True Heart of Prayer

Before I enter into some reflection about chapter two, I'm thinking about the previous chapter. It was filled with many examples of believers who prayed fervently while in distress and yet God seemed silent. Sittser provided some wrongful responses why prayer is not answered such as we did not have enough faith and we did not use the right words. The key I took away at the end was to persist. I was reading Revelations 21 the other day and verse eight lists all these different categories of people who have a place in hell that include unbelieving and liars. One of the categories were the cowardly. That stands out to me but it makes so much sense. The Christian must be brave, and many times in Scripture God calls someone and says for them to be strong and courageous. He knows that we struggle with this one, but the desire is there for us to be strong and courageous. In the presence of difficult, we must press on.

The second chapter is titled: THE TRUE HEART OF PRAYER. Sittser once again provides a quote to start with:

We may pray most when we say least,

and we may pray least when we say most.

St. Augustine of Hippo

Some very confusing words upon first read. I think the idea here is simple. Prayer is not about the number of words we say. Some people can pray very lengthy prayers and seem to go on and on and not have very much content. Some say few words but genuinely mean what they say. So, it is not about the quantity of words.

Sittser returns to this idea of the epic using the example of the Lord of the Rings. He tells of the difficult journey along the way though in the end our main characters are triumphant. So it is with us in our present life here on earth. Each day has its high points and lows. There are some really joyous moments and there are moments of extreme difficult. I am reminded here in this opening paragraph to keep the big picture in mind.

Sittser calls unanswered prayer the essential part of the plot line. "When all other courses of action have been eliminated, when we stand at the edge of the abyss, when we approach God with empty hands and an aching heart, then we draw close to the true heart of prayer." (Sittser, 2007 p. 44). He does not quite say what this true heart of prayer is, but the description is clear. We come to God in desperation when we have exhausted all other solutions. It is like the woman who had internal bleeding for twelve years and the doctors had no help for her but she exhausted all her financial resources but then had the faith to touch Jesus and thus receive healing for her body. We come to realize where hope is found and who is really in control of all things.

Sittser goes on to describe a man named Kevin he meets at a church ministry for the homeless. In it he finds a powerful reminder:

"Suddenly everything had changed. I was no longer heroic outsider who visits The City Gate once a week to the "less fortunate," as we like to call them. I was standing the presence of a saint who knew that without Jesus he would probably be dead. . . .

 I forget all too quickly how much I need Jesus, how we all need Jesus. When I'm at The City Gate, I see greater clarity what I know to be true in my head but always in my heart--why Jesus came, whom Jesus spent with, how much Jesus loved the needy." (p. 46)

Too often, in the "middle-class" church, we have "safe" gatherings with people who seem to have it together. Whenever we hear baptism testimonies from our youth group kids, we hear stories of very "normal" and "innocent" upbringings. It seems like when we do street ministry, we hear stories of people with very disturbing pasts of abuse, violence, and near-death experiences. All of us, whatever upbringing, whatever class, all need Jesus. It comes down to whether or not we sense our need for Jesus.

Sittser talks about how we love the gifts God gives us but we ignore the giver. That is sad that we often forget who gives us what we have. I often think of the parent-child relationship. It is like buying my child a car and he spends his evenings with his friends and rarely ever spends time at home. The Father heart of God desires relationship. Sittser says that he finds himself pray the most when in deep need. It should be that whether in deep need or not in deep need that we should come to God. We come now to the true heart of prayer:

"The heart of true prayer is this cry of desperation. It is the cry of those who, committed to seeing God's kingdom come and God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven, find themselves in circumstances that show little evidence that there even is a kingdom of God. There is a time and place in the Christian faith to master the techniques of prayer, to develop the discipline of prayer, and to become comfortable and confident when we pray. But what is most fundamental is the spirit of our prayers, the cry of the heart to get help from the only one who can meet our deepest need. Desperation is the first and primary condition for true prayer." (p. 47-48).

I agree with Sittser that desperation is where we begin with in our praying. I don't think most have this sense of desperation until something incredibly difficult comes. Our normal tone is flat. We lack urgency and desperation both in our praying and in our Christian life. I was just pondering this fact. I am not sure what our population is, and counting the entire county, perhaps we have over a million. Consider the amount of seating we have in our local churches. If every church was full, would we have enough space to hold everyone in our county if they were to attend. In one week we have a city-wide evangelistic event and many of us pray for revival to come to this region. Is the church ready for revival?

 

In Sittser's section titled learned desperation he writes this:  "I might pray complacently about many things, but not about my children, at least not any more. I am so aware of my inadequacy as a father and of the long-term con

sequences of the trauma my children experienced that I find myself crying out to God as if God were my only hope, my last resort, my one chance to see that good triumphs over evil. I know how impermanent things are, how fragile relationships are, how little control I have.

Every time I watch my kids drive off in one of our cars, I tremble because I realize that I might never see them again, at least not in this life. As they grow up and prepare to leave the home, I worry because I know that they will face adversity, hardship, and temptation from which I cannot protect them. So I pray for them out of desperation. As a single father I know how much I need God." (p. 51).

We know how much we need God. In situations when we are helpless and God is our only true help, we have this sense of urgency and desperation. It is a matter of perspective. Right now, I have a health situation with my joints. A year ago I did not. I could walk, run, climb, jump and without thinking twice. Right now, I dare not jump, I cannot go upstairs, and I can barely walk much less run. When we are place in situations where we need God, we no longer take the simple things for granted and we pray with desperation. Most of us in our 20s and 30s are in good health and financial stability especially those with degrees in the sciences. It would appear harder for people in stable and healthy lifestyles to really pray with desperation. I love the statement Sittser says next:

"My need for God is as great as my need for air, water, and food. Without God, I am dead." (p. 52)

What a realization. My need for God is like our need for food and water. He alone sustains us. Moment by moment, we need God.

