Author: Jami Stroud

Waiting Day 13 Not Yet, Not Now, No

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Acts 1:1-14
Acts 2:1-12
Psalm 27:13-14

Waiting, Day 13

Waiting.
Waiting for it to come,
Not knowing what it is.

Hoping.
Hoping for more,
Not knowing what I want.

Dreaming.
Dreaming for things,
Not truly believing they will be.

Staying.
Staying where I am,
Not wanting to make the wrong move.

Stepping.
Stepping out in faith,
Not seeing where I am going.

Leaping.
Leaping into what I do not know,
Trusting what I do not see.

Often, the toughest part of waiting is watching everyone seemingly race past us in the meantime. To watch God move so actively and clearly everywhere, it seems, but in us.

I’ve historically been a pretty patient person. There’s something thrilling about living in anticipation. Waiting for it to come, letting the excitement build as time passes. I’m amazed by the joy that comes when I’m waiting for a big event, or for something to arrive in the mail, or for the next time I will see people I love.

This kind of waiting usually has an expiration date. We know when events will happen, and we can track our packages in the mail.

What about when we don’t know the deadline? When we don’t know when, or even IF something will happen? What does waiting look like then?

Before Jesus ascended, He told His disciples exactly what would happen. They would receive the Holy Spirit and become His bold witnesses throughout the earth. (Acts 1:4-7) What He didn’t explain, however, is precisely WHEN, or HOW. After Jesus returned to Heaven, the disciples retreated to the upper room, gathered with other believers, and prayed fervently as they waited.

What might have been different had the disciples taken matters into their own hands? If they’d grown weary of waiting for what Jesus had promised and, instead, began their own ministry without the power and direction of the Holy Spirit? While they may have spread the Good News about Jesus with fine intentions, their ministry certainly wouldn’t have been as effective. Without the indwelling, empowerment, and leadership of the Holy Spirit, their humanity would have left their efforts crumbling in inadequacy and failure. (Galatians 5:16-23)

In waiting on the Lord, as difficult and confusing as it surely was, their absolute surrender and attention to the Lord sustained them to the day Jesus fulfilled His promise and the Holy Spirit was given. The excitement that flooded through those present must have been palpable; Acts 2:5-11 describes how everyone heard the wonders of God in their own language!

The rest of Acts 2 describes how Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, filled with the Holy-Spirit, preached to the crowd, telling them the Good News of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Around 3,000 people were added to the family of God that day! Without waiting on the promise of Jesus, their work would have most certainly not produced such God-sized results. 

Just as the disciples waited expectantly in the upper room, I too have been in a season of waiting. As I seek God’s heart, the answers to my prayers seem to fall into three main categories: “not now” and “not yet” and “no.” And while the waiting can be undeniably painful, it’s an ache laced with hope, potential, and possibility.

Life in its current state feels unstable, as though the slightest imbalance will cause an unstoppable avalanche. While there is goodness in the current moment, my heart cannot help but see the possibility for the future and reach out for it in desperate, yearning grasps.

Not Now
These are the things I’ve been doing that are good, rich, and God-honoring, but are not meant for this season. In these endings, we can find comfort in the often-quoted but still meaningful opening to Ecclesiastes 3.
“There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven.”
I pray that when one time passes, we can say good-bye with grace and wait on the Lord to guide us into the next season.

Not Yet
These are promises or desires I hold with an open hand, surrendered to God’s perfect will and timing. Like the disciples in the upper room, I wait expectantly for God’s guidance and empowerment. In these times, we can “commit [our] ways to the Lord; trust in Him,” believing that in His perfect timing, “He will act,” leading us into, and equipping us for, the next season. (Psalm 37:5)

No
Sometimes, the answer is simply, “No”, which can be incredibly hard to come to terms with. When our hearts ache for what will never be, we can be assured that our good Father wraps His arms around us, loves us unfailingly, and will walk with us through the hurt, confusion, and disappointment.

Jesus is certainly enough for me in this life. In fact, there have been moments in my life when I have clung to the Hope of Jesus alone.

