Category - Jesus

Like a Treasure

April 23, 2015

purposefulfaith

Jesus, Regular Contributor, The World

5 Comments

Post By: Angela Parlin

What do you desire?

It may be the most important question you’ll ever answer.

Before you respond with the answer you think you should say, give it some thought. Resist the temptation to use the fast-pass. Let these questions help you get to the heart of what you desire most.

What makes you happy?
What is it you crave, that you’re sure would make you happier?
What do you worry about?
What are you afraid of?
Where do you run for comfort?
What do you fear losing, or fear never attaining?
What would you never want to live without?

Think about these questions, and you’ll probably yield more than one honest answer. You’ll uncover the truth not only of what you desire, but also what you treasure.

Jesus spoke about treasure in the book of Matthew. He told a mini-parable, comparing the kingdom of heaven to a treasure.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44, NIV)

After this, Jesus moved on. He told another parable, with the same storyline.

Many people think Jesus makes the point that we should treasure the kingdom of heaven so much, that we’d give up everything in order to gain it.

While most of us would agree, that finding the kingdom of heaven is like finding treasure, we struggle with the part about giving up everything.

Let’s be honest, don’t you want to believe Jesus wants you to have it all—and Him too? Yet this parable shows us something different.

In his Joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Clearly, the man saw something wonderful there. He found joy in the treasure.

We, too have found joy in God’s Presence. But like our mothers used to say, we “want to have our cake and eat it, too.”

We’ve turned our eyes upon Jesus–but for many of us, the things of this earth have not yet grown dim.

We know He’s the only One who satisfies–yet we look to other people and things and involvements and accomplishments and pleasures–to fill our souls.

We need to bring it all to Jesus–to offer Him our worries, dreams, fears, and desires–and then ask Him to BE our greatest desire.

Even so, there’s another interpretation of this parable. It changes the whole conversation.

What if the man in the story who found the treasure is Jesus?

He sold all He had to save the world. With joy, He gave up everything, to reconcile us to God.

But the story didn’t end there.

He endured the cross, with joy, so we could taste and see His goodness. He bought the field, to make us His family.

He gave up all, in order to open wide the door and let us enter. And then everything He owns becomes our own.

The man in the story is Jesus. Which also means WE are the treasure.

And the world grows dim. Does it not?

May the world remain behind us, and the cross before.

Angela Parlin is a wife and mom to 3 rowdy boys and 1 sweet girl. In addition to spending time with friends and family, she loves to read and write, spend days at the beach, watch romantic comedies, and organize closets. But most of all, she loves Jesus and writes to call attention to the beauty of life in Christ, even when that life collaborates with chaos. Join her at www.angelaparlin.com, So Much Beauty In All This Chaos.

When Forgiving Yourself is Hard (Linkup)

February 3, 2015

purposefulfaith

Contentment, fear, guilt, Jesus, No Fear

53 Comments

When I heard the bloodcurdling scream, worry welled up in me.
When I saw the agony on her face, anxiety overwhelmed me.
When I analyzed the deep gash across her toe, guilt washed over me.

Could you imagine being the one to cause your baby girl so much pain?
The one to crush an innocent toe into a slamming door.
It was me who did this.

Pain – all I could see was all the pain I caused.
Pain as she got stitches.
Pain as we found out it was broken.
Pain as she looked up at mommy.
Pain as she longingly looked to be saved.
Pain as I saw her tears coming down.
Pain as I noticed her toenail was gone.

I left the hospital with a damaged baby and a bag full of guilt.

How could I?
Why did I?

I knew that I needed to come to terms with this. I knew that Jesus tells us to forgive – ourselves included. I knew that this was an accident – but still…

What do you have for me God?

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

He died for BIG wrongs, BIG mistakes and BIG traumas.
For the ones who, without him,
could never find consolation, reparation or exoneration.

For the ones who, without him, deserve nothing but condemnation.

And, this is me. I am this kind of sinner. Not just in this case, but in so many shameful ways.

Jesus agrees.

He agrees, but he doesn’t cast shame or blame.
He agrees, but doesn’t make me retreat in defeat.
He agrees, but rather than enslave, he saves.

He removes the enslaving power of shame, guilt and regret – and replaces it with love.

A love that is victorious and makes us glorious.
A love that showers compassion, with passion.
A love that doesn’t end, but mends.

Much like me with my daughter:
Jesus cries over our pain.
He so deeply desires to wipe every tear away.

Jesus stands ready to save our day.

And, much like I cried over her trial and her agony, Jesus cries over mine.

But, Christ went to one place I can never go. He went one distance I can never cover. He went to one length that sealed the definition of “love”: He took my place. He stepped in. He absorbed all the wrath, torment and agony that was set aside for me.

He did this so I could be forgiven (and so that we could forgive others).

Who am I to take that away from him?
Who am I to negate the incredible sin load that he suffered?

Who am I to think that the power of my enslaving sin could overcome the power of my life-giving Savior?

When we can’t forgive, we are essentially are saying
that we have more power than the cross of Jesus Christ.

We are saying that our sin is greater than our Savior.
That our actions are more weighty than his.
That our inability to forgive is greater than his ability to love.

Because he forgave, we take eternal forgiveness to the grave. Because he is mighty to save, we are no longer enslaved. Because he rose out of that cave, we can all be brave.

There is no arguing with that.

Get all Purposeful Faith blog posts by email – click here!

Click the image above to hear a 1-minute word to the #RaRalinkup crew!

Loading InLinkz ...