Desperation, as Sittser writes leaves us vulnerable and sets us up for disappointment. Yet, it is in desperation where we find God. Pastor Gordon MacDonald tells of his experience at ground zero after September 11th.

 He provided spiritual support to those in the area. The sounds and smell of death were everywhere. To the observer, God would seem so far removed from this place of devastation and ruin. Yet, recorded is his experience:

"Yet MacDonald experienced God's presence. "I decided that God is closer to this place than any other place I've ever visited .... No church service; no church sanctuary; no religiously inspiring service has spoken so deeply into my soul and witnessed to the presence of God as those hours last night at the crash site."

But it was not just the presence of God he experienced in that setting, as devastating as it was. He also experienced vitality, power, a renewal of faith. "In all my years of Christian ministry, I never felt more alive than I felt last night ....

As much as I love preaching the Bible and all the other things that I have been privileged to do over the years, being on that street, giving cold water to workmen, praying and weeping with them, listening to their stories was the closest I have ever felt to God. Even though it sounds melodramatic, I kept finding myself saying, 'this is the place where Jesus most wants to be." (p. 55).

It would seem like a place of draining and not vitality, death instead of life. Yet, in this place, God became more real to Pastor MacDonald than any worship service he had been to. God indeed is in the midst of pain and poverty. He is present with those who grieve and face loss. God is present when we least expect it.

Sittser makes mention of Jesus on the cross. Jesus cries out to God who has forsaken Him in that moment when Christ takes on the sins of the world. Indeed, His Father has forsaken Him, but only for that moment, and for a eternal purpose. So it is with our struggles. Sittser says they are a hard and painful part of the journey. Yet more profound he states that they are not the entire journey.

"Unanswered prayer breaks us, deepens us, exposes us, and transforms us. The epic journey of prayer will lead to answers, but not before we face difficulties and disappointments along the way. Perhaps you have experienced

some of the very trials that             Unanswered prayer breaks" (p. 57)

Prayer:

Father, what devastating words uttered on the cross, "my God, my God, why have You forsaken me!" Those words uttered by Jesus and these words we often utter ourselves in our most painful moments are the cries of Your children. We come to You in desperation. My physical condition has not improved. I have pain in my ankles. I don't know what is wrong with my body and neither do medical professionals. My heart cries out for meaning, comfort, and healing. Moment by moment I know my need for You in my pain. Indeed, these struggles break us, and exposes me. There is a higher purpose and I pray that You will transform me through my discomfort. This chapter has reminded me of my desperation and need for You at all times including these present and difficult moments. Remind me Father that You are near to those facing difficulty.

  The greatest tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.

This is what Sittser (2007) opens with in his prolog to his text on unanswered prayer. I have decided to take a break for now from the Wiersbe text to reflect upon this problem of unanswered prayer. I have waken up many times in the middle of the night these past few weeks in discomfort from my knee and ankle pain. I have never ceased to pray for healing and yet the situation remains the same but at times is worse. I am taking pain medication with no relief. I tentatively have a job interview this week and don't know if I can physically make it there. God, through this particular trial seems to be silent and distant. This seems like an appropriate time to wrestle with this problem of unanswered prayer. The dilemma is described thus: "The question is a vexation to me because prayer is the one discipline in the Christian faith that makes us feel entirely dependent on God and thus sets us up for profound disappointment when God doesn't respond to our needs and requests" (Sittser, 2007). That is the problem and the paradox. Prayer makes us totally depend on God. Yet, at times we feel profound disappointment when God does not appear to be trustworthy and kind. When we come to God, we have an expectation that God is who He says He is. When He is not then can we still trust Him. How we respond to unanswered prayer will profoundly impact our spiritual journey.

"Why does God remain distant, silent, and hard when we call on him? If God doesn't respond when we need him most, then why pray at all" (Sittser, 2007). These are worthy questions that require real and honest answers.

I begin with chapter one titled: ARE YOU LISTENING, GOD? Sittser opens with this quote:

If many remedies are prescribed for an illness, you can be certain that the illness has no cure.

A. P. Chekhov, from The Cherry Orchard

I found this quote to be rather flawed in the assertion it makes. There can be many possible remedies for a given illness. That does not invalidate each individual treatment option and it certainly does not invalidate the options as a whole. I do however resonate with the pessimism in the comment.

Sittser opens this chapter with the description of an epic. An epic is a story in a film or novel that takes an enormous amount of time and involves many characters. An epic involves some kind of great mission. "However happy the ending, an epic often has a great deal of darkness in it tragedy, suffering, betrayal, and terrible sacrifice. There are strange twists and turns that leave us breathless as we wonder whether the characters will complete their quest. If anything, struggle is necessary to the nature of the story itself. The success of the quest becomes all the more meaningful because of the disappointments the characters experience along the way. The resolution comes as a joyful relief in the face of what once appeared to be unconquerable" (Sittser, 2007 p. 25). He opens this chapter with this description because prayer is an epic. We are promised that God ultimately is in control and we know the ending, but along the way there are many challenges, and many setbacks. I pause here to realize how important it is to keep the big picture in mind and not become overwhelmed at the present moment. God's kingdom will come. God's will will be done. What is difficult is that it does not come right away. So many of us operate on microwave Theology. God's time table isn't that way.

Sittser goes on to say that it would not matter so much if we did not take prayer so seriously. Prayer is woven into our daily life from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to bed. We pray when we have difficulty. We pray to give thanks. We pray to express adoration and wonder at God. We ask for wisdom and strength. Sometimes we pray out of habit. One of the complexities of prayer is stated here: "Prayer seems to work, too, which only makes the problem of unanswered prayer more bewildering. At least some of our prayers are clearly answered, often in Aston Facing

danger or difficulty, opportunity or challenge, we feel compelled to pray, even if we're not sure there is a God out there to whom we are praying. I have witnessed many answers to prayer over the course of the last twenty-five years. I have seen a young man healed of cancer (though his prognosis was like a death sentence hanging over his head); I have watched churches come alive, marriages restored, and mental health problems overcome. We may pray out of habit or as a reflex; but we also pray because we get results--at least some of the time" (Sittser, 2007 p. 27-28). Many of us can testify to this reality. I too, have seen cancer patients cured of cancer when family and churches have prayed for healing. I have seen marriages restored, wayward children come home, adults give up harmful addictions. This whole thing of prayer would not be such a dilemma had prayer not been effective in our lives.   

