Confession

Only Fools Insist

/ Jodie / 1 Comment

Last night, as our 9 year old son was preparing for bed, he nonchalantly asked “is it ok that I told my teacher at church that there was….a… “situation” this weekend…ya know…that you and dad had a fight….about the mulch?”

Proverbs 20:3

3 Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor;
 only fools insist on quarreling.

Shock. Embarrassment. Realization that a room full of kids and their teachers now know with certainty that my husband and I acted like fools!

IMG_0879Then I chuckled and promptly relayed the story to my groom.

This morning, during another “situation” with our son (ya know…when you tell him to practice his spelling words on Friday and the test on Monday proves that he didn’t study….at all?!?) God gave me the opportunity to turn my foolishness into a blessing.

As I talked (ok- lectured) about his rebellion; not completing the assigned work, even though it wasn’t fun and he didn’t want to, I compared his lack of integrity to my lack of integrity that he witnessed two days before. A few moments later, as I looked into our son’s weepy blue eyes, I realized he only knew and “shared” (gossiped) half the story. What he didn’t see was his father and I taking a “time out” from each other to confess and repent to our Father for the stubborn pride that compelled us to insist on quarreling over mulch. Yes, mulch. Completely stupid, I know. But, stay with me!!! He didn’t know that a little while later, we came back together to apologize and forgive each other. He didn’t realize that each day both of us need God’s mercy so that we will make the choice to submit to Him- and one another. He didn’t understand that submission isn’t fun and we don’t always want to (even in our 40’s).

But submission is always the right thing to do. It’s right because we say we love God and each other. It’s right because actually loving God means obeying His commands- all of them, whether it’s fun or we feel like it. It’s right because our marriage is designed to reflect the love Jesus (the Bridegroom) gave for the church (His Bride). And when we choose to do what is right, an amazing thing happens; the Holy Spirit enables us to walk with integrity in our lives- and in our marriage…. and our children are blessed as they follow.

Proverbs 20:7

7 The godly walk with integrity;
  blessed are their children who follow them.

 

Drunk & Naked

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Genesis 6:9-10, 9:20-25

9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. 10 Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 

20 After the flood, Noah began to cultivate the ground, and he planted a vineyard. 21 One day he drank some wine he had made, and he became drunk and lay naked inside his tent. 22 Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and went outside and told his brothers. 23 Then Shem and Japheth took a robe, held it over their shoulders, and backed into the tent to cover their father. As they did this, they looked the other way so they would not see him naked.

24 When Noah woke up from his stupor, he learned what Ham, his youngest son, had done. 25 Then he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham:

“May Canaan be cursed!
 May he be the lowest of servants to his relatives.”

IMG_1850It didn’t take long for blameless Noah to screw up after the flood. Whether he intentionally planned to become intoxicated or failed to realize the potency of his homemade wine is unclear. Nonetheless, he was drunk- and naked.

Had the story stopped there, his sin of gluttony would have stayed between him and God. But he, like many of us, had children that would be affected by his actions. Ham saw his father naked. Instead of dealing with the embarrassing exposure, he ran and tattled to his brothers. How often do we see a family member in embarrassing situations because of their choices, yet we say nothing to them…but choose instead to blab it to other relatives? Sham and Japheth, feeling sorry for their father’s predicament, backed into the tent and covered him with a robe. How often do we cover up our family members shame because we’re afraid to look at the sin and rightly deal with it before God?

Although Sham and Japheth were blessed by Noah for honoring and showing him respect, their actions would impact Noah’s family for generations, as would Ham’s. Because of his judgment and desire to point out his father’s fault to others, his son, Canaan was cursed.

God’s Word is clear about the impact of sin upon families:

Exodus 20:5

….I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me.

And the same applies to His favored children today:

My drunkenness will affect our children.

My nakedness (lack of modesty/sexual sin) will affect our children.

My judgment will affect our children.

My pride will affect our children.

My rebellion will affect our children.

My curses will affect our children.

BUT, let us not forget the Good News!!!! The Lord also promises He will

Exodus 20:6

lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

AND…

1 John 1:9

if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Sure, there can still be consequences for our actions, but our God is also the One who redeems and restores!!! I’ve seen Him take my sins and remember them no more. I’ve heard Him speak blessings in place of curses over our family. I’ve felt His freedom released in my soul. I’ve watched Him protect our children from the traps of the enemy. ALL things are possible in Him. All He asks is that we willingly surrender our drunk & naked sins to Him…and confess them to one another, so that we may be healed.

