My Journey into Glory, Part 2
Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2
Grace can be a tricky thing.
We toss the word around a lot in Christian circles, but most of us don’t really know how to live in it. We don’t even really understand it, but we want it. Desperately. So, we keep striving to attain what we’ve already been given. Then we end up frustrated, because we never seem to reach the thing we’re striving for.
Can you relate, dear one? I can.
According to Scripture, only two things give us access to God’s grace and manifest the power of His promises: faith (Romans 5:2) and humility (James 4:6). No amount of striving can acquire it, only faith that submits our hearts to believe in what God has already done.
Faith and humility give us access to God's grace. #graceandglory Click To Tweet
But here’s the real root of our struggle. The deceiver tricks us into believing that we’re trusting God, while underneath, hidden from our own awareness, our faith remains firmly established in a lie that he fed us. That lie—anchored to a painful life experience or old wound—serves as a dam, blocking the flow of power that grace provides to manifest God’s promise. And while our hearts still hold onto that lie, we’ll never believe the truth we’re reaching for—and never realize the fulfillment of that promise. Beloved, your heart can’t believe two opposing things at the same time.
We always reject one to make room for the other.
That’s where I got stuck. Thinking I was leaning into the glorious image of myself God had revealed to me (see My Journey into Glory), while actually resisting it. And I couldn’t understand why I felt this growing distance from God.
I began to cry out in prayer, asking Him to reveal the obstacle I felt between us, and again I saw the image He had shown me. Only this time, I saw cracks fracturing the image, like seeing my reflection in a cracked mirror. When I asked Jesus about it, I heard, “You still pass judgment on what I’ve forgiven. Your slate is clean. The image I showed you is true. The cracked glass is a deception.”
I believe that’s a lie that many of us get caught in. We know what Jesus says about us, but we see it as a “someday” promise.
I’ll be that someday…when I get my act together.
I’ll be that someday…when I get past…
Beloved, the truth is, Jesus already did everything that needs to be done. The only thing left for you and me to do is believe He did what He says He did. And He made that pretty clear in 2 Corinthians 5:17,
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
According to Scripture, you and I have already been made new. We are presently new creations in Christ. The old version of us has passed away, and the new one is already here. I knew those Scriptures—and I thought I believed them—but this nagging feeling of separation from God continued to rob me of peace.
Eventually, I attended an intimate weekend retreat to set apart time with the Lord. After dinner the first evening, I discovered that a believer in another state had been praying over my name and had received a word from God for me. I’d never met her or even heard of her, yet God met me profoundly through her as the retreat hostess shared what God had given her for me.
She began by saying, “Welcome to your healing.” Those words alone set my heart beating with fresh hope. She went on to say that when she asked the Lord about me, she saw my hard-working hands bandaged and wrapped. Then she told me the Lord wanted to “heal the scars, swollenness, and open wounds one by one to reveal unblemished hands.”
Tears surfaced as I listened to these words and other encouragements spoken over my life by this precious stranger, relating to many of them. But I didn’t understand it’s full meaning until the following morning in worship when God showed me another vision.
This time I saw Jesus holding my limp body in His arms, my head leaning against His chest. And I saw my bloody hands, red streams trickling down my forearms from the torn flesh of my knuckles. Then the image of my cracked reflection appeared again, and I knew. I had bloodied my own fists smashing the glass, rejecting God’s image of me for a lesser one.
That’s how the enemy works, dear one. He deceives. He binds our hearts with his lies so we can’t believe the truth of what God says, and only truth sets us free. I realized I had been held so long by his lie of rejection that I had become it, pushing away the very thing I believed I was reaching for.
What happened next still astonishes me. Jesus set me down and knelt before me, preparing to dress my wounds. Only before He washed and bandaged my bloodied hands, He took them in His own and did something unthinkable. He kissed them.
