Pains of the Heart – Part 2

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

When pain lasts longer than expected, a constructive attitude is paramount. Attitude greatly determines how we apply tools to master and recover from pain. Attitude also determines our willingness to receive help and strength from others, particularly help from God and His Word.
Pains of the Heart – Part 2As believers, Paul tells us that, regarding sanctification, we are to be made new in the attitude of your minds (Ephesians 4:23). Some pains come as the result of still living a pre-salvation lifestyle. The old-life sinful patterns of attitude and behaviour need replacing (Eph 4:22, 23) with righteous Christlike attitudes and behaviour for recovery to initiate. Therefore, a Christ-centred, Bible grounded attitude of mind is critical.

Sometimes the pains which are not directly resulting from sin can be more difficult to understand and navigate. Medical issues, accidents, the death of loved ones, governmental and societal issues, educational, employment, business, and freakish (grossly unconventional) events in life can all send believers into a downward spiral of inner heart pain. These events, or similar, can cause compounding emotional and spiritual trauma we never thought possible.

It can be especially difficult when tragedy follows a period of comfort and ease. The human heart often tells itself that you are entitled to permanent comfort and ease, but life is simply not like that for any of us. Speaking as someone who was inflicted with almost indescribable pain of every kind, Job 5:7 assures us that man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. In this sin-cursed world, pain is inescapable, and we may never learn of a conclusive reason for it this side of heaven.

So, with these realities in our thinking, what are we to do? While you may have many questions, we shall consider just a few of the components. Instinctively we want a quick fix, a rapid escape plan, a reset that takes us back to a better time. But those types of miracles come very rarely and usually do not allow for heart recovery. Rather, the Lord makes His resources available to us through a humble and patient attitude that seeks God’s input, which usually comes through the assistance of other believers. Here, a humbly dependant attitude latches onto God’s Word, clinging tightly as the primary source of spiritual nourishment for recovery and maintenance. Even when outside medical or counselling help is needed, God’s Word remains both the primary and supplementary source of spiritual support.

Hope in God begins with belief and trust in the unfailing promises of His Word. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). God’s Word offers solid and affirmative truth from which we draw. Psalm 130:5-7 expresses an attitude of patient dependency well. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning… 7 For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is full redemption. With our expectation focused on God and resourced by God’s Word, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). Hope in God focuses our attention on God and His promises instead of being focused only on our circumstances, no matter now difficult they may be.

Pains of the heart typically amplify self-attention, while God’s Word amplifies God’s presence in your suffering. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me (Psalm 23:4).

To be continued…

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Pains of the Heart – Part 1

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

Sometimes we hurt because of foolish decisions made which have painful consequences. Sometimes we hurt because of the evil that is inflicted upon us by others. Then, there are pains which occur simply because of difficult circumstances and events in life. Life’s pains range from minor irritations to devastating trauma, and not necessarily because of anything that anyone does wrong. Living in a sinfully broken world means suffering is inescapable. This is not pessimistic, it is simply the reality of the world we all live in.

Pains of the Heart – Part 1 Solomon speaks to pains of the heart in Proverbs 14:13, even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. Our external appearance is far easier to control than our inner self. We may dress nicely, smile lots, and appear happy, but inside, in our heart of hearts, we may ache with life despairing grief. When this is true, it requires spiritual intervention that infuses heavenly hope into the very epicentre of our pain.

As believers in Jesus Christ, we understand that full release from this environment of pain will only come upon our transfer from this world to being with the Lord. But in the meantime, God has put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:22) of that final day of redemption (Rom 8:23). From within, the Holy Spirit places at our disposal His divine resources. We are therefore, to be the ones who take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm (Ephesians 6:13). Spiritual resources enable a right expectation of standing secure without being removed from the struggles that surround us.

