"Extreme Makeover" (Messages From The Pulpit)

Tobit 13:10

(Apocryphal Book of The Bible)

"Give thanks to the Lord with righteousness, and bless the King of the ages, so that your tabernacle may be rebuilt in you with joy."

Someways to restore a structure is to start from scratch. Especially when the structure has been burned down or severely damaged in a raging storm. Their may be a shell but repairs need to be done.

Often we need to reinvent ourselves. Sometimes all new designs for our lives are needed. All new, stronger materials are needed. But if we try to do the work ourselves our lives will crumble just as fast as what we started with. 

We should look to the master craftsman. The one who created the best materials from his own imagination. 

Psalm 127: 1

"Unless the Lord build the house they labor in vain who build. Unless the Lord guard the city, in vain

does the guard keep watch."

  Isaiah 28:16

" Therefore, thus says the Lord God: See, I am laying a stone [ in Zion], a stone that has been tested,

A precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; whoever puts faith in it will not waver."

In Matthew 21:42 Jesus refers to himself as " the stone that builders rejected that became the cornerstone."

So if we have destroyed our lives, for example drug abuse can do untold damage to our bodies, minds, and spirits. We may not know who to turn to to get the help and healing we need. One plea will always be heard. When we cry out to God. He is faithful and just to begin the work He begun in us.

Jesus was rejected. Jesus was destroyed. He was resurrected and his body transformed and glorified.

He promises that all who believe in him will one day be made brand new.

Cry out to the Lord and he will hear you. He alone wipes away the stains of sin created by our past.

Maybe you are someone who has gone through the floods and fires of life and know someone who's life is in utter ruin. You can call upon your new found strength to help bind up the fractures caused by life when you partner who got you through your darkest days. 

From Tobit we see that our tabernacle can be rebuilt with joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. God is our rock, our high tower and our fortress. God is the ultimate security force. When we focus on the Lord we can see what's coming. Together you can prepare for what the enemy of our souls is sooner or later going to throw our way. 

Ephesians 6: 13-17 Tells us about the weapons of our warfare which we are to use against the kingdom of evil. A spiritual battle, not one fought in flesh and blood. Here is a list of the pieces of armor given to us by God.

Helmet of Salvation

Breastplate of Righteousness

Belt of Truth

Our feet shod with the Preparation of The Gospel of Peace

The Shield of Faith

The Sword of the Spirit. (the word of the Lord)

Trust in God. Allow renewal. Remember when we are weak He is strong.

"Picking Up and Dusting Off" (Messages From The Pulpit)

Mark 1: 30-31

"Simon's mother-in law lay sick with a fever. They immediately told him ( Jesus) about her. He

approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever broke and she waited on them."

This is an interesting passage. Here we have a woman who had been sick. Then Jesus comes along and

she is healed. He helps her up and she goes to work. 

  Sometimes we need a "pick me up."

We may be sick, depressed, addicted, angry, or a number of different issues may be hanging around

unwanted.

When we get in such states we often sit in our misery and at best muddle through life half dead.

We may get used to being depressed and the thought of moving forward may frighten us so much that

the safety of being "in a rut" isn't as bad as trying and failing.

We get so caught up with the idea of failure we unwillingly brush aside the idea that we may indeed

discover our greatest success.

We need to seek help. No one, not even Jesus could go it alone. 

Mark 1: 35

"Rising very early before dawn, he (Jesus) left and went off to a deserted place where he prayed."

This is just one of many times we see that Jesus going off alone to pray. 

Without God nothing , not even things we may take for granted including every breath would be possible.

    In times of need we must call upon our creator who loves us beyond human measure. He who healed the sick, walked on water, calmed storms with a simple command, multiplied food enough to feed 5,000 people, drove out demons, died and rose from the dead, defeating the devil forever. He was God in human form. He gave himself up to death, even death on a cross, numbered among sinners to be a ransom for sins he never committed. 

Yes even Jesus needed to pray. As a child he had to know the law and the prophets and he confounded the wisdom of men. 

We too need to pray. St. Paul said we are to pray without ceasing. That may seem impossible but it

gets easier with practice. Admitting weakness also gets easier in time.

So call upon Jesus. Don't be too prideful to ask for help. Pride goes before a fall. 

And like Simon's mother-in-law in weakness Jesus will come, lift us up, and then it's up to us to get back to work. Whether our weakness is physical, emotional, and/or spiritual Jesus has the cure. 

His touch heals us. And then the healing mission God has given each and every one of us can continue or in some cases, begin.