No Longer a Slave

"Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, 'Abba! Father!'  Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." -Galatians 4:6-7 (NASB)

When I read these words, I get goosebumps every time!  I am no longer a slave!  I am a son/daughter of God and because I am a son/daughter of God, I am an heir!  That means that God, my "Daddy-Father" wants to shower me with good gifts.  I only have to accept them.   God's Holy Spirit fills me and cries out to the Father on my behalf.

Did you know that the Holy Spirit was only given to a very few chosen men and women in the Old Testament of the bible?  David was one of these men.  The Holy Spirit could also be taken away at anytime.  In Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit was sent into the world as a comforter to indwell the believers as we wait for the return of Jesus Christ.  He is our mediator, taking our prayers straight to the throne of God and he will not leave us.  Awesome! 

The Galatians knew the Gospel message- the "good news"; they were being led astray by a group called the Judaizers.  The Judaizers came to Galatia after Paul and tried to convince the young believers that just believing was not enough, they had to do certain things to ensure their salvation.  They were distorting the simplicity of the gospel, in essence trying to say that Jesus' work on the cross was not enough. 

How often, as a believer and Christ follower do I say to Jesus (by my actions), "Thanks for all you did for me on the cross, but I know I am still not good enough until I do _________."  Yikes!  When God looks at me, all he sees is Christ's redeeming work on the cross and He loves me.  When I look at the cross, I should see not only payment for sins, but also the redemption that was accomplished that day and who I will eventually become in Christ.  No strings attached!

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." -Galatians 5:1 (NASB)

What kind of shadow do you cast?

I work at a secular company. This company has one of the best cultures I have ever experienced. It is amazing how many times I have sat through a corporate meeting, and then left thinking, "Man, I feel like I've been to church!" They have a phrase that they frequently ask and it is, "What is the shadow that you cast?".  As a mom, I have begun to ponder this question for my own children while also thinking about the shadows that I followed as a young child and young woman.

Last Sunday, Easter Sunday, we gave our younger boys the option of attending "big church" with us or going into Children's church.  Both of them opted to attend "big church".  As the worship time began, my heart was moved, as it often is by the worship time.  I found myself with my hands raised in praise as I sang loudly and probably off key.  All of a sudden, I opened my eyes and saw Titus (our 7-year old) standing beside me with his hands raised in worship.  He was watching my every move when my hands went down, his went down; if my hands were partially raised, his were partially raised; and on it went for the entire service.  He was observing corporate worship by my side.

In my prayer time today, I came across the following verse:

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma."  -Ephesians 5:1-2 (NASB)

The phrase "be imitators of God, as beloved children" has played over and over in my head today.  We are to follow God's shadow.  We are to be in his word, following Him, and learning at his feet.  Titus may not have fully understood why he was raising his hands or the complete significance of the music we were singing that morning.  However, someday he will.  Hopefully, he will look back and remember learning at the feet of Pete and I.  The shadows that we as parents cast will have lasting impact and possibly eternal significance in the lives of our children and hopefully someday grandchildren.  

Fear: Friend or Foe?

Have you ever thought about what fear looks like for you?  I don't mean what it looks like as it affects you or as you allow it to consume you, but rather what does it look like?  I was once asked to describe my fear.  The person asked me, when you feel it where does it start?  What does it look like?  At the time, I thought what an odd question!  For me, fear is like an oddly shaped ball with spiky thorns and pointed edges that lodges in my chest.  It starts out rather small, but if I do not take the proper measures (namely call upon the name of Jesus) it has the tendency to grow and grow, overshadowing all other emotions and sometimes even rational thought.

This weekend is the most important weekend of the whole year for those who call themselves Christ-followers, Easter weekend.  I have been pondering how 11 men must have felt this very Friday and Saturday approximately 2000 years ago.  I am speaking of course about the disciples.  These 11 men had left everything, sacrificed everything to follow Jesus.  They left wives, mothers, fathers, children, jobs and friends to follow Jesus three years prior to the events of this weekend.  One week prior they had entered the city with their leader seated on a donkey amidst shouts of praise and palm branches.  They thought Jesus was entering the city to destroy Rome and set himself up as the new King, he was going to end their oppression once and for all!  In 5 short days everything changed.  I cannot know what they were thinking, but the only word that comes to my mind is blindsided.  As they watched their teacher, mentor, and friend die the most horrible death imaginable, do you think they were griped by Fear? 

