Change of Heart

How generous are you? Are you willing to give what you have to help someone else? Will you give from your abundance or from your lack? How much are you willing to sacrifice to help someone in need? Are you willing to follow the example Jesus gave us?

We like to think of ourselves as being generous. And we are…to a degree. There is one odd observation I have made over my life. The poorer someone is, the more likely they are to share. Isn’t that odd? We might think it should be the opposite.

Paul was encouraging the Corinthian church to share their blessings with the church in Jerusalem. They were going through a famine, and they were poor. In the first century there was a large disparity among classes. The top five to ten percent were rich and controlled virtually every aspect of life. There was no more than ten percent who were merchant and may be what we call a middle class. The remaining eighty to eighty-five percent were poor. They lived meal to meal, and often only had meat a couple times per month.

Most of us cannot identify with being that poor. But it was they were the ones Paul was asking to help their brothers and sisters out by contributing an offering for assistance. We often hear people grumble about churches asking for donations. Many of those grumbling have more than they need. Jesus said we cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13). Yet, when we are stingy, failing to share what God has blessed us with others, we have chosen to serve money over God.

We have a choice to make with the blessings God has poured out on us. We can hold them tight, serve them rather than having them serve us. Or we can choose to follow God’s heart and use what he has blessed us with to bless others. It is a change of heart. One we all need to ask God to make within us.

I pray we all ask God to make a change in our heart. I pray we choose to share God’s blessings with others. I pray each one of us is willing to give to the church and thereby give to help others. Have a heart like God’s. Share God’s blessings. Give to help others.

2 Corinthians 8:7 Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

Cry Out in Despair

Have you been in the pits? Have you been in the depths of despair? Have you wondered where to turn for help? Have you turned to charitable organizations? Have you turned to friends or family? Have you turned to God? Have you cried out to him in despair?

We all become overwhelmed or depressed at one time or another. Sometimes, it is relatively small. Perhaps our team loses a championship game. Other times, it is much more significant. Perhaps the loss of a loved one, unexpected loss of a job, or a broken relationship.

Experiencing despair or deep depression is not only a mental health issue but also has a negative effect on our physical health. Poor mental health negatively impacts our physical wellness. Stomach issues such as ulcers, unable to keep food down, and acid reflux can occur. Our nervous system is affected and can cause weakness and instability in our legs and arms.

When we have financial difficulties, we can reach out to a variety of charitable organizations, social organizations, and churches for help. When we experience broken relationships, we may reach out to friends, family, pastors, or counselors. The loss of a loved one can be especially difficult and we may lean on other family members and friends. We may also lean on our pastor.

Yet, there may be times when all the help we may receive from others simply isn’t enough. We find no comfort or solace in their attempts to help us. In those times, we need to reach out to God. He knows our situation. He knows what we need. Admitting to him that we have nowhere else to turn, that we are putting our full trust in him to deliver us can be the only means to obtain the peace, comfort, and solace we need.

I pray we all have friends and family we can turn to for help. I pray we know God is always with us. I pray each one of us will reach out to God for help in every situation, especially when we are in despair. Know who you can trust. Know you can trust God. Turn to God in your despair.

Psalm 130:1-2

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. 

Lord, hear my voice! 

Let your ears be attentive 

to the voice of my supplications!

Mourn as God Mourn’s

Have you lost a loved one? Has someone who mistreated you passed on? Have you lost a good friend? Did you mourn equally for each of them? Or were you less upset by one than the others? Have you considered each person has someone who loved them?

When close friends or loved ones pass, we often grieve heavily for them. We may grieve for months or years. There is hole left in our lives that just doesn’t seem to ever get filled. But we don’t have the same emotional reaction when someone who mistreated us passes.

David had a different reaction. Though Saul had attempted to kill David on multiple occasions, David still mourned his death. Saul’s son, Jonathan, was a close friend to David. They were so close, they considered one another brothers. David mourned Jonathan’s death as well, but no more than he mourned Saul’s. David wrote a song for both of them and order it to be taught to all of Judah for them.

