Feb 27, 2016

Job – my greatest takeaway

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I had many takeaways from my time in the book of Job…
❤️ When we have an issue, we should talk directly to God, not about God.
❤️ God shouts in our pain.
❤️ Times of sorrow are opportunities to have the most spiritual growth.
❤️ When we mess up, we must humble return to God and ask for forgiveness.
❤️ God allows trials to help us grow. Whether we grow or not, is dependent on how we choose to handle it. Choose to rely on God.

The most important thing I truly learned through the study of Job is that the greatest opportunity for spiritual growth is in times of trial. When the study began, I was at the tail end of the depression phase of the stages of grief. I thought anger was hard, depression took the cake. It was extremely hard to go through Job’s pain at first. But God shouted to me through my pain and it was awesome! So much beauty has come out of one of the hardest seasons of my life, the greatest being my growth in faith–not just the belief/feeling, but the acting in faith. I now put feet to my faith and trust God completely! I’m no longer a slave to fear. I got on a plane and now no longer have my flying dreams, even my elevator-in-tall buildings nightmares that I had weekly forever have stopped. I stress less on ramps and bridges. My world has changed. While in that depression phase, I was forced to put feet to my faith, and I’m so glad because God shouted that He was with me and my faith is my strongest attribute. The study of Job was timed perfectly as I transitioned to acceptance of my new normal and through this, my faith has been solidified.

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Feb 16, 2016

When we add conditions to God’s grace, we undermine God’s glory

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God’s grace is so simple, yet completely unfathomable. Yes, you can make the worst choices in life and Jesus will still welcome you with open arms if you choose Him. You can live an entire life in sin and realize your mistake on your deathbed and still have time to choose Jesus. Is it fair? No! Is it fair that Jesus who was sinless had to die on the cross to reconcile us all to God? No! Jesus died for each and everyone of us knowing that we aren’t perfect and that many of us would not choose Him in the end. He loves us whether we choose Him or not.

I have been asked many times, “do you think Hitler could be in heaven.” I used to say, “There’s no way!”  But I’ve changed my mind. He might be…
Matthew 12:31 says, “And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”
Matthew 20 contains the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Some workers were hired for a fee early in the day, others hired later were offered the same fee. When they all received their payment, the workers hired first grumbled because they felt they should be paid more for working more. Here’s was the owner’s response in Jesus’ parable:
“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’”  Matthew‬ ‭20:13-15‬ ‭
And so it is the same with God. God’s grace is generous beyond anything we can imagine.
As Romans 8:38 says:
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.”
So, yes, there is a chance Hitler is in heaven despite all the evil he unleashed in this world because if he did repent and choose Jesus in the end, God’s grace would apply to him too. That is perhaps the toughest pill to swallow as a Christian. But that’s how God’s grace works. Nothing about being a Christian is fair except this: God loves us all the same whether we love Him back or not and He offers us all the gift of grace through Jesus Christ no matter our sin.
Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”
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Could it be any simpler?
Romans 11:6 says, “And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.”
So then why do we bother trying to be “good.” Because once we choose Jesus, we are convicted to be better. We are still far from perfect, but we want to emulate Jesus through our actions. We recognize what an amazing, undeserved gift grace is and we want to honor God by being better. BUT, this does not mean we are “better people” than anyone. We are still sinners who recognize how badly we need God’s undeserved grace. #GloryToGod
I do want to add something in anticipation of comments. I do not believe you will find a true believer who blatantly sins for fun and says, “I can do whatever I want because Jesus is my savior. It’s my get out of jail free card.” Perhaps a few exist, but that’s between them and God.
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Feb 3, 2016

Confession Time

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I have thought a lot about posting this.  I don’t really want to, but I feel that maybe it will help someone.

Last fall, there was a shooting in Oregon where Christians were asked to stand up and were killed for their faith.  It was hard to process, and it brought up some hard questions.  What would I want my children to do?  What would I do?

And here’s the truth: I would have wanted my children to stay seated to save their lives, and I would have done the same with 100% certainty.

But here’s what the Bible says about denying Jesus:

If we endure hardship, we will reign with him.  If we deny him, he will deny us. 2 Timothy 2:12

But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:33

But anyone who denies me here on earth will be denied before God’s angels. Luke 12:9

And who is a liar?  Anyone who says that Jesus is not the Christ.  Anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist. 1 John 2:22

My response was a clear red flag.  These were the wrong answers for someone who truly believed in Jesus and trusted in salvation.  I knew with this realization that I was no where near where I wanted to be with God.   Rather than become despaired, I chose instead to continue to focus on my relationship with Jesus by spending more time with Him.  I was in an in person Bible Study, an online Bible study and my own personal study already though, I only occasionally went to church.

So… What more could I do?  I took opportunities that came my way!  I attended a women’s conference, I tried (and fell in love with) a new church, listened to countless podcasts on faith, participated in an Explore God discussion group, read the Case for Faith, joined another in person Bible study, began listening to worship music outside of church (Air1 anyone?) and faced a phobia that was limiting my world.  Through it all, my mom began to point out some changes in me.  I became a patient person–what?!  I stopped having severe road rage–what?!  I put feet to my faith by flying to Florida despite a flying phobia and relied on God every step of the way–what?!

Let me be clear, I cannot take credit for any of this.  This is all GOD!  This is all about how Jesus can transform if we come to Him willingly and we stay with Him.  I am far from perfect, but I know first hand that Jesus changes us.  The only way to become like Jesus is to study Him and spend time with Him.  I am still a hot mess, my house is a wreck, I sometimes say bad words, I drink wine fairly regularly, I gossip (working on that!!!!) and I somewhat compartmentalize my faith because it is hard to find that balance in public education, but nevertheless, Jesus is making me want different things.  He’s convicting me in ways He didn’t before.  He is changing me.

I realized the other day that my answers to those original questions have changed.  Today, I would want my children to stand up for Jesus.  Today, I would stand up for Him too.  I pray that we are never in that situation, but if ever we are, I pray that we will bravely stand up for Jesus as He stood up for us and died on the cross.

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