Prayer

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 Preschool Prayer

/ Jodie / 1 Comment

Psalm 100:4-5

New Living Translation

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
    go into his courts with praise.
    Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
    His unfailing love continues forever,
    and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

A few weeks ago, I started pondering a little prayer I learned to recite in pre-school. You’ve probably heard of it, or maybe even memorized it yourself as a child,

“God is good.

God is great.

Let us thank Him for our food.

By His hand, we are fed.

Give us Lord, our daily bread.

Amen.”

At the same time, I was also meditating on verses 4 and 5 of Psalm 100. Taking God quite literally at His Word, my man and I started thanking God and praising Him each morning during our daily walks.

Realizing my personality type lends itself to focusing on the negative/glass half full point of view, I wondered if this discipline might change my perspective and perhaps hinder some of my grumbling and complaining.

It didn’t.

At least, not right away.

But when my scheduled fasting day arrived this week, something shifted. I started seeing things differently. In the morning, I felt discouraged and deeply disappointed about a few things. To be honest, I just wanted to stay in bed and pout about it, or maybe even throw a preschool sized pity party. But instead of looking inward, I looked upward. I sought the Father – and His Kingdom. I entered into His gates with thanksgiving. I went into His courts with praise. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, right in the middle of the mundane of the day, revelation came.

Manna from heaven.

Daily bread.

Here’s the hard truth about fasting: it HURTS! But you know what can happen when we persevere (by His grace) through physical pain? Emotional pain has the opportunity to rise to the surface. Crucifying our flesh allows His Spirit to reveal what’s hidden and covered up in our soul. This is how He purifies our hearts! In His presence, God himself invites us to pour out our complaints and process all our feels in a healthy, productive way. Then, as we surrender our will to His, we are able to see things from HIS perspective. And that vantage point, my friend, is far above every power or principality of darkness that tries to deceive or tempt us to doubt that…

God really is good.

God really is great.

NEW BOOK Available Today!!!

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For nearly two decades, I’ve periodically written & posted biblically based blogs @ deepintothewater.com

Never, ever, ever did I have any desire to write a book about my life.

God, however, had other plans.

After hearing His still, small voice, I put literal pen to paper and began pouring my heart out in my journal.

8 years later (a significant number for me), I felt prompted to publish some of those pages.

So, welcome to my house! Come on in…the doors open. Allow me to introduce you to The Restorer of Homes.

https://a.co/d/8NQVDsx

In the Shelter

/ Jodie / 2 Comments

2 Timothy 1:7

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Psalm 91

1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    he is my God, and I trust him.

As Hurricane Milton was developing into a Category 5 Hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico last week, the Lord was simultaneously preparing us for trouble. That’s right. Trouble. Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble-  but He also offers a solution to the tests, trials and temptations we all will inevitably face.

Long before our Governor declared a state of emergency across multiple counties in Florida (including ours) the Lord was helping me take heart. Before I even knew what was coming, He was preparing my mind, will and emotions to trust Him.

The trouble?

A spirit of fear.

The solution?

Worshipping the Father.

  1. Scripture (Truth)

All ya’ll know I continually encourage us to be in the Word, but in case anyone forgot, I’ll remind us again: we must chew, digest, regurgitate and chew the cud of Scripture each and every day. Why? Storms are coming! Heavy rains and destructive winds are on the way and flood waters are rising. Those who build their hearts upon the Word of God will stand firm. Conversely, those who foolishly build their houses on the world – and its systems, will crumble.

Two weeks ago, I was also preparing to teach another lesson in our Emotional Discipleship class at church. Care to guess the subject matter? It was on anxiety, fear & depression. I volunteered for the topic, having been well acquainted with these troubling emotions since childhood. Sad to say, the spirit of fear is very familiar with me- and my family. It’s been around for generations… but it ain’t staying!

Then, this past Sunday, one of our elders preached a message on… a spirit of fear! Do you think the Lord was trying to get our attention?!

2. Prayer (Spirit)

In the past few years I’ve become acutely aware that my prayer life must increase. As our family continues to settle into and possess the land God has promised as an inheritance, the resistance and retaliation from the enemy’s camp has also increased. Instead of wearing myself out, trying to extinguish those fiery arrows in the flesh, I must be FULL of the Holy Spirit, dressed from head to toe with the armor of God, seeking direction from the Commander of Heaven’s armies. HE is my strength and shield. Not my words, but His Word.

Each morning, I pour out my praise and process my feelings in a journal with God. I also walk and talk with my man and the Lord on a local nature trail. Throughout the day, I pray without ceasing as I’m prompted by the Spirit, or a prayer request is sent my way. And, I join other intercessors in the body of Christ multiple times a week to ask, seek, knock on the Father’s heart for our community, our nation, and Israel.  

As we began hurricane preparations at home on Monday, news reports were overflowing with fear and speculation. Social media posts were even worse. Then came the warnings and watches that continued to blast emergency signals to our phones and watches. A spirit of fear was palpable. My entire body felt its affects. For a moment I entertained it, but then I was reminded that the Lord had been preparing me for this battle all along. So, I flipped the switch between soul and spirit, and my heart anchored itself in the One who sits far above every storm!

In the middle of the night on Wednesday (or the wee hours of Thursday) as the eye of the storm passed over Polk County, we heard a thunderous CRASH outside our bedroom window. Instinctively, I started praying in the Spirit as my man attempted to peer out the window with a flashlight (we’d lost power the night before). As terror gripped my heart, I kept declaring the Word of God to my soul. Moments later, I felt indescribable peace, knowing:

I was in the shelter of the Most High.

The next morning, as dawn broke, we went outside to assess the damage. A section of our neighbors abandoned cattle shelter had flown over the fence and into our backyard. As one hundred mile an hour wind gusts raised the roof and support beams into the air, the Almighty’s hand laid it right back down in the perfect spot. The only damage to our property was a few tears in our pool enclosure.

If I’d needed another sign from heaven, this was it!

Power, love and a sound mind is only found in the shadow of the Almighty. He is our shelter in every storm.