Heartbroken

What are your thoughts as we approach Easter? Do you observe Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday? If not officially, do you think about the timeline? Do you think about the days leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion? What was He going through?

Some denominations observe the various special days of Holy Week and some don’t. Some people, even if not officially, walk through the sequence of events during the week leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. Some will read the Scriptures and contemplate the events.

When we read those events closely, we see Jesus experiencing deep sorrow. It starts when He rides into Jerusalem in what we call His triumphal entry. True, He came riding in like a humble king, but He also wept (Luke 19:41). Why was He in such sorrow?

I believe Jesus recognized the sad state of humanity. God had made an effort to give us laws, rules, and principles to live by. Yet, as corrupt humans, we failed to follow His guidance. Jesus was required to come to earth to be our perfect sacrifice to bring us back to God the Father.

Jesus’ heart was breaking because of our lack of discipline and failure to take His Father seriously. He was saddened by our conniving, backstabbing, hatred, anger, sniping, arguing, fighting, worry, anxiousness, and simply failing to rely on God for our provision. Jesus saw our human desire to climb the corporate ladder, putting more stock in physical possessions over our relationship with God, our willingness to step on whomever got in our way, our hard headedness, and our maltreatment of one another. Jesus saw all the horrible behavior and attitudes of all time, and it broke His heart. He was overwhelmed with sorrow.

Unfortunately, we continue to cause Him sorrow. In many ways, our attitudes and behaviors are no better today than those of the Romans and Rabbis of the first century. Rather than helping one another, we look to dominate one another. Rather than lifting one another, we put one another down. Rather than turning to God as our provider, we rely on ourselves. We are selfish, ambitious, and down right mean. Even people we call good fall short of God’s expectations. May we all fall on our knees and beg forgiveness from God, expressing sorrow for our sinful behavior. Personally, my heart breaks as I observer our behavior toward one another.

I pray we all turn to God. I pray we turn from our horrible behavior and attitudes. I pray each one of us begs forgiveness and asks God to change our hearts. Contemplate Jesus’ sorrow. Wake up! Recognize your own failings. Turn to Jesus. Beg for forgiveness. Seek a change of heart.

Matthew 26:38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Wise or Foolish

How well do you listen? Do you take time to hear what is being said? Are you more willing to attempt to answer a question before it is fully spoken? Do you value your opinion more than others? Do you think that is wise?

By and large, we think we know more than the person we are talking to. Sure, know a handful of people who are specialists and we value what they say about their specialty. However, in normal conversation, our own opinion reigns king/queen over whomever we are talking to.

We see this belief exacerbated in social media—to the point of excessive offensiveness. We are far bolder giving our opinion when on social media than we are in person. Unfortunately, this a key contributor to divisiveness.

Our human inclination is to provide our opinion without being asked. We have been conditioned by today’s culture to spout off any time we feel like it. We are encouraged to be dramatic and argumentative. The same cultural attitude encourages us to be aggressive in standing against anyone who doesn’t agree with us. Where does that lead us? Into a culture of division, hate, feeling offended, and intolerance.

The wisdom of Proverbs is truly amazing. It can lead us to a society of tolerance. It teaches us to listen before we speak. It teaches us to guard what we say in order to save our self-esteem. I mean, how many of us have said something we later regretted? Don’t be shy. Raise your hand. I have both of mine raised.

If we learn to listen, to truly hear and understand what the other person is saying, before we spout off a harsh retort, we just might save ourselves a lot of heartache. When we understand one another and attempt to see things as the other person does, our own lives become better. When we add in a little consideration for one another, our lives become more peaceful.

A wise person listens before they speak. A wise person is in a continual learning mode. A wise person thinks through the pros and cons before they spout their opinion. A wise person brings about calm and peace rather than chaos and divisiveness. A wise person is willing to debate but unwilling to start a heated argument. Perhaps we all should listen more and speak less.

