Perfect Love- Part 1

Perfect Love- Part 1- By Julia Chastain

I was listening to a CD of secular love songs the other day (if you must know, it was the soundtrack for Shrek), and I was suddenly struck by how much alike the songs all were in their message about romantic love—how it should feel, what it should look like, etc. It should feel amazing, knock you off your feet, at last you’ve met your soul mate, the one who completes you, etc., etc. It should make you want to tear your clothes off and the other person’s as well and get in bed together and have fun. It’s the same message that secular romance novels have about love by and large, especially the soul mate and the sex part. And I have a problem with that.

Now, I enjoy a good romance as much as the next female—I read romance novels, secular and Christian, I enjoy the occasional chick flick (I have pity on my husband most of the time ), and I listen to the occasional love song (witness the other day). And over the years I have noticed this recurring theme—how when you fall in love that person is supposed to complete you, become your be-all and end-all, fill in all the empty spaces that were so lonely before, and you’ll never be alone again. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? After all, it’s what everybody’s looking for! I would be willing4 to bet that a good majority of Americans today believe that that is what love is. But they’d be wrong—that is just a myth.

I’m not saying that true love doesn’t exist or that there isn’t somebody special out there for everyone in the world—true love does exist and there probably is somebody special out there for most people (some people are just not meant to be married)—but to quote Veggietales Duke and the Great Pie War: “True love’s a little different than you’d expect!” The problem with that view of romantic love is that it doesn’t take into account that humans are fallible, imperfect and undependable at times. Even the most well-intentioned lover is going to mess up at some point and fail his or her significant other. Those you love the most will hurt you sooner or later, will get too busy for you, will find other things that interest them more, even if only temporarily, and will in a thousand and more ways prove that they are incapable of being absolutely everything to and for you. They are, after all, only human. To be more than that is physically impossible for us—we are not perfect creatures.

But I think the expectation of that perfect love from an imperfect partner may be at the root of a great many divorces. People go into marriage naively believing that everything will be perfect now, “I’ve got the love of my life, he or she understands me and what I need to be happy, he or she makes me happy, we’re soul mates, etc.”, and then when things go wrong, don’t go as planned, when their spouse doesn’t meet their expectations, they start rationalizing, “Maybe this person isn’t my soul mate, maybe we aren’t  meant to be together, this just isn’t working, I need to get out of this marriage and find someone who really, truly loves me.” I’m not saying this is the root of all divorces—some people really, truly have problem marriages and see divorce as the only way to solve their problems, but I do wonder how many marriages could be saved if the couples involved understood what true love is and understood Who is truly supposed to be the center of their lives.

The thing is, we really do have an empty, lonely place in our hearts that is seeking the perfect thing to fill it, only you’ll never find anything in this world that is the right fit. Ecclesiastes 3:10b says, “He [God] has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” As the song says, “There’s a God-shaped hole in all our hearts”, and only God can fill that emptiness inside. “For in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God put that emptiness in our hearts so we would seek Him, and while another human being may give us a sense of temporary completion, only God can truly fill that hole with eternal joy and completion.

Depression and Christians

How do we keep going when things are bad?

Just because we are saved children of God does not make us immune from bouts of depression.

In Psalms 22 we find David battling against depression.

“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and form the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; And in the night season, and am not silent….”

The footnotes of my study bible say this about the psalm, "The anguished prayer of David as a godly sufferer victimized by the vicious and prolonged attacks of enemies who he has not provoked and from whom the Lord has not (yet) delivered him... No other psalm fitted quite so aptly the circumstances of Jesus at His crucifixion."

It goes on to say that verses12-18 describe “the palmist’s deep distress… he describes his inner sense of powerlessness under their fierce attacks. The reference to his thirst (v. 15), the piercing of his hands and feet (v. 16), and casting lots for his robe (v. 18) all point prophetically to the crucifixion of Christ ten centuries later.”

Also of note, Jesus spoke the same words as he hung on the cross. “ELI, ELI, LAMA, SABACHTHANI? that is to say, My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?”- Matt. 27:46 and Mark 15:34.

Salvation, faith, and trust in God does not relieve us of the burdens of doubt and depression, just as it does not relieve us of our trials and tribulations. We are going to have days like David had, it’s inevitable, as we question and wonder where God is while we’re in our mess.

In Luke 10:38, we are introduced to Mary and Martha.

Martha, who was more concerned with physical things, wanting her sister’s help in making the house ready during Jesus’ visit, then she was with the actual visit. Mary, who was more concerned with spiritual things, eagerly sitting at Jesus’ feet as she listen to Him speak.

From this description of each woman’s character, you would think that when times got tough, it would be Mary who would stand fast and not question Jesus’ actions.