Perhaps this is a contributor to David being called a man after God’s own heart. You see, God cares for every person. He desires that every person turn their heart to him. He wants every person to come home to him. Was David concerned for Saul’s soul? We don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe he simply mourned the loss of Israel’s first king. Regardless, David mourned Saul’s death the same as he mourned Jonathon’s.

If we are to have a heart like God’s, we need to mourn the loss of one of his children, especially if that person will never go home to God. Our heart should break as God’s heart breaks. The closest we can come to understanding is to imagine a child of ours who leaves home and never returns. Think about the heartbreak you would feel if that happened to you.

I pray we all mourn the loss of God’s children. I pray our mourning inspires us to seek to bring people to Christ. I pray each one of us imagine losing a child that never came home. Mourn the loss of God’s children. Have a heart like God. Love as God loves. Seek to bring others to Christ. 

2 Samuel 1:17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan.

Jesus Can Do Anything

How many times have you needed reassurance? Can you count them? Do you want reassurance nearly every day? Do you need it in your job? Do you need it in your relationships? Do you need it to overcome fear? Have you turned to the One who can give it?

Reassurance is great to have. Often, we simply want to know we are not alone. We desire to have someone going down the same path along with us. There is comfort in two parties traveling together. We feel safe. We experience companionship.

Fear can be a motivator and it can immobilize us. But more often than we would like to admit, fear stops us from moving forward. Whether it is a fear of failing or the fear of dying, we stop us or cause us to find a different, less fearful way. We even suffer from imagined fear. We allow imagined fear to manifest on false pretenses.

But Jesus tells us not to fear. We are to believe. Though He said on multiple occasions for a variety of reasons, today’s passage is said to a father whose daughter was sick and had died. Everyone around him was filling him with fear, but Jesus told him not to fear, just believe that his daughter was going to be alright.

What does that mean for us? Most of us have no expectation for Jesus to show up and raise a loved one from the dead. Perhaps we should. Perhaps we should believe Jesus can do absolutely anything. After all, He can! Rather than fighting a battle on our own, we should call Jesus into the battle. We should set aside our fear and turn it over to Jesus.

I pray we all believe Jesus can do anything. I pray we give our fear. I pray each one of us will call Jesus into whatever situation we find ourselves in that causes us to fear and turn it over to Him. Believe in Jesus. Turn your fear over to Him. Know Jesus can do anything.

Mark 5:36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”

God’s Healing Power

Have you been sick for several days? Did you wish the illness would simply go away? Have you known someone who dealt with a disease for years? Did you wish they would be healed of the disease? Can you imagine what it would have been like to be healed immediately?

Illnesses and diseases are common. We expect to contract a cold, flu, or even covid at some point during the year. We don’t like it, but we know it is very likely it will happen. We doctor ourselves with medications to manage the symptoms until they run their course.

We all know someone who has dealt with a serious disease. It may be cancer, lupus, fibromyalgia, or ALS. Those who have lupus or fibromyalgia wrestle with the effects for a lifetime. Some days, they are nearly incapacitated with pain. Those who battle cancer have the possibility of being cured, but many are not. ALS is an unforgiving disease that has only one outcome.

A woman who had dealt with a bleeding disease for twelve years grasped at the last straw of hope when she approached Jesus. She had heard He had healed many others, even casting out demons. She was convinced that He could heal her. So much so that she just sought to touch his clothes. The slightest touch would bring about healing.

Jesus knew immediately she had touched His clothes and had been healed. He felt power leave Him. He looked around to find who had touched Him. There was a large crowd who were all bumping into Him, yet it was this woman who had drawn power from Him to be healed. Jesus tells us it was her faith that healed her. It was her faith that drew upon His power to be healed.

Our faith can bring about healing. That doesn’t mean there will always be a healing. Yet, there are healings because of someone’s faith. That faith comes from deep within and is often a desperate desire to be healed. But make no mistake about it. It only occurs within God’s will. When God has a plan for the person who is ill, when they are to be a witness to his power, the healing happens.

I pray we all seek to fulfill God’s will. I pray we reach out to God and the hope he offers. I pray each one of us deepen our faith in Jesus and His healing power to heal us of our illnesses. Trust God. Seek his will. Deepen your faith. Seek healing from God. Know he has a plan for you.

