Some thoughts while burning CDs to my iPod

So, why the title of this blog as "Restoring Heart" and why blog at all?

Decent enough question.

"Restoring Heart" comes from my (neglected) website, restoringheart .com. Years ago, the idea that we have each, individually, have a purpose in God's kingdom was introduced to me by Ronnie Worsham. He is a big fan of Ephesians, and he helped me reexamine Ephesians 2:10 -- "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." I had, as was typical of my denominational background, interpreted that as corporately, but Ronnie had challenged me to think of it as individuals.

In the years that passed, my spiritual walk was perhaps defined around this search -- if it is individual, what did God create in me? In time, I came to realize that he had created in me someone who needed to challenge in others to ask the same question! Moreover, to help others answer the question.

So what does that mean to the title "restoring heart"? Fundamentally, I have come to believe that walking with God is a walk of the heart, not of religion. That the purpose of church, of discipleship, of pursuing who God made us to be is one of the heart. And I've come to believe that the goal of the Evil One is two fold -- one is to prevent us from accepting Jesus as our Lord, the other is, if he cannot succeed in that, to prevent us from fully experiencing this life as God made us to do. That includes in fulfilling our purpose in this life. This opposition comes primarily against the heart, and that as a result, salvation is fundamentally restoring our hearts.

Yet this aspect is often neglected in the salvation preached in Christian books, in churches, in the conferences etc. We talk of forgiveness of sin, of relationship of God, but we neglect this healing of the heart. But it is so fundamental, it is the first thing Jesus says about his purpose in Luke's account (Luke 4:16-21). The audience of the time would be familiar with the OT Jesus was reading, so let me quote it in that context (Isaiah 61, reading it a bit beyond what Jesus quoted, which I highlight in bold):
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
3to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.

To bind the broken, to proclaim liberty, to release the captives. That was Jesus' mission. And from the context, we see the learned listener in that synagogue that morning would see to what purpose -- to unleash the glory of those being restored, so that they may be mighty oaks of righteousness for the glory of God. As Irenaeus said, "The Glory of God is man come fully alive".

All that said, while I have of insight in what this restoration looks like in men, I'm a bit lost in the details of what it looks like in women. A lot of folks who've followed my walk these last few years may think I'm into men's ministry, but though the insight to who I am came while helping a church in North Carolina with its visioning and strategizing about men's ministry, it really is a broader purpose, I think. It is just that I really don't know what it looks like for reaching women for finding their purpose. Women are just such different creatures. Even scripture realizes this, as there are only two places where the bible uses the words male and female in close tandem. And that is in the opening chapter of Genesis, where God says "let us make man (humanity) in our image, male and female let us make them". Gender is to the core of who we are, it isn't just biological. If restoring heart is key to salvation, and gender is a key to our identity of who we are in the image of God, perhaps it is no wonder that in fulfilling such a calling that as I believe God has given me, my work may very well be in ministries to men.

And this pursuit in helping others in restore heart at times seems to reach into many diverse areas. I've spoken, taught and discussed with others healing, prayer, calling, spiritual warfare, even church structuring. All this has been in pursuit of helping restore others.

enough on this for now.