Sittser then makes mention of the conventional answer that we often hear in church. God answers all prayer. There is no such thing as unanswered prayer. He says yes to some and no to others. This makes sense. We can understand why God would say no to a teenager who asks for a BMW. I can understand why God would say no to a man who asks God to bless his extramarital affair. There are however the genuine challenges that include health, crisis, and work. What about the prayer for loved ones to come to faith. Does God not desire for people to come to faith? It is this very issue Sittser makes mention next.

"Bob Mitchell, former president of Young Life and former vice president of World Vision, preached a sermon in our church recently in which he quoted from a letter he received almost fifty years ago, in May of 1955. The letter was written by Jim Elliot, who had recently moved to Ecuador, with his young wife and baby daughter, to pioneer a new missionary outreach to the Auca Indians. The Aucas lived in a remote area and were considered hostile to outsiders.

Elliot expressed gladness that "the gospel is creeping a little farther out into this big no-man's land of Amazonia." He also mentioned a mutual friend and partner in the missionary endeavor, Ed, who had already left to make contact with the tribe. Expressing both excitement and foreboding, Elliot charged Bob Mitchell to pray for them, especially for Ed. "There are rumors that the same tribe is scouting around there now, so don't forget to pray for Ed--that the Lord will keep him alive as well as make him effective in declaring the truth about Christ." (p. 29).

Bob, as well as many believers prayed for this missionary team. They prayed for their protectection. They prayed for their work. Those of us familiar to this story know what happened to these missionaries. They were murdered by the very people they came to serve leaving Elizabeth a young widow and single mother. Does God not desire the protection of His workers and the salvation of souls? God appeared silent when these missionaries were senselessly slaughtered.

Sittser includes more examples of this dilemma of how ministry leaders, appearing to be doing the right thing, pastoring a church, all of a sudden have challenging circumstances within their own church. Pete and Shirley served faithfully the church for forty years and were now in their sixties. However, difficulty came to them:

But a small group of people launched a campaign against them. People betrayed them and made false accusations against them. The church became divided, a hostile place, a cancerous community. Pete and Shirley cried out to God. They prayed constantly and asked others to do the same. They fasted and claimed the promises of God. They begged for protection, vindication, and deliverance. "We remembered the deliverance of Joseph from prison, David before Goliath, Elijah on Mount Carmel, Daniel in the lions' den, Peter in prison. Our God was the same God. He would fight for us." But it became clear after a long battle that there would be no reconciliation and peace. So they resigned. Their fare well was like a funeral. Their losses overwhelmed them community, friendships, financial security, reputation. What surprised and bewildered them most of all, how ever, was God's silence. "God did not answer our prayers. Heaven was strangely silent, cold, distant, as if made of brass. It felt as if we knocked and pounded on the door of heaven until our knuckles were raw and bleeding, and still there was only silence. Why pray when all you get is silence?" (p. 31)

Heaven is silent. God seems cold. Faithfulness to God's work seemed fruitless and without purpose. The sad thing is when we claim God's promises and see how God delivers others in the Bible and find God does not help us in our time of need. The phrase "deliver us from evil" in the Lord's prayer is an example of God's will but we find that God does not deliver us from evil. Where is God when it hurts. Sittser does get his point across, thirty pages into the book about the problem. However, nearly a fifth of the way through, the hope of God does not shine through. We are still dwelling on the issue of unanswered prayer. Granted this is only chapter one, but some encouragement right now would be desired. Sittser provides the example of Eddie, a refugee. He desires to become a pastor in Africa. He applies for grad school and the only thing left is securing a visa. He tries not once, not twice, but three times but gets denied. So it is with us. We have hopes, dreams, and desires, we pray for God's help, leading, and blessing. Our plans do not succeed and we are left lost, stuck, and wondering where is God when we need Him.

Such moments can cause us to reject the very faith we once professed. C. S. Lewis lost his beloved mother at age nine. He prayed fervently for her healing. This profound loss caused him to reject the faith he once had until later in life when he came back to faith. Unanswered prayer can truly impact us spiritually.

Sittser has a major interest in this issue of unanswered prayer. In 1991, he lost his four year old daughter, wife, and mother in a car accident. So, for Sittser, and for many of us, we wrestle with real life events, real questions, deep hurts and endless reflections of who God is and why sometimes God does not seem to care. On p. 35, during this tragic accident, Sittser had some questions such as

Why are you praying?

What good will it do?

Well-meaning people provide responses that often do more harm than good. Responses such as:

"I believe that you have been set aside for some significant mission."

"God's ways are higher than our ways."

"You didn't pray with enough faith."

"Perhaps you had unconfessed sin in your life."

"I guess your prayers were not in accordance with God's will."

However, we are faced with the promises from Jesus in the Gospels when He states:

So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened)

Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do ever greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If we pray, God answers. Or so we are left to believe? We are left pondering what went wrong. Sittser's introspection caused him to wondering what went wrong. He proposes three answers. Something must be wrong with my motives. Something must be wrong with my faith. Or, I am using the wrong words.

"These explanations have merit; a grain of truth lies in all of them. Purity of motive is important and necessary. So is faith. So are the right words. I won't dispute any of this. Yet these explanations leave me cold, too, because I think they force needless introspection and lead to self-punishment. Does God only answer the prayers of perfect people, perfectly pronounced, uttered in perfect faith?" (p. 39).