But I fully believe God did not create us to simply acquiesce to the here and now. Hope and vision for the future are built into us. We wait expectantly for the coming of Jesus, while being faithful to the work He has for us today.

In our waiting, in our own upper rooms, may we follow the disciples’ lead, marrying hope of fulfillment with a determination to move into the next season only when released by God.
As we wait, I’d encourage us to be steadfast, friends, and look for Him in the here and now, and you will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:13)

Seek the next best step from Him, however small, and He will show it to you. (Psalm 32:8) Go to your upper room and pray steadfastly and fervently. (Psalm 63:1-2)
Wait on the Lord and He will show you the right time and place.

Most importantly, bask in the goodness of the now and in all of the richness that simply being with your Savior can bring.

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Word Day 3 Follow And Remove

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Read His Words Before Ours!

John 2:13-25
John 12:23-26
Luke 9:59-62
1 John 2:15-17
Matthew 11:28-30

Word, Day 3

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein has always been one of my favorite books. The childhood story of a boy befriending a tree and growing old with the tree has always captured my attention. When the boy is little, he enjoys swinging from her branches, eating her apples, and sitting in her shade.

As he grows older, the boy doesn’t visit the tree as often, but when he does, he often comes with grown up problems like needing money and a home. To help the boy, the tree gives her apples, her branches, her leaves, and her trunk until she is nothing left but a stump. When the boy is very old, he again visits the tree, but he is tired from the weary weight of the world. The tree is happy to give the boy one last gift, a place to sit and rest on her stump.

The Tree demonstrates sacrifice and a joyful pouring out of yourself that runs deeply contradictory to our individualistic, self-serving culture.

For me, this story vividly demonstrates the glorious gospel.
Jesus, “who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead He emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity.  And when He had come as a man, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even to death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)

This kind of emptying of ourselves isn’t something we’re comfortable with.
We see the cost, and we run the other way, gripping tightly to what we value in the world, unwilling to make the kind of sacrifice that asks us to let it go.

Yet, time and time again, when Jesus calls us to follow Him, He asks us to leave behind people and comforts we hold closely.

Following Jesus is not comfortable; it is costly.
It requires whole life surrender.

It’s not that Jesus is greedy, doesn’t value our relationships, or the lives we have built around us. He cares deeply about us, our common everyday moments, even the hairs on our head, but He knows that only when every part of our lives are surrendered to Him, can live truly full lives. When it comes to following Him and doing the work He has crafted for us, we must hold loosely to the fading things of this world lest they become idols standing in the way of true obedience to the One True God.

In John 2, we read the story of Jesus clearing the temple of the market merchants and money changers. What a clear physical and visual message Jesus was sending! He came to change the world for each and every person starting with removing our idols. As Jesus overturned the tables, He made a clear statement about people who claimed to worship God mixing up the worship of Him with worshiping the things of this world. Making idols of money and earthly possessions have no place in the Kingdom of God. Emptying the temple of the idols of commercialism and money cleared the way for Jesus to do real ministry that was meaningful and personal.

We cannot follow Him,
if we will not remove our idols.

When Jesus asked the men in Luke 9 to follow him, they hesitated, pulled back by their earthly duties. Jesus firmly challenged them to focus instead on the eternal importance of spreading the word about God’s Kingdom.

The things of this earth will fall away and fade,
but the kingdom of God will remain forever.

Like the man Jesus encountered and the Giving Tree, we are called to give up the things culture insists are all-important, the comforts we crave, and the idols we bow down to.

When we find ourselves as a stump,
stripped of our self-righteous pride,
and finding all comfort in Christ…

When we have allowed Jesus to make our lives a place for weary souls,
weighed down by the heaviness of the world,
to find rest in Jesus…

We will live our fullest life in Jesus alone
as He works through us to build His Kingdom.

It’s not easy.
It’s not comfortable.
It’s not going to be popular.
But that which we gain is more valuable than anything else we could possibly imagine.

What is Jesus calling you to remove in order to follow Him more fully?
Will you join me in praying for the strength and courage to
follow Jesus and remove the world’s allures from our lives?

