Ruptured Heart

26/10/2020

Bummer Lambs

Every once in a while, a ewe will give birth to a lamb and reject it. There are many reasons she may do this. If the lamb is returned to the ewe, the mother may even kick the poor animal away. Once a ewe rejects one of her lambs, she will never change her mind.

These little lambs will hang their heads so low that it looks like something is wrong with its neck. Their spirit is broken. These lambs are called “bummer lambs.” Unless the shepherd intervenes, that lamb will die, rejected and alone.

So, do you know what the shepherd does? He takes that rejected little one into his home, hand-feeds it and keep it warm by the fire. He will wrap it up with blankets and hold it to his chest so the bummer can hear his heartbeat.

Once the lamb is strong enough, the shepherd will place it back in the field with the rest of the flock. But that sheep never forgets how the shepherd cared for him when his mother rejected him.

When the shepherd calls for the flock, guess who runs to him first? That is right, the bummer sheep. He knows his voice intimately. It is not that the bummer lamb is loved more, it just knows intimately the one who loves it. It's not that it is loved more, it just believes it because it has experienced that love one on one.

So many of us are bummer lambs, rejected and broken. But He is the good Shepherd. He cares for our every need and holds us close to His heart so we can hear His heart beat.

We may be broken but we are deeply loved by the Shepherd. 💝

Author Sheila Walsh book "Loved back to life"

18/10/2020

Dealing with Infidelity

Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.Psalm 10:17

What do you do when you discover that your spouse has been sexually unfaithful? Hurt and anger are healthy emotions in that situation. They reveal that you are human and that you care about your marriage. They indicate that you see yourself as a valuable person who has been wronged. They reveal your concern for rightness and fairness. These emotions are entirely appropriate; they just need to be processed in a positive way.

Initially crying, weeping, and sobbing are healthy responses to intense hurt and anger. However, the body is limited in how long it can sustain such agony; thus, sessions of weeping must be interspersed with periods of calm. Verbally expressing your hurt to your spouse is also a healthy way to process anger. I would encourage you to start your statements with I rather than you. For example: “I feel betrayed. . . . I feel hurt. . . . I feel used. . . . I feel that you don’t love me. . . . I feel like I don’t ever want to touch you again.” All of these statements reveal your thoughts and feelings to your spouse. Any recovery requires that your spouse hear and understand the depth of your hurt and anger.

Remember, too, that you can express all of your emotions to God, who loves you wholeheartedly and weeps with you. He hears your cries, as Psalm 10 reminds us. Psalm 147:3 says that he “heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.” Allow him to comfort you in your distress.

Father, I can’t imagine many things more painful than discovering that my spouse has been unfaithful. I pray that neither my spouse nor I will ever have to undergo this hurt. But if we do, please lead us through. I thank you for your tenderness and compassion for those who are suffering.

17/10/2020

Luke 12:15 KJV
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

16/10/2020

15/10/2020

SELF-PERCEPTION

READ ROMANS 12:1-2
How many times have we wished that we could be someone else? Perhaps one reason we act out our addiction is that we hate ourself.

Self-hatred is often associated with an addictive/compulsive personality. If we don’t like who we are and feel helpless to change, we can be reassured in knowing that God has the power to change us dramatically.

The apostle Paul wrote: “I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable.

This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2).

Paul tells us to avoid being like the world around us. If we copy the behavior and customs of this world, we will head straight toward selfish ways and destructive dependencies. Our part is to turn our will and our life over to the care of God. As we trust and obey him, he will work changes in us and make us new people. God wants to change us from the inside out. As we are changed on the inside, we will begin to evidence those changes in our external attitudes and actions.

We all have great potential for change, but we cannot do it under our own power. As we yield our life and will to God, we can depend on him to renew our mind and heart. He will help us overcome our defects of character, transforming us from the inside out.

Turn to the next recovery principle devotional, on 1 Corinthians 6.

12/10/2020

What God cannot do doesn't exist!

