DAY 4 - "WHEN HEART ACHES COME"

Meditations of the Heart

By Rob Bailes

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, Before the cock shall crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.Luke 22:62

Jesus had told Peter to be strong for the rest of the disciples just the day before and to resist the temptation of the devil. Jesus cared and spent time talking to Peter, yet he was betrayed by him when the going got tough. Peter was afraid of the possibility that he would have to suffer the same punishment as Jesus, if he stood up and told the people what he believed, who he loved and even more importantly that Jesus was innocent of the charges. He hadn't stood up for his closest friend! I'm sure Jesus experienced heartache like never before to know and experience this total abandonment of his fellow believer and pupil.
How about physical hurt and pain? Do you have memories of this type of treatment? Maybe someone you know has been through this in their past or going through it right now? How well did you deal with it?

Maybe your mom or dad was physically abusive or called you names and mocked you. Have you carried your hurt and your tattered heart full of holes with you each day of your life since this happened? There is hope for your damaged heart. Stay with me until we finish this series on heart aches and you will see.

There is hope for your heart and mind! Jesus gave us hope for the hurting and I will show you how.

Maybe you had someone attack you in an abusive relationship and really hurt you in a effort to try to control who you made friends with or talked with outside of your home. Were you or someone you know attacked physically as a teen and violated by someone you thought to be a nice person, finding no way of escape as they overpowered you. They didn't even seem to care how much you cried and begged them to stop! Maybe you've never talked to anyone about this attack on your body, mind and character.
They just would not stop attacking until you finally gave up the battle to maintain a remnant your dignity and some sense of self protection. They just had to be in control of everything!

Even your very thoughts were attacked and conquered by filling them with fear! Have you or someone you know experienced this type of barbaric attack of mind and body? The huge holes that are left in our hearts when this happens leaves us with a tattered and torn adrenal system, shot nerves and an emotional zombie long after the attack is past. These holes can seem to be impossible to heal even after many years! Did you realize that our Lord and Savior experienced this too and He knows exactly how you or your friend are hurting? That's right! Jesus has personally felt our pain! It may not be easy for you, but look at the following passage with me,

And the men that held Jesus, mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously they spoke against him. And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people, and the chief priests, and the scribes came together, and led him into their council, Saying, Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said to them, If I tell you, ye will not believe. Luke 22:63-67

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was mocked, spit upon, blindfolded and struck in the face over and over, as they each asked Jesus to tell them the name of the person who had hit Him. Jesus could have scared them all and named not only them, but their entire family too if He wanted, but He chose to endure the pain and continue in His Father's will, BUT WHY? That you and I would find freedom from our sinful flesh!

His suffering was endured because His Father loves each of us equally. No matter what anyone else may tell you, it's true my friend! God loves you as much as He loves anyone else in this world!

Now the Spirit can come and live in us all, if we believe in Him and seek Him! If you haven't ever really made this choice, I reach out to you and invite you today. Jesus can be trusted and He will hear your voice where ever you may be!

DAY 3 - "WHEN HEART ACHES COME"

Meditations of the Heart

By Rob Bailes

And while he was yet speaking, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before them, and drew near to Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said to him, Judas, Do you betray the Son of man with a kiss? Luke 22:47-48

At times we may find our character under attack by associates, church members or maybe even people we don't even know!

If not prepared, it will cause us critical damage and leave large tattered holes in our hearts. Have you ever experienced being rejected by someone you counted as trustworthy, because you chose from a moral standpoint to do or make the right choice? Maybe even your closest friend? Someone that you invested much time with or had even built a close relationship? The Lord Jesus Christ who came to give mankind life can relate to this totally. You'll see, as we look at the following passage,

Then they took him(Jesus Christ), and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house. And Peter followed at a distance. Luke 22:54

Peter wasted no time looking out for his well being when he slipped back into the shadows so he wouldn't be noticed! Have you ever started into a mission with someone, only to find that they were no where to be found when the tough challenges came? It was a shocking experience, wasn't it? You probably felt a bit of disappointment deep down inside, didn't you?

