“From Empty to Full” – Part 1 “Filled To The Brim”

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”

Psalm 42:1
King James Version

EXPLORATION:

“From Empty to Full” – Part 1

“Filled To The Brim”

“Fullness” – Containing all that is possible. Complete in every detail.

What empty place in my life would I like to have God fill with His fullness?

INSPIRATION:

“O Lord, You have created us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.”

St. Augustine

My sister and I had a game we played as kids. Much to our mother’s displeasure, we would get a carton of milk from the refrigerator at lunch and see who could fill their glass the highest. Believe me, this was tricky business. We would pour quite rapidly until a certain point, then good reflexes and careful attention took over as ever so slowly we tried, a little at a time, to raise the level of the milk until it came right to the top of the rim on our glasses.

A Fractured Mind The Pain of Mental Illness

By Anonymous

Thirteen years ago, my oldest son, Matthew, fell in love with a wonderful girl and asked her to be his wife. She was a classic beauty, tall and slender with long dark hair and amber eyes. We immediately bonded with this vibrant, lovely girl and welcomed her into our family. She said voices were telling her to kill me... It was a beautiful, traditional wedding and we had the joy of seeing our son, a handsome groom, stand with his bride under the chupah, the marriage canopy. It was a fairy tale wedding. It has been a nightmare marriage. Four months after the wedding my telephone rang at 3:00 a.m. Any mother will tell you that when your phone rings at that time in the morning, your heart skips a beat and you scramble to answer, praying all the while that the call is not bad news. It was Matt; he was at the emergency room with his bride. "What's wrong?" I asked. "I don't know Mom, she has been acting very strangely lately and then tonight she just flipped out. She said voices were telling her to kill me, she hit me in the face with an aluminum bat."

The Very Thing Jesus is Against

by Pastor Colin S. Smith

“Some people came and asked Jesus, ‘How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?’" Mark 2:18 (NIV)

The Old Testament specified one day a year when God called His people to fast—the Day of Atonement. The leaders of God’s people also called other occasional fasts, but the Pharisees had made fasting part of their regular routine. It appears that they fasted twice a week and encouraged others to do the same (Luke 18:12). So, the question to Jesus is “Why are your disciples not fasting?”

Fasting at a wedding

“Jesus answered, ‘How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?’” Mark 2:19

Imagine fasting at a wedding! Picture the scene with me… We’ve all been to the ceremony and driven to the banqueting hall. We are seated round the tables and everyone settles as the father of the bride stands up to speak. To everyone’s surprise he looks quite miserable.

 I’m glad you are all here today on this important occasion. I expect some of you have been looking forward to a meal, but I have to tell you that we aren’t going to have any food today. We’re not going to have any music, and we’re not going to have any dancing.

Marriage is a serious business. And because it’s a serious business, we want to take it… seriously! We all fail in many in many ways, and so today I want us to spend some time in silence, examining our hearts. I want you to remember my daughter’s wedding as a day of repentance.”

We laugh because this is ridiculous! The whole point of a wedding is that it is a celebration! Jesus brings His friends into joy! This is not the time for fasting.

Turning blessings into burdens

“’Why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?’… Jesus said ‘The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.’” Mark 2:24, 27

Mark tells us about a time when Jesus’ disciples picked a few ears of corn while they were walking beside a field on the Sabbath. You see, in the fourth commandment, God calls us to set aside one day in the week to rest from our work and to enjoy all that He done. That is a gift and a blessing from God.

But the Pharisees had turned the blessing into a burden, with an endless list of rules about what you could and could not do. In their eyes, pulling a few ears of corn was harvesting and that is work. Religious systems turns God’s blessing into a burden.

I meet many people who have had a bad experience of religion that alienated them from God. It was about rules and traditions that seem to have no point. It felt like a means of control exercised by people who have very little joy in their own lives.

Lifting heavy burdens

Do you see that this is the very thing that Jesus is against! He came to break the power of dead religion! He leads His disciples into joy. He lifts the heavy burdens of silly rules and stuffy traditions.

A Christ-centered church will be marked by joy. It will not be a place where the burdens of human rules and traditions are imposed but rather where they are lifted. When you see that, you may have a new interest in following Jesus.


This LifeKey is based on the message “Jesus Stirs Up Conflict,” by Pastor Colin S. Smith on September 30, 2007, from the series “The Gospel According to Jesus.”

http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/unlocking-the-bible/articles/the-very-thing-jesus-is-against-13255.html

95-Year-Old Bride and 98-Year-Old Groom Become the World's Oldest Newlyweds

By Bridal Guide | Love + Sex

When Lillian Hartley, 95, and Allan Marks, 98, tied the knot this week, they unknowingly became the world's oldest newlyweds. Their combined 193 years broke the previous record of 191 years.

"Honest to God? Oh, I can't believe it," Hartley told The Desert Sun about breaking the record. "Oh, I'm impressed with myself."

Lillian Hartley, 95, and Allan Marks, 98.

The happy couple met 18 years ago at temple on Yom Kippur in Palm Springs. He complimented her dress, and their relationship grew from there.

"I believe in fate and destiny a little bit and I think that was meant to be," Hartley told ABC News. "I had been a widow for six years and I really loved my freedom. …I said, 'Oh, I don't want a relationship,'…and then he came along, and somehow hooked me."

The couple moved in together soon after they began dating. Over the years, they had discussed marriage but, because of their busy lifestyle-they love to travel, go to temple, and watch the Los Angeles Lakers-they didn't find the time until Leap Day (guess that extra day really does come in handy!).

"We don't know for sure what's going to happen, so I'm not taking any chances. I want to be with Allan for the rest of my life," Hartley said.

Marks agrees: "I want to be with Lillian for the rest of my life."

Watch their sweet wedding ceremony!

As for their honeymoon, they're in no rush. "We celebrate every day," Hartley told The Desert Sun. After a pause, she added, "I might go to Swiss Donut and have one of the nice donuts."

-Kristen O'Gorman Klein