James 5:16

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

IF…..

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2 Chronicles 7:12-16

12 Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said,

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. 13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. 15 My eyes will be open and my ears attentive to every prayer made in this place. 16 For I have chosen this Temple and set it apart to be holy—a place where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart.

Some time after Solomon dedicated the Temple to God, the Lord revealed a contingent promise to him: IF God’s people humbled themselves, prayed, sought His face, and turned from sin, He WOULD hear them, forgive them and restore them.

After Jesus’s death and resurrection, God echoed the same contingency to His people:

Romans 10:9

9 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

IF we confess Jesus as Lord & believe God raised Him from the grave, He WILL save us from eternal punishment. But we don’t have to offer sacrifices of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats as Solomon did for the dedication of the Temple. Jesus, the Lamb of God, willingly spilled His blood for our sin.

How then, should we respond to such a magnificent, selfless, sacrifice?

We are to dedicate our temple to Him so that His name will be honored forever.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

How do we do that? (verse 14) IMG_1850

We humble ourselves, every morning.

We pray, every morning.

We seek His face, every morning.

We repent for our sins, every morning.

We accept His forgiveness, every morning.

We praise Him, every morning, for being faithful to restore the areas of our soul that the enemy sought to steal, kill and destroy.

Lamentations 3:22-23

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
 for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;
 great is your faithfulness

And then…He gives us another promise (verse 16):

He will watch over us, for we are dear to His heart. Did you get that? WE are dear to HIS heart!

What a loving, giving, sacrificial God He is….

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

It is Stupid

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Proverbs 12:1

To learn, you must love discipline;
 it is stupid to hate correction.

During my journey as a disciple of Jesus Christ I haven’t always loved discipline. Alright…let’s be honest: at times, I’ve actually hated correction because I’ve trusted that what I was thinking, feeling, believing and doing was absolutely “right.” To make matters worse, I’ve even cited Gods blessings in my life as tangible evidence that I must be practically perfect in every way- and completely beyond reproach!!!

Enter pride: stage “right.”

IMG_4461Each time the Lord brings correction through His Word, prayer or others, my ego takes a huge slap to the face. If I choose to react to the pain and become angry and blame others (as Adam & Eve did in the garden), shame will consume me like a heavy cloak…. and I will remain a fool. But if I am able to lay down my offense and ask the Lord to penetrate the darkness with His light to reveal the Truth, I will see that I have once again rebelled against Him. And in His mercy, He will once again give me the opportunity to confess, repent, be forgiven & clothed in His righteousness.

It is stupid for me to hate correction, for I know the Father’s discipline is always, ALWAYS motivated by love. Even if a rebuke is delivered through someone who doesn’t articulate it with the most gentle, thoughtful and kind words, I can still receive it in love, because I know it comes from the One whom delights in me!

Proverbs 3:12

For the Lord corrects those he loves,
 just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

If you want to know God, you must learn about Him.

If you want to learn about Him, you must love discipline.

If you want to love discipline, you must accept correction.

If you want to accept correction, you must be wise.

If you want to be wise, you must be willing to listen to others.

Proverbs 12:15

Fools think their own way is right,
 but the wise listen to others.

Proverbs 12:15

Fools think their own way is right,
 but the wise listen to others.

I Want to See!

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Mark 10:46-52

46 Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47 When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48 “Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and said, “Tell him to come here.”

So they called the blind man. “Cheer up,” they said. “Come on, he’s calling you!” 50 Bartimaeus threw aside his coat, jumped up, and came to Jesus.

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.

“My Rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”

52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.

In my short journey as a follower of Jesus I have been blind many, many times. Not physically like Bartimaeus, but spiritually and emotionally.

IMG_0602When life is hard and I find myself sitting alone beside the road of Jericho in total darkness, my mind begins to wander;

“should I lie down and wallow in my disability?

should I beg others to take care of me?

should I just sit and wait?”

Feeling helpless and angry, I begin to hear others say that Jesus is nearby. In an instant, hope springs forth and I begin to shout. The enemy attacks, convincing a few to tell me to be quiet. Knowing that HE is greater (1 John 4:4), I fight back and begin shouting even louder: “Son of David, have mercy on me!” The Lord hears my cry and sends another disciple to encourage me to go to Him. As the noise and distractions of life are silenced, I finally hear that still small voice whisper, “come….”