It's ok to admit it. We all feel these things when we get surprised! But it's up to us, as to what we do with those feelings after that disappointment strikes. Have you ever thought that maybe the one who disappointed you might have felt remorse or guilt later? Maybe they were too embarrassed or proud to admit it to you. Maybe they do it so often that they just got tired of apologizing to people for hurting them. Just maybe they want to be different, but don't know where to find help.

You may say, "There's no way this person would have ever felt sorry for what they did!".

Are you so sure of that? Maybe it is our own pride and bitterness that keeps us from turning them over in prayer to the all powerful hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, who can do all things. Just look at what happened next to Peter!

And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, Before the cock shall crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly. Luke 22:61

Be careful not to underestimate the power of the Creator of all mankind. Jesus is equal with God, Invite Jesus to work in the minds of people who disappoint and hurt you. Let's concentrate on keeping our roots away from the bitter water, lest we begin to bear a bitter, useless fruit in our own life. Selah

"WHEN HEART ACHES COME" - DAY 2

Meditations of the Heart

By Rob Bailes

And he said to them, I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer. Luke 22:15

Jesus knew the suffering that was coming and wouldn't do anything to keep it from happening because his suffering had been prophesied and even greater, it was the will of His Father! Jesus went through this suffering that we may be able to be justified and cleansed of our sins! He knew our self-destruction would be healed by His act of love on the cross if we accepted his salvation through faith.

If you have ever experienced a time of waiting for the suffering to begin; knowing that the attack would return again; knowing that the abuse was going to happen; knowing the betrayal of a close friend could repeat itself. You have started your day knowing that you would be made fun of; knowing that someone you trusted may use you again for their own selfish gain; knowing that all your kindness and love may be taken for granted, yet continuing to give over and over.

Maybe you get up each morning knowing the one you had devoted years of your life to is making plans to leave you. Does this describe your life? Is this how you or someone you know has lived or lives their life each day?

Knowing and waiting for the suffering to come was as painful, if not worse than the suffering itself. It left a hole in your heart for sure my friend!

A small hole every time a threat was made, every time an insult was thrown at you by your teenage son or daughter; every time your spouse made you feel like you failed; every time your cry for love was rejected by the one that you loved with all your heart, even the time your trusted coworker caused problems for you at work by talking behind your back.

Do any of these problems sound familiar to you? These are the things that cause us injuries and they come prior to the actual attacks! These are the small holes in our hearts, but the small holes will cause us allot of damage over the course of our lives and practically kill you if they never heal! Jesus certainly experienced all of these injuries leading up to the time of His crucifixion.

Have you ever been out right betrayed by someone you thought you could trust? This is so hard for anybody to deal with and this leaves holes in our hearts so deep when this happens to us! Jesus experienced this too, you know, in the garden when he was sold by one of His followers for 30 coins. His very own disciple went so far as using a gesture of love to betray him with! Does this sound like something you have been through before?

How do you think Jesus dealt with this painful betrayal of trust? How did he get through those moments of heart ache? Remember, Jesus knew that it was coming and still he continued with the will of his Father.

To be continued....

"WHEN HEART ACHES COME"

Meditations of the Heart

By Rob Bailes

"Healing the Holes in Your Heart"

Luke 22

The message today has to do with our lives and the things we have been through that have caused us some type of harm or left us hurt in some way and we cannot seem to forget it no matter what! Something that was so degrading or so surprising that it seems as though we will be haunted by the memory of it for the remainder of our lives!

The thing that happens whenever we go through an experience like this is we are left with a hole in our heart that doesn't heal back on it's own. As we go through our lives and experience this over and over we begin to feel as though our life has lost meaning and we can become weak in our spirit. Maybe even feel dead inside as we still go on with our lives totally undetected by those around us!

Let's look at some things that can cause holes in our heart. It is the equivalent of taking a big poker and sticking it right through our heart! You may be thinking right now, why use a big poker for this illustration?

