The heart has arguments with which the logic of mind is not aquainted. – Blaise Pascal
The greatest argument you must defeat is your indecision not to decide. Letting your mind win all the arguments against your heart is no way to live – that’s how a coward lives, and you are no coward. Are you?
A brave soul is one that follows their heart. You know, the place where God’s Spirit dwells.
Okay, I get it, it’s so much safer listening only to your mind. Logic and reason may be safe and comfy, but you weren’t made simply for a comfortable life. And I’m sure all your “what if this,” and “what if that,” are just normal…
…Really?
…Are you just normal, or are you just afraid?
After all, your mind can conjure up excuse after excuse — heck, your mind is an excuse-factory. But you know you can’t build a life on excuses. You’re beating down your own heart with excuses! Stop bullying yourself and ignoring God’s call to action, obedience, and adventure.
Following after God requires more than your mind, he also requires your body and heart. It’s kind of a joint exercise, of body, soul, and heart. Living life that way will prepare you for life now and in the hereafter, later.
But, living a life stalled on “what ifs,” will keep you from a life of what could be. You’ll simply be a person without legend, without story, without belonging, and that would be a tremendous waste of a life.
The mind lives for knowledge, but the heart, well it soars on faith.
“There’s no end to the publishing of books, and constant study wears you out so that you’re no good for anything else. The last and final word is this: Fear God. Do what he tells you. For this is your whole duty.” — Ecclesiastes 12:12-13
So, don’t! Don’t waste your life. Rather, lose your life with Jesus, and your heart will finally win the argument. Oh, and do what He says, with all your heart and gusto.
I’m writing this to you because you’re going to need a brave heart and stout mind for what’s coming in the weeks and months ahead. No, it’s not really going to be about you, so don’t worry. Nope, it’s going to be about what you have to offer to others who’ll be confused and afraid. They’ll need your brave heart and clear mind.
So, decide to be a brave person and lead with your heart and your mind filled with wisdom. Then, you’ll be the person who makes leaders and not followers. Leaders who’ll know how to win the argument.
The wounds and scars your body and heart now bare are not those of an abandoned boy or little girl, but of those of an adopted and well-loved child.
If you can’t recognize God’s chastisement, it’s because you don’t believe in your sonship.
It’s because you don’t quite know the heart of God. Well, maybe not enough just yet…
…You see, I just want to inspire you to ponder a little, just below the surface of your heart and mind. Just to get a glimpse at another possibility or maybe a deeper reason behind those pesky feelings.
Don’t focus how you’ve been wounded and scarred, but seek out the teacher who permitted it. If you seek Him, you will find Him and discover hidden treasures. Sometimes what’s motivating our feelings is unworthiness. True, none of us are worthy of God’s grace and goodness, but unworthiness, can cause you to doubt God and miss his good intentions for your life.
As soon as your heart learns the significance of your wounds and scars, light will come bursting in and your strength and passion will be renewed like never before.
Or, you can reject all this and be stuck in a “Groundhog Day” life, whereby you repeat the cycle of God’s chastisement until you surrender to his love.
Kind of look at it this way; you’re being tested not tempted. God knows your heart, and the tests occur so that you’ll know where your heart is. The hardship is to draw your attention to what’s going on inside your heart. If your stuck on doubt and abandonedment, you’ll fail God’s test. He’s cheering you on to succeed, and not to fail.
Look, God wants you to pass his tests with flying colors. He’s always nearby to show you the way to his finish line.
I know, sometimes it dosen’t feel like God is there. Sometimes it feels like no one is there, not even a close friend, your wife, husband, mom, or dad. You think, no one understands or cares. I know, all too well, how you can feel lonely, even in a crowded room.
You want the honest truth? All of that stuff; loneliness, doubt, and abandonedment, are feelings, and is nothing more than an orphan mentality. God dosen’t orphan those he loves. Nope, not at all. It’s not God making you feel that way, it’s the Father of Lies, not your Heavenly Father.
God treats every son and daughter with the same passion. He wants you holy so that you can be whole. He’ll cut away anything that stands in the way of your wholeness. He wants you to be just like him, holy. Sometimes it feels like abandonedment — even in your loneliness though, he’s at work.
