| February/March-Devotion/Study |
Memory Verse
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37
Becoming Whole in a Broken World
February – March Devotion/Study
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release
from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor …to comfort all who
mourn…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of
mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
Isaiah 61:1-4
Brokenness…to some extent we all experience it. We all have those area’s of our lives
that we don’t like to talk about…the hurts, the disappointments, the shame, the
bitterness, the unwillingness to forgive – the memories regarding the struggles we have
had, and the frustration over the struggles we continue to have. Every person in the world
faces the same challenges. How do we get past our brokenness? How can we become
whole in a world that is, itself, broken?
That is a question that I have been battling with for some time. I have experienced the
pain, frustration and regret that comes from circumstances created by the poor choices of
myself and others. Like many of you, I carry broken pieces of my heart…However I find
myself unwilling to part with the pieces, and unwilling to do the work that needs done to
repair the brokenness. Can you relate? So I have found myself asking How Lord? What
does it take to become whole? What am I to do with all these pieces? How can I overcome
my broken heart? How can I forgive the person who hurt me? How can I forgive myself?
How can I walk in victory and joy? How can I finally lay all this down so that I can live the
abundant life…I want that abundant life that Jesus described, don’t you?
Well, the Lord has shown me three keys that I believe will help us to Become Whole in a
Broken World. I also believe that if we commit to study these keys and put them into
practice they will, in time, change us, and heal us. Applying ourselves to them will help
mend our broken hearts, give our souls rests, and renew our mind. For the next few
months, we will be studying these keys. My prayer is that we all learn tools that will help
us walk in victory and help us grow in our love for the Lord.
So let’s get started! To Become Whole in a Broken World we must practice the following
three keys:
Knowledge – If we want to become whole it must start with understanding Who God is and
who we are in Christ. As we grow in the knowledge of God’s character, our trust grows.
Trust is the foundation of healthy relationships. When we know God, we can’t help but
love Him. And if we trust and love God we will be more likely to give Him the broken
pieces of our lives.
Obedience is the second key. Stay with me…Please understand that I don’t like this word.
Obedience has never been easy for me…even as a child. I always wanted to do things my
own way, but honestly, my own way has always been the hard way. It is not fun when
every lesson you learn has to be the hard way. You would think by now I would follow and
obey more easily, but honestly when presented with a choice to do it my way, or God’s way
guess which one I choose? Here is the truth, when we know, trust and love God we will
want to follow His word. His word is there to protect and guide us. Obedience should be
the easiest thing to do, but let’s face it, it is anything but. However, we have to learn that
obedience brings about the third key which is…
Renewal – Renewal is the result of God’s love made complete in us through our
willingness to obey. You cannot follow God and stay the same, so renewal is the natural
state of every believer. When you accept Christ as Lord, you get the mind of Christ, you
get a new heart, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit…friend, you are not the same.
Renewal begins to take place the instant you accept Jesus as your savior, but renewal also
takes effort. It takes a willingness to open your heart and mind and allow God to search
and examine them…and it takes courage then to allow God to show you the area’s that
need changed…that can be painful, and that is when the hard work begins. I love that God
loves us as we are, but loves us too much to let us stay the same. He loves us and knows
what is best for our lives…renewal is needed to live a victorious Christian life. Through
inward renewal, God is able to take the broken pieces of our lives and make them into
something beautiful. That beloved, is beauty for ashes.
Beauty for ashes is offered to everyone who loves the Lord. Pull out your love letter from
God, the Bible, and read Isaiah 61 which is a prophecy about Jesus. Look at all the things
He wants to do in our lives! Read them out loud! Look - He wants to preach good news to
us, He wants to mend our broken hearts, to set us free, to release us from darkness, to
show us favor, to comfort those who mourn, to give beauty for ashes…keep reading!
What an amazing list! Why would God want to do all that for little old us? Because He
loves us! His love is so pure and so wonderful…He wants the best for us and His best for
us is to be more like Jesus.
Wholeness is the product of love, poured into our lives in ever-increasing quantity. Love
is what changes us, love heals, love enables us to forgive, and love gives us the strength to
go on.
Next month we will discuss the first key to Becoming Whole in a Broken World –
Knowledge.
My prayer for you –
Lord, I ask that we have teachable hearts. I ask for a heart that is willing to give over it’s
broken pieces. I ask that your Spirit would guide us and open our eyes to the area’s that
you want to refine so that we can reflect more and more of your character. Search our
hearts, souls, and minds. Refine us and make us whole…
In Jesus Name –
Amen
For Further Study –
Knowing God begins with understanding who God is. How would you define God? If you
were asked to explain what God is like, how would you describe Him?
1John 4:16 says that, “God is love”. That’s it…God is love – that means that His character
is defined by that one word. When we think of love, we often think of human love with its
limits and weaknesses. But this is not the type of love that defines God. On the contrary,
God’s love is perfect.
Read 1Corinthians 13:4-7 – It has often been said that this scripture is a description of
God. Can you see the characteristics of God in these verses? I can. Go back to the
question I originally asked you…How did you define God? After reading these verses, how
is your description of God different from this scripture? How is it the same?
Truthfully, for a long time, my knowledge of God and the truth of who He really is did not
line up. I’m sure I’m not alone in that. That is why it is so important to discover who God
is for ourselves...We need to get into our bibles and ask Him to reveal Himself to us. We
have to make the effort to get to know Him…I know we will be amazed at what we find.
As part of your homework for next month, I suggest that you watch a beautiful video
entitled Fathers Love Letter. It can be found on www.fathersloveletter.com or click the
link below. Watch the original version which is about 8 minutes long. It will change the
way you see God if you let it.
