"Broken Things"

"For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:16,17

When something is broken, we usually see it as valueless and discard it. Not so with God, broken things are what He is looking for- those are the things that He can use and get the most glory from.

The alabaster box was broken, and its fragrance filled the room. Your life is like an alabaster box. It is filled with the fragrance of Christ. Until you are broken, Christ fragrance cannot fill the room.

The stone in the wilderness was broken and water gushed from it to satisfy the thirst of a whole nation. Your life is like a stone that is full of water (the Living Water) and when you are broken those waters gush out to satisfy the thirsty soul. - “He who drinks of this water will never thirst again.” (John 4:14)

Gideon’s clay pots were broken and revealed a light that was in them. You are a clay vessel that holds the Light of the world. When you are broken that light is seen by those who are in darkness.

Bread was broken at the Last Supper. You are like bread that God desires to use to feed those who are hungry for more than this life has to offer. When you are broken and passed around to the hungry, they can “taste and see” that the Lord is good.

Jesus was broken and salvation was available to all men. We too are to follow His example and submit our wills to be broken so that the Father may be glorified. As we are broken, then we can truly say, “It is not I that liveth, but Christ that liveth in me”. And He is seen and glorified by all.

Have a great day. Brokenness is not always a bad thing... God can use it.

"Why Do You Follow?"

"Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life." John 6:68 

"From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." (verse 66) Many who had followed Jesus were now, because of the word He had spoken to them, turning away from Him and not walking with Him anymore. This same thing is happening today. There are those who have walked with Jesus and followed His teachings but have now turned from following Him. They stopped following for various reasons. Some have stopped because He didn't answer a prayer in the way they wanted Him to. Some have turned from Him because they feel that He let them down. Others found themselves in a situation-- the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, a divorce, a sickness or some other adversity-- and blamed the Lord for it, so they turned away from Him. 

 

The same people who were now turning from Jesus in the verses above had turned to Him to begin with because of what they saw Him doing. They had heard of His fame, they had seen His miracles, many of them had been healed themselves by His power. They followed Him because of His acceptance of the outcast and downcast. They flocked to Him because the religious leaders didn't have what they needed, the government couldn't provide what they lacked, there was no other place than with Jesus where they could get their needs met and feel the loving grace they felt from Him. 

 

The question then becomes, "Why were they following Him in the first place?" Some followed because of the miracles that He did. In other words, they followed because of what He was doing and what they could get from Him. When you follow for the wrong, or a selfish, self-centered reason, when the following becomes hard, when it leads you into a place you had not planned on going, when it puts a demand or condition on you, if you aren't following for the right reason, then you will turn from following.

 

Now the question today is, "Why are you following Him?". What is your motive behind following Jesus? Is your reason enough that it will keep you following Him even when times get hard, even when persecution comes, even when things don't go as planned, or even if the journey gets painful?

 

Have a great day.   Why are you following Jesus?

 

For further reading:

John 6:2, 64-69

"Behold Jesus"

"Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!" John 19:5 

When Pilate brought Jesus forth to stand before the crowds, he said to them, "Behold the man!" In other words, "Look at this man!" As we look more closely at what Pilate said, there is a question that arises in his statement. The question being, "Look at Him, what do you see?" 

 

Pilate saw a man who was hated to the point that the religious leaders wanted Him dead. He also saw a man who was innocent of any crime. The soldiers that beat Him saw another criminal upon which to inflict their cruelty. The religious leaders saw Him as one who was a threat to their power and influence over the people. Some saw Him as a king who would deliver them from Roman oppression. Some in the crowd saw Him as a dreamer. Some saw Him as a teacher. Others saw Him as a miracle worker who had healed them of their disease. There were those who saw Him as a rebel bringing in a new philosophy and going against the old established ways. Some saw Him as the Messiah. Some saw Him as just another man, while others saw Him as God.

 

There were many different views of who He was among those in the crowd that day, but what others believe about Jesus isn't what is the most important thing. The most important for you is-- what do you believe about "this man". It brings us back to a question that Jesus asked His disciples earlier in His ministry-- "who do you say that I am?".

 

It is not about what the crowds say, other individuals say, the religious leaders say, your parents say, or the political leaders of the day say... it is about what you say. Pilate missed who Jesus was. The religious leaders missed who Jesus was. Many in the crowd missed who Jesus was. If we miss who Jesus is then we lose out on everything-- eternal life. When the culmination of the end of this world as we know it comes, there is only going to be one answer that will be the right answer to the question of, "Behold, Jesus, who is He?" That answer will be the same one that Peter gave-- "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God". "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:10,11)

 

Many in the crowd the day of His crucifixion may not have recognized who He was, for them their opportunity is gone. But you and I still have the opportunity today to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord. Will you? Have you? When the question is asked, what will you say? Who will you say that He is? 

