Holidays
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BY COMMENTING
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
As A Member OR
Visitor
Message Writer
Hire Writer
Report Article
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
As A Member OR
Visitor
Message Writer
Hire WriterReport Article
Twilight over Saigon settled on steamy crowds of people in motion. Slender school girls, homeward bound, walked in pairs, carrying books. Their flowing white ao dai uniform contrasted with the kaleidoscope colors dressing the bar girls enroute to work.
Armed soldiers in dusty olive drab intermingled with the fragile-framed business men, briefcase in hand, heading home. Some stopped at the stall of a street vendor to buy a lei of small white flowers. Their fragrance flowed through the scents of diesel exhaust, dust and nuc mam.
A potpourri of expressions met my gaze, as well. The young women’s faces all wore shy smiles. Those of the innocent school girls also told a story of hope and anticipation of life's promise. The smiles of the bar girls harbored a note born more of fear, perhaps even dread. The soldier faces registered stoic attention to duty. But, it was the look on the faces of those tired business men that caught my attention the most.
Sad despondency might have summed up the expressions of exhaustion, lost hope, grief and despair. All of these men appeared as one, in thin white shirts tucked into dark trousers, their own style of uniform. In a combat-zone world, they continued to strive to maintain as much of a normal life as possible for themselves and their families. I could only wonder at the story each one might have told.
Down the halls of history, we find accounts of lives that once held such promise. But, life has a way of dashing the hopes of youth, changing course midstream, exposing the consequences of choices that lay hidden until too late. Broken hearts seem to litter the pages of books, some hearts beyond repair, like Romeo and Juliet, others that have taken their heartache and turned it into poetry.
Without the pain, we might never have heard of people like Corrie ten Boom, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, or Dietrich Bonhoffer, or even Martin Luther!
The heart of the matter IS the heart and what God's Word has to teach us about this most basic of life's essentials, both physically and spiritually. The Bible, our companion and instruction manual for life along this wilderness journey, has much to say about the heart. Here is just a small sampling:
"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." (Proverbs 4:23 ESV)
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds." (Jeremiah 17:9-10 ESV)
"Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything." (1 John 3:18-20 ESV)
Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him...Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:23,27 ESV)
Since I enjoy doing word studies in the Bible, I delight in encouraging others to dig in as well. Check all the "heart" references in your Concordance and spend this month of Valentines exploring insights from our Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter who is the Word on the subject!
---Edy T Johnson---
Originally published as “Heart Trouble” February 2011 for St. Paul’s Messenger, Salt & Light Report. Copyright 2011 by Edy T Johnson
PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE AS A MEMBER OR VISITOR
Reader Count & Comments
Date
The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com. This is especially true with articles that
deal with personal healthcare and prophecy. We encourage the reader to make their own decision in consultation with God, His Word, and others as needed.
This article has been read 1098 times < Previous | Next >
Read more articles by Edy T Johnson This article has been read 1098 times < Previous | Next >
or search for other articles by topic below.
Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.
God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE
FaithWriters offers Christian reading material for Christian readers. We offer Christian articles, Christian fiction, Christian non-fiction, Christian Bible studies, Christian poems, Christian articles for sale, free use Christian articles, Christian living articles, New Covenant Christian Bible Studies, Christian magazine articles and new Christian articles. We write for Jesus about God, the Bible, salvation, prayer and the word of God.