Walking With Jesus

Why Trials?

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1 NLT)

For much the same reason we need sunshine and rain, we need good times and bad, joy and laughter, heartache, and pain. Think of the life of Jesus. May I remind you that He was perfect in every way; God poured into human flesh, yet He hung on a Cross for crimes He didn’t commit to pay the penalty for our sin and free us from a life of bondage to sin.

To serve Jesus doesn’t exempt us from pain and suffering. If anything, it intensifies it. To sign up with Jesus to avoid suffering is a little bit like booking passage on the Titanic to see the world. You’re going to be sorely disappointed.

Think of the words of Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:1-2: “Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in His kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.”

How can that be? In our way of thinking “very poor” and “rich generosity” don’t belong in the same sentence. But it gets better! Did you notice who orchestrated this bazaar circumstance? Paul’s rich insight notes “what God in His kindness has done…” It may seem odd, but I often thank the Lord that He never allowed me to make very much money. I always had enough, but there were times of severe struggle. Why?

God opened my heart and eyes to the needs of others who are now like I was then. God always made a way for me. I missed a few meals, but He always sent someone at the right time to meet the exact need with which I was struggling. I love what J. C. Ryle wrote: “Trials are intended to make us think; to wean us from the world; to send us to the Bible; to drive us to our knees.”

That’s what they did and do for me, and I pray they are doing for you. Do you realize it’s impossible to trust God, to build faith and confidence in Him if you’re constantly blaming Him for the trials and troubles of your life? Trials and troubles, by the way, that Jesus promised us we would have? Remember what He said in John 16:33: “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Notice He didn’t say “might” or “maybe,” He said “will!” But why? To be mean and vindictive? To get back at us for all our sin; our part in why He had to hang on the Cross? Of course not! God doesn’t think like us, and His character wouldn’t allow Him to act like that. Everything He has ever done or ever will do is motivated by a heart of love.

We suffer, not to make us bitter, but to make us better. I pray I’m a better man for having suffered in ways I would never have chosen for myself. My heart longs for God more, I desire to know and share His word more, I want to share materially whatever I can with whomever I can to meet the needs of those who are just now learning the lessons God has been teaching me through my trials.

We all have seasons of life when we’re struggling in one way or another to find our way, seeking to discover the person God intends for us to be. We may not even know Him when we’re clawing and scratching to survive, but often the very trials that we hated while we were in them are the very trials we wouldn’t trade for anything because they resulted in our finding ourselves, at last, in Him!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

What Are Your Strongest Thoughts?

“And then He added, ‘It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.’” (Mark 7:20-23 NLT)

How many times have you said, or heard someone say, “Why did I do that? What was I thinking?” In the verses above Jesus gives us a very scary look into our own heart and life when He says: ‘It is what comes from inside that defiles you.” The word that’s used here is the Greek word “dialogismos – dee-al-og-is-mos.” Most often when we think of “dialog” we think of a conversation between two or more people.

As it’s used in this verse it literally means: “the thinking of a man deliberating with himself.” I’ve said dozens of times “What we think about comes about!” The secret ponderings about which no one knows but us and God can lead to something really good or really bad. Solomon said it this way in Proverbs 23:7: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

What you think about is vitally important to the development of the person you’re becoming. Why do you think we’re often instructed in Scripture to meditate on God’s Word. Joshua reminds us in 1:8: “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

We may think of it as “daydreaming” or the proverbial “passing fancy,” but what for one person leads to a life of accomplishment through hard work and ingenuity, may lead someone else to a life of crime and debauchery. As believers our goal is to become more and more like Jesus, who, of course, was perfect. But how can we possibly do that? One thought at a time!

Pastor and Author Craig Groeschel wrote: “Your life is always moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts.” In your most vulnerable moments, when no one’s around, where does your mind go? Wherever that is, your life will soon follow. Does being by yourself lead to a desire to reach for God’s Word, turn on the TV, or dig into social media?