Let’s stand together, friends, as we follow our Savior in whole-life surrender!

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Enough Day 10 Perfect Priest

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 23:13-49
Hebrews 9
Hebrews 4:14-16
2 Corinthians 12: 6-10

Enough, Day 10

Do you ever find yourself striving? For that promotion? For your marriage? For the approval of your family or friends? For the next best technology or piece of clothing? All of it can leave you feeling as though you are not enough to earn the love and respect that your heart so longs for.

I have some really bad news for you, on your own merit, you’re not. But you’re also not alone.

My entire life has been focused on how I can serve and do for other people in order to earn their love and respect. An exhausting made up a list in my head of what more I can possibly do for them and what they have done for me so that I can repay them in some way. Striving to balance an imaginary tit for tat that leaves me feeling weary, frustrated, and resentful.

This story is woven throughout history. Men and women desperately seeking approval and enoughness in the eyes of other broken human beings. And all of that striving has left us with nothing when we come to stand before the throne of God, completely exposed, showing all of our sins, faults, and brokenness despite all that we have done to be enough. The kind of righteousness we have the proclivity of seeking is meaningless in the presence of a completely holy and only good God.

God in his graciousness has continuously provided ways for us to be made righteous since the beginning.
Even though the wages of our sin is death, payment could be made through the ritual sacrifice of an animal without defect in place of a human life. This sacrifice could only be made by a priest, who himself needed to be cleansed before performing these sacrificial duties on behalf of the people. This Priest was the only one who could enter into the temple where God dwelled This is the only path that allowed God’s followers to be made righteous in the sight of God.

But It was never enough. This ritual would have to happen annually, cleansing the people from their sins from the past year. So God did not stop providing.

The rituals with the high priest were just a foretaste of the perfect plan God was laying out.
The perfect sacrifice.
The perfect priest.
Jesus.

Joining us here on earth in a most vulnerable way, Jesus came to live the life that we could not. To show us the Way, the Truth, and the Life through Him and him alone. No fault was found in Him and His blameless life was the perfect sacrifice. His giving up his life for us and committing it to God was the act of the ultimate, perfect priest.

Jesus has become the final mediator between us and God. No longer must we be separated from where God dwells. No longer must we go to human priests and present sacrifices to atone for our sins. No longer are we so separated from God that we cannot boldly approach His throne. All of that work was done by and through our High Priest, Jesus.

In one, single, loving act, Jesus tore back the curtain separating us from God. By His blood, he has made us holy, and now God sees us through Jesus: righteous and holy. Set apart from the world to do His work in it. We no longer need to strive for the enoughness that we so desperately seek. Jesus is enough for us – He has taken our brokenness and made it holy.

Will you follow this High Priest? Will you trust in His one, final sacrifice? Will you join Him in his mission to bring the world back to its Father? Will you believe that in Him, you are enough?

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Questions 2 Can You Hear Me?

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 88
James 5:12-16
Ephesians 1:3-14
Romans 8:18-27

Questions 2, Day 5

I stuck my neck out and asked him on a date.

Because we are living in the 21st century, I sent a Facebook message, threw my phone across the room, and waited. I waited for what felt like years . . . but it was honestly less than 24 hours.

I remember thinking, “Did he get it? Has he read it? It says ‘read,’ but what if he accidentally opened it but didn’t see it and now he doesn’t know it’s there?! What if he never sees it?”

The waiting can be the hardest part of asking. 

While I eventually heard back from him, and we went on one pleasant date, never to see each other again, prayer has always been a varying iteration of this Facebook message scenario. We ask God to intervene in the big moments and the little decisions, to provide guidance and discernment, and for Him to heal our broken bodies, hearts, and spirits. We launch our prayers into the vast, unknown universe, believing God has the power to take care of it all, and hoping He hears us.

And then we wait.

In the waiting, we are left to wonder if our prayer got lost along the way. Perhaps God heard us, but He’s too busy working on all of the other prayers He’s received in His prayer inbox. We wonder if prayer even works as we stand exposed in the silence.