Don’t relapse into your old ways. Don’t pretend to have it all together — pride is not the answer. Abandon your false attempts to cover-up. God sees right through your charades.
Did you really think you could get away with sin?
Did you honestly think God would allow sin, despair, and the devil to be your downfall?
Hey, God bankrupted heaven in giving up His Son, Jesus, just to show you how much he loves you. Don’t think for a second that he didn’t love his Son. After Jesus died to make you into a child of God, he resurrected his Son from the grave!
Well, would you look at that… …Father and Son, working together to make you a permanent member of His family!
Only an illegitimate son or daughter can escape correction, but a true child of God must be refined. And his refinement, it comes from a good place, from his heart.
So your hardship is not a string of bad luck. No, they’re a rope to pull you closer to the heart of your Heavenly Papa.
Seek to know the heart of God, and you’ll never get lost in difficult days. You’ll never again forget that you belong to him.
So, say good riddance to loneliness, doubt, and abandonedment, cause you’re a child of the Most High God, and he happens to be in love with you!
Have we so easily forgotten the miracle of our liberty and the price for which it was won?
Whether you realize it or not, we are in a bulletless revolution.
Did you know that our liberty is directly tied to our economy?
“He who controls the money, controls the world.” — Henry Kissinger
The W.H.O. the C.D.C. and the Federal Bureaucrats, along with Corporate Mongrels got their teeth into the heart of our Great Nation. Rogue governors, mayors, and District Attorneys are destroying the rule of law and justice.
The Blue States and Blue cities wouldn’t release the masses to go back to work until they caused irreversible financial damage and civil unrest. But hey, they’ll release murderers, rapists, thugs, and thieves!
The Oil Barrons are involved too. Our crude oil dependency must also be destroyed, according to them. So they’ll raise the price of crude until we can’t afford to drive our vehicles. They’ll even sabotage the Petrol-Dollar just to create Hyper Inflation here in America and abroad.
Their lust for power and financial gain, all willingly granted to them by the scared masses, in exchange for the people’s security and safety.
‘Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.’ — Benjamin Franklin
The perfect trifecta is happening: Destroy health, wealth, and our monetary system and capitalism will collapse. The Leftest has avoided a bloody revolution by using the over-sensationalized and politicized COVID-19 virus and the creation of a digitized currency to be controlled by a centralized Federal Banking System, which will be known as the Federal CBDC.
All of us have proven to the world rulers how easily we gave up our liberties, and how willingly we allowed them to disregard our Constitution and Bill of Rights. All for the avoidance of a virus that has been present among us during every flu season. They just picked the COVID-19 virus to scare us all into submission.
The “pandemic” was the dress rehearsal, preparing us for the next emergency, the ruination of our currency. And, yes, the federal government will step in and save the day, because that’s what they do.
“We create the chaos and then we move in and capitalize on that chaos.”
At first, you’ll love all the incentives they’ll provide so you’ll give up your dollars, your gold, and silver in exchange for a fiat digital currency that you can’t see, hold, or feel. “You’ll own nothing and be happy,” as the World Economic Forum puts it.
Our foolish COVID compliance was the “test-run” that showed those in power how easily it was to control our lives and suspend our liberties. The crisis of that most dreadful hour has insured the powerful that any hyped-up crisis can be a useful tool against useful idiots.
Big Pharma, Hollywood, Big Tech, and politicians told us all to get injected with a vaccine cocktail. These are the very people that argue for population control, pro abortion, and euthanasia; they are the main purveyors of The Green New Deal, and a Global Economic Reset.
Now, their new operation is called “Operation Icebreaker.”
“Project Icebreaker is unique in its proposition. It first allows central banks to have almost full autonomy in designing a domestic retail CBDC.”
President Biden signed and Executive Order No.14067, back on March 9, 2022:
In part, “The Order calls for interagency coordination to implement the Order, and it articulates the “highest urgency” to research and develop the design and deployment of a United States Central Bank Digital Currency (“CBDC”) that is consistent with the priorities outlined in the Order, to ensure the global financial system has appropriate transparency.”
It is likely that the up and coming Great Financial Collapse of 2023 will give the current administration the cover they’ll need to steel the 2024 presidential elections.
“Buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy,” cause America, well, it might be going bye-bye!
I think not, and I hope you do also.
Are we a nation of sheep and cattle? Have we so easily forgotten the miracle of our liberty and the price for which it was won?
Liberty first won and then lost is far costlier to gain back, as those that have taken it, keenly understand the significance of their long-awaited victory.
Will the America we love be lost without a shot fired?
The answer may be an unfortunate, yes. You can’t shoot an enemy that you can not see.
Belief in the empty tomb will strengthen you during the time of empty banks.
I had a very vivid and story-like dream exactly one year ago today.
Interestingly, over the past several weeks, just as I had dreamt one year ago, banks are going down, one after the other and the economic forecast over the next upcoming months are nothing short of apocalyptic! Are you prepared?
My dream…
I had dreamt that I was driving with two of my youngest children. Suddenly, traffic slowed to a stop. Civil unrest and pandemonium everywhere, on the streets and sidewalks.
I rolled down my window and asked what was going on?
Someone shouted:
“The banks are closing, and the ATMs won’t work!”
I immediately turned my truck around and headed to my bank, Wells Fargo. When I arrived, people were lined up in front of the bank, restless, panicked, and afraid. Nobody was prepared for the chaos; everyone just wanted to withdraw their cash. The police tried to control the crowd, but they too were concerned and worried about what looked like a financial collapse.
[In reality, I’m the well-informed type of guy. I’m like a watchman when it comes to political and financial news, but in my dream, I was taken by complete surprise like everyone else.]
I stayed at the bank for what seemed like hours, pounding desperately on the door, demanding our money. Finally, a manager poked her head out from behind the glass door, saying, “Sorry, we’re closed, there’s no money inside; please, please go home!”
I got back into my truck; my kids had fear and confusion written on their faces, saying,
“dad, please just take us home!”
Instead, I drove to our other bank, Umpqua. The manager was outside and politely speaking to the crowd. We all pleaded for our money, but she said, “There’s no money here.”
I stuck around until most of the crowd had dispersed. I asked the bank manager what was really going on? All she knew was that she was ordered to close the bank.
I got into my truck, assured my kids that it would be alright, and started for home.
As I was waking up, during the brief moment between dreaming and awakening, a thought scrolled across my mind, like a news chyron, during a televised breaking news event…
…The Feds Have Just Announced The Dollar Has Been Replaced With Federally Issued Digital Currency…
…Moments later, I heard Toni, calling me down for breakfast.
I got up from bed, still sleepy, processing my dream, and wandered downstairs for a cup of coffee.
Toni was at the table, enjoying the breakfast just delivered to our beach cottage in Mendocino. I shared my dream with her and said it was an unusually realistic dream.
As a matter of fact; I had awakened a few times during the nightmare only to drift back asleep, stepping right back into the dream where I had left off! Typically my dreaming is abstract and meaningless, but not this dream, folks.
Several things come to mind…
Our faith must be 100% in the Lord, and not in the world or in the world’s systems.
We must get our financial affairs in order. We must get out of debt and cease our dependence and addiction to credit.
We must get our relationships with one another in order. We must not withhold forgiveness. We must become one people, one family, united in truth and in faith.
We must prepare for persecution and severe trials. (If I read any comments, “don’t worry, cause we’ll all be raptured,” please unfriend me).
We need to walk in peace and confidence, being solidly in Lord now, or we won’t when calamity and pandemonium strike.
This collapse will indeed arrive sooner than later, and without expectancy. Therefore, we must be prepared to shine brightly, holding forth the Word of Life.
Belief in the empty tomb will strengthen you during the time of empty banks.
“‘Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.’” Philippians 2: 14-16
The world is crooked and warped to this; there is no argument. To those who believe in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, we must prepare ourselves to shine among them like stars in the sky. We can only do that if we have an unbreakable grip on the Word of Life — The resurrected life of Jesus Christ.
I’ll say it again; Belief in the empty tomb will strengthen you during the time of empty banks.
Encourage one another while the lights are still on. Darkness is coming. Your day of shining is fast approaching. Shine brightly!
Sweep out all that is unnecessary, as there will be an inspection.
