Bent Hearts

Romans 8:28-30 - (28) "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. (29) For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified".

     Before modernization and machines, the techniques of furniture craftsmen were simple but efficient.

     For example, to bend pieces of wood for chairs, the wood was cut while still green. It was then bent around an object and tied together, often with grapevines, or placed in a crude mold.

     There is a similar scenario of God’s exercise of sovereignty, particularly as it relates to affliction. The craftsmen did not haphazardly misshape the wood. They had a purpose, a finished product, in mind.

     Likewise, God never exercises His sovereignty capriciously. He is never the author of evil, but always uses the vile and the virtuous for His ultimate design – to conform men and women to the image of Jesus Christ.

     This is what He died for, to redeem us from sin’s curse – death – and work unceasingly in our souls to restore us to our original image – His image, stamped in the Garden and distorted by sin.

     As you turn to God and cry out to Him in your affliction, the providence of God is mysteriously at work, accomplishing His intent. Absolutely nothing can thwart that purpose when your heart is bent toward Him. The pressures of life, severe as they may be, drive you only deeper into His divine mold.

Perscription

          The only prescription for curing America’s grave ills is the spiritual awakening of its inhabitants. Only men rightly related to God and committed to His ways can deal decisively with the moral, financial, social, and intellectual woes afflicting our nation.

Listen to some of the voices from the past: (Notice especially the many references to morality as a vital foundation for lasting liberty. And there are many more quotes!

“It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.” – George Washington

"I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessing on this House (Congress) and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof?" – John Adams

"It is when people forget God that tyrants forge their chains." – Patrick Henry

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net.  Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." – John Adams

“If we abide by the principles taught in the Bible, our country will go on prospering.” – Theodore Roosevelt (Comment: Mr. Roosevelt should have practiced more of what he espoused with those comments).

“The sum of the whole matter is this that our civilization cannot survive materially, unless it is redeemed spiritually. It can be saved only by becoming permeated with the Spirit of Christ.” – Woodrow Wilson (Comment: Mr. Wilson was a pure socialist and in my opinion would have destroyed the United States. He probably didn’t completely understand the comment he made. If he had, he would have understood that the finished work of Jesus Christ and Him crucified at the Cross is the only HOPE for civilization (mankind). Meaning there is no collective salvation, only individual salvation with each person making a decision to accept the finished work of Jesus at the cross and accepting Him as Savior and Lord.)

"My concern is not whether God is on our side; my great concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” – Abraham Lincoln

Our nation’s problems are complex to say the least, but the solution begins with recognition of man’s need for God, his estrangement for Him, and the reconciliation provided by faith in Jesus Christ. A redeemed society is possible only through the actions of redeemed men.

PRAY FOR OUR NATION AND ITS LEADERS

THE THORN (No Pain - No Gain)

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (7) And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations (presents the reasons for the thorn in the flesh), there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me (an angel of Satan), lest I should be exalted above measure (This has the Apostle concluding this sentence as it began). (8) For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me (The Apostle knew it was the Lord allowing this, but he didn’t understand why). (9) And he said unto me (the Lord responded, but did not agree), My grace is sufficient for you (speaks of enabling Grace, which is really the Goodness of God carried out by the Holy Spirit): for my strength is made perfect in weakness (All believers are weak, but the Lord tends to make us weaker, with the intention being that we then depend solely upon Him, thereby, obtaining His Strength). Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (because of the end result), that the power of Christ may rest upon me (If Paul needed so humbling and painful an experience of what the carnal nature is, it is evident that all Christians need it. Whatever weakens, belittles, and humiliates that proud and willful nature should be regarded by the Believer as most worthwhile). (10) Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong (then the strength of Christ can be exhibited through me, but only when I know I am weak).  Note: Blue is Scripture – Red is comments reference scripture).

     

     Author Elizabeth Elliot defines suffering as “anything about which one says, ‘Oh, no!’”

     That is an apt description. We dislike any incidents that disrupt our plans, interfere with our personal pursuit of happiness, or awkwardly invade our comfort zones.

     Our lifestyles are built to repel and avoid it. And that is only human, for who rightly yearns for pain?

     Yet the Bible plainly tells us in book after book, chapter after chapter that we should not be surprised by suffering (a thorn if you would). There is no vaccine for tribulation, no inoculation to cure suffering, for Christians or Non-Christians.

     “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).

     Listen: The bible is full of stories such as; Joseph and Jeremiah knew the stench of jails. David and Moses knew the heat and barrenness of the wilderness. Paul and Stephen knew the sting of stones.

     Someone said the Christian is “either headed into a storm, in the middle of one, or coming out of one.” Whatever adversity you face, don’t be surprised. God is completely informed of your problem. By His grace, He can help you advance through your adversity.

BE ENCOURAGED – Remember in Mark 6 vs. 50 while the disciples were in the midst of a storm, Jesus came walking on the water and spoke to them saying: “Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid).