From Pastor Bill

Jesus Christ is the reason for this season. The season of Passover is the season of Jesus dying on a cross to pay for our sin. It is the season of Jesus taking the undeserved loss to pull us out of the Lake of Fire. We do not recognize this well enough and we surely don’t thank Him enough. We can start by keeping Passover! We can start by coming to Him in the run up to Passover and telling Him what stinkers we too often tend to be. In these last days it is surely time to come clean with Jesus.

America is the single greatest nation of all time. We have been a truly fantastic force for good in this world. Nonetheless, we tolerate a lot of sin. This is not for our government to confront, but rather it is for those of us in church to sort out. We do not want our government to be the sin police. We just need to do a better job of leading sinners to repentance, as opposed to leaving them in it. We need serious teaching against sin.

There is a well known and very famous preacher advertising feel good messages on TV right now. He is preaching against “negativity.” Evidently Jesus message to “repent for the kingdom of God is at hand” is not welcome there. Who doesn’t love a “feel good” message? How about preaching against sin and I feel good because I over came them! With all of the peril in the world at large and the perils in the country as a whole, the most serious peril is weak teaching in our churches. “But if an unbeliever or someone who does not understand comes in while everybody is prophesying, he will be convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’” (1 Corinthians 14:24-25 NIV). How can any of us repent, when we fail to preach against sin? I was a stinker when I first came to church; praise God they were not too shy to preach against sin. How can we believe unless we hear? How can we change, when no change is presented? What happened to: “I came to church to learn how to become converted?” When I first got saved, we talked a lot about conversion; when did we stop? At Hungry Hearts we didn’t!

“Sin is the transgression of the Law” (1 John 3:4 KJV). Not at all meaning the law of this land, but rather meaning the Law of God. As a nation, as a Christian people, at our local churches, we need to get back into our Bibles and rediscover the faith once delivered to the Saints. The Holy Hebrew Bible is the greatest story never told. We talk about theology, when we need to talk about Bible.

We talk about right and wrong as if we could figure it out without God and His Bible. We have a cogent, thoughtful, impartial set of rules for human living that have never been tested and will never be bested. We have a breadth and depth of human experience to probe and explore for the good of everyone. The cures to our nation’s ills are all in that great book. We have to blow the dust off of it and get inside.

Why is Socialism wrong? Didn’t Jesus say to help the poor? Socialism is wrong because it is organized theft. Stealing is wrong; see also the Ten Commandments. It is no less theft if the country steals from its citizens. Jesus told people to voluntarily help the poor. Not expropriate their money and give to undeserving people. Who decides who is undeserving? That is why Jesus left it to us as individuals to decide and not to the government. Why should I or any other Christian have to subsidize rampant sin? Our loss of Bible understanding is leading our country astray. Only a return to basic Bible understanding can restore the soul of our nation.

Our churches have to lead this. We need to government to be an impartial referee of our nations laws and not the arbiter of our religions. It is time for our churches to get strong for God. It is time for our members to pray for their churches, especially for their Pastors to get strong in the Word. We also have to support them in this, even when they are pounding away at our favorite sin. It is high time for the USA to get strong for God.

Revival begins with you. Jesus wants you. He called you, and you answered His calling. He saved you by applying His blood to your life and you accepted His sacrifice. Conversion requires your participation. We have to use the Holy Spirit to overcome sin, not wallow in it. We have to use the Holy Spirit to stop bad behavior and pursue good behavior (one of the reasons for our magazine title). If we love Jesus, if we love our country, if we love our families, if we love ourselves, let’s get strong for Jesus. And, we can start with this Passover. For more information email me at Hungryheartsmin@aol.com and I’ll get you the information you need.

God Bless,

Bill Shults

By: Pastor Bill Shults

What a wild year for 2020! Who could have thought? With godlessness on the rise, America has lost her way. We need a determined return to the Holy Hebrew Bible. We need to reconnect with the Creator God.

The Bible lays out a way of life that is rewarding, industrious and caring for those in need without destroying those who produce. That way of life is based on personal human freedom. That way of life treats all of its citizens fairly and uniformly. Simple rules for a simple time? How about simple rules for all time. How about rules that re ward hard work and initiative? How about rules that feed the hungry, yet still give them an incentive to work? How about rules that bring rewards down through generations?

God laid out a very simple system of low taxation, sound money and easy to understand regulation. It was so simple the cavemen could do it. Maybe it is too simple for us. God in those first five books of the Bi ble capitalized families with a land grant. Land that could not be sold in perpetuity. Land, that even when sold, came back to the family in the fiftieth year. Why is land so import ant? Try doing anything constructive without land and a building. If your family farms, you are ready to work. If your family trades, you are ready to trade. If your family makes things, you are ready to do business. Regardless of the vocation, capital works. Everyone is now free to pursue their talents. These property rights were protected. This means no arbitrary lockdowns. This means your capital is safe from confiscation.

What we wouldn’t give for sound money now a days? Have you seen the price of bitcoin? That is a clear demonstration that we realize our money is not sound. The last time we had this was in 1979 when the Hunt brothers tried to corner the market in silver. Anything but our useless paper dollars. It was not always like this. God set up the bi-metallic system that we used 120 years ago. God set up gold and silver for use as money. Great plan. The only problem with gold and silver is that the politicians can’t manipulate the money to run up giant debts. Or, inflate away those debts rather than pay them.

Sound money is essential for the nation and for its people. Sound money is what allows for the expansion of goods and services. If the inflation adjusted value of what I produce changes over the course of production, then how do I price my goods? Thos of us with gray hair remember the 1970’s when inflation was the scourge and the high interest rate cure was worse than the disease.

The other real need for sound money is to hold the purchasing power of savings. All money cannot be invested into the stock market, which is what they want us to do now. Some money has to be kept liquid in a safe bank. That money has to be able to earn a low return and still purchase the same amount of goods and services which it did when deposited. Inflation from uncontrolled paper money means that it will always purchase less. This is a real dis-incentive to save. Why is this a problem? Savings are the source of financial capital. We deposit our excess money for a low rate and the bank loans it out and splits the difference. This is how savings fuel economic growth. Lack of liquidity (savings) means deprivation and want all across the economy.

We are now debating tax rates again. God set them at 10%. Arthur Laffer the great economist used the curve on a graph to explain that at 0% tax rate, the government will collect no taxes and at 100% tax rate the government will collect no taxes. There is the perfect rate at which the government will collect the most taxes possible from the economy. We don’t have to guest,

God gave us the number: 10%. With a stable, low rate all of the productive people can know what they have to do. Our problem right now is that our officials do not care about extracting the most that they can from us. They want to control our behavior and they are no longer shy about telling us that. They raise our taxes to make us obey them. They are power mad.

Rather than prisons, the Bible system requires restitution. No expensive buildings, no expensive staff, no potential for abuse. You work and pay back what you took or destroyed. The other really good thing about this is that those who commit crimes are kept in the workforce and quickly rehabilitated. The Ten Commandments as explained in the Law of God is a very simple, clear set of equitable regulations. They are easy to understand: “Thou shalt not steal.” They are not burdensome. And, everyone is treated the same. No one in our government understands the regulations that they write. Those regulations are purposely written vaguely so that the regulators can enforce them against anyone they desire. Our administrative law state is completely out of control. The Covid -19 lockdowns are a perfect example. They are enforced on an ad hoc basis. The people who issue the orders do not follow them. And, right now they are being enforced against the political enemies of the governors and mayors. Who gave any of these people the power to do what they are doing?

The Ten Commandments would restore the family unit as the basic building block of our nation. “Honor your father and mother, so that your may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” How about that a commandment with a promise. How about honoring parents? It worked in the past. Are our young people too far gone to do it today? As parents, our experience can help our children. Why should every generation have to learn everything all over again from scratch? There is plenty to learn from scratch for every generation, a few things can be passed down. Besides, I kind of like that live long thing at the end! It wouldn’t hurt my feelings to enjoy a long life.

The Ten Commandments require personal responsibility from us. It is not up to the government to police our conduct; it is up to ourselves to police our own conduct before God. That’s the rub, isn’t it? We no longer want to admit that there is a God. We even less want to admit that after death He is going to judge our conduct. Nonetheless, it is true and He is going to do it. His rules are simple and easy. We could learn them quickly and live really good lives by living them. There is no reason to fear judgment by God, because we have everything we need to live up to God’s requirements.

Our United States government was based on the Ten Commandments. “We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We’ve staked the future of all our political institutions upon our capacity…to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” James Madison [1778 to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia] This is one of the primary architects of the US Constitution and a member of the Convention that gave us the Declaration of Independence telling us that the Ten Commandments are the basis of our government and civilization.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other” --October 11, 1798, John Adams. It is up to us as a people to govern ourselves. Our fundamental process of innocent until proven guilty demands a people who live by the Ten Commandments. Those who are bent on doing evil require an authoritarian government to keep them under control. Our freedoms as Americans require us to maintain ourselves in a decent and wholesome manner. Government is the cost of sin. Violent and property crimes require policing. Moral sins require social services to clean up the mess.

“I verily believe Christianity necessary to the support of civil society. One of the beautiful boasts of our municipal jurisprudence is that Christianity is a part of the Common Law. . . There never has been a period in which the Common Law did not recognize Christianity as lying its foundations.” [Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States p. 593] Justice Joseph Story It was our adherence to the Ten Commandments that made us a great nation. If we truly want to make this country great again, we have to return to the Creator God who gave us these Commandments. This is the source of our strength.

If we desire to remain a free people, then we need to return to the Ten Commandments. As our people become more and more lawless, we will continue to see our freedoms erode. As we see our people degrade both morally and criminally, it will require more and heavier policing to maintain order. As we desire more control over the lives of our fellow citizens, it will require even greater loss of our freedoms to control the populace. For more information, you can order our book Freedom Under the Law of God, in bookstores, or online at hungryheartsministry.com.

Bill Shults is the Pastor of Hungry Hearts Ministries. He also oversees the churches in Jackson, Murfreesboro and Cookeville TN and Corinth MS. Bill has also written eleven books on how to have a closer walk with Jesus Christ.

By: Evangelist Kelly McDonald, Jr.

In recent years, many Christians have taken a greater interest in Passover. Yet they often wonder what this day means and if it has any meaning for Christians.

At the end of the book of Genesis, we learn about Jacob, or Israel, and his twelve sons. God used one of his sons, Joseph, to save the nation of Egypt from a terrible famine. To show appreciation, the Pharaoh, or chief ruler, invited Joseph’s family to live in Egypt. They accepted the offer and moved.

While there, they prospered and increased in number. But as time passed, a Pharaoh came to power that did not remember Joseph. He enslaved the children of Israel. After many years of this terrible condition, God chose a man named Moses to lead the people to freedom. He sent Moses to Pharaoh with the message that he should let the people go free.

The ruler of Egypt refused every time that Moses approached him. In response, God sent plagues on the land to loosen Pharaoh’s heart. During the last plague, God sent the death angel throughout Egypt to take the firstborn of all living things.

Just before this plague, God gave the children of Israel special instructions. He commanded each family to take a one-year old lamb on the tenth day of the first month of the Hebrew calendar (Aviv or Nissan). They were commanded to kill it, put its blood mixed with hyssop on the top and sides of the door posts of their homes, and eat it in their homes on the evening of the fourteenth day. They were also to eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

When that evening came, the death angel went throughout Egypt. The first born of all living things died, including Pharaoh’s son. The Israelites were spared; they followed the Lord’s instructions. On the evening of the fifteenth of Nissan, they left Egypt. Pharaoh’s forces were then defeated in the waters of the Red Sea. God’s people were finally free!

These events are recorded in the first fourteen chapters of the book of Exodus. They serve as the foundation for our understanding of Passover.

In Isaiah chapter 53, God foretold about one who would suffer as a lamb for the sins of many. As the early disciples watched the life, suffering, and death of Jesus, they began to realize that He was the lamb of Isaiah 53. They realized that He was greater than the lamb from Exodus because He came to suffer for the whole world (John 1:29, Acts 8:32, I Peter 1:19-20).