Perfect faith. Perfect words. Perfect people. Something appears wrong here. I think when we face difficulties, then it leads us to answers that don't make much sense. This line of thinking is very self-inflicting and dangerous. On p. 40, Sittser begins to provide some rational response to irrational beliefs:

"Blaming ourselves contradicts the very reason we pray. We pray as fragile, broken people. It would strike me as impossibly demanding if we had to prove ourselves worthy of answered prayer by stellar performance, precise articulation, and unwavering faith." We pray because we are weak and God is strong. We pray because we are not perfect people with perfect faith. It would be a contradiction to be perfect and pray. We would have no need for God. But, we do need God.

"So what do we do if we know that we lack perfect faith? Calvin urges us to persist. Perfection is not required--only desire, persistence, and progress. "Although not freed of all hindrances, their efforts still please God and their petitions are approved, provided they endeavor and strive toward a goal not immediately attainable.''6

Jesus taught that just a little bit of faith--faith the size of a mustard seed--is all we need, which is his way of saying that quantity is not really the point. Only a little of faith is necessary so long as it is directed toward the right object, that is, toward God. In fact, faith is not really the main point. What matters is the one in whom we place our faith. Once we try to quantify faith, we misunderstand its nature. (p. 40).

I think sometimes we read portions of the gospels that say "your faith has made you well" and put such emphasis on the element of faith that we forget the person in who we place our faith. It is so encouraging that it is not about the quantity of faith, but the object of our faith. If only we have a mustard seed of faith. I have seen individuals pray to idols in their distress with no relief. Many people pray to different things in distress.

""Faith turns away from self and comes empty-handed to God. Faith doesn't believe in itself; it believes in God. It doesn't try to manufacture confidence in itself; instead, it turns to God. Faith implies that we bring nothing to God; it asks everything from God.

The worst thing we can do in the face of doubt is to stop praying, assuming--wrongly, I believe that only people with perfect faith can pray. We must dare to pray even as we doubt, just as the desperate father cried, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief" True faith is like a light that begins to flicker, however faintly, in the darkness of an experience that beckons us to pray even when we can hardly muster the faith to pray." (p. 41)

Prayer:

Father, as I come to the end of this chapter on unanswered prayer, I realize there are no quick answers to unanswered prayer. My prayer through this is that You would help my unbelief. Just as the father of the child impacted by demon possession prayed, help my unbelief. We often begin to have bad Theology when we face Your silence. The key from this chapter is to persist and not give up seeking You and turning to You when we feel like giving up. It's hard. My physical condition is not getting better even after seeking medical help. I have an interview on Thursday and don't even know if I can make it. I don't have the wisdom and power to handle this situation and so Father I turn to You for help and healing.

Seeing God in the Difficulties

It has been almost a week since my last entry here and comments on Wiersbe (2007). This week has been hard. I have been unable to walk up the stairs and sleep in my own bed. More often than not I have moderate discomfort in both knees.

I will take a moment to share a devotional I read today from Pastor Greg and share some things related to the last entry.

The last chapter was on the pure in heart. The result of this is being able to see God. Seeing God can mean many things that include seeing God's hand in circumstances both personal and global.

It has been a huge challenge these past few weeks coping with my joint pain and not knowing the cause or treatment. An X-ray was taken last Friday but I do not meet with my doctor until next Friday.

A common question I often wrestle with is why bad things happen. Not the bad things that are the result of bad behavior. If we smoke, there are consequences. If we hurt others, there are consequences. What I wonder about is the life difficulties that happen for no explainable cause.

I am a man with pre-existing defects. I was born with a rare eye condition known as optic nerve atrophy. I was born with a moderate speech impediment. Now, in these past three weeks, I now have joint pain and periodic inflammation with no known cause. I cannot conceive how God can do anything with my life.

Four weeks ago I had a phone screen for a social work position locally. That was prior to my joint problems. Even when I called to follow-up I did not expect anything and they never returned my follow up call. Never, until this afternoon. It was an interview request for next week.

The phone call was unexpected. Moreover, I am unsure if I can even physically make it to the interview. What these past few weeks are showing me are my significant weaknesses and total dependence on God. In the end, whatever good happens, all glory goes to Him. I don't know what will happen. My prayer has continued to be for God's leading, strength, and hope from day to day.

This is the devotional I came across: 

JUNE 1, 2012

Not Ability, but Availability 

"I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols." 

—Isaiah 42:8

What kind of person does God seek to use? What qualifications is He looking for in someone? Is it a towering intellect? Is it natural leadership ability? Could God ever use someone who is a bit shy by nature? Does this person have to be very talented or handsome or beautiful?

The answer to all of these questions is clearly no. It seems as though God goes out of His way sometimes to choose the most unexpected people to use.

If I had to choose one passage of Scripture that I think best summarizes my life as a Christian, it would be 1 Corinthians 1:26–29, where the apostle Paul wrote,

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

There is not a person who had less promise to achieve anything with his life than me. I was literally the last person picked for the team for whatever sport it was. I never was academically strong. I always underwhelmed in most areas of my life. So when the Lord chose me to serve Him, it was very clear that it was His doing—not mine. This is because God will not give His glory to another.

As I have said before, God is not looking for ability as much as availability. Are you available to Him?

  

   

THE PURE IN HEART

Yesterday had to be one of the more difficult days in the past two weeks of knee pain. I would wake up in the morning with ankle pain in addition to knee pain. It would appear now that I have some serious problems with my joints. I have been told by several health professionals that it cannot be arthritis because I am too young for that, but now I just don't know. It is even more difficult to walk now. This section of the book becomes so much more relevant. How do I see God in my circumstances? Quoting the title of a different book, "Where is God When It Hurts?"

