The Incurable Heart Condition

I was reading in Jeremiah (17:7-10) this morning. He shares with us this warning:

(9) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

(10) “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”

I had read (somewhere) that God intended for man's heart to be good. It says in Genesis that he saw everything he had created was "GOOD". Including mankind. But the sins of Adam have been passed on from generation to generation, and finally, passed on to me.

How can I trust my own heart? The answer is "I can't!" So for me it boils down to seeking the one who's heart is perfect; the one who's desires are perfect. The spirit of Christ dwelling in my heart allows me to move toward a pure heart; because HIS heart is pure.

Jeremiah provides this encouragement before his warning (verses 7-8):

(7) “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
(8) They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Trust in God today and not in our own desires. His ways are higher than ours. His thoughts are higher than ours.

Prayer for my friends: Lord, this week, may your desires be our desires; may your thought be our thoughts. Search us Lord and change our hearts. We long to trust you. Plant our feet firmly next to your streams of living water and  help us not to fear during difficult times.

Excerpts of A Letter From Family in Crimea

I received this rather hopeful story via email from a ministry friend in Crimea.

"Dear brothers and sisters,

… This Easter is going to be very special for our family and our friends here.

There is no peace in our country, not only in the Crimea but in eastern and central parts the situation is tense, there are armed people in the streets, now and again we hear reports about shooting and someone being hurt or killed. The economy of the country is fallen apart. Several banks are being closed. There are no job opportunities for many. People are divided, even [within] one family people may be divided ... Some are happy... others suffer....

...In the Soviet times Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote that Stalin killed thousands of priests in prisons. Thousands and thousands of Christians ... were tortured and killed in labor camps in the North. One of prisoners who survived such a camp wrote a book about his experience "A Candle Which Is Not to Be Blown." In the book the author writes, "Many say that serious temptations and tests make one's faith stronger and develop the soul, yet at the camp I saw the something different - serious tests destroyed the faith and turned the soul into burnt desert. Maybe, that the Apostles had the same feelings when the One they loved had died on the Cross? With His death their hope to the victory of peace, good and justice in the world had died as well. The Apostles sat in the room, depressed and hopeless, their despair did not go away even with the news from the women that Jesus rose from the dead. It was only the personal meeting with Christ that changed everything."

Amazing how many similarities we see in the current events here and in the events in Jerusalem over 2000 years ago! We see a powerful ... empire, believers who feel lost, [and] those who stay faithful, ... Like 2000 years ago it is only the unity with brothers in spirit and the real relationship with [a living] God [that] can give us power to move on.

May your Easter season be blessed with peace and joy, with fellowship with faithful friends and may the temptations which come from the Lord never burn the soul but make it stronger!

Sincerely yours,
A* and A*"

In the Eye of the Storm...

"One of my favorite movies is “Twister” ( suspense thriller about monster-sized tornadoes).  My favorite scene is when the two main characters are running from the Twister, just steps ahead of the flying debris.  They run for shelter only to find sharp objects dangling and swaying. 

No peace and no shelter there!  Finally they find the right place with a firm foundation to hold on to.  They find themselves tangled together as they grasp each other.

The Twister comes to a stop directly over them.  Swirls of debris circle around them as their bodies are lifted up by their legs from the powerful suction, upward to the Eye of the storm.  There is a  look of awe on their faces as they look on in disbelief; amazed at the power of the storm.  IN the eye of the storm the wind and terror ceases. FINALLY! They can rest, if only for a moment, in the midst of the storm that encircles and rages around them. That is where PEACE and COMFORT and JOY is.

Turmoil and darkness all around but the Eye of the storm is light.  That is where God is. He is the Light.  He is Peace. He is Comfort. He is Joy. Let us keep our eyes on him during this storm.

Praying with you for Crimea, Donetsk, and Slavyansk.  Praying for our people and praying for those we percieve as our enemies. Reading and praying Matt. 16 and Prov. 16."

