Confession

The Prodigal @ Home

/ Jodie / 2 Comments

Luke 15:11-32

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.[a]’

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Like that prodigal in the parable, I also left my Father’s house as a young child. Blind to sin because of the desire to be my own god, I spent decades wasting my inheritance on immoral living. I ate and drank and wallowed in the mud & muck, just like a pig. Until one day, praise GOD- when I came to my senses, by the power of His Spirit! Conviction cut straight to the heart, piercing between my soul & spirit. I confessed, repented and returned to my Father, where He welcomed me home with open arms.

But my story doesn’t end there.

Since being adopted into God’s family, I’ve also played the part of the older child. The prodigal at home. Distracted by the demands of being about my Father’s business, I inadvertently become disconnected from His heart. As a result, the pouting begins; grumbling and complaining about the pigs who get to party, while I do ALL the work of the ministry! Forgetting about the grace given me, I become self-righteousness and angry. Angry that they seem to be getting all the attention and affection and applause, as if they are my Father’s favorite. Over time, if I ignore that anger long enough, it grows into a root of bitterness that defiles and deceives my own soul.

But, praise the LORD!!!

There’s still good news for that prodigal stuck in the pig trough.

When we:

Get HONEST with Him, ourselves and others (confess)

HONOR our Father (repent, forgive)

He will:

HEAL our prodigal heart

DELIVER us from the pig trough

My fellow prodigals, I believe it’s time to come to our senses again. LOVE must be our highest goal! We’ve become too distracted by the work of the ministry. It’s time to repent and return to our Father’s house- and the heart of the Father. It’s time to confess our sins to Him and one another so that we may be healed. It’s time to humble ourselves, get honest, and ask others in the body of Christ for help. It’s time to submit and surrender to His Word and Spirit as He cuts through our emotions, our minds and our wills.

It’s time for prodigals to come home. It’s time for prodigals at home to come to Him. He’s waiting for all of us with open arms.

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/ Jodie / 2 Comments

Psalm 51:10-12: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit”

Father,

Forgive us. We don’t know what we are doing. You say that we are made in Your image…  being conformed into the image of Your Son. But we’ve exchanged the Truth for a lie! We’re convinced that the way to be known is found staring at a screen.

We took the bait! And now we’re trapped in a world wide web of witchcraft. Complaining, criticizing and competing against those You’ve created in Your image. We doom scroll day after day, idolizing ourselves and others while worshipping at the temple of followers and friends. Our eyes and ears are fixed on man instead of You. Help us, Holy Spirit! We’ve traded our birthright for a bowl of stew. We confess and repent for wasting our inheritance; seeking our kingdom instead of Yours. Forgive us for acting like the father of lies on earth, instead of reflecting You, our Father in heaven. Create in us a clean heart, oh God, that we might not sin against You. Come into every room, every closet, bathroom and basement of our heart. Shine Your light on anything that’s hiding and covering itself in shame. Heal our mind, will and emotions. Deliver us from the idolatry of image (and give us the courage to pluck out our eye and cut off our hand!).

Amen.

A Prayer (fighting the good fight)

/ Jodie / Leave a comment

1 Timothy 6:11-14

11 … Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. 13 And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

God, YOU said that when we fight the good fight of faith, it’s not by our strength or our power, but by YOUR Spirit. That means: we have to SEEK first YOUR Kingdom. Then all the things, all the plans for how to resist the devil will be given to us. Only then will we be able to go – and possess the land YOU promised. When we humble ourselves, seek YOUR face and turn from our wicked ways, no power or principality of darkness will harm us. No weapon formed against us will prosper. When we submit to YOU, as children, in childlike faith, we prove that YOU are our Father. A chosen few are doing that. But many that are called are running around like orphans with poopy diapers, swinging swords they aren’t strong enough to handle. Oh, that we would grow up and become spiritually mature sons and daughters!

How many times have YOU forgiven us our trespasses against YOU? In our ignorance we’ve believed we’re grown- just because we’re gifted! Heaven, help us. Many of us are doing good works; using spiritual gifts with gusto as explosive diarrhea overflows our sagging diapers. Our sacrifices have been detestable to YOU. They stink like week old dirty diapers! YOU are not interested in our Simon the Sorcerer routine; performing miracles, signs and wonders for the crowd….without knowing YOU. Without loving YOU! It’s obvious: we love ourselves and others more. The proof is evidence against us: we refuse to obey YOU. We’ve been content performing for love instead of from love.