Can you imagine it? My Jesus—King of Kings and Lord of Lords—sullied His own lips on the blood of my rejection. He had every right to be impatient with me, to judge my heart for rejecting His provision for me. After all, I’ve been serving in ministry for 11 years, leading others into His promises. I should’ve seen it. Should’ve known.
But He didn’t choose any of that. Instead, He simply loved me. Right where I was. In the mess. In the pain. I didn’t need to clean myself up to receive that love. He was right there, willing to give it. Kissing me in my brokenness, before He ever washed my hands.
Jesus never judges our brokenness. He restores even our self-inflicted wounds. #KnowHisHeart Click To TweetThat’s the real Jesus, beloved. Kind, merciful, loving, and yours—if you’ll have Him. He is a King with authority to command. He brings victory in His wake. And He loves like no other. But you and I won’t experience that victorious power if we never experience Him.
We need to know Him, dear one. Not just His words, but His heart.
Love makes all the difference.
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My Journey into Glory
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
Hello, beloved.
It’s been a while. I’ve been on a journey with the Lord that shifted my attention from writing for a season. In the midst of building our ministry and discipling people, God has been revealing Himself personally to me in profound and beautiful ways—ways I long for you to experience too. He still heals hearts, you know, and He dearly wants to heal yours.
But I wonder if you even recognize that you need healing. Do you, dear one? I only ask because I didn’t, at least not to the depth that Jesus saw I needed. And you and I will never invite Jesus in to restore what we don’t recognize we need.
So, I’m about to get vulnerable with you. Because we NEED vulnerability. Desperately. Our hiding has kept the enemy powerful, and we need to learn the glory of stepping into the light.
Two years ago in healing prayer, I had a powerful encounter with Jesus. He led me back to a pivotal memory as a small child that had shifted my understanding of who I was supposed to be, and there, my precious Jesus redeemed it. I literally saw Him exchange the influence of that moment with a crisp, clean, white page—a new beginning as He wiped my slate clean.
As our prayer came to a close, my friend sensed in the Spirit, “He wants to show you His glory. Ask Him to show it to you.”
I made the request, unprepared for what I was about to see. The image caught my breath and left me sobbing before my King.
It was me.
Part of me still hesitates to share the moment with you. Even now, the false humility much of the church calls “spiritual” wants to apologize for it. But understanding truth is what sets Kingdom sons and daughters free, so I’m sharing it anyway. I saw myself shining in dazzling splendor. Regal. Crowned. Radiant with light. Glorious!
Instantly, unbelief began to discredit the vision, until the Spirit reminded me of Jesus’ words to His Father on the night He gave His life for us.
“The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, 23 I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.” John 17:22-23
Did you know that you carry His glory, dear one? Jesus poured His glory into you the moment you put your faith in Him. He poured it into me, too. He created us to be His image bearers, reflecting the beauty of His own nature and filling the earth with the glory of who He is. But when we shape our identity around our own life experience and the enemy’s deceptions instead of this truth, that glory remains hidden. And you and I will never live out the full potential of what we carry.
I almost didn’t.
What should’ve unleashed fresh anointing and victorious power in my life set off a war within my soul. My mind understood the truth that Scripture was declaring, and my heart joyfully leapt at the knowledge! But underneath, hidden within the deep wounds of my past, my heart couldn’t believe it for myself. And I didn’t know I couldn’t. I honestly thought that I was leaning into that beautiful promise! But then I began to experience a feeling of separation from God.
It doesn't matter what you know. What matters is what you believe. #onlyFaithAccessesGrace Click To Tweet
Can you relate, dear one? Have you ever felt a shift in your relationship with Jesus that leaves you longing for what you had? Yet no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to get there?
That was me. Loving Jesus. Serving Him. Yet feeling a growing chasm between my heart and His.
This happens, dear one, when our hearts reject the truth He declares over us, when something inside us denies Him by refusing to believe what He says. We can’t experience the intimate fellowship He longs for while we disagree with Him. Amos 3:3 (NKJV) says, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” The answer, child of God, remains “no.”
