hearts desires – BradRiley.Org

March 28, 2017

A Heart of Perfect Peace

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Proverbs 4:23

Heart graffiti I always thought grief was the range of emotions people went through after the death of loved one, or a traumatic loss. I couldn’t imagine that I was in grief. After all, it was eight months already since my brother died so, I didn’t think it was from that. Yet, I couldn’t explain my feelings. I had had my heart defibrillator for about a month when the feelings began.

Have you ever had feelings of emotional pain for what you think you’ve lost, but really, you haven’t lost anything? Our hearts lead our feelings; Proverbs 4:23 tells us everything we feel flows from it. My heart was impaired. Wow, it was even painful for me to say those words. Nothing hurts like a broken heart. That’s the premise of almost every good Country and Western song, right? Of course, those songs are talking about a metaphorical broken heart. But, what about when your heart begins to hurt physically? Can’t that mess with your mind too? You bet it can.

During Lent, we intentionally spend greater time in prayer, meditation and fasting to grow stronger spiritually as we get closer to Christ. The closer we grow to Him, the more the hidden desires of our hearts are revealed. Do we really want His will for our lives? What about what we’ve always wanted for our lives? And how about this one? Doesn’t the Bible say, “…He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4) Yes it does. But, that is a promise only to those who “delight” themselves in the Lord.

To delight oneself in the Lord is to want for our lives, whatever He wants. If that means we must go through hard times and tragedies, we can rest knowing that while Jesus didn’t cause them, He will help us learn from them. The difficulties of life are either the result of our own making, or the consequence of living in a fallen world. Such difficulties leave us with wounded hearts. But, when we bring our hearts to Christ, He is always faithful to renew them. We must always surrender our hearts to whatever Jesus wants for our lives – no matter what.

In my case, I was depressed thinking of what I thought I’d lost, because I had to have a small electrical machine wired to my heart to keep it safe from its own genetic defect. Would I ever be the same again? Would I be able to play with my kids? And, what about growing old with my wife and being active for the grandkids I hoped to have some day? The doctor never told me I’d be missing out on any of those things. I assumed them. Like many of us, I assumed the worst.

I knew something was wrong with my feelings. I knew in my faith I should have peace of heart, but I didn’t. With the help of a new friend I met that year (Who was going through the same thing), I began to realize I was grieving. I feared accidentally doing something too strenuous for my heart that would cause my defibrillator to shock me. Of course, I knew that if I were shocked, that meant I’d have been dead without it. Suddenly I felt so mortal. What if it shocked me while I was driving, or perhaps while preaching? Our minds can conjure up all kinds of worries. But, once I admitted I was grieving for things I hadn’t even lost yet, I began to deal with it.

What about you? Are you grieving for something you haven’t even lost yet? Don’t let your heart hurt over things you can’t control. Jesus wants to bring peace to your heart. The prophet Isaiah promised the peace of Christ to all who will trust Him:

Thou dost keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee,
because he trusts in thee.
Trust in the Lord for ever,
for the Lord God
is an everlasting rock.

Isaiah 26:3,4

Won’t you renew your heart today by bringing all your cares to Him? Let Jesus give you a heart of perfect peace. Hearts of Perfect peace trust the keeper of their heart for everything.

Shalom,

Pastor Brad

My daily Lenten prayer – “Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit. ” NRSV

Image credit:

May 16, 2016

Desire is Everything

Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:13

As we begin the Season of Pentecost, let us take our marching orders from Jesus himself. In St. Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells His followers to, “Go and learn” what it means that He desires mercy over sacrifice. It’s my prayer that together we will learn what it truly means to be filled with mercy.

We talk a lot about being filled with the Holy Spirit, but until we understand the life of mercy Jesus desires of us we will fall short of realizing all that our Pentecostal experience of being filled really means. It’s all about transformation.

By the divine power of God dwelling in us, we can live empowered as little Christ’s in this world; it’s His plan; that we live as His merciful servants toward all humanity. Too often we settle for thinking God’s plan is all about believing and if we’ll only believe we’ll be alright. That’s only the beginning. He has so much more in store for us. We must go beyond belief and into the mystical, Pentecostal experience of the Holy Spirit within.

How do we do this you ask? It all begins with worship. Worship is spirit forming and Jesus said we must worship the Father in Spirit and truth (John 4:24). That truth begins with the knowledge that God is here among us, indwelling those who open themselves to Him.

Won’t you begin today? Tell Him He’s welcome in you!

Grace and Peace,

+Pastor Brad

Prayer

Merciful Father, you are welcome in me. Come and fill me unto overflowing. Teach me your ways of mercy that I may walk in them. Amen.

Image credit: https://dgaskins08.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/i-desire-mercy-and-not-sacrifice-mt-913-127/

March 5, 2016

Raised from the Ashes: Lent – Day 23

^“6Now these things are warnings for us, not to desire evil as they did.”

1 Cor. 10:6

Read 1 Cor. 10:1-13

The Desires of the Heart

It is said that in tough times our true character is revealed. What we really desire in our hearts is what we really lean toward in difficult times. St. Paul reminded the Corinthians about the many ways the Israelites failed God after He delivered them from slavery. You would think being miraculously delivered from generations of bondage would give rise to a strong faith; a faith that wouldn’t backslide the minute things got tough. Not so with the Israelites, and sadly, not so with many peoples ever since. History has a sad way of repeating itself.

What about the desires of your heart? How often do you think about them? Many people get caught up in just existing from day to day. Pretty soon months turn into years and they haven’t thought about what they really desire for a very long time. All they can do is exist. If we don’t take time to fully admit to ourselves our true desires, and stay connected to them, we will drift through life without real purpose.

The Purpose of Life

The real purpose of the lives of humans hasn’t changed since we were created. We exist to glorify God through the way we live and love God, others, and His creation. But, that purpose must be passed on from one generation to the next. We aren’t born with a sense of that purpose. It is the role of godly parents and friends to teach us our purpose in life. And, the vehicle God chose through which to teach us is His church. It is as a community of people, called together with a common purpose to we discover who we are, and where we are going in this journey called life.

If we don’t know our true purpose in life, our desires will be shaped by the worldly influences around us. We see this lived out over and over again in the lives of the children of Israel. That is one of the many reasons the ancient church developed the season of Lent. Lent offers us a time for reflecting on who we are, and where we are going. In our times of prayer and fasting, our true desires are revealed. We must always concentrate on growing our desires after God’s heart.

Are You Repeating History?

The Apostle Paul knew the Corinthian people were going to drift back into their worldly culture, unless they had an anchor on which to hold. Knowing the history of God’s people, and the lessons learned were critical to spiritual formation of the Corinthians, and are still critical for us. History will repeat itself, if we don’t learn it’s lessons.

Perhaps, you have found yourself this Lent feeling burned from repeating past mistakes? As you take some time for meditation and prayer this season, look deep inside and discern your true desires in life. Think of it as a sort of spiritual checkup. If you don’t like what you see, remember, our God always promises to raise us from the ashes.

Grace & Peace for a Holy Lent,

Pastor Brad

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Matthew 5:6