And please don’t hear what I’m not saying – we all need “down time” to watch a movie, take a nap, or head out with friends for a bite. But as with anything else, it’s not so much what we do or don’t do that frames us, it’s why we do or don’t do it. We can go to church every time the doors are open and if our heart’s not right it won’t make an ounce of difference.

When I was first in ministry, I used to say to the kids in the youth group: “You can live, eat, and sleep in a garage, but it will never make you a car.” Geography, while it can contribute positively to your life, won’t shape your future, only your thoughts can do that.

What do you want to accomplish as a child of God? What are your dreams regarding how God might use you? I dream of every person in every house in my neighborhood living fruitfully as a child of the living God. I dream of people I love chasing after the heart of God rather than more material junk. I dream of faithfully loving and serving my wife “until death do us part.” I dream of being in the arms of Jesus and hearing those words: “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

What you think about really matters, that’s why it’s so vitally important that you immerse yourself in God’s Word, meditating upon His promises, contemplating how best to love and serve Him, paying very close attention to your strongest thoughts.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

He Is Near To You

“For this is what the high and exalted One says, He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’ “ (Isaiah 57:15)

*Please enjoy this devotional by Sylvia Gunter. May her words be God’s to you today and may they bless you as they blessed me. Blessings, Ed (used with permission)

Why does it always seem that everything we are concerned about feels bigger in the night? In those times we all feel the need for a friend we can call when we are struggling, and they don’t question why you called so late. This type of friend will drop everything to be with you just because you say you need them.

The great news is that we all have that friend. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are available 24/7 waiting to hear from us. Their phone is never turned off. They are ready to answer us even if all we can do is sigh.

Isaiah 57:15 says, “For this is what the high and exalted One says, He who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.’ “

Our English language doesn’t do this verse justice. The way it has been translated makes it sound very religious and exclusive. God only lives with those who are contrite and humble. Contrite and humble? Hmmm that leaves me out. But if you dig into the meaning of the words, you see a much different picture.

Listen to it this way. “For this is what the high and exalted One says, He who lives in eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one whose spirit has been broken and crushed like fine dust and with the one whose spirit is depressed and low. I live with them to revive and bring life back to their depressed and low spirit and to revive and bring life back to the heart of those who are crushed and broken.’ “

The love and worship I have of God as I read this truth is hard to put into words. But with all that is within me I say “YES!” God, You are so high and exalted, so “other-than” that we as humans cannot look on Your glory. Your name is holy, and You rightfully live in Your high and holy place, and yet You also live with me, even when I am broken, crushed, and depressed in spirit. When I would like to hide in a hole and pull the hole in on top of myself, You know right where I am, and You are there with me. You live with me there to bring life back to my heart and spirit. Hallelujah! What a Father, Savior, Comforter, Healer, and ultimate Friend.

Be blessed to hear your Father speak to you about His deep bonds with you, deeper than friendship, deep attachment to you with cords of unfailing love (Jer 31:3; Hos 11:4). Hear Him speak to you about trust, faith, and love that is much deeper than just surviving. Hear the soft voice of your Father speaking in the core of your essence: you are the beloved, right where you are. On you His favor rests. He sees you as a precious being. Be blessed to know you were infinitely loved before you were wounded. That’s the truth of your life. Your life is an unceasing “yes” to the fact that you are beloved because of God’s great love, and you are an heir to His healing power.

Your Father says, “I called you by name from the very beginning. You belong to me, and I know you as my own, and I am yours. I molded you in your mother’s womb. I carved you in the palms of my Son. I hide you in the shadow of My embrace. You have My infinite tenderness, and I care for you intimately. I have counted every hair on your head, and wherever you go, I go with you. Wherever you rest, I keep watch. I give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that will quench all your thirst. I will never hide My face from you. Nothing will ever separate us. Wherever you are, I am. Live your life as My redeemed child. You can reach out to true inner freedom and find it evermore fully.”

