Minor Inconvenience

Good Evening All,

     Pastor Al asked me to come over and post that he is still down from his surgery. He is in considerable pain and promised his doctor he would take it easy. So he will not be posting any new blog entries at the moment, but rest assured he will be back to writing soon and I am sure his posts will be better than ever.

     Please be sure to keep him in your prayers this week for a speedy recovery.

Thanks,
Danna King

"Stairway To Heaven"

"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold and she's buying a stairway to heaven.  When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed, with a word she can get what she came for."

These are the opening lyrics of the number one requested rock and roll song of all time.  The group, Led Zeppelin, wrote "Stairway To Heaven" about 40 years ago.  Robert Plant, group vocalist, wrote the song and said that it concerned "a woman getting everything she wanted without giving anything back."

Perhaps the lyrics are a reflection of the "me" generation of years gone by.  For most of us, we can't get everything we want but as Christians we have been assured that we can get what we need, especially when we are willing to give back to others.

In the 28th chapter of Genesis is the story of Jacob encountering the stairway to heaven.  Before this encounter, Jacob was on many occasions a person who took without giving anything back.  He is now running for his life because he stole his brother's inheritance and blessing and is fearful that Esau will track him down and kill him.  Exhausted from running, he lies down and falls asleep.

The 12th verse tells us:  "He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it."  In the dream God said He would watch over Jacob, provide him with many descendants and riches, and be with him forever.

"When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, 'Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.'  He was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place!  This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.'"  (Genesis 28:16-17).  Jacob was amazed that the Lord was there all the time and he was not even aware of it.  Bolstered with new confidence and conviction in the Lord, Jacob made the first vow recorded in the Bible.  He said, ". . . the Lord will be my God . . . and of all that You give me I will give You a tenth."

The Bible tells us that as Christians, the Lord is with us.  Unfortunately, as is the case with Jacob, we don't always recognize His presence.  Perhaps that is because we don't look for Him.  In this new year of 2013, may our greatest resolution be to look for and anticipate the presence of God.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encourages us not to worry about food, clothing, shelter or the things of life that stress us out.  "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."  The stairway to heaven is for those who seek the Lord and His righteousness.

"Put Work Clothes On Your Dreams"

Everyone knows what they don't want.  It's what a person wants that is hard to discover.  What makes you happy?  What gives meaning to your life?  What is it you really want?

This is the season of Lent which began on Ash Wednesday.  It is a tradition in the Christian Church that has lasted over 1500 years.  It is a reflection on the temptations of Jesus which lasted 40 days.

The significance of Ash Wednesday comes from Genesis 3:19 which says, ". . . for dust you are and to dust you shall return."  A result of disobedience to God.  We are to set aside a period of 40 days for fasting and repentance to turn back to God.  Christians since the 19th century have marked their foreheads with ashes as a sign of repentance.  

During this Lenten season I would like to also recommend, besides a period of fasting, a giving up of a word we are all familiar with:  procrastination.  Webster's New World Dictionary defines procrastination this way:  "to put off doing something unpleasant until a future time."

This would be something very constructive to give up during this season of Lent.  If you have to clean your whole house, do it one room a day.  If you need to get your office cleaned up and put away, do it a section at a time.  Those people you have been meaning to write a thank you letter to - do it now.  Those who you need to say you love - do it now.  Write down what you need to do.  Sigmund Freud once said, "that which we don't want to do, we forget to do."  

This will be a great time to simplify your life.  Strive for balance in your life.  Too many projects may actually end up being just projects that never get done.  Set whatever goals you want to achieve and pray for the resolve to do it.  Instead of dreaming about things you want to do - put work clothes on those dreams.  

"Silver Threads and Golden Needles"

In 1956, Jack Rhodes and Dick Reynolds wrote the song “Silver Threads and Golden Needles” first sung by Wanda Jackson.  Recording artists such as Skeeter Davis, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn made the song a top seller.  However, everyone still came to the same conclusion:  Even silver threads and golden needles cannot mend a broken heart.  But is that really true?

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine scientists have discovered that “emotional shock can trigger sudden, reversible heart failure that is not a classic heart attack.”  Emotional shock such as realizing the unexpected death of a loved one can result in the release of enormous amounts of catecholamines into the blood stream along with other breakdown products and small proteins.  These chemicals can temporarily be toxic to the heart and cause symptoms normally associated with a typical heart attack including chest pain, and shortness of breath.  They have called this “Broken Heart Syndrome” and it can mimic a real heart attack.  It is not a real heart attack but feels like it.  

Sometimes the loss of a loved one can feel like our heart has broken in two.  Most people try to offer sympathetic advice such as time heals all wounds.  However, time does not always heal a broken heart.  The question than becomes, “Who can mend a broken heart?”  Can friends mend a broken heart?  Can a new lover mend a broken heart?  Can Dr. Phil mend your broken heart?   

Sometimes, broken hearts cannot be mended by human intervention.  Our heart will need to be repaired by the One who gave us our heart.  The One who said these words from Psalm 147:3:   “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”  In Luke 4:18, Jesus says He was anointed to, “heal the brokenhearted.”  

The Lord will never turn away a broken heart.  When we humble ourselves before God with raised hands toward heaven and cry out to our Lord Jesus Christ, He will hear our words and feel our tears.  Can a broken heart be mended?  Yes it can.  “For with God nothing will be impossible.”  Luke 1:37