by Kimberly | Mar 31, 2014 | Books, Women & Books Together
This is going down as a very engaging, life-changing book. It is that good. I’ve always loved the grace impetus that Elyse Fitzpatrick has in her writing – and this one is no different.
Here are my thoughts on the last two chapters.
One of the most hope-full sentences in the entire book is found in chapter 9 – “No matter how you’ve sinned or been sinned against – your identity is that of a beloved, pure bride.” Often in this world, we are categorized by our sin. Think of all the “self-help programs” or even in our churches when people know you have committed a sin – that’s what our minds shift to when we see that person in the hall or in Sunday School. Not so. This should not be. We should look at other Blood-bought Christians as Christ would – through His blood.
“We are truly alive. We are free and no longer enslaved to sin or the law.” (183) If this is true in our standing in front of a holy God – can it ever be true in the local church? How can we love each other even though we see their sin – they see our sin – how do we display Christ to ourselves and others?
“What would your life look like if you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that you were loved and that there was nothing you could do to spoil that reality?” Oh what glorious truth! How can we again live this out in the local church – in our small groups, in our play dates with other mommies, or in our ministry teams?
“I am free to serve my neighbor because I don’t need to demand to be loved – I have already been fully loved in Christ. I am free to serve my neighbor because I don’t need to be respected – Jesus knows exactly who I am.” – How much of our lives are lived in front of others, so others will see us, so that we can look good and climb ladders or get pats on the backs? This is not how the Christian life should be lived. We are who we are in Christ. Let us live there – in that reality – not keeping score or a list of things we have done. Good book on this topic: When People are Big and God is Small – by Ed Welch.
“Idolatry is crushed beneath true worship.” Oh how true. If we are focused on the gospel, sin will grow so faint (idolatry is sin).
by Kimberly | Mar 4, 2014 | Books, Women & Books Together
I think I love this book more and more – the further I get in it. Thank you Elyse!
“The glorious incarnation that we’ve been considering means that we will never be alone, never separated from God.” (155) This is such amazing truth. When our sin separates us from others: family, friends, spouses – know that because of the grace and the cross of Jesus – we can never again be separated from the One who saved us.
Ephesians 5: we had this passage preached in our wedding by our pastor Andy Davis. It was an amazing sermon. You would think I would know it by now – but each time I read it something else amazes me by it. Here is what stood out to me in this reading. Listen to how it starts: Christ loved the church. Do we live by love or by law? Do we live by grace or by “do this”?
There is a song by the Gettys “Beneath the Cross of Jesus” (that may or may not be the title)… and one of my favorite lyrics: “how great the joy before us to be his perfect bride.” Every time I’ve heard that song and especially that line I think, man, I want to live a more holy life, more according to the Word of God. How erroneous of my thoughts to start there.
I have to start where this passage in Ephesians 5 starts: Christ loved the church. It is Christ’s love that makes me His perfect Bride – not my good works.
“We are Christ’s trophy wife now.” (160). I’m by no means a trophy wife to Eric. I’m not a size 6. I’m not the perfect mother for our boys. I burn food sometimes. There is dust everywhere in our home. But, the joy to know is that Christ has made me HIS trophy wife – by the blood – and is continually sanctifying me!
This was a packed chapter. What did you get out of it?
by Kimberly | Feb 24, 2014 | Books, Women, Women & Books Together
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Here is where she gets into the main point of her book – our position in Christ is one of the most IMPORTANT truths we have to believe as Christians. If we don’t believe this – than our hope is not in the Gospel.
1. God bought us back from our bondage to sin (pg 138) He created us to be in a relationship with Him. Yes we chose and freely choose every day to seek and find comfort in sin rather than seeking Christ. I’ve been focusing on freedom in my life in Christ lately. That focus has led me to think about slavery. Why would a slave, who was freed, return to a harsh master? When there is a joyous Master waiting, why would that slave willingly return to Bondage. Is it because of fear of failure, is it to only stick with what you’ve known. Oh, but the joys of the Father are so much better than the narrow slave relationship and the shackles on your wrist.