God our Father is powerful enough to create the universe and personal enough to delight in you His child. He is waiting to show you the depths of His love for you. Read more about God’s Father’s heart towards you in Safe In The Father’s Heart by Sylvia Gunter and Elizabeth Gunter Click here to learn more and order For archive of past devotionals: www.thefathersbusiness.com

Without Reservation

“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.” (Philippians 4:11 NLT)

Are you content? If your life was to end today, would you have regrets? Why or why not? What is it that leads to regret? Are there ways to live without regret?

In a calendar devotional that I read every morning, I read: “People who are God’s without reservation ‘have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.’ His will becomes their will, and they strip themselves of everything, and in their nakedness find everything restored a hundredfold.”

What does that even mean – to be God’s without reservation? Let’s look more closely at what Paul wrote in the verse above. What did Paul mean when he wrote: “Not that I was ever in need.” In other places in Paul’s writings (see 2 Corinthians 11:24-29 as an example) he outlines many ways he suffered and had need of a lot of things. Was he deliberately lying? Or was he seeing things from a perspective we haven’t yet learned?

After all, notice his very next words: “for I have learned.” It causes me to wonder how much of the Bible we claim to not understand, not because we’re intellectually or spiritually deficient, but because we haven’t yet learned to see things from God’s perspective? How like us to blame God for Paul’s misfortunes when Paul himself rejoices in knowing he suffered those things to allow him to become more like Jesus.

We struggle to live without reservation for the Lord because we haven’t yet “learned how to be content with whatever I have.” What if what I have is floating in the ocean for a day and a night? What if it’s being beaten 39 lashes with a lead-tipped whip? What if it’s being stoned and left for dead? We pout if someone gets our seat at church or cuts the line at Starbucks, how will we ever learn to be content to love Jesus without reservation?

And please hear me, I’m not being critical of you, I’m investigating my own heart. At my core I’m still a slimeball who loves my creature comforts, but, by God’s grace, I’ve been on Mission’s trips to remote areas where I’ve slept on concrete floors, taken cold showers, and rejoiced for the privilege of leaving everything behind except the clothes on my back.

We have way more than we need as Americans. To be on welfare in America is to be among the wealthiest people in the world. What if living “without reservation” for Jesus meant living on less so we could give away more? What if it looked like loving others so much, we risked everything to tell them about Jesus? What if it meant less time on the golf course or fewer trips to the hair salon and more time serving the needs of the underprivileged?

It will likely look different on some levels for each of us, but Paul wasn’t unique because of who he was, he accomplished so much and was used so mightily by God for who he believed God was. Is God simply your proverbial “genie in a bottle?’ You just rub His “prayer lamp” when you need His services? Or is He your lifeline, without whom you would literally have no life?

Until we learn to be content with whatever we have, we have no hope of living without reservation for Jesus or living life without regret.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Winners and Losers

“So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’s act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.” (Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT)

In retirement one of the fiercest battles I fight every day is how to invest my time. Being in my 70’s shouts to me every morning when I climb out of bed, that my time is running out. I feel it in my body and recognize it in the ways my mind works or fails to work. When we’re young we “spend” our time, often on frivolities, believing we have a lot of it left.

Of course, that’s a lie, because human beings die at birth and can live to be more than a hundred years. The kicker is, we don’t know when our appointed time will be. When I was in seminary, I was married, working full time, and going to school full time. To say I was juggling my time was a gross understatement.

Photo by Savannah Dematteo on Pexels.com

Money was tight, so I had to do as many things as I could myself, so when the car broke down, I enlisted a friend I’d met at work to help me. We pulled the transmission out of my old Rambler, repaired it as best we knew how, then reinstalled it. But in the process, we started giggling about something, then broke out in howling laughter, all the while trying to balance that transmission on our chests.