On the opening page of this chapter, Wiersbe (2007) opens with these words: "At some point in life, each of us must decide what is our highest joy, for the thing that delights us directs us. Generally speaking, children find their delight in what they have; youths in what they do; and adults in what they are. The first live for possessions, the second for experiences, and the third for character." (p. 113). That thing which delights us will direct us. I would like to take a moment and pause on each stage described here. Children delight in what they have. I can see this with the question I once heard a pastor ask a child what they want and the child said a Play Station video game unit. Youths find their delight in what they do. When I was in high school, and perhaps it is still true now, we have our various factions, the ones who play football, those on the debate team, those in marching band, those in student government, those who are popular, and so on. Finally, adults generally find their delight in who they are. This is when career and family goals are pursued. "I am an engineer". "I am a father". Yet, all these things, play station, debate team, engineer are temporal things. Our greatest joy must be found in something far more lasting. Wiersbe goes on to say outlook determines outcome and he gives the example of Abraham and Lot. Abraham looked up and saw God and His promise, Lot looked up and saw Sodom. Abraham became a friend of God, Lot a friend of the world. Abraham in the end gained everything, Lot lost everything. Wiersbe closes the chapter by saying our highest joy is to see God.

So when the Bible says to be pure in heart, what is Jesus saying? It is helpful to examine for a moment how the Bible describes the heart: "Sometimes the Bible uses the word heart to indicate the emotions. "Do not let your hearts be troubled" (John 14:1). "This can be nothing but sadness of heart" (Nehemiah 2:2). But the heart can also refer to the intellect. "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?" (Mark 2:8 NKJV). Hebrews 4:12 (KJV) states that the Word of God is a "discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." The heart also indicates the volitional function, the will. "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself (Daniel 1:8 KJV). Jesus admonished His disciples, "Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer" (Luke 21:14 NKJV)." (p. 114). Mind, emotions, and will, all describing the heart. The heart then according to the body is not this physical organ, but rather the inner person representing these different aspects.

So we have touched upon what the heart is, the second part is referring to the purity of heart. "The Lord looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). David was that man after God's own heart, not because he was sinless but because his heart was single. Saul was a double-minded man. He tried to fear the people and fear the Lord at the same time, and it could not be done. Saul worried about the outward appearance: "Please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel" (1 Samuel 15:30). David sought no honor for himself but only for God. "Let my enemy pursue and overtake me," David prays in Psalm 7:5. "Let him trample my life to the ground and make me sleep in the dust." He closes that prayer with his desire that God alone might be glorified: "I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High" (Psalm 7:17). (p. 116). I think of when Jesus says that we cannot have two masters. We either serve one or hate the other. That particular text refers to God and money but the principle applies universally. We cannot love God and love the world. I love how Wiersbe says it does not mean we are sinless, for surely we cannot be sinless, but it means that our devotion to God is single, it is not conflicted or unfaithful. We seek to honor and worship God. If we read through the many Psalms of David, we truly find a man after God's own heart:

"I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart" (Psalm 9:1).

"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14).

"Test me, O Lord, and try me; examine my heart and my mind" (Psalm 26:2).

"My heart says of you, 'seek his face!' Your face, Lord, I will seek" (Psalm 27:8).

"My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king" (Psalm 45:1).

Jesus said, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" [Matthew 12:34]) We see a man whose focus and delight was God and it came out in His poetry and it came out in his life. I would like to meet people like this. They are the most pleasant and God-centered people I see. Truly, it isn't easy to always have our delight and our focus on God.

Further describing the word purity, Wiersbe writes: "The word that is translated pure has two basic meanings: "clean" and "unmixed." Our English word cathartic comes from this Greek word. A cathartic is an agent a doctor uses to cleanse the physical system. A psychiatrist also uses catharsis on the emotional level to "cleanse" the patient of hostilities and other destructive attitudes. There is also a spiritual catharsis, a cleansing of the inner person. "He purifies their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9) (p. 117). The idea here is something that is clean, unadulterated, pure.

Wiersbe gives the description of David when he did not have purity of heart. This instance was the sin of adultery. He did not go out to war when kings went out to battle. He saw a woman bathing and let that desire turn into an affair. The affair then led to the murder of her husband, and David lied about and tried to cover his deeds up. His heart and desire and honor was not God but himself and his physical gratification. Purity of heart requires honesty, with God, with others, and self always. It requires that we seek to honor God in all that we do.

How do we cultivate purity of heart, to have our heart desire God? "Psalm 86:11 explains it: "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." No person can ever hope to see God whose heart is divided between the Lord and the world. Our relationship with God must be based on love. For our hearts to love anything other than God is to commit spiritual adultery. "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God" (James 4:4) (p. 119).

There are several ways we can see God. God is seen in creation. "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands"(Psalm 19:1). We see God also in the circumstances both of our lives and in the world. Paul's conviction was "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Rom 8:28).

"For they shall see God." This is the highest blessing possible for humans, for when we see God, we see Him who is (as the theologians put it) "the Source, Support, and End of all things." Since nothing is higher than God, then seeing God must be the highest joy that we can experience. It was this joy that motivated and excited men and women in Bible times and also inspired the great saints of church history. Moses prayed, "Now show me your glory" (Exodus 33:18). David wrote his heart's desire in Psalm 42:1-2: "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" Phillip said to Jesus, "Show us the Father, and it is enough for us" (John 14:8 NASB). Of course it was for this purpose that Jesus came, that He might reveal God to us. "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). (p. 122).

Prayer:

Father, what an incredible honor it is to see God, to behold Your beauty and glory. That was the desire of Moses and David and so many others. This text says that the pure in heart will see God. That requires us to pray that You search our hearts, and teach us Your ways. It is so easy to desire lesser things and to be directed by lesser dreams. Today, as I continue to experience pain in my joints, my attention is on the pain I feel and not on the God who is bigger than my pain. I pray that for each of us distracted by pain, discomfort, broken dreams, and the many distractions in life, help us to keep our focus and our hearts pure and on You.

