Salvation

In the Light

/ Jodie / Leave a comment

1 John 1:5-10

5 This is the message we heard from Jesus[a] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Upon my salvation, I believed God forgave ALL my sins; past, present & future. Although this is true, as a new disciple, I was inadvertently taught that I didn’t need to repent -ever again.

Romans 3:23-24

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

By God’s grace, I HAVE BEEN SAVED from eternal punishment and my destiny in Him is secure! And now I know that when I repent, it is not to re-secure my spot in heaven, but to re-open the door to God’s light in my life. Choosing to rest on the laurels of praying the sinner’s prayer 14 years ago does not exclude me from living in darkness today. To pretend that I have not sinned since that day is foolishness. When there is unconfessed sin in my life, my relationship with God is hindered. The only way to uncover that darkness is to penetrate it with His light. As I pause each day and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal those places in my soul (some of which I may be completely unaware of because I am being deceived by the enemy), He is faithful to answer:

-judgment

-unforgiveness

-complacency

-doubt

-fear

Then, instead of offering a “blanket” apology, I repent in detail for these things:

REPENT = to feel or show that you are sorry for something wrong that you did and that you want to do what is right (Merriam-Webster)

-“Lord, please forgive me for judging ________. You know their heart, and you will judge according to your perfect will, not mine.”

-“I choose as an act of my will, to forgive _________. They owe me nothing.”

-“Father, remove the complacency from my soul. Help me to run boldly after you to further your Kingdom on this earth.”

-“God, forgive me for doubting that you are good- and that you will provide for me.”

-“Lord, please show me the root of this fear. I repent for being bound to my circumstances, instead of trusting in you.”

A “blanket” repentance can be likened to a “blanket” apology after a fight with my spouse. In the beginning, Doug and I were ok with just saying “I’m sorry…” to one another. But, as our relationship has deepened and the light has pushed the areas of darkness back, our souls long for greater oneness. Now, when we repent to one another, we are specific:

-“I apologize for yelling and disrespecting you in front of the kids…I wanted you to do what I wanted.”

-“Would you please forgive me for disregarding the budget you set in place? I made a hasty decision to buy what I wanted.”

-“I’m sorry I didn’t consult you before making plans with friends. I was only thinking about what I wanted to do.”

When we confess our sin- in detail- the other person knows the sincerity of our heart. It also shows that we desire complete restoration for the relationship. A quick “I’m sorry” is usually expressed to just get ourselves out of trouble, so we can move on with what we want to do (take the kids to their activities, watch the big game on TV, go shopping, have sex….). But our spouse is not fooled- and neither is God. He knows our hearts intent, even before our lips utter a sound. If we truly want to live in the light and experience a redeemed and restored relationship with Our Father, sincere repentance must be a daily act of submission for us.

The beauty of our willingness to humble ourselves before the Creator of the universe is that He is always faithful to forgive- and embrace us with open arms.

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!’”

The Lost Sheep

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Luke 15:1-7

15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

This parable is often used as the basis of many evangelistic outreach programs within the local church. It has also been the reasoning behind the common phrase “it’s not about you” (believers) it’s about “the lost” (unbelievers) in churches that are more, as they say, “seeker friendly.” The thing is, it’s about the 1 AND the 99 because without the 99 there would be no church and without the 1 there would be no one to GO make disciples of.

Matthew 28:19

19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

After much study, reading “expert” opinions and discussing this parable at length with my husband, I believe that Jesus was referring to 2 types of “lost” sheep:

#1 The lost-lost

Isaiah 53:6

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away….

This lost-lost sheep is a sinner that has never been found. He/she has not been exposed to the gospel. Perhaps they’ve heard of the Christian religion and have known hypocritical followers of Jesus, but they haven’t had the opportunity to see one of the 99 who has been radically changed after an encounter with the Great Shepherd. This lost sheep needs to feel love- not judgment (as the Pharisees did) from the 99. The responsibility of the 99 is to lead this 1 to the Shepherd, and once he/she has repented, teach them how to obey Him.

#2 The lost-found-lost

Psalm 119:176

I have wandered away like a lost sheep;
come and find me,
for I have not forgotten your commands.

This lost-found-lost sheep is a sinner who was once a member of the 100. But, unfortunately has followed the voice of the enemy and strayed away from the flock. These are the  “back sliders” or the religious (those that do all the right things/obey the law, but have no relationship with the Great Shepherd). The responsibility of the 99 is to lead this 1 back to the Shepherd (by encouraging or rebuking, depending on the circumstance and how the Holy Spirit leads), and once they’ve repented, teach them how to obey Him, again.

The truth is, we are all the 1. All of us need the Great Shepherd to search for us and joyfully carry us home on His shoulders…..and whether we are part of the flock that are designed to disciple the lost-lost or the lost-found-lost we all should rejoice when He brings another 1 home!

