THE BLESSINGS OF BROKENNESS

Marcella Ward    August 31, 2022

When you think of something broken, what comes to your mind?  Is it something that has been shattered like broken glass or a separation or something not functioning anymore?  We could go on and on.  What does the Bible say about brokenness? 

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.  Psalm 51:17 NIV

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.  Psalm 34:18 NIV

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being” declares the Lord.  “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.  Isaiah 66:2 NIV

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  Psalm 147:3 NIV

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.   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

“We’ve all seen restored furniture. Restoring furniture involves stripping away old varnish or paint with strong chemicals. This reveals all the old scratches, gouges, and spots on the piece. The sanding takes place next—the wood is rubbed with coarse sandpaper in order to smooth out its imperfections. Then the furniture is ready to receive a new stain or paint color. New glory can be given to old furniture, and God can do the same thing with us. He can put new glory inside an old life, but He must first strip away our old nature and sand away our sinful strongholds.

We shouldn’t run from being broken. Even though it’s not pleasant, it will produce a better life. Brokenness is a blessing because it puts us on the road to a breakthrough. Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). Those who are spiritually broken will be blessed because they will see God, and God’s power will flow through their lives.”  (“The Blessings of Brokenness”  Tony Evans)

Brokenness Removes Pride From Us

It can keep us from doing what God wants us to do.  Pride was what caused Adam and Eve to fall and the serpent, the devil.

  It Is In Brokenness That We Come Together With Christ And One Another

Jesus humbled Himself and ate with sinners and tax collectors.  He humbled Himself when He left His throne in heaven to become like us.

 Jesus Loved Us So Much That He Willingly Embraced Brokenness

“Who were those gathered around the Table on this night of nights? There were eleven broken men, and one perfect Man, the Man Christ Jesus.   Jesus Christ embraced brokenness so that we might be saved.”  (The Blessing Of Brokenness Posted on July 18, 2021 by bibleteacherorg)

“When a pot is broken the Japanese will join or mend the pieces together with gold. It actually makes the mended broken piece worth more money because they joined the broken pieces with gold. This art form is called kintsukuroi. This artwork repairs the pot and adds to keep the history of the pot. It also makes the pot no longer disgusting from the broken state.”  (Filled with Gold Author: Steve Patterson  Published Date: July 15, 2020)

It appears that the fissures in a pot exemplify our brokenness and the gold weaving in and out, are a part of the purification that we go through so that we are no ordinary vessel, but made anew in God’s perfect plan for our lives.  God makes all things new.  Isaiah 43:19
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”  NIV

Prayer for Brokenness

Dear Lord, it is my will to surrender to you everything that I am and everything that I'm striving to be. I open the deepest recesses of my heart and invite Your Holy Spirit to dwell inside of me. I offer you my life, heart, mind, body, soul and spirit. I surrender to you my past, present and future problems. I ask You to take hold over every aspect of my life. I surrender to You all my hurt, pain, worry, doubt, fear and anxiety, and I ask You to wash me clean. I release everything into Your compassionate care. Amen. (Prayerist)

Will you receive Him as Lord and Savior?

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die on a cross to forgive me of all of my sins.  I know that Jesus died and rose again.  Please forgive me of all my sins as I forgive all who have offended me.  Jesus, I ask You to come into my heart and be Lord of my life.  I surrender all to You.  Amen

Marcella Ward    Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”    August 31, 2022

 

                                                           

                                                            THE BREATH OF GOD

 Marcella Ward   August 24, 2022

 “Is it possible that with every breath you take you are breathing the name Yahweh? It has been said the Jewish sages associated the name with breath. The uniqueness of this two syllable form YaH-WeH can indeed be breathed, try it. Inhale “Yah” and exhale “weh,” or you can exhale Yah and inhale weh. The yod, heh, and waw (which make up the Tetragrammaton) are semivowel letters in Hebrew, commonly called matres lectionis, from the Latin “mothers of reading” and are consonants that are used as vowels. In Biblical Hebrew they are used for the unchangeable vowel combinations in Masoretic vowel pointing.

