What Does Your Heart Earnestly Yearn For?

Dear Friends,

     Maybe I should start by asking:  What is it that you really want?   What is it that you really desire?   What does your heart earnestly yearn for?   Do you even know? 
     This week's "thought" addresses that issue: What  your heart truly yearns for.   The answer I offer today comes to you from David Downing, co-director of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. It is taken from an Advent Devotional book called, "The Grand Miracle."  Enjoy.

"I Am the Bread of Life."

John 6:35

     "It is not what God can give us, but God that we want," said George MacDonald.  He was a seasoned old soul, and what was true for him may have been more of an ideal for other pilgrims on the journey. The rest of us may feel more inclined to pray: "Father, forgive us, for we do not know what we want."   We seek a gilded afterlife when we could have Eternal Life.  We seek breadcrumbs of earthly pleasure when we could have a heavenly banquet.  We avoid pain when we could embrace joy.  We plead for words that will give us comfort and light, but our own darkness does not comprehend the Word. 

     Help us, Lord.  We ask for a road-map to heaven when the Way, the Truth and the Life stands right before us.  We want the crown without the cross, and we fix our gaze on the crown more than the King.  We look to Glory, but others do not see the glory when they look at us.  We do not ask too much in prayer, but too little.  We follow the One who multiplied the loaves and do not see the Bread of Life.  We want to quench the thirst of the moment, but do not ask for Living Water, the cup of heaven.

     The Everlasting took human form so that we might lift our eyes from the gifts to the Giver. He emptied Himself so that from His fullness we might receive grace upon grace. The baby lay in a feeding trough so we might not be forever hungry. The child spoke in His Father's house, so we might put away childish things. The man told us that we must die to live, that sorrow would turn to joy, that those who seek will find.  He rose that we might rise. He came to be with us for a time, so that we might be with Him forever.  Lord, teach us to know what we want, to want what you want, and most of all, to want you.  Amen." 

     So many today do not realize that their pursuit of joy, happiness, pleasure, contentment and peace in their souls' is really an inner craving after God.  "God has placed eternity in our hearts," says Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 3:11.  And that "eternity" which God has placed within us has left a hole in our soul that can only be filled, as Pascal put it, "by an infinite and immutable object, that is, by God Himself."

     Yes, most people fail to see that their clamoring after all those things -- even sinful things -- is really a pursuit of God and what He alone can supply when He enters our being, by His Spirit, in the grace of regeneration.  To quote Pascal at greater length, "There was once a true happiness in man, of which there now remains only an empty trace, which he vainly tries to fill with things from his environment. Yet all these efforts are inadequate, because the infinite abyss in the human soul can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is, by God Himself."

     Maybe our prayer should be:  Lord Jesus, forgive us for chasing after things that can never truly satisfy when you have told us time and again in your Word that we can find true and lasting satisfaction only in You; in having You.  So often we clamor after everything but you, even venturing into the pursuit of sinful and forbidden things, before we finally come -- broken, empty and damaged -- to see the error of our ways. Convince us, we pray, that our inner hunger can only be satisfied as we feed on You the Bread of Heaven, and our inner thirst can only be quenched as we drink deeply of You the Living Water -- the only water a person can partake of and thirst no more.  Lord, as Mr. Downing has correctly prayed, "teach us to know what we want, to want what you want, and most of all, to want you."  Amen.

In this time of anticipation and waiting, Pastor Jeff

Gospel Fluency

Greetings All,

     Today's "thought" comes from a book entitled "Gospel Fluency" by a man named Jeff Vanderstelt.  It has to do with putting the Gospel into practice, or developing Gospel-like habits in our relationships. Not simply believing the Gospel and leaving it at that, but living in such a way as to help make Gospel-driven people more believable. This selection has to do with drawing out what's deep in the hearts of people. His point is well taken.  Enjoy.

Listen and Learn

     "Proverbs 20:5 says, "The purpose in a man's heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out."  We need to become people of understanding -- people who seek to understand others before we expect them to understand us and what we believe.  We need to learn how to ask more questions and draw out what is deep inside people's souls. We need to learn to slow down and listen closely to the longings of their hearts. We need to learn their stories. In short, we need to care more about winning people to Jesus than about winning arguments. Gospel fluency isn't just about talking.  It's about listening as well. This requires love, patience and wisdom. Jesus was so good at this.