Desperate to see, I throw aside my coat of shame, jump up and go. He asks, “what do you want me to do for you?” Humbled, I bow before the King of kings and Lord of lords, crying out “I want to SEE! I want Your light to penetrate the dark places of my soul. I want to confess, repent and be set free!” The miraculous occurs; the Spirit of God brings Truth and I can see. I can SEE. I CAN SEE!

Once again, He tells me to to “go” (Matthew 28:19), for my faith in Him has brought healing to my soul. I will not be silent. I must get up. I must follow Him. I must tell others about the One who heals!

Matthew 15:30

30 A vast crowd brought to him people who were lame, blind, crippled, those who couldn’t speak, and many others. They laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all.

Power Outage

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Luke 24:44-49

44 Then he said, “When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations,[a] beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’ 48 You are witnesses of all these things.

49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”

During the wee hours this morning as I laid in bed, wrestling with insomnia, the ceiling fan in our bedroom abruptly turned off. When I sat up and looked down the hallway I noticed that the small table lamp wasn’t on either…and the house was completely silent.

Power outage.

I grabbed my cell phone and turned the flashlight app on to find my way to the front window. I peered out to see if it was a neighborhood outage or just our house (which would have made me wonder if the bill payment got lost in the mail!).

Since I was wide awake, I decided to report the subdivision outage online. After entering our street address, a message popped up, informing me that crews were already working to remove a fallen tree from a power line in our city.

Back to bed.

When the temperature in our room began to rise and beads of sweat began accumulating on my forehead, my body refused to go back to sleep. As I tossed and turned in the dark, I began thinking about how much I take our power for granted…. and how dependent I am on it- for everything.

In the same way, I sometimes take the power of the Holy Spirit for granted…. and fail to know that I can depend on Him – for everything. As a result, occasional power outages occur in my life.

Yet, when I am still in the silence and ask the Lord (or a fellow believer brings revelation through a rebuke) the Holy Spirit shines His flashlight app on the dark areas of my soul. Then- and only then, am I able to see the sin that’s been hiding in the shadows.

Thankfully, His mercy is available every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) and every morning we can choose to plug in to the Truth found in His Word and communicate with Him: “Lord, am I suffering from a power outage in my relationship with You? Am I suffering from a power outage in my relationship with my husband? Am I suffering from a power outage in my relationship with our children? Am I suffering from a power outage in my relationship with others in the body of Christ?”

IMG_0652Once He reveals the rotten fruit and how the tree has fallen on the power line, we can engage our will by surrendering, confessing and repenting. And immediately, His forgiveness flips the breaker back on so that we can live our day to the full… with the power of His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

Galatians 5:19-23

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Do the Will

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Joshua 24:15

15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”

Once more, I’ve found myself looking back at my relationship with God only to discover I delayed my obedience to Him….again. But that’s smoothing over it a bit. Let’s just call it like it is: I disobeyed Him. I refused to surrender my will. I neglected to do the will of the One who created me, and has a purpose for my life.

Several years ago, God told me to do something. I started the process, but then placed it on a shelf- literally. Multiple times the Holy Spirit would remind me of it, but I would listen to the lies of the enemy instead. As the deceiver whispered “did God really say to do that?” I’d justify why it was a bad idea or how nothing good could possibly come from it (for me).

IMG_4389And then, one day, as I was reading another Oswald Chambers devotion I was reminded, AGAIN, and I could no longer ignore God’s prompting to obey. In that moment, I had to choose whom I would serve: God, or the enemy. I immediately got up from my secret place where I had been sitting in the Lord’s presence… and DID something! I also confessed my disobedience (sin) to my husband and mentors so that they could pray for me.

James 5:16

16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

On judgment day, it won’t matter how many blogs I’ve written, couples I’ve mentored, small groups I’ve led, or conferences I’ve spoken at…..my entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven will be determined by whether or not I chose to do the will of God.

Matthew 7:21-23

21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. 22 On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ 23 But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

Jesus did the will of the Father. Every moment of every day for the 33 years He lived on this earth. Each mundane, each epic event was submitted to the will of the One who sent Him. And God requires the same of me.

“I cannot give up my will, I must exercise it. I must will to obey, and I must will to receive God’s Spirit…..  Profess to Him – “I will be loyal.” Immediately, you choose to be loyal to Jesus Christ, you are a witness against yourself. Don’t consult other Christians, but profess before Him- I will serve Thee. Will to be loyal- and give other people credit for being loyal too.” Oswald Chambers