Mark 5:27-28 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.”

Disciple of Jesus

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be one Jesus’ disciples? How do you think you would handle the large crowds? What about the boat rides across the Sea of Galilee? Do you think you might have understood the points He was trying to get across?

Being one of Jesus’ disciples while He was crisscrossing the Sea of Galilee and walking across the region of Galilee would have been a challenge for most of us. Not only would it have been physically demanding, but it would also have been mentally challenging.

Ever wonder why Jesus came when He did? Timing. God’s timing. But think about it. The disparity of wealth was at or near its peak. About five percent of the people were wealthy and had the power to control the population. Ninety-five percent of the people were peons, serfs, or slaves. In other words, they lived hand to mouth, meal-to-meal.

Wherever Jesus went there were crowds. The crowds were so large they could not gather in the towns. There was no place that could hold all of them. We look back today and see Him feeding the four-thousand or five-thousand and think that isn’t an extremely large crowd. Yet, for that time, it was very large. It would have been rare to see that many people in one place outside of the colosseum in Rome.

This would be similar to twenty or thirty thousand gathering on a hillside today to hear someone speak, by comparison. Jesus was more popular for the three years He walked this earth than any other person. To be His disciple required faith, versatility, and a willingness to be on the go. Perhaps we would be more effective in bringing people to Jesus if we were like that.

I pray we all consider what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. I pray we have a willingness to be versatile and flexible. I pray each of us will step out in faith to bring people to Jesus. Learn from Jesus’ early disciples. Be versatile. Be flexible. Be willing. Growth your faith in Jesus.

Mark 5:21 When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.

Speak Frankly

Have you opened your heart to someone else? Have you opened it to a group of people? Have you shown them that you care for them, only to have them take advantage of you or cast you aside? Do you desire to have them open their hearts to you?

Opening your heart to someone else can be difficult to do. It is even more difficult to open your heart to a group of people. We want to ensure it is a safe place before we do so. If we do and people take advantage of us, it makes it more difficult to open our hearts again.

As difficult as it is to open our hearts to show the love of God to others may be, it is what we are called to do. One part of opening our hearts is speaking frankly about God’s love, letting them know that God loves them and desires them to love him. Not everyone wants to hear that message nor does everyone believe it. Yet, we are to speak it anyway.

When we tell others and are rebuffed, it can sting. Yet, God can work in their hearts long after we have planted the seed. The fruit of our labor may not be realized until years later. Therefore, we may never know how the seed we planted may grow.

Paul knew he had planted seeds. He pleaded with the Corinthians to open their hearts, not simply to his message, but to the message he spoke on Gods behalf. We may also plead with people to hear the message. They may be standoffish, just as they were with Paul. All we can do is plant the seed and let God provide the growth.

I pray we all open our hearts to others to reveal the love of God. I pray we speak the truth to them about God’s love. I pray each one of show others we care about them and so does God. Show the love of God to others. Speak God’s truth to others. Plant the seeds. Leave the growth to God.

2 Corinthians 6:11-13 We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return—I speak as to children—open wide your hearts also.

Use God’s Grace

What comes to mind when you hear the word grace? Do you think of a grace period on a loan? Has a teacher given you a grace period for turning in an assignment? Have you thought about the grace of God? What does God’s grace mean to you?

We all have experienced grace in one form or another. We likely have shown grace to someone else, perhaps without knowing it. Often a loan includes a grace period, allowing a payment to be late without penalty. Grace can even be synonymous with being pardoned.

Pardon. That’s a good synonym for God’s grace. Because of Jesus going to the cross to be the payment for our sins, we are pardoned, though we like to use the word forgiven. The same meaning comes from all three of those words when it comes to our sin. Yet God’s grace is bigger than just forgiveness, though forgiveness is included.

We like to say that God’s grace is “unmerited favor.” That is true. But what does that mean to us in our everyday lives? It is God blessing us with the breath of life. We experience grace in God giving us skills, talents, physical health, and a sharp mind. God may shed his grace on us without us knowing it. It may come in the form of a speed bump, slowing us down so that we are not in the wrong place at the wrong time, even if it is frustrating to us in the moment.