     Whenever I consider how I can grow in being a person of understanding who listens well, I think of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at the well.  It was high noon, when the sun was at its hottest.  There was a reason this woman was getting her water at this time of day.  She chose a time when no one else would be at the well.  Nobody went there in the heat of the day. But she probably wanted to avoid running into one of the wives of the men with whom she'd been sexually involved. She had five husbands, and the man she was then involved with was not her husband. However, Jesus didn't start with where she was wrong. He actually started in a humble posture of receiving from her.  He asked her for water, and she poured out her soul. 

     I've found that starting with a posture of humility, standing in a place of need, and having a heart that is willing not only to give answers but also receive insight, creates a welcoming place for people to open their hearts. The more open we are to listen and learn, the more likely people are to be open as well.  If you look at the story closely, you discover that Jesus continued to make very short, provocative statements that invited more conversation.  He was drawing out, little by little, the longing of her soul.  He was a master at drawing out the heart... I'm amazed at how often well-intentioned Christians overwhelm people with a barrage of words. We go on and on about what we believe and what they should believe, assuming we know what others think, believe or need.  I often find that we are giving answers to questions people are not even asking, or cramming information into hearts that are longing for love, not just facts.  We fail to listen. We fail to draw out the heart. And we miss opportunities to really love people and share the love of God with them They also miss out on getting to hear what's going on in their own hearts.

     I have found that when people, including myself, are invited to say out loud what they believe, they come to realize something is wrong. This is why counselling is a busy enterprise. People have no one to listen to them  They need to speak out loud what is going on in their hearts, and the only way some can do so is by paying a counselor to listen.  I'm all for counseling, but I've spoken with many counselors, and most of them agree that if God's people would slow down, close their mouths, open their ears, and listen, many people wouldn't need counselors.  Jesus slowed down, drew out the heart and listened. As he did this at the well the Samaritan woman's heart spilled out. And as it did, he guided her in a process of confession -- not just of her behaviors, but also of her beliefs. She had been looking for love in all the wrong places, and had clearly misunderstood God and how he interacts with us as humans. As Jesus engaged and listened, he was able to show her how he could provide what she thirsted for most. He could lead her to a well that would never go dry, providing an unending supply of soul water. He was the water that would deeply satisfy her soul. 

     The love she was looking for was standing right in front of her. And the God she should worship would go with her wherever she went. He wasn't on this mountain or that.  He said he wants to come to human hearts like an unending stream of water that refreshes the soul. She believed Jesus, and then went to tell her whole village about him. That's what you want to do with good news -- share it with others.  When people really grasp the good news of Jesus, satisfying the deep longings of their souls, it's hard for them to keep it to themselves."

     A friend of mine used to enjoy pointing out that God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason -- so that we would listen twice as much as we talk.

     He had a point.  Too often we seek to talk when we need to offer people the gift of listening, and nowadays it is a rare and scarce gift.  As the author goes on to point out: "Francis Schaeffer said, 'If I have only an hour with someone, I will spend the first fifty-five minutes asking them questions, and then in the last five minutes I will share something of the truth."  Yet, regardless of the specific ratios or percentages of time, we should in the very least make it our aim to spend more time earnestly listening than talking.  That's how we become people of understanding, as Prov. 20:5 puts it, who aim at drawing out the deep waters in a person's heart.  Maybe we could all give this a shot at one of the upcoming holiday parties or events. Two ears, one mouth.  That's a good ratio.  Let's do it.

In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Safety, Fullness and Sweet Refreshment in Christ

Greetings All,

     This week's 'thought' comes from one who's writings have had an immense impact on my thinking. He's one of the most brilliant pastors, preachers, or theologians ever to grace the American scene - Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758).
     This selection is taken from his sermon, "Safety, Fullness and Sweet Refreshment in Christ."  It is found in the book, "Devotions From The Pen Of Jonathan Edwards."  I have taken the liberty to update or paraphrase some of the language. Enjoy.

The Excellency of Christ

"For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." 

Colossians 2:9

     "Christ Jesus has true excellency, and so great is that excellency that when believers come to see it, they look no further, but the mind rests there. 

     It sees a transcendent glory and an unspeakable sweetness in Him. It sees that until now it has been pursuing shadows, but that now it has found the substance; that before it had been seeking happiness in the stream, but now it has found the ocean.