Every generation before us has been born into its own mediocrity and narcissism.
We must be the generation that breaks this cycle. We can no longer be bored with complacency or be distracted by consumerism. We must shake off the Corporate Mongrals that only see us as algorithms. We must deny them their marketing strategies of profiting from our blood and sweat.
We must break free from the enslavement of debt and instead learn to be independent and live with less so that we can become more. They don’t want us to become more, their power is in our becoming less human and woefully dependent.
Our greatest hour is quickly approaching — if we are to be the greatest generation, we must wake up from apathy. The ending of our way of living will require more from us than at its beginning. You will become either an Overcomer or a Deceiver. If you cling to the junk in your life you’ll fall prey to their trickery and deception.
It will be much easier in the darkness as an Overcomer. The Truth already blinds a Deceiver; light or darkness means nothing; he’s lost. Overcomers do not stumble in dark times; they are surefooted because Truth guides them and lights up their path.
Overcome your obstacles now. Later won’t afford you the time to untangle your bad choices. Correct decisions matter now more than at any other time in American history.
Get your house in order. It will be helpful for you and others that you are clearheaded and not a cluttered mess. In the coming months, you’ll need to act decisively and with purpose. Timing will be crucial and maybe the determinant factor of your survival.
Pray for wisdom, the kind of wisdom that only God the Father can give. You’ll need it to discern right from wrong, and to avoid the great delusion that is coming and is already here being broadcasted over the airwaves and internet.
We’re headed into a time when sight won’t matter. Faith must become your eyes. Trusting in God’s Word and His promises will be the only surety left.
You might not be aware, but America has gone bye-bye.
Don’t rely on politics or politicians — We went from a Representative Republic to a Democracy and now to a Communist State, while you had your faces buried in your smartphones.
And now, for a few recommendations:
Belief In the empty tomb will surely strengthen you during the time of empty banks.
Sweep out all that is unnecessary, as there will be an inspection. God wants you to be sharp, sure, and confident when the collapse begins.
So, get your body, mind, and heart in order, and not just your financial affairs. Unbelievers and doubters are going to need you clearheaded and hopeful.
America is soon to become either Америка or 美国这个名字 or perhaps both.
It’s not the type of groom we were at our weddings. That’s the easy part. That day was fanciful, romantic, and ceremonial.
No, it’s the kind of man that we’ve become in the crucible of marriage, and while the ceremony has long since faded, romance and passion are still alive and well. That’s the sign of a good marriage and of a good man. We need more good men and healthy marriages.
A good man brings out the best in his woman. Likewise, a good woman does the same for her man. A marriage becomes ugly when we forget these things.
I love the movie “Secondhand Lions,” staring Robert Duvall. It’s a movie rich with quotable dialog.
“…True love never dies. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. A man should believe in those things, because those are the things worth believin in.”
True love never dies. It’s certainly true of our faith, isn’t it? Christ’s love for his Bride will never die, neither his love for you, if you believe in those things, and in Him, because, “those things are worth believin in.”
Matter of fact, it’s Christ in us, which makes us into a good man and a good woman. And the trinity of Christ Jesus, a man, and a woman together as one, creates an invincible marriage.
The reason why so many good marriages fail is when one or both walks away from Jesus Christ as the center of their individual lives and the center of their marriage. The reason why the world hates marriage is because it is the physical manifestation of the Holy Trinity. It is a Living example of Christ loving the Church and giving up His life for her, His Bride.
“I’m Hub McCann. I’ve fought in two World Wars and countless smaller ones on three continents. I led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I’ve seen the headwaters of the Nile, and tribes of natives no white man had ever seen before. I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes, KILLED MANY MEN and loved only one woman with a passion a FLEA like you could never begin to understand. That’s who I am!” The movie, “Second Hand Lions”
Who are you?
What kind of Man are you?
What kind of woman are you?
When you have no firm identity, you have only weakness against the things out to destroy your love for your wife or husband. You have very little strength to fight the enemy of your relationship with God.
So goes your relationship with God, so goes everything else.
A good and lasting marriage vitally depends on your relationship to God through Jesus Christ. Remember? It’s the three-fold cord, of Christ Jesus, a man, and a woman. That’s your superpower against the enemy of your marriage.
