Psalm 68 Loneliness

Psalm 68: 4-6

Sing to God, sing praises to His Name……..

A Father to the fatherless………. is God in His Holy Dwelling.

God sets the lonely in families………

Have you been lonely?

Misery, I say misery……….

That’s the nature of loneliness.

“It is not good that man should be alone”

Genesis 2:18

In all the creation-

Everything-

That’s right everything…………

Had been good to this point.

But here was man- Alone.

In some ways I think maybe-

Just maybe-

The greatest pain of the curse of sin-

Just may be…………

Separation-

Isolation-

That wall that goes up-

Between me……….

And men-

Between me……………

And Father.

Ah, but God……….

The King of Kings-

The Lord of Lords-

The Creator of all that is-

He is more than even all of these things-

He is……………

The Father to the fatherless-

He is………….

The One who truly knows me and still……..

Loves me.

He is……………

The One who brings me into His own………

Family.

Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit,

Thank You-

Thank You not only for the gift of salvation-

But thank You as well for bringing me into Your very family.

We pray together now that the family of God-

The very Body You have established as Your Church-

This body………

Would be good and true and all that You mean it to be…….

So that no Child of the King ever need feel the sting of loneliness again.

Father us today Lord-

Father us into this and all the Life Jesus has won for us.

Amen

1 John 3:1 How great is the Love the Father has lavished upon us,

That we should be called children of God.

Personal Space

I have this friend- Oh you know where I'm going already don't you- You read the title- Yep! Anyway- No matter how much I back up he just keeps coming- Eventually I will back into a wall and he's got me- Two inches from my face- Me squirming under the force of his hot breath. Thank you Lord that this guy brushes and doesn't eat onions!

So what about this business of Personal Space?

It's funny how we don't mind some folks all up in our personal space but others................

Well we might rather kiss a Rattlesnake than kiss Aunt Susie

So what makes the difference?

Why do I invite my wife into my Personal Space-

Even pursue times for us to be in each other's Personal Space (I think you get my drift here right?).

Yet......... other folks- No Way Baby- Give me my space!

I think it must be all about the relationship- You know- Trust- Intimacy and all that.

So then- What about God and my Personal Space? Where am I with that?

I think there is a sense in which God will not violate our personal space uninvited.

Revelation 3:20 (Jesus speaking) Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and dine with him and he with Me.

James 4:8 Come near to God and He will come near to you.

So what do you think? Do you invite God into your personal space?

Are you comfortable with Him there?

Maybe it's easier to invite Jesus into my personal space-

After all He seems alot more understanding-

Not nearly as scary.

Father God, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit- Triune God, Come into my personal space today- I invite You to continually search my heart and reveal any thing in me that remains broken- expose my sin and mercifully lead me into healing. Lead me into the Life You have for me. Comfort me Almighty God- The God of All Comfort- Come deep into my heart and soul- into my personal space and do what You do- Bring Wholeness and Life.

Amen

On Cubicles and Community

As she settled her body into the seat next to me after a long night's work, my sweet wife seemed a little tired- Check that- She was whooped! On this particular morning Julie needed a ride- Her car was in the shop. "How was your night?" I asked as we pulled out of the parking lot to head to the house. "I was in Triage" she answered wearily, "I saw 13 patients last night". "Is that a lot?" I asked. "Oh yeah" she answered with one of her classic eye rolls- "We only have 6 beds." "So how does that work?" I asked- "Are they all in one room together?" "Well, yes and no Julie shot back- they are in one room, but seperated by cubicles"- and then she added these words,

"We can't let these people be exposed to each other."

Oh how those words hit me- Only moments before I had heard a song on the radio- The lyric that started the song went like this-

"So you thought you had to keep this up- all the work that you do so we think that you're good"

In my mind- right then and there- Triage became the living image for the religious life so many of us are caught up in- a life that is not life- certainly not the Life Jesus had in mind in His Sacrifice for us.

We are all in one room together- Triage if you will. We are hurting, but there is a Nurse or a Doctor there to help- no more than that- To heal.

While it's difficult, we will let the Doctor or Nurse help- but we have put up these walls that keep others from seeing us- these cubicles we exist in- We can't let ourselves be exposed- We must keep to ourselves- We must hide- It would just be too embarassing if others really knew how broken we are.

It takes oh so much work to keep those walls up- It's exhausting.

