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Like a Proud Big Brother: Your Identity in Christ

October 9, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 10 Comments

One day after our seven-year-old’s soccer game, he waited in line at the concession stand. The rest of the family waited a few feet away, arms full of camping chairs and water bottles, ready to head back to our trusty minivan.

I watched as our son’s easy grin lit up his face while he talked animatedly with a teammate behind him. His team had remained undefeated, and he was on cloud nine!

He called out to his younger brother to join him.

As the four-year-old brother bounced closer to him, our middle son’s smile widened and his eyes crinkled. He bent down to the younger’s level

“This is my brother, ” he told his teammate.

“Say, hi!” he encouraged the four-year-old.

Pride shone forth from his face as he talked about how he teaches his younger brother and sister how to “do sports” and how they listen to him and do what he says.

He put his arm around the four-year-old in a protective and possessive way, completely pleased to be the big brother. “Gimme five,” he instructed. The younger brother gladly obliged and bounced back to where the rest of the family waited.

Then, he called over his younger sister, also four, and the scenario played out all over again. She giggling and he smiling in her face. Her quick wave to the teammate was cute and girly. She, too, gave a five and then pranced back to join us.

I listened as our son and his teammate continued to converse. “So, they’re like your minions?!” the teammate asked, impressed.

“Yeah, pretty much. They’re my minions.” Our seven-year-old nodded his head.

As I laughed quietly, I realized how true it is. They are his minions.

They trust him.

They listen to him.

And most of the time, they do his bidding.

But he also cares for them.

He helps them. He plays with them. He loves on them. He gives things to them.

And when his friends are around, he introduces them with such beaming pride that you would think he birthed those two four-year-olds himself!

I didn’t think much more of that overheard conversation until later that week when I attended a Beth Moore simulcast. She spoke on grace and law, how we often trust grace for salvation, but we fail to trust it in our everyday lives.

Instead, we walk as if still under the law, guilty and defeated, when we could be living free and victorious! We so often neglect to embrace our identity in Christ.

At the end of the day, Beth brought our attention to the fact that we, who are in Christ, are fully accepted by God; there is nothing more or less we can do to “please” Him. Then, she ended with a speech given to us, one phrase at a time, to repeat to a partner.

It was a speech of words about who we are in Christ, and a speech about how Jesus would present us, His sisters of inheritance.

As I spoke the words aloud to my partner, I suddenly recalled my seven-year-old’s beaming face.

And I. was. undone.

Because that’s exactly how Jesus feels about each one of us, my friends!

He’s the proud big brother; in His eyes, we are something to be joyful about.

That’s our identity in Christ – that Someone is proud to have us in His family, proud to call us His own!

Just imagine it with me now:

With a smile on His face, He calls you to His side, slings His arm around your shoulder, and proclaims for all to hear…

Father, this is my sister. Isn’t she great?

Look how beautiful she is! I love her so much that I willingly gave my life for her, covered her sins in my blood.

She is infinitely precious to me, a daughter of the King.

The Father smiles back at Him and nods in agreement.

The Christ-brother holds out His hand for a celebratory five.

And the angels rejoice!

Let’s live from that identity in Christ, friends.

Because we have a proud big brother.

And His name is Jesus!

Jen 🙂

To read Beth’s commissioning prayer (and other goodies from the simulcast – like the Grace Poem), click here.

And if you’re interested in learning more about your identity in Christ, join our newsletter list of thousands of work-in-progress women who are learning to find godly confidence. We’ll send you this FREE min-devotional:

The Honeymoon is Over

July 31, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 32 Comments

It was bound to happen eventually. I’ve only been blogging for a few months now, so I don’t really have much experience to go on. But I think I can say with some certainty that the blogging honeymoon is over.

Blogging, like so many other things in life, was so fascinating and exciting when it was new to me. Every view was cherished, every comment celebrated. Some days I would check the blog first thing in the morning and last thing before bed. It’s the truth; I think I became just a tiny bit obsessed! Maybe, just maybe, I even made an idol of it, to my shame.

I do that, though. I throw myself into new things with such enthusiasm, such big plans and dreams. And then somewhere along the line, it stops being quite so much fun and starts to feel more like work, like just another burden to carry.