Understandably, we want pain to disappear. Instead, most often, God provides hope, and trust, and truth, which empowers our realisation of His sovereign presence to overshadow and even dominate His grace into our pain. While pain remains, it is lessoned by prayer, by biblical truth, by assurance, by security, by purpose, by fellowship, by service, and by worship. Therefore, pain is demoted from the place of highest authority in our hearts to a much lower place of submission to God. Being stripped of its authority, pain becomes an effective instrument in the Master’s hands for sanctification and humble dependence upon Him. From this grows acceptance, which enables genuine thankfulness.

It begins with a right attitude towards God, and a right expectation of God; humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up (James 4:10). Here, there is no fighting against God, and there is no resentment if God’s purposes are different to ours. Here, during honest prayer with our petitions, there are no demands of God that carry any kind of threat if we do not get our way. Here, humility accepts that the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26). Here, humility accepts that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). We may not understand how this will happen in us, but we humbly accept it as true because God promises it.

Therefore, humility is the start line on which all pains must stand if the heart is to stand firm and honour God during the great pains of life. The start line of humility says, the LORD is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him (Lamentations 3:24).

To be continued…

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Rejoice in the blessings you have

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

While the world rumbles along in an ever-decreasing trajectory of discontentment, ignoring God’s daily provisions, this is NOT true of God’s children. A hymn often sung in my childhood Church was “Count your blessings” composed in 1897 by Johnson Oatman. I was privileged to grow up in a small rural community, and in a family that celebrated what God had gifted us with more than complain about or envy the things we didn’t have (Mk 7:22). My parents understood that God’s graces are incalculable, beyond comparison, and we were to be thankful.
Rejoice in the blessings you haveSadly, when people exchange the truth about God for a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25), they become self-centred, discontented, and ungrateful towards God. They say to God, Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ (Job 21:14-15).

Whereas believers in the Lord rejoice in all the good that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house… (Deuteronomy 26:11). The heart attitude is different because the heart relationship is different. On one hand, disbelief, or artificial belief, swallows all negative information thrown against God. But believers delight greatly in the Lord… (Isaiah 61:10).

In Joshua 23:14, just before Joshua died, he addressed Israel, reminding them of God’s faithfulness. “You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” Like Joshua, I’m sure that Johnson Oatman had God’s faithfulness in mind when he composed…
When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

While faith feels the realities of life, it also sees God in life and counts out the blessings He gives. Even through the darkest times, faith is first and foremost grateful for spiritual realities and the security of eternal life. Second, faith recognises God’s kind provisions regardless of the surrounding circumstances, and says, ‘thank you.’

This is because believers know they have been justified by faith, (therefore) we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). As Jesus stated, peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives… (John 14:27). As believers, we are to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful (Colossians 3:15). Two things are unmistakable of those declared innocent by God; they have peace from God, and they worship God. When sinners receive peace through Christ, worship follows, fuelled by gratitude for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15).

The point is this, keeping our minds and affections firmly attached to the Lord Jesus Christ is critical if we hope to rise above the struggles of life and maintain a truly thankful attitude. To KNOW Christ is peace and joy, but to have NO Christ is disillusionment and ends only in despair and condemnation.

Therefore, give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done.  Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always (1 Chronicles 16:8-11).

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Holy Spirit Understanding

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

As I age, I sometimes think, ‘I wish I understood 40 years ago what I understand now.’ What would I have done differently? What different paths would I have walked? What different relationships would I have pursued? You see, knowledge is one thing, but understanding that knowledge and how to action it is a different matter altogether. Understanding opens the possibility for wisdom and Christlike insight into life which can change our choices and actions.
Holy Spirit Understanding
Amidst the noise and busyness of life, God the Holy Spirit ministers from within us that we might understand the things freely given us by God (1 Corinthians 2:12). Experiences, in and of themselves, are not the Holy Spirit’s goal for the believer. Rather, understanding clearly what God has graciously given us through Christ and for God’s glory, this is His purpose. It is the believer’s understanding of God that opens up the possibility of living more Christlike with growth towards maturity. This understanding can also open up opportunities for service for God which were never before imagined. Knowledge without applied understanding is powerless, ineffective, and unproductive for God.

