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Being Confident Of This

Grace for the work-in-progress woman

Ministers of Reconciliation: a Christian Response to Racism

June 15, 2020 by jstults Leave a Comment

I stammered for words when my youngest son piped up behind me, “Mommy, why aren’t they helping?” If I had heard him approach, I might have been tempted to shield him from the video of protesters and police colliding.

How do I explain the brokenness in our world to an eleven-year-old boy who has very little real-life experience with racism? How do I do justice to such a complex issue with only a few words?

What is the Christian response to racism?

In past weeks we have witnessed the best of humanity alongside the worst of humanity in a poignant display of both brokenness and healing.

We read about both violent mobs met with police brutality and communities coming together in marvelous displays of unity like groceries lined up on a sidewalk, cookouts hosted for police, good officers kneeling alongside peaceful protestors.  Two realities in simultaneous existence. And so many of us left wondering, how do we help bridge the gap?

What is our place as Christ-followers in all of this?

The Christian Response to Racism

We recognize sin as the ultimate issue, the culprit lurking behind the scenes. Yes, the problem is ultimately a spiritual one. After all, Scripture records we are all created in the image of God. Inherently, our dignity (and the dignity of others) stems from the Creator himself.

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

Yet even in the midst of a sin-filled world, we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus!

Jesus, who healed the blind and the lame, who acknowledged the unclean, who dined with sinners, who touched the diseased. Jesus, who prevented the stoning of a guilty woman and who rebuked the false religion of the Pharisees of His day. Jesus, who addressed both physical and spiritual issues and never shied away from our messy humanity.

Jesus, friend of sinners and outcasts, who laid down His life to make us whole and free.

It’s not enough to simply acknowledge God’s truth. We should also be acting on it.

 

In our present climate of racial unrest, political division, and prolonged injustice, how should Christians respond? What is our role? We've been giving the responsibility of being minister's of reconciliation, which means more than just believing all people are created with God-given worth! #racism #ChristianWomen #reconciliation what Bible says about racism | Being Confident of This | human dignity | human worth | justice | biblical perspective on justice | how to respond to racism and riots | the role of the church in fighting racism | identity in Christ

 

Minister’s of Reconciliation

As followers of Christ, we are commanded to act as “minister’s of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-21) restorers of human dignity, comforters of the poor in spirit.

Just as Christ ministered to the “least of these,” so we, too, as His ambassadors, bear the responsibility of advocating for mercy and justice for all people, not just those we like, those who think and act like us, or even those who look like us.

“ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8 (NIV)

What is required of God’s people? Not the undesired sacrifices we so often want to make in place of the things God really wants from us, but to “act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

How Christians Can Love God’s Way

“Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” Proverbs 14:31 (NIV)

“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:31 (NIV)

Friends, this is how we actively demonstrate the gospel to the world around us. We live it out day by day, moment by moment, remembering we are all created in the image of God.

As we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we share the Good News that we are all one in Christ! Bringing this hope to others is key to restoring their God-given dignity.

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26-28 (NIV)

Church, now is the time to be the “city on a hill,” to serve as an example to the world around us of how to treat others who differ from us. Now is the time to show a church united, congregations that who as families, buildings where all are welcome, regardless of belief, status, or looks. Now is the time to love because “He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Lest anyone misunderstand, I’m not asking believers to water down the gospel or treat sin as tolerable, but to preach the Good News that frees us from all sin, even the sin of racism and self-righteous thinking.

The Perspective on Human Worth All Christians Need

As we mourn a man who struggled for breath and a nation torn apart, let’s remember it was God’s breath that brought man to life in the first place. Let’s remember all people have worth in Him. Let’s remember the mercy we ourselves have been shown.

“Help us to remember we are all the least of these, Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees.” (Jesus Friend of Sinners by Casting Crowns)

 

For Further Reading:

George Floyd and Me

 

The Bible clearly describes the worth of all human beings. As Christians, our message to the world needs to be one of human dignity and worth. We are to share the gospel truth that Jesus died for all races, and we are all one in Christ! This is the Good News needs in times of racial unrest and injustice! Being Confident of This | racial unrest | racial injustice | Christians and racism | what does the Bible say about racism | unity in the church | human worth | human dignity | ministers of reconciliation | identity in Christ | Christian women | Bible study

Filed Under: Christianity Tagged With: christian response to racism, George Floyd, human dignity, human worth, Identity in Christ, justice, peaceful protest, racism, rioting, worth

4 Ways the Term Self-confidence Misleads Christian Women

September 30, 2019 by jstults Leave a Comment

“Mom, I can’t find my soccer jersey!” The oldest boy called out from his room. A frantic search party ensued as we had only 15 minutes until we needed to walk out the door for his game.

With a sinking heart, I headed for the laundry room, only to have my suspicions confirmed. I had completely forgotten to wash his jersey! Now he would have to play with already stinky pits.

I felt so frustrated with myself, but even more, I could see the disappointment on my son’s face. And just like that, I felt like a terrible mom. A complete failure who can’t even keep her kids in clean clothes!

What’s wrong with me?

But it didn’t stop there, no….the enemy of our souls used that stepping stone for the rest of the night to pummel me with reminders of just how worthless I was.

You’ve been there before, right friend? Maybe you let a friend or a spouse down? Maybe you deeply disappointed people at work or at church? You forgot an important appointment? Lost your temper? Didn’t meet your personal goal?

You failed in some way (whether major or minor), and your confidence is shaken.

You’re not alone!

