Faith

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.

Called. Chosen. Commissioned.

/ Jodie / 2 Comments

Matthew 4:19

19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me…

Matthew 22:14

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

Matthew 28:19

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

A little while ago, a local college student asked to get together with me. She was searching for someone older in the faith to disciple her and wondered if I’d be interested. I agreed to meet with her on campus to discuss the idea over a cup of coffee. As we sat down together at a table outside the library, I soaked in the Florida sunshine as she started a monologue about all the things she was doing for the Lord. At some point during her sermon, I interrupted to inquire about her story. She fumbled to find the right words as I asked a few questions about her relationship with her parents, siblings and our Father, Son and Spirit. They weren’t complicated questions. Just simple things that pertained to BE-ing a disciple of Jesus. The conversation stalled, so she quickly changed the subject to her fiancé. They were planning to enter full time ministry together after graduation. She explained that her man recently found a spiritual father because he was struggling with porn, so she thought it would be a good idea for her to have a spiritual mom too! As we talked about their relationship, she admitted they were having sex, and occasionally they smoked weed together at parties.

As our conversation came to a close, I assured her that I was willing to meet again if she understood what kind of spiritual mother I am. I’m a childlike mom who’s filled with compassion and cares for the broken hearted. I feed the hungry and the hurting, because I’m hungry and hurting… and I’m healed and delivered by the love of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, and the power of His Spirit! I’m not a mom that continually affirms and applauds gifted kids. I’m grateful for God’s grace and the gifts He’s given all His children, but I preach Bible so that good fruit may be produced. I am called, chosen and commissioned to BE and make disciples who love the Lord with all their heart.

Unfortunately, I never heard from that young woman again.

But she’s not the only kid wandering around in the wilderness here. Many have been called to this land flowing with milk and honey. Many live here as orphans. But a few have chosen to follow Jesus down the narrow road alongside spiritual siblings, parents and grandparents. A few have chosen to sit at the generational table He’s preparing for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

The sad reality is, there are many breastfed babies being trained for service in the Father’s house, but they don’t have a clue where the kitchen is! They haven’t been taught how to purchase, plan or prep a meal. They haven’t been taught to sit and share with their Savior and Lord. They haven’t been taught how to eat His body and drink His blood every…single… day. They’re hungry. And they don’t even realize they’re starving to death!!!

Question is: who’s gonna feed them?

It’s time for parents, like Peter, to strengthen the body of Christ. Yep, I’m talking to you. I know you’ve been guilty of denying Jesus because you’ve feared man, not God. But let me remind you: He’s interceding for you!

Repent & return to Him.

He’s called you.

He’s chosen you.

He’s commissioned you to GO, make disciples!

Care for and feed the lambs & sheep. Invite them to breakfast, lunch or dinner. Sit at the table and listen to their stories. Tell them yours. Preach the Word of God to them. Pray with and for them. Pursue their hearts. Prophesy dry bones to life in their mind, will and emotions.

You know where the kitchen is. You know how to sit at the table. You know how to eat the scroll. It’s time to share your leftovers with the next generation.  

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.

I Can’t…

/ Jodie / Leave a comment

John 5:1-15

5 Afterward Jesus returned to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish holy days. 2 Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda,[a] with five covered porches.3 Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.[b] 5 One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty–eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?”

7 “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me.”

8 Jesus told him, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!”

9 Instantly, the man was healed! He rolled up his sleeping mat and began walking! But this miracle happened on the Sabbath, 10 so the Jewish leaders objected. They said to the man who was cured, “You can’t work on the Sabbath! The law doesn’t allow you to carry that sleeping mat!”

11 But he replied, “The man who healed me told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”

12 “Who said such a thing as that?” they demanded.

13 The man didn’t know, for Jesus had disappeared into the crowd. 14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”15 Then the man went and told the Jewish leaders that it was Jesus who had healed him.

Are you feeling sick….and tired?

I don’t know how long you’ve been laying beside that pool of pain, but I’ve got good news for you today. Jesus is extending an invitation to you. Actually, He IS the invitation. All you need to do is receive and respond to the question He’s asking,

“Do you want to get well?”

If you RSVP “yes,” then He’ll wanna talk to you about a few things that have been going on in your mind. There’s some thoughts you’ve been thinking that aren’t His thoughts. There’s no condemnation in Christ, dear one. All of us are guilty of agreeing with lies about God, others and ourselves. The enemy is crafty in convincing us that God isn’t good-  and His will and ways in our lives aren’t good. But we’ve gotta get outta that trap he’s laid for us. Otherwise, the blame game will keep us bound, believing

“I can’t…”

“I don’t …”

The Truth is: you CAN get well. The Truth is: you DO have someone. If you’ve been born again and baptized by the Spirit of God you have a helper (on the inside of you) that is suitable for you! If you’ve believed and received Jesus as Savior and Lord you DO have the Word who lights the way back to our Father. You CAN come home again. He’s waiting for you, arms open wide, ready to give you a ring and a robe. He’s also preparing a table just for you, in the presence of those enemies who’ve lied to you.

So… are you ready to return to Him?

Yes?

Praise the LORD!

You’ve come to your senses!!!