I pray we all decide to listen carefully. I pray we make an effort to understand one another. I pray each one of us pursues being wise rather than foolish. Listen to one another. Understand one another. Seek wisdom rather than folly. Speak sparingly. Save yourself from shame.

Proverbs 13:3 Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.

Proverbs 18:13 To answer before listening— that is folly and shame.

Be Poor to Become Rich

Do you want to become rich? Are you chasing a new promotion? What is it you are working toward? Would you like to be a millionaire? Is money the object of your obsession? Have you taken time to define what rich means to you?

We all want to be able to provide for our families. Many of us want to have enough money saved so we don’t have to work. Most of us plan for retirement by setting aside money in 401K’s or other retirement plans. But how much is enough?

Unfortunately, our world has convinced far too many of us that we can never have enough. There is always one other gadget we “need” to have. Or there is one more luxury we “deserve.” The worst part of it all is, we believe what the world is telling us.

The world’s definition of being rich is more money, more things, a bigger house, fancier cars, and living a continual party. At least that is what we see on our televisions and social media. Yet, when we have interactions with people who have achieved those things, we find they are not truly happy. In fact, those people often suffer from depression, loneliness, and a feeling of being lost.

There is one person who left all His riches behind to become poor in order to allow us to become rich. Jesus left the perfection of heaven to be our Savior. He walked this earth during His ministry with no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:28).

Jesus came to give us the riches of heaven. A far different definition of being rich than we see and hear defined by the talking heads. Being poor here on earth will result in us becoming rich for eternity, though money and possessions has nothing to do with it. Being poor in spirit acquires heaven for us (Matthew 5:3). Being poor in spirit means submitting to God, obeying His commands, and following Jesus.

Having a humble attitude, serving others, and doing good for the glory of God is our mission set by God. When we accomplish that, whether through ministry or in our workplace, we become rich. When we recognize it is only possibly through God’s grace, we begin to understand our position in life. With each step we take toward this goal, we take another step toward the riches of joy, peace, and contentment.

I pray we all seek the riches of heaven. I pray we become humble in attitude. I pray each one of us choose to obey God’s commands and follow Jesus. Know that Jesus became poor for you. Know that you can become rich by following Him. Be humble. Follow Jesus. Discover the riches waiting for you.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Eyewitness

Have you ever witnessed something outlandish? Have you witnessed an event that was amazing? Have you witnessed something that you wouldn’t believe if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes? Have you tried to convince someone else that you actually saw it?

We all have seen something during our lifetimes that stunned us. We have seen someone do something amazing, perhaps unbelievable. We have likely told a friend or relative about it and heard their protestations that it couldn’t be true.

Now, imagine you are one of the disciples who traveled with Jesus for three years. Imagine trying to tell someone about the miraculous things He did. How do you convince someone that Jesus walked on water, raised both a man and a little girl from the dead, gave blind men their sight, healed the lame so they could walk, or cured leprosy? How do you convince them that He was crucified on a cross, buried, rose on the third day, walked the earth for forty days, and was lifted to the heavens on clouds?

This was the task of the Apostles. They were witnesses to the most amazing happenings this earth has ever experienced. Their task was bigger than any task we might face. Yet, because they were witnesses, they believe and would not stop attempting to convince people who Jesus is. Is it any wonder that many of them were martyrs?

In our modern times, many don’t want to believe the Bible. In fact, there are many Christians who are not fully convinced that Jesus is who He said He is. Otherwise, they would give Him the same devotion the Apostles did following His resurrection. We have never seen such amazing things happen and can’t fully wrap our minds around them. We want proof. We want to see it happen for ourselves.

We are called to not only believe, but to testify as witnesses ourselves. True, we may not have seen the events the Apostles did. But we can see Him working in our lives in the here and now. It is our personal experiences with God that convince people the eyewitness accounts by the Apostles are true. It is the personal stories we tell that plants the seed of faith in someone else.

I pray we all believe the eyewitness accounts of the Apostles. I pray we examine our lives to see how God has worked for us. I pray each one of us witnesses to others our experiences with God. Believe the eyewitness accounts. Recognize God working. Be a witness. Convince others Jesus is who He says He is.

