The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

Oh, King David. How your words penetrate our hearts!

“Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).

David sinned. He felt horrible. After acknowledging that he indeed had sinned, he confessed this to the Lord and asked God for His mercy (51:1). He really felt like his heart was dirty and that only the Lord could make it clean. When we speak of the “heart,” we of course are not speaking of that muscle within our chest that pumps blood throughout our body. Rather, the heart of which King David wrote is the control center of his being. It is that amazing part of our lives that has thoughts, emotions, and the will. David prayed that God would cleanse his heart. Yes, David sinned, and now he needed God’s cleansing. I am thankful for God’s cleansing (1 John 1:9) in my life. None of us go very long without sinning. Thank the Lord for His faithful cleansing. There’s nothing any better than a clean heart.

Please take this as from an old friend: Don’t let your heart get hard and stay dirty. You’ll be glad when you allow God to cleanse your heart. Everyone around you will be glad as well.

“But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Thy works” (Psalm 73:28).

Yesterday I shared with you about the young couple in Pastor Kenward’s office. Actually I left you with the husband and wife in Pastor Kenward’s arms as together they cried and wept over the death of yet another of their pre-born babies. Their unsaved acquaintances who did not live for the Lord were able to conceive easily and often.

“Why? Why?” The question rang in their ears. After holding them in his arms, Pastor Kenward brought up a chair and sat beside them. He shared with them how difficult it had been for Mrs. Kenward to carry their babies to full-term and how many miscarriages they suffered. He shared with them how he and his wife had had to come to the point of learning to draw close to the Lord and intentionally trust Him, and to have confidence in His plan even if they couldn’t understand. He took them to Psalm 73 and slowly worked through it. He brought them several times to our verse for today. They listened, learned much about drawing near to God and what it means to draw near to God. They thought deeply about these truths. As for the young couple that day, they still were sad, but their hearts were quieted. After about an hour, the pastor prayed with them, and they were on their way to the very difficult appointment.

For today: What is the situation through which you are traveling today? Draw near to the Lord and trust in Him. You’ll be glad that you did. That’s just what I am doing as well.

I love what Asaph did when he was feeling discouraged. He was honest with his feelings. He was accurate in knowing the Lord would be his encouragement. He declares once again that the Lord is the source of his trust and confidence.

“But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD, that I may declare all Thy works” (Psalm 73:28).

Wow! Was Asaph ever discouraged. He was fed up with being perplexed over the issue of the unbeliever living so wickedly and yet everything seeming to go so well with them. He was perplexed at how much trouble he was experiencing and yet how much he was trying to live for the Lord.

It sounds just like an appointment in the counseling center with Pastor Kenward. A couple approaching their late twenties sat across from the later middle-aged pastor as they both wept in his presence. “Our unsaved acquaintances have two or three children by now, Pastor. They live like the world and have no interest in the Lord. They drink. They go to the clubs where it certainly isn’t very righteous living. Yet they easily conceive and will have as many babies as they want.

We’re here this morning because we’re on the way for a sonogram. The doctor thinks we have lost our baby. Why, Pastor? Why do our unsaved acquaintances have it so easy and we have it so hard?” The young husband held his wife close as she sobbed. “All I have ever wanted to be after I asked Jesus to be my Savior was a wife and a mommy. Why can’t I be?” she cried.

Pastor Kenward wept with them, got up from behind his desk, bent his knee and drew both of them to himself. They cried for nearly fifteen minutes in his arms. “Now, let me talk just a little with you. Nothing I can say will take away your hurt and sorrow. But let me share just a little with you dear ones,” he told the couple.

I’ll tell you more about the counseling scene tomorrow.

For right now my friend: Your situation might be similar as relating to children. On the other hand, it could be very different. Here’s what will always be the same. Your need to draw near to the Lord and intentionally place your trust in Him will be just like it was with Asaph. How will this play out in your life today?

“Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord” (Acts 11:22-24).

It could have been a major emergency. Long ago in the early church the believers heard rumors that Gentiles were being added to the faith. Some must have been thinking, “IMPOSSIBLE!” These rumors were even more complicated by the fact that Peter is reported to be in the middle of the situation. I suspect the “tidings of the things came to the ears of the church” must have been like a tornado swirling with stories and statements for and against the situation. That’s when they turned to Barnabas! Who else could be so trusted to step into a situation where many others would fear to tread. Barnabas! Not only was he trusted to go and explore the situation, he was trusted to be an encouragement. That’s just what I want to be. How about you?

Here’s something that should be true of you and me today: Ask the Lord to help you to be a Barnabas, one who can be trusted and one who will encourage.

I’m going to share another verse about Barnabas tomorrow with you. But as you may remember, yesterday I shared with you the amazing change that Saul of Tarsus experienced when he became a Christ-lover and follower. Today, please allow me to take you to another amazing, miraculous change of life for a man we do not know by name. Here’s the verse: “And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel” (Mark 5:20).

I don’t blame him one single bit, do you? We don’t know his name, but we do know a little about him. This was a man in an extremely desperate situation. He was enslaved by demons and lived a wild, wild life. No one could detain him. He broke chains that bound him. He scared people half to death as he ran throughout the mountains wailing and screaming. He did all this until that day that the Lord Jesus came to him. Everything changed (Mark 5:1-19).

No, I don’t blame this unnamed man who met the Savior and wanted to go with Him, at His side, for the rest of his life. It must have been startling to those nearby when the Lord Jesus would not allow him to come. He sent him home to his friends to tell them what great things that the Lord had done for him. Guess what? He went straight home and “published” how great things Jesus had done for him. We need to be telling others what we know to be true. We don’t need to be gifted speakers, only faithful testifiers.

I am really challenged about this: Tell people about your precious Savior and let them see the difference that Christ can make in their lives by showing them the difference He is making in your life.