The end of Jesus’ earthly life occurred at Passover, which confirmed Him as the greater Lamb. “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:15b). He revealed Himself as the unleavened bread which they ate every year. “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me’” (Luke 22:19). He revealed the shedding of His blood would institute the New Covenant (Luke 22:20). He also told His disciples to keep Passover in remembrance of Him.

The early disciples certainly understood this as well. They gave instructions to others about keeping Passover (see I Cor. 5:6-8, 11:17-34). Historical documents inform us that early Christians continued to keep Passover annually on the 14th of Nissan. We reviewed this history in the spring 2017 edition of Pursuit magazine.

For Christians, Passover is the annual remembrance of Christ’s suffering for our sins. His death allows us to be spared from God’s wrath; we can also leave a sinful life in the same manner that the Israelites left bondage in Egypt (Rom. 5:9-11; I Peter 2:19-24; Heb. 9:14). These events happened at Passover; He is our Passover Lamb (I Cor. 5:6-8). We follow Jesus’ words to keep the Passover every year on the 14th of Nissan in remembrance of Him. The events of Exodus foreshadowed Christ, which is much greater. With His sacrifice as the Passover, the whole world has hope (Eph. 2:11-13). This is a brief understanding of the Passover. It is followed by the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, which is discussed later in this magazine.

By: Evangelist Kelly McDonald, Jr.

As we approach the Passover Season, it is vitally important that we take time to reflect upon our lives. We need to take account of where we fall short, ask the Lord to forgive us, and turn away from our sins. It is also crucial that we consider the suffering Jesus went through for our sins and transgressions.

Romans 3:23 reads, “for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” We have all fallen short of the glorious radiance of God’s presence. We have not lived up to His standards and thus fallen short. Jesus suffered so that we could be forgiven of our sins and given a new life.

“8 But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God through him. 10 For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by his life; 11 and not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation...” (Romans 5:8-11)

“…14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish unto God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14)

We have new life because Jesus suffered for us. We have hope, love, and reconciliation to the Father. Who would want to live without these wonderful blessings? But throughout the year we fall short. We sin, express rebellion, complain, and misrepresent God’s Word. However, by God’s grace we can turn to Him, receive forgiveness, be cleansed, and walk in newness of life.

The goal of a Christian life is to grow closer to our Lord and Savior. While we make mistakes, we should learn from them and decide with our love for Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to make the appropriate changes. There is mercy to those who forsake sinful ways.

“He that covereth his transgressions shall not prosper; But whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

Our relationship with God can be compared to a potter working with clay. “But now, O LORD, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand” (Isaiah 64:8). This analogy is overtly made in the Prophets, but hints of it are scattered throughout the Bible. This potter-clay relationship was first described in Genesis.

“The LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed” (Genesis 2:7-8).

In these verses, the Hebrew word translated as formed is yatsar. It means to squeeze into a shape in a way similar to a potter. The Hebrew word translated as ‘dust’ is aphar, and it means dust, mud, or clay. It refers to the loose dirt on top of the ground.

The Lord took the dust of the earth and formed us. He formed us like the work of a potter. Just like clay, we are fragile. We can be easily broken or marred. However, we can also be worked in the way that the Potter desires to mold us. The Lord, our Maker, wants to mold us into the shape He originally designed for us.

Sometimes we have engrained attitudes and behaviors that have to be worked out over a period of time. Sometimes we have been disobedient and caused ourselves to be marred – so He has to sculpt us back into the proper shape. Sometimes He mars us to keep us from getting too far away from Him. Sometimes we harden up and we are difficult to work with – not because of Him but because of us. Sometimes we are pliable in His hands; His waters wash over us and keep us flexible. Sometimes others hurt us and it causes cracks.

Each of us are at a different place in God, and we must periodically examine ourselves through the lens of our

Potter-Clay relationship with God. “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith” (2 Cor. 13:5, KLV).

During the months coming up to Passover, we can examine our relationship with God using the Potter-clay analogy. It starts by self-examination and answering some simple questions.

