Honor Your

Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land of the Lord your God is giving to you. (NLT) -Exodus 20:12
Do you find yourself in a care-taking position of your parents? It’s very easy to want to impose our interests on them over their best interest because it may be easier or more convenient. But is that position really honoring to them? Take the time to think through what actions are respectful and yet allow them room to age gracefully.
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REACH OUT TO THOSE WHO HURT

“The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Lk 19:10

The first thing you generally notice about someone who’s in trouble, is their problem. But if you look beyond their problem, God will help you to see their potential. At each Kentucky Derby the crowd sings “My Old Kentucky Home.” But most people don’t know it was written by Stephen Foster, who purportedly died of alcoholism. The police found him in a New York flophouse with a deep gash in his throat. They rushed him to Bellevue Hospital but it was too late to save him. Among his belongings they found a note with the words written, “Dear friends and gentle hearts.” It sounded like the words of another song, but he died before he could write it. Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost.” There are people around you today who have lost their way, their family, their job, their health, and their hope—people Jesus came to save! And that’s where you come in. You’re called to be His hand extended. Elizabeth Holt Hartford lived and died in a Los Angeles slum. Here were her parting words: “You see me as an old lady who’s all broken down with age. But what you don’t understand is that this is me in here. I’m trapped in a body that no longer serves me. It hurts, and it’s wrinkled and diseased. But I haven’t changed. I’m still the person I used to be when this body was young.” Today ask God to do two things for you: (1) Open your eyes to the needs around you. (2) Activate your heart to meet them.

Genesis 25:11 Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi.

Hagar had once found deliverance there and Ishmael had drank from the water so graciously revealed by the God who liveth and seeth the sons of men; but this was a merely casual visit, such as worldlings pay to the Lord in times of need, when it serves their turn. They cry to Him in trouble, but forsake Him in prosperity. Isaac dwelt there, and made the well of the living and all-seeing God his constant source of supply. The usual tenor of a man’s life, the dwelling of his soul, is the true test of his state. Perhaps the providential visitation experienced by Hagar struck Isaac’s mind, and led him to revere the place; its mystical name endeared it to him; his frequent musings by its brim at eventide made him familiar with the well; his meeting Rebecca there had made his spirit feel at home near the spot; but best of all, the fact that he there enjoyed fellowship with the living God, had made him select that hallowed ground for his dwelling. Let us learn to live in the presence of the living God; let us pray the Holy Spirit that this day, and every other day, we may feel, “Thou God seest me.” May the Lord Jehovah be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up unto eternal life. The bottle of the creature cracks and dries up, but the well of the Creator never fails; happy is he who dwells at the well, and so has abundant and constant supplies near at hand. The Lord has been a sure helper to others: His name is Shaddai, God All-sufficient; our hearts have often had most delightful intercourse with Him; through Him our soul has found her glorious Husband, the Lord Jesus; and in Him this day we live, and move, and have our being; let us, then, dwell in closest fellowship with Him. Glorious Lord, constrain us that we may never leave Thee, but dwell by the well of the living God.

The Silent Scream

The hearts of the people
     cry out to the Lord.
You walls of Daughter Zion,
     let your tears flow like a river
     day and night;
give yourself no relief,
     your eyes no rest.— Lamentations 2:18

In the late 1800s, Edvard Munch created one of the most famous pieces of art. The painting, which features a person with hands by his cheeks, mouth open wide, and a look of horror on his face, is known as “The Scream.” The painting, also known as “The Shriek” or “The Cry,” presents a tumultuous orange sky with tranquil-looking passersby.

While the painting is only visual, just about everyone who sees it can hear the scream emanating from the canvass. Yes, the scream is silent, but nevertheless, oh-so loud and powerful. Munch himself explained that the painting had been inspired by what he had heard as “nature’s silent scream.”

What this painting conveys visually, Jewish sages taught verbally. Most notably, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a prominent rabbi in the 18th century whose teachings are still extremely popular today, taught about the power of crying out to God – even in silence. One can scream to God in a “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 KJV) and yet the sound reverberates around the world and resonates in heaven.

In the book of Lamentations we read: “The hearts of the people cry out to the LORD.” Notice that it doesn’t say that the voices of the people cried to the LORD or simply that the people cried out to God. Rather, the verse specifically notes that the hearts of the people cried out.

How does a heart make a noise? According to Jewish tradition, a heart that feels pain and turns toward God as its only saving grace makes the loudest sound in the world without uttering a word. In fact, a single heartfelt sigh can be enough to bring about the salvation one so desperately needs.

This is the power of the silent scream. It is not all that different than an actual cry to God. Remember, that it’s only when the Israelites enslaved in Egypt cried out to God, that God’s plan for salvation went into action: “The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant . . .” (Exodus 2: 23-24). In much the same way, we can cry to God with our hearts and awaken His great power in our lives.

Let’s remember the power of the silent scream. Let’s remember to cry out to God in our own personal times of trouble. Yet, let us also be keenly aware that so many people close to us and around the globe are screaming out in silence. May we hear their sound of suffering and help them. May God hear their cries and save them. May He hear all our prayers and answer them. Amen!