     The excellency of Christ is an object adequate to the natural yearnings of the soul, and is sufficient to fill it to its capacity. It is an infinite excellency, such as the mind desires, and in which it can find no bounds. The more the mind grasps Christ, the more excellent He appears.

     Every new discovery of Christ makes His beauty appear more ravishing, and the mind sees no end to it. Here is room enough for the mind to go deeper and deeper, and never come to the bottom. The soul is exceedingly ravished when it looks upon this beauty, and it never wearies of it. The mind never becomes tired of gazing upon His beauty. Christ's excellency is always fresh and new, and tends as much to delight, after it has seen a thousand or ten thousand years, as when it was seen the first moment. 

     The excellency of Christ is an object suited to the superior faculties of man, suited to entertain the faculty of reason and understanding.  There is nothing more worthy, to which the understanding can be focused, than His excellency. There is no other object so great, noble and exalted."

     It's not hard to see that Edwards was consumed with a passion for Christ and His glory. It's also not hard (if you read more of his writings) to see that his words are spoken from the personal experience of having found in Christ all that truly inspires and satisfies the soul.  His was a Christ-craving, Christ-adoring, Christ-satisfied soul.

     In Christ one finds the source of all that the human soul truly desires -- though so many mistakenly and sinfully pursue that soul-satisfaction in the "shadows" of the earthly things He has created. Trace any earthly "shadow" (any noble or worthy desire, yearning or craving) back to the One who's creative hand has cast that shadow, and you will find its true, better, and eternal substance in Jesus.

     Yet, it's only the one who has tasted of the exceeding excellency of Christ through personal experience -- by grace, through faith -- that can testify to the unmatched sweetness of His beauty and glory.  For only when He is recognized as the redeeming Lord of heaven and earth, does that illumination sweeten the taste of one's personal discoveries regarding Christ.

     The words of theologian John Hannah (which I've shared before) apply well here: "The day you find anything more beautiful than Jesus, is the day you can know you never knew Jesus."  Edwards would agree. I trust you do as well. But if not, then remember the invitation of the psalmist: "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8).

     Just one taste of the soul-satisfying pleasure of intimate union with Jesus and it is near impossible not to be driven to want more. Yet you have to experience it to ever know it.

In the Bonds of Christian Affection, Pastor Jeff 

Thirst

Greetings All,

Last week I attended a conference at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in honor of the retiring professor and theologian David Wells. It was a feast for the soul and a banquet for the mind. Gospel truth tends to be that way! It enlightens and informs the mind, inspires the heart and inflames the soul. My being away at that conference explains why no thought was sent out last week.

In reference to this weeks 'thought' all I know is that it comes from a man named Benjamin A. Sawatsky. It was on a solitary piece of paper stuffed away in one of my files without any publication info.
It's a morning prayer, but its not one that asks God to satisfy our longings. It actually asks to be made thirsty instead of having our thirst quenched, or to be made hungry instead of having our hunger satisfied.

It is reminiscent of one of my other favorite prayers which I will also include -- the prayer A.W. Tozer used to end the first chapter of his book "The Pursuit of God."

Therefore I would ask that you not simply read it, but as is the case with any prayer, slow down, focus your heart and thoughts, go before our Triune God in a prayerful spirit, and pray these words as your own. Maybe you could use them to begin your day tomorrow. Enjoy.

"Faithful Father, Sovereign Shepherd, Compassionate Counselor, Triune God. Create in me a heart-hunger that only you can satisfy. Stir in me a soul-thirst that only you can quench. Yesterday you satisfied my hunger, but that was yesterday. Yesterday you quenched my thirst, but that was yesterday. As I begin my communion with you this morning, grant me the gifts of a fresh heart-hunger and a renewed soul-thirst. Open my eyes to see your beauty. Unstop my ears to hear your voice. Shed light on my mind to understand your Word, and touch my will to obey you with joy. Amen."

And by A. W. Tozer:

"O God, I have tasted of Your goodness and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need of further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire.
O God, the Triune God, I want to want You; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory, I pray Thee, so I may know You indeed.

Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. Say to my soul, 'Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.' * Then give me grace to rise and follow Thee up from this misty lowland where I have wandered so long. In Jesus name, Amen."
(* Song of Solomon 2:13)

I used to pray for all longings to be filled. Now I've come to realize that the longing itself is a gift of great worth. May our thirst be increased! In His Service, Pastor Jeff

Dr. Jeffrey F. Evans