The Loneliness of Christ

by | Nov 29, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner

Mother Theresa once said:  “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” In the words of Sylvia Plath, an American poet, novelist, and short-story writer, “the loneliness of the soul in its appalling self-consciousness is horrible and overpowering.” Many people experience loneliness. Sometimes that loneliness is overpowering. Who understands? Our Lord understands because He, too, experienced deep, soul-shaking loneliness. Author Dan Brown said: “the worst kind of loneliness in the world is the isolation that comes from being misunderstood.” Few people understood the ministry of Jesus Christ during His lifetime. Probably the only ones who had some understanding of His purpose were his mother, his father, John the Baptist and his relatives Zacharias and Elizabeth (the aged parents of John the Baptist). But Zacharias, Elizabeth, Joseph, and John the Baptist were all dead by the time Jesus began His public ministry. His community did not understand Him.  Most of the Jewish leaders, who should have rejoiced at His arrival, considered him a bastard. They said to Jesus, we “were not born of sexual immorality.” John 8:41  By such hateful words they were saying that Jesus was either a bastard or He was the product of sexual immorality. The temple guards hunted him down at night like a common criminal. The Sanhedrin was so eager to condemn Him to death that they procured knowingly false witnesses to testify against Him. Finally, when Jesus boldly announced that He is the Messiah, the high priest tore his robes in fury and pronounced the death sentence. Pontius Pilate did not understand Him, considering Jesus as just a pitiful itinerant...

Prayer Day?

by | Nov 16, 2021 | Articles, Mentors Corner

I recently went to a local outdoor park with some men and had a half day of prayer on a Saturday morning.  We met at 7:30, had coffee and bagels, enjoyed some fellowship and received the instructions for our morning.   We used a prayer guide called “Making Time for Prayer” which can be purchased at MIMbooks.com. Before going into the time, I had rehearsed the issues, “the what” that I was going to bring up before God.  Relationships, my to-do list and schedule, health, finances and other complaints—the normal typical issues most of us carry around.  I know I needed this time as it had been awhile since I spent three-plus uninterrupted hours with Him.  I related to David in Psalm 25:27, “The troubles of my heart are enlarged.” Interesting, I found my issues were grown large by my lack of perspective.  I didn’t realize this until well into the time—that I had a perspective problem.  My view of the issues were enlarged because it had been too long since I took extended time with Jesus.   I also didn’t realize how much I needed this extended time with Him until afterward. Most of the time was quiet/listening time and waiting on God.  The prayer guide did the work of maneuvering me through my issues, the appropriate scriptures and doing my business with Him. And this is what I discovered:  I was missing the target.  The target was not the “whats”  that I was wanting to be solved but the “Who” that needed to be addressed. Jeremiah writes: “If you return, then I will restore you—before Me you will stand;...