Those few brief moments together under that car proved to be the last time I would spend with my friend Doug. A few weeks later he was killed in Viet Nam., leaving his wife and baby behind. Pastor Corky Calhoun wrote: “When it comes to our time, there are always winners and losers. Sadly, way too often the losers are our family and God.” Could those moments Doug spent with me have been better spent with his wife and baby?

The reality is, when we spend time with someone, there are, by default, many with whom we’re not spending time. When we give someone our time, we’re literally giving them a very vital and non-retrievable part of our lives. Prioritize how you’ll invest your time and with whom. One of the most rude and insulting things we can do to another person is to waste their time or allow them to waste ours. Choose wisely those with whom you’ll invest your time.

As a believer in Jesus, we’re bound to be led by His Spirit in every area and dimension of our lives, including, of course, but not limited to, in the use of our time. Christine Caine wrote: “When we love God and receive His love, we won’t be able to help but love those around us.” In prioritizing my time I desire God to be first, my wife and family second, those I’m seeking to influence for Christ third, those in my spiritual family fourth, and everyone else after that.

Something I heard when I was first in ministry, that has stuck with me, is this: “I have all the time I need to accomplish the complete will of God for my life, if I do it efficiently.” Who will the winners and losers be in your life as you endeavor to do God’s will efficiently and effectively? Who will benefit from the person the Lord has enabled you to become as a child of God? Are there friends, neighbors, co-workers, loved ones, children, grandchildren, your spouse, someone God has laid on your heart in whom you need to invest time?

Invest wisely! You never know when you speak with someone if it will be for the last time.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

The Love We Can Never Earn

“Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better…For He has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.” (Colossians 1:10, 13-14 NLT)

It’s heartbreaking to see people who profess faith in Christ work so diligently to earn His love and forgiveness. Some religions are built around this concept of being good enough to merit heaven. A friend I met years ago was of the Muslim faith. I asked him what he believed about going to heaven, to which he responded: “I work hard to be the best I can be, hoping in the end, the good will outweigh the bad.” Similarly, friends who belong to the LDS Church, work tirelessly, not only for their own salvation, but for those who have already died.

This morning I read in Galatians 5:1: “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.” The “law” in this context is speaking directly to the Jewish laws but can also have reference to anything that distracts us from the power and authority of the Cross of Christ.

In Galatians 6:12 Paul writes: “Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save.” It doesn’t matter if our efforts to earn our own salvation come through religious or non-religious means, they lead to the same deadly end.

If we’re going to heaven, it’s all and only because of who Jesus is and what He alone has done. His blood paid the penalty for our sin and His sacrifice alone is the basis of our salvation. There’s no amount of good works, for ourselves or others, that can add to or deduct from what’s already been done by Christ.

Ron Hutchcraft put it this way: “No, you could never earn what Jesus suffered for you. But you can live each day of your life in light of it, which means you live to please only the One who gave His life for you. It means not limiting God to a little God-box you build, but blowing the walls off of your love and off of your surrender to Him. No cross should be too heavy for you and me to bear for Him. No demand He makes could possibly be too much. No sacrifice you make for Him can be too great. Not after what He sacrificed for you and me.

You may recall the final words of Private Ryan’s Captain (Saving Private Ryan) when he said to the young private: “Earn this! Earn this!” Then as an elderly man, Private Ryan knelt by the Captain’s grave weeping, asking his wife: “Am I a good man?” Or, in other words, “Did I earn the sacrifice that was made for me?” Having been haunted his whole life by the Captain’s words, as Ryan neared death himself, he still didn’t know for sure.

That’s how a lot of professing believers in Christ live, and die, uncertain whether they’ve done enough to earn their salvation. May I give you unequivocally and based on the authority of God’s Word, they/you have not done enough! You can serve Christ 24/7 for all eternity, and you’ll never do enough! We have certainty of our salvation through faith alone in Christ alone.