Don’t have the passion of a flea. Have the passion of a ferocious lover, willing to surrender and sacrifice your life for the one whom you love, and for God, the Lover of your soul.
I know that so many of you, even my close friends, have given up on their marriages and on God. You’ve simply just walked away, searching for meaning, significance, and identity. You’ll not find it in another lover, if you never had it with the one you left.
You’ll only find meaning, significance, and identity in God. Not in sex, romance, and one nights. Turn back to Him, and turn back to your First Love.
Could it be possible that the very ugly and scary things that you are facing this very moment can, if you’re willing, become a peal of great value?
You cannot climb to the heights of joy unless you first plumbed the depths of despair. Yes even your despair can be valuable. It is the pressures of despair in the depths of your soul where something precious is being formed.
This little article should be read as road map, a map showing you the way to find joy when joy is the furthest thing from your mind, will, and emotion.
I’m a pretty optimistic guy with a fairly even-keeled personality. I didn’t choose to be this way. I am fortunate to have been born with a sense of optimism. When I was younger, I used to have surges of optimism, but now in my sixties, not so much.
How about loved ones; family, friends, and acquaintances that have the opposite? Instead of optimism, they suffer from depression and anxiety, and because of this, they’ve become pessimistic. Trying to cope with periodic or ongoing bouts of depression and anxiety can be hell on earth. I have seen what it looks like in the faces of my loved ones.
So here is the thing, as fortunate as I am to be optimistic, upbeat, and positive, I must choose joy, just as much as one suffering from depression must choose joy. There is a problem with both polar opposites. Both depressive and optimistic personalities, in their extremes, are void of joy.
You see, being controlled, or mentally dominated by optimism or depression, leaves no room for joy. Joy, real joy, is a choice. The choice is not easy for the depressed and the optimist.
But far too many people bypass joy for a new lover, new home, or even a baby, hoping they’ll find happiness.
The scriptures, more or less, indicate that joy is a command from the heart and mind to the soul, or vice versa. Even a command to our bones! Yep, I can attest to that; being sixty-something, I have a lot of aches in my bones; my bones speak to me; no, they really do, they make all kinds of sounds when I walk!
“Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice.” – Psalm 51:8
“The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.” – Proverbs 15:30
“Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” – Proverbs 16:24
Joy is medicine to our body, heart, mind, and even our bones!
Like all medicines, many of us must be reminded to take it, perhaps even forced. Ah, but when you do follow the doctor’s orders, or your wife’s, the medicine helps with whatever ails you. And so, you must also choose joy to receive all of its benefits.
I did a word study on Joy in the New King James Version of the Bible. Did you know that the word “joy” appears 192 times in both the Old and New Testaments? Just studying the word Joy, brings you joy!
But still, choosing joy in the midst of depression, worry, sickness, betrail, and even divorce seems almost impossible. Trying to reign in our emotions when our mind and body seem out of control is like trying to rope a bull elephant!
So many people suffering from depression, anxiety, and traumatic events, such as betrail, divorce, etc., show the signs of their condition in their bodies and even in their bones. Everything aches and most things lose their significance, such as food, relationships, and even life itself. But this is why joy is so important and why the Bible mentions it 192 times!
Sacrificial joy, that is, choosing to be joy-filled when things are not right, is real medicine. As I mentioned earlier, joy is a medicine that sometimes you must force yourself to take.
I had written an article a few weeks ago titled:
“My Allergic Reaction To Asking For Help.”
This is a story of my unintended flight down a set of stairs, whereby I had ruptured and shredded my quadriceps above my left knee. They snapped like a dried twig! Well, it wasn’t the painful surgery that gave me grief; it was nausea from the general aniestic!
I absolutely hate nausea. It began post-surgery and as soon as my wife took me home. The orthopedic surgeon hadn’t prescribed any anti-nausea meds. So there I am, writhing in nausea, dizziness, and fighting the urge to throw up. Toni saw how terrible I looked and felt. It was late, but I begged her to go to the pharmacy and bring home some anti-nausea meds.