When I look back on my prayers, there are moments when God made everything so clear it would have slapped me across the face. But there are many other times when I am left wondering if my prayers even reach His heart. These prayers become deep longings in my soul as I come before God time and time again and tap my metaphorical prayer microphone, asking, “Excuse me, is this thing on?”

What are the longing prayers of your heart, prayers you’ve asked God to answer and then just . . . waited . . . in the dust of deafening silence?

While we hang around for answers, perhaps letting our emotions get the better of us as we spill out all that’s flooding our hearts into words lofted towards the Almighty, we may feel, like David, as if we’re in a pit of despair.  It’s in this murky space of volatile emotion paired with desperate need, we must remember to take a deep breath and ask ourselves,
“What is true?”

Where else can we go to find absolute truth but Scripture? God’s word tells us,

When we seek Him with all of our heart, we will find Him. (Jeremiah 29:12-13)

What when we ask, we shall receive; when we seek, we will find, and when we knock, the door will be opened to us. (Luke 11:9-10)

God hears the prayer of a righteous person. (Psalm 34:17)

As we settle into the unshakeable truths of Scripture, we remember God has already revealed Himself to us through the life of His son, Jesus, who came to earth to stand in the gap of the sin separating us from the Father. Jesus connects us back to God through His life, death, and resurrection, and now we have access to the Holy Spirit, who is God dwelling inside of us! Through the Holy Spirit, we have a God who more than just hears our prayers; He is intimately living within us, knowing and feeling every groaning cry that burdens our hearts.

It isn’t always easy to focus on truth in our prayers. Since the beginning of time, the allure of the world has been working to pull our hearts, minds, and attention away from God. Sin and suffering have afflicted us at every turn. But even (and especially) in the midst of your suffering and your pleading, let your prayers pour out to God. He cares and yes, He is listening.

Friend, may I pray for your heart today as you ask God if He can hear you?

Father God, I pray for my sister today as she comes before You, wondering if You can hear her prayer. Time and time again, she has come before You and laid her heart out before You. In the chaos of the world around her, she has been unable to hear Your response to her heart and she is left wondering if You are listening. 

Holy Spirit, open her heart and her mind to how You are working in, through, and around her, that your glory might be revealed. Give her comfort in knowing You are present with her and dwelling in her. Thank You for Your son, Jesus, who revealed Who You are to her and connected her heart to You and to us, as sisters in Christ. In Jesus’ Holy and Precious Name, Amen. 

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Reveal Day 1 Until He Appears

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Habakkuk 1:1-4
Habakkuk 3:16-19
1 Peter 1:3-9
Romans 8:18-38

Reveal, Day 1

“How long, Lord, must I call for help
and you do not listen
or cry out to you about violence
and you do not save?
Why do you force me to look at injustice?
Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Oppression and violence are right in front of me.
Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.
This is why the law is ineffective
and justice never emerges.
For the wicked restrict the righteous;
therefore, justice comes out perverted.”
(Habakkuk 1:2-4)

If ever there was a prayer for 2020, this passage from Habakkuk pretty much covers it.
Pain, strife, injustice, violence, conflict, loss . . . all wrapped up in a God who has never felt further away.

Christmastime often taps us on our shoulder to remind us what we’ve lost throughout the year, or to bring attention to what we don’t have. Loved ones with whom we once celebrated who will not be sitting at the dinner table this year. Gifts we wish were under the tree, but for which the budget couldn’t make room. A special someone to share life with or children and a family of our own.

But 2020, and all its tumult, have truly humbled our hearts. What we thought was known has toppled into an overwhelming heap, perplexing us when we attempt to piece it back together.
Loss of jobs, businesses, and lives.
Sudden, rapid loss of our “normal.”
The loss of comfort in, and blindness to, the systematic racial inequities still existing in the world, despite the long and hard-fought battles already waged.

It seems impossible that God is here. That He is working. We want to cry out, like Habakkuk, “How long, God!?”
“Where are You now?”
“What are You doing?”
“Why don’t You save us?”