Any works done in an effort to add to what Jesus has already done is wasted effort. We do good works, not to earn salvation, but to give expression to our gratitude for what the Lord has already done. And the only assurance we need of our right-standing with our heavenly Father, is the assurance the Spirit Himself gives us (See Romans 8:16). It’s a gift that can never be earned, only accepted.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Teamwork

“Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers.” (2 Corinthians 6:14a NLT)

Have you ever felt alone? Not necessarily lonely, but alone, even amid a lot of people. Do you remember why you felt that way? Do you recall the context of your aloneness? I remember the barrenness of my soul after my divorce. Some literally avoided me, while others went through the politeness of a greeting, but it was cold and unsatisfying.

Do you remember the first hug you received after your divorce? I was leaving church and my Pastor asked how I was doing. It wasn’t an empty, void of compassion gesture, but a genuine invitation to be heard. I couldn’t speak but collapsed into his arms with involuntary sobs. I held on to him almost like a drowning man holds on to his life preserver. Those were moments that mattered to me, and I believe to him.

Sometimes, when life is good, we tend to forget the power of touch, the significance of being a part of another person’s life. One of the things I most look forward to and enjoy is holding my wife. Not a cursory hug, but holding her, feeling her breathing, knowing whatever the future holds, we’ll face it together. We’re not two individual persons, we’re one unit, we’re one team.

Whatever happens to one of us happens to both of us; whatever one experiences it’s felt by the other. To believe you can disrespect my wife and not disrespect me is to misunderstand the bonds of matrimony. Marriage isn’t simply two people living together and doing life, it’s two people functioning as one body. No one knows me better or understands me more fully than my wife.

Marriage is arguably the best picture of what it means to be a believer in Christ. To have the Holy Spirit abide in me is to know I’m never alone. I don’t walk alone, think alone, live alone, do life alone, act alone, serve alone. Being committed to Jesus is to be committed to His Body, the Church. To believe you can live for and serve the Lord alone is to misunderstand the concept of the Body.

Paul wrote in Romans 12:4-5: “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.” The Church on earth comprised of billions of people, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, is one Body in Christ.

We may not all agree on every point of doctrine, but if we’re born again of the Spirit, we belong to each other, we’re one Body. We’re “Team Jesus” and as such should commit to carrying on the work of winning the world to Christ together. Every day I pray for each member of my spiritual family wherever they are in the world.

There are people I will never meet and even of those I have met, I may not be God’s choice to lead them to Him. God has given me, as a member of “Team Jesus,” a portion of lost people to whom He’s given me access. And the refreshing and encouraging part of that process is I’m confident there are those across our globe who pray for me and my mission as I pray for them and their mission – you and your mission!

Teamwork in marriage, business, sports, and other arenas of life may require individual tasks or assignments to support and forward the purposes of the whole team, just like it does in the Body of Christ. And to the extent we serve with no desire or expectation to receive praise or credit for the result, to that extent we magnify Jesus and celebrate the privilege of teamwork to His honor and fame.

Whoever you are and wherever you serve as a child of God, please know that I love you, appreciate you and pray for you every day!

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

How to Build Treasure in Heaven

“Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NLT)

How happy would you be if you deposited $10,000 in your bank account, but when you went to take some out, it was all gone? Exasperated you ask: “What happened to my money?” To which the person from the bank says: “We used it to throw a party for our employees.”

You and I would be livid to think someone would have the audacity to use OUR money for THEIR purposes! Yet, we often do the very same thing with the money God gives us to be used for HIS purposes. The Lord gives us 100% of the income we have and, while He expects us to use all of it wisely, He asks us to return a portion back to Him to be used specifically for the accomplishment of His purposes.

Some may object: “Whoa, wait a minute, I earned every dime I’m paid. Where do you get off telling me God provides what I make?” Who do you think got you the job? Where did you get the energy and intellect to do the job? Who engineered the circumstances to put you in the right place to meet the right person at the right time to give you an opportunity to have that job?

