He Feels Your Pain

John 13:34-35
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

James 2:5-17
If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
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Do you remember when President Bill Clinton would say, “I feel your pain”? Long after he left the presidency I still remembered him saying that, and it really aggravated me. I’d think, “Oh, sure you do. You know what it feels like to be in an abusive marriage, to see your kids beaten, to go through divorce and bankruptcy. You know how it feels to lose your home, your job, and your children. You know what it’s like to run out of food and toilet paper and hope. Sure you do.”

Contrast that with Dr. Bob Pierce, who founded World Vision on the words, “Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”

I recently talked to a homeless woman in her 60’s outside a grocery store. She was painfully thin, her leathery, wrinkled face surrounded by a wild tangle of long white hair. I asked her if she had a place to stay and she said yes. I asked if she needed any food, but she had several items in her cart and said she didn’t need anything. Then I asked if I could pray for her. Between drags on her cigarette she replied, “No thanks, I’ve already received all my blessings for the day.” All I could say was, “I just want you to know Jesus loves you, and that He wants a better life for you.”

As I walked away, a wave of sadness hit me. I cried all the way home as memories of my own homeless experience flooded over me. I wanted so badly to help her because I really DID feel her pain. And I felt Jesus’ pain, how He longed to help her, but she would have nothing to do with Him.

To be honest, for the first 20 years of my Christian life I was an “I feel your pain, have a nice day” kind of Christian. I can’t do that anymore. When I see someone in need—especially a homeless person—I do whatever I can to help them, even if it’s just praying with them or giving them a bottle of water. Over the past few months, I’ve had the blessing and privilege of bringing three homeless women to stay in my home until they could find a shelter. I never would’ve considered doing that in the past.

Do you know why Jesus became a man, and why He suffered more pain and humiliation than any other man, even to the point of death? Because he felt OUR pain, and His love compelled Him to do something about it.

Whose pain do you feel? Ask the Lord to break your heart with the things that break His heart. Then go out and touch a life in His name.

Blessings on you,

Cathleen

Hebrews 5:5, 7-9

Hebrews 5:5, 7-9
So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest… who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.

1 Corinthians 11:24
and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
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Did you ever wonder why Jesus had such a difficult life--much harder than any of us? Why would that be part of God's plan?

A wonderful Christian sister recently sent me the book, “The Smith Wigglesworth Standard.” Wigglesworth was born in 1859 and passed away in 1947. During those 87 years, he raised at least 14 people from the dead, healed thousands, and led thousands more to the Lord. At one point, someone asked Smith the secret of his success and power. He replied:

“I am sorry you asked me that question, but I will answer it. I am a brokenhearted man. My wife, who meant everything to me, died eleven years ago. After the funeral, I went back and lay on her grave. I wanted to die there, but God spoke to me and told me to rise up and come away. I told Him if He would give me a double portion of the Spirit—my wife’s and my own—I would go and preach the gospel. God was gracious to me and answered my request. But I sail the high seas alone. I am a lonely man, and many a time all I can do is to weep and weep."

Almost two years after his wife Polly’s death, their youngest son George died. Wigglesworth said,

It seems to me as if I had had a thousand road engines come over my life to break me up like a potter’s vessel. There is no other way into the deep things of God but a broken spirit.” (from “The Wigglesworth Standard,” by Peter J. Madden, 1993.)

Did you catch that? A broken spirit is the ONLY WAY into the deep things of God. Through His brokenness, Jesus was perfected, He learned obedience, and He became the author of eternal salvation.

Through his brokenness, Wigglesworth received a powerful anointing to evangelize, heal, and raise the dead. Have you been broken? If so, then you’re ready to be filled. Ask the Lord for every spiritual gift and every ounce of anointing power available to you.

Your fellow servant in Christ,

Cathleen

1 Samuel 17:46 - 50

1 Samuel 17
46 “This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
47 Then all this assembly shall know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
48 So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.
49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him.
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We all know the story of David and Goliath. But do you know that you can use the same principles David used to be victorious in any circumstance? Here’s how:

1) Admit that you can’t win the battle in your flesh. If you ask God to fight the battle for you, and acknowledge publicly that He will give you the victory, He will—not just for YOUR sake, but for his own reputation’s sake. I’ve seen Him do it for me many times. But if I ever start thinking I can handle it on my own, God removes His hand from the situation and I fall on my face.

2) Instead of running FROM your problems, run TOWARD them in the power of the Holy Spirit. Take a step of faith confirming that you really do believe God will give you the victory. This is a hard one for me—I am an expert at procrastinating when faced with a difficult or unpleasant situation. But David was so confident he was doing God’s will that he RAN toward his enemy. If I avoid my problem, it will be that much longer before God can make it better.

3) David killed Goliath with just ONE stone. All you need to defeat your enemy or your circumstance is ONE promise from God’s word. (I can’t tell you what promise will give you the victory, but I can email you 86 promises to choose from.) Find your promise and speak it out over and over until it gets into your spirit and gives birth to faith (Romans 10:17, So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God).

4) Don’t look at how big your “giant” is—look at how big your God is. Then, start thanking Him for the victory, even before you see it (2 Corinthians 5:7, For we walk by faith, not by sight.) And when the victory comes, be sure you give God the glory. If you take the credit for yourself, you can expect everything to fall apart very quickly.

Cathleen

John 4:23

John 4:23 - But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

I was riding in a Christian brother’s car this morning when the song “Majesty” came on and I started to sing along: “Majesty, worship His majesty….”

That’s as far as I got before my friend stopped me. “NO, no, wait!” he said. “Do you hear yourself? You’re singing it like a mere human!”

I looked at him funny because I had no idea what he was talking about. Then he explained, “I was driving through the desert last night when this song came on. All of a sudden, the Holy Spirit came over me and I saw the throne room. I saw God in all His glory, surrounded by His angels, and they were bowing before Him singing, ‘Majesty… Worship His majesty… ”

The awe and reverence in my friend’s voice pierced my heart. How often have I sung worship songs with no more thought or reverence than a secular song?

“Sing it like you’re in the throne room,” he told me. And from now on, I will.

Cathleen