While at the friend's graduation I had some really good heart-to-heart conversations with friend's fiance and sister-in-law.
So this week's theme has really been centered around John 8:32 "Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you Free."
All of these conversations had some kind of truth-revelation that was either unknown to me or unknown to the person I was speaking to, and a LOT got cleared up. It was hard and it was good, there were a lot of tears and apologies and laughter and forehead-smacking when realizations hit of "WHY didn't we know that SOONER!?" But its been a good reminder about how where secretes live there Satan has a foothold, and even though something may not be an overt lie, where there is deception, there demons have a side door.
Can't (and won't) go into all the gory details now, but as we drove home from Nashville and Kyle and I kept saying, "WOW!" at random times, it really convicted us to pray about how to change our outlook on things and how to guard against continuing Generational Sin.
Joshua 24:15 says, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
There is a lot of pride on both Kyle's side and my side of the family, but there's a lot of skeletons in the closets of both our families that have remained hidden I think out of consideration for our generation. Why bring up old dirt? Past is past, let it go and move on. However some of the things we learned really cleared up some mysteries as to why aunts and uncles or in-laws behave the way they do. While there was sin galore through a lot of the stories we were told, instead of it making Kyle and I want to chose sides or see family members differently, it really opened our eyes and gave us a new compassion for some people. How horrible to have to live all these years with THAT burden of guilt! It completely changed how we prayed for them and the others who had been hurt. While it doesn't completely change the present, it does give more hope for the future as we more strategically pray and search Scriptures more proactively.
I think we make the mistake of believing that Grace is reserved for Salvation, but then it doesn't really apply later on. Or we get so burned by other Christians who don't understand their Bible that we assume every other believer will treat us the same way.
I've learned that I must be soooo careful to pray for discernment before confessing or asking for help at times. But asking the Holy Spirit for discernment and then acting when I sense He's moving has been so full of blessings I almost grieve that more people don't try it!
We assume sin only hurts the people being sinned against. But how much time do we stop to consider how much sin is hurting the actual SINNER? We assume we have one of two jobs: to rush in with biblical guns blazing and announce to the world the evils being committed, or we bury ourselves in 'judge not lest ye be judged' and don't say a word. I don't think that's what Jesus meant.
In John 8, there's an interesting story.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
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I have usually heard the focus on the fact that EVERYONE in that crowd sinned. No one could cast a stone, Jesus treated the woman with respect, etc. However I usually don't hear as much focused on verse 10, or if I do its usually on the first half. 'Has no one condemned you?... then neither do I." And thats where it ends. However, the very last part is vital to the whole message: GO AND SIN NO MORE! The hope is that the woman's sin was exposed, she was probably internally punishing herself more than anyone else could, and knew she deserved death. But Jesus didn't let her off the hook after she said a public 'sorry.' He said, "Go and sin no more!" Go and do something! Get up and go! Share your testimony! Make it right through the visible change in your daily life!
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What does all this have to do with the price of eggs in china? Well... for me personally, I've become more and more aware of the fact that there's a lot in my family and Kyle's family that isn't all as it seems or wasn't always the way it is now; in both the nuclear family of mom dad siblings to extended family. There's a lot of sin that has been swept under the rug and a lot of people walking around with decade old wounds, holding out for an apology that may never come. The sad thing is that 90% of the people entrenched in this bondage are all professing Christians. They punish each other for being punished by other's sin, which turns out to be sin on their part.
This isn't what Christ died for. This is not what the New Testament, or even the Old Testament, is describing when it depicts a Community for Christ! I think too often, not only in my family but in families across the board in at least the American Church, this verse depicts the situation all too well:
For a son dishonors his father,
a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--
a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
my God will hear me.
Micah 7:6-7
Truth sets us free. The Lord is our Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7). He WILL hear us, and He WILL have His way. So my whole point of this blog post is to 1. externalize what this week has been, and 2. to encourage everyone reading this blog: PLEASE PURSUE TRUTH! Even if its embarrassing, shameful, guilt riddled, painful, infuriating, or devastating, PURSUE it. And then give it to God and ask Him what to do with it. Sometimes He won't ask you to do anything besides hide that Truth in your heart and pray over it, fighting the Spiritual battle through strategic prayer. Sometimes He will ask you to facilitate an uncomfortable conversation that turns into a refreshing reconciliation. But Trust Him that the Truth really does set you Free.