Hope for the Broken

God Uses Broken People from Anthem of Hope

Throughout the Bible we see God using imperfect people for the sake of his mission to bring hope to the world. I never quite understood why Jesus chose the individuals he did, but I am guessing his reasoning was to further prove the validity of his being. He didn’t call the popular, rich or successful to further his ministry, but rather, the poor, broken and faithful. I can only imagine how confused the Pharisees and religious leaders must have been while looking at the team of people the proclaimed Savior had gathered together. They were a team of misfits with nothing to lose but everything to gain with God. 

From an outside perspective, we can see that It didn’t matter where people were from, what they had done, or who they use to be; Jesus used all people for the good of His will. Don’t believe me? Here are some examples of people that were used for the greatness of HIS glory.

God's broken soldiers

• Abraham -Was old.
• Elijah – Was suicidal.
• Joseph – Was abused.
• Job – Went bankrupt.
• Moses – Had a speech problem.
• Gideon – Was afraid.
• Samson – Was a womanizer.
• Rahab – Was a prostitute.
• Samaritan Woman – Divorced.
• Noah – Was a Drunk.
• Jeremiah – Was young.
• Jacob – Was a cheater.
• David – Was a murderer.
• Jonah – Ran from God.
• Naomi – Was a widow.
• Peter – Denied Christ three times
• Martha – Worried about everything.
• Zacchaeus – Was small and money hungry.
• The Disciples – Fell asleep while praying.

Paul – A Pharisee who persecuted Christians before becoming one.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”—Romans 8:28

You are worthy

If you ever feel like you aren’t worthy enough to be used by God, let alone loved by him, just remember that Jesus used a bunch of flawed people to share Hope to a flawed and broken world. In God, we find renewal, mending, and purpose. Jesus didn’t call the equipped, He equipped the called. And no matter what you’ve been through in life, remember that the same power that conquered the grave lives within you. You are worthy of life. You are worthy of God's love. You are worthy of joy. You are worthy of a fulfilling purpose that will take you places you never imagined reaching. 

Learn more at http://anthemofhope.org

—Anthem of Hope

Good News for the Broken

Feeling broken? Always remember - Nobody Is To Broken For the Grace of Jesus (by Jarrid Wilson)

I meet a lot of people who say they wouldn’t be caught dead inside of a church building, that their life is too messed up to be embraced by the arms of God, and that their previous failures are too monstrous to be forgiven by the grace of Jesus.

This false ideology that a human can be too broken for the all-consuming grace of our Lord and Savior is incorrect, and I pray that more churches will open up their doors to prove it so.

Nobody is too broken for the grace of Jesus.

We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of, said things that we wish we could take back, and been places we wouldn’t dare go visit again. And while many of us have found redemption through the sacrifice of Jesus, we must remember that there are millions of other people in this world who have yet to do the same.

The Apostle Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:9-10, “For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church. But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out his special favor on me—and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by his grace.”

The truth behind Paul’s words are revitalizing and scandalous—that even a man who once persecuted the church of Jesus Christ has now been redeemed and forgiven by His grace. This is revolutionary for all who hear it. The story of Paul is one we can all learn from. He is the pinnacle example of somebody who was far from God but found favor through the grace of Jesus. A second chance awaited him, and that second chance was discovered through seeking repentance, asking for forgiveness and allowing the spirit of Christ to transform him.

No matter what you’ve done in life, understand that the grace and love of Jesus is waiting for you with open arms. You don’t need to reach a certain level of “goodness” before you can pray, walk into a church, or even read your bible. God will take you where you are, but he loves you too much to leave you that way. Remember, nobody is too broken for the grace of Jesus.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people.” —Titus 2:11

The Door To Happiness

"What so many people today fail to realize is that forgiveness is a door to peace and happiness. Forgiving is not ignoring wrongdoing, but overcoming the evil inside us and in our world with love. To forgive is not just a command of Christ but the key to reconciling all that is broken in our lives and relationships. We get rid of an enemy by getting rid of enmity."

                   - Johann Christoph Arnold

He Wants Our Hearts

God Wants Our Hearts, Brokenness and Sin, a prayer by Scotty Ward Smith

That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. Joel 2:12-13 (NLT)

Dear heavenly Father, yet again, your love has fueled our grief, and your kindness now leads us to repentance. Because the gospel it true, we hate our sin, not ourselves; and we groan in grace, rather than groveling in contempt. There is no other god like you—so holy and so merciful, so welcoming and so eager to redeem, so patient and so filled with unfailing love. Hear our confession.