What is your mindset toward God? Is it – “Lord, mold me after your will?” Or is it: “Lord, I want you to accept my will?” If are all honest with ourselves, we have all been hard-headed towards God at some point in lives (past or present). We can choose to be pliable in His hand and easy for Him to sculpt – or we can be difficult to work with. We cause ourselves unnecessary frustration when we tell God what we are going to do. We have a choice in this matter.

We must acknowledge that the Lord God of Israel is the Potter. We are the clay. HE forms us, not the other way around.

“9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! a pot sherd among the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?” (Isaiah 45:9).

No one can manipulate God. We often think we can do just that. What we must com prehend is that He made us. This means that He knows what’s best. We do not. It’s similar to someone who creates an invention – the inventor knows how the invention works. God already has a purpose and destiny for your life. It is better than anything you could ask for or imagine.

“Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them” (Psalm 139:16).

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph. 3:20).

You see, too often we limit God by telling Him what we want. What He has for us is so much greater! But we have to submit to Him; this means that we must surren- der to the process. This is the hard part for us. We like to control our own lives according to our fleshly desires. This is destined to end in ruin. As Brother Coleman used to say, “If you will yield, He will build!”

Chasing our own desires started in the Garden of Eden with the first Adam. But through the last Adam, Jesus Christ, we can turn it around.

“14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the

“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (I Cor. 15:22).

How do we fully surrender to God? How can we make the molding process easier on ourselves? First and foremost, we must remind ourselves that Jesus paid the ultimate price for our sins. This is a necessary part of preparing for Passover.

“…for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body” (I Cor. 6:20). Christ paid for us with His precious blood. He owns us now. That means our vessels – body, emotions, spirit, feelings – must be submitted unto Him. By accepting His salvation, we have surrendered the right to do whatever we want.

As Passover approaches, I encourage you to carefully read the end of the Gospel accounts. Familiarize yourself with HIS suffering for our sins. He had to go through all of that because of the times we wanted to do it “our way.” We must take culpability in His death. Our entire lives must now be put in the context of what Jesus did for us so that we could live a new life.

Secondly, we must acknowledge His authority over us. Romans 9:21 reads, “hath not the potter power over the clay” (KJV). The Greek word translated as power is exousia. It means authority, privilege, jurisdiction, or right.

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The Potter’s Hand, continued A potter has a right over the clay. In the same way, the Lord has rights over us. This is especially true since HE bought us with His own blood at Passover. He’s also a perfect gentleman, so He lets us choose. Just because the Lord allows us to make mistakes does not mean that He approves of our behavior. It means that He recognizes that we have free will to choose the right way from the wrong. The onus is on us to acknowledge His conviction and repent. He desires a willing vessel.

Ask yourself this question: Have you given Jesus Christ permission to exercise His right over you? Have you released governance of your life over to Him so He can mold you? Are you still trying to tell Him what to do?

Third, we have to let go and let GOD. One of the issues that tends to compromise our surrender to Him is holding onto things from the past. Too often we hold on to traditions, hurts, unmet expectations, unfulfilled dreams, and even preconceived notions of who we think we are and what we think our lives should look like. Biblically, many of these items are called vain imaginations. We must learn to let these things go – it is part of the process of surrender.

“…for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds); casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, these vain imaginations can be removed from our lives. When we let go of our pre-planned life, then we start to ask the Lord: “What do you want my life to look like?” In this step, we stop telling the potter how our clay should be handled. A lot of our confusions and frustrations come in life because we try to force our will on God. You shouldn’t imagine; you should empty yourself of selfishness and seek His will. Keep Seeking and you will keep finding (Matthew 7:7).

Fourth, rely on God’s Strength and not your own. As part of acknowledging Him as the Potter, we have to stop doing everything in our flesh. We must acknowledge our human weakness and inability to function without Him. Right after His last Passover on earth, Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

As we surrender, we have to acknowledge that we are not strong; we must take in from Him to live. Here are some more verses to guide you (Proverbs 3:5-6, Zechariah 4:6, 2 Cor. 12:5-10).

What appears to be a set-back in our carnal minds can be turned into a boost forward when we let His Spirit work. We need Christ’s willpower within us activated. “And he went forward a little, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:39).

