THE BROKEN-HEARTED AND GOD

    

      I recall the moment when my little brother, Randy, died, and I remember when my nephew told me that my brother, Larry, had passed away. “Thanks for calling,” I said… and then I just put my face in the palm of my hands… and cried. There was the time, too, when we took our dog, Nikki, to the vet for the last time, and I miss her to this day. She was my soul-mate. We walked in the woods around Kalamazoo every day. She could run like the wind, and when she got old and couldn’t make it back home, I carried her back to our house in Rock Island. She meant the world to me and when we said goodbye, I experienced a pain I had never known. There have been times... when the weight of just knowing that I was so far short of the man I should have been… broke my heart.

      And I’m not the only one. Somewhere, someone is visiting a grave with a broken heart; somewhere, someone is burying a child; somewhere, someone has received a pink slip, or the worst possible prognosis, or come home to an empty house; somewhere, someone’s dreams are dying, or their world has been turned upside down. Somewhere, someone has heard that he, she, or a loved one has cancer; somewhere, someone who had decorated a cute little room… has miscarried, and somewhere, someone, like King David, has been crushed by the weight of their own sin. As Charles Spurgeon noted, “There are many sorts of broken hearts, and Christ is good at healing them all.: Some people try counseling, some try anti-depressants, some write an angry letter and then tear it up, but Christ is the Great Physician and the source of our healing... because God has a special place in His heart for the broken-hearted. Listen to the word of God:

1)    The Lord is near to the broken hearted and saves those crushed in spirit;

2)    The Spirit alone heals the broken-hearted and binds up their wounds; (Ps. 147)

3)    When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,,, and the rivers shall not overwhelm you; (Isa. 43)

4)    The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise; (Ps. 51)

5)    Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened… take my yoke… and you will find rest for your souls; (Matt. 11)

9      I wish that God would’ve said, “IF you pass through the waters instead of WHEN.” I wish my brothers were still alive. I wish that Sherry didn’t have cancer … and that every single person in this congregation lived in nothing but sunshine. Of course, that’s not the way it is down here, but God DOES promise that we will never walk alone and never be out of His reach! And God has called us to mend broken hearts in his name. I wish that every member of our church would attend Bible study. I think it's important... but here are the things that are most important:  1) love God with everything you have, 2) love your neighbor as yourself, 3) comfort those who are broken-hearted, and 4) fight for those who suffer from abuse and injustice. May we always stop and listen to someone is despair; may we always look beggars in the eye and help them as we can; and may we always take a stand for righteousness and justice. pk

A TRIBUTE TO MY FRIEND, DAVE NIXON

      It would be wrong if I didn't take a moment and lift up the "ministry" of David Nixon, who joined his Lord yesterday morning. I put the word "ministry" within quotation marks because Dave was not an ordained minister... but he was an ordained elder... and what is more, he lived out his faith in the public arena throughout his life. I doubt if Dave ever asked anyone if he or she "knew Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior," but he lived in such a way that it was clear that he did!
      David was, in the truest sense of the word, a "good" man. He was a good husband, a good father, a good leader, a good church elder, a good friend, a good listener, a good Illinois alum, and a good golfer too. He treated others, no matter their rank or status, with love and respect, and everyone who interacted with him knew that they were in good hands. Dave Nixon was a thoughtful, insightful, disciplined and caring man, who always did the right (or righteous) thing as he saw it. I suspect that Dave had his moments. I'm sure that he wasn't always at his best, but the record shows that he was a model of righteousness and faithfulness for the rest of us.
      When Sherry and I arrived in Peoria in the summer of 1999, Dave and Kathy were among the first people we met as we began our ministry at Arcadia Avenue Presbyterian Church. Both of them were kind and gracious, of course, and they embraced the things that we were trying to do for that wonderful church. Dave helped me greatly, and Kathy and Dave welcomed Sherry and me into their lives, Then, when we made the decision to unite with First Presbyterian Church, Dave used his talents and his grace to help make our vision become a reality. From the moment we arrived in Peoria until the moment when I left to accept a call to South Park Presbyterian Church, our ministries and, in a very real sense, our lives were intertwined with Dave and Kathy Nixon's. They were our friends, and even though we've been gone for some time now, they will always be our friends.
      Sherry and I loved Dave Nixon. We liked and admired him too. He was a role model to us and he showed us what it means to live in this world as a Christian. I am deeply saddened today and we are keeping Kathy, Megan, and Matt in our prayers. Heaven is rejoicing today. The world is a little dimmer, but if we embrace Dave's family and make it our business to be as loving and as principled as he was, his legacy and his ministry will go on and on and on.... Goodbye, dear friend, and thanks for making me a better man!