Acts 10:39-41 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

Executed Will

Have you ever wondered why Jesus needed to die? Why couldn’t God simply provide a means for forgiving our sins without the need for Jesus to die? Have you thought about it? Would you like to have a little deeper understanding?

Many of us have a written will. All of us should have one, though many do not. Why do we write a will? It is to document our desires for what happens to our belongings after we die. We understand this concept. It has been in place for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.

Let’s look at our questions. First, God did put in place a process by which people could have their sins forgiven—it was the sacrificial system used by the Jews for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, there were some designated times for corporate sacrifices and many of the people only participated at those times. Think of people who only attend church at Christmas or Easter. Therefore, if those people sinned at other times and did not offer a sacrifice for themselves, they died in their sin. That leaves some question concerning whether the persons’ sin was forgiven or not, and whether they were going to heaven or not.

I think we all know God doesn’t want us to guess whether we are going to spend eternity with Him or not. So, His will was to provide a continual covering for our sin, a means for us to ask for forgiveness of our sin at any time, not just at the temple in conjunction with an animal sacrifice. How could He do that? He had to provide a perfect sacrifice that would fulfill His requirement once and for all.

So, why did Jesus need to die? A will is not executed until the writer of the will has died. Since Jesus is God, once He died, His will was executed—meaning the simplest system of all was put in place. We now have the ability to ask for forgiveness at any time, in any place. God’s will is that we seek His forgiveness and He will forgive us. Again, to execute a will, a death must take place.

Here is the best news, Jesus rose on the third day so that we may have hope. He rose as a promise that we will join Him forever. He rose to show us that we live forever, even if we die (John 11:25-26). What does this mean? It means that we have overcome death, just as Jesus overcame it.

I pray we all understand why Jesus had to die? I pray we realize His death was to execute the will of God. I pray each one of us will recognize that we live, even though we die, in Jesus and with Him. Comprehend Jesus’ death. Know that you live forever. Celebrate Jesus’ life. Live for Him and with Him.

Hebrews 9:16-17 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.

Everlasting Love

How long does love last? Will it last to the end? Do you wonder where love is? Have you experienced a deep, committed love? Are you looking for a love that will never end? Do you know there is an everlasting love available to you?

We all look for love. We long for someone that will care for us forever. Unfortunately, in some cases, lasting love is being replaced by a temporary and fleeting love. In fact, it may simply be momentary lust rather than love that people settle for.

Yet there is an everlasting love for all of us. It sounds cliché when we hear it. But clichés have developed from truth. It is when we dig deeper into the cliché that we discover the original truth behind the cliché. When we discover the truth, the cliché is no longer a flippant saying for us, it becomes a meaningful truth that we hold on to.

As Jesus was approaching the end of His time on this earth in human form, He reflected on the short life He lived as one of us. One reflection was on the love He showed to those He spent time with. He especially reflected on the love He had for His closest friends and disciples. He knew that He loved them to the very end.

The good news for us is that He loves us to the end as well. He won’t stop loving us, nor will the Father. We may not have His physical arms wrapped around us, but His love is wrapped around us. When His love becomes more to us than intellectual knowledge, we find peace that goes beyond understanding.

The love of Jesus includes His willingness to die for us. But that isn’t all it included. He lived for us! He experienced life just as we do. He was tempted. He argued with Satan. He obeyed political leaders. He reprimanded religious leaders. He corrected erroneous teachings. Jesus knows from personal experience what we are going through. Having left heaven to spend a life on earth, He showed His love for us and has become our perfect mediator before the Father.

We often hear or say, “been there, done that.” Jesus has as well. His love understands what we are going through. His love is His motivation to continue to care for us. Jesus loves us now and will continue to love us until this world passes away and we join Him in heaven.