John 11:11 tell us differently, as Mary and Martha’s summons for Jesus’s aid for a sick Lazarus went unanswered, resulting in his death.

For moment, put yourself in Mary and Martha’s shoes. Just as David did, and just as we do, they cried out for Jesus’ help during a dark time, knowing He was the only one who could help them. How do we feel when our prayers seem to go unanswered? Let down, forgotten, disheartened. Mary and Martha were both feeling these things, as is evident in verses 20-32.

“Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.

         

Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.

Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.

Jesus said unto her. I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.”

With these words Martha declares her faith.

“And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.

As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto him.

Now, Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him.

The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when tjhey saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grace to weep there.

Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.”

From what we already know of Mary, we would have figured that she should have been able to better handle the trial she was facing with her brother’s death. But even the most devoted can be sidetracked by depression, pain, hurt, and loss.

“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came wth her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

And said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see.

Jesus wept.”

What we all need to keep in mind is that, absolutely nothing happens that Jesus is not involved in. He is with us during our highs and lows and He will see us through.

How we deal with the depression and anxiety is key.

We can’t stay in that mode. We have to remember that we still serve an amazing God. A God who cares, is still in control, and is just as much by our side as he was in the lion’s den, Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace, and with Mary and Martha as they wept over the death of their brother Lazarus. A God who will not be bound by deals and our promises.

We have to put our problems in Jesus’ hand, trust Him, and give Him praise as David did in Psalm 23.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pasture: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the calley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

Be of Good Cheer

“And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” 

Matthew 9:1- KJV

What does a lost sinner see when they look at you?

Are you moping about, sad with a drawn face, constantly complaining? If so, why would a lost sinner look at you and think, gosh, it’s good to be a child of God! Why would they in turn want to take hold of the salvation Jesus offers?

Truth is, they wouldn’t.

As Christians, we need to keep in mind that our outer emotions and actions speak just as loud as our words when trying to bring the lost sinner to Christ.

We need to be shouting our good cheer from the roof tops; telling everyone we come in contact with of the amazing saving grace found in Jesus and the forgiveness that is offered for our sins by His shed blood.

We need to be giving praise; falling down on our knees in the worship of Jesus, the only one who can pronounce and provide forgiveness from our sins.

Sins which can paralyses us both spiritually and physically.

When the saved sinner sins, we cannot lose our salvation; but every moment of every day we need to be asking for forgiveness. And when our sins cause us to walk away from God, all we have to do is turn, repenting from that sin, and run back into God’s waiting arms.

“Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Hebrews 9:12- KJV

“How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Hebrews 9:14 KJV

Eternal redemption and eternal life is provided by Jesus’ perfect sacrifice and shed blood, fulfilled by the promissory note of the Holy Spirit, and proved by our faith.

 Like the faith possessed by the men who brought the man sick of the palsy to Jesus. But the most important thing we need to realize and keep in mind is that when our faith is in Jesus, our physical healing doesn’t matter when compared to the healing of our spirituality. Undergoing a physical healing won’t get you into heaven, but having a change in your spirituality will.

By healing the sick man and preforming miracles, Jesus was giving us physical proof that He is God and He has the power to offer and deliver our forgiveness.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”- Romans 8:28- KJV

With God, He can make bad things into good. He has the ultimate power to do what we need Him to do and for that, we should be of good cheer. 
We just have to trust Him and have faith in His will.

Christ In You

I'm not sure I should be posting this on social media, given I might start a backlash with unintended consequences. But as a Christian, I feel we should acknowledge when others do something right in a world that frowns on displays of Christian faith.

I'd like to give a public shout out to the entire staff working today at Whataburger. It's been a long time since I've eaten there, much less dined in, but today I had an awesome experience. From the time we walked in, the place was clean, the cashier and server polite and friendly as they took our order and brought it to us at our table. Any other day, this wonderful service might have gone unmentioned- chalked up to another meal at another fast food restaurant- until I heard what was playing on the radio as I sat there munching on my Double Meat Whataburger Jr. CHRISTIAN music! I listened with half an ear to the first song as it caught my attention, listened to the second- thought it sounded like Britt Nicole, Francesca Battistelli, or Barlow Girl,I wasn’t sure, but I WAS listening. To the third, and to the fourth, which by now, I knew it wasn’t a fluke. WOW!

As I sat there, floored, I knew I had to say something.

How could I possibly let an opportunity to acknowledge this business for being brave enough to praise God pass? If I myself wasn’t brave enough to speak of their courage, who would be?