One of the frustrations I had when I was actively serving the Lord vocationally, was having to depend on the money the church paid me to live. My dream was to be able to do what Pastor Rick Warren did when he began to receive royalties from his writing. He repaid every penny the church ever paid him and lived on the income the Lord provided through his writing.

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Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21: “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”

The word translated “treasure” is the Greek word “thesaurus (thay-sow-ros’)” from which comes our English word “Thesaurus,” which means “treasure or collection.” Our treasure isn’t simply dollars and cents, it’s often what the money can buy or provide for us. And notice, Jesus didn’t say “where your desires are, there your treasure will also be.” Our heart follows the money that purchases what becomes our treasure.

Think of the difference it would make, not only in how we use our money, but how we’d live our lives if Jesus was truly our Treasure. What if every penny we spent was passed through the filter of God’s permission? And hear me, I’m not there yet, but the Lord is laying it on my heart, that just as I don’t waste food, I mustn’t waste money.

What might it look like if Jesus was our Treasure? What is a treasure? Isn’t it what our time, energy, and affection is centered and focused upon? If our house is our treasure, we care for it meticulously. If something breaks, we fix it; if it needs painted, roof repaired, appliances replaced, heating/AC system needs repaired or replaced; whatever it needs, it becomes our top priority. It’s the same with cars, boats, airplanes, vacation homes, and on and on.

We build treasure in heaven by investing our time, money, energy, enthusiasm, and prayers in those in our spheres of influence who aren’t walking with Jesus. We allow what breaks the heart of God to break our heart. We invest hours in prayer for the souls of our family and friends. We make visits, calls, write notes or letters, and make endless invitations for them to meet with us and or attend church with us.

The Lord’s not going to wink at us and say “nice ride” because we put the money, He gave us to reach our loved ones and neighbors, into a car, house, of something else we didn’t need. He’s going to reward us for being wise stewards of everything He made available to us to build treasure in heaven.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Is That You?

“There are ‘friends’ who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24 NLT)

In sharing a quote by Andy Crouch, Dr. David Jeremiah, in a recent Turning Point devotional, wrote: “Our technology has eclipsed our psychology. ‘Is it a coincidence, or just a kind of grand irony, that loneliness has spiked just as our media became “social,” our technology became “personal,” and our machines learned to recognize our faces?’ (Andy Crouch)”

When I was first in ministry, I got a call late one night. This was long before cell phones, so I had to get out of bed, find my way to the big, clunky phone, and answer it. SILENCE! My first inclination was to hang up, but this wasn’t the first time it had happened, so I stayed on the line and listened. I said some version of: “I’m here, I’m listening, and I care, so please speak with me.” I was in Youth Ministry then, so I assumed it was one of the teens in my group, but it turned out to be one of their friends whom I’d only met a time or two. I learned a valuable lesson that night.

Often during our daily lives, we encounter people or circumstances with which we’re not acquainted, and we’re forced to ask: “Lord, is that You? Have you engineered these things? How would You have me respond?” His still, small voice is hard to hear in the loudness of our cell phones, tablets, iPads, and other devices that demand so much of our time each day.

Dr. Jeremiah wrote: “Every morning millions of people check their phones and social media, then go into their day with little true human interaction. They retire at night after checking their phones again and fall to sleep with a hunger in their souls for love and significance. Is that you?”

Are you the one holding in silence, waiting for someone to notice you, listen to you, care about you? While working from home can be a great blessing, it can also be the catalyst for anxiety, loneliness, depression, and worse.

Centuries ago, John Donne wrote the poem “No Man Is an Island,” the first line of which says: “No man is an island, entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” John Donne has been referred to as “The Poet of God’s Love,” so it rightly reminds me of the fellowship of believers that has been, and continues to be, so vital in my life. Certainly, this critical piece of what it means to be a child of God rang in the heart and mind of Donne as he wrote.