I pray we all discover the truth behind the cliché of everlasting love. I pray we recognize the love Jesus has for us. I pray each one of us will accept His love into our lives. Know that Jesus loves you. Accept His love. Realize He will love you forever. Experience His everlasting love.

John 13:1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

Destiny Versus Choice

Do you sometimes wonder if your life has been predicted? Do you wonder if you are simply living out your destiny? Have you thought through that line of questioning? Do think about what it would be like to have your life laid out as a roadmap for you?

Many, if not most, of us will think about our life at some point and wonder why certain things happen. Our line of thinking will take us down the road of wondering if we are destined to continue down a specific path. It is at this point, we either succumb to it or make a drastic change.

The good news for us is God gave us the ability to choose. We can choose to change our lives. We can choose to follow a different path. We can choose to follow God or deny Him and go our own way. It is our choice. Only we can make it.

In one respect, Jesus had the same choice. Being fully man, He had a choice. On the other hand, being fully God, He had no choice. He had to follow the plan. God had laid out the plan hundreds of years in advance. He sent messages to the prophets through the Holy Spirit, providing clues to His plan.

When Jesus started fulfilling His ministry, He knew the end. He knew what had to be done and when it would happen. He knew the message the Holy Spirit had provided to the prophets. He knew the expectation that was set by the Father. He knew the circumstances and sufferings He was going to face.

Can you imagine if you knew what was going to happen in your life, including the moment and way in which you would die? Some will foolishly say they wish they knew. Yet when we take a peek on those who have been told they X months to live due to cancer, we find the vast majority wish they didn’t know. It becomes a black cloud hanging over their head. They go into denial. They fight. They do everything they can to extend their life.

For those of us who follow Christ, we don’t need to fear dying. Though Jesus didn’t want to experience the pain, He had no fear of death and neither should we. He knew He would spend eternity on the throne of God. We know we will spend eternity with Him. Jesus is our example in both life and death, resulting in eternal life with God.

I pray we all spend some time thinking about our choices. I pray we decide to evaluate our past and plan our future based on God’s viewpoint—to the best of our ability. I pray each one of us choose to follow Jesus. Contemplate your choices. Make a plan for your life. Base your choices on God’s desire for you. Trust God to provide. Choose to follow Jesus.

1 Peter 1:10-11 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

A Good Worker

Are you a person who does your work cheerfully? Or do you grumble about the tasks assigned to you? Do you willingly chip in to help others? Or do you attempt to get out of helping? Have you thought how that reflects, not only on you, but on God as well?

We all have days when we just don’t feel like doing anything. That is human nature. Yet we can’t be like that every day. In fact, that should not be our normal attitude about work. If it is, we are presenting a bad image of God’s people to others.

I’m sure many of us have known at least one person who puts more time and energy into avoiding work than they would have to if they simply did the task. They spend time making excuses, thinking up reasons, and going somewhere to hide from doing their work or helping someone else. The question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we that person?”

That question is not an easy one to answer for ourselves. Why? We often fool ourselves into thinking we are great at our job; we are a wonderful employee. To honestly answer the question, we must take a hard look at ourselves. We must recognize when we are avoiding the task and make a conscious effort to change our attitude toward it.

Why is this important? As stated earlier, it is a bad reflection on God as well as us. Whether you think people know or not, they know you claim to be a child of God. When we don’t go about our work with a good attitude, people take notice. When we argue and grumble with one another, people take notice.

Our negative attitude tells those who are also followers of Christ that we are not really taking on His teachings and applying them in our lives. It tells those who aren’t Christ followers that we are no different than them and it gives them no reason to become a follower of Christ.

I have personally experienced the results of being a positive example in the workplace and a good friend. I have seen it cause someone who was not a Christ follower to become a Christ follower. I have seen that person become an active member in the church he attends.

Folks, our attitude makes all the difference in the world. We can develop a much better attitude by learning more about Jesus and taking on His personality. Jesus is the Word of life. He is our perfect example. His teachings will guide us to be the person God desires us to be.