It is understanding that lifts the believer above the frustrations of life, and above selfish desires. This is because understanding generated by the Holy Spirit is God focused and God glorifying. It is the Holy Spirit who invisibly manufactures His understanding within the believer? Paul continues to explain that we impart this (understanding) in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13).

The Holy Spirit searches the depths of God (1Co 2:10) and translates those truths of God into understandable language and thoughts within the believer (1Co 2:11). The Holy Spirit does not do this through fresh extrabiblical revelation or experience, but through His Word which contains spiritual truth. His words are easily found and identified in the Bible, as it was the Holy Spirit who authored the Bible (2Pe 1:20-21). There is no mystery here. There is no elevation of self with unique access to heavenly information that no one else can access. No, this is simply God the Spirit granting understanding to the believer who spends time mediating and praying over the Word of God with a soft-hearted attitude.

This is what happens when you let the word of Christ dwell in you richly… (Colossians 3:16a). The Holy Spirit illumines, He clarifies, and He awakens our thinking to deeper levels of understanding about the things He has written in Scripture. This, however, comes at a cost to the child of God. Time, energy, and surrenderedness are required. This means there must be an exchange of priorities and activities within the life of God’s child. In this way the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17) is taken hold of and enabled for standing against the attacks of the enemy. As with all the other pieces of spiritual armour supplied by God (Eph 6:13-18), believers cannot be passive or half-hearted with their handling of God’s Word.

As we grow in the faith, so our understanding of God’s Word increases. With this comes the ability and responsibility to use our understanding of Scripture for God’s purposes. The Holy Spirit, through God’s Word, equips us to destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). May we encourage and enable one another to be people of God’s Word, always growing in our understanding as the Holy Spirit walks with us and uses us for God’s glory.

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Salvation is just the beginning of discipleship

By / The Pastor's Pen / 3 minutes of reading

Initially, new believers are discipled by a more mature believer. However, during Christian life the new believer introduces others to Christ. This makes them a discipler of others while still being discipled themselves. This is excellent!
Salvation is just the beginning of discipleship
The wonderful thing about God’s design for discipleship is that at every stage, and at every level of spiritual maturity, all disciples are to be somewhere in the process of being taught the truths of Christ while teaching those truths to others. Jesus gave clear and achievable goals for the mission of discipleship when He said, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you… (Matthew 28:20).

Discipleship, which is teaching others to be followers of Christ, requires instruction. People do not put obedient faith in Jesus without being taught the gospel (Rom 10:14-15). New believers do not grow to maturity without being taught the doctrines and disciplines of Christlike living and how to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Matthew 28:16-20 tells of Jesus’ 11 remaining disciples, who had learned much in their 3 years with Him. But, as Jesus returned to glory, they had to become teachers on Jesus’ behalf. They were to be dependent upon the Lord and the soon to arrive Holy Spirit for every resource needed for effective discipleship. Jesus assured them that when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth… he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you (John 16:13-14).

  • The students of Jesus’ 11 disciples would be the people they taught the gospel to, and they would teach these students everything that Jesus had taught them over the previous 3 years.
  • They were to teach Jew, Gentile, and all ethnic groupings equally; saved and unsaved, religious, and irreligious people alike. They were to pass on everything they had received from Jesus, even the things they did not fully understand themselves.
  • They were to teach from the Old Testament as Jesus did and explain the parables as Jesus did. There was to be no subject overlooked or ignored.
  • They were to be permanent students, always learning how to better teach others on Jesus’ behalf. Always growing in their understanding of the Scriptures and how to explain God’s Word more clearly so others could understand and obey better.
  • This would require faith, determination, unity, a willingness to share resources, and a willingness to help each other as they worked together for Jesus.
  • They were to be dependent upon the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit inspired the New Testament Scriptures (2Pe 1:22), followers of Jesus had greater access to the mind of God the Holy Spirit through His written Word.
  • And finally, they were to teach their students to go and sacrificially do the same, making disciples on Jesus’ behalf many times during their lifetime.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence… (2 Peter 1:3). For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:5-8).

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