09/10/2020

We glory, not because we're without a shady story
But One who walked our path & felt every infirmities
Succours when our weaknesses glare with ignominy
Yes we contend(Jude3), not just demons without and around

We fight to remain unspotted
Even things that within us will defile(Matt. 15:11)
Betimes our feet are nigh slipping
Other times we fall headlong
And are terribly injured
But we glory in our scars
For they work far more exceeding stars

The thorns to buffet us
Reminds only of our human fallibility
And cautions us to lean on the infallible One

I had but walked it such perfection
So much so I look at the unredeemed I once was
As scums of the Earth unworthy of love and compassion
But in my perfection
Every step that was nigh slipping and every fall
Reminds me of the sinner I once was
And with renewed zeal and awe
I handle my salvation like my life depends on it for it does
And I repent and reconsecrate again till I cross to the other Shore

Where I'll repent no more
For then I'll have been perfected at the last
I move from holiness to holiness
Never what I once was but not there yet as far as I'm on Earth

Sin shall not dwell in your mortal body
Sin shall not have dominion over you
Walk circumspectly not as fools
Redeeming the time for the days are evil

Some of us struggle with quick temper
And if God does not in judgment, mercy temper
We'll have nothing but danger
And we'd end like we never had a Redeemer
Some with pride, that even our humility
Seem to have a backdrop of that folly
And oftentimes we smite our chest
And would rather be unknown despite our zest

Some of us when looked thru God's X-ray
Are not worth His glance, no not a stray
Esau seemed a better man, for his character seemed steady
Not with slithering Jacob that was quick-sinking-sand cunning

Joseph seemed a better pick, not the foolhardy Levi
No brains all brawns
But He took the foolish of the world
To confound the wise of the world
Thru the foolish process of preaching

Our weakness makes us want to die
Of our unworthiness, it's a constant reminder
And yes we die (if we would 1Cor.15:31) at Golgotha Over and over
Till there's left no bone of resistance
And we could be bestowed the great honour-
Thou Worm Jacob.

His strength is made perfect in weakness
Where sin abound Grace did much more abound
But should we sin, that Grace may abound???
GOD FORBID!!!

Don't miss your daily dose of death
Else you make an utter jest
Of your godly profession & zest
Though unwilling... 1 Corinthians 15:31

By Esther Richard

09/10/2020

Holy Ghost, sponsor within believers the longing to pray.

Pour out like rain, the Spirit of prayer.

09/10/2020

Foxhole Faith

Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings to fulfill the vows I made to you — yes, the sacred vows you heard me make when I was in deep trouble. Psalm 66:13-14

It is commonly understood that there are no atheists in foxholes. Men who exhibit little interest in spirituality and eternity are suddenly moved to pray when under fire. Others have been know to experience dramatic conversions under threat of hanging. This phenomenon is similar to the one described by Samuel Johnson, in his famous observation: “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” In many instances, the promises to God made in the foxhole have been fulfilled when the guns have fallen silent — but not always. And when death sentences have been commuted, some relieved offenders have sadly forgotten the commitments made to God under duress.

The psalm writer, recounting the dire circumstances through which his nation had passed, observed, “We went through fire and flood. But you brought us to a place of great abundance” (Ps. 66:12). This situation offered the chance for the people to express great gratitude in genuine worship, obedience, trust, and service. It also provided the opportunity for shallow promises to be exposed by thoughtless, thankless actions.

The Lord had warned his people of such a possibility when Moses gave them their final instructions shortly before they entered the Promised Land. He told them that their arrival in the “place of great abundance” was “the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and laws” (Deut. 8:11).

The psalm writer was able to testify, “Now I come . . . to fulfill the vows I made to you —yes, the sacred vows you heard me make when I was in deep trouble” (Ps. 66:13-14). No foxhole faith is in evidence here, only a deep appreciation for mercy extended and grace received. He was deeply aware that the Lord “did not withdraw his unfailing love from [him]” (66:20). The psalmist showed his appreciation first of all in the quality of his response. There is nothing grudging, halfhearted, or coldly formal here. He brought “the best of [his] rams” (66:15), unlike some of his compatriots who were known to “offer animals that [were] crippled and diseased” (Malachi 1:8). His appreciation was shown repeatedly to be real through his desire to share his experience of God’s goodness with others — ”Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he did for me” (66:16).

What better response can a man have to the Lord’s unfailing love than to show unfailing gratitude to the one who has not failed him! Fires, floods, foxholes, and the actions that follow will show the caliber of a man’s faith.