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"May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance" (2 Thessalonians 3:5).
Yesterday afternoon I took Ester in to see her heart doctor. (Regular readers may recall that Ester was born with heart disease.) Over the last several days she’s had some respiratory problems along with an increased heart rate. After an in-home EKG transmitted via telephone the doctor called asking that Ester come into the clinic for an adjustment to her pacemaker. Normally Brooksyne makes these trips but I took a turn yesterday and learned a bit.
The clinic (Hershey Children's Heart Group) has a special room to monitor and adjust the pacemakers. Ester has been living with a pacemaker for about eight years now. When I entered the room I was introduced to Jeff, a representative of Medtronics, which is the maker of Ester’s pacemaker. The clinic technician was also there who has been giving care to Ester all along.
While Ester laid on her back on the exam bed they placed a device that looks like a computer mouse over her pacemaker which is implanted in her upper abdomen. This device sends signals to the monitor so they can both analyze her pacemaker and heart and also direct the pacemaker to change, such as slowing down her heart rate or speeding it up.
Most of us with healthy hearts have God-given internal controls to direct our hearts in this manner, which we probably take for granted. When we’re physically active our heart rate speeds up to give us needed energy. When we’re in a resting or inactive mode our heart rate automatically slows down. We don't even think about it!
I often look for spiritual truths nestled in the ordinary experiences of life and today I want to consider how God directs our hearts. The daily verse is an appeal from the Apostle Paul for the Thessalonian believers: "May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance."
Now certainly Paul wasn't writing of the electrical signals that physically direct the heart regarding rate and so forth. He's writing about a spiritual directing, one that we all need just as vitally as the physical. We may consider it like a divine pacemaker!
So today we will make our encouragement to you twofold based upon this Scripture. We will purposefully change the pronoun from "your" to "our" to assist us in applying this truth.
1) "May the Lord direct our hearts into God’s love." Of course one of the most essential themes weaved throughout the whole of Scriptures is God's love. An assurance of God's love is vital for living the overcoming life. Many verses come to mind with this theme, however, for our thoughts today let us consider a prayer by Paul for the Ephesians: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:17-19). We need our hearts directed into God's love.
2) "May the Lord direct our hearts into Christ's perseverance." Paul uses Christ as the supreme example of One who endured great affliction; in His suffering, His betrayal, His wilderness temptation. He was reviled and yet He did not retaliate and the list goes on and on. We are to "consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that we will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:3). The early church was in the midst of great persecution and would need a great deal of perseverance to endure ongoing affliction as they waited for the Lord’s return or their call to heaven. Today we consider our brethren undergoing persecution and those of you undergoing specific times of testing and trial. We need our hearts directed into Christ’s perseverance.
As we invite the Lord to direct our hearts into His love and perseverance we will find His strength and peace altogether sufficient!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father,
when we direct our hearts into Your love and Christ's perseverance we
are encouraged and emboldened; encouraged as we're reminded of Your
persistent love for us and emboldened as we read of Christ's
perseverance in the worst of circumstances. Continue to show us
the many ways that You love us and fortify us in the struggles we face
daily. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Many of our newer readers are unfamiliar with Ester's overcomings due to her heart disease. Perhaps you would like to read the story of how she was born in Guatemala with barely a chance for survival due to many factors. Her story of overcoming major obstacles can be found here.
Matthew Henry comments regarding today's passage: “If the law of Christ is written in our hearts, and the love of Christ is shed abroad there, then Christ dwells there. Where His Spirit dwells, there He dwells… How powerfully the apostle speaks of the love of Christ! The breadth shows its extent to all nations and ranks; the length, that it continues from everlasting to everlasting; the depth, its saving those who are sunk into the depths of sin and misery; the height, its raising them up to heavenly happiness and glory. Those who receive grace for grace from Christ's fullness, may be said to be filled with the fullness of God. Should not this satisfy man? Must he needs fill himself with a thousand trifles, fancying thereby to complete his happiness?”
Personal note: We had a light snow today which made the roads somewhat treacherous on our way to several chaplain visits earlier this morning. In fact at one point we slid through a stop sign and intersection, thankful that no one else was coming through! Later this morning as we complete the message and prepare to publish we have a bright blue sky and light snow sticking on the ground.
"The Love Of God" Video MercyMe
"Create In me A Clean Heart" Video Keith Green
"Purify My Heart Video Brian Doerksen
"Oh, How He Loves Us" Video David Chowder Band
"Before The Throne of God Above" Video Selah
Friday, January 7, 2011
Ester enjoys visiting with Dr. Mark Cohen, her pediatric cardiologist, who first saw her when she was 3 months old and continues
to care for her as an adult since her heart condition is congenital!
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player.
Listen to this
message on
your
audio player."Divine Pacemaker"
"May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance" (2 Thessalonians 3:5).