Properly Dressed

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Matthew 22:1-14 New Living Translation (NLT)

Parable of the Great Feast

22 Jesus also told them other parables. He said, 2 “The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. 3 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they all refused to come!

4 “So he sent other servants to tell them, ‘The feast has been prepared. The bulls and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!’ 5 But the guests he had invited ignored them and went their own way, one to his farm, another to his business. 6 Others seized his messengers and insulted them and killed them.

7 “The king was furious, and he sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town. 8 And he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren’t worthy of the honor. 9 Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ 10 So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to meet the guests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. 12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Yesterday Doug, I, and 4 of our friends had the privilege of spending part of the afternoon getting to know a couple who share a similar calling in the Kingdom. Upon arriving at their home, built in 1827, we took a step back in time as we toured the impeccably decorated rooms and listened to life stories of multiple generations of this family who have lived on the property since the 1700’s. Afterward, we joined some of the extended family for a delicious Sunday feast and shared some of our life stories. Once our bellies were overfull with homemade chicken salad, fresh tomatoes, warm cake and ice cream, we took a walking tour of a small section of the 4,000+ acre farm.

I, unfortunately, was not properly dressed for the occasion (high heels and a long flowing dress isn’t very conducive for walking down long dirt paths in the summertime in the south…. or through outbuildings filled with antique farm equipment and family heirlooms!). As we entered the barn, my husband broke my fall when I twisted my left ankle, after catching my heel on a piece of concrete hiding beneath some hay. My pride was only hurt for a moment, as my friends- old and new- quickly came to my aid.

On with the tour!

After making a loop around the grounds and through the garden, we headed back towards the car & my dear friend offered to retrieve the other pair of heels I packed for the trip (they were croc wedged heels- still not the best shoes for the day, but they would have been better than what I had on!). I stubbornly refused. “No…I’m fine!”

On with the tour!

Several minutes later, as I was high stepping through the long cut grass, leaving a tenant house that the family is restoring, the strap of my right shoe broke off! My chivalrous husband then gave me his size 10 ½ shoes, and we walked back to the main house, hand in hand, down the long gravel path- both of us now, not properly dressed.

At first glance, the King in the Parable of the Great Feast seems to be judgmental and extremely harsh towards the man who arrived at the wedding without the proper clothes. I mean, did it really matter what kind of pants, shirt or shoes he was wearing?

No.

The secret behind this parable that Jesus told was that the guest was not prepared when he received the Kings unexpected invitation- and his heart was not properly dressed.

At first glance, we tend to judge people by looking at their exterior; what they have on, how their hair looks, what they say, the expression on their face, etc. but God looks past the outside, and goes straight to the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 New Living Translation (NLT)

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

We may fool others when we show up for church every Sunday in our high heels and long flowing dresses, looking like the “perfect Christian”, but we can’t fake the funk with God. He knows when our hearts stubbornly refuse to surrender to Him (“no…I’m fine!!!”).

If you’re reading this, you haven’t received the unexpected wedding invitation yet. But perhaps the King has already sent you an announcement & you’ve refused to RSVP. Maybe He’s even allowed you to twist your ankle, or break the strap on your favorite shoes to remind you that He’s waiting for your reply. Don’t ignore Him any longer. Accept His invitation to make Jesus Christ your Lord and King. Lower your pride, humble yourself before Him and confess: “I’m NOT fine…I need your help!” When you do, the Holy Spirit will help you get properly dressed in:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

I look forward to seeing you at the eternal feast, my friend (I’ll be the one with flip flops, a t-shirt and jeans on!)

Soil

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 Matthew 13 New Living Translation (NLT)

 13 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. 3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!

I was raised in a Christian family. My parents took me to church, VBS, Youth Camp, Music Camp- as many church activities as they could taxi me to. In junior high, I had one of those emotional mountain top experiences at camp during a worship service as we sang the chorus of “Awesome God.” It was short lived, because once I returned home to the valley (literally- we lived in the foothills of CA!), my life resumed as normal: doing what I wanted to do, being involved in church activities, but never cracking the bible that sat on my shelf. I knew about Jesus, but I had no absolutely relationship with Him.

The seeds fell on the footpath, but the birds ate them up….

In 1999, when I was 9 months pregnant with our 1st daughter, I surrendered my life to the Lord. I sobbed and poured my heart out, confessing every sin I could think of & admitting that I had done a pour job trying to control my life. I received His forgiveness and asked Him to teach me how to follow Him.

Matthew 13 New Living Translation (NLT)

 10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets[a] of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.

In the beginning of my journey following Christ, I realized the importance of studying God’s word. Unfortunately, I was usually left feeling frustrated after reading my bible because I didn’t understand the “secrets!” Instead, I began reading devotionals and Christian self-help books. I did gain some knowledge and understanding of the scriptures through other people’s interpretations, but I had no idea of how to apply these truths to my life, and honestly I really just wanted to keep doing what I wanted to do.