Sometimes we must allow ourselves to become weak to God so that His strength can manifest. The moment where Jesus was in agony in the Garden, He chose surrender and the will of the Father.

Next, check your commandment keeping inwardly and outwardly. The Commandments of God assist in shaping our vessel into proper form. Then with that formed clay we are supposed to go forward to do acts of service for His Kingdom. All humans are made of clay – but our clay is supposed to stand out in the way it looks. It should be fashioned after the commandments of God.

In the New Covenant, this also includes the inner parts, which only God can see. So there’s the formation of clay everyone can see and there’s the formation of clay that no human can see, but God can. “that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man” (Ephesians 3:16)

In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus gave us some examples of how we are supposed to inwardly conduct ourselves in the commandments of God. That was a sample from which we can look at all of them for inner application. We have to let God work on the inside of us. Some people only work on the outward person. This makes him/ her look to others like the clay God desires, but on the inside they are hollow.

Sixth, check your Kingdom Service. What is your purpose in God’s Kingdom? The other half of Romans 9:21 reads, “from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?” Some people will be shaped by the Lord into vessels of honor; others will be made into vessels of dishonor. This is true even though they come from the same lump. While works cannot earn salvation (Eph. 2:8-10), they do determine your reward. In Matthew 5:17-20, Jesus said that some will be called greatest and some will be called least in the Kingdom of God. Works and teachings were the key details that separated the groups (see also Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 19:11-27).

Sometimes we are holding the standard of His commandments and we have let go of our past, but we still haven’t fully surrendered in the area of Kingdom service. This can cause our clay to be misshaped even just a little bit because of our neglect. It can keep you from being shaped into the vessel of the highest honor possible. There are plenty of areas to serve in the Kingdom of God. We will have articles about this in future editions of Pursuit magazine.

Among the items where you can help: greeting people when they come to church, setting up the meeting hall/ preparing it for services, cleaning up the meeting hall, teaching the word, stewarding teachings by helping others practically apply them; writing; sharing truth on social media; inviting people to services; passing out magazines trifolds or other literature; praying for the needs of the church (including but not limited to, leaders, outreach, new people to surrender to God, and so forth). The list goes on and on! There are plenty of ways to build reward.

Last, but not least, some people are a broken, marred vessel because of abuse from others or a situation that occurred out of his/her control. “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But the LORD delivereth him out of them all” (Psalm 34:18-19).

The Hebrew word translated as broken is shavar. It means broken to pieces or broken apart. The Hebrew word translated as saves is Yasha (it is the root word for Jesus’ Hebrew name Yeshua). It means to be saved, delivered, freed, rescued or in a wide/safe place. The word contrite is dakka; it means to be crushed to powder or dust.

If you find yourself in a place where you feel broken because of things that happened to you, remember that the Lord is close to you. Sometimes circumstances or other people’s poor decisions crush you. God has an answer for your situation!

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalm 51:17). Bring your brokenness or shavar and dakka to Him. He will not reject that sacrifice. He can then put you back together. He is the only one who can do it.

Broken people must avoid a potentially dangerous situation; they sometimes allow others to put them back together. Said another way – it is dangerous to look to others to complete you. Only God can put you back together – He is the sole source of life. He certainly can use other people to help you, but you must not look at other people to be your Savior.

Give your broken pieces to the Lord. You thought your crushing was the end of you, but it was the foundation for God to build you back the way that pleases Him. A pile of dust can have water added to it and be formed into whatever the Potter desires.

You may read this article and decide that you have a combination of issues to deal with. Sometimes people who are broken/hurt withdraw from serving God. Sometimes they sinned and it resulted in brokenness. Ask yourself the following questions:

1) Am I a broken mess because of sin, rebellion, or a lack of repentance? Then follow the steps of repentance outlined in Psalms 31 and 51. Acknowledge the Lord’s righteousness; acknowledge your failure to live up to that, which we call sin, and your rebellion, and ask Him to put you together again.

2) Am I going through cycles? Said another way: Do you seem to be on the verge of breakthrough and then suddenly face frustration? More likely than not, you are trying to shape your life in a way that is out of God’s will. The general course of your like is not where it

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