August 16th

Read: Psalm 34:18 and Psalm 51; Isaiah 57:15

The skeleton of the sand-dollar has a story to tell, a story about Jesus the Christ. It has a hole in the appropriate spots for every place where He was pierced. There is the outline of a bell on one side and a poinsettia blossom and a five-pointed star on the other, all symbols of His advent. When you shake the skeleton, there is a rattle from within. In order for you to see what is inside, the shell must be broken through the center! No longer are you able to see the perfect symbols of Jesus, but out of the shell fall several tiny bones in the perfect shape of doves! … the symbol of the Holy Spirit!

So it is in the Christian life. A broken heart will release the Holy Spirit.

BROKEN HEART
Things of earth don’t satisfy
That deepest longing in man’s soul
To find the place where he is whole
Nor yet answer his query, “Why?”

I in Christ my being found
When, broken at my Savior’s feet,
He restored and made complete
My riven heart on Calvary’s ground.

With force renewed and quickened so
That every nerve feeds rich and deep,
His life through every pore doth seep
To pulse with love’s abundant flow.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I want to be heart-broken for You. Spill the Holy Spirit from my broken heart.