The seeds that fell were on shallow soil with underlying rock…

After a few years, I began to ask the Holy Spirit to give me the desire to want to read the bible- and help me understand it. As I persevered in my daily reading plan, He was faithful to begin illuminating His truth through scripture. Eventually, however, I was faced with an even greater challenge than knowing what it says: doing what it says (I quickly realized that if I didn’t want to be convicted of the sin in my life, or in my marriage, I shouldn’t read it). One of the first things the Lord highlighted to me, through His word, was my inability to forgive, and the consequences it would bring to my life. For far too long, I had held onto anger towards my husband, and thoe bitter roots of unforgiveness were choking out my ability to see and hear from God.

The seeds fell among thorns….

The process of rooting out my pride and being able to forgive began when the Lord stopped me one day, in the middle of one of my tirades about Doug & said “I love him too…I died for him too. I have forgiven him….you need to forgive him.”

That completely broke me.

From that day forward, I made the choice to forgive my husband – until my heart was free from offense, and I could see him the way Our Father sees him. It’s a practice that I continue to exercise even now.

The seeds fell on fertile soil…..

For the first time, I realized an important secret of scripture: He is the farmer, and I am the soil. Because He died for me and adopted me as His daughter, all I need to do to obtain the secrets of His Kingdom is seek Him….and be willing to allow Him to till up any rocks and thorns in my life so that He can scatter His seeds & make them grow. As a result of my willingness, a harvest that is 30, 60, or even 100 times more than what He planted will be produced in my life- and my marriage.

Our God IS an awesome God, isn’t He?

Roots

/ Jodie / Leave a comment
(Originally posted on The Bullard Pack blog on 5/19/10) 
Our girls and I have been studying Apologia Science: Botany for the past several months, and I must admit, classifying plants is not the most exciting topic of learning for me! Last week we read and discussed the function and need of roots for plants and trees. Like everything that God has created, they have a purpose.
Without roots, plants, trees, flowers and the like would not obtain the water and nutrition they need to sustain growth. They would also constantly be at the mercy of the elements. Rain would soak the ground and wash them away. Wind would blow them over, even, perhaps transporting them to another location. And without a firm base, or foundation within the soul beneath them, the plant would simply cease to exist.
On a recent hike with my husband up to Linville Falls, we made our way over and around several roots that had grown over the walking trails. My mind began bringing back the reasons why roots continue to reach out and grow wherever they can, whether it be deep beneath the earth, on top of the ground, or over existing trees, plants or other roots. Suffice to say, roots are relentless in their pursuit of growth. If their roots stop growing, they die.
Roots. What are my roots? Whom or what sustains me? Who is my strength when the elements of life overtake me? Where do I draw my nourishment from?
Although I have known about God for pretty much my entire life, I never really knew Him until I became an adult. I remember, sitting on our bed, 9 months pregnant with our first child when the floodgates opened in my soul. Through the sobbing and tears, I confessed to my husband that I didn’t think God could love me. I had turned my back on Him, and done so many sinful things that I knew He couldn’t forgive them all. In fact, I couldn’t even forgive myself. As my husband held me, he whispered “God loves you Jodie….all you have to do is ask for forgiveness, and He will give it to you. Ask Him to be your Savior” After a few rounds with the box of Kleenex, I did, and as they say, the rest is history……………
As I look back on the past decades of my life, I cringe at how, at times, my relationship with God has been so lukewarm. Only in the last few years have I really begun to develop deep roots in my life as a follower of Christ. Thank the Lord that through prayer and persistence and patience I have gradually, over time, immersed myself in the rich soil of God’s love and will for my life. I finally began getting up before the sun rises (did I mention that I HATE mornings? J) to read the Word and pray. I finally began praying for people when they asked me to (sometimes at that moment, in front of them!). I finally began sharing my failures with others, in order to encourage them in their faith in Jesus Christ. I finally became intentional about teaching our children about God and His love. For years I prayed for God to give me the desire to do all these things, and slowly, over time, He did. Of course, I had to actually get up and DO some of them, even when I didn’t (and still don’t!) feel like it.
Now that I have developed some roots, does that mean I’m done growing? Of course not! Even if I become a  giant redwood with roots as thick as a truck, it doesn’t mean I stop replenishing, maintaining, and feeding the soil in which I live in. In order to live a blessed life in which God will one day say “well done, my good and faithful servant,” (Matthew 25:23) I must continue to find sustenance  in God’s Word, stability in His Spirit and forgiveness in His Son. For without them, I will surely die. Maybe not a physical death- yet, but a spiritual one, and that, my friend is much worse.
– Jodie