Wounded by God's People
Page 17
Vonette Bright, cofounder, Campus Crusade for Christ, International
He heals the brokenhearted
and
binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
Also by Anne Graham Lotz
The Vision of His Glory
God’s Story
Daily Light
Just Give Me Jesus
Heaven: My Father’s House
Pursuing MORE of Jesus
Why? Trusting God When You Don’t Understand
The Joy of My Heart
My Jesus Is … Everything
The Magnificent Obsession
Heaven: God’s Promise for Me
Expecting to See Jesus
Fixing My Eyes on Jesus
A Note to the Reader
After completing this book, if you need additional resources to help you dig deeper into God’s Word, please contact Anne Graham Lotz through one of the following means:
AnGeL Ministries
5115 Hollyridge Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina 27612
919.787.6606
www.AnneGrahamLotz.com.
angelmin.info@angelministries.org
ZONDERVAN
Wounded by God’s People
Copyright © 2013 by Anne Graham Lotz
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan e-books.
EPub Edition © JULY 2013 ISBN: 9780310337546
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lotz, Anne Graham, 1948 -
Wounded by God’s people : discovering how God’s love heals our hearts /
Anne Graham Lotz.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-310-26289-3
1. Hagar (Biblical figure) 2. Healing — Religious aspects — Christianity.
3. Suffering — Religious aspects — Christianity. 4. Pain — Religious aspects —
Christianity. I. Title.
BS580.H24L68 2013
248.86 — dc23 2013013057
* * *
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. www.alivecommunications.com
Cover design: Michelle Lenger
Cover photography: Don Farrall / Getty Images®
Interior illustration: iStockphoto®
Interior design: Beth Shagene
* * *
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 /DCI/ 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Founded in 1931, Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Zondervan, a division of HarperCollinsPublishers, is the leading international Christian communications company, producing best-selling Bibles, books, new media products, a growing line of gift products and award-winning children’s products. The world’s largest Bible publisher, Zondervan (www.zondervan.com) holds exclusive publishing rights to the New International Version of the Bible and has distributed more than 150 million copies worldwide. It is also one of the top Christian publishers in the world, selling its award-winning books through Christian retailers, general market bookstores, mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, and the Internet. Zondervan has received a total of 68 Gold Medallion awards for its books, more than any other publisher.
Notes
Preface: Jesus Understands
1. Joshua 7.
2. John 1:11 NASB.
3. Matthew 9:3.
4. Matthew 9:34.
5. Matthew 12:14.
6. Matthew 22:15.
7. Matthew 26:3–4.
8. Matthew 26:57, 67.
9. Matthew 27:1–2, 26.
10. 1 Peter 2:23.
11. Hebrews 12:2–3.
Introduction: Healing Is a Journey
1. Anne Graham Lotz, The Magnificent Obsession: Embracing the God-Filled Life (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2009).
2. Other than Jesus Christ, Abraham may be the greatest man ever to have lived in human history. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all look to him as their patriarch. And God called him “friend.”
The Biblical Story of Hagar
1. Ishmael means “the Lord hears.”
2. Genesis 12:14, 16; 13:1; 16:1–16; 21:1–21.
Chapter 1: Loved by God on the Periphery
1. Genesis 12:15.
2. Genesis 12:16.
3. Genesis 20:12.
4. Genesis 12:3.
5. Genesis 12:17.
6. Genesis 12:20.
7. Joshua 2, 6.
8. Joshua 2:10.
9. Joshua 2:11.
10. Joshua 2:11.
11. Joshua 6:15–23.
12. Romans 3:23.
13. Ephesians 1:7.
14. John 3:16; Romans 6:23.
15. John 17:3.
16. Revelation 3:20.
17. John 8:12; 10:27; 12:26.
18. And you are saved! If your cry was sincerely uttered, God has heard you. Right now, you are saved. He gives you His Word:
The Lord is near to all who call
on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those
who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
(Psalm 145:18–19)
Take God at His Word. He is a gentleman — He doesn’t lie, He means what He says, and says what He means. If He says you’re forgiven, you’re forgiven (1 John 1:9; Ephesians 1:7). If He says you have eternal life, you have eternal life (John 3:16; Ephesians 1:13–14). If He says He will live in you, never to leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5), then He lives in you right now in the person of the Holy Spirit, and He will never leave nor forsake you. If He says He loves you (Jeremiah 31:3), dear reader on the periphery, then He loves you! What He says is so! (Psalm 119:89).
