by | Faith Lived Out
My pastor asked some questions yesterday that provoked me to do some deeper thinking. I love sermons like that. The convicting ones are the best.
Why? Because they remind me I still have a long way to go in my faith walk.
As we celebrate Thanksgiving we have so many things to be grateful for. Regardless of a holiday, we have things to be grateful for.
Here is the question he asked based on Luke 7: Am I passionate and grateful or religious and indifferent?
Some days I am passionate. Other days I become a Pharisee. Yuck..
In Luke 7, Jesus was having dinner at the Pharisees house. I can imagine everything was going smoothly. Jesus was visiting with his friends, just chilling.
Then..
This woman shows up. It was bad enough she was a woman, but she was also a prostitute. Then she did the unthinkable. She bowed at his feet and wept. She wiped her tears off with her hair. In those days, taking your hair down was the same as taking your shirt off. She put perfume on them and kissed his feet.
Before I go any further, let me ask you this question: Would you let a prostitute come in off the street, pour perfume on your feet, and wipe the tears with her hair?
Ya.. I would probably struggle with that too. Why? Because like I said before, some days I have passion and other days I have religion.
Simon the Pharisee was thinking to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner! The cool thing about Jesus, however, is that he can read our thoughts. He read Simon’s and quickly put him in his place.
I can easily find myself in Simon’s position with both my thoughts and my words. I can quickly forget that Jesus came to this earth for sinners. I can easily forget that I am a sinner, because I tend to make one sin bigger than the other.
Wrong again..
I, Sundi Jo, am a sinner, saved by grace, not by works. My knowledge of Scripture doesn’t make me better than you. My puffed up religious attitude makes me look a moron. Reality check..
Are you passionate and grateful or religious and indifferent? Comment below…
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
A friend and I were having lunch after church on Sunday and she asked me a question that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. In light of the Penn State incident, we had previously discussed that morning as members of the prayer team, the actions we needed to take if a child told us someone was sexually molesting them.
I asked her what she would do if a child came to her with something like that. She gave some great answers.
Then…
She asked me this question:
“What would you have wanted someone to say to you?
I’m not sure I was prepared for it as I tried to choke back my tears and finish my Thai food. She was asking a deep question I’m not sure I have ever thought about until that moment. I was immediately brought back to a small child, remembering times I myself had been molested.
What would I want them to say to me?
As I continue to think about the question, a few things come to mind.
- I would want someone to hold me tightly in their arms and let me know that I was safe. Not with their words, but the feeling of being safe with them.
- I would want the protection of my father, with the belief that as long as he was there no one could hurt me.
- I would want them to tell me I wasn’t a bad person and that even though I was going through this abuse I did NOTHING to deserve it.
- I would have wanted someone to tell me about this man named Jesus. How it hurt him to know that I was being hurt. How he loved me with an everlasting love and that I could accept his love, despite the pain I was going through at that moment.
Though I know all of this now I can’t help but wonder how different things would be had I known then. Not that I would take any of it back. It has made me who I am today. But that doesn’t mean I still don’t wonder.
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
Everything that needs to be said is in the photograph that stays on my refrigerator:
by | Faith Lived Out
photo credit: christopher chan (creative commons)
Last night my small group started the Radical Bible Study. If you’ve been following my blog lately, you’ll know how much the book has changed my perspective on how I want to be as a Christian.
David Platt has challenged me according to God’s Word to abandon myself.
Reading the book has literally caused me to put my life up for sale.
Tonight we discussed the cost of following Christ. Guess what? It’s not cheap! It costs us everything. But are we really willing to give up everything? Am I willing to do that?
According to Luke 14:25-33 Jesus comes before anyone. We have to carry the cross daily.
WE HAVE TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING!
Does that mean go and sell everything you have today, be poor, and wait for God to tell you what to do? I don’t believe so. God blesses others who bless others. Having money and possessions is not a bad thing. But… loving them more than Christ will get us into trouble.
What does following Christ mean? Here are four explanations based on Luke 14.
- Following Christ means being devoted to Him above anyone else (Luke 14:25-26)
- Following Christ means continually sacrificing who we were for who He is (Luke 14:27)
- Following Christ requires a cost that should be considered before we commit (Luke 14:28-32)
- Following Christ requires radical abandonment of everything we previously sought in life for the freedom to fully pursue Him and His glory (Luke 14:33)
I’ll close with this:
Most of us would rather imagine all the blessings we’ll receive from following Christ than count the cost of what it will take to be His disciple. The reality is we have to give up everything, including ourselves.
Do you believe He is worth it? Leave a comment below…
by | Book Reviews, Faith Lived Out
I just finished reading an amazing book that wasn’t even on my list of things to read. I’m so glad I did.
Like a Mighty Wind
was written in 1974, but don’t let the date fool you. The pages came to life for me in ways I wasn’t expecting.
“God can use men in a marvelous way when they obey Him.
Evangelist Mel Tari teaches in Chapter 15 that God speaks in many ways. I want to share with you the list of seven ways God speaks to us:
(more…)
by | Faith Lived Out, Life Application
photo credit: flickr(creative commons)
I have a friend who used to say that God would redeem the time lost for many of our mistakes, and the times we chose to follow our own ways versus His. I’ve thought about that statement many times since then.
She was right..
I had a friend who struggled with alcoholism for years. It stole many things from her, including precious time with her children. When I met her, the relationship with her children was indeed broken. She was getting help. But she had done that before. This time couldn’t be any different in their eyes. But she knew inside that this time something was different. She was surrendered. She was ready. Jesus was calling her closer and this time she was accepting the call.
I watched her go through the struggle of not just staying sober, but finding freedom. I watched her shed many tears in her fight. She used my shoulder to cry on when there were days she wasn’t sure she could make. She would get off the phone with one of her children and guilt would slap her in the face. Shame would fill her soul. Could relationships truly ever be redeemed? God said so. We just had to believe. I did my best to believe with her.
Fast forward..
Not only has my freind celebrated two years of sobriety, but today she is celebrating freedom. She talks weekly with all three of her chidlren. God brought her a husband she wasn’t looking for. She smiles, not just on the outside, but the inside too.
She called me recently and I could hear the tears in her voice. They were happy tears. One of her daughters had just given birth to a beautiful little girl. My friend held her daughter’s hand as God brougth another blessing into the world. There was a time when unforgivenss and hurt separated them. Not anymore. There was love. There was forgiveness. There was hope.
She said to me, “Sundi Jo, I don’t deserve any of this, but God keeps blessing me. I got to be in the room to watch my daughter give birth. I’m so overwhelmed I can’t belive it.”
I told her with a smile,
“God redeemed the time. You always said He would.
I write this to you today to offer you hope. Wherever you’re at in life right now, God can work. If you let Him.
Has an affair separated you from the one you vowed to always love?
Did you spew hurtful words on your child after refusing to put down that drink?
Do you believe you’ve screwed up so badly that you can never turn back?
Wrong..
There is nothing that Jesus can’t fix if you’re are willing to find the freedom that He offers. Don’t hold back. Go for it. Tell Him you’re ready. Tell Him you want to be ready. Tell Him to make you ready. He’s always up for a challenge!
Our Redeemer Lives!
What do you need to give to Him today to start the redemption process? Comment below…
