13 comments (Add your own)

1. Bill White wrote:

I have this sinking feeling that Jason is going to ask me to fast wednesday lunch with him. I suppose I should be all spiritual and say how excited I am. But I'm not. I don't like to miss lunch. I get grumpy. I get headaches. I feel more aware of my neediness and frail humanity. Some people hear God during a fast. Mostly I just get hungry. And yet, I think a weekly dose of my own weakness and need may just be God's way to plow through some hard soil and to help me more deeply connect to Jesus. To become who I am supposed to be, you can count me in.

Mon, February 4, 2008 @ 8:27 AM

2. John Payne wrote:

I will embrace this opportunity to shed some weight!!! Not just those extra waistline calories, but also some dead weight that God does not want me to carry around!!! Hey I don’t even know exactly what it is yet either. But I will count on the great spiritual horticulture guru above to reveal these things to me. I will pray that God will till my heart and soul, continue to shower me with his love and grace, and let his SON shine upon me so that I can grow!!!!!!!!!

Mon, February 4, 2008 @ 2:13 PM

3. penny wrote:

The sermon yesterday really convicted me because so often I don't like to think about the actual condition my heart is.(I do think about it , I just don't always like what I find ) So I struck up a conversation with someone very dear to me (my son)who has been walking through his christian life with a hardened heart that he is unaware of , and while talking with him I realized that he isn't the only one with some hard soil that needs to have a little plowing done.God is showing me that it is my duty to lead my children through their lives, but I also need to let my Father lead me through mine.So for the next 6 weeks every wednesday I plan to fast because I know that in those times God is wanting to meet me , and cultivate me into the person I am supposed to be.

Mon, February 4, 2008 @ 2:13 PM

4. Rick Dean wrote:

After the services yesterday, I went home not even thinking about the message. Sorry Pastor;-) During the service my eyes started to bother me and by the time I got home it looked like I had been crying for days. I told Evelyn I needed to go to the doctor and she said, "how's your heart?" Didn't think anything of it. Got to the emergency room at Kaiser and the admiting nurse remembered me from a prior visit and asked me, "how's your heart?". When the doctor came in, she was looking over my chart and guess what she asked, "how's your heart?". By this time it was probably half time of the Super Bowl and didn't want to even think of my heart. I callwed my Dad on the way home and told him I just went to the doctor and you'll never guess what he asked, "how's your heart?".

I figure someone was trying to tell me something. Last November I started taking one day a month in the mountains, at the beach, in the desert to just be with God. No cel phones. No iPod. Nothing. Just me, God and my bible. Oh, and a bag full of food. So I've decided to leave the food at home next time and fast that day. I've also asked my wife, daughters and my Dad to ask me daily, "How's your heart?".

As a long time Christian, it's easy to become complacent about the condition of our spiritual heart. Same as a physical heart, our spiritual heart needs us to excerise(fast/pray), eat right(time in the Word)and rest (being still and listening). If our hearts aren't healthy, the rest of the body can't perform to its fullest.

Pastor Ken, thanks for the first of four other reminders, "How's your heart?".

Mon, February 4, 2008 @ 5:17 PM

5. Tonya wrote:

My most influential spiritual mentor (who had discipled many) used to tell me, "The longer I live, the more I realize how few people are really willing to pay the cost to truly know Jesus." If we are really to let Jesus into every dark area in our heart, it is likely going to be painful.

I witnessed this powerful truth in a precious friend's life a few years back. When she was least expecting it, God came with a jackhammer to blast away the hard parts of her heart -- I walked with her through the entire time, and it was PAINFUL!!! It just about cost everything dear to her. Its not like she was some awful person before, but through that process, God cleaned out so many rocks and so much trash that were taking up room in her soil. Today she is a completely different woman -- I often cannot fathom the transformation. She's now probably one of the best examples in my life of "clean soil."

Now she is standing with me in prayer during a painful, ongoing trial in my life. A few weeks ago we were discussing the reality of my situation -- that I desperately need God to step in. She challenged me to petition God with her through fasting. "But you know," she said gently, looking directly into my soul with a hard-earned wisdom that she didn't have 3 years ago, "when you ask for a breakthrough, you don't know what God's gonna bring. Are you ready for that?"

Thinking about her story sends off panic sirens in my heart. NO ONE would ever sign up for what she went through. And looking at the seemingly hopelessness I sometimes feel in my situation makes me wonder if God will have to pull out something so drastic in my own life. But looking at the fruit that God has born in her life compels me to trust Him -- even if he needs to bring out a jackhammer.

Tue, February 5, 2008 @ 7:27 AM

6. Anonymous wrote:

Sunday when I pulled in my driveway I noticed my neighbors yard full of dandelions and found myself getting angry b/c it was windy and I knew what that meant...No matter how good I try to care for my lawn, my neighbors' dandelions (weeds) would eventually pop up in my lawn and his problem with weeds would now become my problem. I found myself reflecting alot on Luke 8 and the parable of the seeds. The hard thing for me is that people I / my children love and should love (like parents, siblings), have weeds in their soil and I was stuck by the reality of how often their weeds are blowing into our soil and becoming our weeds as well. It sometimes seems so overwhelming to keep up with the weeding.

Tue, February 5, 2008 @ 9:34 AM

7. Ben Immink wrote:

Just like maintaining my physical heart I need to get my heart rate up. Just thinking about a run excites me and it is exciting for the first 4 miles, but that last 1/2 mile of throwing my chicken legs out to see if God really did make them to go faster really stinks. Then for some reason I reach that end of the four and a half miles and 5 miles has a nice ring to it.
I want to be a 5 mile christian.

Wed, February 6, 2008 @ 5:34 AM

8. Greg Wallace Dolmage wrote:

For most of my life, the idea of Lent seemed stupid to me. How does me giving up candy for forty days do anything for God or me? Is God really concerned with the salvation of an M&M? I don't think so, mostly because that same M&M may be safe from me, but not from the guy who gave up biting his nails. (That hard candy shell is no match to those battle ready teeth.)

I had also heard of the idea of adding something to your life that would be beneficial, like praying more or drinking more water. This seems to make more sense, but I didn't like the idea that my only motivation was this 40 day period. It seemed too "New Year's Resolution-like."

Lately, however, my tune has changed a bit. In Luke 6: 20-26, Jesus is saying, "blessed are you..." to some and "woe to you..." to others. Upon looking at the description of those receiving "woes," I realized that I was receiving more woes than blessings. My life, in fact, is quite comfortable, yet Jesus is blessing those who lack what I possess so readily.

So here I have this Lent season, a time of preparation for the coming of the King, and I keep wondering how I could count myself among the blessed. What would it look to give up something that is essential? Something that I don't want to live without. Something that will force me to cry out, "Please come now, Jesus." Something that will open my mind to the suffering that others endure everyday whether they choose to or not.

I don't know, but I mean to find out. My hope is that I will see Jesus in an entirely new way. How the starving view a loaf of bread, how a man with AIDS longs for a cure, and how a parent behind on bills prays for the last check to clear, this is how I want to respond to Jesus. Total need. Total dependency.

Thu, February 7, 2008 @ 11:46 AM

9. Guillermo Villagran wrote:

The past few weeks my heart has been taking a beating. I hope to believe that the pounding is to soften it, like a meat tenderizer. But for me, and my wife, Laura, these past few weeks have been an a constant stream of trials and pressures. In the past, when they presented themselves they always hardened my heart and made us stray away from Jesus. As I shared in our group on Sunday, the closer I get to God, the higher the pressures to pull me away. It is a real battle, no doubt and thank God for you being there for support.

Thu, February 7, 2008 @ 2:30 PM

10. BTY wrote:

The thing the Lord is working on most in me is replacing my fear of meeting people's expectations with a renewed understanding (deep knowing) of grace and a new courage and confidence to let go of pride and the need for people's praise. (I realize my struggle is a result of my own sin nature, nurture, long-held patterns and the sin committed against me.) I long to be free to love and serve and use my gifts without wondering/fearing whom I'm going to offend or disappoint. Will this blog community pray for me? As I journey toward healing, what might be helpful for me to do this Lenten season? I welcome any prayerful counsel.

Thu, February 7, 2008 @ 7:11 PM

11. Shirley Dean-Lopez wrote:

My Job

I have been studying a message on the heart for the last few months and when Ken asked us "How is your heart?", it actually came directly to me in the back row, and as the church was silent for that brief moment after he asked it...I actually felt and heard mine beat at that moment. It was as if it were a question, followed by silence all around me . I felt like I was being asked this question by God- soley.

At work , we are trained to work productively- and now evenmore. Since I am slowed down in this area I decided to 'kick it up a notch' and I have made it a priority to become a better employee for the past few months.In turn my work load has been caught up, however, I have lost touch with my co-workers. I used to be the first one to wish everyone well in the morning, or to pat someone's back for comfort, to pass on a health tip to a friend with an ailment and I always would ask what I could do for them on a weekly basis. Those were the days(just a few months ago), when I would go to another room and pray for my co- worker if I heard of a need.

"How is my heart", ........when Ken asked us - I would say its gotten smaller now. I have changed and I do not like it. I have become a productive employee who now has no time for listening to my team I work with. I do not even make time to break for lunch.

Worse yet, I find myself bringing this attitude to my home. I am not interacting very well with my family and I know I could do better. Showing heart used to come so easy.

I am looking for a balance, in showing heart and being a productive worker at the same time.

...How is my heart?
I am giving it back to God,as I want my warm heart back. ....stay tuned.

Thu, February 7, 2008 @ 8:29 PM

12. Jason Brown wrote:

BTY (above),

You asked us to pray for you -- and I will. Actually, you can be praying about the very same thing for me as this is something the Lord is doing in me right now. As I read your e-mail, it expressed almost verbatim some of the spiritual work of weeding, pruning, healing that Jesus is doing in me. So, yeah, I will pray. I guess in thinking about what to do that might help . . . Uh, I have a good two hour personal retreat guide that might help. Obviously, this is a small step, but it's something. Not sure how to get it to you, but I'd be happy to print it off and send it your way.

Fri, February 8, 2008 @ 7:44 AM

13. Gretchen Brown wrote:

Our pastor (in Iowa) had an interesting thought about Lent this past week--we shouldn't give something up for Lent to make us feel better and for us to examine our hearts BUT that during this time we allow the quiet and the meditation to allow God to examine our hearts. Am I willing to allow that to happen? I am sure I would be discouraged at what he would find. He already does know me but man, do I want that brought to my attention??? Do I really want to admit my faults??

Sun, February 10, 2008 @ 8:29 PM

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