Comfort for Dis-abled Heart!

A number of years ago I drove from Richmond up to Northern Virginia to watch two of my nephews in a wrestling match.  I had never been to a wrestling match before so had no idea what I was getting into.  It was a regional competition so there were many competitors there.  As I sat in the stands looking out over a pretty large gymnasium, it occurred to me that the wrestlers resembled worms wiggling after a spring rain ALL OVER the gym floor!  Except that my nephews were somewhere in the mix, I could hardly imagine being there.

As I understand it, the object of the match is to maneuver your opponent in such a way that he cannot twist out of your hold and actually is pinned to the mat for a certain count.  In professional wrestling there are throws that apply techniques involving lifting the opponent and throwing or slamming him down.  I am certainly no expert, but none of it looked like something I personally wanted to do.  It wasn't even something I was all that eager to watch on any regular basis!

This morning I ran across a verse in John 14 (The Message). I'm thinking that my limited experience with wrestling may provide some clues to the meaning:  Don't let this throw you. You trust God, don't you? Trust Me.  These are the words of Jesus (vs. 1).  He spoke them to His disciples on the night before His crucifixion.  Quite possibly He spoke them as they walked along following the Passover meal they had eaten together on that Thursday evening.  They were on their way to a garden of olive trees tucked away on the western slope of the Mt. of Olives. 

I don't know if the words follow chapter 13 in exact sequence. Perhaps so; perhaps not.  (Note:  Chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original text.)  Chapter 13 ends with Peter's declaration that he wants to follow Jesus wherever He is going. Jesus tells Peter that he actually can't follow Him where He is going.  Peter is most insistent that he does want to follow the Master and that he is actually willing to die for his Master.  Jesus' response, Really? You'll lay down your life for me? The truth is that before the rooster crows, you'll deny me three times.

Chapter 14 begins, Don't let this throw you!  It struck me today that perhaps Jesus is referring to Peter's vulnerability and dis-ability to even stick up for Jesus in the few short hours of that night.  Perhaps Jesus is already encouraging Peter - not that it's okay not to stick up for Jesus, but that there will be life beyond that failure!  And the next words explain WHY:  You trust God, don't you?  Trust me.

For my dis-abled heart today I took comfort.  Life beyond failure is beyond me, but it is never beyond the ability of the One who is worthy of all trust and His Son Jesus!  When I trust Him with it ALL - all the failure, all the pain, all the seeming success, all the confidence, all the dis-ability THEN the implied promise is that it is never the end but rather the opportunity to begin again - not because of me, but because of the One who loves me and died to set me free!  Don't let this throw you! You trust God, don't you? Trust Me!

Heart Trouble

Your sadness may not be a sign of weak faith, but growing faith. People who love well, in time, will hurt in the heart.
--Scotty Smith

Every time I swear I will guard my heart next time. But I can't help myself ... God calls me to love well and gives me the strength for Him to love a lonely, hurting world through my hands and feet. He gives strength when I am weak! He is the Balm of Gilead for my own hurting heart!
Once long ago when I was about three years old I sat at the dinner table at my grandmother's house. The adults were discussing my grandmother's recent diagnosis of "heart trouble." I listened intently and finally piped up, "Grandmother, don't you know the Bible says, 'Don't let your heart be troubled?' "
In the simplicity of my 3-year-old mind it seemed so simple and IT IS! "Don't let your heart be troubled! You believe in God; believe also in Me." (John 14:1)

Vision for A Restoration Church

"When did John get the vision for A Restoration Church?" Someone asked me that question yesterday. I gave her a milestone answer but have been thinking about other milestones since. There are significant experiences in ministry and life that brought us both to our own brokenness and then to care deeply about brokenness in others.

The church of Jesus Christ in its institutional form (whatever denomination or flavor) can be a very scary place to be broken. Often the wounded become more shattered by the very people who should be embracing and encouraging!

My grandmother had "heart trouble." I don't know her exact diagnosis. I'm not sure she did either, but some doc along the way diagnosed a certain issue with her heart. I was about two when Grandmother's "heart trouble" was discussed by family members in her presence. I piped up to say, "Grandmother, don't you know the Bible says, 'Don't let your heart be troubled.' ?" (John 14:1) Everyone thought my observation was precocious and cute, but it was also a huge life lesson for me in coming years of life and ministry.

ALL of us experience various forms of brokenness in life resulting in "heart trouble" of various forms. Sadly the place where we should find the most comfort - the church - is often the place where there is the most judgment and rejection resulting in more "heart trouble." It is risky to be real! More often than not being broken or being real or just being a sinner in the process of restoration simply heaps more hurt on hearts already crushed! That's when people walk away from Jesus because people (like me and like you) who carry His name don't have God's heart for brokenness.

