A Father's Love

Last week God did an amazing thing for me. The Maker of the Universe spoke to me through a woman I’ve never met that lives in Kampala, Uganda. This is what happened.

On Thursday I received a private message on FaceBook that said, “Hi sweetheart. Was praying before going to bed and as I started lifting you up in prayer, the Lord kept showing me Isaiah 49:1-end. I read it thru after praying and am asking that you read that whole chapter and claim every promise that is there and ask Him to show u a deeper revelation of what He is saying.”

I began to meditate on this Scripture and one of the verses spoke to me deeply, I have been praying for the salvation of my adult son. The New Living Translation says in Verse 25, “But the Lord says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children.”

That leapt off the paper at me! When I read it I began praying for my son and asking God anew for his salvation. I felt a new hope well up inside me. I began to claim the promises and asking for more revelation regarding this message.

I’ve heard many people say that these promises are not for us today, that they were for the Israelites only and in the Old Testament. I have faith however that God can do anything and He can use any verse of Scripture to speak into our lives and they can come from anywhere in the world! Even if we don’t really know them well or they don’t know us well.

Sunday morning my son went to the altar to pray. He accepted Jesus as His Savior! I’ve been praying for this for a LONG time! God knew He was going to be moving on my son’s heart this week and He also knew I was becoming discouraged with praying for him so Our Father reached down into my life to encourage me. Now I'm rejoicing that my son has given his life to a the only One who can save him, the One who gave His life and died for him and me. What a loving Father! What a loving Savior! Thank you Jesus †

The Shadow of the Alamo

I grew up in the shadow of the Alamo. Born in San Antonio, TX, I never fully understood how that would impact the rest of my days. The Alamo, a home to missionaries and their converts for nearly 70 years, it ended with a huge battle where much blood was spilled.

It was in the shadow of the Alamo that I was first introduced to Jesus Christos, at the age of only 3 years old, on the wall of the Rodriguez dining room, hanging on a cross. Prior to that, I had never heard or seen anything remotely resembling what I beheld that day. I had been playing with the Rodriguez boys, the only kids in our neighborhood who were young enough to have a 3yo tag along. They were only 4 and 5. They didn’t mind the little white haired girl who asked questions and wanted to know why all the time. I didn’t mind playing with dirt, bugs or climbing trees. I could run fast and find good hiding places. These things mattered.

On the day we went in the dining room and I noticed the painting; we were there for a quick snack and then back to playing but I couldn’t take my eyes off of this man in the painting. There was something about Him that made me feel funny, and not ha ha funny either. For some reason, I knew deep down I wanted to be just like Him. I didn’t know who He was, I didn’t know why He was nailed up on that cross and I didn’t know much, but I did know this, He was up there for me, because He LOVED me. By the time we washed up and snacks were served I had devised a plan in my little 3yo brain. By my estimation and by the questions I’d asked in between bites it should be relatively simple to be just like this man who they told me was the Son of God; and to be not just like Him but to be with Him too. Understand though, Mrs. Rodriguez spoke English about as well as I spoke Spanish, so that may be where the lines got crossed.

And here is how it all went down, so to speak. I convinced David and Jose that if they would just nail me to the mesquite tree that surely that would be good enough. I could stand on a milk crate and after they nailed me they could kick the crate out from under me. Voila, as my momma always said, problem solved. They had some objections. You can imagine. But from a practical standpoint though, I really did have it all figured out. There were nails down the alley behind the bar on Hotwells Blvd we could go get (we weren’t supposed to go down the alley but I had convinced them and myself that God would understand because it was for Him, the nails were rusty but that was okay, I didn’t mind because I really wanted to meet Jesus Christos face to face) and my daddy had a hammer. After a few hours of convincing, I talked them into it, I can be persuasive I suppose.

If it hadn’t been for my sister I would probably have tetanus and nail scarred hands. She was a well known eavesdropper in our neighborhood and I’m thankful now for it! She went and told my mom who came running out of our house, apron flying, flour billowing off it, screaming something about me being the death of her and Catholics…I don’t know, I was preparing to meet Jesus Christos. Long story short…I was no longer allowed to play with the Rodriguez boys.