When will we STOP?

When will we BE STILL?

When will we LAY DOWN and let our parents (the spiritually mature believers YOU have placed in our lives) help change us?

When we confess that we’ve rejected YOU as Father. When we repent for resisting YOUR authority. When we realize we’ve been deceived, doubted and followed the advice of the father of lies. “Don’t tell me what to do!” is the mantra of his children. They’ve declared their declaration of independence in their hearts. They’ve chosen to remain orphans; independent, impetuous and impatient… willing to survive alone, as individuals.

Lord, forgive us. We do not know what we are doing! We need a spanking. We need a time out. We need to be grounded. We need our toy swords to be taken away for a season to rest, recover and be restored to YOU: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We need to become HOLY as YOU are holy! Then we need to be reconciled to our fathers and mothers & brothers and sisters in Christ.

We confess all our crap to you, Lord! We repent for acting like orphans. We repent for being rebellious children. We declare a new declaration of DEPENDANCE on YOU, our good Father. We ask for YOUR helper- YOUR Spirit to lead us into all Truth. Change our hearts as YOU change our diapers! Train us in the way we should go. Potty train us. Teach us to grow up! We wanna become spiritually mature. We want to develop into healthy & holy kids, teenagers and adults. And when we are able, we ask that YOU show us how to parent the young ones as YOU have parented us; teaching us to obey all YOU have commanded.

Amen.

God or man?

/ Jodie / 1 Comment

Proverbs 1:7

7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
    but fools[a] despise wisdom and instruction.

The Word is quite clear of the miracle that happens when our heart loves God with all of our mind, will and emotions. We become wise! It is also written that when we act foolishly; despising Wisdom and instruction, destruction awaits.

If the fear of the Lord brings wisdom, then what does the fear of man bring?

Witchcraft, perhaps?

Last year, I was in a challenging situation. In the midst of a chaotic environment I reacted to ongoing foolishness by trying to assert control in the flesh. Dumb idea! It’s a trauma response I’m very familiar with; control or be controlled. You’d understand if I told you my back story, but it’s not pertinent to our current conversation. In short, we try to control what we’re afraid of. But as wise master Yoda so eloquently declares, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering….”

Indeed, the fear of man leads us down a dark street. Just read Proverbs 5, 7 & 9. Solomon urges us to listen to Wisdom – not the Ho that is also crying out for our attention. Her path leads to ruin. Her soliciting weaves a web of manipulation that promises love; acknowledgement, acceptance and affirmation from others. But once we’re in her trap, she sucks the life out of us and slaughters our soul. She is an unfaithful lover. That witch lures us in and spins us round and around, churning our love into hate. We wind up hating her, ourselves and everyone that stands on both sides of the street.

I was like that stag caught in her trap.

I was like that ox led to slaughter.

How did I escape her captivity?

How did I break free from her web?

Short answer: I chose to submit to the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

Long answer: I read the Word day after day after day. I prayed day after day after day. I remained in covenant community day after day after day. Wise ones encouraged me and corrected me and discerned a spirit of witchcraft oppressing me.

 (Allow me to interrupt this program already in progress with a brief commercial break!!!)

To all my Charismatic/Pentecostal brothers and sisters:

I love ya’ll! I love your fire. I love your zealousness for good works. I love how you just wanna run into the battle, kick butt and take names. But let’s not neglect that hidden treasure that requires us to slow down; ASKING, SEEKING & KNOCKING on the door of Wisdom. Once inside, we must be still. We must sit down, shut up and listen to what HE says before we speak. I agree, we are seated with Christ in heavenly places. I agree, the enemy is under our feet. But we’ve gotta learn how to pray. We’ve gotta learn how to follow His orders; submitting to the Lord, then resisting the devil, then watching him flee. Let’s stop yelling at that snake, telling him to “GO, in Jesus name!!!” if the person we’re praying for is partnering with his lies. Don’t forget; he will go when we confess, repent, and forgive, as the Spirit prompts.