The book of Habakkuk shows us a raw and real conversation between God and Habakkuk on behalf of the nation of Israel. For hundreds of years, since the exodus from Egypt, Israel suffered from the plight of its own sin. Time after time, they turned away from God and deliberately disobeyed Him by worshiping other gods and idols, despite the Father’s constant grace and effort to bring them back to Him.

And so Israel fell, and suffered, at the hand of corrupt nations like Babylon. God delivered them, and they remained faithful . . . for a time. Until they abandoned their Deliverer, and the endless cycle began again, and again, and again.

We see both Habakkuk and God hurting for the world and the sin wreaking havoc at every turn. God shows Habakkuk that He, too, sees the hurt, the pain, the suffering, and the loss. His heart breaks, too. Even though it seemed inconceivable, God was working a plan far greater than their present troubles. In the midst of the consequences of our own sin and the ripple of others’, God’s glorious plan to save His people was being revealed.  

I’m amazed at Habbakuk’s praise at the end of the book. Despite the absence of God’s immediate rescue, Habakkuk rests in God’s constant promises to deliver His people. Habakkuk didn’t have the Christmas story of Immanuel, God with us, or even the knowledge of the Easter story of the resurrection of Jesus, and yet he chose to trust in the midst of loss.

My favorite Christmas hymn lyrics, from the first verse of “O Holy Night,” simply and beautifully remind us of the “now” of our suffering and the “not yet” of the promise to come:

 “Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appears and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!” 

How long have you felt the weight of sin and error and pined for relief, crying out to God, “How much longer, Lord?”

Friend, when Christmastime taps us on the shoulder and we look back at 2020 and remember what was lost and painful, may the picture of an innocent baby named Jesus, born in the midst of chaos and filth, prompt our weary hearts to turn toward hope and the bright, new, glorious morning our Father has given us.

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Blessed Day 13 Blessed Are The Reviled And Persecuted

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 5:10-12 (ESV)
James 5:10-11
1 Peter 3:13-17 
1 Peter 5:8-10

Blessed, Day 13

What do you think about when you hear the word persecution? Reviled?

My first thought is of Christians throughout the world who do not live with as much freedom as I enjoy. I think of those in China who meet together and spread God’s word in spite of the ever-looming possibility of arrest. I remember our brothers and sisters in countries where other religions dominate the culture, and who face uphill battles every day of being ridiculed or cast out from society. I think of believers in North Korea, who secretly meet underground to worship and share the Good News, even though it’s an offense punishable by death.

I recently heard a story about a young Muslim man who met some Christians in the desert. They told him if he wanted to meet Jesus, he could. He then had a beautiful encounter with the light and peace of our Lord, and Jesus continued to meet him in every space, in the darkest of times.

Because of his faith, he endured great persecution. He was confined to a jail cell and physically tortured for talking about Jesus. He was shot, stabbed, shamed, ridiculed, and thrown off a cliff for telling his family about this amazing Jesus he now knew so intimately.

That is what comes to mind when I think of persecution and revilement.

Maybe you’ve experienced some more severe forms of persecution, similar to what I mentioned above, because of your faith in Jesus. In which case, I am in awe of the strength and power of God in you! Keep fighting tenaciously for the hope set before us!

However, I would dare to boldly say every Jesus follower has experienced persecution and revilement.

The original Greek words in the Scripture are dioko for persecuted and oneidizo for reviled. The translation for dioko holds the imagery of someone being chased or hunted down aggressively in an effort to stop them. Oneidizo reveals a more verbal mode of persecution in the form of insults, mocking, and evil language.

In the midst of trying to be the hands and feet of Jesus, have you ever felt pretty much every possible roadblock came up against you? Perhaps you brushed it off as coincidence, or maybe even as a “sign” you’re meant to do something else.

Let me tell you this: our enemy, Satan, is out there seeking to steal, kill, and destroy every plan to further the kingdom of God. So, maybe you haven’t been persecuted by another human or man-made institution, but friend, Satan is persecuting us daily in an attempt to draw us away from our true identity in Christ and our unique calling in God’s Kingdom. 

Those lies you hear in your head about your work, skills, dreams, passion, or appearance?
They’re revilement by the enemy.