Well, it doesn't take many of these experiences before we reach the point that we can't safely feel with our hearts. We may try to imitate people that do or we may pretend to feel, in hopes of saving our relationships, but there's not enough healthy heart left to even feel for our own self, much less anyone else! This is something that is hard for others to understand sometimes.

There are also smaller pokers that leave smaller holes in between the big holes and we can eventually end up with a heart that is pretty much like a sponge full of thousands of holes. The sponge soaks up everything it touched but it really doesn't serve any other purpose. We can eventually get to the same point in our lives when we continue on leaving the holes unhealed in our hearts!

Let's look at examples of our own experiences that are found right in the last 48 hours of the life of Jesus. That's right! Jesus too had the holes pierced through His heart just as we do. Lets read about the first of these experiences,

And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him: for they feared the people. Luke 22:2

The religious leaders of that day were really looking for ways to kill Jesus for doing what was right and threatening the rules that they had set up so that they could gain from the positions they held. Have you ever stood up for the truth in an organization or even your church and found that you were the one being attacked in the end. You couldn't help but wonder how you could be so mistreated to the point of being hated by the people you thought you knew so well when suddenly you became a threat to their world just by standing up for the right thing.

To be continued....

BITTER OR SWEET? WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

Meditations of the Heart

By Rob Bailes

Doth a fountain send forth at the same place

sweet water and bitter? James 3:11

In another version this passage is phrased,"Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter?". I call the Word of God the "Living Water" or "True Life" at least ten times a week while in conversation with those seeking for some kind of remedy or hope.

As I read this verse in James last night before retiring, I couldn't help but think about the Living Water that Jesus offered to the lost while here on earth. He was always talking about a fountain that would bring Life without end!

I was camping out in the Blue Ridge Mountains as a young man when I drank from a stream that looked like pure spring water. After all, it was flowing from a beautiful waterfall and there weren't any businesses for miles! Well, it only took about 24 hours to prove me wrong. I'll never forget how sick I got from just a handful of water that had the highly feared bacteria in it.

It is the Abundant Life that our Lord offers that can and will bring us the HOPE we need to survive in this world we live in today! Yes, there are trials and temptations; but we have also been freely given the True Hope that can abound even more than all our troubles.

After the tornados came through the southeastern states, it was strange to me that there were so many large trees laying on the ground. I thought about how many years those trees had grown and should be stronger that the younger tree. As I began to research this further, a gentleman who had spent his life studying science pointed out on interesting fact to me. That very educated man understood what had caused such devastation to such a mature tree. I'll share with you what he told me.

He said, "The tree didn't fall because of the branches or even the wind. It fell because something had ruined the inner core of the roots and trunk which support the branches."

As I went out and looked closely at the trees that were laying on the ground, I could see that the inner part had turned to mush. The trees didn't stand a chance with this condition when a little bit stronger wind came along! Something bad had gotten into it's source and been eating away at the inner core for several years. Then I thought about myself and how I had once been so busy serving the Lord and felt so strong inside, when something little came along and began to eat away at my inner strength, causing the microscopic virus of doubt to take a place in my life. It didn't happen all of a sudden. It was gradual and not even visible from my appearance. Finally when I realized my roots were tapped into a bitter water source, it was impossible for me to change what had happened inside of me. It seemed hopeless! All I could do is cry out to my Lord who offers us the pure, fresh water of Life!

My Lord and Savior came when I called to Him. He had to take me out of the source which was destroying me from the inside out. It's not the easy choice, my friends! You feel the pain as He uproots you and transplants you where the sweet water flows. He also has to do some trimming to get rid of the branches that are bitter so you can begin to produce sweet fruit from this time forward.

And yes! It takes some time for those branches to grow back and the trunk to once again take root deep into the source which gives you Life, so be patient and don't let the bitter enemy trick you into thinking you made a wrong choice. Just remember that it was the bitter water that would have destroyed you sooner or later with just a strong passing wind! Stay put in the Truth daily and grow strong!

³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. James 1:3-5