The Son wants to release captives and set prisoners FREE from witchcraft- so let’s do what He tells us to do, when He tells us to do it. And remember, healing and deliverance doesn’t always happen in an instant through our favorite conference speaker, YouTube or Facebook personality. It also occurs over time in the secret place and the corporate place as we confess our sins to one another.   

I was stuck in that web- in the swirl and twirl of witchcraft for a long time. Wisdom was needed to get me out. That Ho had made her bed and I literally crawled right up in it! I was sleeping with the enemy, people!!! My fear led to anger, which led to hate, which led to deep suffering in my soul. But thank the LORD, that is not the end of my story from the streets. God rescued me from darkness as I stopped quenching His Spirit and started submitting to His Word. He is strong and mighty to save those who are caught in a trap of sin.

My friend, as we close our time together, I’m compelled to ask: what side of the street are you living on?

The side of Wisdom…

or witchcraft?

The side where you fear God….

or man?

Guard your heart and choose carefully, dear one. For your decision will determine the course of your life.

I MUST complain!

/ Jodie / 1 Comment

Job 7:11

11 “I cannot keep from speaking.
    I must express my anguish.
    My bitter soul must complain.

“One of the most consistent teachings of Scripture is that moments of difficulty will come. Rather than grumbling, we should pray and push forward, trusting God to expand our souls.” 

This morning as I read the excerpt above from a devotional written by a well-known Christian leader, my eyes fixated on the words, “we should.” As I paused to consider the proceeding phrase, “rather than grumbling,” I became angry. I agreed with the sentiment of what the author was saying, “we should” pray. However, I found myself adamantly opposed to the statement that suggested what we should not do: grumble– or as Job puts it, complain. In the current season of my life, I have felt the sting of familiar religious phrases from the friends of Job who tell me what I should and should not do to end my suffering. The words they communicated may have been true, but they did not taste like the sweet fruit of love.

“We should” reeks of a religious spirit. Its motivation is that of obligation to the law, not love. Jesus never taught His disciples to perform the ten commandments perfectly to please Him. Instead, He invited them- He invites us- to love Him; thus, fulfilling the most important commandment in the law of Moses. The Lords desire is that we trust Him with all of our heart (mind, will and emotions).

I know about loving Him with some of my heart. I was what some would call a strong-willed child. And that strong will didn’t go away when I was born again! As a young believer, I was on my way to becoming a well-respected religious leader. A Pharisee of Pharisees. I worked diligently at transforming my mind. I disciplined my will to submit, submit, submit. But I was absolutely void of any emotion in my relationship with the Lord. I had spent an entire lifetime learning to stuff my feelings. I knew how to pray and push on. That is, until 2011, when I saw JESUS face to face while receiving healing and deliverance ministry from others in the body of Christ. During that encounter, I was SET FREE from emotional bondage! By the power of His Spirit, I could no longer keep from speaking. I HAD to express my anguish. My bitter soul HAD to complain. As I did so, the Light of the world exposed what was hidden in darkness, thus releasing a floodgate of tears that as Corey Russell says, turned into liquid prayers.

My friend, I submit to you that we SHOULD grumble, complain, throw a hissy fit, or have a temper tantrum! God already knows what’s in our hearts. Why are we so afraid of expressing it to Him? Do we fear His rejection? Do we believe He will leave or forsake us if we don’t perform our religious duties perfectly? Or do we fear what our friends will think or say if we absolutely lose it? I encourage you to read to the end of Job’s story in the book that bears His name. Yes, God rebuked Job for his pride, but He did not condemn him for expressing what was in his heart as he suffered great loss. 

Let us, like Job, bare our souls to the One who knows every intimate detail of our lives. Let us trust that when we have a 4-year-old meltdown in our room, our mothers garden, or the Walmart parking lot, He can handle it. Let us believe He is who He says He is: comforter, healer, deliverer. Let us remember, He is a good Father, able to give us good gifts and a good spanking, when we need it. Let us be like little children, expressing the good, bad and ugly in His presence, without fear. This is how we learn to love Him with ALL of our hearts.