While Toni was away, I was so desperate that I turned on a Christian Radio Station, K-LOVE, and listened to worship music while alone in my living room. I struggled initially, but I started to command my body, heart, and mind to be joyful. I began singing praises and thanksgiving to God, thanking him, even for the dreaded nausea. In a matter of few minutes, my nausea vanished, and my pain began to diminish.
Soon, Toni showed up with the anti-nausea meds, but when she handed me the bag, I said, “Oh, um, I’m feeling much better; the nausea is over.” She looked a little perturbed, only because I sent her on a wild goose chase for drugs that I didn’t need. I should’ve started with joy.
Early the following year, I contracted a form of the H1N1 virus. I had never been so sick. I reached a point where I got my inner house in order, so to speak, because I actually thought that I might die! While burning with fever, I again started to praise God and sing a joyful song to Him. It wasn’t at all easy or even natural to push through, but nonetheless, I did.
I lay there on my sickbed and began singing Psalms 100.
“(A Psalm of praise.) Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands…
…I will enter into His gates with thanksgiving in my heart, and into his courts with praise: I will say this is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice in Him and be glad.”
Yeah, I actually thought I might be entering the Courts of Heaven that night, but God had other plans. Forcing myself to express joy helped me to triumph through that dreaded virus.
Actually, to “rejoice” is just that; it means giving joy to God until it is given back to you. To rejoice in the Lord is the worshipper becoming gladdened, exuberant, and jubilant by taking great delight in God. Heartfelt Joy is reciprocal. It is also contagious.
The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. – Zephaniah 3:17
For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. Proverbs 3:12
God sometimes brings correction through the things we suffer because He knows that suffering can produce the precious commodity called joy. Just like an oyster and a grain of sand, which to the oyster is an irritant. From this irritant comes a pearl.
Probably one of the most impactful examples of this was on, of all places, America’s Got Talent TV show.
Jane Kristen Marczewski, known by many as Nightbird, (December 29, 1990 – February 19, 2022), on AGT, viewed by millions, and a recipient of the coveted “Golden Buzzer,” told the world the following after she sang her original song, “It’s OK”:
“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.”
The audience, and especially Simon Cowell, were stunned. I was too.
Really, Jane’s words were so powerful because they are true, not just her truth, but right from the Bible. They are God’s truth, and that night, they were spoken by a frail and tiny but courageous woman. I think the shock of it all was profound because it was spoken over the backdrop of her story; her battle with cancer.
Jane had learned the power of joy and happiness in spite of the cancer eating away at her future.
Happiness or joy is now, not later. It’s in the middle of your darkest nights, dreariest days, and deepest despairs. Joy and happiness are choices. Yes, hard choices. If they were easy, they’d have far less value with no real healing and no inner peace. That night, Jane Kristen Marczewski, became God’s pearl.
God allows irritants to enter our life too. He does this with intricate perfection and purpose.
“Thus says The Most High, The Exalted One who inhabits all eternity, and is holy, and holy is his dwelling with the humble, and with the weary of spirit to give life to the spirit of the humble, and to give life to the heart of the suffering ones.” Isaiah 57:15
When we are at our worst, choosing joy is most powerful. The Isaiah verse above tells us The Most High God, The Exalted One, who lives in all eternity while He dwells in a high and lofty place, He is near the humble, the sorrowful, and the sufferers.
When we command our body, heart, mind, and yes, even our bones to rejoice in God, He gives life. He refreshes. He restores, and He reciprocates our sacrificial joy. “He will quiet us with his love.” “He will rejoice over us with gladness” and even “rejoice over us with singing.” Because God is not a distant deity, He is your Heavenly Father, and he is much nearer than you can imagine.
Like the oyster, we can’t see the development of beauty inside our lives. Our struggles with depression, anxiety, worry, and overoptimism distract us from the work that God is doing. Instead, we feel abandoned by God, orphaned, and on our own. The truth is that God is there with us in the midst of our pain. It requires us to believe and to trust in God’s promises. The Bible says God would rather dwell with us than with kings and queens.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3
He would have to be very close to you to heal your broken heart, bind up your wounds, and save your crushed spirit.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145:18
Then God sends us His Son, Jesus to rescue us…
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; he has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors, and that God is ready to give blessings to all who come to him.” Luke 4:18-19
Don’t live life without joy.