Beloved, when we reject His words, we reject Jesus.
I will share more of my story next time, but for now, let’s establish the foundational truth I believe God wants to anchor our hearts in. You are a glory carrier. If you have put your faith in Jesus, His glory lies within you. And above all else, He wants to reveal it through you. Not by asking you to perform good works, but by teaching you who you truly are as He shows you who He is.
Take a moment to reflect on our opening Scripture:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18
Did you see it, dear one? The same image. Not a lesser version. Not an imperfect replica of the true. God desires to transform us into the same image that He Himself bears. Righteous. Regal. Radiant. Pure. Glorious.
Let’s stop allowing the enemy to convince us to settle for less than promises. He schemes to limit the revelation of God’s power on earth by convincing His people that we are less than who we are. Our God is calling us higher, so let’s raise the bar. Jesus accomplished an incredible miracle on that old rugged cross. He made us much more than we think we are. He made us who He is.
Perhaps it’s time we believed Him.
Feeling Powerless? Drink!
Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Proverbs 25:25 ESV
The Gospel is good news.
Literally. That’s what it means.
And it is good news. The cross of Christ changed everything, offering what nothing else can. Forgiveness. Redemption. Identity. Healing. Resurrection life. Restoration. Wholeness. Power. Transformation. Grace.
But for some reason we don’t share the message of the cross like its good news. We act like we don’t want to bother people with it.
Huh? Somehow the enemy has convinced us to fear sharing the hope that will help people. That will quench their thirst. That will heal what’s broken, revive and restore.
Good news is like cold water to a thirsty soul, beloved. So why aren’t we more excited to share it?
I have a theory, based on my own experience.
While we smile and enter our churches all dressed up and ready to worship Jesus, inside we’re not at all sure the gospel offers any real power—at least not while our feet still kick up dust on this earth. Life hasn’t changed much—except that we set an alarm on Sunday—and we don’t want to look bad when the message we share doesn’t live up to their expectations.
Because we ourselves still thirst.
We’re dry. Broken. Bitter. Powerless. Weary. We sing praises to the name of Jesus, but our lives too closely resemble the lost we’re supposed to save.
And so we reason that the promises of scripture are future promises instead of now promises. And we settle for just getting by, with no real zeal for advancing a kingdom that seems to promise much but deliver little.
I get it. I’ve been there. But what if the words Jesus proclaimed to a thirsty woman at a well are actually true for us today?
“Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”” John 4:14 ESV
Sounds pretty fabulous to me.
Jesus said that in Him it’s possible to never thirst again. Ever. Can you imagine it? To never feel dry and unsatisfied but always filled and refreshed?
Well He said it, dear one. So the question really boils down to whether or not you believe it. And if you say you believe it, will you live trusting the principle, or will you settle for less than what Jesus has promised you?
Jesus claims that the water He provides will become a spring welling up within us until life flows—both in us and from us (John 7:38). Eternal life that doesn’t fade.
Ever present refreshment that won’t permit thirst.
But Jesus also gives a condition to experiencing those promises. We must drink the water.
We can’t just talk about it. It does no good to memorize scriptures about it. We have to drink it. Consistently. Deeply.
But we haven’t drunk deeply, beloved. We’ve sipped of His Spirit on Sunday mornings. And we expect the life of God to manifest in us while we live the majority of our lives ignoring Him.
It doesn’t work that way, dear one. We must drink the water to experience the life it gives.
We must drink the water to experience the life it gives. Click To TweetWe have to meet with God and partake. Only then can the water within us well up to produce life.
Then we will be changed.
And that change will compel us to offer that water to everyone we care about. Because when we have drunk deeply from the living water, allowing it to do its work—reviving our own souls and restoring our own brokenness—how could we not share the resurrection life we have been given?
For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. 1 Corinthians 4:20
God’s Word is true, dear one. Let’s prove it.
Drink.
Then drink more.
