Surviving The Heart

The past couple of weeks have reminded me of the summer of 1998 when I experienced one of the hottest times in my life. Remember? We had a stretch of 46 days where the temperature was over 100 degrees with not a drop of rain. My front lawn looked like hay, and there seemed to be no relief from the heat. Cars were overheating everywhere; air conditioners were working overtime, but never really cooled things off. And to make matters worse, our stress levels rose as we wrote the checks to pay those huge electric bills.

In Texas, you have to be creative in finding relief from the heat. However, all of us would like to find relief from another kind of heat, the heat that comes from the pain and struggles of life. Those are the kind of hurts that plague us so deeply that we have difficulty finding relief. Many days is seems as if there are no ‘air conditioners’ large enough to cool your hurting, bleeding soul.

You are not here today by accident. One of the reasons God brought you here is for you to find rest and peace for your soul. We are gathered here to worship, to bring our praise and worship to God for who He is and all that He has done. As we do that, in His loving grace He provides for us a deeper understanding of who He is and all that He has to offer us. As we praise Him for His goodness, faithfulness, kindness, mercy, healing, forgiveness, and as we listen to others around us do the same, His Holy Spirit reveals and reminds us that there is no mistake He cannot correct. There is no sin that He cannot forgive. There is no wound that He cannot heal. There is no relationship that He cannot mend. There is no future where He is not already there. There is no burden which He cannot bear. There is no question that He cannot answer. There is no fear for which He cannot give comfort. There is no need for which He cannot provide. And most of all that He is here, in our midst, right here, right now. You were led here today by the Holy Spirit of God for a Divine Appointment with the God of the Universe, the Lord of All Creation.

As you are reading this, the Lord Jesus is right by your side, willing, ready and able to meet your every need and to provide your deepest hearts’ desire. Take a moment this morning before we begin and give Him praise. Bring your torch and lay it next to mine and let’s build a “Bond-fire” of worship this morning and bless His heart with our worship, because He is worthy.

And don’t hold back….Jesus was not ashamed to express His love for you in front of others. Let’s work towards having a lifestyle of worship that is extravagant. He’s worth it.

With you on the journey, MJ