That flat tire you got on your way to volunteer at the homeless shelter to which God
called you?
That’s persecution by the enemy.

We’ve all been there, whether we recognize it or not.
Persecution doesn’t happen because there’s something wrong with us,
or because of our reaction to God’s Word,
or when we fall into sin.
Persecution happens when we seek God and follow Him.
Jesus promised us this.

In Matthew 5, Jesus tells us those who are persecuted and reviled because of Him are blessed.

Excuse me, Jesus? Did You say blessed?! There must be some mistake because this is not any sort of blessing I would like to have.
The crippling lies I hear?
The dream job from which I was fired?
The relationship that ended?
That precious baby I lost?
NOTHING about those situations made me feel blessed.

So, how exactly are we blessed by being reviled and persecuted? Through each and every step we take in the valley of persecution to continue pursuing our true God-given identity, we are drawing closer to God and furthering His Kingdom. We can be certain, when darkness overshadows us along the path God has laid before us, we are doing Kingdom work. We have a daily, eternal perspective that even though we are chased down and mocked and insulted, we will one day inherit the riches of God’s glory in our Heavenly home! How blessed are we?!

“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” – Jesus (John 16:33)

Go forth, fellow Sister in Jesus, advance God’s Kingdom through His power in you.
Be reviled and persecuted, and be blessed!

Want to be challenged in your faith in some radical ways?!
Check out these incredible, true life stories of faith in the face of persecution!
Heavenly Man
The Insanity Of God
The Hiding Place

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He Day 1 Elohim

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Genesis 1:1-2
1 Corinthians 8:1-6
Colossians 2:1-15
Matthew 28:18-20

He, Day 1

“In the beginning, [Elohim] created the heavens and the earth.”

In the first sentence of Scripture, we are introduced to our Author and Creator with the Bible’s most common name for God, “Elohim.” We are told God was present in the very beginning, before anything else existed and, from Himself, created all we know, see, touch, and feel today.

Let me share a little context for our discussion of this foundational name of God, “Elohim”.

  1. “Elohim” is actually the plural form of the word “Eloah.”
  2. In Hebrew, Eloah/Elohim means “god/gods” and is used throughout Scripture to not only name our One True God, but also to refer to the other spiritual beings or gods of other religions.

So why would Genesis 1:1 use Elohim instead of Eloah? And why would the writers of the Scriptures use Elohim to refer to God, instead of a more specific and personal name like the one revealed to Moses in Exodus 3, “Yahweh”?

The use of Elohim in Genesis 1:1 is intentional. By using Elohim, the author is already revealing to us the concept of the Holy Trinity. Three divine, unique persons: the Father (Creator, Sustainer), the Son (Redeemer), and the Holy Spirit (Advocate) in one divine God. The Elohim Trinity was present from before the beginning of time at the creation of the universe. From the beginning of the world’s existence, the great and mighty power of Elohim is being revealed.

Scripture uses the word ‘elohim’ as a title for other gods and spiritual beings, too. Not only did followers of the One True God use Elohim to refer to God, but it was the common Hebrew word for discussion of the gods of other religions, whose worship caused people to turn away from their mighty Creator Elohim.

Therefore, Scripture repeatedly emphasizes how our Elohim is different and set apart from other elohim.

“For the Lord your God is the God of gods [Elohim of elohim] and Lord of lords,
the great, mighty, and awe-inspiring God,
showing no partiality and taking no bribe.” (Deuteronomy 10:17)

“Give thanks to the God of gods [Elohim of elohim].
His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:2)

The God of these Scripture verses is mighty, the Elohim above all other elohim! The Spirit-inspired authors of Scripture made the distinction that even though there were countless other gods and idols, false as they were, our Elohim was sovereign above them all. He alone is the God whom we serve and worship.

His might is proved to us through Elohim’s greatest act of power, the salvation of His people through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

 “[. . .] ‘there is no God but one.’
For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth
—as there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’ —
yet for us there is one God, the Father.
All things are from him, and we exist for him.
And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ.
All things are through him, and we exist through him.” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6)

 “And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses.
He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us,
and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross.
He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.” (Colossians 2:13-15)

Paul reminds us even though other so-called elohim seek our attention and worship, rule with authority on earth, and attempt to pull us away from our Creator, we are subject to one Elohim and one Elohim only. We are subject to the Elohim who created us, sustains us, and gave us Jesus. 

