Drunk & Naked

January 4, 2016November 9, 2017 / Jodie / 1 Comment

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.”

It 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…..

October 22, 2015 / Jodie / Leave a comment

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)

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

October 12, 2015 / Jodie / Leave a comment

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.”

Each 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!

October 1, 2015 / Jodie / Leave a comment

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.

When 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

September 21, 2015 / Jodie / 1 Comment

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?”

Once 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!

Slave to Sin

June 2, 2015 / Jodie / Leave a comment

Romans 6:4-7, 12-18

4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.

12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. 15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

After I died and was buried with Christ by baptism, I was determined to live a new life. I became extremely disciplined; doing everything “right” to ensure that sin would lose its power over me. Because I relied on my stubborn will instead of God’s grace, I repeatedly failed in my endeavor. Instead, I continued to live as a slave to sin in several areas of my life.

I see many in the body of Christ caught in the same vicious cycle. They try and try and try to obey the law. They meet with their pastor. They attend counseling sessions. They sign up for a bible study. They go to therapy. They serve every Sunday. They join a small group. They work at every outreach. But freedom in Christ continues to elude them.

Why?

Why can’t they break the power of sin?

The simple, yet difficult answer is this: they must give themselves completely to God. Completely. They can try to fight it (sin), discipline it, justify it, but if they fail to relinquish every area of their lives to the Creator of the Universe, they will, as Paul states, be a slave to it.

When I first surrendered my stubborn pride and crippling fears to the Father, He began revealing the sins from my past that were affecting my present. As I came face to face with my Savior and repented for each specific disobedience against the Father, the Son unlocked the prison door and beckoned me to walk out— into freedom!

As a result, many areas of my heart and soul are now FREE to love the Lord my God with all my strength, and love others as myself. Yet, there are still more areas which are hidden to me that my Healer has yet to shine His light on. And so, I continue to communicate with my Lord regularly, asking, “what areas of my life am I not trusting and obeying You?”

Luke 10:27

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Is sin controlling the way you live? Do you desperately want to become a slave to righteousness? I urge you….cry out to God, give yourself completely to Him and repent for everything the Holy Spirit reveals to you. Then stand up, walk out of that prison cell, and follow Jesus into the abundant life He has planned for you!

John 10:10

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Dress Yourself in Humility

April 29, 2015April 27, 2015 / Jodie / 1 Comment

1 Peter 5:5-11

5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for

“God opposes the proud  but gives grace to the humble.”[a]

6 So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. 7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers[b] all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

10 In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen.

When Doug and I finally gave God all our worries and cares, the Holy Spirit began His work to restore, support and strengthen us individually- and together.

Believers, all over the world have, and will go through the same kind of suffering in their marriage that we did. As with most couples, our story involved two broken people who finally surrendered to the Father. But it didn’t happen simultaneously. Doug was the first to humble himself.

After years of trying to conquer sexual sin in his own strength, in 2001 my groom was faced with the prospect of loosing his wife, children and career. Everything that he held dear was being stripped away in the span of only a few hours. Fortunately, for him- and his family, he cried out to God for help….and in His kindness, God reminded him of his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus.

My surrender came several months later. Like a roaring lion, I was looking to devour my husband and make him pay for all the scars & pain he inflicted on me during our years together. I was angry, bitter, judgmental and completely blind to my own sexual sin- and stubborn pride. Until one day…while I was cursing my husband, the Holy Spirit interjected (literally in mid sentence): “I died for him too. He is forgiven. You must forgive.”

The restoring of our marriage began with both of us confessing and repenting to the Father. Had we stopped there, we would have stayed together with a firm foundation, but our relationship would not have been rebuilt the way God designed. In order to continue the construction process, Doug and I once again had to humble ourselves by confessing our sins to each other and repenting for the pain we inflicted in one another’s souls. We had to be willing to give and receive forgiveness. We also needed to allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate the deep, dark, hidden places in the basement of our past so that we could see where the enemy had stolen, killed and destroyed areas of our lives- and marriage. Once we knew the Truth, we were set free by confessing, repenting and forgiving.

As with any remodel, the project towards oneness has been long….and sometimes extremely hard. And it still isn’t finished! But I can tell you from experience: the blessings of obedience far outweigh the cost of humbling ourselves under the mighty power of God.

If you are in the midst of a marriage renovation, dress yourself in humility towards God and your spouse. The Lord promises that at just the right time He will lift you up in honor. So trust Him! Don’t rush the reno. A firm foundation and well built home takes time.

Psalm 37:7

7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,  and wait patiently for him to act.