“You can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore before you decide to be happy.” Jane Kristen Marczewski, Nightbird
Choose joy, and in a very short while, you’ll understand. Maybe you’re becoming God’s Pearl, too.
Have you ever considered that your wounds may be a perfect gift from God that can serve others in profound ways?
“In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light for others.” - Brennan Manning
It is not the breaking of our bodies that should be our focus, not the illnesses we may suffer from time to time, no matter how severe. It's not our sicknesses we should buffer or how broken we may become while here; there is something else to consider, something other is near.
It’s not the betrayals or deceptions we may encounter, even if our hearts have been shattered. Our souls are emptied and filled only with fear, but the Life that remains in us, which may be covered by grief, pain, and despair, like snow-covered green grass in winter, shall be unveiled when spring again fills the air.
For even the faintest heartbeat and most shallow of breath, there lies hope. Life does not come easy, even for the most wealthy, yet life is a choice to be made. And if we so choose to believe it, beauty shall be our reward each new day and each new year.
Authentic living shall bring forth such brightness to dispel and vanquish such desperate despair.
Our most gloomy nights filled with impatient anger can be transformed into powerful meekness and care; such sweetness to our bitter sorrows are waiting; such eternal wealth for our poverty is near, and such fullness to satisfy all hunger to our hungry souls shall there be the grandest affair.
All for those who shall be rewarded of mustard seed faith to compare; of glories unknown to the healthy and sick such treasure laid bare; for beauty and ashes shall be traded, but none for the self-righteous to spare.
So kiss your chains, which bind you to all sorts of suffering, and thankfully say: "Good morning" to the pain, which lingered throughout the night and, yet, remains into the days, weeks, months, or perhaps years, because, in all things, even the bad and ugly work out for our good by God's care, which does not add to his glory, for He is complete in all the attributes he bares, but it does add to your ultimate healing and refined glory to credit to be shared.
We who believe, and are true sons and daughters of God, are broken to be given and to become children who bear a lesser yet increasing glory of the Most Glorious Father of our hearts and souls.
So let's not waste our suffering on complaining and blaming, but rather let us all rejoice in our transformation, which is to follow if we endure and not despair!
Your brokenness is making you beautiful and a wellspring of Life for other sufferers to drink from, and that, my dear sisters and brothers, is the Christ of all Healing, The God of all Comfort, and the Everlasting Father of all fragile Hopes.
The Greatest gift that God could give required his only Son to suffer an ignominious and terrible death so that through Christ's suffering, we would have everlasting life.
My business takes me to people that have lost their homes and sometimes their loved ones to fire, flooding, or earthquake. Knowing this, I've added the following words to the reverse side of my business card: Living a scarless life is not living at all...
…Sometimes, our greatest triumphs lie in our most significant defeats. In all things, I am a child of God and never a victim. I do not, therefore, interpret tragic circumstances as mishaps but as a divinely scheduled trip to God’s beauty parlor.
With long days and even longer nights, I have written more and have done a great deal of thinking and searching. Each time I do, more memories and tears bubble up. But these are good tears because what was once tragic is now increasingly becoming a blessing.
So, I’ve added more stories and more insight. It’s been the hindsight, coupled with new understanding, which has been revealing the fingerprints and mastery of a loving Father-hearted God, who, by the way, took all my days of good and evil and is progressively showing his artistry through all of it.
His color palate contains far more colors than just “black and white,” which is what many cold and lifeless religions preach to us. He is an unlimited God, with shades of an eternal spectrum yet to be discovered, and a profoundly intimate God, motivated with an ever-expanding Father-heart. He is filled with grace and wisdom. His love utterly humbles me, and if you can believe it, speechless at His unconditional Grace and Mercy towards even a guy like me.
Thank you all for your prayers and kindness. I genuinely hope and pray that whatever you may be battling or struggling through that, it too is woven into something beautiful, no matter how difficult or painful. God loves a “stacked deck,” the more complex your life may be, the more impossible for a solution or cure, the more grace will appear — for our God loves, absolutely loves to come through!
