Friday July 20, 2012

Read Revelation 21:1-7

 

Has your heart ever been broken?  What broke it?  Cruelty?  Failure?  Unfaithfulness?  Loss?  Perhaps you’ve crept in the darkness to cry.

 

It’s good to cry.  “Tears are the only cure for weeping,” said Scottish preacher George MacDonald.  A Little crying does one good.

Jesus wept at His friend Lazarus’ grave (John 11:35), and He weeps with us (vs 33).   His heart was broken as well.  Our tears attract our Lord’s loving, kindness and gentle care.  He knows our troubled, sleepless nights.  His heart aches for us when we mourn.  He is the “God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations” (2Corinthians 1:3-4).  And He uses His people to comfort one another.

 

But tears and our need for comfort come back all too frequently in this life.  Present comfort is not the final answer.  There is a future day when there will be no death, no sorrow, no crying, for all these things will  “have passed away” (vs 4).  There in heaven God will wipe away every tear.  We are so dear to our Father that He will be the one who wipes the tears away from out eyes; He loves us so deeply and personally.

Remember, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4).

 

Prayer:

¥ Spend time praying for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria who are harassed and attacked for their faith in Christ. In one weekend in June, 3 churches were bombed. Hundreds were killed. Pray that God would comfort them and hold them close to Himself as they journey onward for Christ.

¥ Pray for the work of Shiloh Church ministries. Pray that God would bless them in all their needs. Pray for provision and financial blessing as they continue to serve the poor, house & feed & cloth the orphans, teach widows and help the disabled. Pray that all would be provided by our God (Jehovah Jirah) and that the kingdom would grow through them.