 

Have a great day. What do you see when you "behold Jesus"? 

 

For further reading:

Mark 8:25-29

 

"Spring Cleaning - Part 2"

"For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day." Numbers 32:29 

Yesterday we talked about how a lot of ladies do a once-a-year spring cleaning to give their houses a thorough, deep cleaning, de-cluttering and reorganizing. We also talked about the fact that we should do the same with our "spiritual houses"-- give them a cleaning, de-clutter them from all the unnecessary things, and reorganize by placing our priorities in order. I probably should clarify that while we should do this, it is not a "once a year" thing we should do. 

 

Even if my house gets a good once a year cleaning, the task isn't finished for a year. I have to clean it on a regular basis. Each week, sometimes each day, I have to dust the furniture, wash the clothes, sweep the floors, etc. The same thing should happen with my spiritual house. Daily when I see the "dust" collecting- bad attitudes, wrong behavior, unkind words, and so on- I need to clean it up. We don't wait until we are in church, and a specific altar call is given. We don't wait until revival services to take care of it. We have to take care of anything that comes into our lives and threatens to steal our joy, rob us of abundant life, weigh us down with cares, or pulls us away from our Savior... and we have to take care of it then. Don't wait. 

 

Although, when I see the dust on my furniture, I would like to put off dusting it until a later date, the dust is a sign I need to do it then. If you see "dust" collecting in your heart, that is a sign you need to take care of it now and not put it off. The longer you put it off, the dustier it becomes. The dustier it is the more problems it turns into. The time is always now to deal with whatever is going on in your life. 

 

Today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to take care of besetting sins. Today is the day to come clean and repent. Take care of it now. Don't put it off. Don't leave it for another day. When you see the problem, is when you deal with the problem. When you see the issues arising, when you recognize the hindrances, when you know things are not right between you and God, that is the time to do some "house cleaning"... then, not later.

Have a great day. Spiritual house cleaning should not only be done once a year, but it should also be done whenever you notice the "dust".

 

For further reading:

2 Corinthians 6:2

"Spring Cleaning"

"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Corinthians 7:1 

Each year at this time many women do a spring cleaning of their homes. It is a time when they give their house a deep and thorough cleaning. Three things are accomplished when you spring clean-- 1) everything gets a good washing removing the dust, dirt and buildup; 2) things get re-organized and put back in their proper place; 3) it is a time to re-prioritize what is important and valuable and discard what is unnecessary.

 

Perhaps we should do a "spiritual spring cleaning" from time to time as well. Doing a spiritual spring cleaning would accomplish the same three things for our spirits as a physical spring cleaning does for our homes. 

 

1) Our spirit man needs a good "cleaning" to remove the "build up" of worldliness that attaches itself to our hearts and minds. We need to wash away fleshly mindsets that have formed by exposing ourselves to the philosophies and opinions of this world. We need to wash away the influences that we have picked up from the ungodly. We need to wash away the conformity to this world that has settled on us and renew our minds so that our thoughts are transformed into what is clean and clear. "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." (Ephesians 5:26) "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2a)

 

2) We need to get "re-organized" by putting things back in their proper place. If we aren't careful, we can allow spiritual things to begin to take a "backseat" to the natural things. Bitterness can get in the place where love should be. Anger can get put where gentleness and meekness should occupy. Unforgiveness can be found where grace and forgiveness ought to be. If we are careless with our spiritual well-being, then things in our lives become out of order and chaos and confusion set in. But when we put everything in its proper place- spiritual things first- then we live in peace. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33) 

 

3) We also need to take time to re-prioritize our lives. Have you let what once was the most important things- prayer, fasting, Bible reading, worship, communion with the Lord- be replaced by entertainment, socialization, busyness, the cares of this life? Spring cleaning is a time to make some changes and decide what is really important and what is not and discard what isn't. When was the last time you examined your life to see if your priorities are still intact or have they been misplaced or replaced by something else? "..let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.." (Hebrews 12:1)

 

Has it been a while since you have "spring cleaned" your spiritual life? Have you noticed a "build up" of worldliness in your life? Do things seem to be out of order and not in their proper place? Do your priorities need to be rearranged? 

 

Have a great day. There are those who are doing a spring cleaning of their houses, perhaps we should also do a "spring cleaning" of our "spiritual house".