Some of you might be thinking, but it’s just a blog! To a certain extent, you’d be correct. It doesn’t feel like “just” a blog to me, though. It feels like part of me that I’ve put on display for the world to see. And there are these nifty little graphs that measure that part of me day by day by day… And some days they just don’t measure up to what I’d like to see. No matter how high they reach, there seems to be this desire for more. And the inspiration isn’t always there. And busy schedules get in the way.

And sometimes…

I just want to give up.

Let’s be honest. It happens to all of us! When that new baby comes home smelling so sweet, and everyone is exclaiming “how perfect”…when that new job is so exciting that you just can’t wait to go to work, and people tell you how happy they are to have you there…when that new ministry that you’ve been planning for and dreaming of finally comes to fruition…when you make that purchase that you’ve been saving up for and it’s just. so. cool….when that mountaintop experience leads you to a faith high that just can’t be matched.

Inevitably, a valley follows that mountain. That perfect baby that slept so well in the hospital cries all night long, night after night after night. That new job has its own set of challenges. That new ministry has flaws, too. That new purchase grows old or outdated. Thus the mountain gives way to a valley. And those feelings that had us on cloud nine in the mountains leave us, and we wish for more.

But our spiritual lives are not lived just on the mountain tops. In fact, those mountain tops most likely add up to a very small part of our faith journey. The truth is that the valleys often naturally follow the mountains , not because anything has changed but because our physiology is built that way. Our bodies cannot sustain a constant state of “high,” so we must experience a “low” to bring us back to equilibrium. And perhaps even more because we were not meant for this imperfect world, so we yearn for something better.

While I know that my faith isn’t built on feelings, as a woman emotions do come into play! How often I’ve wished those pesky emotions away even though I know they serve a purpose. 🙂

So what’s a girl to do when she just gets a case of the blahs and the blogging honeymoon seems to be over? She recognizes the valley for what it is – temporary. She remembers that she is not a citizen of this world. She blogs anyways because that’s what God led her to do, just like she mothers anyways, she loves anyways, she trusts anyways, she clings to His promises anyways, she speaks truth anyways, she leads anyways, and she hopes anyways.

She keeps seeking. Sometimes she even stumbles and falls, and she’s so ashamed of her weakness. But He’s right there to help her back up again. Along the way, she learns a little more of the unfathomable depth of God’s grace. She grows a little more confident in an overwhelming, unconditional love. She grows a little more confident in His timely provision. She grows a little more confident in the work He’s doing within her.

Because He promised that one day, one glorious day, that work would be complete.

And the valleys will be gone.

And the mountain top lasts for all eternity.

And we see His face.

So we wait, like so many others before us.

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us,

let us also lay aside every encumbrance

and the sin which so easily entangles us,

and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,

who for the joy set before Him endured the cross,

despising the shame,

and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

For consider Him who has endured such hostility

by sinners against Himself,

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

And we don’t lose heart.

Jen 🙂

A Savior Who Never Grows Weary

June 26, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 21 Comments

I’m privileged to attend a women’s bible study on Tuesday mornings most weeks. We’re currently studying the book of Hebrews in depth, and this week the focus was on the latter part of chapter seven.

In this chapter, the author spends a great deal of space demonstrating why Jesus is the ultimate High Priest, even greater than Melchizedek, who was a pillar of the Hebrew faith.

Because Jesus is eternal, He is superior.

Because He is perfect, blameless, He is superior.

Because He continues to intercede on our behalf at the Father’s right hand, He is superior.

Hebrews 7

“23 The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.”

When asked to reflect on these verses, the end of verse 25 jumped out at me. “He always lives to make intercession for them.” That is His purpose at the right hand of the Father, to intercede on my behalf, continuously, for all of eternity.

Did you catch that? Our risen Savior didn’t just choose us at the cross.

Our Savior chooses us now; defends us now; redeems us now; intercedes for us now, moment by moment, forever and ever, hallelujah!

I often grow weary of my children (let’s be honest, now :)). I often grow weary of my husband, of others, and sometimes I even grow weary of my Lord. My love fails.

But His love never fails.