Paul tells the Corinthians not to accept God’s grace in vain. What does he mean? He means that we should not accept God’s grace and do nothing with it. We are to bear fruit for God with the grace he has shown us. We are to accept his grace with an expectation that we are to be a better representative of him. God deserves it. We will be better for it.

I pray we all seek a better understanding of God’s grace. I pray we know God sheds his grace on us each day. I pray each one of us will not take God’s grace for granted but be a better representative of his. Understand God’s grace. Accept his grace. Use it to be a better person.

2 Corinthians 6:1 As we work together with him, we urge you also not to accept the grace of God in vain.

Be In Awe of Jesus

What are you afraid of? Do you have reoccurring fears? Do they haunt you regularly? Are you looking for relief from your fears? What would you give to be relieved of your fears? Are you willing to release them? Are you willing to turn them over to the One who can relive you of them?

We all have fears of some kind. We may have fears of wild animals, deep sea creatures, water, heights, or of failing. Those fears are very real for us. They frighten us whenever we encounter them or perhaps even think we will encounter them. Yet, they can be removed.

The disciples were in a boat on the sea with a storm blowing and waves crashing over the boat. They could not bail the water out of the boat fast enough. They were sure the boat was going to be swamped, capsized, and they were going to drown. Meanwhile, Jesus was laying in the back of the boat asleep. What? How can anyone sleep with a storm raging all about them?

Jesus had been teaching, healing, and casting out demons for a large crowd. He had done this over several days in different places. He was exhausted from all He had been doing. This was His human side. It reminds me of the longest day I ever worked—fifty-four straight hours. I slept for twelve hours when I finally got home.

But Jesus would soon show His divine side. The disciples woke Him up out their fear of dying. He quickly stopped the wind and calmed the sea. He asked them why they were afraid and if they still had no faith. They were astonished. They were in awe. Jesus had commanded the elements. He had done the impossible.

Jesus still does the impossible. He can calm our storms. He can remove our fears from us. He can carry us through the storm, shelter us from the storm, and calm the storm we are in. But He wants us to put our faith in Him. As we do, we will see Him do amazing things in our lives as well.

I pray we all put our faith in Jesus. I pray we release our fears to Him. I pray each one of us will are astonished, in awe, and amazed at how Jesus works in our lives when we put our faith in Him. Release your fears to Jesus. Trust He will remove them. Put your faith in Him. Be in awe of Jesus.

Mark 4:40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?”

Be Rejuvenated

Have you been involved in a movement and felt the need to leave it? Was it simply that you needed a break? Were you in need of rest? Does that happen to you in your workplace? Has it happened with a ministry you were involved in? How did you handle it?

We can be involved in a variety of movements. They may be social organizations. They may be justice related movements. They may be ministries in our church. They may be large projects in our workplaces. We can get to a point of exhaustion or burnout, needing a break.

Jesus was certainly involved in a movement. In fact, He was leading the movement. He was bringing God’s message to God’s chosen people. His first priority was to clarify and explain God’s meaning behind commandments and guidance given to the Israelites during the previous couple thousand years. Changing people’s minds, changing their viewpoints, perspectives, and understanding can be time consuming and exhausting. Jesus needed to step away from the crowd for a short period of time to get some rest.

We, too, need to step away at times to get some rest. Unfortunately, our culture has equated stepping away from those situations to taking a family vacation, which does not always result in rest. We joke that we need a vacation from the vacation, because we have packed so many activities into our vacation that we are worn out from them.

When Jesus stepped away from His ministry for a few days, He didn’t go do other activities. No, He rested. We also need to plan time to step away and rest. We need the down time to be rejuvenated. Our strength does not return to us while we are active. Our minds do not renew when we are juggling schedules. For those to happen, we need both physical rest and mental rest. The best rest we can achieve comes from spending quiet time with God.

I pray we all recognize our need for rest. I pray we purposely plan down time to rest physically and mentally. I pray each one of us spend quiet time with God to be renewed and rejuvenated. Know that you need rest. Plan down time. Spend quiet time with God. Be renewed. Be rejuvenated.

Mark 4:35-36 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.