Making sure I had my receipt before we left, we gathered our trash and as we were going out the door I let the cashier know how great the music was. But I didn’t stop there. As soon as I got home I called the Whataburger 800 number. I’m pretty sure I surprised the operator when I let him know I wasn’t calling to complain, but to compliment. To give praise to a business that wasn’t afraid to testify of God’s love and salvation by way of the soft sounds that drifted through the overhead speakers. I posted a brief snippet of my thanks on Twitter and now here on this blog.

Now, I don’t know the title of all the songs that were playing or the names of their singers, but I do know that the same song that was playing in the restaurant as I was leaving, was playing on 93.7 WDJC on my car when I cranked it- Jeremy Camp, Christ In Me.

“So come and empty me 

So that it's you I breathe

I want my life to be 

Only Christ in me 

So I will fix my eyes

'Cause you're my source of life 

I need the world to see

That it's Christ in me”

So tell me, in this day and age when prophecy is being fulfilled before our very eyes, when Christian faith and values are being persecuted at an astonishing rate, can others see Christ in you?

I could in Whataburger and its employees.

Was it a showy display of God’s power like Moses parting the Red Sea, a remarkable sermon like John the Baptist as he prepared the world for the Word made flesh, or a wondrous event like the disciples casting out demons, healing physical bodies, and raising people from the dead? No. It was a small and understated action that I doubt many even knew was taking place. But nonetheless, it was powerful, impactful, and it was amazing.

In the words of Martin Luther King, jr. “If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way”

Today, Whataburger did a small thing in a great way!

What Really Matters

What Really Matters!

“And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazarath of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto the, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straight away they forsook their nest, and followed him. And when he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets. And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him. ”-Mark 1:9-20 KJV

Going into 2017 we, as Christians, need to focus on what really matters. Throughout everyday life, we find ourselves so utterly consumed with focusing on the wrong things, that we turn a blind eye to what really matters.

We find ourselves forgetting in all the hustle and bustle of life that God is in control.

We fail to realize, that when we say, “I can’t do it’, what we’re really saying is, “God can’t do it!”

Because we are human, we tend to think of Jesus as all human. Jesus was all human, but he was also all God. By examining His time on Earth, we can determine what really matters in our life.

What Really Matters #1- Pleasing God- verses 9-11

For the past 30 years, Jesus had been living an everyday human life. He had been learning carpentry under Joseph’s tutelage until he was ready to begin his ministry, which John had been preparing the world for.  By being baptized by John, Jesus- a man without sin, was putting himself in our shoes, setting the example of how a sinner should repent and be cleansed of sin, taking in the Holy Spirit, so that they in turn can share the same with others. It is important to remember that God is always with us, but He gains immense pleasure from our ordinary human life when we turn our focus to Him.

What Really Matters #2- Avoiding Sin- verse 13

Jesus was all human. He experienced the same temptation to sin as we all do, yet he led a sinless life. It is not the temptation that is the sin, it is the giving in to temptation that is the sin. Satan tempted Jesus when he was alone, when he was away from God, and when he was at his most vulnerable. Why should we think that we are any different? Satan’s plan of attack has not changed. He will attack us when we too are alone, when we walk away from God, and when we are at our most vulnerable. To avoid this, we need to proactive. We need to be close to God, surround ourselves with good godly people, keep in his Word, and allow God full control of our life. When you say, ‘I can’t do it’, what you are really saying is, ‘God can’t do it!’

What Really Matters #3- Repenting and Believing the Gospel- verse 15

What really matters to God, is our salvation and belief in the gospel. The gospel is the birth, death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. To obtain salvation, we need to admit that we are sinners- to realize that because of Adam’s sin, we are all doomed to Hell. For the wages of sin is death. We need to believe the gospel, that Jesus is the Son of God, who paid the price of your sin with his own blood and that it is His blood that washes those sins away. That he came to this earth as a baby, born of a virgin, grew as a man, died on Calvary’s cross, was buried in a borrowed tomb, and rose from the dead three days later, claiming victory over Satan and death. Then we need to confess the sins we have committed  and ask Jesus to come into our hearts and forgive us of them, to save us from the Hell we are destined to burn in, and repent- turning from our old life into a new one with Jesus as our personal Savior.

What Really Matters #4- Living as a Disciple- verses 16-20

In verses 16-20 we see another example set by Jesus, as he shows us how to live the life of a disciple. Once saved, we need to be willing to be of use to God. We need to be willing to go in whatever direction He has set before us. We need to have knowledge of the gospel, to show ourselves approved, when we are called to act or stand up for our beliefs. We need to be transformed by the power of God to tell others about Jesus and we need to spread the word of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20). Saving others from an eternity of burning in Hell.

Use 2017 to focus on what really matters. If we didn’t tell anyone about Jesus in 2016, it was a wasted year. If we don’t tell anyone about Jesus in 2017, that too will be a wasted year. Focus on what really matters. Don’t waste your year.