THE MERCIFUL

It is rather interesting that I have come to this section. I took a class called Justice, values, and ethics. Social work has a long history of speaking on behalf of and joining with and advocating for the vulnerable, seeking social justice. We had two debates in this class and my topic was capital punishment. In the capital punishment debate, it is either a debate on the side of retributive justice or mercy. Many in today's society far rather punish offenders to the fullest extent than to show leniency and grace. But, grace is the way of the Christian. Wiersbe (2007) begins the chapter by saying how the Roman world also valued justice. Mercy, in that time, and I believe in ours was seen as something to be abhorred of and a disease of the soul. Slaves were seen as disposable property. In that time, if a wife gave birth to a girl or a sickly son, he had the choice to reject the child and let it die. Rare was the virtue of compassion and mercy. I take a moment to ponder my own existence had I been born during first century Palestine. What would be my chances. Blind from birth, currently and potentially permanently crippled, what would be my life chances. My parents opted not to have an abortion though I had been born nearly a decade after its legalization. At times like these, I am not certain if I would desire if they had chosen otherwise. This was the first day when my physical condition and the lingering pain drew me to a moment of sorrow and despair. A consideration of mercy is a good place to pause.

Wiersbe begins to describe the differences between grace and mercy. "Truth becomes faithfulness, holiness becomes justice, and love becomes grace and mercy. Mercy is one of the spiritual bridges God has built so that He can relate to you and me, and mercy is a bridge you and I must build if we are going to relate lovingly to others. God's mercy and grace grow out of His love. Nobody is saved because God loves him or her, for God loves the whole world. Sinners are saved because of God's grace and mercy, His love in action. It is easy to remember the difference between grace and mercy. God in His grace gives me what I do not deserve. In His mercy He does not give me what I do deserve. In one sense, grace is positive whereas mercy is negative, although this should not be carried too far." (p. 98). "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed" (Lamentations 3:22 KJV). We find many examples of mercy in the Bible. Early on, in Genesis 19, we see God sparing Lot and his family from the destruction. It was nothing of Lot, but everything of God's character that prevented the calamity to come upon Lot. Wiersbe makes this awesome statement later on the same page. It is mercy that pity and grace that pardons.

Wiersbe then goes on to describe what mercy involves. It first involves pain. There is an offense. But mercy also involves power. There is the power to punish. Mercy then is the power to pardon. God, in His infinite love and mercy has the power to show ultimate mercy. There is a chain of events that Wiersbe beautifully describe. "These, then, are the links in the chain of mercy: pain, power, truth, love, faith, and growth. We suffer because of another's sin, but we choose to use our power for growth instead of retaliation. It is the act of faith that shows the mercy that converts pain into spiritual growth. It is love that makes us want to exercise this faith; it is the Holy Spirit within who gives us this love." (p. 99).

Wiersbe then describes now the chain of each virtue. We first begin with the right attitude about ourselves, being poor in spirit. When we are poor in spirit, then we mourn over our sin. When we have a right attitude about God's word, we act with meekness. Having a right attitude toward God and His word we begin to hunger and thirst for righteousness. Having God's righteousness we begin to exhibit God's character and thus we have come to mercy.

Wiersbe then looks at examples of mercy in the Bible. The first he discusses is Abraham. Remember in Genesis 13, the herdsmen between Abraham and Lot had begin to quarrel. Abraham then let Lot choose which part of the land he wanted. Now in Genesis 14, Lot is in trouble and Abraham comes with an army to go rescue Lot and his family. Abraham did not need to rescue Lot. He could have said Lot chose for himself where to go and he got himself to trouble. Nevertheless mercy was shown to Lot. The same can be said of Joseph with his brothers. Joseph could have punished his brothers for selling him into slavery yet he chose not to. Instead, he blessed them. Of all the examples of mercy in the Bible, none compare to the mercy that was shown at the cross. "It is the cross that makes mercy available to us and through us. We must never extend mercy on the basis of our own "spirituality" but rather on the basis of His finished sacrifice. If the mercy we show bypasses the cross, then it also bypasses truth and righteousness, and it can never lead to peace. "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving" (James 3:17). "Peace at any price" is never a basis for mercy. "Making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Colossians 1:20) is the only true basis for mercy." (p. 104). Those were very powerful words uttered on the cross. "it is finished". Yesterday, in small group, we discussed the power of this statement. We can rest in the Gospel. We do not need to earn our way to God. Jesus has done all the work. We don't need to prove anything to God. Here, in another context, those words continue to have meaning. Because of Christ's finished work, we are able to show that same kind of mercy to those who do not deserve it. Wiersbe states we must experience God's mercy in our hearts in order for us to be channels of God's mercy. In Matthew 18, we find the unmerciful servant who was forgiven a huge debt but then he was unable to forgive a man of a minor debt. Wiersbe says something about the Lord's supper I never thought of. We do not come to remember our sin, but to remember Christ's death and sacrifice. There truth and mercy are found, the truth of my offense and the mercy of God at the cross. This is a perpetual memory of Christ's sacrifice and mercy.

Wiersbe for a brief moment discusses several ways of dealing with sin. In John eight we find the woman caught in the act of adultery. The leaders propose the legal way of dealing with the offense, to stone her. Wiersbe says the law can never cleans, only condemn. then there is the human way which is exploitation of the sinner, find the person, point out his or her wrong-doing and make others look good. This is the human way. Jesus rejects both these ways in this narrative. Jesus way is mercy, "neither do I condemn you".

"How thrilling it is to go through life sharing God's mercy and not having to judge people to see if they are "worthy" of what we have to offer. We stop looking at the externals and begin to see people through the merciful eyes of Christ. Every Christian we meet is a person in whom Jesus lives; every lost soul we meet is a person for whom Jesus died. In both cases, we have candidates for God's mercy.

The only way God could get His mercy to this world was through His Son. The Son of God had to become flesh before mercy and truth could meet together.