Chapter 2: Life Is Hard
1. Galatians 5:17–21.
2. Romans 3:23; Jeremiah 17:9.
3. Genesis 13:4.
4. Genesis 14:22.
5. Genesis 12:1–3.
6. Genesis 15:2–6.
7. Genesis 13.
Chapter 3: The Cycle of Pain
1. Genesis 16:2.
2. Genesis 16:2, 4.
3. Genesis 2:24.
4. Genesis 16:4.
5. Genesis 16:5–6.
6. Matthew 5:22; some old manuscripts insert “But I tell you the truth, that anyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment.”
7. 1 Samuel 1:6, 7, 15.
8. 1 Samuel 1:15–16.
9. 1 Samuel 1:18.
10. 1 Samuel 2:21.
11.
1 Samuel 2:1–10.
12. Genesis 16:6.
13. Genesis 16:6.
Chapter 4: The Believer in Exile
1. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/30/anne-rice-leaves-christianity.
Chapter 5: God Cares
1. Psalm 5:1–3, 5–6, 8–9, 10, 11–12.
2. Genesis 16:7.
3. John 21:1–3.
4. Genesis 16:7.
5. Genesis 32:22–32.
6. Joshua 5:13–6:5.
7. Judges 6:11–12.
8. Psalm 139:7–10.
Chapter 6: Spiritual Blind Spots
1. Genesis 16:8.
2. Genesis 16:8.
3. Genesis 16:4.
4. Matthew 7:3–5.
5. Sylvia Gunter, Prayer Portions (Birmingham, Ala.: The Father’s Business, 1995).
6. Genesis 16:9–10.
7. Genesis 16:13.
8. Genesis 16:5.
9. Genesis 16:15.
10. Acts 3:19.
Chapter 7: Wounding Hurts
1. John 15:1–2.
2. Hebrews 12:11.
3. Genesis 15:5.
4. Galatians 4:29.
5. Genesis 21:10.
6. Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6.
7. Genesis 21:11.
8. Genesis 21:12–13.
9. Genesis 21:14.
10. Isaiah 55:9.
11. Psalm 23:3.
12. Romans 8:29; John 15:8.
13. Isaiah 53:4–5, 10.
14. John 3:16.
15. 1 Peter 2:23; 1 John 3:16.
16. Hebrews 2:14; 1 Corinthians 15:55–57; Romans 3:25; Titus 2:15; John 14:1–3; Hebrews 2:10.
17. Luke 24:1–7.
18. John 17:5.
19. Ephesians 1:19–23.
20. Hebrews 12:2–3.
Chapter 8: Rejected by Them
1. Lamentations 2:11; 3:19–23.
2. John 1:11.
Chapter 9: Wandering in the Wilderness
1. Exodus 20:21.
2. Exodus 16:10.
3. Genesis 21:14.
4. Genesis 16:13.
5. Genesis 21:15.
6. Exodus 33:18.
7. Exodus 33:19; 34:6.
8. 2 Corinthians 1:3–4.
9. Job 12:13; Isaiah 55:8–9.
10. 2 Corinthians 12:9.
11. Exodus 15:26; Psalm 147:3; John 10:3–4, 11, 14.
Chapter 10: God Stands By
1. Genesis 12:8; 13:4; 18:16–33 are just three examples of Abraham’s prayer life.
2. Genesis 12:7; 13:18.
3. Genesis 21:15–16.
4. Genesis 16:10.
5. The story is true, but Maria’s name has been changed to protect her privacy. For other stories like hers, please read Tom Doyle’s Dreams and Visions: Is Jesus Awakening the Muslim World? (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012).