Yahweh told Moses in response to his question, what shall I call You, in Exodus 3:14 said: “I Am that I Am.” I Am is from the verb of existence HaYah in Hebrew, which means to become, come to pass, as well as sustain. His name is attributed to life. Our very sustenance is the air we breathe. Maybe this is why David wrote: “I will bless Yahweh at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalms 34:1. To breathe is the very essence of life. Yahweh’s Holy Spirit is called the Ruach HaKodesh in Hebrew. Ruach literally means breath, wind or spirit.

Yahweh’s very breath filled life into the lungs of man, Genesis 2:7; 7:22.”  (“Breathing the Name of Yahweh”  March 28, 2022 by Yahwehs Restoration Ministry)

Not everyone agrees with this concept but I would like to believe that God is so much greater than we can even imagine that it would not surprise me that our every breath, which does come from God our Creator, would be enveloped in the very essence of His name----Yahweh.

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. NIV

Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. NIV

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. NIV

Ezekiel 37:4-6  Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”  NIV

2 Timothy 3:16  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  NIV

At the cross Jesus breathed His last breath. Mark 15:37  With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. NIV

After Jesus’ Resurrection He came to the disciples.  John 20:21-22  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.   (The Breath of God  Davis Wetherell  July 23, 2019)

From the first breath that we take and the last breath we exhale, the breath of God’s life is within us.  He is the Creator who breathed into man’s nostrils to give him life and with our every breath, if you choose to believe that we breathe the very name of God, we are truly alive in His Spirit that gives us not only earthly life, but eternal life.

So next time you breathe, breathe knowing that the very essence of your life truly comes from God Almighty-------------Yahweh.

 

PRAYER FOR THE BREATH OF GOD

Holy Spirit, fill my heart with Your goodness and grace

Lead me each and every day and let me not stray

From Your presence within me as I walk along the way

Fill me with the breath of life, even as I enter into strife

Lead me, guide me, counsel me and renew my strength within

Breath of God cleanse me, breath of God fill me, breath of God renew me

Breath of God, use me

Amen

Marcella Ward   Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”  August 24, 2022

 

                                         LIFE IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION

There are so many times that I have dreamed about what I was going to do with my life; where I was going to live; what would be my future with my husband and children and many other dreams throughout the years.

Sometimes, I believe that we spend so much time focusing on our dreams that we forget to enjoy the journey.  Life is a journey from the womb to the tomb.  We are created in the image of God and He has a special plan for our lives.  We have books in heaven that are written by the hand of God about His plans for our lives!

Psalm 139:13-16

 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.  NIV

Jeremiah 1:4-5

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
    before you were born I set you apart;
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  NIV

We need to enjoy the journey knowing that God will take care of the rest.  We need to focus on what is at hand and do the best that we can each and every day because each day is a gift from Almighty God and we need to cherish it. 

We, as Christians, look forward to our final destination, which is heaven, living eternally with the Lord and His saints.  Jesus had a destination which led to the cross.  He kept His eye on the prize which would bring salvation to all those who give their lives to Him and ask for forgiveness.  He endured hardships, scorn, attacks and many other trials but on His journey, He showed us how to love and live in the Kingdom of God. We should cherish the journey keeping our eye on the prize which is our final destination.  2 Timothy 4:7 NIV  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  James 1:12 NIV  Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

We each have a specific journey that we travel each and every day.  Sometimes that journey involves hardships, challenges, and trials but even though there may be thorns and rocks along the way, there are also flowers and fragrances from the moments of joy that we experience and memories that give us hope and faith to continue until we come to our final destination.

If you want to make sure that your final destination is with the Lord in heaven, pray the following prayer:

Salvation Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.  (Sinners Prayer by Billy Graham)

All Our Life's Journey by Marty Ward  Copyright 2004

 

All our life's a journey

From the start until the end

From the womb that gave us birth

To the womb that takes us in

All our life's a journey

A road that must be trod

All our life's a journey

'Till we rest in the arms of God

 

The following link is a video for the song, “All Our Life’s A Journey”

https://youtu.be/qXuAdTToYwk

 

Marcella Ward   August 17, 2022    Author of “Stolen Identity: Plan of the Evil One”