Confess

On a winter night, 25 years ago, I was snuggled into my warm comforter on the top bunk. I remember looking up at the popcorn ceiling and thinking. “God lives on that half of the ceiling and Satan lives on that half” my arm sweeping through the air marking out the boundaries between the two places. You see,I was still trying to understand the concept of where, physically, God and Satan lived. 

Not long after, I asked Jesus to live inside my heart. I’m going to be honest though, I don’t really remember the event. At times, I worry. Does Jesus really live inside my heart? I actually confessed this fear to my Husband when we were dating.

We were heading west down 71st street and I shared my worry. 

“Maybe because I can’t pinpoint the exact hour in my mind, I never was truly saved.” 

He gave me a look and said, “Well, do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?”        

“Yes.” I replied

“Do you want him to live in your heart?”

“Of course!” 

“Then you are saved.” He said with a nod. 

Romans 10:9 says, 

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

God knows my heart and knows the year, the day, the hour, the minute, the second, the millisecond I became his daughter. Even if I can’t recall for the sure. Does that make me less saved? No, I don’t believe so. Does it make my story different? Yes. It is harder for me to know if my life is different from the time before I was saved to after I was. I hadn’t done that much living yet. But I do know that when I’m not pursuing God in his Word or in my prayers, I feel the difference. 

Have you seen a difference in your day to day life when you read the Bible and pray? Have you ever had a moment where you questioned your own salvation? You are not alone. Go to God and have a chat, talk it out. He is always there waiting to grab you up and say, “Welcome home, Daughter”.

Bethany Thomas is the Publicity Coordinator and a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a daughter of God, a wife, and a dog mom. When not writing for the blog, you are most likely to find her reading a fantasy novel or crafting at her home in Sapulpa, OK.

Photo by Adrian Infernus on Unsplash

Gift

This is the perfect time of year to be thinking about gift giving. There are so many opportunities or obligations depending on how you look at it: Toy drives, food drives, clothes drives, work/church/friends Christmas parties. December is a month where we give, and receive, to the point of excess. If we are also honest with ourselves there is also that feeling like you have to reciprocate if someone buys you a gift you didn’t expect.  

I’m going to be the first to admit that I get weary of all the giving. I dread Christmas parties because it can take a toll on the finances and it can be hard to know what to buy for. At this moment, I know of at least 3 gift giving obligations in the next 3 weeks and honestly, I’m not all that excited about receiving the gifts. I do look forward to the looks on the faces who receive my gifts and hope that they are excited. But what I really look forward to is being with friends and having the time to sit down and hang out. If it’s with a mug of coffee/tea/hot cocoa and a blanket all the better! 

But you know what is wonderful about this time of year? It’s a time when we can reflect on the biggest gift that was ever given and cannot be repaid. In Romans 6:23 it says, 

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

Last week Mary Swafford discussed the birth of Christ and how He came to die for our sins. But there is more to it. He came to both die for our sins and bring us eternal life with him and the Father.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
Isaiah 9:6-7

How do you repay two gifts like that? I know that the gift of forgiveness and life are items I can never hold or pay. And God will never ask us to pay him back. God only asks us to receive the gifts He has freely offered. 

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6

Have you given a thought to the gift God has freely offered? God has given you a gift that can be accepted all year long, whether it’s Christmas or not. His gift did not come wrapped in sparkling paper or bows, it didn’t come from the store or the re-gift closet. As you bustle about this Christmas season mull over the concept of the only truly free gift that counts. It came in the form of a baby boy born 2,000 years ago in the springtime in a town called Bethlehem. His name was and is still: Jesus. 

Bethany Thomas is the Publicity Coordinator and a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a daughter of God, a wife, and a dog mom. When not writing for the blog, you are most likely to find her reading a fantasy novel or crafting at her home in Sapulpa, OK.

Photo by Erica Marsland Huynh on Unsplash

Love // Mary Swafford

We’re on the road to our salvation story in the Shaken & Stirred blog series.  Last week Chelynn talked about how 

“all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”,
Romans 3:23.  

Today I am here to talk about Romans 5:8,

“But God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

I have been thinking and praying about what to write.  It would be easy to give you a laundry list of my greatest sins….lies, rebellion, deceit, disrespect, etc. But God reminded me this morning that I am not the main character in my salvation story.  I am not the most important part.  He is.  My salvation story is not so much about what I’ve done in my life that needs forgiveness, but what Christ has done for me.  He is the main character in my salvation story.  My restoration story.

So I want to tell you more about Him.  

“But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law”
Galatians 4:4

God’s timing is so incredible, too.  Every day is a great day to tell you about Jesus, but what better time than during the Christmas season we are in?  As we’ll talk about, God is never late.  He is never early.  He is always right on time. 

It was not the birth itself that was special.  Or the location of a cowshed or manger.  Nor were the shepherds that came to see.  It was the Son of God that made this birth miraculous.  Jesus, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.  Such a humble and lowly beginning.  Yet God was prepared to go to extraordinary lengths in order to reach us.  To reach me.  To reach you too.  

This was not the likely beginnings of a worldly king, but of a God who brings salvation, everlasting life, to his people.  His creation.  Whom He loves.  Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God’s people turned their backs on Him.  Over and over again.  So he sent His son Jesus.  Born of the virgin Mary.  He lived a perfect, sinless life here on earth.  But we despised and rejected him.  

“He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.  He was beaten so we could be whole.  He was whipped so we could be healed…..Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” 
Isaiah 53:5-6

The Lord laid on him the sins of us all.  There is a lot of weight in those words.  I have a lot of sin.

“He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.”
1 Timothy 2:6

Everyone.  That’s you.  That’s me.  That’s every person that has ever been.  Past.  Present and future.  It was our sin, our wrongdoing, our wanderings away from God that He paid for.  We accumulated the bill and He was the one that paid the price, bringing peace, healing, and salvation with it.

The good news is that Christ didn’t stay dead.  Humanity put him in the grave, but the love of God, raised him to life eternal where He sits at the right hand of God for all eternity.  The good news is that Jesus offers us this same life.  A life with him forever.  

This offer is the greatest one that has ever been given.  It is the reason we live.  To say “yes” to Him is to receive the greatest joy and fulfillment one can obtain.

There is something incredibly special about the birth of a baby in a manger after all.  There in the midst of our Lord Jesus Christ, we find the hope of our hearts.  It might not look like much to some, but to those who have knelt before the Lord, who have confessed their sin and accepted His forgiveness, it is more precious and powerful than any earthly king or power or force before or since.

“For God says, At just the right time, I heard you.  On the day of salvation, I helped you.  Indeed the right time is now.  Today is the day of salvation.” 
2 Corinthians 6:2

Today, Jesus is asking if you will trust Him.  He is inviting you to experience Him and His love for you.  Will you say “yes” to Jesus?

Mary Swafford is the founder of Shaken & Stirred, Meals that Matter, Coffee Talk, and a Co-Owner of Boulder Coffee in downtown Sand Springs. She is a wife, a mother of 3 beautiful children, but most importantly a daughter of the most high God. You are likely to find her chugging or serving coffee, sitting in a tattooist’s chair, or making friends out of strangers.

Photo by Brigitte Tohm on Unsplash