• We confess that we under-believe the gospel and over-trust in ourselves
• We confess binging on fear and worry, rather than feasting on your grace and sovereignty
• We confess thinking more about how people disappoint and fail us, than how we might love and serve them
• We confess hoarding our brokenness and weakness, rather than letting friends enter our pain and suffering.
• We confess indulging irritation and justifying our resentment, rather than forbearing with others and forgiving as Jesus has forgiven us.

Have mercy on us, Father, have mercy on me. If you dealt with us according to our sins, we could not stand. If you repaid us for all our transgressions, we would despair forever.

But our hope is sure; for it is built on nothing less, nothing more, and nothing other than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. We bless you, Father, for the gift of Jesus—for his perfect life lived for us, and his judgment-exhausting death on the cross. Though we remain broken, we cannot be more beloved. You will finish the work you began in us. So very Amen we pray, in Jesus’ merciful and mighty name.

Near to the Lowly

Only the humble believe him and rejoice that God is so free and so marvelous that he does wonders where people despair, that he takes what is little and lowly and makes it marvelous. And that is the wonder of all wonders, that God loves the lowly…. God is not ashamed of the lowliness of human beings. God marches right in. He chooses people as his instruments and performs his wonders where one would least expect them. God is near to lowliness; he loves the lost, the neglected, the unseemly, the excluded, the weak and broken.”

― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas

Power In Weakness

From Steve Brown: The Warrior Is A Child:

...The power of the Christian witness isn’t in our strength but in our weakness, brokenness and sin. It is that message with which we “strengthen our brothers and sisters.” It’s a message about redemption, forgiveness and God’s incredible grace, mercy, and love to people who don’t deserve it. Only sinners can proclaim that message because we are the only ones unqualified enough to do so.

Reality

With Us In The Brokenness

"Jesus personally responds to our fuming and sadness. Feisty Martha got to see Jesus get angry at death. Tenderhearted Mary got to see him cry. Two unique women witnessed two unique responses from their Lord and Friend. Jesus, who is the fullness of the image of God, not only sympathized with them, he did soaccording to their uniqueness. Jesus arched his back toward the bully for Martha’s sake. Then he shed tears for Mary’s sake. Perhaps Nicholas Wolsterstorff was thinking of Jesus’ tears when he wrote this reflection in response to the premature death of his son:

We strain to hear [God in our sorrows]. But instead of hearing an answer we catch the sight of God himself scraped and torn. Through our tears we see the tears of God . . . Perhaps his sorrow is splendor.

“Jesus is the resurrection and the life. The ones who believe in him, though they die, yet shall they live. He will call them forth from their graves just as he called Lazarus from the grave mere minutes after getting angry and crying about Lazarus’s death.

“Jesus wants to fix everything that’s broken about us and everything that’s broken around us. But before he does this, he wants us to know that he is with us and for us in what’s broken about us and around us. He shares our situation. He is a warrior and a champion against the bully, but also much more. He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother, a mother hen who gathers her fragile chicks under her wings, and an advocate who shares our grief and tears — especially and ironically, during the times when he seems most distant is a sympathetic realist.

“Jesus, the sympathetic realist, reminds us that everything is broken. At least it is for now.”

— Scott Sauls, Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who are Tired of Taking Sides (Tyndale, pp.161-162)

HT: Jared C. Wilson

Fish Belly Repentance

Did Jonah really repent in the belly of the fish? I've always thought so........ but maybe not. Here's another view by Irene Sun in  Jonah and the Art of Being Broken

We teach our children many things. We teach them to be strong, brave, and swift, yet patient, kind, and gentle. Rarely do we teach them how to be broken. Yet brokenness before the Lord is the fount of these very blessings. Courage and meekness flows most generously from a broken and contrite heart.

A few years ago, I was a zealous collector of Jonah picture books from libraries all over Illinois. The obsession began when I was searching for a faithful rendition for my children. Among the few dozen books I acquired, nearly all of them claimed that Jonah prayed for forgiveness in the belly of the fish. I found this interpretation a little unsettling. In my readings of chapter two, taught by a few professors at my seminary, Jonah did not repent. He did not even acknowledge that he had done anything wrong.

My obsession with picture books soon turned into an obsession with the book of Jonah. I had the most difficult time understanding Jonah’s prayer. What am I missing? Why do I not see words related to sin and repentance in his prayer? Jonah was using verses and phrases from the Psalms. Yet somehow his prayer had a different flavor.

After much wrestling, I discovered where I had gone wrong. In order to understand Jonah’s prayer, I must first understand the meaning of repentance. Specifically, how repentance must arise from a broken and contrite heart. But Jonah’s heart was yet to be broken.