And keep drinking until you no longer remember how it feels to thirst.
Plagued by Demons
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he [Jesus] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Colossians 2:15 (NIV)
I imagine many of you shared my surprise over the news of Robin Williams’ death. How sad that one who brought smiles to so many people apparently lived with such sadness in his own heart. Oh, how we need Jesus! We’re desperate for Him. If only we truly realized how much.
Can you relate to that feeling of hopelessness, dear one? Do you imagine that your troubles are far beyond Jesus’ reach? Or perhaps you think you simply have too much to overcome.
Let me introduce you to a man drowning in hopelessness, living among the tombs in the Gerasenes, across the sea from Galilee. A prisoner to his mind, he had suffered a long time, an outcast welcomed only by the dead.
When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. Luke 8:27 ESV
You may have already tuned out at the mention of the word demons. I understand. The word makes us uncomfortable. We’d really rather pretend they don’t exist.
But scripture reveals that much of what we battle results from their oppressive influence over our thoughts.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 ESV
Whether we like the idea or not, evil is real, and its servants seek to exert its power over each of us. Perhaps it would be wise to learn to recognize their handiwork.
This man overcome by demons in Luke 8 offers a glimpse at what life can look like when evil influences are allowed to have their way. Look at the devastation they cause in verse 27:
- For a long time he had worn no clothes – They rob us of our dignity. The enemy loves to produce destructive behavior in us and then gleefully expose our shame. Then he uses that shame to keep us securely under his thumb.
- He had not lived in a house but among the tombs. – They cut us off from our families and leave us feeling we belong among the dead. Demons love to drive us into isolation. Loneliness and solitude are sure marks of the evil one’s handiwork.
They also make us self-destructive. Verse 29 reveals that when they put him under guard and shackled him to stop his tirades, “he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.” Under the enemy’s influence, we will even fight any measures put in place to protect us from ourselves.
No wonder God wants each of us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). A mind influenced by evil oppressors eventually self-destructs.
Verse 33 provides a clear picture of the enemy’s plans for us when he is left unhindered. Once Jesus commanded the legion of demons to leave the man, they begged His permission to enter a herd of pigs, and Jesus gave it.
Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. Luke 8:33
What does the enemy do when free to exercise his will? He drives us right over a cliff to the death of all that we are. John 10:10 says it plainly:
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
That’s a heavy thought if that were the whole truth of it. But praise the Lord, Jesus offers the way for us to escape the enemy’s clutches and live the life God intended for us. He promises in that same verse:
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
Beloved, the enemy may destroy, but Jesus saves.
How did that translate in the life of our demon-possessed friend?
Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Luke 8:35 ESV
Oh that we would come to understand the magnitude of an authentic encounter with Jesus! His transformation was so radical, the people responded with fear! They witnessed a miracle in the life of a hopeless man—once without dignity and out of control, now clothed and sitting at the feet of Jesus; previously out of his mind, now clearly in his right mind.
Jesus carries the power to rescue you from the dominion of darkness (Colossians 1:13). He longs to remove your shame and restore your dignity, to robe you in His righteousness and cloak you in His power.
Your situation isn’t hopeless. You just need Jesus.
Rising to Life
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” John 11:25
I had a good cry with Jesus this morning. A prayer journal I’ve been working through brought me to the streets of Jerusalem to witness His trial and execution. The scene did not evoke peace or comfort. The crowd grew ugly, crying out for blood.
The guards gladly gave it, pounding Jesus with fists and lashes, their mocking lips curled in treacherous smiles as they hailed Him “King of the Jews” and repeatedly beat a crown of thorns into His head. They spit on Him and mocked Him, then made Him carry His own cross, stumbling half dead through the streets to Golgotha. There, they hammered nails into His wrists and ankles, hanging Him between two thieves on splintered beams of wood.