2. Every sin that we have ever or will ever commit has already been paid for, not because of our good works or resolution to do better but because we were in Christ when he died in payment for our sin. (pg 139). No matter what sin we ever commit – if we trust and hope and ground ourselves in Christ and his finished work on the cross – that sin is paid for. It doesn’t make it any less heinous of a sin – or less hurtful to God – but it is paid for. Jesus Paid it All – is true – ALL! All is a great term. It is a comforting word. Let’s believe it! Don’t live in shame and don’t keep sinning.
3. I think this statement needs to be preached to every single woman in all of our lives: churched, unchurched, saved, lost, etc. Read this: Believe it. Preach it. Allow the hope to sink in! “We now stand before God alive, not dead, cleansed, not vile, whole, not shattered, and welcomed, not sent away. We stand in complete righteousness and holiness no longer dead in our trespasses but completely and eternally alive in him.” (pg 140) How can we lead ourselves and the ladies we minister to to believe this and walk in this truth?
4. We have been given Christ’s perfect record of always having obeyed, and second, we have been given a new heart, a heart like his, one that desires to obey out of love. (pg 143). If we tell ourselves or tell others that we obey out of law – than we are leading them astray. The only thing the law does, or legalism, is to prove that we are sinners. We will fail. And mostly likely we will live in that failure and continue the cycle of trying and failing, trying and failing.
This is a pivotal chapter in how we counsel our own souls and how we counsel other women. We can’t let them believe the lies that the enemy tells them – that they have to be perfect – that we have to be perfect. We will never measure up. But – we have and serve and love and our loved by one who measured up perfectly. Let’s always tell our women that truth!
by Kimberly | Feb 11, 2014 | Books, Uncategorized, Women & Books Together
The beauty and glory of the Resurrection and how it impacts every moment of every day we live. I know, its not even Valentine’s Day and I’m already talking about Easter: but as I sit and watch my littler boy squirm as he tries to take a nap, basking in the warmth of the sun in our master bedroom, I know that the only reason that he is alive and breathing and cooing and sucking on his hand is because of the Resurrection. All living things found their start in Christ (Colossians 1, John 1)
Love Elyse’s mention of 1 Corinthians 15. Paul reminds his reads of the GOSPEL. We stand in the GOSPEL. And we are growing in Christ-likeness because of the power of the GOSPEL. All of life, from beginning to end, is about the GOSPEL!
Have you ever thought what it would have been like for Mary to hear her name from the very one who loved her, changed her life – but then had died such a horrific death? Can you imagine her heart as it started to beat faster and she turned to see the Master? Oh that we might know the dearness and the nearness of the One who has called us by name out of darkness into HIS marvelous light!
There is a whole blog post coming on our “believing God” but I wonder if the disciples fully believed Jesus? Often He had told them of his resurrection, still they doubted up until the time they saw Him that Easter Sunday. Do our actions do the same? We say believe God – but we worry, we are anxious, we don’t like correction, we mourn as those who have no hope. I know we live on this side of the empty grave – but still I wonder how our actions speak of our doubt – not our faith – in God and in His Word.
I had opportunity to share this one thought with a friend this week: we worry and become anxious over practicalities. We don’t actually believe God at his word that our worry can do nothing for the event – and our worry actually tells of our disbelief – not out belief. Mary and Martha – we see this. This speaks to me often. I worry about getting some place on time. If we are later or I don’t have everything in control – this is when my non-gentle and quiet spirit appears. And in reality it is always there – and I long for the Lord to re-create this part of my heart.
Do we let Jesus reign on our every day life – not just on Resurrection Sunday? How have you seen God reign in your every day?
by Kimberly | Feb 5, 2014 | Books, Women & Books Together
I love small, simple reminders and this week I have definitely found them in Chapter 5 of Found in Him. Life is at times completely overwhelming. I don’t mean the big picture life – I mean the every day, every moment, will my husband ever get home, when will nap time come, can I please go on a walk and not freeze life. Do you know the one I’m talking about?