Often, while I was a Pastor, people would come to me for “counsel,” and it always baffled me when I’d sit and listen to them for an hour or so, but when they left, they’d tell me how helpful my “counsel” had been, when I hadn’t said 10 words. It causes me to wonder how many lonely people are dying for want of someone to hear them? To see them? To acknowledge their existence, their “part of the main?”

Sometimes it seems to be such a waste of time to be on the phone or in a restaurant with someone who goes on and on about nothing. I’ve been there, but it occurs to me that for them it wasn’t “nothing.” To them it was a lifeline of hope that someone was willing to listen to them, to acknowledge their existence.

Throughout my day I often turn my heart, mind, and voice to the Lord in conversation, yet He never interrupts me or hints in any way that I’m “wasting His time.” Quite to the contrary He says to me: “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Would to God that we could be more like Jesus in being available to those in our spheres of influence who so desperately need a listening ear. Is that you?

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊

Heart or Mind?

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’” (Matthew 22:37 NLT)

There are times in all our lives when we do things we don’t want to do. We say or think: “I’ll do this, but my heart’s not in it!” It may be cutting the grass or helping someone move a piano, but our heart and mind just aren’t in sync. How does that work in our walk with Jesus?

According to the verse above there must be an alignment of our heart, soul, and mind, but what does that mean? How do we recognize when that happens? What are some indicators that we’re on the right track?

The plot thickens because, as noted above, there are times when our heart and mind are the proverbial “polar opposites.” Think of Tax Day! Your Accountant calls and says: “I have good news and bad news. The good news is I have your taxes completed and you’ll be able to file on time. The bad news is, you owe $3,767. Your heart sinks and your mind rebels.

R.C. Sproul wrote: “The word of God can be in the mind without being in the heart, but it cannot be in the heart without first being in the mind.“ Heart, in the verse above is the Greek word “kardia (kar-dee’-ah).” Sound familiar? Have you been to the Cardiologist recently? Ironically, heart and mind are sometimes used interchangeably, but they have separate and distinct meanings.

The heart is the center of physical life. If your heart stops working, you’re likely not going to be around much longer. It’s considered in the Bible to be the center of all physical and spiritual life. According to Strong’s “it is the fountain and seat of the thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors.” You can think of your heart as being the “cockpit” of your life. It’s essentially the guiding force of who you are and what you do, for good or evil.

The word “soul” is the Greek word “psuche (psoo-khay)” from which comes our English word “psyche.” It can mean virtually the same things “heart” can mean, with one major difference. The soul is that part of us that lives forever, the part of us that God specifically designed and created to survive earth and last throughout eternity. It’s our character, the essence of who we are as human beings. It’s what defines us. When physical life ends, the soul lives on.

Couple that with your mind, which is the center of understanding and imagination. It’s what is reflected in the way we think and feel, our thoughts, either good or bad. Our heart, soul, and mind are inextricably interwoven and are, on many levels, inseparable. What Jesus is saying is that if we’re to love God fully, we must love Him as an integrated being – with every area and dimension of our lives.

Dr. Sproul’s observation is helpful because it alerts us to the possibility of loving God with our mind, apart from loving Him with our heart. What are the implications? We can love, serve, and obey the Lord out of a sense of obligation or duty, but our heart’s not really in it. It’s void of emotion and built on information processed in our mind, without being affected by the heart.

On the other hand, if we love God with our heart, it must engage our mind. Think of a chain on a bicycle. As the feet push the pedals, the chain transfers the energy expended to the rear wheel that activates movement. Your heart can desire God, even love Him on some levels, but it takes the mind to engage the movement of your life to God’s honor and glory.

So, the issue is never heart or mind. It must always be heart and mind devoted fully to fulfilling the Lord’s purposes in and through our life.

Food for thought.

Blessings, Ed 😊