"He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." Isaiah 61:1 NIV

In Luke 4:21 Jesus read this passage and then proclaimed, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Today you and I can claim this reality for ourselves.

Along the way of life we've all had our hearts broken. We've all been wounded and scarred and are in need of healing. And Jesus came to bind up our wounds, to bandage them with love and tenderness. Physical cuts and bruises heal quickly and are soon forgotten. But emotional pain lingers long after the wound is inflicted.

The enemy wants nothing more than for us to continue to be held captive by our pain and fear. He whispers lies into our ears that reinforce the scars and keep us rooted in distrust and insecurity. He wants to rob us of the abundant life that Jesus offers. But Jesus came to set us free! He longs for us to know peace, joy, and love.

Give your brokenness to the Lord. He alone can heal your scars and set your captive heart free. If you fail to claim healing, in the end all you will have is regret. The enemy will have won. Close your ears to him: open your heart to Jesus. He longs to break your chains and to bring you out of the darkness and into the beautiful light of truth.

"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.

Have you ever made something and then realized that the only way to properly fix it is to completely undo and rebuild it? I am beginning to think that is what God is doing to me.

I remember the day I knew with certainty that I had been broken. And I felt that nothing and no one could ever heal my pain or mend my heart. My dreams were shattered and my life was in ruins. And my Heavenly Father had stood idly by and allowed it to happen.

Now I can look back and see that God was with me through it all, and more than that, he was allowing these things in order to bless me by shaping me more into the image of his son. There were three major areas of lack that I needed to confront: my lack of gratitude, my lack of absolute trust in him, and my lack of self-value.

The process has been torture, but I am learning to see my Father's kindness is the smallest aspects of my life. I realize that my life, heart, and dreams all rest in God's hands. And I am beginning to understand that my value is not determined by the opinions of others or even myself. My value rests in my identity as his creation and his child.

God broke me in order to make me whole. Has he allowed you to be broken? How is he reshaping you to make you whole?

"Don't store up treasures for yourself on earth where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and theives do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be." Matthew 6:19-21 NLT.

Now that Christmas is behind us, I hear lots of worries about paying the credit card debt that somehow spiraled out of control in December. It happens every year, even in a recession.

Although I didn't let the situation get away from me, I still wonder if my daughter could have been just as happy on Christmas morning if there had been two or three fewer presents under the tree. We spend so much time teaching "the true meaning of Christmas," but are we consistent with that teaching where there is so much emphasis on Santa and the pile of presents?

The unfortunate reality is that despite the recession, we still live in a culture of excess. We are oblivious of the influence it has on our values. I love the song by Casting Crowns about the American Dream. It's the story about a man who works too many long hours in order to give his family the finer things in life. He doesn't have time for them, but he keeps promising that things will get better. Of course, nothing changes and eventually his family is lost to him. "All they really wanted was you."

What would it look like if we made the choice that God and family were more important than achieving the "American Dream?" My favorite words from the song are these: "I'll take a shack on a rock over a castle in the sand." I call it the "Christian Dream."

“’Don’t be afraid, Mary,’ the angel told her, ‘for you have found favor with God!’” Luke 1:30 NLT.

What was it about Mary and Joseph that God would trust them with his one and only son? Mary was just a young girl who had never raised a child. And Joseph was only a carpenter. What made this couple, not even yet married, worthy to be entrusted with the most special child that would ever be born?

They did not have adequate means to provide the finer things in life. They were not well educated. They didn’t come from a powerful family and have any valuable connections. They were just a poor couple from Nazareth, which was certainly not a prestigious location. Why them?

Because God knew their hearts. They had sought him throughout their lives and cultivated a relationship with him. They were receptive to receive the angel’s message, though it was impossible to fathom.

I’m sure they made their fair share of mistakes, as all first-time parents do. They didn’t always understand him. Such as the time he remained teaching in the temple as a twelve year old boy and they didn’t know where he was. But they trusted in God, who told them that their child would be the Messiah.

I pray that God could find the same receptive heart within you and me, to hear and obey his voice. God judges by different standards: an obedient heart means far more to him than wealth or position. God looks at us with eyes that see not only who we are, but who we can be.

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death” Hebrews 2:14.

We all get sentimental at Christmas time. Everyone loves a baby, and the sight of that sweet little one wrapped in swaddling clothes and being gazed down upon with the adoring eyes of his parents gets us every time.

But so what? Lots of babies have been born through the centuries. What made that baby so special that everyone celebrates his birthday by wracking up credit card debt every year?
He wasn’t just another baby: he was God incarnate. And he allowed himself to be born into a dirty world for a very specific purpose: to redeem humankind. He modeled how to know and have a relationship with our Creator. And then, in the greatest act of selfless love ever known, he allowed himself to be sacrificed as the Spotless Lamb.

If you believe that being a “good Christian” is enough to get to heaven, then consider the uselessness of Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection. It was pointless if human goodness was all that salvation required. The basis of our faith is Jesus Christ, and if his sacrificial death was unnecessary, we might as well cancel Christmas and stay home on Sundays.

Jesus declared in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the father except through me.” If you don’t know him personally, and have never asked for the forgiveness of your sins and invited the Holy Spirit to take up residence within you, I urge you to do it now.

“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me’” Genesis 16:13a NLT.

When Sarah decided to take fate into her own hands and produce an heir through unconventional means, she didn’t stop to consider how she might feel once the objective was accomplished. Hagar, her maidservant, became the vessel for the only heir. And as Hagar began to feel empowered by her new status, Sarah began to feel resentful.

Sarah began to treat Hagar so harshly that Hagar ran away into the desert. And there an angel of the Lord came to her to give her comfort, counsel and a promise. He told her return to her mistress, and to name her baby Ishmael, which means “the Lord hears,” for the Lord had heard her cry of distress. He also promised that she, like Sarah, would have many descendants.

Although Hagar was only a servant, and partially responsibility for her situation, God still treated her with compassion. Humbled by this kindness, Hagar says, “You are the God who sees me.”

When I feel lost in the desert of life, it comforts me to remember Hagar’s experience. No matter how small and insignificant I may feel, God still hears my cries of distress and sees my need. He will not abandon me to stumble through the wilderness alone.

What a beautiful thought. When I feel overwhelmed by circumstances and fears, I stop and pray with gratitude: “You are the God who sees me!”

“The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayers of the righteous,” Proverbs 15:29.

During a particularly stressful time in my life, I found it impossible to leave my problems with God. I found myself praying over and over in a very nagging sort of way. Yes, there is the parable of the woman who went before the judge and he finally granted her request because of her continuous efforts. I believe God does want us to be persistent in prayer.

But when I listen to my daughter nagging, I realize what an unpleasant sound it is to the ears. I do not think God enjoys the sound of my voice asking him the same thing over and over.

Sometimes you need a visual reminder of a spiritual truth you know and believe. I have a prayer basket strategically positioned next to a cross. When my daughter or I have something we are anxious about and need to trust to God, we write the prayer on a piece of paper and place it in the basket. It’s like God’s mailbox.

Whenever I find myself worrying about something I’ve already talked to God about, I remind myself, “It’s in the basket. God’s already handling it. No need to nag him.” And then I thank him for the way that he is going to answer this prayer, for I know he will handle it with love and wisdom.

Is there anything heavy on your heart that you keep repeating to the Lord? Remember, God heard your prayer. He’s on it.