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opening A young lady gathered the necessary ingredients from the refrigerator and stood over the kitchen counter preparing to cook her favorite dish. The key ingredient for the dish was onion, which she did not like preparing.

As she began preparing the onion, tears began to stream down her face as a result of the onion. As the tears continued to flow, she never ceased preparing the onion simply because she knew the onion was necessary in order for the dish to be what she wanted it to be. When the dish was complete, she tasted it and was thoroughly pleased with the final product. In order to get to the final product she desired, not stopped by tears.

Life is full of ups and downs, joy and sorrow, trials and tribulations. Some situations we face in life are simply not enjoyable and we experience pain. Classes not going well, bank account a bit shaky, trouble on the job, trouble at home, and other things go on that are just undesirable. As a result, the tears are (have been) flowing.

God never promised we would never have trouble, He does promise that the end shall be greater than the beginning and He will be with us through the tears. In the midst of flowing tears, we must prepare for the breakthrough by continuing to walk in His Word and in His promises. Some simply need to be reminded that breakthrough is on the way and God is still “there through the tears.”

Here is your copy of firstIMPRESSIONS, Volume 9.45. Live for God, on purpose, through good times and bad.

bottle Tears in a Bottle

Many things are kept in bottles. Things of little value, like soda and windshield washer fluid, are most often found in plastic bottles. Liquids of moderate value are distributed in plain, glass bottles, like certain medicines. More expensive liquids, like perfumes, are kept in more ornate, fancy bottles.

But here is something you may not have known. One of the most expensive liquids found, is kept in a very important bottle. Important, not due to its style, but due to its owner. The owner is God, and the liquid is... the tears of His saints.

In Psalm 56:8, David says of God, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” This Psalm recounts a very distressful time in David’s life when he had been wrongly accused and found himself to be a fugitive in his own country. David holds to the belief that God keeps a record of human pain and suffering and always remembers our sorrows and tears.

Tear bottles were prevalent in ancient Roman times, when mourners filled small glass or ceramic vials with tears and placed them in burial tombs as symbols of love and respect. Tear bottles reappeared during the Victorian period of the 19th century, when those mourning the loss of loved ones would collect their tears in bottles ornately decorated with silver and pewter. The mourning period would end when the tears evaporated from the bottle. And in some American Civil War stories, women were said to have cried into tear bottles and saved them until their husbands returned. Their collected tears would show the men how much they were loved and missed.

Washington Irving is quoted as saying “There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love.”

You may have shed many tears recently. Know that the Lord has saved them in His “tear bottle.” This Sunday morning at WFA we will take a look at many in the Bible who have cried and God has now captured their “Tears in a Bottle.” You won’t want to miss this comforting and challenging message.

tears Beyond the Tears

I had just finished preaching on the heartaches of life, when a couple approached me at the front of the church building...

The woman told me about the burden they bore as a family. Their young son had severe physical problems, and the strain of the constant care of this needy little guy, coupled with the heartache of knowing they couldn’t improve his situation, sometimes felt unbearable.

As the couple shared, with tears in their eyes, their little daughter stood with them—listening and watching. Seeing the obvious hurt etched by tears on her mother’s face, the girl reached up and gently wiped the tears from her mother’s cheek. It was a simple gesture of love and compassion, and a profound display of concern from one so young.

Our tears often blur our sight and prevent us from seeing clearly. In those moments, it can be an encouragement to have a friend who cares enough to love us in our pain and walk with us in our struggles.

Even though friends can be a help, only Christ can reach beyond our tears and touch the deep hurts of our hearts. His comfort can carry us through the struggles of our lives until that day when God Himself wipes away every tear from our eyes.

Revelation 21:4 says that “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

healing Healing for Wounded Relationships

“I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.” – 2 Kings 20:5

Lots of animals when they’re hurt and bleeding will lick their wounds. In a funny kind of way we can do the same. We get all introverted and focus over and over again one the pain we feel. Well it might work for dogs and cats but not for you and me! Healing involves three things that you can’t do on your own:

1. Talking. Find a trustworthy person and get the pain out in words. It will help you get over the anger and the blame and the confusion

2. Sharing. A problem shared is a problem halved, right? When nobody knows how you feel the hurt is made worse by loneliness and isolation. Don’t let that happen

3. Acceptance. If the person who hurt you apologizes and asks for forgiveness don’t reject it – accept it! Yes, maybe you do want them to feel as bad as you do but that just brings twice as much hurt into a world that’s got too much already.