I can barely stand the thought of it. My heart breaks for my Lord and friend when I think of what He suffered. I cannot imagine the searing rejection He felt, the pain He endured. If anyone ever had reason to rage against injustice, it was Jesus. He was innocent, undeserving; yet He suffered unspeakable pain. And at the hands of those He professed to love, many who only the week before had worshiped Him.
Yes, if ever anyone had reason to hold a grudge, it was Jesus. But He didn’t. Instead, He hung gasping for breath, ignored their insults, and uttered the impossible.
Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34
Unbelievable. The torture wasn’t even over. No one had apologized. In fact, they were still hurling insults at Him. His circumstances hadn’t changed. The people had not repented. Yet Jesus chose—in the midst of His pain—to release forgiveness.
It makes no sense to us. In fact, it’s almost unthinkable. It goes against every thread of instinct woven into our human nature. But that’s the point, actually. Our human nature rings synonymous with our fallen nature, and left unchecked it will destroy us.
Dear one, the part of you that rails against how unfair your circumstances seem—that screams you deserve better and schemes for retribution—that part of you has spent its life enslaved to sin and will always incite you to respond in ways that bring about death.
For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. Romans 7:5
Beloved, no good ever comes from following our “natural” instincts, because what feels natural to us comes from our life-long bondage to sin. Whenever we allow our old nature to guide our actions, death of some kind eventually results. Every time. And when we hold a grudge, it won’t be the one we harbor anger toward that experiences that death. No, our bitterness brings death to our own souls.
If you think about it, you’ll probably find you know that to be true. You’ve likely tasted the poison of bitterness and felt its effects.
Have you ever had an “enemy” so preoccupy your thoughts that you can hardly think about anything else? Anger overshadows every other emotion until it’s hard to imagine being capable of another feeling. Unrest steals your peace; anxiety consumes your joy. The very mention of your offender sets your heart racing and your blood boiling. Ugly thoughts linger. And most of the time, you just feel miserable.
Do you see it, dear one? Death. Is this what we fight to protect by refusing to forgive?
The perfect Son of God made a different choice as He hung from His cross. Why? Because Jesus, unbound by our destructive sin nature, knew that forgiveness was the only way to keep Himself free.
Jesus didn’t only offer forgiveness as a grand act of mercy toward humanity. Jesus had to forgive, dear one. Accepting that sin into His heart would’ve thwarted everything He had come to accomplish.
Think about it. What made Jesus able to conquer death and rise from the grave? He defeated sin and its resulting death by remaining the perfect, sinless, spotless Lamb. If Jesus had allowed bitterness to take root in His heart, even He would’ve missed experiencing the glory of resurrection.
Forgiveness had to take place, beloved, or Jesus would have remained in the grave. Bitterness would have kept our Savior from rising to life.
The same rings true for you, dear one. The power to rise from the dead lies within your own heart. You can trust your old nature and hold onto the resentment you have every right to carry. Or, like Jesus, you can choose to believe that resurrection life lies on the other side of forgiveness.
You may even experience the same miracle Jesus did. He didn’t just rise to glory; the grace that forgiveness unleashed brought about a direct change in His circumstances.
Just look at the thief that hung beside Him. He began that torturous day among Jesus’ accusers. Matthew 27:44 records, “In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.”
Amazingly, one of the thieves suddenly switched sides after Jesus’ famous, pardoning words. Luke 23:39-41 records the abrupt change.
One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
Jesus’ forgiveness released the power of grace to transform that thief’s hardened heart. In a powerful moment, Jesus’ opposition became His friend; His enemy became His ally. Transformation occurred because the faith expressed through forgiveness released God to move. And both Jesus and His accuser rose to new life.
Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
Beloved, your faith expressed through obedience opens the door to release God’s grace. Why not give forgiveness a try? You may just see your enemy become your ally.
“Everything is possible for one who believes.” Mark 9:23
Jesus Gets Personal
“Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3
I grew up in church and almost missed knowing Jesus. Yet Scripture reveals and important truth associated with our salvation. It begins with a personal encounter with the Living God. Beloved, do you know the One you claim to have believed?
