HeartQuest 101

Life is hard. We are not guaranteed a life of ease just because we have died to self and followed Christ. We expect his hedge of protection and we often find hardship and pain in everyday life: we are involved in an auto accident, our job is lost, our health declines, our promotion falls through, our expenses exceed our income, our teenagers rebel and make poor choices that will affect the rest of their lives… It’s a burden, yes, and God wants us to cast our cares on him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). We complain to God and let him know that we think this life is unfair and it stinks. Remember this, he is big enough to take all of our complaints, the Bible is full of people who questioned what God was doing in their lives (Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Job). There’s no sin in speaking out to God, but we need to get an eternal perspective.

I found this awesome message in a song called “Held” by Christian music artist Natalie Grant:

Two months is too little. They let him go.
They had no sudden healing.
To think that providence would take a child from his mother while she prays, is appalling.

Who told us we’d be rescued?
What has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
We’re asking why this happens to us who have died to live?
It’s unfair.

Chorus:
This is what it means to be held.
How it feels when the sacred is torn from your life and you survive.
This is what it is to be loved.
And to know that the promise was when everything fell we’d be held.

This hand is bitterness.
We want to taste it, let the hatred know our sorrow.
The wise hand opens slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow.

Bridge:
If hope is born of suffering.
If this is only the beginning.
Can we not wait for one hour watching for our Savior?

When Bethany crashed on her bike years ago, she did not sit there on the driveway and complain that I did not care about her, that it was a bit casual of me to allow this to happen to her, or worse, that I sent this accident to teach her some sort of a lesson. She wanted daddy to run to her and hold her and reassure her that she was not alone and everything was going to be alright. Does not God do the same for us? Faith sustains us during the hard times of life, especially that this life is not all that there is.

I recently received this interesting story that puts hardships into perspective:

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, “God! How could you do this to me?”

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! “How did you know I was here?” asked the weary man of his rescuers. “We saw your smoke signal,” they replied.

So, the moral of this story? It’s easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is still at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

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Men, we spend a lot of our time at work. This news is not all that alarming, because I read that 10 out of 10 men are trying to discover ways to balance home and work responsibilities. I’m not too sure that many men come to the end of this life and confess that they wish they had spent more time at the office. Check out these haunting lyrics from a band called 33 Miles:

He never thought he cared so much about the minute hand until he started praying for a second chance.
If he could only do it all again he’d trade the long nights that he spent behind his desk for all he missed.
He tells his wife “I wish that this moment in this room was not me dying, but just spending a little time with you.”

Chorus:
You only get just one time around.
You only get one shot at this.
One chance, to find out
The one thing that you don’t wanna miss.
One day when it’s all said and done
I hope you see that it was enough, this
One ride, one try, one life to love….

She never thought she cared so much about those little hands that held on tight the day she left, ’til she was scared to death.
Sitting all alone on a hotel bed, the end of the road, the sun had set on her big plans to feel young again,
She picks up the phone, dials the number, hears that little voice that’s haunted every single mile since she made that choice.

We all want to be right with God and others, so take a look at this verse from Psalm 15:

“LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?” (Ps 15:1).

What is it like in the marketplace of America? I discovered that in February 2001 Sales and Marketing magazine did a survey and found that among those surveyed:

• 58% cheat on expense reports
• 50% work a second job on company time
• 36% rush closed deals through accounting before they were really closed
• 22% list a “strip bar” as a restaurant on an expense report
• 19% give a kickback to a customer

If Psalm 15 were the core value of every business plan and purpose statement and reviewed with every employee before hiring, the workplace would be a very different place. What type of person can live in the presence of God? Take a look at what each verse of Psalm 15:1, 2, 3, 4, 5 has to tell us.

David will bless God with heart-felt worship (Psalm 15:1). He recognizes that worship is not just good for others, but even for the king. As the man of your house, what sort of example are you setting for your wife and children? Do they see that entrance into God’s presence each week (corporately) and each day (privately or with family) is the ultimate priority in your life?