At the end of chapter one, Yahweh commanded a fish to swallow Jonah and delivered him from death. This came after Jonah disregarded Yahweh’s instruction to go to Nineveh, after he refused to pray when the sailors cried out to their gods, after he chose death over repentance, after he asked the sailors to commit murder by throwing him overboard. In other words, God’s rescue was pure mercy. The only thing Jonah deserved was judgment, yet Yahweh saved his life. In the belly of the fish, Jonah prayed to Yahweh, his God.

Woe Is Me

Jonah began his prayer by quoting the first verse of Psalm 120, which reads, “To Yahweh in my distress I called.” Jonah, however, changed the order of the words. He prayed, “I called from my distress to Yahweh” (Jonah 2:2). He moved Yahweh’s name to the end of the phrase and his own action to the front. Jonah was focused on himself and what he was doing. A subtle change, but it initiates the tone and pattern for the rest of the chapter.

In Jonah’s eyes, he was the one who approached Yahweh. Jonah emphasized his “call,” his “cry,” and his “voice.” He believed that Yahweh had heard and answered him, and he was right. Yet Jonah had neither answered nor heeded Yahweh’s words when he was commanded to go to Nineveh.

The longest portion of Jonah’s prayer was about his woes. He told his story from bits and pieces of David’s psalms of deliverance and laments (Psalms 5, 31, and 69). These were David’s prayers during seasons when he was pursued by his enemies. But in his recitation, Jonah omitted the praises of Yahweh’s steadfast love—the essential theme in these psalms.

Jonah accused God of throwing him into the deep. But had not Jonah asked the sailors to cast him overboard? Was he blaming God when he claimed that God’s waves and God’s billows passed over him? He felt that he was “driven away” from God’s sight. But was not Jonah the one who ran “from the presence of Yahweh” (1:2-3)?

Great Is My Faithfulness

Jonah concluded his woes with Yahweh’s deliverance (2:6). But he credited himself for God’s rescue: “I remembered the LORD, and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple” (2:7)

Jonah set himself apart from idol worshipers, those who forsook “their hope of steadfast love.” In a way, he was right—the sailors were unlike Jonah. In chapter one, they prayed and worshiped Yahweh and made sacrifices on their wrecked, emptied ship. Here, in the belly of the fish, Jonah promised that he would offer sacrifices. Yet he continued to resist the command to go to Nineveh, because the Word of Yahweh had to come to Jonah—a second time (3:1).

Speak Louder

HT: Tim Tebow foundation

Broken and Free

Loved this message from Tullian Tchvidjian, talking about his mom (Gigi Graham Tchvidjian, Billy Graham's daughter). There are lessons here fro all of us broken people. - Your Brokenness Taught Me More Than Your Put Togetherness

Mom, your brokenness and your failures have taught me more about grace than any of your put togetherness ever did.

Sometimes we think that being good is the qualifier for us having an effective ministry… The truth is that no one is good. And our ministries become effective when we acknowledge our badness and when we live out of our brokenness. And that’s what you do.

The biblical definition of Christian growth is not what they told us it was. It’s not: I’m getting stronger and stronger, and more and more competent every day so that I need Jesus less now than I did when God first saved me—that’s not Christian growth—Christian growth is: As I get older and become wiser, I become increasingly aware of how weak and incompetent I am, and how strong and competent Jesus is and continues to be for me.

Mom, you’re honest because you’re free. And you’re free because you don’t pretend that you have it all together. And you don’t pretend that you have it all together because you understand that who you are is not anchored in what you do, or who other people think you are. It’s anchored in what Jesus has done for you.

Broken

HT: Ed Statzer

Stop Fighting Your Brokenness

From Darryl Dash - The Benefits of Brokenness

I have a pastor-friend who is unflappable. I think it would be impossible to tell him something that would surprise him. I know, because I’ve shared some things with him that might have raised some eyebrows. His never moved; he responded with the grace and strength that I needed at the time.

It’s hard to surprise my pastor-friend, because there isn’t much that he hasn’t experienced himself. He’s had the parenting problems. He struggled with an episode of major depression and burnout. He’s failed and succeeded in ministry. He’s stayed faithful over the long term, but he’s battered and bruised. He’s got a credibility that only comes from those who have stayed in the battle long enough to know that it’s tough.

He reminds me of another older man I met through Serge, the ministry started by Jack Miller. “There’s nothing you could tell me that would shock me,” he said. “There’s no way that you’re a worse sinner than I am.” Some could say that as a platitude; he said it as a truth. When you have been around long enough to have been humbled, and are still walking with God, you have a grace and a strength that’s hard to fake.