In the fourth chapter of John, we find the story of a broken woman who came face to face with her Savior. Bearing the shame of both past and present sin, she would walk to the public well for her water in the heat of the day, avoiding the humiliation of accusing eyes and snickering tones. Somehow the sun’s scorching rays can feel less damaging than society’s judgment. This particular day, however, she did not make it to the well unseen. She discovered someone waiting there, a stranger in need of a drink. That stranger was Jesus.
He initiated conversation with her, “Will you give me a drink?” (John 4:7) She could not conceal her surprise that He would even speak to her. Recognizing He was a Jew and knowing the animosity that existed between their people, she would have expected Him to ignore a Samaritan, much less a Samaritan woman. Yet this stranger didn’t ignore her. He actually seemed interested in knowing her story. He even mentioned a gift.
“If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:10
Then He got personal.
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” Verse 16
Something about Him made her open up just a bit. To her astonishment she discovered He already knew her completely!
“I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” John 4:17-18
She had admitted a tiny piece of her shame: she was unmarried. But in the light of His presence, the true depth of her sin was revealed. There she stood, fully exposed, probably bracing herself for judgment, yet it never came. Instead she felt the touch of something altogether different. Grace began to infiltrate her senses as she recognized that this revelation of her sordid past came free of its usual weighty shame. A light began to dawn in her heart, and she realized that this One who had sought her out was something special. As their conversation turned toward the Messiah who had been foretold, Jesus revealed Himself fully to her with the words,
“I who speak to you am he.” John 4:26
Face to face with her Messiah, she found herself confronted by her personal truth, and the collision of grace and truth found only in Jesus Christ produced in her the only response that could save her: she believed.
Do you think Jesus will be any less personal with us? Just as He divinely appointed a meeting between Himself and a broken woman thirsting for something she couldn’t define, He sits in wait for us to interact with Him at appointed stops along the pathways of our own lives. He will stir up questions in the depths of our hearts to turn our attention toward Him and move us to respond to Him, but very often either the shame we carry or simply the busyness of our lives keep us from turning our gaze to see who it is that beckons us to answer Him. As our Samaritan woman found, responding to Jesus’ personal invitation reveals truth that can set us free (John 8:32)! What happened next?
“Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” John 4:28-29
Remarkable, isn’t it, that this woman, who bore so much shame she went out of her way to avoid the people of the town, felt the touch of Jesus’ grace so powerfully that she ran shamelessly to the very people who scorned her? That’s what an authentic encounter with Christ produces. Liberation and transformation! Grace frees and heals, and we always come away changed. But her salvation didn’t end with her own story. Many in the town also believed because of her testimony as she became a witness for Jesus, inviting them to come and see Him for themselves. And…
30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
…39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. 41 And because of his words many more became believers.
42They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.” (John 4:30,39- 42)
Let’s not miss a vital element to our story found in verse 30: they came out of the town and made their way toward him. Notice that those who believed had to approach Jesus themselves. It was not enough for the people of her town to hear her testimony of Jesus. Hearing was the catalyst that propelled them on their own journey toward the Messiah, but their salvation didn’t come through her testimony. It came when, struck by the power of her testimony, they made the journey toward Jesus themselves. They got personal with Him, and when they did, He revealed Himself to them as well, and many moved from the realm of doubt to certainty, “…now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”
Have you had your encounter with Jesus, dear one? Are you basing your faith on someone else’s testimony, or have you allowed Him to give you your own? Maybe you’ve heard things about Jesus that have produced a stirring in your heart to believe. Run to meet Him, dear one, that your faith may be complete. He waits to offer you a drink.
The Secrets of the Heart
Last week Bethany shared how God led her down the path of forgiveness after a devastating betrayal. Her willingness to submit to God’s will brought about dramatic restoration and allowed God to work His wonderful good out of her pain (Romans 8:28). Today, she shares some of what God revealed to her about herself that helped to bring about her transformation. May her transparency allow God to work restoration in you.