I pray we all look to Jesus as our role model. I pray we take time to know more about Him. I pray each one of us will honestly evaluate our attitudes and make positive changes. Give up the bad attitude. Be a cheerful worker. Be a helper. Willingly pitch in to help others. Follow Jesus’ example. Ask God to make the changes in you. Trust God.

Philippians 2:14-16a Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.

Wonderful Transformation

How will you be transformed? How will you change? Do you ever think about that? Do you realize when you die you will change? Do you know your earthly body will become a heavenly body?

All who believe in Jesus will be changed. We will give up our corruptible earthly body and put on a heavenly body that is incorruptible. Our fallible earthly body will be exchanged for a perfect heavenly body.

God has provided a glimpse of this transformation in the seeds and plants of this earth. We know the seeds that are planted have one form and become something completely different as they grow. Tiny seeds of wheat grow into stalks that produce heads of grain. The small seeds of flowers grow into bushes producing beautifully colored flowers. An acorn, about the size of the end of your thumb, grows into a mighty oak tree.

Though these are not perfect parallels to what will happen to us when we die, they are a representation to give us a glimpse. The significant difference is this—we will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:51-52). We may not fully understand how this will happen, but God works in ways that we can’t comprehend in the here and now. Our faith trusts that God will fulfill His promises. We trust God can do what is impossible for us (Luke 18:27).

It is sad that many people around us do not think about their eternal life. They either don’t believe or won’t plan for eternal life. Their focus is only on the moment they are living. Oh, perhaps they will plan for a future, but the future they plan for is an earthly future not an eternal future. They may not believe they will be raised from the dead and live forever. They may believe all they will ever experience is the life they have on this earth. Unfortunately, they are sadly mistaken.

We will all live forever. Those of us who believe in Jesus will live forever in God’s presence. We will be with Jesus, our Brother, for eternity. Our earthly bodies may pass away, but they do so that we may be given our heavenly body. Take heart in this wonderful promise of transformation.

I pray we all keep in mind our eternal life. I pray we spend are earthly life preparing for our heavenly life. I pray each of us trust God to fulfill His promise. Prepare for transformation. Look forward to the change. Trust God. Put your faith in Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:35-38 But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?” How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

Disciple of Jesus

Do you struggle with your identity? Do you wonder who you are? Have you wrestled with how to let others know who you are? Have you convinced yourself whose you are? Do you know that you belong to someone?

We all wrestle with our identity as we grow up. Some of us continue to wrestle with our identity far into adulthood. I daresay some wrestle with it into old age. Not fully understanding who you are and whose you are is tough. It makes life much harder than it needs to be.

Life is difficult. We all face challenges and struggles. We all have times when we feel there is no way to go but up. Sometimes that is true. At other times it is not, it just feels that way. These difficult times are more difficult when we have no one to lean on, no one we can trust.

It is especially in difficult times we need a rock-solid person in our life. We have access to that person, if we will only reach out to Him. Jesus is our rock. He is trustworthy. He provides for and takes care of His disciples. How do we know if we are His disciples?

Jesus gave us a measuring stick by which we can determine if we are His disciples. He stated we are to love one another. It really is that simple. Yet, it is not so simple either. Loving one another requires us to forgive, demonstrate patience, show grace and mercy, demonstrating forbearance, and often giving up our own preferences and desires for someone else.

As we see in today’s passage, loving one another is not optional. It is a command from Jesus. It is one of only a handful of commands He gave us. In fact, it is one of two that Jesus said the law of God and the prophets are wrapped up in (Matthew 22:37-40).

The love Jesus mentions in this passage is not a fleeting emotional love. It is a convicted, deep love. It is what we often call unconditional love. This includes the ability to see people as Jesus sees them—a child of God. It includes caring for them on emotional and spiritual levels.

I pray we all follow Jesus’ command. I pray we decide to love one another. I pray each of us will commit to showing our love and proving we are His disciples. Love one another. Demonstrate your love openly. Follow Jesus’ command. Be a disciple of His.

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”