Ever install a shower head.  Why do you install a new one in the first place?  Some people put new ones in because of style.  In my case the old one was clogged.  So, I went looking at shower heads.  Do you know that they have shower heads with various settings?  There are shower heads with remote controls.  I could literally start my shower from up stairs.  Some shower heads can propel the water over 16 feet.  That is a big shower. 

 

I was perplexed.   Why so many?  I guess because there is so many different desires for shower heads.  

 

The same is true in life.  We have so many different desires, because we are never satisfied with what we have.  This shower head is great until someone comes along with a shower head that serves coffee. 

 

All the shower head does, no matter how fancy, is disperse water for you to clean your body.  Just that simple.

 

God is that way also.  He gives us life.  He will provide for our lives.  He will heal us of our hurts.  All we have to do is let Him.  Just that simple.

I go out to the truck.   I have tools in the back of my truck.  Someone needed them more than I.  So in the middle of a project, with no tools.  I hope that who ever has them gets good use out of them.

 

Life is that way.  You struggle at relationships, jobs, projects only to find that the tools that you thought were there—knew were there– are gone.  Tools like trust, hope, compassion, loyalty, or love are gone.  Stolen by bitterness, depression, loneliness, or desperation.  What now?

 

Jesus encountered many people in the same boat.  They were rejected by the religious elite, the social elite and of course the educated.  They tried to make life work, only to fall flat over and over again.  Sometimes on their own.  Sometimes with help for the before mentioned.

He would meet them where they were.  Reach out a hand.  Smile.  Forgive and restore.  Life returned.

 

Jesus is reaching out to you today.  Take the hand.  Look at the face of true love.  Embrace His life and live.

Everyone knows the rime of Humpty Dumpty.  It is a poem about life.  In life there are challenges and defeats.  But his fall was that which could not be repaired.  There are various discussions about the meaning or the riddle of the poem.  One old ancient version states that the egg represented the heart of a person.  That it is so fragile, nothing nor no one could repair it after it is broken.

 

Sometime during life, you will have your heart broken.  You may see it coming.  You may not.   You will feel like there is no way it can be repaired, fixed, brought back to normal.  There will be no way to love again.

 

That is where you and I are wrong.  Jesus is in the repair business.  He repairs the brokenness of the heart with His perfect love, hope, and compassion.  He brings back into view the purpose of our existence.  Not are we repaired, we are made new.

 

Never give up.  Talk to Jesus.  Listen.  He will respond.  I promise.  He will make you new.

I posted a video this morning about my Grandmother’s China Cabinet.  It broke during a move in several places.  One place was through the decorative section.  Within one hour several people volunteered to fix.  One as far away as Tennessee.  Yea, that is you Bradley. 

 

Now, I was and still stunned.  I never thought that people would volunteer. 

 

Sometimes, in the midst of pain, God intervenes.  He brings people into your life that has been absent.  They come on the scene to bring God’s peace, knowingly or unknowingly, to a difficult situation.  It is through words of comfort, relief, or just their presence. It is God’s way of letting His children know, I am here with you.

 

So to all that have volunteered to fix a cabinet, my humble thanks.  I guess it will live again.

The pain.  It shot through his foot.  A nail.  He knew it immediately.  He kept quiet.  For to utter a word would give away the units location.  This was enemy territory. 

 

He glanced down.  Blood.  Not good.  It would leave a trail.  Taking his rifle sling, he made a quick tourniquet. The blood slowed.  He saw the signal to move forward.  The pain.  Quiet.

 

Many people move through life like the soldier.  Quietly walking in pain.  Never uttering a word.  Always silent.  Maybe this is you.  Maybe someone you know.  What do you do to help?

 

Peter writes in his letter to us that we pray, love, and serve.  Always pray: to be a good servant and for discernment.  Cover their insecurities and sins with love.  The same love Jesus gave to you.  Help them.  What ever it may take, listen, walk with them, at times carry their burden to give them rest.   Do not let them live in silent pain. 

Several people go through life looking for peace.  Instead they try to find piece.  No it is not a mistake.  It is piece.  People have a hole in their heart and they try to find the piece to fill the hole.  You know, a new car, new life, new spouse, new house, new job, or a new hot tub.  Something that will fill the piece in their heart.