The Secrets of the Heart by Bethany Johnson
Many say that one of Satan’s most favorite sins is pride. I never thought of myself as a prideful person (especially because I had such a low self esteem), but God used my painful betrayal experience to bring to light how I often let pride govern me.
Several days after the incident I was approached by a stranger that had been involved in what happened. He proceeded to tell me that I was to blame. His words devastated me; quite frankly, I had always viewed myself as the victim.
Now the reasons that this individual used to validate his claim were unfounded, but there was some truth in what he said to me that day. The actions taken by my offender were ultimately a choice I did not make. He was responsible for his own actions, and I could not be held accountable for his choices. However, when I allowed God to search my heart, I saw that I had played a huge role in the circumstances leading up to those decisions.
I had been trying to change this person for 9 years through my own abilities. Never once during that period did I stop and pray for God to work in his heart. I was convinced that if I wanted something done, I needed to take care of it myself. I didn’t want to wait for God. God was making it clear to me that I do not have the power to change anyone—only He does, and He does it in His perfect timing.
If only I had put 1 Corinthians 1:30 to memory,
It is because of Him [not the efforts of Bethany Johnson] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
I needed to be less of a stumbling block for my offender and more of a surrendered vessel for the Holy Spirit. My next step in this process was to take ownership of my personal guilt and seek repentance.
Scripture revels to us what a true repentant heart looks like in many places, but over the last 6 years these have become two of my favorites:
- Matthew 3:8 (NLT) – Prove by the way you LIVE that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.
- Acts 26:20 (NIV) – First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and DEMONSTRATE their repentance by their deeds.
In these verses, God gave me a standard by which I could tangibly see Him working through the both of us. I saw changes that lasted longer than a few weeks or even months; they were permanent. We didn’t just change the wrong behaviors; we completely changed the way we “LIVE.” That kind of transformation can never be accomplished through the works of man, but only through the power of the Lord Almighty when we honestly come to Him with a heart seeking repentance.
Then God revealed the next step in my journey: trust in Him and Him alone.
God showed me that while I professed to have faith in Him, I didn’t really trust Him. Instead, I relied solely on myself and this other person—and look where it got the two of us. Biblically speaking, my offender had been an idol in my life. I had placed him in a position God was meant to fill. I was giving Satan the victory by placing all my trust in something that was clearly not trustworthy and would continually fail me. And boy does it hurt when your idols let you down! Thankfully, Jesus never will.
I can’t tell you how many times I was told that I should end my relationship with this person because “people do not change.” That’s true. People don’t change on their own, and people don’t change other people. We are all sinful by nature. We need to submit to the power of God’s Spirit.
The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. Galatians 5:17 (NLT)
My response to that statement quickly became, “You’re right. GOD changes people, and until you can trust in Him to do so, people will never change.” The day I began saying this was the day I was no longer in control of my own life. He was. I may have claimed to be saved when I was 7 years old, but I believe now that I did not completely invite the Lord into my heart and give my life to Him until this moment.
This realization opened my eyes to one of the reasons why the pain of the betrayal was so deep: I had found my identity in that person instead of Christ.
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be His people, His treasured possession. Deuteronomy 7:6
I know that God has chosen me and that I am so very treasured! He loves and accepts me just how I am because he “knit me in my mother’s womb”. He will never leave or forsake me because the Holy Spirit dwells in the depths of my heart. When I identify myself as a child of God then it does not matter what the sinful world throws my way. I am still His.
Begin your own journey to healing! Ladies local to Hanover, PA . . . Beginning October 17, Bethany will be offering an eight-week Bible study in her home entitled "No Other Gods" by Kelly Minter. Fellowship over a meal and then prepare to dig into Truth. Contact Bethany at bjjohnson1014@gmail.com for more details.
FROM WORD ON WEDNESDAY