The older I get, the less I’m surprised by the struggles and foibles of others. I no longer have the quick answers and the simple advice. I am accumulating the wounds that I hope will one day give me the credibility that is able to stand in the middle of suffering and to say much without saying anything.

I’m no longer fighting the process of being broken. I’m learning what I couldn’t have known when I started ministry over twenty years ago: “It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply” (A.W. Tozer)
.

Using Our Brokenness

Found this great piece on brokenness entitled How God Can Use Your Brokenness by Sue Birdseye at Charisma Magazine:

Broken.It's one of those words that doesn't bring a lot of joy. Who wants to be broken? 

Broken things.

           Broken bones.                            

                              Broken relationships.                                                  

                                                      Broken Vows.

                                                                      Broken homes.

                                                                                           Broken hearts.

I assume we are all on the same page and don't want that word to describe much of anything in our lives.  In fact, the only phrase with "broken" in it that I can think of ever wanting to use is "broken fever."

For a while I've tried to figure out a different word to describe my family other than "broken." Initially I thought it was just too negative. I started trying out different descriptive words: Wounded. Bruised.  Hurting. Anything but "broken."

I wanted to stand up and holler, "WE ARE NOT BROKEN!!!!" 

But you know what? I believe we are. And I'm realizing that that is OK.

We are broken but healing. God, the Great Physician, is fixing up all the broken parts.A couple of things have brought me to this conclusion. 

The first was reading this verse:

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. —2 Cor. 4:7-10

After reading that verse, I looked up the meaning of "jars of clay."  One of the definitions said that the jars of clay would have brought to mind a common household jar—probably inexpensive and fairly easy to break. It would probably have cracks and chips from being well used. 

There is so much to get from this verse, but the idea that struck me was that the brokenness of the jar of clay allows what's inside to be seen—to flow out. The brokenness of our lives allows God to shine through us. Oh my goodness, that sounds like some really syrupy sweet quote to post on Facebook. Unfortunately for all of us I can't think of a better way to say it.

I just know that when everything in my world went kaplooey, God was the only explanation for why I didn't personally go kaplooey. It was abundantly clear that the strength I had to move forward came from God and God alone—"the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

One of my first fears following the shattering of my marriage was that my testimony was toast. I kept thinking of all the people who would think we were just absolute frauds. I felt like a fraud. Or maybe I should say I felt like I'd been defrauded. Everyone, including me, thought we had a great marriage. How could I speak about my relationship with God, if everyone thought I hadn't been honest about my relationship with my husband?

But God showed me that my testimony wasn't about what I could or couldn't do...my testimony is what God has done and is still doing in my life.

Grace Abounds

From @Liberatenet

We Need Our Brokenness

"Now we come to something very important. The constant emphasis on the victorious life or the good Christian life is the Antichrist as it pertains to the gospel. Here’s why. If I am _________ (fill in your favorite victorious-life terminology), then will I be in a position to be grateful for what Jesus did when he was executed on the cross? Perhaps at first I will be overwhelmed with gratitude toward Christ. But over time, as I find that I’m capable of maintaining victory in my life, I will need Jesus less and less. I still want him to meet me at the gate on the way into heaven, but right now I’m doing great without him. I’m a good Christian.

If you embrace this take on the Christian journey, it will kill you.

We need our brokenness. We need to admit it and know it is the real, true stuff of our earthly journey in a fallen world. It’s the cross on which Jesus meets us. It is the incarnation he takes up for us. It’s what his hands touch when he holds us.

…My humanity, my sin, it’s all me. And I need Jesus to love me like I really am: brokenness, wounds, sins, addictions, lies, death, fear…all of it. Take all of it, Lord Jesus. If I don’t present this broken, messed-up person to Jesus, my faith is dishonest, and my understanding of faith will become a way of continuing the ruse and pretense of being good.

I understand that Christians need — desperately — to hear experiential testimonies of the power of the gospel. I understand as well that it’s not pleasant to hear that we are broken and are going to stay that way. I know there will be little enthusiasm for saying sanctification consists, in large measure, in seeing our sin and acknowledging how deeply an extensively it has marred us. No triumphalist will agree that the fight of faith is not a victory party but a bloody war on a battlefield that resembles Omaha Beach.

But that’s the way it is. I’m right on this one.

Michael Spencer, Mere Churchianity: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality pp. 147-149

HT: Internet Monk

I Need Jesus- Period.

From Pete Wilson:

I think most of us begin our Christian journey with this simple truth.

I’m broken. I need Jesus. The end.