Credit: adapted form Cheri R.

Enemy Mine

Matthew 5:43-45 Matthew 5:43-45  “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 

I remember the Sci-fi movie from the mid-80's entitled, Enemy Mine. A soldier from Earth crash-lands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.

As Jesus is preaching his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), after describing what it means to be bless-ed, he begins to talk about how we are to treat others. He tells us that we are to be Salt and Light - we are to be world-changers. He says to keep ALL of God's commandments. He warns us not to use words to commit murder. He tells us not to commit adultery in your mind. He talks about divorce, making promises we can't possibly keep, and....seeking revenge. We're not used to thinking like this!

Then he talks about a subject that is very difficult - something so backwards -something so upside down.

He says, "Love your enemies!" Wait....WHAT?! Love those who persecute me and the ones I love? That's crazy-talk Jesus!

But as I begin to really think about that idea of loving those who persecute me or those I care about, another story came to my mind - The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).

When Jesus tells the "Good Samaritan" story he begins by asking his followers, "Who is my neighbor?" As I thought about this question, yet  another question came to my mind. Not so much "who is my neighbor" but instead, "who is my ENEMY?" 

I'm very confused and heartbroken over recent events. I see my friends around the world hurting and I am seemingly powerless to do anything about it (or am I?). I have lots of questions about how to walk with them through this catastrophe.

Matthew 5 reminds us of the responsibility we have to pray for my "enemies". In 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Paul reminds us of the responsibility we have to pray for our governments and leaders. Sometimes governments seem like our enemies. Right? What would happen if we took these responsibilities seriously?

If we aren't careful, we might find ourselves caring for our enemies in a completely unexpected way.

Lord, you have a plan for each of us. Remind us daily of our responsibility to pray for those who seem to be out to get us. Remind us daily to pray for the leaders of the world - even those we perceive to be our enemies. In that way, may we come to care about our enemies in a completely unexpected way. Enable us to see with your eyes today. Amen.

Help Me Help Them...

God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 

The last few days and the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine have been troubling for me. I worry about my many friends and the children we serve there. I ache for the tragic loss of life and what seems to me to be insanity. One of the most beautiful cities in Europe has become hell-on-earth. The explosion of rage of an otherwise peaceful, quiet kid in the playground going berserk after being pushed too far by the local bully. 

I have to physically force myself to swallow and blink when I watch YouTube video of protesters being picked off by snipers on the city streets I have walked in years past. In the next moment I have to wipe the tears welling up in my eyes when a fellow countrymen risks his life to drag the wounded from the firing line. 

The endless stream of hellish photos on the internet remind me more of  what the illustrated version of Dante's "Inferno" would look like. 

Back in the summer of 2013 it seemed as though orphan outreach was changing. I found myself wondering what the ministry I am so passionate about would look like in a Ukraine with no more orphans. Almost worrying - "What will I do then?"

I found myself wondering, "How can I possibly encourage and mentor my friends on the ground in Ukraine when I have no frame of reference? I've never lived through a rebellion! How am I going to help them through all of this? 

I have been so worried about all of my friends there. I worried about them traveling to Kiev. I worried about the unrest escalating and spreading. I feared for their well-being, their safety and their future. What if ANY of my friends were hurt or even killed in the violence? 

As I wandered down the worm hole of fearful speculation, I stopped for a moment and realized...this is not about me! This is about something other than my fear. 

Then something began to rise up - a thought. More of a reminder actually.

I can only live for the here and now. Only God live simultaneously in past, present, and future. Only he can live outside of time. While I can do little to change the world, I can do something to encourage, comfort, guide, and help others. No sympathy is required. Only understanding, an open ear, the symbol for a hug ((H)) in a chat message from afar, and sharing the knowledge that I have received comfort so that I can share it with others.

"Lord, help me to be a comfort to others who are struggling so far away that I can't reach out and wrap them up in a hug. Help me help them to know everything will be ok."