Last night, at our church's Good Friday service, our pastor made a statement that stuck with me, "The Spirit of Fear is a real spirit in this world."   There are two ways in the bible that the word "fear" is used.  One is "fearing God" which is not to be afraid of Him, but rather to be in awe of Him.  The other is the type of Fear that I am discussing here, the kind that can range from mild uneasiness to stark terror depending on the circumstances and emotions involved.  How do we take this kind of Fear captive?  This is the hard question in my mind.  I have a tendency to invite Fear in, offer it a cup of coffee, and settle in for a nice long visit.  When in reality, a friend reminded me this week, we must hate Fear!  We must hate its paralyzing capabilities, we must hate what it causes us to become, we must hate what it prevents us from accomplishing!  Fear is not my friend, it is my enemy!  I must use God's word to take back the ground that it steals!  If I let fear move into the spare bedroom, it will take up residence permanently, but it won't be content living in the spare bedroom.  Eventually, it will demand the master bedroom and then possibly the whole house!  Use God's word to combat fear, kick it out, and kick it far!  

"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." -Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you asthe world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not beafraid." -John 14:27 (NIV)

"For God gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline."  -2 Timothy 1:7 (ASV) 

After the disciples heard Jesus utter the words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46) and then they watched Him die, what do you think they felt?  Their hopes, their plans, and their dreams must have seemed to die with Him.  They went back to their homes, their families, and their jobs.  However, on Good Friday, we know that the story did not end!  We have a hope that those men did not have!  Sunday is coming!  Jesus conquered fear, He conquered death and He did all of that just for me!  

There is one song that I listen to every Easter, and I cannot listen to it quietly!  It must be on full volume and the window's to the house must shake when I listen to it!  

Jesus completed the most awesome work for you and for me that day on the cross!  Do not let fear occupy your spare bedroom for even one second longer.  Use the power of God's word to show it to the curb!

Simple Salvation

Prayer tends to be the strongest arrow in the quiver of a Christian parent.  Because as Christians we know the power of prayer for our children.  One prayer that I have prayed over and over again as a parent is for my children to come to the realization of their need for a personal savior at an early age.  The gospel really is so simple that even a child can understand it!  It is as we grow older that we tend to add more rules, restrictions, and regulations to the message (but that is a whole other post-maybe!).  I am not saying that as children we can fully understand the sacrifice that Jesus made by dying on the cross or all of the benefits and implications of living a Christ-centered life; but as children, we can recognize the sin in our lives and see that God provided his son as a bridge to Himself so that we can have eternal life in heaven with Him!

"Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  -Matthew 19:14 (NIV)

I have mentioned before that I was 4-years old when I made the decision to make Jesus Lord of my life.  It was not until much later (middle school years) that I truly began to have a faith all my own.  I cannot even claim that I "understood" in middle school what Christ had done for me on that day at Calvary, because I am still discovering it now at 30-somethin' years old!  But... I digress.....

This month, my husband and I have had the privilege and overwhelming joy of being able to pray with two of our children as they came to the realization that they needed and wanted the gift of Jesus.  Quin, our 8-year old and I were driving home, just the two of us from my parents house after a very long day.  It is about a 35-minute drive, so plenty of time for just discussing anything that comes to mind.  Quin and I began discussing super heroes and that lead to the discussion about biblical super heroes like Abraham and Noah.  I then asked Quin what he knew about Jesus. 

Have you ever been in a situation where the words just poured forth and the flood gates opened, but you knew in your heart they were not your words, but instead they were a gift from heaven because they were ministering directly to your heart as much as they were intended to minister to the hearer.  This was how my conversation with Quin went!  I had lost sight of the awesome power of Christ's work of forgiveness on the cross.  I had forgotten that by His work on Calvary God no longer sees me as the wounded, sick, sin-filled creature that I was, but instead He sees Christ's glory in me!  Not only was every sin I have ever committed taken care of, but every sin I WILL ever commit.  It was good to admit to Quin that yes, mommy still sins today and I have to ask forgiveness and confess those sins, but I do not have to worry about being separated from God's love.  Quin admitted that he had prayed to receive Jesus' gift a couple of times by himself at night, but I offered to pray with him and thank God for the work already being done in him.... so we did!  We talked about the party the angels in heaven were throwing right at that moment in Quin's honor, and then when we got home, we shared the very exciting news with Dad!  What a blessing!

It was exactly a week later, March 10th, that Titus', our 7-year old, approached Pete and I in our bedroom and said that he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart too!  So together, Pete and I had the same discussion with Titus that I had had with Quin the week before, and Titus' name was entered into the Lamb's Book of Life that evening and his own party was held in heaven. 

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." -Luke 15:7 (NIV)

Now the process of growing and maturing in Christ begins for both boys.  Do the prayers stop or even slow?  Good grief... no!  Now it is even more important to be on my knees for each of my children and my husband warding off the enemies attacks with the sharpest and best weapons I have, prayer and God's word. 

My two "super heroes"