I don’t know if having my roots so deeply planted in the blood soaked soil so close to the Alamo actually influenced my passion for missions. Perhaps it did, but I do know that Jesus Christ made sure I was born in the shadow of the Alamo, that I would first see Him on the wall of a tiny house on Pyle Rd and that I would forever fall in love with Him because He loved me first.

As a 3yo child I didn't understand that Jesus Christ came to die on a cross so I wouldn't have to. I thought that to be with Him I had to physically die on a cross as well, but it's so much simpler than that. Confess my sins to Him, repent from my sins, ask forgiveness, accept Him as the Lord and Savior of my life and then pick up my cross and follow Him. I pray you'll make the same decision I did...

Mary Magdalene

I heard a sermon yesterday (a very good sermon by the way) that was entitled, Dead or Alive. It was an excellent sermon on apologetics and defending your faith, I know that, however, what I brought away from the sermon was something a bit different. The Pastor made a point that you know the Bible is true because when Jesus arose in all four Gospels the account of the resurrection tells that Jesus first appeared to a woman. He then went on to explain (no offense to the women) that a woman’s testimony in that day was completely worthless. So for all four authors’ of the Gospel’s to include this fact wouldn’t really be a desirable thing. It would have been far more believable if He’d chosen to appear to a man, then the testimony would have been more accepted.  Wow!

I sat there letting that soak in for a bit. Jesus chose who He would appear to, He knew in advance exactly not only that He would appear to a woman but which woman it would be. Mary Magdalene, the demoniac who had been set free by Jesus and she loved Him so much she left all behind and followed Him. She was a devoted disciple. Yes, she was a disciple. Jesus drove seven demons from her. The number of demons driven from her was important. Seven represents completeness, totality. She was in complete and total darkness and depravity. So she knew what darkness was. Plain and simple, she knew her state. Her self-perception was clear, she knew where she stood before God and she knew what the Son of God had done for her and she owed Him EVERYTHING!

We know she was a committed disciple. She left her home and devoted her whole life to Jesus and His ministry. Matthew 27:55-56 says, “And many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.” She left it all and supplied the needs of Jesus and His followers. Her gratitude prompted her to follow Jesus wherever He went, even to a garden tomb one morning to anoint the body of the one who had set her free.

She went and bought spices to anoint Jesus after the Sabbath ended and she arrived early the first morning after the Sabbath. I love John 20. The whole chapter and I hope you’ll check it out. When Mary is standing outside the tomb weeping and Jesus appears to her and asks, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She answers, “Because they have taken away my Lord…”  MY Lord. He was hers and she was His. Not in a sexual way but in a way that is so much deeper.  She was yielded to Jesus because she called Him Lord, He was her Master. She bowed down to His authority. And she got to be an eyewitness to the resurrection of the Risen Savior of the World, Jesus Christ! Imagine that! What an honor and a privilege.

And what about Jesus appearing to a woman? That shows the compassion and love of our Savior. A God who loves so completely that He is willing to send His only Son to die for murderers, liars, and thieves. ”But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

 A God who loves the unlovely and the outcast so much that He would die a horrific death for me, for you, is worthy of all we have to give. This God, this Jesus, I call Him Lord, I surrender all my will to Him and no matter what He asks of me I say yes because He set me free. Have you been set free or are you still in darkness. If you haven’t met the Man who Mary Magdalene met in the garden on the third morning but you’re ready to make Him your Lord here is a prayer you can pray…

“Father, I know that I have broken Your laws and my sins have separated me from You. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward You. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. Jesus, please come into my heart and forgive my sins, cover me with Your blood and wash me clean,  become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to fill me and help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

Welcome to the Jungle

When you poke a wound, the wounded animal will eat you. Even if you’re poking it to discern the level of the pain to come up with a medical plan to heal the animal. Pain will always override and the animal will eat you, or at least wound you.

This is why Jesus tells us to forgive. He knew that while we were going around in His Name bringing the wounded to be healed and set free that sometimes they would turn on us. Not only that, Jesus knew that even after we were converted that there would be lingering sin in our lives that would be painful for us to live with and when confronted about it we would lash out at those who come to help us. Again, this is why forgiveness is so important. In the Gospels, Jesus taught extensively about forgiveness. He did this because He knew how key forgiveness is to living a life that is pleasing to God.