It is the same today; mercy in the abstract means nothing—it must always be incarnate in human flesh. The evasive lawyer wanted Jesus to discuss the abstract question of "Who is my neighbor?" But Jesus forced him to see one half-dead stranger at the side of the road and one hated alien who showed mercy to that stranger. The world cannot see mercy apart from the people who experience it and share it. You and I are to be those people.   ." (pp. 109-110).

Prayer:

Father, mercy is costly. It cost You Your Son. Mercy is not a valued virtue today. We value justice and retribution when wrongs are done to us. We are quick to judge and quick to repay. Help us to see through Your eyes of love and mercy. However, would we not at the same time be soft on truth and soft on sin. You show that balance with the woman caught in the act of adultery. We can remember time after time when we have been wrong. May we not count the times we have been wronged especially with those close to us. Remind us through sacraments such as the Lord's supper of Your sacrifice and mercy that we too can show mercy.

THE HUNGRY AND THIRSTY

I am a man who has lived in a very blessed situation where I can and have eaten at some of the finest establishments both in the United States and abroad. As a Cantonese American, I have had the best Chinese food in China, Hong Kong, Toronto, Vancouver, New York City, Las Angeles, and San Francisco. I say this for the reason of food does not last. No matter how costly the food, it does not last. I recognize much of the world lives on a dollar a day. It would appear unfair that some in the world have expensive meals prepared for them while many starve through the day. Food and water are important for survival. Wiersbe (2007) opens with a profound statement: "Food and water are necessities, not luxuries. This was especially true in Palestine in Jesus' day. Both food and water were used carefully and never wasted. The owning of a well and the cultivation of a field were matters of life and death. So when Jesus linked together hunger, thirst, and righteousness, He was telling the people that righteousness is not a luxury; it is a necessity. Our physical life depends upon food and water; our spiritual life depends upon righteousness" (p. 83). I had long thought righteousness was just one of those Christian words that no one really understood and was minimally significant. Here, the verse reminds us it is a necessity to hunger and thirst for it.

Wiersbe goes on to talk about the comparison between physical hunger and spiritual hunger. If one is not fed with the proper nutrient physically, one will get ill. Likewise, if one is not fed with the right spiritual nutrients, one will get spiritually ill. So then the question becomes what are we filling ourselves with spiritually? What are we hungering for? The concepts of malnourishment, obesity, and food poison apply as much to our spiritual health as it does to our physical health. If a Christian says they do not hunger for the things of God, this would be highly problematic. "What are the hungers in your life? What are the longings that you yearn to have satisfied? If our desires are apart from the will of God, to satisfy them means disappointment and judgment. If they are in the will of God, to satisfy them means enjoyment, growth, and fulfillment" (p. 86). There was a time when I once thought satisfaction and fulfillment can be found in this world. There is a line in a movie many years ago where a mafia member said that you first get the money, then you get the girl, and then you get the power. These three things would appear to bring happiness and fulfillment. Money, women, and power are not in themselves inherently bad. However, if one spends his entire life going after money, women, and power, then it will be ultimately empty. I can see now more than before that a house, a PHD, an attractive wife is what we are living for to chase after, will greatly disappoint. So what exactly is it that we need to hunger for and thirst for? "The words holy and whole belong to the same family. To be holy involves wholeness. Sin divides and destroys, but holiness unites and builds. Holiness is a basic attribute of God: "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). When you hunger for holiness, you hunger for God. "My soul thirsts for God!" And to have God in your life means wholeness; He puts everything together. 'Through Him all things are held together" (Colossians 1:17" (p. 87). It cannot be more simple than this. Theologically speaking, we are to hunger for God. However, the text uses the word righteousness. Holiness and righteousness are similar terms. Wiersbe goes on to describe this term also. "To be righteous means to be right—right with God, right wit}, self, and right with others. When you hunger and thirst for God you are causing the inner person to function as God made it to function. Your spiritual senses are exercised and developed (Hebrews 5:14)- "Train yourself to be godly" (1 Timothy 4:7). There is a unity to the life of the person whose deepest desire is to know and please God and to enjoy Him. Instead of running from one substitute to another, seeking inner satisfaction, that person says, "All my fountains are in you" (Psalm 87:7). "Lord, to whom shall we go! You have the words of eternal life" (John 6:68)" (p. 88). Wiersbe goes on to illustrate this with the prodigal son from Luke 15. The younger son went off in the far country to squander his inheritance on wild living. He ultimately was disappointed, homeless, and empty. When he recognized this, he went home to his father, everything was made whole. True happiness and fulfillment was when he hungered for being home.

Wiersbe goes on to discuss having the right view of sin and the right view of righteousness. The Pharisees had it wrong. They saw sin as the "do not" and righteousness as the "does. If this is one's system of holiness, there will be no happiness. Religion is based on rules. Christianity is based on a relationship with Christ. Religion ultimately will not satisfy. I will never know how much to do and feel so anxious about what I did wrong if my religion is based on rules. There is no freedom and individuality in rules. This is not to say that Christianity gives license to do whatever. If Christianity is a relationship with Christ, than I would live in a manner that keeps the closeness of that relationship. Likewise in a marriage, I would love my wife in such a way that prizes the relationship and values her.

