“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” John 11:21-22 ESV
The Bible plainly tells us that Jesus loved Martha, and maybe one of the things Jesus loved so much about her was her outspoken way of saying everything that was in her heart. Whether she was complaining about her sister, inviting Jesus into her home, or sending for him in her time of need, Martha was always direct. I have so often heard of her failures and preoccupation with the duties of the pots and pans, yet there was also in her a unique ability to grow because she held nothing back.
No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way. Hebrews 12:11 NLT
I love playing guitar, and one of my favorite things is to sit alone and play worship music after putting on a set of new strings. But on the other hand, my least favorite thing is changing those blasted strings! One by one, the old strings must be unwound, then, after carefully pulling out each peg, new ones can be put in their place. Then, slowly and gently, each one has to be stretched till its sound equals the pitch pipe’s note. Finally, when everything sounds great, you play a few chords and -voila! = it is immediately out of tune! Yep, those new strings aren’t ready for prime time, till they’ve been played and retuned, over and over. Restringing my guitar today, reminded of the verse from Hebrews about discipline, and how God has been doing some needed restringing in my life this week.
I had used my busyness as an excuse and failed to keep my promise to visit someone. Though I probably visited a hundred people that week, I failed to listen to the Spirit’s prompting to make time in my schedule. “I will get there next week.” I thought. But sadly, my friend didn’t have another week, because yesterday he passed away. As I prayed in the room with friends and family, the daughter’s words of the previous night rang in my ears, “Pastor Pete, you didn’t come!” Yes, I am sorry, and yes, she forgave me and best of all, yes, he had prayed with her to receive Christ the previous week when I wasn’t there. The hands of God are turning the tuning pegs of my life today and unwinding old habits and stretching my heart, till it sounds more like Heaven’s melody and less like the world around me.
How wonderful God’s mercy, that restores and helps us even in our failures. For me that blessing came when I heard our friend tell us of her final conversation with her dad. Though he could no longer communicate his eyes looked around till he saw his daughter. Then, she held his hand saying, “It’s okay daddy. The sun is shining and there isn’t a cloud in the sky. It’s a good day to go to Heaven.” Then, just moments later, he slipped into the arms of Jesus, and those words will forever remind me that, God is never too busy.
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?” Matthew 8:23-27 ESV
One blessing about ministering at nursing homes is that it is easy to find out if people are listening. The feedback is immediate and often I get interrupted with a question in the middle of a message or in between songs. That is a great incentive to keep things short, sweet and to the point. This almost nine-minute message was pushing the limits of my dear friends’ ability to focus, but it felt as if God was stirring at Life Care Center. Please continue to pray for us as there is a special sense of His moving and purpose this year. Have a blessed Sunday all. I hope you will be challenged and encouraged by hearing once again about Jesus in the storm!
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