Jesus Sees the Heart

Before I began my journalism career at Charisma magazine I taught high school in an upper middle-class neighborhood. I had thought that if I genuinely loved teenagers and desired to see lost souls won to Jesus, I would find a few students who were ready to repent and make decisions for Christ.

But I was in for a shock when I walked into that high school.

While the students shuffled through the hallways between classes, some of my students would stop by my room to say hello. Their mouths glistened with the bling that pierced their tongues, and others wore Gothic-style black cloaks and thick, gory makeup.

These students had a sinister appearance, but I knew that inside they were screaming for acceptance and love. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God sees the heart.

One student in particular—I’ll call her Caylee—captured my heart and my prayers. One day she came to class wearing a black, lace-trimmed slip with knee-hi socks and a cardigan. Of course, I had to send her to the dean's office.

But Caylee eventually opened up to me on a different occasion and told me about a tragedy that had struck her family. She had been caught in the crossfire of that situation and felt completely hopeless and unloved.

To deal with her grief she cut her beautiful blonde hair, dyed it black and traded in her cute clothes for racy lingerie. Then she joined a rock band.

I learned a lot from Caylee. She taught me that those of us who follow Jesus should focus on people's spiritual needs, not their appearance, the gangster rap they listen to or with whom they hang around.

Jesus' life was characterized by His compassion for hurting people. He came for the sick. He shed His blood for drug dealers, CEOs, the woman next door, prostitutes and countless others. Then after He rose from the dead, He gave a simple command: "Go."

Never mind what you see when you look into the face of a person who doesn't know Jesus. Just go! Strike up a conversation. Witness for Him. Tell her how much the Father loves her, and then pray with her.

We don't have any time to lose. The Caylees of this world are waiting for us.

God Is Your Source

If you're anything like me, you're feeling the squeeze from skyrocketing gas and food prices and the overall effects of a sagging economy.

Just a year ago, I would go to the mall whenever I felt like it and buy a few pantsuits or dresses to wear to work and church. I ate out frequently. And on Saturdays, I would coax myself out of bed as early as 7:30 a.m. so I could be first in the chair at the hair salon. Today I shop less, dry clean the clothes I already have, cook my meals and spend a little less time at the salon.

As a single mother of a college student, it's easy to be concerned about the future. But God reminded me in prayer one day last week that He is my source. It is He who provides for me no matter what happens in the world around me.

Yes, I must be savvy with my money and spend it wisely, but the Bible is loaded with promises to believers whose confidence is in God.

Did He not provide manna from heaven for His children in the wilderness? Of course. Is He not the God who the psalmist says owns the cattle on a thousand hills? Absolutely. (See Ps. 50:10.) Did He not promise that a faithful person will have many blessings? Yes. (See Prov. 28:20.)

Christians aren't super saints and we sometimes lose sight of who holds the future. We can earn a good education, develop our skills and use our abilities to earn a living. But at the end of the day, it is the Father who will breathe on our efforts and make them prosper. The Bible says God gives us the power to get wealth.

Reassess your spending habits, tear up those credit cards, develop a budget and live by it, and continue giving to the work of the Lord. But don't panic, God is your source in this topsy-turvy economy.

God is a Healer

The other day, I was sitting in the surgical waiting room of a local hospital praying for my daughter. She was undergoing an operation to have her spleen removed and honestly, I was afraid.

One moment I was confident the surgery would go well, and the next moment I was struggling with fear and the dreaded what ifs.

I was teetering back and forth in my mind, when something caught my attention. Every time a doctor would come to the waiting room, he would pull the patient's family member, spouse or adult child to the side to tell him something only the two of them could hear.

The response was always the same.

The person would either clutch his chest and nearly shake the doctor's hand off as a sign of gratitude, erupt in joyful laughter, whip out a cell phone and text the news to other loved ones or simply say thank you.

The same scene played out over and over again for hours and then it hit me: God is a healer.