He is a Savior who never grows weary!

It wasn’t just a one-time act, that choice to suffer on the cross, that forgiveness of even the most unpardonable sins. He continues to act on my behalf, acts for my forgiveness, over and over again. Today, and the next day, and for all of eternity.

As humans, we cannot even come close to that kind of love! In fact, even our most sacred vows end with ” til death do us part.” One day we will come to an end, and with that end, our imperfect love will also cease.

We says things like, “I’ll love you forever” but that promise is impossible for us to keep. And even if we manage to love one another for a lifetime, our love is full of faults, imperfections, wounds, conditions.

But His love is not our love.

He alone can keep the promise of a perfect, forever love. Our High Priest claims us time and time again.

Father, you see that one right there? I chose her. I died for her. Her sin is covered by my blood. She belongs to us now. I call her beloved. I love her as she is.

Oh, the overwhelming grace! It’s almost painful in its power. It floods us and we drown in it, dying to self and rising anew. Rising to bone-deep gratefulness. Rising to undeserved confidence in our eternal position. Rising to true love.

If you’re feeling low-down and unworthy today, unloved or under-appreciated, overwhelmed by sin or temptation or trials, or maybe just a little weary of life in general, remember who your Savior is.

He is real.

His love is real.

And it never ceases.

He sits at the right hand of the Father and proclaims, “Covered by my blood, covered by my blood.”

Rise anew, beloved,

rise anew.

Jen 🙂

Sharing with: A Little R&R, Grace and Truth

Be a Transformer

May 28, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 21 Comments

Have you ever put off saying (or posting) something because you feared the repercussions, how it might be received? If so, then this post is for you. Even as I wrote it, and re-wrote it, I felt that same fear because being bold in my witness does not come naturally to me, rather it usually results from conviction of the Holy Spirit. Thus, I have put off posting this message for too long now, and God has convicted me that I’m not trusting in the Him, the God “who goes before me.” I have spent hours crafting the message so that it will hopefully ring true without causing a permanent loss of hearing. 🙂

So I hope that when you read it, you will consider my heart (even though some of you might hardly know me). My heart beats for God’s people and for His truth, it yearns for us all to strive toward Christ-likeness not for the sake of personal pride or satisfaction with self, but for the sake of His glory, that His name and His Truth should be known around the world! My heart aches for the lost, those who are searching for His Truth without even knowing it. You can blame my parents for this since I spent a great deal of my growing up years as a missionary kid. But that’s another story for another time. Today I want to ask you some tough questions in relation to the following verse:

Recent conversations on Facebook and other media outlets have opened my eyes to a developing trend in Christianity today. Being a Bible-believing, truth-defending, Christ-follower is no longer popular even in many Christian circles!

Somewhere along the line, some of us Christ-followers have become so conformed to this world that we are afraid and/or unwilling to take a stand on issues that the Bible clearly addresses. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve found myself in this camp before, keeping quiet because it’s just easier. Some believers even go so far as to throw their total support behind worldly ideology, political correctness, tolerance – whatever you want to call it – and then condemn their fellow believers for being “judgmental,” “close-minded,” or “intolerant.”

While criticism from the world is to be expected, criticism from fellow believers often surprises us! We are not accustomed to being labeled (or dare I say “judged”?) by those who should be our support. How warped is it that Satan has convinced some of us that simply standing on God’s Truth is being judgmental, and is therefore wrong?

Allow me to clarify: the Bible DOES speak strongly against judging others and becoming self-righteous. We are all familiar with the words of Luke 6:41-42.

Only God can see, and therefore judge, the motives of the heart. Therefore, we should not pre-occupy ourselves with the sin of others; rather we should be too busy dealing with our own sin. However, God also calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds and to be bold in our witness as transformers.

Unfortunately, well-publicized, so-called “Christians” have recently taken a stand for their so-called “truth” in ways that ARE harsh and hateful, tarnishing our witness. Furthermore, we have Christian brothers and sisters actively ridiculing others on forums such as Twitter and Facebook, adding to the world’s negative perception of us Christ-followers. While I fully support upholding God’s Truth, when we haughtily shove our beliefs in someone’s face with a sarcastic turn of phrase, a witty cartoon, or a picture that belittles others, we end up conforming to the world and looking just like it! How can we then be salt or light to a world that is in dire need of God’s truth?