 

However, that hole in the heart can only be filled by God and His peace.  For in His peace, their is strength, purpose, contentment, growth.  There will be no inconsistency.  There will be no buying the next new item, going to the next new job, or new spouse.  God fills that place with His love and peace.  There is no need for anything or anyone but Him.

 

Have a hole in your heart.  Talk to God.  He will fill it with something that can never move or be shaken. 

 One of the first pranks pulled on a new non-qual on board a submarine, is the dreaded search for a left handed spinner wrench.  While the old timers know that one does not exist, the newbie searches the boat trying to find the elusive item.  After hours of gut wrenching looking, someone tells them that it is just a wrench.  The newbie understands he was had.  Everyone else is laughing.

 

Whether we want to admit it or not, we spend our lives searching for that non-existent item that we need in our lives.  Maybe it is happiness, security, knowledge, or a left handed spinner wrench.   We search only to be disappointed at each turn.

 

Paul wrote that he learned to be content in any situation.  There are so many things that we think we need to live that do not help us in the long term.  But Paul’s words are long term.  The ability to be at peace during any situation or lack thereof, can not be under estimated.  Sometimes the situation helps define our purpose in God’s will.  There are times, we learn and grow weeding out bad behavior or habits that hurt our lives and relationships. 

 

However, we must learn to rely on God and his peace.

You’re are driving along.   Suddenly you hit the brakes.  Traffic is backed up for miles.  There you sit, wondering, “what happened?”  This was not in your plans.  There are places to go and people to see. 

 

Life is that way at times.  You are going along, everything seems to be going good.  WHAM!  Out of the blue something hits you.  You loss your job.  Death in the family.  Sickness.  Spouse wants a divorce.  Car breaks down.  Children get in legal trouble.  You are stunned.

The world stops.

 

Peter writes to us understanding that circumstances can change in an second.  That is why he states to be clear minded and self-controlled so that we can listen to the Father’s voice.  That voice that will guide us, heal us, prepare us. 

 

So this day, when the calamity comes, stop, pray.  Listen to the still small voice of Almighty God.

Several years ago (30) my family and I sat on the bank of the Thames River in Groton, CT.  We arrived hours early to watch the fireworks that were sitting on three barges in the middle of the river.  Our wait was well worth it.

 

At 9:45 pm, music began and the fireworks lit up the sky for over 2 hours.  It was fantastic.  There was cheering, yelling, ah’s, and gasps.  Several times, there were waves of clapping.  It was a night to remember. 

 

At the end, there was a twist.  The last song was Taps.  Immediately, all service men stood, followed by family members and then others.  Red, white, and blue colors adored the night sky. 

 

At that time, we stopped and remembered the ones who were not there.  Those that we at sea, stationed over seas, or at that time, those in Desert Storm.  We also acknowledged those who died.  Those men and women who sacrificed all for freedom. 

 

We are truly blessed in this nation.  Yes we have freedoms.  Most of all, we had men and women who valued those freedoms with their very lives.  We are blessed by their sacrifice and God’s blessings.

The early founding settlers of this nation came to this new world to have the freedom to worship.  Yes, some came in search of riches.  Most came for religious freedom.   They did not want the government to tell them how to worship, when to worship, and what to say during worship.  Freedom.  So they came.  First one ship.  Then another.  Soon many came in search of a new life; in search of freedom. 

 

Yet this freedom came at a cost.  Many lost their lives, their loved ones, their fortunes.  Still they continued. 

 

Then came the “Great Awakening.”  Revival broke out across the land.  At this time the founding fathers were but young men.  Young men that listened to God’s Word, repented, and were baptized.  Looking at their situation, decided that every man and woman should have the opportunity of freedom.  Thus armed with God’s Word and resolve, started a new nation. 

 

Freedom came from the efforts of these early men and women.  It came from their sacrifice.  But it came.  It was not perfect mind you.  But they laid the ground work for us to grow.  To give freedom to everyone.  We have.  The right for women to vote.  The Civil Rights Act.  The Emancipation Act.  The list goes.   The list of Acts that gave freedom.

 

This time let Freedom Ring and not hate.