So what is the promise? "They will be filled" is Christ's promise; that word filled carries with it a double meaning: "satisfied" and "controlled by." If we hunger and thirst after God's righteousness, then He will satisfy that hunger; and when He has satisfied it, we will discover that our lives are controlled by His righteousness in all that we do. Seeking to become like Him pleases both the Father and us. . . Holiness brings happiness not only by sparing us the pain of sin and its consequences but also by purifying our hearts and minds and giving us an appetite for the eternal. "And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness" (Psalm 17:15). As we become more like Christ, we share more of His joy" (p. 92). It sounds so simple. Hunger for God. Hunger after His righteousness. When we hunger after God and His righteousness He will fill us with Himself and we will be satisfied. This is worship at it's simplest description. A life controlled by worry does not have its affections on God.. In the middle section of Jesus' sermon on the mount He addresses worry, for such basic things such as even food and clothes. In today's terms this includes work and shelter. I just heard today in the news that HHP will cut 27,000 jobs. This is a lot of positions and a lot of people who will be jobless. Work is profoundly necessary to survive. I too at this moment worry about my current state of jobless. This chapter and this text reminds me to hunger after God and His righteousness. What about our daily needs? "All of God's blessings are the by-products of His righteousness. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). "All these things"—such as food, clothing, shelter, income, husband, wife. When we live for God's rule and God's righteousness in our lives, then we enjoy everything else.

There is no shortcut to happiness or holiness. We must begin with hunger—a hunger for holiness, a deep desire to be more like Christ. God promises to satisfy this hunger, and it is our responsibility to seek to develop this appetite for the righteousness of God. We are what we eat. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (p. 95)

Prayer:

Father, I worry. I worry about career and health and spouse and children. I worry because these basic needs in life are presently uncertain. Today, You have reminded me to hunger and thirst to be more like You and to set my attention and affection on You. Father, I pray that You grant me the wisdom and the ability to have the right perspective and feed on the right things. There is so much spiritual junk food in the world. Help me to find true spiritual nourishment.

THE MEEK

Wiersbe (2007) begins the chapter by defining meekness. He first states what it is not. Meekness is not weakness. We live in a world that prizes power. Whether it is war between nations, opponents in an athletic event, or the business world, those with power are at an advantage. Wiersbe spends a little time in discussing anger and the devastation of its effects. He includes an exchange a woman has with evangelist Billy Sunday. She says there is nothing wrong with losing my temper. She then says I blow up and then it is over with. Billy Sunday's response is quite descriptive. He says "so does a shot gun. But look at the damage that is left behind. In my time as a mental health intern I have seen countless men and women struggle with anger, and not just anger but rage. The effect can be devastating to all involved peoples and properties.

Wiersbe then goes on to describe what meekness is: "The Greek word that is translated meekness was a familiar word to the people in Jesus' day. It was used to describe a soothing medicine. Doctors gave patients who wrestled with a fever medication to quiet them down and relieve their high temperature so that they could sleep. Sailors also used the word to describe a gentle breeze. (p. 65-66). These two examples, medicine and wind both have power. Medicine has power to heal and everyone who has been in a storm of any sort know the power of wind. However, these elements when kept under control achieve a positive effect. Wiersbe then goes on with a Biblical illustration of meekness. In Genesis 13 we find the quarreling of Abraham and Lot's herdsmen because they have grown two large. Abraham as the uncle and the man who the Bible calls friend of God does not assert his authority. Instead what he says is powerful: "Let's not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right; if you go to the right, I'll go to the left" (Genesis 13:8-9). Abraham gave his young nephew first choice of the land. He had the power to take first choice himself but he entrusted himself to God because he knew God has ultimate control. Wiersbe also uses Joseph as an illustration. Joseph entrusted himself to God despite all the injustices he encountered with his brothers and while in prison. He had the power to punish his brothers when he became second in charge in Egypt. He never inflicted any harm or retribution to his brothers when he had the authority to do so.

Wiersbe then asks the question are we meek? The best way to find out is to ask are we exercising self-control? How do we react to situations. How is our attitude? What is our behavior like when life happens. This one has been challenging recently. The constant knee pain and difficulty getting up and taking steps has been very frustrating at times. I don't know if I will ever recover. I need both peace and perspective in this area. Wiersbe offers perspective on his reflection on Psalm 37: "Too many people respond—or react—to the difficulties of life by fretting. "Do not fret," says the opening verse of Psalm 37, and it is repeated in verse 8: "Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil." The normal thing to do when people attack you is to get angry, fret over it, and fight back, but this is not the spiritual thing to do. Meek people submit themselves and their enemies to God and let Him handle the problem. Look at the admonitions in Psalm 37: "Trust in the Lord; . . . Delight yourself in the Lord; ... Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; . . . Refrain from anger; . . . Turn from evil and do good" (vv. 3-4, 7-8, 27). The meek center their attention and affection on the Lord, not on themselves or their adversary. When you find yourself fretting because of people or circumstances, you can be sure that you have lost your meekness" (p. 71). Do good. Be still before the Lord. Wait patiently for the Lord. This is a time to center my attention and affection on God and not my present circumstance.

Wiersbe goes on to describe how meekness is cultivated. "You and I must make the choice: Will we submit in the difficulties of life and cultivate meekness, or will we rebel and produce hardness? The fruit of the Spirit is meekness, but it takes time for the fruit to grow, and the fruit grows best in the storms of life" (p. 77). Both King David and the Apostle Paul are great examples of men who went through trial after trial and through it grew not only in maturity but meekness. It is true that trials are the tools by which we either grow or regress. It is all to easy to grow bitter through the difficulties of life. Wiersbe ends with the blessing of meekness, that is that the meek shall inherit the earth. "The meek own everything because they are submitted to the God who made everything and controls everything; God is their Father" (p. 79). This fact that God is my Father seems simplistic and yet it is so hard to conceptualize. The Bible says that God is my Father and He knows each one of my needs. God made everything and controls everything. Wiersbe talks about how Jesus never worried about food or about his life. He slept soundly on the boat while His disciples grew anxious that they would die. Jesus was without worry because He knew the goodness and power of His Father.

Prayer:

Father, how profound it is that I can call you Father. With that one word is all the security and protection in the universe. You made all things and control all things. This situation being jobless and facing knee pain has really been weighing me down. Daily do I need to submit these situations into Your hands and pray for peace, perspective, and for Your provision. Through it, I learn of my anxiety and fears. Remind me Father of Your goodness and grace. Would I learn to wait patiently for you and set my attention and affection on You.