When you do something that offends someone, which reminds me about someone I need to ask forgiveness from, (did it, hope she forgives me…) as soon as you think of it. And when someone offends you then you have the choice to hold an offense against them or forgive them. Holding an offense does nothing to the person who you hold it against. It’s like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die. But to forgive, it frees you from bitterness that would otherwise take root. I’ll tell you a little story.

When I was a little girl I had a man in my life who was older and he hurt me in ways that some older men hurt little girls. And he told me that it was my fault because after all, I let him do it so I must have liked it, and since I liked it that made me a bad girl. Since I was a bad girl he didn’t really want to tell my mom and dad but he would if I “made him”. You get the picture. He was a well loved member of our family who was trusted and I believed him when I was a little girl. But then I grew up and when I met Jesus Christ, He told me all about who I really am in Him, a princess, pure and whole, reserved for Him but there was a requirement from me. I had to forgive. Took me a while, but you know what? I would have never been able to write about this before I forgave him. There was too much pain. I couldn’t even speak of it without tears that flowed freely and anger that would burn in my chest. Now I feel badly for that man. He wasted his life, ruined God only knows how many children and unless he comes to know Jesus Christ he will burn in Hell. I pray he meets Jesus and finds forgiveness.  

Jesus knew that the only antidote to the pain that will eat us alive is forgiveness. That is the lesson I learned in the jungle of my childhood. I pray you never have to walk in the jungle I survived as a child, but if you find yourself in a jungle of your own remember this, forgiveness is the antidote to the pain.

The Woman at the Well

I have been studying "The Woman at the Well" (John 4:4-42) since I met Jesus in 1998. This story can be related to most of our lives in some fashion. I remember the first time that our choir director asked me to portray this woman in our Easter Program long ago how deeply I connected to her. She didn’t know that, she didn’t know my history. If you are unfamiliar with this story I encourage you to read it. It is very powerful. I believe the story is trying to teach us to forgive, love, and respect each other regardless of circumstance or status. I would like to know what others think about this topic and how you can relate it to your own life. I would sincerely appreciate your comments on this.

In OUR portrayal of her life she comes to the well during the hot midday and meets Jesus, realizes He’s the Christ, her life is changed and she runs back to the town meeting the women who had scorned her singing to them, “You’ll never find my story in a fairy tale, I wasn’t like the other women at the well, my life was full of pain, hurt, rejection. My loneliness I didn’t want to show, but Jesus saw the desert in my soul. Drink from this water, drink from this water, and you will never, you’ll never thirst again. Drink from this water. Drink from Living Water and you never, you’ll never thirst again.” Then suddenly the ladies who had scorned her accepted her and followed her back to Jesus and everything turns out lovely. It is a role I am honored to have been asked to play and am thankful that God has allowed me to bring her to life but really, there is only so much you can do in 4-5 minutes during a musical/drama. Let’s take a more realistic look at her life and her interaction with Jesus.

This was a socially unacceptable encounter that had occurred! Not only was she a woman, she was a Samaritan woman AND she was a LOOSE Samaritan woman! Being a woman was considered a curse back then and being a Samaritan woman was a double curse. My heart breaks for her. She made such a mess of her life. I relate to her. I’ve made many of those same choices she did. Living with a man whom she wasn’t married to, I've done that. Married more than once. I've done that. I’m every bit as bad as this Samaritan woman. I just happen to live in a different time period where it’s not as socially unacceptable. But it’s still unacceptable to God.

