Why be tender-hearted?

I have not always appreciated that God has created me to be a sensitive person, when you are a young boy this is not a trait highly valued by your peers. I have seen that being sensitive means that God has grace me with a sensitivity to His Spirit, which allows Him to minister healing to many broken hearts. In Ephesians 4:32 the Word says, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." The Holy Spirit is telling us through Paul that walking in the Spirit will result in being tender-hearted and kind to one another. In Proverbs 4:23 God is telling us through Solomon to guard our hearts because out of it flow the springs of life. I realize that there are times where I have allowed a hardness to build up in my heart because I reacted after the flesh towards someone or towards the Spirit. I find when a hardness (rebellion) builds up that I am not as responsive to the Spirit, I am not getting my needs met from God, and I will tend to continue reacting after the flesh. "Blessed is the man who reverently and wonderfully fears [the Lord] at all times but he who hardens his hearts will fall into calamity." -Proverbs 28:14. Now I see there is a process of (just as James 1:14-15) being drawing away from our daily abiding in the Vine, it doesn't just "happen". When I begin to develop a hardness of heart, I also see that I fail to recognize sin for what it is and begin to justify not moving in love. Since in the New Covenant we are given a new heart (Ezekiel 36:25-26), we need to learn how to live from this new heart united to Christ. I recently was subtly confronted by my mentor that I had been walking after the flesh and was in idolatry, I was offended at first when he challenged me to repent. Then as I looked over my week I began to see the pattern of where I had been drawn away from living in Him. As I allowed the Spirit to bring about repentance my heart was again open to worshipping Him in tenderness and love. I had been frustrated earlier in the week that my needs were not getting met and I began to feel a sadness/hurt inside. Since I spent much of my childhood alone and didn't learn how to share my deep inner world, the Lord is teaching me how to keep the temple (our Body) filled with the Holy Spirit and not other things. It is amazing to me when my heart has a hardness how much easier it is to be selfish, be harsh with someone, or resists the Spirit's leading. Looking at the Proverbs 28:14 verse from New Covenant lenses, we have the Spirit of Christ in us who does fear/reverence the Father. We don't have to try to produce fear of the Lord, Christ is in us but we can go back to our old ways "in Adam" and try to do life independent of the Spirit within us. I have to admit there is part of me that doesn't want the authority to choose to stay tender-hearted, the seed of the flesh wants to be lazy and say why can't I just flow through life. I am reminded by the Lord that we are at war, the Kingdom of God is colliding with the kingdom of Darkness. I was reminded of this yesterday when I was tired but trying to play with my kids by having a water balloon fight, then the doorbell rings and there stand two 18-20 year old Mormon missionaries. I have already described a little bit of my heart condition this week, part of me was ready to do battle and the other part was just generally irritated. I began to engage in some discussion, trying to hold our dog back from licking them to death. I could feel myself being a little nervous, angry, and then being reminded that love is what triumphs. So after a short time of challenging their assumptions based on the Book of Mormon, I asked to pray for them. They both look a surprised and even took a step back. They asked I pray for success in their ministry (which there is no way in Hell I would pray for), so I prayed for truth to be revealed, their protection, and that the love of God be shown to them. I am telling you this to reveal that I was definitely at a vulnerable time and here comes the kingdom of darkness seeking to invade, coincidence? I think not. We are at war, if we forgot this the struggle seems meaningless and we will seek the world's way of wanting things to be easy. I am thankful for this wake up call by the Lord to show me more about His Kingdom. So be tender-hearted, the Spirit of Jesus within you is always tender-hearted but we will yield to Him or go or own way Today.

In His Grace,
Bret

Jesus the destination?