I believe Satan has seized hold of this shame over others’ behavior and used it to confuse believers (as well as the world!) and convince many of us that upholding God’s truth is wrong in and of itself, when the reality is that the fault lies in the method of delivery. We have only to study Christ’s example to see how he gently revealed truth to people, often with a single phrase or sentence, and always while caring for their needs, whether physical or spiritual. He did not skirt sin issues, neither did he humiliate the lost.

We must follow Christ’s example in our efforts to live as transformers. When the Bible speaks clearly on issues of right and wrong, we are called to uphold God’s Truth with – and this is the key – LOVE and RESPECT.

The key lies in our delivery – a delivery which requires a balance between Truth and Grace, not the absence of either or both. A total-grace perspective can lead to conformity, while a total-truth perspective can lead to self-righteous bullying . Is it wrong to bully others into sharing our beliefs? Yes! Is it also wrong to be silent on issues that the Bible clearly addresses? Yes! Why then have we allowed the world, the Great Deceiver, and even fellow Christians to tell us that it is un-Christian-like to be a Christian? Ironic, isn’t it? 🙂

My purpose is this: consider carefully how your life and your actions or statements appear to others (especially in regards to social media). Do they see a difference? Are you being transformed by Christ, or are you choosing to conform to the world? There is no middle ground!

I know it is risky voicing the unpopular Biblical perspective on many current issues, but then Christ wasn’t all that popular with the worldly and falsely religious leaders of his day, either. You may lose friends. You may lose popularity. You may even be judged by the very people who accuse you of “ being too judgmental!” Have the courage that Paul had when he wrote in Philippians 3:7-11:

⁷But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Amen??

If at the moment you find that you’ve been conforming (and haven’t we ALL at some point or another??), remember that God’s grace is immediate and His power to provoke change in us is immeasurable. On the other hand, if you are already actively trying to live out a transformed life, take heart. You are not alone!

I encourage you to look to God’s Word and the Word alone to form your opinions, and allow the Holy Spirit to transform your thinking.

Questions to ask before posting or sharing a “truth” statement via social media:

Is your audience one you love and one who loves you in return? In other words, will your message be received in the manner in which it was intended?
Is your message one of God’s truth rather than man’s truth? In other words, do you have contextual biblical support for your message?
Is God leading you to share this truth at this particular time in this particular fashion? In other words, has the prompting come from Him or do you just love your soap box? 🙂
Have you achieved a balance between truth and grace? In other words, how is your method of delivery – gentle or smug?

Telling the truth in grace and love is such a delicate balance to achieve, but as Christ’s image-bearers, we must work toward that balance! We have amazing technology and a unique opportunity to show the world what Christ-like love truly is, so let’s allow Christ’s love to shine through us without diminishing the light of His message. Don’t conform. Be a transformer.

Because of His love,

Jen 🙂

When Temptation Lingers Near

May 7, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 13 Comments

Have you ever felt like the enemy has set his sights on you? Have you felt stuck, between a rock and hard place with no way out?

In those moments, victory seems near impossible. We have no strength of our own for making the wise choice, the right choice.

Instead, we feel helpless and hopeless – overwhelmed by the temptation to give in and give up!

The following story is about one such day…

…………………………………………………….

It’s almost supper time, but the stove top sits empty and no pleasing aromas fragrance the air. I’ve not even yet decided what to cook, let alone made any sort of preparations. Instead, I’m sitting in my bedroom trying desperately to pray while my preschoolers whine for attention right outside of the bedroom door.

My husband, weary from our recent argument, sits slumped over just outside the door at the dining room table. He’s grumbling over the budget and seems unaware of the noise around him.

There is no peace, no quiet.

But I need to pray because I am one moment away from falling into temptation. One moment from allowing my impatience, anger, resentment, and frustration to spill over onto my family. One moment away from blowing any chance at doing right.

At this moment I am certain, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Satan has set his sights on me; I’m being tested.

Finish reading this article at it’s new home HERE. 🙂