I don’t know about you, but I am constantly bombarded with distractions seeking to pull my attention from the Elohim of elohim. They come in the form of never-ending household chores and errands, the pull of TV and social media, and sometimes even my relationships with others can become more important than my relationship with Elohim.

While none of these are inherently bad, they easily become idols and false elohim when I prioritize them above my mighty Elohim. 

Jesus came to once and for all end the power of sin, death, the devil, and all false elohim forever. He took on our sin and the wrath of God on our behalf through His death, and the power of all other authorities was broken when He defeated death itself! Now all authority on heaven and earth belongs to our mighty Elohim alone!

We have the gift to serve our Elohim and be witness to His mighty power through Jesus to all the ends of the earth!
All praise be to the Elohim of elohim! 

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Sola Day 10 Solus Christus

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Romans 3
Hebrews 9
John 1:1-5
Hebrews 4:15-5:10
Ephesians 2:1-9

Sola, Day 10

“There is no one righteous, not even one.”

I cringe every time I read these words from Scripture, first laid out for us in the Psalms (Psalm 14:1-3), and then connected to our everyday life after Jesus’ death and resurrection in Romans. (Romans 3:10-26) It’s easy for me to see the evil happening around me and the devastation sin has left in its wake, but the pain truly comes when I realize I, too, have contributed to the devastation.

There is no one righteous.

Before Jesus walked this earth, people had been working to atone for their sins through the ritual of sacrifice laid out for them by God. An animal without defect could be offered as a sacrifice in the place of a human life.

Think about what a gift this was! Humans, who cause evil devastation and deserve the punishment and wrath of God, could offer an animal as payment for their sins! Already, God was working to save His people and show them He desired their salvation!

But the animal offerings could not last forever. They were required over and over again, with a high priest interceding on their behalf to God. Even this high priest, also being human, must cleanse himself with the blood of an animal sacrifice before pleading to God on behalf of the people.

No one could ever be permanently rid of their sin.
We cannot do the work ourselves.
Our striving and reaching will never attain the glory for which we search.

This system was never meant to last.
God had a better plan to do away with sin and death once and for all.

Enter Jesus. 

The son of God himself, fully God.
Born of a virgin, fully human.

Leaving His throne in Heaven, Jesus came to walk the earth with sinners so He could be our final intercessor, our One True High Priest.

To be the perfect High Priest, and the perfect sacrificial lamb, it was essential for Christ to be completely blameless and entirely without sin. His responses to sinners and His lessons and parables all show us how to live as believers while His suffering allows Him to empathize with our weaknesses.

But all else culminates in His precious, innocent, blameless life
making Him the perfect final sacrifice for our sins. 

No one was righteous, not even one.
Until Jesus.
Only Jesus.

Just as the blood of the animals was required for the atonement of human sin, so was the blood of Jesus. Only the blood of Jesus could be the ultimate payment for the sin of the world, once and for all. One perfect human life in exchange for all depraved human lives, for all time, so we can live at peace with God. (Hebrews 10:12)

What makes this sacrifice final was evidenced three days later.

Three days after the blood of Jesus was shed, out of a borrowed tomb, Jesus rose in victory over the punishment we deserved for our sin, death itself. (Matthew 28:1-7) Because of His resurrection, death no longer has power over life. Not only is our sin washed away, but death, the punishment for sin, has been abolished in the name of Jesus! (1Corinthians 15:54-57)

Those who trust in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus alone now have an eternal perspective on earth. We walk the same earth, with the same power that raised Jesus from the grave living within us, as witnesses to what only Jesus can do.

Martin Luther desperately wanted people to know this “Jesus only” salvation. Living under the shadow of a corrupt, politically-charged catholic church, he saw people being led to believe their salvation was their responsibility.