Yesterday afternoon I took Ester in to see her heart doctor. (Regular readers may recall that Ester was born with heart disease.) Over the last several days she’s had some respiratory problems along with an increased heart rate. After an in-home EKG transmitted via telephone the doctor called asking that Ester come into the clinic for an adjustment to her pacemaker. Normally Brooksyne makes these trips but I took a turn yesterday and learned a bit.
The clinic (Hershey Children's Heart Group) has a special room to monitor and adjust the pacemakers. Ester has been living with a pacemaker for about eight years now. When I entered the room I was introduced to Jeff, a representative of Medtronics, which is the maker of Ester’s pacemaker. The clinic technician was also there who has been giving care to Ester all along.
While Ester laid on her back on the exam bed they placed a device that looks like a computer mouse over her pacemaker which is implanted in her upper abdomen. This device sends signals to the monitor so they can both analyze her pacemaker and heart and also direct the pacemaker to change, such as slowing down her heart rate or speeding it up.
Most of us with healthy hearts have God-given internal controls to direct our hearts in this manner, which we probably take for granted. When we’re physically active our heart rate speeds up to give us needed energy. When we’re in a resting or inactive mode our heart rate automatically slows down. We don't even think about it!
I often look for spiritual truths nestled in the ordinary experiences of life and today I want to consider how God directs our hearts. The daily verse is an appeal from the Apostle Paul for the Thessalonian believers: "May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance."
Now certainly Paul wasn't writing of the electrical signals that physically direct the heart regarding rate and so forth. He's writing about a spiritual directing, one that we all need just as vitally as the physical. We may consider it like a divine pacemaker!
So today we will make our encouragement to you twofold based upon this Scripture. We will purposefully change the pronoun from "your" to "our" to assist us in applying this truth.
1) "May the Lord direct our hearts into God’s love." Of course one of the most essential themes weaved throughout the whole of Scriptures is God's love. An assurance of God's love is vital for living the overcoming life. Many verses come to mind with this theme, however, for our thoughts today let us consider a prayer by Paul for the Ephesians: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:17-19). We need our hearts directed into God's love.
2) "May the Lord direct our hearts into Christ's perseverance." Paul uses Christ as the supreme example of One who endured great affliction; in His suffering, His betrayal, His wilderness temptation. He was reviled and yet He did not retaliate and the list goes on and on. We are to "consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that we will not grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:3). The early church was in the midst of great persecution and would need a great deal of perseverance to endure ongoing affliction as they waited for the Lord’s return or their call to heaven. Today we consider our brethren undergoing persecution and those of you undergoing specific times of testing and trial. We need our hearts directed into Christ’s perseverance.
As we invite the Lord to direct our hearts into His love and perseverance we will find His strength and peace altogether sufficient!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father,
when we direct our hearts into Your love and Christ's perseverance we
are encouraged and emboldened; encouraged as we're reminded of Your
persistent love for us and emboldened as we read of Christ's
perseverance in the worst of circumstances. Continue to show us
the many ways that You love us and fortify us in the struggles we face
daily. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.Many of our newer readers are unfamiliar with Ester's overcomings due to her heart disease. Perhaps you would like to read the story of how she was born in Guatemala with barely a chance for survival due to many factors. Her story of overcoming major obstacles can be found here.
Matthew Henry comments regarding today's passage: “If the law of Christ is written in our hearts, and the love of Christ is shed abroad there, then Christ dwells there. Where His Spirit dwells, there He dwells… How powerfully the apostle speaks of the love of Christ! The breadth shows its extent to all nations and ranks; the length, that it continues from everlasting to everlasting; the depth, its saving those who are sunk into the depths of sin and misery; the height, its raising them up to heavenly happiness and glory. Those who receive grace for grace from Christ's fullness, may be said to be filled with the fullness of God. Should not this satisfy man? Must he needs fill himself with a thousand trifles, fancying thereby to complete his happiness?”
Personal note: We had a light snow today which made the roads somewhat treacherous on our way to several chaplain visits earlier this morning. In fact at one point we slid through a stop sign and intersection, thankful that no one else was coming through! Later this morning as we complete the message and prepare to publish we have a bright blue sky and light snow sticking on the ground.
The
Cardinal, Brooksyne's favorite bird.
She took this photo right in front of our home office window.
She took this photo right in front of our home office window.
Today's
Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
Click on the link to open and play.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
Click on the link to open and play.
(In some cases you may also need to click again to start the song.)
"The Love Of God" Video MercyMe
"Create In me A Clean Heart" Video Keith Green
"Purify My Heart Video Brian Doerksen
"Oh, How He Loves Us" Video David Chowder Band
"Before The Throne of God Above" Video Selah
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.
Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
The King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!
Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863
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Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture
references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version.
© 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD
BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation,
New King James
Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the
King
James Version.
Personal
Mission Statement:
"I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ
I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord.
My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and
to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
Daily
Encouragement Net is an affiliate of Christianbook.com
©
Copyright 2011
Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
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