So then, in our weaknesses and fragility, we can boast about God’s grace and that we’re also co-siblings with The Great Overcomer, Jesus Christ. We are children of The Father-hearted God. We are vastly wealthy and greatly loved!
So, notify your soul and face, and show the world how great our God is. From your sick beds to your busy offices and lives, from your living rooms to the dressing rooms of Macy’s and Kohl’s — in every shopping line, and especially at Walmart, For our God is a great God, 24/7!
He loves to reveal his Father-Heart to broken and lost people. Our God would rather hang out with the despised and rejected than dwell with kings and queens…
…That’s just how special you are!
No need to be anyone else than you. No need to be with anyone else than with The Father-hearted God.
Don’t let silence kill your life, joy, or your future. Speak from your heart and live.
You may agree that the three most powerful words are “I Love You.”
Can these three little words indeed be so powerful and significant?
After all, for many, these words fall from our mouths so casually and regularly that we miss their true meaning and worth. But what happens if, for some of us, we’ve never heard those words from our moms or dads; or the most important people in our lives?
Well, that was my story…
I lived through nearly four decades of silence from my father. I hated my father because of his silence and uninvolvement in my life as a boy. His career and extreme work ethic took him from me when I needed him.
When I heard that my dad was dying from esophageal cancer, I initially refused to visit him. My anger held me back for a little while until my siblings ganged up on me.
Four days before my father passed, I had the opportunity to stay overnight with him at the VA Hospital in Martinez, CA. (My father was wounded in action by a missile attack during the Korean War on September 19, 1951). He had served in the Army as a Private, 1st Class Medic.
After the lights went out in my dad’s hospital room, courage rose within my heart, and I spoke the three most important words that I could say to the most important man in my life:
Dad?
“Yes, son.”
Dad, …I love you!
It felt like an eternity of silence orbited the darkened hospital room…
…Then, from my dad’s weakened condition, I heard what my heart and soul had so longed to hear during the 39 silent years I had lived:
“I love you too, son.”
Suddenly, unspeakable joy filled my heart, and tears rolled down my face. I called out to my dad several more times that night, saying:
Dad?
“Yes, son.”
Dad, …I love you!
“I love you too, son.”
I heard my father say he loved me, which washed all the years of hurt, anger, and loneliness from my body, soul, and mind. My father’s words were a healing balm that would change my life from that day forward.
My father’s words also helped me to accept my Heavenly Father’s love for me.
“I am my beloved, and he is mine; his banner over me is love!” Songs of Songs
“See, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreaded day of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest when I come, I strike the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6
Jesus came to me late on October 8, 1998, at night in that VA Hospital room in Martinez, California. He bound up my wounds and healed my broken heart. He freed this captive and released me from a prison of loneliness, despair, and anger. He lifted the curse from my life, and by becoming my father’s beloved son, I became God’s also!
“Come away with me, my love, my lovely one, come. For you, winter is over and gone. The snow has melted, and the flowers are in bloom; the cooing of the turtle doves can be heard throughout the land. Come away with me, my love, my lovely one, come. Your face is beautiful; your voice is sweet. Come away with me, my love, my lovely one, come.” Songs of Songs
My Dad became my hero and went away to be with the Lord of Life on October 12, 1998. I stood at his right side, holding his hand until he breathed his last breath. He looked up to the ceiling, smiled, and then was gone. We all wept so loudly as a family that our cries could be heard throughout the hospital wing.
A few moments later, I stretched my hand over my father’s face, and I closed my father’s eyes.
Yes, words do matter. Be brave, be courageous, and allow your heart to speak its words before it is too late. The “I love you, dad,” unlocked my father’s heart, which echoed those desperately needed words from him into my hungry and hurting heart and soul.
There is unspeakable power in the three simple words; “I love you” or “please forgive me.” While these words are simple, it takes great courage to say them. Please, don’t be stubborn and don’t be afraid, dare to speak and listen for the reply; “I love you too.”
Scripture says, “If you hear God’s voice today, don’t be stubborn. Don’t be stubborn like those who rebelled in the wilderness.” Hebrews 3:15
Don’t let silence kill your life, joy, or your future. Speak from your heart and live!
Call To Courage 