In the early 1500s, when masses were illiterate and uneducated, and when Scripture wasn’t available in the local language, many were led astray by church leaders who taught their salvation was dependent on them. If they said the right prayer, or attended mass enough times, or used their hard-earned wages to buy their way, they could get to heaven.

As Luther began diving deeper into Scripture, he realized all of the legalistic burdens the Catholic church heaped on their followers were getting in the way of the finished work done by, through, and in one man, Jesus.

Instead of gaining their salvation, all of their striving was diluting the work of the Gospel.
If we can just repeat the right words, why do we need Jesus?
If we only needed to go to church and be a good person, why do we need Jesus?
If our money can buy our salvation, why do we need Jesus? 

Because, of course, empty repetition of the “right” words does not produce or indicate a transformed heart.
Because we can’t be good people.
Because all the money in the world cannot buy forgiveness.

At the end of the day, when our deeds fail us, and our money runs out, we need Jesus.
Only Jesus!
(John 14:6)

Jesus is
the only High Priest interceding on our behalf,
the only payment for our debt,
the only sacrifice for our sins,
the only atonement for our transgressions.

Just Jesus. Only Jesus.


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Neighbor Day 13 Wounded One

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Read His Words Before Ours!

Luke 7:36-50
Luke 10:25-37
Romans 5:6-11

Neighbor, Day 13

“Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity”

These words from Hillsong’s “Hosanna” echoed from the walls of a small school cafeteria full of people seeking Jesus one bright, Palm Sunday morning.

God was already working in my heart before those words even left my mouth as I sang along.

The morning before, I’d run through my normal Saturday routine and headed to a nearby coffee shop to join some of the best women I know as we dove into God’s Word.

I happened to arrive a little early, so I ordered my breakfast and had a seat to kill some time.

Opening Facebook for what I thought would be a mindless scroll, I ran across an article about a 5-year-old boy who was thrown from the 3rd floor of the Mall of America by a random man. There wasn’t much information available, because authorities still were unclear on many details. Normally, I would read the article, think something like, “Oh that’s so sad” and move on, but for some reason, I was prompted to delve further.

I looked up several different articles and then unwittingly dove into the comments section on Facebook. People were commenting with prayers for the young boy and his family, for healing and peace and comfort. I was heartened to see the support pouring out for this family in their time of crisis.

Yet, what really struck me were the comments about the young man who’d allegedly thrown the boy. Comments abounded regarding what an evil person he was, and vengefully suggesting people violently take matters into their own hands. As I read, I felt convicted to pray for the accused man. So, throughout the rest of the day, I prayed.

The next morning, as our setup team for our little plant church gathered for prayer, I continued to feel burdened to pray for everyone involved in the tragedy. As I shared about how this man was God’s creation and needed healing and Jesus just as much as any of us, tears flowed uncontrollably from my eyes. The depth of my reaction surprised me, but I knew it was a sign of the Holy Spirit working within me.

The rest of the morning I was a mess, crying during prayer and as I spoke with others, all outward signs of God breaking my heart for what breaks His. Opening up my eyes to the things unseen. Showing me how to love like He has loved me.

Jesus spoke often on forgiveness and its power to completely change a person’s life; the parable of the man who was forgiven much in Luke 7 is an amazing example. If you’ve ever been subject to debt, imagine how grateful you would feel if it was completely paid at no expense to you. 

What if extravagant forgiveness was shown to the young man from the Mall Of America incident? What if, instead of all of those hateful, vengeful remarks, the comments were filled with words of compassion and forgiveness for this man? Imagine how his life might have changed.

None of us deserves forgiveness. Regardless of the ranking system we humans have erroneously developed for sin, all sin deserves God’s wrath. And yet through the death and resurrection of Jesus, forgiveness is ours. All of our debts, past present, and future are paid.

That man at the Mall of America could be any of us, one snap or mental health breakdown from wreaking havoc on another life, community, or ourselves.

So, before we are quick to condemn today, let’s ask ourselves if that person could use forgiveness.
If they could use love and an encouraging word instead of ridicule and condemnation.
If they need Jesus.
Because don’t we all?

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Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

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