It seems that I am in the stage in my life, as with others to want a more clear vision of where I am going. Life is a journey and everyone is on that journey but not all of what people call life is really life-giving. It is a dangerous, risky, sometimes cloudy, and always interesting journey. The people who give pat answers whether they be religious or cliche often cannot make these answers really function in life. I am thankful for the people who are willing to be honest and open about life's disappointments, dangers, and yet find life. The Word of God defines life as a person, Jesus in 1 John 5:12. When I was deep in prayer and in a time of disappointment in life, the Lord spoke to my heart and told me He was my destination. I have to be honest I have veered from that path a times but through God's faithfulness I am finding my way back to live that truth. Everyone has some vision for life otherwise they would be dead, vision gives hope. It is what or who we behold that either can give life or bring death. The crack addict has vision of getting his next fix, only to find yet again that it did not satisfy the ache inside so back for another. Don't judge the crack addict because we are not so far from him, we often have a desire for something or someone that doesn't end us up in fulfillment. Everyone is searching for life and those of who call ourselves Christian and who the secular world calls "religious" don't seem to have the corner on life. There are many who are Christians who are just as empty, disappointed, lonely, and miserable as the world. Only Jesus is defined as life and therefore our destination as well. Isn't true that Jesus is coming back for a pure and spotless Bride, if we don't die beforehand we will see Him returning for us. He is ultimately my destination, it is not to live as though Heaven doesn't exist and is not my eternal place of rest. So what does it mean that I will one day see Him in all His fullness and in that moment be truly free of all encumberances (sin, the flesh, and the enemy). Isn't it true like a flying a plane that in order to fly level (w/o instruments) you need to focus far out in front of you on the horizon. If you focus on the ground or clouds you will get disoriented. The horizon is fixed and will keep you going in the direction you need to go. We have the privilege as followers of Christ to know the end of the story, written in Revelation, that the Bride will be with the Bridegroom forever and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. All this to say that to see, know, and experience Jesus is not only where we are going but also life today. Also I think of the verse in Matthew 6:20 that says "lay up treasure in Heaven..." Am I really yielding to His Spirit and Life to let Him do works through me that are laying up treasures in heaven. Having an eternal perspective according to the Kingdom of God impacts the way I approach the people I will meet today and how I will treat my family. I believe as I see Jesus as my destination that my vision for how His Life will unfold in me will become more clear.

In His Love,
Bret

Blessed are those who Mourn?

Jesus was always teaching about the Kingdom of God (a realm where God is King) and demonstrating the Kingdom of God. What a strange thing to begin His public ministry saying that the Blessed are the poor in spirit and those who mourn. The Kingdom of God is not like this world and operates not based on self-sufficiency but humility. After 5 years of solid ministry I realize that I am tired, fatigued, and in need of some renewal. I am getting back to the basic foundation of encountering Jesus and being filled by Him. I realize that there has been a "great sadness" lurking beneath the surface in my heart that tends to spill out in areas of my life. I tend to do what most Christians do, stuff it and suppress it because I am supposed to be joyful as a follower of Christ. Yet Jesus seems to tie experiencing great mourning with being blessed and comforted. We all have things in our life to mourn: broken dreams, disappointments in relationships, loneliness in childhood, lack of experiencing love, financial loss, lost relationships, death of someone close, etc.. I could go on with quite a list because we live in a world that is deeply infected by sin and the death that it brings. It is amazing that Jesus doesn't call to the learned who have been studying the Scriptures to know about the Messiah or those who have diligently been working to keep the Law, He calls to those who are low, hurting, desperate, and in need of hope. We don't encounter Jesus with our intellect but out of the deep needs of our heart. So I am entering into this deep sadness to mourn, fully believing this is the very place that I will encounter Jesus. In Nehemiah we are told that the "...joy of the Lord is your strength" to a people who were mourning and weeping. I am so glad that the Lord does not expect us to supply our joy for the Christian life but invites us to exchange our pain, loss, sadness for His joy. I do expect blessing out of this journey into mourning and sadness. If you are human like me, you probably have your degree of sadness and loss. Jesus doesn't want us to handle with our own strength, trying to cover up this sadness with a surface happiness, He wants to take us on the journey to reach the other side entering into His joy. He is here to comfort and encourage you (and me).

In His Comfort,
Bret