However as we launch out on this new journey it doesn’t take long before we begin to hear this growing and incessant whisper that says, “Try harder, do more.”

Sing more.
Memorize more.
Journal more.
Preach more.
Pray more.
Evangelize more.
Serve more.

This approach can look quite spiritual to those around us; however, it’s often rooted in a inner conviction that our worth as a Christian is dependent upon our ability to outperform those around us. Behind this spiritual facade is a fragile and insecure heart desperately attempting to get God to love us more. We know God loves us but we’re afraid He may still be disappointed in us.

The cross isn’t something we start with and then move on from. The cross isn’t just the starting line of our faith, it’s the centerpiece. Grace isn’t something we need just for salvation, it’s like air for the believer.

So today when you hear that whisper in your head that says “Try harder, do more,” go back to this.

I’m broken. I need Jesus. The end.

Brokenness Made Beautiful

I've had this song by All Sons & Daughters reverberating in my mind and spirit for days, so I thought I'd share it with you. Not the  best audio or video, but still an absolutely beautiful song, filled with Biblical and experiential truth. Let it get struck in your head and heart also!




Will your grace run out
If I let you down 
‘Cause all I know
Is how to run

‘Cause I am a sinner 
If its not one thing its another
Caught up in words 
Tangled in lies 
You are the Savior 
And you take brokenness aside
And make it beautiful 
Beautiful 

Will you call me child
When I tell you lies 
Cause all I know 
Is how to cry 

I am a sinner 
If its not one thing its another 
Caught up in words 
Tangled in lies 
You are the Savior 
And you take brokenness aside
And make it beautiful 
Beautiful 

Bridge: 
You make it beautiful
You make it beautiful

Red Like Blood Review

My review of  Red Like Blood: Confrontations With Grace, by Joe Coffey & Bob Bevington

As a blogger, I sometimes get access through various publisher programs to free copies of books for review purposes . As pledged in my book review policy, I will always tell you if I got a book for free, and I will give you my honest opinion, free book or not. This is one of those books.

I came to the book without high expectations. I'm very interested in the subjects of grace and forgiveness, so I figured it might be a good read just from the subject matter. It was more, much more, than I expected.

Is this a great book? No. Is it one that will be cherished and read for generations to come? No, probably not. Am I glad I read it? Yes, oh yes!. Why? Because I felt close to Jesus while reading it. I was, at times, so caught up while reading this book in the greatness of the grace and love of God for us broken sinners, that I had to put the book down and just luxuriate in His love. It's that kind of book.

The book has two authors. Joe Coffey is a pastor and the son of a pastor. Bob Bevington is a optometrist and entrepreneur, who calls himself a returned prodigal after divorce and a ruined family. Together they take turns telling stories of grace working in their lives and and the lives of many of their friends. Bob tells his personal story of adultery and betrayal of his first wife, Rita, and his remarriage to Amy, his then mistress. Later, he and Amy become Christians, and sought reconciliation with Rita. I won't give away the details, but Rita and Amy are now great friends and do seminars together about forgiveness and grace. What a story! God is good!.

Beyond the great stories, the book is filled with little nugget sayings like these, that just seem to drop in the middle of a narrative and grab the reader's soul.

"Our brokenness forms the cracks through which grace flows in." (Page 50)

"You [God] do what you want when you want - that makes you the only Person in the entire universe who is truly independent. And your absolute independence is precisely the reason I can absolutely depend on you." (Page 74)

"It doesn't matter whether it's big or small in the world's eyes, if God is moving in my life in any way at all, it's HUGE!" (Page 112)

"Freedom from addiction is not merely about applying our willpower. It's about feasting on Jesus." (Page 127)

"Grace always flows red like blood. that is why there is a cross. But for grace to have the power to save we need a risen Savior. That is why the tomb is empty today." (Page 209)

See what I mean? Red Like Blood is worth reading. Take the time to do so; I think that you'll be glad you did.

(BTW- The authors have a blog at Red Like Blood. check it out!)

Community of Fractured People

"We've seen how beautiful it can be to follow Jesus into this new way of being human. But one of the things I like the most about Jesus is how much He loves humanity in its brokenness. If He was surrounded by fractured people then, why would we expect it to be any different now? I actually think it is a larger mistake when we Christians attempt to pretend that our lives are more together than they really are in order to 'manage our image' before the broader culture. Come look at our perfect church and our perfect family. And if you join us, maybe one day you, too, can have a perfect life. That kind of spin is a breeding ground for disappointment."

- Jonathan Martin in Prototype: What Happens When You Discover That You Are More Like Jesus Than You Think, page 190