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!

"FAITH DOES NOT DOUBT" - PART 1

Your faith will change your life!

Have you ever had someone warn you of something and you thought to yourself, "I'm not so sure about that", only to find out later that they were right?

It is at the moment that we realize that something is for real and we know without a doubt that what we have heard is true, that faith takes seed in our hearts, our minds and our body! It's at that moment that we also find ourselves moving into action, as the situation becomes more clear.

Jesus gives us an example about the man that digs deep and lays his foundation on the rock so that his house will stand when the water beats against the house. Jesus was referring to the man that will listen to what He tells him and then "do" what he has heard. It is through the believing of something that we experience faith and this faith will cause us to act accordingly. Right now, what I want you to concentrate on is what you believe! Take all other thoughts and interruptions and leave them in the next room. I want you to focus your full attention for the next ten minutes on what you believe and look at how it has changed your life. Ready?

It is simple to say we believe in something, but it is different to believe in it so much that we have faith in something or someone. We use the words faith, believe, commit and dedication so casual in our day, that we often miss what it really means, but I find that the parables and experiences of Jesus actually take us to a level of understanding where we receive wisdom and knowledge that we are able to apply to each of our lives. "Faith Doesn't Doubt!" There seems to be allot of confusion about this simple, yet profound statement today.

I hear people say so casually, "I believe in God,but...this or that" and people say, "I have faith, but I think there's a limit to how far you should take it!". Another one I have heard is, "I asked God to save me, but I never did anything that bad anyways".

It is good for us to take time to study the parables and teachings of Jesus, as this will show us what we need to build a solid foundation for our lives. Jesus teaches all of us that the first thing we need to do in laying our firm foundation is to believe without a doubt, have faith. Let's all take a few minutes to look at a place in time when Jesus had been performing miracles. He was invited to the home of a Pharisee to dine and Jesus had accepted the invitation. He had been teaching and performing miracles, so I'm sure that there was quite a crowd gathered around the man's house, just waiting for Jesus to reappear and continue demonstrating His miraculous power and the pouring out of His compassion on them. Somehow though, a woman had slipped into the room where Jesus had taken His seat on the couch. The Jews would eat while laying on their side and their knees bent with their feet behind them.

I can imagine this woman showing herself at the doorway and Jesus motioning for her to come in and join them. Perhaps the Pharisee had gone to check on the food or may have been inviting some of the others that were his friends, as we see later that there were others at this meal.
None the less, the woman who is not ever named, enters the room. She has been listening to Jesus teaching and has seen His miracles performed...TO BE CONTINUED