Healing is waiting on the other side of your obedience.

Now that you’ve made up your mind, you’ll need to surrender your will. That requires:

  • Humbling yourself.
  • Asking for help.
  • Confessing (out loud) any sin to Him, and others (if prompted).
  • Repenting for what needs to be forgiven.
  • Forgiving those you’ve blamed for not putting you in that pool.

You can do this, my friend.

You can stand.

You can pick up your mat.

You can walk.

There’s a crowd of witnesses cheering you on!

Healthy is HARD!

/ Jodie / 2 Comments

Luke 14:25-30

Amplified Bible

25 Now large crowds were going along with Jesus; and He turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to Me, and does not [a]hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life [in the sense of indifference to or relative disregard for them in comparison with his attitude toward God]—he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow after Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me] cannot be My disciple. 28 For which one of you, when he wants to build a watchtower [for his guards], does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to finish it?29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is unable to finish [the building], all who see it will begin to ridicule him,30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’

On this journey down the narrow road of restoration, I’ve discovered that getting- and staying healthy is HARD. Hiring a counselor was HARD. Humbling myself to ask for help was HARD. It cost my body a lot of time and money. It cost my soul a lot of letting go to embrace God’s will and way for my life, according to His Word. Hiring a nutrition coach was HARD. Humbling myself to ask for help was HARD. It cost my body a lot of time and money. It cost my soul a lot of letting go to embrace God’s will and way for my life, according to His Word.

Staying on the path others helped prepare me for is still… HARD. I no longer have constant encouragement from my counselor and coach. Outside influences aren’t holding me accountable. I must rely fully on the One who dwells on the inside to help me persevere. I’ll admit, at times I’ve felt discouraged. I even entertained the passing thought that said it would be easier to just quit. But what a waste that would be! The foundation has already been laid. I MUST keep building. This house needs to be healthy- and holy. This house needs to be a place God’s Spirit wants to dwell. This house needs to reflects JESUS to a world living in darkness.

I see so many in this generation receiving the Lord with joy, yet refusing to build their lives on His Word. They get caught up in the trap of successful ministry, seeking the approval and applause of man as they use their gifts to build His Kingdom, yet all the while- they do not know Him. In due season, the winds and waves inevitably come crashing down over their lives. The resulting devastation often brings destruction to their family and the family of God as their unstable foundation drifts back into the sea.

Getting healthy and staying healthy in the Lord is HARD. The cross is weighty. Following Jesus is costly. But if we’ll stay on the narrow road which leads to the valley of the shadow, we will find life…after death.  This is the way, my friend. This is the truth. It’s good news! It’s the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Father is searching for sons and daughters who will give up everything to worship Him in Spirit and Truth. He wants us to be healthy- and holy. He wants us to be ready for His Son’s return. The day is drawing near, my friend. Will you surrender to His Spirit? Will you submit to the Lord’s training; body and soul?

Healthy is HARD.

Holy is HARD.

But, HE is WORTHY!!!

Inspiration AND Perspiration

/ Jodie / Leave a comment

Galatians 5:25

New Living Translation

25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

New Living Translation

24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! 25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

In a previous season, a brother in Christ sat down with his wife, my man, and me @ our Jesus table for a chat one afternoon. (The Jesus table is a 9 foot, 100+ year old oak table another brother found in a tobacco barn on his plantation, which he restored and sold to us while living in North Carolina.) He confirmed a call on my life to preach and prophesy through the written word – specifically referring to the devotional type blog you are now reading. He was a gifted entrepreneur who wanted to help monetize my website. I heard him out, but at the end of the discussion I just “knew” it wasn’t the time or season or intention of my heart to make money from my writing.  He understood, saying, “I get it. You simply want to write under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. You don’t want to write because your followers demand it.” “Yes. Exactly!” I replied.

Fast forward a few years… my soul – and my writing entered into a wilderness experience. As I walked through that valley of the shadow, I was no longer inspired to pick up my pen and put it to paper. My heart and my voice remained silent for a long, long, time. Blog posts became less and less frequent, to the point that I wondered, “is the writing stream all dried up?”

Fast forward a few more years… into The Promised Land. Another brother affirmed the call seemingly out of nowhere one Sunday morning after a worship service. I was taken aback, shocked that anyone was still reading the random posts I shared on social media! His words encouraged my soul and I tucked those seeds into the soil of my heart.

Today, as I was worshipping as I worked (doing chores with headphones on!) the Holy Spirit whispered a revelation: in a previous season, I wrote when I was inspired…but in this season, He was requiring me to write with inspiration AND perspiration.

Lemme explain.

I don’t always feel like writing. Although my feelings are valid, they aren’t always submitted to Truth. Therefore, I must train myself to listen and obey the Word, whether I feel like it, or not. Just like an athlete, I discipline myself to do what He says, knowing He has given me the grace and gift to write. His INSPIRATION AND my PERSPIRATION are required to please the Father. This is how we worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. This is how we prove that we love Him. This is how we produce good fruit that partners with good gifts to make disciples throughout the world.

What is the Lord INSPIRING you to do, my friend? Its time to start running. It’s time to start PERSPIRING – cuz there’s people along your path that need what you’ve been called to carry.