GETTING TO THE 'HEART' OF THE MATTER!

     Hello, again, I'm Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is, "GETTING TO THE 'HEART' OF THE MATTER!" Main Point: Jesus was different from the religious leaders of His day in that He reached straight into the hearts of men and women. Can you and I be like Jesus and reach straight into the hearts of our loved ones, friends, and community members?
     I’ve always been a softie when it comes to crying at movies, TV shows, and other stories. -They seem to have a way of reaching straight into my heart and causing emotion. Also, when my Dad died in 1980, everything was going along normally during the funeral, but then they started reading my now blind brother’s essay about his relationship with Dad. I lost it. I never had that kind of emotion before or after that time. I wasn’t mourning. Something had reached deep down in my 'HEART'.
     I’ve been wondering lately—what causes that emotion in us? I think it’s because our hearts were made by our great creator to see the beauty and wonder in life, which takes us out of ourselves and into the beauty and wonder of God.
     Over the Easter holidays, I watched the movie “Jesus of Nazareth”. In it, there were several references to Jesus reaching into people's ‘hearts’. One was where Joseph of Arimathea spoke in defense of Jesus to the Sanhedrin before Jesus was even arrested. I realize that what he said in the movie isn’t found in scripture.
     But, I believe it correctly portrays why the masses followed Jesus. He said to his fellow members of the Sanhedrin: 

“How can we guide them if we don’t know what’s in their hearts?" I have seen Him, I’ve heard him preach. His words reach into men’s hearts, not like ours.”

     Then Nicodemus got up, also to defend Jesus. He said:  

"Like our brother Joseph, I’ve heard Him preach. I was moved, lifted out of myself, and seemed to see all things in a new and blinding light. I was aware of wonders, signs, that God may be with Him, and through Him with us.” 

     Again, I realize that what they said in the movie isn’t in scripture, even though the movie quoted a lot of scripture. But again, I believe it correctly portrays why the people followed and loved Jesus, even the children. I believe it’s the essence of the Gospel. That men’s hearts need to be reached into, to allow change to come about!

     In Biblical terms, one internet citation defined the ‘heart’ as representing “the center of one's being, encompassing emotions, will, and intellect”.
     There are 685 references to the 'hearts' of mankind in the Christian Standard Bible. I think that vast number alone should tell us something about how important the hearts of men and women are to reach them for Jesus. Let’s look at a few of them:

• Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.”
• Ephesians 1:18: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”
• Acts 16:14: “The Lord opened Lydia's heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.” 
• Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is near to those with broken hearts and saves the crushed in spirit.” 
• Hebrews 4:12: “The Word of God is active and pierces to the division of soul and spirit, penetrating the heart.” 
• Hebrews 10:16: “This is the covenant that I will make with them, after that time, says the Lord, I will put my laws in their hearts…” 
• Romans 10:9 is the salvation verse: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” 
• And who can ever forget the greatest commandment found in Matthew 22:37? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."

     I’m not sure, like Jesus did, how we can reach into the hearts of our loved ones, friends, and people in the community. I know we can’t do it with our own power.
     I think with all MY ‘HEART’ that we need to cry out to Jesus and His Holy Spirit to reach into ‘OUR HEARTS’ to give each of us inspiration on how to reach ‘THEIR HEARTS’. I think then, and only then, do we have a chance of "GETTING TO THE ‘HEART’ OF THE MATTER!

SIMEON AND ANNA’S LONG WAIT REWARDED!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
    The title of my post today is, “SIMEON AND ANNA’S LONG WAIT REWARDED!"
     What’s part of the Christian life? It’s ‘waiting, and waiting, and waiting’. The older I get, the more aware I am of the sometimes long wait for God’s promises, when it seems they will never be fulfilled. 

     I did a devotional for our church Serve Team a couple of weeks ago titled “Waiting, and Waiting, and Waiting For What Seems Impossible!” It was about the almost unbearable wait for what God promises each of us. The devotional, however, emphasized that we are in very, very good company. The Bible is full of heroes like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and many others who had to wait, and wait, and wait for God’s promise that seemed impossible to fulfill. And then all of a sudden, God fulfilled them!
     The last Bible heroes I mentioned in the devotional were found in Luke 2. They were Simeon and Anna, both very elderly servants of God, who spent their lifetimes waiting in the temple for the promised Messiah. What’s impressive is that their wait was preceded by 400 years of spiritual darkness after the time of the prophets.
     How did Simeon and Anna know that God had a plan for them to be rewarded after so many years of waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the promised Messiah? Did one or both of them have a dream? Were they visited by an angel? We’ll never know exactly how they knew the Messiah was about to be born after 400 years of darkness, but we can be amazed at how these two faithful servants waited, and waited, and waited until they were very old for God to reward them for their faithfulness. 

     Can you and I be so faithful in our wait for what God has promised us?

A BIBLICAL ‘EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE’: TO DECLARE GOD AND HIS ATTRIBUTES TO THE NEXT GENERATION!

     Hello, again. I’m Arlen Yoder from the Soulwinnersr.us website. Remember—the angels in heaven rejoice when a loved one or friend gives their heart to Jesus.
     The title of my post today is, “A BIBLICAL ‘EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE’: TO DECLARE GOD AND HIS ATTRIBUTES TO THE NEXT GENERATION!"
     I just turned 72, and I'm having trouble deciding which direction, or directions, to take as a senior citizen. For 35 years of my life, I worked in fields that required a lot of continuity and predictability. My job as a Supported Employment Coordinator in a community mental health center required me and my workers to use ‘evidence-based practices’.
     Then, for 6 years after I retired as the supported employment coordinator, my job in writing grants for Mission to Amish People (MAP) was also very ‘evidence-based’. I had to be very specific in my wording of the grants and in answering all the detailed questions the foundations had about MAP, and how we would use their money effectively for a specific project.
     Evidence-based practices are defined as the following: “A systematic approach to decision-making that integrates the best available research evidence, expertise, and values and preferences to guide professional practice to improve outcomes.”
     I’m a very concrete thinker, so ‘evidence-based practices’ fit me and my personality very well. But now that I’m ‘totally’ retired, I’m struggling to find my niche in this world related to this strength and to my role as a Christian senior citizen. About two weeks ago, however, I came upon several verses that gave me great hope, even amid my struggles. They’re found in Psalm 92:12-15. Here they are:

“The righteous thrive like a palm tree and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon. Planted in the house of the Lord, they thrive in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, healthy and green, to declare, “The Lord is just; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”

     So, I think I’ve found a tried-and-true ‘evidence-based practice’ in Psalm 92 for older believers like me.

• The evidence-based practice is, “To declare God and His attributes to the next generation.”
• The improved outcome is: “Bearing fruit, healthy and green, in old age.”
• What that means is: “Loved ones, friends, and others will give their hearts to Jesus as a result of our declarations about the attributes of God.”

         See you next time.