understand.

Try revealing your heart piercings to Jesus sometime, if you're looking for a cure that is. He's been pierced . . . in His wrists, feet and side.

"And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." - Zechariah 12:10

The only one who can truly heal your heart is Jesus. Trust in Him. Offer your aching heart to Him. But be prepared. The resulting feeling, having been healed, is amazing.

How To Heal A Broken Heart - Nick Vujicic

A Call To Anguish

I'm going to ask you to watch something kind of graphic today. In fact, someone dies during the video you are about to watch. But I want you to get the feel for my topic today. Anguish.

Roger Williamson and David Purley were both Formula One race car drivers back in the late 70's. They also were best friends.

During the Dutch Grand Prix of 1973 Roger Williamson crashed. His car burst into flames and flipped upside down. His friend David Purley stopped to help but was unable to do so. The frustration and anguish Purley experienced that day is quite evident in the video. As you watch, please pay attention to what you are feeling.

Roger Williamson and David Purley

Where does our passion come from? Why do we feel stronger about some things than we do about others? What do YOU feel passionate about? Is our passion birthed out of anguish? Some pain hurts us so deeply that we can't help but be moved to action. The question is, Are we moving?

Look back at your life and see if you can find a time when you were in anguish. A time when you were so upset about something that it changed you. What was it?

For me it was the abduction and murder of a nine-year old girl in our community named Cora Jones. As the father of a daughter who was the same age and went to the same church as Cora, the pain of what her father went through really hit me hard. Her loss fueled my entry into youth ministry. To this day I have a passion for teens, that they would come to know Jesus and thus be saved.

A ministry born in anguish.

We have many things we care about in life, but few of them carry with them our consuming passion. I think God wants us to have a passion for something. Him. A passion that is sometimes born in anguish.

Look at the life of Jesus for example. And look at God, the Father. The Old Testament is filled with stories of God's anguish over His people Israel. He sacrificed His only Son for them (and us) and still they did not believe.

The Rich Man and Lazarus is another example. An evangelist born out of anguish.

‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, ²⁸ for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ - Luke 16:27-28

The Christian faith was born out of anguish. Close your eyes and think about Jesus on the cross. Think about His love for us and His obedience to His Father. Where is OUR anguish for those who do not know Jesus?

I listened to the following message by the late David Wilkerson yesterday. It touched me deeply the first time I heard it several years ago. It touched my heart again yesterday, convicting me that I am not desperate enough or passionate enough for the lives of those I love. I am not passionate enough for Jesus. I encourage you to listen to it. Keep track of how his message makes your heart feel.

Will this message be YOUR call to anguish?

We are called to love God and love one another (Mark 12:30-31). May the anguish Jesus went through for us drive us forward in our faith and our convictions. To God be the glory!

A Call To Anguish - David Wilkerson

Beautiful

When we hear the word "beautiful" what do you think about? Movie stars, fashion models, a majestic landscape perhaps? God showed me a new use for the word "beautiful" this week at work . . . in a most unusual way.

They say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. A man might look at a woman and think that she's beautiful, while that same woman looks at herself in the mirror and sees ugliness. But SEEING beauty is only part of what the word beautiful means. Have you ever experienced beauty? Actually felt it?

Two days ago at work I sensed someone walk up behind me as I sat in my workstation. Suddenly there was a hand on my shoulder and a man's voice said, "I'm leaving now."

I recognized the voice. It was that of my long-time friend and boss who was about to head off to the Mayo Clinic for an experimental medical procedure. He knew it's going to be painful. He's had several of these operations before.

Getting up out of my chair, I gave him a hug. As I did so he whispered, "Please pray for me" in my ear. I told him that I would and then asked, "You wanna do that right now?" He said, "Sure."

So we both walked into a nearby office - the one where his wife works. The three of us put our arms around each other and we prayed. And do you know what THAT is?

Beautiful.

I find myself reminded of the story in Acts 3 about the apostles and a beggar. The later is trying to get to the gate of the temple called Beautiful.

"3 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ² Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. ³ When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴ Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” ⁷ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹ When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him." - Acts 3:3-10

If our bodies are "a temple" as it says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, where do you suppose OUR Beautiful Gate is? I think the gate is our hearts. When my friend approached me this week he was playing the role of the beggar. God placed me in the role of Peter. I didn't have anything I could give my friend that would satisfy his need for healing. But what I do have I can give him. So I took him to God in prayer and, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I prayed for healing just like Peter did.

Will God heal my friend? I do not know. But if He does I bet my friend will be walking and jumping, and praising God.

Is there someone in your life right now who needs prayer? Open up the door of your beautiful gate and let them into the temple.

Beauty From Pain - Superchick
We Live - Superchick

Somebody's Knocking

Have you ever noticed the behavior of a child when they really want something? They can be relentless!! And they can be super-annoying too!! LOL! But their behavior can sometimes offer us a good lesson when WE are the ones who want something . . . from God.

After this year's family reunion my grand niece Haley really wanted to play Star Wars. She had been given a toy light saber at the reunion and was getting the most out of it to be sure. She enlisted my wife and me to play along with her little Star Wars game and she would NOT take no for an answer.

She gave my wife and me each a remote - one for the television and the other for the satellite dish. Apparently they had suddenly become light sabers. She would raise her toy light saber and we would raise ours. Then she would hide her light saber and we would hide ours. That was it. That was the extent of her game. We played that game for half an hour! Then she got bored and went to find her mother. Only her mother was nowhere to be seen.

She cried out "Mom. Mom! Mom!!" in her best Stewie voice. No answer, so off she went in search of her mother. She called and searched the entire first floor of the house. No mom. Then her grandma said, "Your mom is feeding baby Luke in the bedroom. So my niece went to the closed bedroom door and pounded on it with her open hand, still calling out, "Mom!!!"

Eventually the door opened and in went Hayley. Persistent little kid. In that short little story acted out by my grand niece, my wife and I witnessed several Bible lessons all rolled into one. Here's a few verses to show you what I mean.

"⁴ . . ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, ⁵ yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’” - Luke 10:4-5

⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." - Matthew 7:7-8

^"20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." - Revelation 3:20

Are you beginning to see what I mean? Jesus is telling us in Matthew that there is a door between us and Him. He tell us in Luke that we must be persistent about knocking on that door until it is opened. Then again in Matthew 7 we encouraged to learn that the door WILL be opened for us, IF we knock.

But later on in The Book of Revelation, Jesus is the one doing the knocking. And we are the ones opening the door. What does THAT mean? Well, in Revelation, Jesus is talking to the churches . . . Christians. Why would Jesus be knocking at our door? Because some Christians have allowed the door to their hearts to close. Jesus wants to get back in but the door's locked.

Don't let that happen to you. Keep the door to your heart open to Jesus. Don't make Him knock. Allow Him back in. Open that door and take a look around. I bet He's still there, waiting.

Jesus Stands At The Door And Knocks - One Verse 

Mom Mum Mommy - Stewie, Family Guy
Somebody's Knocking - Eric Clapton