Oh, and we can't forget our enemy- the evil one- the one who makes a living off isolation, secrecy and deceit. He is right there- shaming us at every turn.

I do not think it is possible to live the Life Christ has in mind for us outside of Community.

James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed."

John 17:20-26 (Excerpts) Jesus prayed- "I pray that all of them may be one, Father just as I am in You and You are in me- may they also be in Us.......... Father, I will continue to make You Known so that Your Love will be in them and I Myself may be in them."

Father in Heaven, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit- Three in One- Triune God- Just as You Live in Community fully knowing and being fully known within the 3 persons of the Godhead- Lord Give us -me- people I can connect with in honesty- in Humility- Work in and through our relationships to encourage and strengthen one another in You. Give me the Courage I need to make it safe for those You bring my way- safe for them to be real- to be authentic. Lord, give us all friends- real friends- to share the Life You have created us for.

Amen

Jesus in the Flesh

I am not really sure where it came from, but when I was about 7 years old or so I started eating. I wonder now if it was to fill the void of losing my Daddy? Eddie Lee Welch' s suffering from cancer came to an end in December 1966 just before I was about to turn 7 years old. Edward Charles Welch's suffering from loneliness began around the end of December 1966. I loved my Daddy the best any "know nothing about Love" 6 year old boy could. I suppose what I did know was what it felt like to be loved by a Father- but now that was gone. Fast forward to 1972- now 12 years old, 5 foot 2 inches tall and 175 pounds of self loathing, loneliness. Appearing happy, I suppose- but disconnected from what mattered most in a twelve year old boy's world -the acceptance of other kids my age who seemed to have it all together. They didn't want me- especially not the boys who were on their way to manhood- strong and able. Fat, incapable athletically, rejected by girls, picked last for anything that even hinted of manliness- I had gone to food for comfort. I had gone to other things as well. A boy has to find relief somewhere from the pain of loneliness, rejection and isolation. The enemy had a field day- Attempting to steal away any real hope for happiness or freedom. I did start going to church regularly for the first time around this time. My sister and her husband took me. The people seemed nice enough at first and the more I heard about this Jesus character the more intrigued I became. He was different- He would never make fun of me- He would never laugh at me- He would never have left me to be picked last- He could even save me from my sins-Yep this Jesus guy was pretty awesome. Hey- during that time I even walked the aisle- I got saved and baptised. I remember going to Sunday School- Witnessing- Leaving Bible Tracts in magazines at the drug store- Finally my life seemed to have a bit of value to it-

At least Jesus cared about me- I have never doubted that.

His people however- you know the ones who were nice enough in the beginning- Somehow they turned out to be not much different from anyone else. It's really hard for a kid to handle that. Christians are supposed to be different- Like Jesus. Oh I held on to my Saviour- But the Abundant Life- The sense of being Loved and wanted by His people- That seemed to slowly fade out of my life- Oh there were respites of happiness, and I did learn to use what I had going for me- my being kind of smart- to at least have some friends, but still the loneliness lingered.

Loneliness- That sense that no one really cares- no one is interested in sharing life with you. That sense of being disconnected and left out of all you want to be a part of. There is nothing more miserable.

Fast forward to 1976- High School- God is so Faithful- He really never will leave you or forsake you. In all my striving for Love and acceptance I really never had doubted Jesus- I just wished He would send someone to show me His Love- I needed to feel it in a hug or a smile- I needed it to come in flesh and blood reality. It's what we all need- It's how we were built- For Community.

John 1:14 "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us"

Oh how those words became reality in my life in 1976 through a man named Danny Parker. Danny was the Young Life Leader for my High School- For me he became the Hands and Feet of Christ- sent by God Himself to be the father I had lost all those many years before.

God had saved my life yet again. He had sent a man who truly loved Jesus and that love overflowed and spilt out of his life to me as sure as the Blood of Christ Himself has been spilt for me.

Father in Heaven, Lord Jesus, Friend Jesus, Precious Holy Spirit- Fill me up with Your Love the way You filled this man You sent my way all those years ago. Fill me so that I overflow to the people You bring my way- those who are lonely and hurting and feel the weight of the world and the enemy himself coming down on them. Make me an encouragement- Forgive me where I pass over the forgotten and give me Your Great Heart of compassion for the broken. Do all this in me I pray in the Wonderful Name of Jesus.

Amen