So, back to our woman at the well, Jews avoided Samaritans and treated them as half breeds, unclean, to be avoided at all costs, yet Jesus went out of His way to meet her at the place of her need. He knew she would be there at the hottest time of the day to avoid the condemnation of the other women in her community who drew water in the cool of the morning. He engaged her in conversation which was unheard of! A Jewish man speaking to a Samaritan woman shows that this Jewish man was more than just a Jewish man; He is the Christ revealing Himself to the lowest of society. What compassion He has. What love He felt toward this woman who was doing her best to mask her shame. Jesus had a conversation with this woman that was amazing. He asked her for a drink of water and then proceeded to give her a lesson on Living Water. Then He asked her about her husband, she answered she had no husband, He answered that she had answered well because she had not one but five husbands and the one she was with was not her even her husband. This brings me to an important point. In those days a man could divorce a woman for any reason he desired (burned the rice to birthed the wrong sex child) and she had no recourse, no resources, and no way to support herself. This could explain why she had so many men. Could it have not been her choice? Does this shine a new light on her? My point is this, she lived a very hard life whether it was by her own choices or the choices of others and how amazing it was that this God Man Jesus didn’t just come to the Jews, He came to her. He understood. He took the time to sit and talk to her when others avoided her and not only that, He offered her Living Water, eternal water. He handpicked this woman out of all the women to have this conversation with and I thank Him to this day for it!

Then Jesus taught her about worshiping in spirit and truth through the power of God’s Spirit. I’m not certain but I don’t think He had even shared that lesson with the disciples at that point. She told Jesus that one day the Messiah would come and tell them all thing and Jesus revealed to her, “I who speak to you am He.” WOW! I imagine she must have been blown away! But then the disciples came back and I imagine although no one said anything about Jesus talking to this Samaritan woman that they didn’t make her feel very welcome (they were Jews after all and in their defense they weren’t God in the flesh).

At this point she left her water pot and RAN in the midday heat back to the city to tell the men she had seen the Messiah! That’s right, the men. Because I imagine the women wouldn’t have listened to her even then. (Any woman who lived a life like hers was not only scorned but seen as a threat.) But the men, well, they knew all about her and when she came running into the town yelling, “I just met a man who told me EVERYTHING I ever did!”,  it probably got their attention since it likely included things they’d done as well.

The conversation recorded with the woman at the well was a long conversation, and not only was it long, it changed the course of history. The woman at the well was the first woman evangelist! She was commissioned by Jesus Christ Himself. In John 4:34-38 Jesus told the disciples that His food is to do the will of His Father who sent Him and of the fields being white for harvest. Many Samaritans believed because of the woman’s testimony. She took them to Jesus and they compelled Him to stay and many more believed because of Jesus’ own word. He is the Christ, the Savior of the world!

So, really, isn’t the story of the Woman at the Well really the expression of evangelism as it should be. The seed sower, Jesus, didn’t care about the social status of the soil He sowed the seed in, He looked upon the heart. He looked for the need, He came for the sinner, praise God because that’s ME! He commands us to sow seeds as well. We are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves, regardless of their situation.  We are to ALL be evangelists! Every single one of us who knows Jesus Christ should be an evangelist regardless of whether we are Jew or Gentile, Man or Woman. We should sow the seed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into every heart whether the person has influence and can tithe or is homeless and will need to be supported.

The Samaritan Woman said it all with her sense of urgency when she RAN in the midday heat to tell those who had rejected and scorned her that the Messiah had come! Let’s reach as many people as we can! Let’s stop splitting hairs about preferences and details. Who can and can’t go and tell, who is and who isn’t “worthy” to spread the good news. Truth is, none of us are worthy. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:23-26 NKJV

The Samaritan Woman was one of the very first that Jesus revealed Himself  to as Messiah beyond the Jewish people and she represents the very heart of ministry. Run to the hurting, tell them about Jesus, bring them to Him and let Him bind their wounds.

Did I ever tell you about the time I picked up a prostitute?

It was a rainy day, the kind of rainy day where it’s coming down in buckets and no one should be outside walking on the side of the road.  So I’m driving on Route 40 in Aberdeen MD in the early 90’s with my son in the back seat of my station wagon when I see her, she is walking on the side of the road near a motel (I totally missed this fact in my concern for her safety) and she looked to be about my age, 20’s. I stopped the car and leaned over, opened the door and hollered, “Get in!” She did.