Our model is Jesus Who took on our skin (leaving heaven to wear a "man suit" for a time) and moved into our world (John 1:14). Matthew 9:35 describes the heart of Jesus for broken people of all kinds, "He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."

We are surrounded by brokenness - some visible and some hidden but all very real. God calls us to be moved with compassion - motivated to act and care! Our hearts - like Jesus' heart - must be so moved to care that we step out of our comfort zones to do the sometimes even messy business of loving people! It may be risky and costly but it is Kingdom work Jesus modeled. God's Spirit will walk with us among the brokenness we find to give us the grace to love and to literally put hands and feet on that love!

That is what A Restoration Church is all about! We are broken. We know it. We are in the process of restoration. Jesus said He came to help those who know they are broken not those who think they are "just fine, thank you very much"! Jesus came for the broken! (Matt. 9:12) He walks with us both in our own brokeness and as we reach out to others just like us! THAT'S what A Restoration Church is all about!

Insomnia and/or Heart Trouble

In the Gospel of John (chapter 3) there is a fascinating account of the midnight encounter Jesus had with a man who had a troubled heart. His name was Nicodemus. He was a man of position and influence. So much so, he was probably sneeking in to see Jesus under cover of night. Perhaps his thoughts, ponderings and questions were keeping Nick awake at night. Perhaps he was tossing and turning on his bed until finally, this particular night, he just got up out of bed and snuck off to see Jesus.

When I was a little girl (four years old), we were visiting my grandparents. At one meal we were all sitting around the large dining table when the discussion turned to my grandmother's "heart trouble." In our terms today, she probably had angina. We just called it "heart trouble." She described it as heart trouble, too. I loved to listen to adult conversation, but finally I just couldn't stand it any longer so I piped up, "Grandmother, don't you know that the Bible says, 'Don't let your heart be troubled?'" Well, everyone got a jolt and a laugh and the family got a story to tell over and over!

The fact is that in John 14:1 Jesus spoke these very words, "Don't let your heart be troubled. Don't even let it be afraid. Trust in God. Trust also in Me." Jesus was talking to His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion. He knew they were in for the shock of their lives in the coming hours and days. These were the last words He would be able to give them to guide and comfort them. "Don't let THIS (My coming arrest, trial, death and burial) throw you. You trust God, don't you? Trust Me." (The Message)

I didn't understand anything about the medical implications of angina and didn't even know the word. But I did understand that behind the physical world of pain and trouble (even in my grandmother's heart), there is the King of All (God) Who is big enough to take care of any need and trouble. I got that because my parents (particularly my mother) had taught me John 14:1 and many other verses. I had tucked these verses deep in my own heart for times when I needed to take them out to think about and hang onto!

Well, back to Nick and his midnight meeting with Jesus. Nick needed a dose of heart medicine. Nick's heart needed Jesus! As he and Jesus sat and talked that night, Jesus explained to Nick that he needed to open his heart to God's truth. In that conversation Jesus spoke one of the most familiar verses in the Bible, "This is how much God loved the world: He gave His Son, His one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in Him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending His Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in Him is acquitted; ..." (The Message, John 3:16 - 18)

You may also suffer "heart trouble" like Nick did. You may have spiritual questions. OR your brand of "heart trouble" may be of a different sort. You may be troubled by some addiction in your life, something that has you in a choke hold - like drugs or alcohol or even an obsession with food. You may have financial worries or some physical illness like cancer or be pregnant and not want to be. Your home may be breaking up or you might be so miserable living there that you wish it would. Whatever your personal brand of "heart trouble," Jesus has the answer for you just like He did for Nick that night so long ago.

Whatever particular brand of "heart trouble" you face, you need to know that God loves you. God sees your heart. God knows your particular need. God will forgive you and give you a whole new life. God is in the restoration business. God specializes in new beginnings!

For Nick in Jerusalem over 2,000 years ago and for you - the answer to "spiritual insomnia and heart trouble" is the same: Come to God through faith in His Son Jesus. It's simple! It's the only way to get into God's forever family! And it's the only path to God no matter what anyone else might tell you - through Jesus, the only Savior!

Actually that's what we're all about at A Restoration Church in the South Hills of Pittsburgh! Come gather with us if you have "spiritual insomnia and/or heart trouble." We have been there and done that, too! We are now in the process of God's restoring our hearts by His love and grace, and we'd love to have you come along with us on this exciting journey!