The Bible says in Isaiah 53:5: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed" (NKJV).

Not everyone who checks into a hospital will leave there healed. In fact, there are no guarantees what will happen. Some people are given a clean bill of health and suddenly die. And others are told they only have eight months to live, and live to be 80. But after watching God work in the hospital that day, my confidence in Him is refreshed.

Someone reading this blog is battling an illness and you feel hopeless. Take heart. God will not leave you in your time of need. That day in the hospital, I too was told my daughter's surgery went well, and she would be fine. I clutched my chest, tried to shake the doctor's hand off, and whipped out my cell phone to tell my family. God is sovereign and He can heal us.

So be encouraged. Continue to seek Him for your healing and trust Him in the meantime.

BELIEVING FOR BREAKTHROUGH

By Brenda J. Davis former editor of SpiritLed Woman magazine.

Valerie Lowe, who usually writes this column, asked me if I'd pinch-hit for her today. Her presence is greatly needed elsewhere today, as she attends to the needs of her daughter, Faith, who is recovering from surgery. If you've read this blog before, surely you know that Valerie and Faith are completely devoted to each other, and that they enjoy an amazing bond as not only mother and daughter, but also sisters in Christ. I’m certain they would want to know that you’re praying for them, so be sure to send them your prayers and words of encouragement.

Valerie will be back at her post here very soon, but in the meantime, I’m happy to help out. It has only been a few short months since my transfer to another arena of service here in the company. I’ll be honest with you; every change has its challenges. Even after being with this company for 11 years, I’m facing exciting new tasks every day that require new levels of grace and trust. I’ve discovered, much to my utter astonishment, that with God’s power, even at 56, you can still learn a few things. Mostly, you can learn to trust God with things you never had to trust Him with before.

Of course, it is scary sometimes; but so is living. It has become very clear to us that we are facing a number of situations we’ve never seen before, and we have to learn to believe God all over again.

Most of us find great comfort in the familiar. We don’t necessarily want to be bored, but mostly we want to exercise some control over the way we experience new things. We like surprises; we’d just like to manage them. Lately, that’s getting harder to do.

A few weeks ago, my sister, Bridgett, and I took a trip in her new car. I did most of the driving, then offered to fill up her tank before she drove home. What was I thinking? At $60, the machine still hadn’t stopped! My car is not as large as hers, so I had no frame of reference for a $60 tank of gasoline, and I’d never had to exercise that kind of faith for such a thing before.

Every day there are so many things that can tempt us to worry. But before we get too overwhelmed with all the discomforts of this modern life, let’s step back and remember the faithfulness of our unchanging God. It’s so easy to be drawn into the fretting and worrying that fills the atmosphere everywhere we go nowadays, but even in the worst of times, God has remembered His people and delivered them.

Sometimes things seem to spin out of control. This is never the reality for the believer. In the Scriptures, even under the worst conditions, things were never out of God’s control.

In the Old Testament, we can read about the horrors of judgment and loss that God’s people experienced due to their rebellion and disobedience. Jeremiah, who was called “the weeping prophet,” talked about the tremendous struggles the people endured, but in spite of these things he could write: “This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him’” (Lam. 3:21-24, NIV).

The Lord is so able to encourage and strengthen us, if we acknowledge Him, remind ourselves of His promises. You may have tried everything, and feel you’re at the end of all you know to do. But all you know is not all there is to know. At the end of our finite knowledge, there is the infinite wisdom and knowledge of God.

Call to mind God’s unfailing love, His mercy and the truth of His new mercies that accompany every day’s tasks. Remember His faithfulness to His promises and simply believe He will break through for you.

Call to mind the things you know to be true, and stand. You and I can stand in every season of change because He will empower us. Breakthrough is real. Breakthrough will come for those who persevere and continue to hope in the Lord. This is my testimony today, my statement of faith. Now, what do you believe?