4 Ways Self-Confidence Misleads Christian Women

The truth is that what the world calls self-confidence is actually very misleading in many ways. In fact, self-confidence is pretty much the opposite of what the gospel teaches us about ourselves.

The world's perspective on confidence actually leads Christian women astray! Here are 4 things you need to know about the term self-confidence. #confidentchristianwomen #selfconfidence #biblestudy #christianwomen Being Confident of This | The Confidence Journey | online bible study for women | bible study on confidence | how have more confidence as a Christian | godly confidence | Bible study workbook | Christian books on confidence | 4 Ways self-confidence misleads us

First, self-confidence misleads Christian women by focusing on self.

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23 (NIV)

Did you catch that, friend? To follow Christ is to deny self in favor of following Him! If we want to be confident, Christian women, then we cannot be focused on self. We must recognize that our confidence doesn’t come from who we are in this world.

We know that according to Scripture, there is nothing good in us and we all miss the mark of perfection (Rom. 3:23, Rom. 7:18). We are inherently sinful beings, prone to wander (as the hymn rightly claims). So any confidence based on the flesh is already on a shaky foundation.

Second, self-confidence misleads Christian women because it doesn’t last!

Self-confidence is often based on what we do, how others see us, how we appear – everything external rather than internal. It is rooted in comparisons, achievements, popularity with others, and so forth. Thus, we all relate to modern catch-phrases like “mom guilt.”

Confidence based on self is just one moment away from failure! It doesn’t matter how many times we’ve been patient with our children, sacrificed for our husbands, served our friends, obeyed God, and so forth. Because the one time we mess up, we’re back to square one. We’re failures. We can’t do anything right. Right?!

Again, confidence in the flesh is only temporary: one moment away from disaster.

Third, self-confidence misleads Christian women by being easily faked.

One look at social media opens our eyes to this truth! Because self-confidence is based mostly on external factors rather than internal worth, it can be easily faked. We can photoshop all we want, throw out all of the positive affirmations we can think of, stage our photos, and so forth, but still struggle with insecurity on the inside!

How often are we shocked when someone we know, someone who seemed to “have it all together,” admits to feeling depressed or lonely? Why are we surprised when seemingly happy celebrities end their own lives?

Confidence based on self is only as strong as our swagger.

Sad, isn’t it?

Fourth, self-confidence misleads Christian women by enslaving us.

When we set our sights on self-confidence, we either become content that we are “enough” already or we strive for perfectionism and the elusive “got-it-all-together” act. One extreme or another.

But even more concerning, often, as Christian women, we trend toward works – being the “good Christian girl.”

Either extreme leads us away from God’s plan for us, and guess who wins then? The enemy.

You see, friend, self-confidence is directly opposed to the gospel truth that we all fall short, we all need a Savior to redeem us and transform us from the inside out. We’re not “enough” on our own, yet like the apostle Paul, none of us have already arrived at perfection (Philippians 3:13-15).

So when we swallow the world’s self-confidence pill, the one that trains us to focus on the external, we miss out on real peace, lasting joy, secure faith, and an authentic confidence that is not easily shaken!

When will we rise up and say, “No more!”?

What does the Bible teach about growing in authentic confidence?

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Scripture commands us NOT to conform to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed, from the inside out, starting with our minds! So, the first step toward a confidence that is centered on Christ rather than self is to change our patterns of thinking.

As Christian women, we cannot afford to approach confidence from the same perspective as the world!

This is why I’m so excited to tell you about The Confidence Journey online Bible study. With a focus on wisdom from the Word and a prayerful examination of lies we might be believing, transformation IS possible. We CAN have godly confidence!

The Confidence Journey is a Bible study workbook, a companion to the book I released last year, Being Confident of This. And I want to invite you all to join us for an online Bible study experience where we will study the root of authentic confidence together!

Class starts October 14th and runs for 6 weeks. Registration is OPEN now through October 8th – just click here for more details. And don’t forget to check out the BONUSES we’re offering for this unique experience.

The Confidence Journey online Bible study experience. Study the root of authentic confidence with author Jen Stults this Fall! #biblestudy #onlinebiblestudyforwomen #confidencejourney

My heart for you, my friend, is to see you walk in real, lasting confidence.

This world needs more confident Christian women. Women who understand their worth, who walk free, who say yes to God, who live out the abundant life He has planned for them!

Will you join us?

Jen 🙂

The Confidence Journey online Bible study gets to the root of authentic, godly confidence! Spend 6 weeks in the Word with author Jen Stults as you discover the keys to biblical transformation, all founded on your identity in Christ. Bundle includes the book, the Bible study workbook, and weekly video lessons. #onlineBiblestudy #biblestudyforwomen #TheConfidenceJourney #Christianconfidence

Filed Under: Christianity Tagged With: Bible study, Christian Women, Confidence, confidence in Christ, Identity in Christ, online Bible study, self-confidence, The Confidence Journey, worth

Hi, I'm Jen: a work in progress. I'm imperfect - a mom of four, pastor's wife, discipler, and sinner saved only by grace. I like to sing, read, write, teach, and smile. I have a heart for encouraging women everywhere to understand God's limitless love for them and what His grace means for everyday living. Welcome! :) Read More…

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New devotional release from Jen Stults - Being Confident of This: 30 Days to Discovering Your Identity in Christ. This book is for every Christian woman who wants to walk in confident faith instead of struggling with doubt, fear, and insecurity! self-esteem | self-confidence | self-help | motivational | personal growth | spiritual growth | how to be more confident | Christian women | devotional | Bible study | identity in Christ | superwoman myth | being like Mary

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