She seemed very confused to be in my little station wagon; she was stick thin and soaked to the skin. She was beautiful but looked hopeless.  I felt such compassion for her. I thought she was walking to work. She mentioned she wasn’t usually into women but whatever and then my wonderful little boy in the back seat said, “Hi. Why ya walking in the rain?” She hadn’t noticed him until then. I asked where she was headed and then she told me she was a working girl. I being naïve told her I was too, I worked at the VA.  She said, “No, I mean a (speaking slowly) w-o-r-k-i-n-g girl. But thank you for not just assuming that.”

That day I took a young girl, someone’s daughter and perhaps a sister, to a nearby diner to have a warm bite to eat and hopefully she felt stronger afterward. What I wanted to do was offer her hope but I didn’t know Jesus then. All I could do was offer her a warm meal and a dry ride back to her hopelessness. I think back on that day and the only regret I have about picking up a prostitute was that I didn’t know Jesus to share true HOPE with her. I pray for that girl, no longer a girl but a woman, and I pray that someone else came along who was interested in the beauty in her heart and not just her face and body, someone who shared the Good News with her.

So I challenge you to remember exactly why Jesus came. He came to offer hope to the hopeless, to heal the sick, to forgive the unforgiveable, to offer Living Water! Here’s the challenge, with Valentine’s Day we often think of those we love but what about those who have no one who love them. The hurting, the broken, those in need of the Good News? Share the only Love that is lasting today! For Valentine’s Day this year introduce someone to the Man who will love them unconditionally and forgive their sins. The Man Jesus who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless, perfect life, died for our sins and on the 3^rd day rose from the grave! He conquered sin and Hell so we could come to be with Him.

No one is too far gone, there is no sin too evil, no secret too dark, nothing that Jesus cannot shine His Light on and offer forgiveness and a new life. I’m living proof. He did this for me.

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior all you have to do is repent from your sins, believe in Him and accept the gift of salvation. Wearing nice clothes won’t save you, neither will driving a nice car or living in the better section of town, going to church won’t save you either, only accepting Jesus Christ can save us. Surrender to Him today.

“Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

“Father, I know that I have broken Your laws and my sins have separated me from You. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward You. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that Your Son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. Jesus, please come into my heart and forgive my sins, cover me with Your blood and wash me clean,  become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

Grace...

We have all sinned…every one of us. Not one of us is righteous. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23

The sin in my past is so atrocious that I can’t bear to even speak it, the things I did, how I profaned God’s Holy name. I pursued my life of sin with passion; I made it my goal to discover all this world had to offer. But I was miserable, the more I sought to fill that void the worse it became. My sins were not just in my heart and mind, my sin was so public that everyone knew. Everyone. I made no effort to conceal them.

Others have sin that they feel is concealed. No one knows they beat their wives, maybe not with fists, perhaps it’s only with words. That’s not as bad as so and so…No one sees the secret sinful longing of their heart; No one knows about their sin because you can’t see them festering on the inside, they appear holy on the outside, many times even the one doing the sinning can’t see them. Secret sins. Things we do that don’t seem like sin to us but the Word says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” In Proverbs 14:12. We have all been influenced by a society that makes the perverse acceptable and calls the righteous truths of God a lie and bigotry. God forbid we are narrow minded.

So who’s sin is greater? What are the consequences of that sin?

I was told that the consequences of my sin will be worse because my sin was public, that God will never be able to use me as He would have if not for my sin. I bought that lie; hook, line and sinker until the truth of the Word began to show me that the God I serve is bigger than their God; because my God, the God of the Bible, the Creator of the universe, and the Savior of the world is bigger than my sin. His blood is able to cover my sin.

The Bible says “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 Thank you Jesus!

When I give thanks to His Name for what He has done for me it is a sacrifice of praise…“By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his Name.” Heb 13:15

“Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” I Pet 2:5

God’s grace abounds in my life enabling me to walk the narrow road with Jesus. The Holy Spirit keeps me from many snares and stumbles. I’ve been forgiven much and I love Jesus all the more because of it.

Has this touched a nerve with you? Do you feel like you are unable to be forgiven because what you’ve done is so bad? Do you live like you have no sin but the Holy Spirit is pointing some out to you now? There is a remedy. Give your life to Jesus, surrender to Him and let Him wash you clean. If you have already been saved but have sin in your life you can’t overcome this is the remedy. Confess. Repent.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9