I like to use the phrase, “a holy walk” when it comes to this man’s integrity. As a man goes through life, his actions (the way he lives) are different, or set apart, from those in the world around him (Psalm 15:2). He keeps his promises (Psalm 15:4)

This man also uses honest words, and speaks the truth, which come from his heart, rather than using flattering or even slanderous speech (Psalm 15:2, 3). We see in this psalm that the man after God’s own heart speaks the truth in his heart, I see this as honesty with his secret words (Psalm 15:2b). He also is full of integrity with his spoken words (Psalm 15:3a).

We also see this man is involved in hard work for the Kingdom of God; the psalmist gets specific in that he “works righteousness.” This guy does what is right, even when it’s unpopular and all others around him are compromising (Psalm 15:2).

And David will bless God with his honoring ways (Psalm 15:5). He lends differently than the oppressors in town, he doesn’t make decisions based on what he can get out of it but on the criteria of whether is it right. He makes the tough call that honors God and builds up people. This man does not take a bribe nor does he look for the short cut.

The promise in this psalm is well worth it, “He who does these things will never be shaken” (Psalm 15:5).

So, ask yourself:

• Are you blameless in your approach to your work life?
• Are you truthful in all your dealings?
• Do you treat customers, vendors and fellow employees as your neighbor?
• Do you say what you do truthfully and do what you say?
• Do you follow through even if the outcome may not be positive?
• Will you lend money without interest to a friend and refuse to take a bribe?
• Are you passionate about the Kingdom of God and seeking His righteousness (Matthew 6:33)?

If you can say “yes” to these questions, then you are a “Psalm 15 Man” and can live with and abide in God.

Pray that God makes this psalm a part of your life and begin to ask God to show you how to live out this psalm in all you do.

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Forgiveness is something that is at the heart of the Christian experience. If it were not for the forgiveness of sin that God offers through the sacrifice of his one and only Son, I’m not all that sure people would be lining up to become followers of Christ. There is a deep need inside every man to be forgiven for the wrong he has done — to others, to himself and ultimately to God.

I find people from my childhood and youth and the first thing in my heart is, “I’m sorry.” I remember who I was back then and the things I have done. I’ve changed, and express how sorry I am for my former actions and words. The experience brings peace. If we desire authentic and lasting peace, it comes only through a right relationship with God and others.

Paul writes to the Ephesians that Christ himself is our peace; He has broken down every wall that divides and separates (Ephesians 2:14). Think about how the lack of forgiveness divides and separates, and the end result is a lack of peace in our hearts and lives. Forgiveness does not condone what the other person has done to us, but it allows us to get past it and start fresh. When we are the one who messed up, and others look on in judgment, it is their responsibility to search deep within to find the compassion of God to forgive and allow the relationship to be renewed.

Job lost everything and suffered greatly; he’s the classic example of a man who suffered greatly for no other reason than he was a faithful servant of the living God. His so-called friends came by and proceeded to discuss the theology of why this evil was happening to Job. He must be a great sinner, more than anyone else, for such bad stuff to be happening to him (Job 4:8 for example). What a statement of judgment and condemnation. Job is getting what he deserves. So, if anyone had a reason to hold a grudge, it was Job. He could have held a grudge against his friends for the way they treated him, and even a grudge against God for treating him the way he did. But catch what happens in this verse:

“After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before” (Job 42:10).

Job’s friends did not understand how a godly person could ever go through his degree of suffering unless God was judging him for his sin. But his friends were wrong and God intervened. God says, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” (Job 42:7).

Not much has really changed after thousands of years. Those in the church often wrongly equate trouble and hardship with sin (what have I done to deserve this?). Sometimes this can be true since actions have consequences, but often trouble is simply a consequence of the fall of mankind, or a call on one’s life (like Joseph in Egypt or Paul’s hardships – 2 Corinthians 11:24-26).