Immanuel “God is with us”

December 25, 2014

purposefulfaith

blessings, Christmas, faith, Jesus

2 Comments

Post by Christy Mobley

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, God with us.” Matthew 1:23

It was the week before Christmas and I was feeling the stress, instead of Christmas, I felt more like Chris-mess.

Yes, I was knee-deep in wrapping paper strewn clear across the floor, with boxes and ribbons and bows and more.

It looked like the world’s kind of Christmas to me and less like the one I thought Christmas should be.

You might say I was bah-hum-bug at this time of year, all I really wanted was to feel God was near…

It was early Saturday morning and I was already stressed. It didn’t help that I neglected my time alone with God. Somehow on this day, my to-do-list which was already a mile long, got a VIP slot on my morning schedule. I had people to shop for, a party to plan, and for sanity’s sake, I needed to clean up the ginormous mess on the floor where I had been wrapping gifts the night before. And, I knew if I got organized I might even find those pesky scissors I was sure were hiding somewhere beneath that pile of gift wrap and tangled ribbon!

The whistle on my phone, alerting me to a text, momentarily distracted me from the tasks at hand.

The text was from a new friend. I say new, because Sheri had started visiting our life group at church a few months ago. As a group we had been praying for her mother who had been in and out of the hospital for cancer treatments. Other than church, we didn’t communicate.

But recently that all changed. She started sending me texts to keep me up-to-date on her mom’s progress, and in the back and forth we forged a friendship.

On this particular morning she texted me to let me know her mom had taken a turn for the worse. I had never felt prompted to visit Sheri before, but when I read the text that Saturday, I heard God whisper into my heart, “Go. Go be with her now”.

Though, I instinctively knew this whisper was from God, I have to admit I texted Sheri back, asking which hospital her mom was in, half hoping it would be on the other side of the universe so I’d have an excuse to get back to my mile long to-do-list which didn’t include a hospital visit.

However, as God would have it, Sheri was close by. Little did I know, God would have my new friend change my Christmas from stressed to a Christmas blessed.

I rallied my husband and off we went. We arrived at the hospital room just as another couple were leaving. I was relieved to see Sheri was not alone. We visited for a while, and before we left, David and I prayed for her and her sweet mama. Sheri seemed at peace, and I was glad I had put my to-do-list aside for a while.

Later that afternoon, I heard from Sheri again, this time her text gave me goose bumps.

It read:

“Thank you for coming to the hospital….cool story. Early in the morning, about 1:30, the nurse tried to reposition my mom. It was heartbreaking to see her in so much pain. I left and went to the hospital chapel to pray.

I got on my knees and prayed for my mom, and I prayed for God to please not leave me alone. I feared the dark abyss I fell into after my divorce. I slept for about two hours from 2:00-4:00 and was awakened by an audible voice saying, ‘I am here’.

I looked around, but no one was there. I wasn’t dreaming, I knew what I heard.

About 7:00 a.m. a friend responded to a Facebook post and asked if she could come to the hospital. Then one of my old neighbors came by, then you and David. Later, my friend Harrison from NY called, and then Diane.

My heart was full. It was God, He heard my prayer and didn’t leave me to be alone.

God was near. God was here.

For the 400 years prior to the birth of Christ, God was silent. His people didn’t hear from Him. They felt alone. Galatians 4:4 says, ” … when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son…” and Matthew 2:3 says that his son “….will be called Immanuel, God with us.” God sent His son, at just the right time, to be with us so that we would never have to be alone again.

God heard Sheri and was there for her.

He heard my longing and was there for me.

In allowing me to take part in this Saturday morning miracle, He brought the real reason back into this Christmas season and changed my Christmas mess to a Christmas blessed.

At just the right time He blessed us with the gift of His presence.

Immanuel, God is with us.

Christmas is not about tinsel and bows, it’s about God sending Jesus to earth’s humble abode.

He came so we’d never again be alone. He came so we could one day call heaven our home.

Merry Christmas friends!

Christy is a wife, mother, writer, mentor, and Life Purpose Coach. She is passionate about encouraging women to move forward, and press on through their struggles, seeking God’s presence in every bump and turn in the road. If you would like to connect with Christy you can find her at www.christymobley.com

***Get blog posts via email for a chance to win an Amazon Gift Card. Click here!

Prepare Your Heart for the Birth of Jesus

December 12, 2014

purposefulfaith

birth, Christmas, Contentment, Freedom, God, Jesus

13 Comments

Prepare your heart for the birth of baby Jesus

Mary and Joseph knocked on the door to inn, but there was no room. There was no space. Every inch of the inn was occupied.

“…She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” (Luke 2:7)

As we prepare for Christmas, we are wise to create room for the greatest gift of Christmas to be delivered. We are wise to make sure we don’t say, “Jesus, I don’t have room for you.” Because, if we fill our mind, our actions and our hearts with other things, we will have a big sign on our hearts that shines “no vacancy.”

This means, we have to slow down, and clear out some internal junk to make room for Jesus. We must open the doors of our soul and say, “Yes, Lord, we have room.” We must look him in the eyes and say, “Let us roll out the red carpet – the VIP treatment – for you Lord!” We must say, “You are the preferred guest in my heart.”

Making room for Jesus means we:

– Pray and ask Jesus to make himself apparent in our hearts.
– Acknowledge to God that we are prone to stray.
– Keep our eyes focused on the word of the Lord.
– Meditate on the story of Christmas and the gift called Jesus
– Repent of any idols we are putting before the Lord.
– Let go of worries, anxieties and busyness to find Christ.
– Find joy in the grace and glory that Christ brings.