Until next month –
Love you guys –
CJ
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Matthew 22:37
Becoming Whole in a Broken World
February – March Devotion/Study
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release
from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor …to comfort all who
mourn…to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of
mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
Isaiah 61:1-4
Brokenness…to some extent we all experience it. We all have those area’s of our lives
that we don’t like to talk about…the hurts, the disappointments, the shame, the
bitterness, the unwillingness to forgive – the memories regarding the struggles we have
had, and the frustration over the struggles we continue to have. Every person in the world
faces the same challenges. How do we get past our brokenness? How can we become
whole in a world that is, itself, broken?
That is a question that I have been battling with for some time. I have experienced the
pain, frustration and regret that comes from circumstances created by the poor choices of
myself and others. Like many of you, I carry broken pieces of my heart…However I find
myself unwilling to part with the pieces, and unwilling to do the work that needs done to
repair the brokenness. Can you relate? So I have found myself asking How Lord? What
does it take to become whole? What am I to do with all these pieces? How can I overcome
my broken heart? How can I forgive the person who hurt me? How can I forgive myself?
How can I walk in victory and joy? How can I finally lay all this down so that I can live the
abundant life…I want that abundant life that Jesus described, don’t you?
Well, the Lord has shown me three keys that I believe will help us to Become Whole in a
Broken World. I also believe that if we commit to study these keys and put them into
practice they will, in time, change us, and heal us. Applying ourselves to them will help
mend our broken hearts, give our souls rests, and renew our mind. For the next few
months, we will be studying these keys. My prayer is that we all learn tools that will help
us walk in victory and help us grow in our love for the Lord.
So let’s get started! To Become Whole in a Broken World we must practice the following
three keys:
Knowledge – If we want to become whole it must start with understanding Who God is and
who we are in Christ. As we grow in the knowledge of God’s character, our trust grows.
Trust is the foundation of healthy relationships. When we know God, we can’t help but
love Him. And if we trust and love God we will be more likely to give Him the broken
pieces of our lives.
Obedience is the second key. Stay with me…Please understand that I don’t like this word.
Obedience has never been easy for me…even as a child. I always wanted to do things my
own way, but honestly, my own way has always been the hard way. It is not fun when
every lesson you learn has to be the hard way. You would think by now I would follow and
obey more easily, but honestly when presented with a choice to do it my way, or God’s way
guess which one I choose? Here is the truth, when we know, trust and love God we will
want to follow His word. His word is there to protect and guide us. Obedience should be
the easiest thing to do, but let’s face it, it is anything but. However, we have to learn that
obedience brings about the third key which is…
Renewal – Renewal is the result of God’s love made complete in us through our
willingness to obey. You cannot follow God and stay the same, so renewal is the natural
state of every believer. When you accept Christ as Lord, you get the mind of Christ, you
get a new heart, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit…friend, you are not the same.
Renewal begins to take place the instant you accept Jesus as your savior, but renewal also
takes effort. It takes a willingness to open your heart and mind and allow God to search
and examine them…and it takes courage then to allow God to show you the area’s that
need changed…that can be painful, and that is when the hard work begins. I love that God
loves us as we are, but loves us too much to let us stay the same. He loves us and knows
what is best for our lives…renewal is needed to live a victorious Christian life. Through
inward renewal, God is able to take the broken pieces of our lives and make them into
something beautiful. That beloved, is beauty for ashes.
Beauty for ashes is offered to everyone who loves the Lord. Pull out your love letter from
God, the Bible, and read Isaiah 61 which is a prophecy about Jesus. Look at all the things
He wants to do in our lives! Read them out loud! Look - He wants to preach good news to
us, He wants to mend our broken hearts, to set us free, to release us from darkness, to
show us favor, to comfort those who mourn, to give beauty for ashes…keep reading!
What an amazing list! Why would God want to do all that for little old us? Because He
loves us! His love is so pure and so wonderful…He wants the best for us and His best for
us is to be more like Jesus.
Wholeness is the product of love, poured into our lives in ever-increasing quantity. Love
is what changes us, love heals, love enables us to forgive, and love gives us the strength to
go on.
Next month we will discuss the first key to Becoming Whole in a Broken World –
Knowledge.
My prayer for you –
Lord, I ask that we have teachable hearts. I ask for a heart that is willing to give over it’s
broken pieces. I ask that your Spirit would guide us and open our eyes to the area’s that
you want to refine so that we can reflect more and more of your character. Search our
hearts, souls, and minds. Refine us and make us whole…
In Jesus Name –
Amen
For Further Study –
Knowing God begins with understanding who God is. How would you define God? If you
were asked to explain what God is like, how would you describe Him?
1John 4:16 says that, “God is love”. That’s it…God is love – that means that His character
is defined by that one word. When we think of love, we often think of human love with its
limits and weaknesses. But this is not the type of love that defines God. On the contrary,
God’s love is perfect.
Read 1Corinthians 13:4-7 – It has often been said that this scripture is a description of
God. Can you see the characteristics of God in these verses? I can. Go back to the
question I originally asked you…How did you define God? After reading these verses, how
is your description of God different from this scripture? How is it the same?
Truthfully, for a long time, my knowledge of God and the truth of who He really is did not
line up. I’m sure I’m not alone in that. That is why it is so important to discover who God
is for ourselves...We need to get into our bibles and ask Him to reveal Himself to us. We
have to make the effort to get to know Him…I know we will be amazed at what we find.
As part of your homework for next month, I suggest that you watch a beautiful video
entitled Fathers Love Letter. It can be found on www.fathersloveletter.com or click the
link below. Watch the original version which is about 8 minutes long. It will change the
way you see God if you let it.
Until next month –
Love you guys –
CJ
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