"....He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted...." (Isaiah 61:1b)
The baby in that feeding trough was a healer. No one who was to encounter Jesus would ever walk away without their broken heart healed. Maybe there was/is no dancing around, no shouting, but there will always be broken-heart-healed when Jesus enters that heart. And, let Jesus determine what that healing entails.
There are probably times when you wonder, "Who really cares about me?" I remember that when my Mom died, the thought occurred to me, "The last person whom I know prayed regularly and earnestly for me is gone." Well, I'm sure that is not true, but do not fret when that kind of attack comes upon you. A sense of aloneness can grip us at any time. The loss of loved ones, a sense of abandonment, as well as rejection, betrayal and so many other human maladies can break one's heart, but remember, "He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted"-------- "Glory to the New-Born King."
Everything Jesus did while walking among the people of the Land of Israel in the First Century, CE, revealed an "otherness" about Him. This should be the hallmark of our lives too. The sin nature we all "inherited" wants us to live our lives in a self-centered manner. Thinking of the other, being sensitive to their feelings, etc., can too easily be pushed out of our lives in preference for our way, our will, our contentment. It's the old adage, "I only care about number one." Yet in the Blood of Jesus, His Cross and Resurrection that nature was destroyed, "Sin shall no longer have the dominion over you." The selfishness which so easily rules in others does not have to rule in us if we are under the authority of, "Christ in us...." We become those who look for hearts to heal.
While so many spend their lives just taking care of themselves, manipulating others for their comfort and contentment, you and I have another life directive. Because Jesus Christ lives in us, the work for us is His work, "He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound." Look across the table tonight and start there.
Father, in Jesus' Name, please do Your Work of, "heal the brokenhearted," through me. Amen.
The baby in that feeding trough was a healer. No one who was to encounter Jesus would ever walk away without their broken heart healed. Maybe there was/is no dancing around, no shouting, but there will always be broken-heart-healed when Jesus enters that heart. And, let Jesus determine what that healing entails.
There are probably times when you wonder, "Who really cares about me?" I remember that when my Mom died, the thought occurred to me, "The last person whom I know prayed regularly and earnestly for me is gone." Well, I'm sure that is not true, but do not fret when that kind of attack comes upon you. A sense of aloneness can grip us at any time. The loss of loved ones, a sense of abandonment, as well as rejection, betrayal and so many other human maladies can break one's heart, but remember, "He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted"-------- "Glory to the New-Born King."
Everything Jesus did while walking among the people of the Land of Israel in the First Century, CE, revealed an "otherness" about Him. This should be the hallmark of our lives too. The sin nature we all "inherited" wants us to live our lives in a self-centered manner. Thinking of the other, being sensitive to their feelings, etc., can too easily be pushed out of our lives in preference for our way, our will, our contentment. It's the old adage, "I only care about number one." Yet in the Blood of Jesus, His Cross and Resurrection that nature was destroyed, "Sin shall no longer have the dominion over you." The selfishness which so easily rules in others does not have to rule in us if we are under the authority of, "Christ in us...." We become those who look for hearts to heal.
While so many spend their lives just taking care of themselves, manipulating others for their comfort and contentment, you and I have another life directive. Because Jesus Christ lives in us, the work for us is His work, "He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound." Look across the table tonight and start there.
Father, in Jesus' Name, please do Your Work of, "heal the brokenhearted," through me. Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
Hebrews 12:2
Hebrews 12:2