Joseph was required to forgive his brothers. Jesus was required to forgive Judas and the disciples for betrayal. You and I are required to forgive those who wrongfully judge us. This forgiveness is often THE most important step in gaining restoration in our own lives.

Job 42:10 reveals that it was not until Job prayed for his friends that he was restored in the things he had lost. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? It may be the missing piece of your puzzle for restoration.

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Work is a noble thing for a man to do. Some feel that working is a part of the curse that God pronounced after the first couple sinned in the Garden of Eden, but it is clear that man was to work the garden long before Adam and Eve sinned (Genesis 2:15). So when did work actually become laborious?

“All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied” (Ecclesiastes 6:7 NKJV).

We work to support our families, to eat, to enjoy life, yet the Bible says that these things will not satisfy the soul of a man. Think about how often men will identify themselves, and measure their worth, by what they do. Remember those weird introductions at parties? So, how would you feel about yourself if your job was removed from you tomorrow? Let’s imagine that your income wouldn’t change, just what you did everyday. How long will it take for life to become laborious and unsatisfactory?

One of the schemes that our enemy uses is to get men to view their value solely based on the type of work they do and how well they do it. This is performance-based acceptance. It says “As long as I have a good job and I do it well, I have self-esteem and people will think I’m valuable.”

This is a “slippery slope” and can be used by Satan to keep our focus on our performance rather than having a focus on Christ and his mission in the world. We are a part of that mission. We are never to find our value in our livelihood. Instead, our value is solely based on who we are in Christ. Paul wrestled with this after he came to faith in Christ. He had made it to the top of his field as a Jewish leader.

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith (Phil 3:4-9).

You’ll never really know how much your self-esteem is rooted in your work until your work is taken away. Unemployment, illness, or a financial crisis can lead to job loss, but our self-esteem is based on our faith in Christ; it is more valuable to know whose we are than who we are. Work will never satisfy the deep longings of our heart.

Why not evaluate where you are in this area of your life. Affirm with God your desire to be known by Who you know rather than what you do.

We are not meeting this Saturday due to the Youth Evangelism Conference, but will get together next week on Saturday January 23 at 7:30 am.

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Not too many men enjoy conflict, especially with their wives. Women are on a different level of thinking, emotion and we give up too soon when we need to get things straightened out. My Bible study class just finished a series on the life of David, and this is a story that may hit us where we live.

Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king (2 Samuel 14:23-24).

Taking a path that avoids conflict will only lead to later hardship. Such was the case for Absalom and his father King David. For a little background, remember this:

Amnon, also a son of David, raped his half-sister Tamar (2 Samuel 13:4, 11, 14), who was Absalom’s full sister. When this happened, David was furious but he did not punish Amnon for his actions (2 Samuel 13:21). Absalom saw this as a terrible injustice for his sister and assured her that he would take care of it (2 Samuel 13:20, 22). So, Absalom plotted to kill Amnon at the right time. He patiently waited for two years before he set up a situation to have him killed (2 Samuel 13:23, 28).

David was heartbroken over the death of Amnon and held Absalom responsible. At the same time, David still wanted to have a relationship with Absalom, but because he failed to address the situation with Amnon, when it happened, it led to more serious consequences in the family (2 Samuel 14:23-24, 28). Absalom was banished for three years because of David’s anger towards him which allowed seeds of resentment to grown in his heart (2 Samuel 15:1-23). Absalom then conspired to overthrow David’s kingdom.

It is tremendously important to confront problems when they arise no matter how uncomfortable it might be. Believers are called to speak the truth in love. “Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15-16). Failure to confront in love allows the enemy to sow greater seeds of conflict. Peace in the home will only come as we confront one another in love.

Is there someone else in your life that you need to confront in love, or resolve a conflict? Make plans now to get with this person and work through the issues that divide you.

See you this Saturday at 7:30.

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