Then I read this. Calm enters. Waters still. Life becomes unhazy (though I might still need a nap).
The reminder that Christ died for me. That’s all.
The Gospel is not about self. Much of this world is – but the gospel isn’t. If you start with self – you’ve started in the wrong place. Start with God. That’s the best place to start. If you need a Savior (which all of us do) – you can’t start with yourself. That road will lead you wrong every time you go down it. “Take off all your self-protection, self-righteousness, hollow pride, excuse making, self-pity, and crass unbelief. This gospel, the true gospel, is not about you. (pg 96)
Another book I’ve been reading is the Maximize Your Life 31-day Devotional (online) – by Brian Houston (Hillsong pastor). I’m loving it so far. There was a sweet little time that these two books married for me this week:
“Rise my friends. Rise from your sleepy dreams of grandeur and your troubled nightmares of loss. Rise from your unbelief and from your guilty knowledge of your continual failure. Rise out of your doomed lineage and exiled wandering and stand with me. I am the new man. I have won. I will stand.” (pg 100)
One way we can learn to be like Christ is walking in humble obedience. Oh, this is very difficult. I want to cry and complain, or sit on my bed all day, or not pick up the toys. But, that is not like Christ. And I need the reminder.
by Kimberly | Jan 27, 2014 | Books, Women & Books Together
When you see the word “sinner” do you readily consider yourself among those who sin? Do you consider yourself a sinner? Not “I’m a sinner and Christ died for me – a theological statement”. But, “I’m a sinner and Christ died for me – position of the heart and truth statement”.
When I first read the title to this week’s chapter I immediately thought “God does love sinners.” Then I thought “No, wait…he loves me. I’m a sinner too.” This is a very hard theological truth to come to. To realize that sin dwells within us – me. You. Not just in people who cut us off in traffic or get our order wrong in the drive-thru line or those really bad sinners who are on those “said” reality shows that we would never consider watching (hear tone of voice here). No, we have to come to know that we are sinners, too. And Christ died for us and is in the work of daily sanctifying us!
And what is our response when we are sinned against? Whether it is our husbands, children, strangers, friends? Personally for me, irritability. I get irritated at them. I don’t think “Lord, work in me as I am in relationship with them. Shape all of us according to the image of Christ and your holiness.” No, I usually sin in response.
“Love sinners? Me? Hardly. Sometimes I don’t even like them, but He never let the coldness or puniness of my heart stop Him from loving me.” (pg 78)
One of my favorite stories from the Bible is that of King David and Mephibosheth. Mephiba-who? 2 Samuel 9. Go read it. It will rock your world in terms of grace. We, just like Moses and Elijah (two Biblical rock stars) are “redeemed sinners welcomed into the fellowship of the Son.” (pg 81)
Having lunch with a friend today we were talking about glory seeking. So easy to do in this world of social media, blogging, etc. But, isn’t this the exact opposite of what Christ did while he was here on earth? And on his second return trip to earth (in the future) he won’t need to promote because the whole earth will be full of his eternal glory (Philippians 2).
Do we really think about the “condescension of our Christ” (pg 87)? That he stooped low, that he was a carpenter, that he served lost people, that he ate dinner with sinners (some of those people that he ate with surely wouldn’t be allowed in our churches today, right)? Sinners wouldn’t look like us, would they? What if Jesus had had dinners with impatient mothers, stubborn wives, over-the-speed-limit drivers, time wasters, gluttonous people? Then could you relate? I could definitely relate more. I’m not a tax-collector. But, I’m all of the above. And Jesus provided a way for me to have a banquet meal with him. For this, I’m grateful.
Jesus was everything we didn’t know we needed. I love this thought that I wrote in margin. He is good, isn’t he!
