Nourish Your Heart

WWJD? What would Jesus do? This is a saying many use to figure out what Jesus would do in their situation.

But I prefer to focus on what Jesus did.

He made me dead to sin. He made it so that sin has no power over me. When I trust and rely on Jesus and his power and his life-saving resurrection, I can say no to sin.

God is brought down here to earth to live in me. He shares with me his thoughts, his desires and his plans. He gives me strength I do not have to break habits that lead to sin.

When he speaks to me I understand him. I spend my days listening to his voice. The world around me tries to drown him out. Old habits rise up and try to get my attention. Fears and anxiety surround me.

I keep one ear open to him at all times. He guards my thoughts and keeps me from saying thoughtless words. He gives me knowledge and wisdom when I need it. He provides sanctuary for my tired heart and soul. He gives me wings when I am weary. He fills me. He protects me.

That’s what Jesus did.

Romans 6:7-11 What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection.

We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us.

From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God.

That’s what Jesus did.

We are wounded in different ways all the time. People sin. We have expectations that are not met. We look for comfort and love from sources other than God. We turn away from God and put our trust in ourselves. We sin. We hurt other people. We neglect our loved ones. We frown when we should smile. We close up our real selves and we do not share with others who we really are.

And we miss out. We miss out on small moments of joy with each other. We miss out on God’s provisions. We miss out on God’s plans. We don’t see God taking care of us or protecting us because we are too busy with our plans. We miss the smallest blessings that God has sent our way because we are focused on ourselves, on our problems, on the mountains bearing down on us.

But God does not leave us there. He cannot. He pursues us, even in the face of a cold shoulder or just plain ignoring of his love. He is a big God who loves us. We were not perfect when he sent his son to die for us. And he chases after us everyday and waits for us to turn around. We just need to turn around to see him there.

He reaches out to each of us every single day. He sends a scripture for us to read and he reminds us of his promises. He is in the smile of a small child. He is in the graceful thank you of the elderly. He is in the comfort of a furry pet. He is in a mother’s hug. He is in the thoughtful note of a friend. He is in the book you just happened to pick up.

We have someone who is there beside us. He walks alongside us every moment of everyday. He is there for counseling or advice. He is there to give answers to a knotty problem. He is there to just talk about your day. He is there.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the heartbroken and bandages their wounds. Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for the wrong we did; he was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well, was given to him, and we are healed because of his wounds. Isaiah 58:8 Then your light will shine like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your God will walk before you, and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind. I Peter 2:24 Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And you are healed because of his wounds. Psalm 56:8 You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 109:21-22 But deal well with me, O Sovereign LORD, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good, For I am poor and needy, and my heart is full of pain.

What did you think about this weeks reading? It was brought out that several were irritated and provoked by chapter 1. There is not a problem with that. We are each unique. We are each uniquely made.

There were a lot of topics that I got out of it:

God is Glorious and what he created reflects that glory We are each meant to be glorious

God is our sustainer alongside of us; he wants us to be desperate for him. He wants us to learn to turn towards him when we are desperate. We are each meant to be a sustainer to the people in our lives

God wants to be pursued by us. He longs to be loved by us. He needs us. Pursuing God, what does that look like? We are each meant to be pursued. God pursues us.

Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a desire to know me and to be my people. They will want me to be their God, and they will turn back to me with all their heart.

Jeremiah 29:12-13 Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will search for me. And when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me!

God yearns to share a life of beauty, intimacy and adventure with us. Jeremiah 31:3 Long ago the LORD said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.”

Beauty is the essence of God. Beauty is what we need in large and daily doses.

Beauty speaks – it tells us about God Beauty says that all shall be well

Beauty invites. Beauty draws you in and holds your attention.

Beauty nourishes. Beauty offers us life.

Beauty comforts. Beauty relaxes us and gives us peace.

Beauty inspires. Beauty causes us to feel like moving forward, continuing on our way, makes us keep going.

Beauty is transcendent. Beauty pierces us with longing.

Beauty draws us to God. We are each meant to spread our beauty around us, inviting, nourishing, comforting, and inspiring others to God.

So, we were meant for these things. Why don’t more of us look like these things?

The woman in Genesis was convinced that God was holding out on her. She was convinced that she could not trust God’s heart toward her. She was convinced that in order to have the best possible life, she must take matters into her own hands.

We do this. We get afraid. We believe we must take matters into our own hands. We ache with an emptiness that nothing seems able to fill.

How do we hide our true selves?

How do we control our worlds to have some sense of security?

We control our relationships. We refuse to be vulnerable. If we cannot secure our relationships, then we kill our heart’s longing for intimacy. This is so that we will be safe and in control.

Often we arrange other people’s lives.

I love the CS Lewis quote, “controlling women are the sort of women who live for others. You can tell the others by their hunted expression.”

We hide our true selves.

Makeup, humor, angry silences, punishing withdrawals, business, dismiss compliments, relinquish major decisions to others.

We hide because we are afraid. We take matters into our own hands. We don’t return to our God with our broken and desperate hearts.

“Our little indulgences”

They are what we give our hearts away to instead of giving them to the heart of God.

Hebrews 4:14-16 Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

Ask Jesus to continue to free us from our self-protective and fallen strategies.

Our father’s eyes: God knows why we do the things we do. He understands us. Look to him now with your confessions. There is mercy in his eyes. He would like not only to forgive us our fallen ways, but also to heal our fear and reveal his love to us in the depths of our soul where we have yet to trust him.

If you feel that you need to confess your indulgences, it is best to do so to one or two women privately.