Many years ago a broken King cried out to God from the bottom of his heart. God replied graciously saying, “I have heard your prayers and seen your tears; I will heal you.” That’s a word for you too today, if you dare to believe that the God who healed back then is still in the healing business today. Do you?

story The Story Behind the Picture of the Praying Hands

Back in the fifteenth century, in a tiny village near Nuremberg, lived a family with eighteen children. Eighteen! In order merely to keep food on the table for this mob, the father and head of the household, a goldsmith by profession, worked almost eighteen hours a day at his trade and any other paying chore he could find in the neighborhood. Despite their seemingly hopeless condition, two of Albrecht Durer the Elder’s children had a dream. They both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to study at the Academy.

After many long discussions at night in their crowded bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in the mines. They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer won the toss and went off to Nuremberg.

Albert went down into the dangerous mines and, for the next four years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate sensation. Albrecht’s etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works.

When the young artist returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn to celebrate Albrecht’s triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal, punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words were, “And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you.” All heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat, tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, “No... no... no... no.”

Finally, Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he said softly, “No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me. Look ... look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or canvas with a pen or a brush. No, brother... for me it is too late.”

More than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer’s hundreds of masterful portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht Durer’s works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have a reproduction hanging in your home or office.

One day, to pay homage to Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his brother’s abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward. He called his powerful drawing simply “Hands,” but the entire world almost immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his tribute of love “The Praying Hands.”

The next time you see a copy of that touching creation, take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one – no one – ever makes it alone!

pebble The Pebble

Drop a pebble in the water: just a splash, and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Spreading, spreading from the center, flowing on out to the sea.
And there is no way of telling where the end is going to be.

Drop a pebble in the water: in a minute you forget,
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And those little waves a-flowing to a great big wave have grown;
You’ve disturbed a mighty river just by dropping in a stone.

Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on.
They keep spreading, spreading, spreading from the center as they go,
And there is no way to stop them, once you’ve started them to flow.

Drop an unkind word, or careless: in a minute you forget;
But there’s little waves a-flowing, and there’s ripples circling yet,
And perhaps in some sad heart a mighty wave of tears you’ve stirred,
And disturbed a life was happy ere you dropped that unkind word.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness: just a flash and it is gone;
But there’s half-a-hundred ripples circling on and on and on,
Bearing hope and joy and comfort on each splashing, dashing wave
Till you wouldn’t believe the volume of the one kind word you gave.

Drop a word of cheer and kindness: in a minute you forget;
But there’s gladness still a-swelling, and there’s joy circling yet,
And you’ve rolled a wave of comfort whose sweet music can be heard
Over miles and miles of water just by dropping one kind word.

I Saw Jesus

saw-Jesus

I saw Jesus last week. He was wearing blue jeans and an old shirt. He was up at the building we call our church; He was alone and working hard. For just a minute he looked a little like one of the people who regularly attend our church. But it was Jesus, I could tell by his smile.

I saw Jesus last Sunday. He was teaching a Bible class. He didn’t talk real loud or use long words. But you could tell he believed what he said. For just a minute, he looked like my Sunday School teacher. But it was Jesus, I could tell by his loving voice.

I saw Jesus yesterday. He was at the hospital visiting a friend who was sick. They prayed together quietly. For just a minute he looked like the guy I saw at the worship gathering last week. But it was Jesus, I could tell by the tears in his eyes.

I saw Jesus this morning. He was in my kitchen making my breakfast and fixing me a special lunch. For just a minute he looked like my wife. But it was Jesus, I could feel the love from his heart.

I saw Jesus this afternoon. He was cutting the grass in the community where I live. He was smiling and waving at everyone who was driving down our street. It made me feel special even if it was only for a moment. For a minute, I thought it was just another person we paid to keep our community clean. But it was Jesus. No one else has that much joy.

I saw Jesus tonight. He was sitting out in the street looking for someone to help him. For a minute he looked like just another homeless person. But it was Jesus. I could tell by the look of sincere suffering in his eyes.

I see Jesus everywhere. Taking food to the sick, welcoming others to his home, being friendly to a someone who needs love and for just a minute I think he’s someone I know.

But, it’s always Jesus. I can tell by the way He serves.

May someone see Jesus in you today.

last The Last Impression

A pharmacist walked into his pharmacy and saw a man standing tightly against a wall making a funny face, so he asked the technician working that day, “What is going on?”

She said, “Well, he came in with a bad cough and asked for a cough suppressant, but we are out of it so I sold him a laxative.”

The pharmacist said loudly, “Laxatives won’t suppress a cough!”

She said, “I know that, but look at him – he doesn’t dare cough.”

I trust that today’s issue of firstIMPRESSIONS has been a blessing to you! I you have enjoyed it, feel free to forward your copy to a friend, and encourage them to personally subscribe. Each week, many thousands of people receive each issue. We regularly receive email responses from folks who enjoy their issue, including many pastors and missionaries, who make use of the stories for illustrations in their own messages. We are thankful to the Lord for all of the many readers who have subscribed.