6. Jonah 2:2–7.
7. Mark 6:48.
Chapter 11: The Silence Is Broken
1. This is a wonderful description of God that was a hallmark phrase of the late Dr. T. E. Koshy, a mentor and friend to many, including my friend Joel Rosenberg.
2. Mother’s car was fixed so that the damage was erased and it looked like new. And I did indeed become a better driver. I got my license at the age of sixteen, and to this day, at the age of sixty-five, I have never gotten a ticket. While I’ve been in some accidents, I have never caused another accident, for which I thank God! My father’s encouraging and wise words to me have been proven true.
3. Genesis 17:1–22.
4. Genesis 17:23–27.
5. Genesis 18:13–14.
6. Genesis 18:20–33.
7. Genesis 20:1–18.
8. Genesis 12:14–20.
9. Genesis 21:17.
10. Genesis 21:17.
11. Genesis 21:17.
Chapter 12: A Stubborn Spirit
1. William Lobdell, Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America and Found Unexpected Peace (New York: HarperCollins, 2009).
2. Genesis 21:17.
3. Hebrews 13:5.
4. 1 Chronicles 16:34.
5. Isaiah 63:9.
6. Genesis 50:20.
7. Luke 1:37.
Chapter 13: The Turning Point
1. 1 Kings 19:1–21.
2. 1 Kings 19:7.
3. 1 Kings 19:9.
4. Genesis 21:17.
5. Isaiah 54:11–13 NASB (adapted). The noun son is plural in the original text. I took the liberty of hearing it in the singular, as God’s word of comfort and encouragement to me about my own son.
6. Genesis 21:18.
7. John 19:26–27.
8. Luke 23:39–43.
9. Matthew 8:3.
10. Matthew 8:14–15.
11. Matthew 9:29.
12. Matthew 17:7.
Chapter 14:I Can See!
1. Genesis 21:19.
2. Exodus 17:3–6.
3. 2 Corinthians 1:3–4.
4. Genesis 21:19.
5. Genesis 21:18.
6. The prayers in this volume have also resonated in the heart of my younger brother, Ned. He read one of them at my mother’s memorial service.
7. Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1975), xxiv.
Chapter 15: Don’t Look Back
1. Huckabee, Fox News, March 17, 2012.
2. Genesis 19:17.
3. Genesis 19:26.
4. Genesis 21:19.
5. Genesis 21:18.
6. Genesis 21:21.
7. Colossians 3:13.
8. Matthew 6:15.
9. C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1972), 49.
10. Ephesians 4:32.
11. The story is true, but the name has been changed.
12. 1 John 3:16, 18, 23.
13. The story is true, but Jays name has been changed to protect his privacy.
14. Luke 23:34.
15. Crawford Loritts is the senior pastor of Fellowship Bible Church in Atlanta, Georgia, a frequent speaker at Promise Keepers, and one of the two men who join me in discussing revival in my video Bible-study curriculum, Expecting to See Jesus.
16. John 20:26–27.
17. Philippians 2:8–11; Revelation 5:6–14.
18. Ephesians 1:17–18.
Chapter 16: It’s Time to Move On
1. And yes, I had followed that choice to forgive with sacrificial deeds.
2. John Ortberg, Who Is This Man? The Unpredictable Impact of the Inescapable Jesus (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2012), 89.
3. Genesis 25:8–9.
4. While the story is true, David’s name has been changed to protect his privacy.
5. Hebrews 4:15–16.
Conclusion: The End of the Healing Journey
1. Luke 15:13.
2. Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6.
3. Jeremiah 29:11.
Epilogue: Quarried Deep
1. Romans 12:9, NKJV; James 5:8–9.
2. Galatians 6:17; 2:20; 2 Corinthians 12:7.
3. Philippians 3:10, 13–14.
4. Jesus used this very analogy in John 12:24–25 when He said, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
5. “The Deeps,” from Arthur Bennett, ed., The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2002), 134.
r: grayscale(100%); filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share