Jesus’ Presence Changes Us!
Jesus’ Presence Changes Us!
When we fix our eyes on Jesus, His presence, and His holiness, we start to change. (2 Corinthians 3:18) As I'm starting to care more about Jesus and how He sees me, the lies I was believing are fading away. I find that I'm not striving to please, and I am less interested in performing. No more shame, no more condemnation. I am returning to my first love. (Revelation 2:4)
The Lord has been convicting me of how much time I waste on social media. I have been battling this on and off for a year now, and this week I decided to keep social media on my computer only and to delete the apps on my phone. I have done this before, but I feel I need to keep this boundary up now for a while. I don’t want to meet Jesus and hear Him tell me that I wasted too much idle time on my phone, and not enough time in His presence and with my family. I want to know Him more than ever, because I know I cannot do anything apart from Christ. How can I tell my boys to limit their screen time when I’m not even doing the same myself?! I confessed to my boys that I was sorry for being on my phone too much lately, and asked for their forgiveness. After I did this, they started confessing things to me. It brought healing to all of us!
I am not writing this blog to bring shame, but to encourage all of us to “practice what we preach” even in parenting. Our children model our behaviors. I believe the fear of the Lord is coming back to the church. May we have a healthy fear of the Lord’s return. I don’t want to live any other way anymore other than in total dependence upon Jesus. There will be an eternal glory for running the race here on earth well.
In closing, yes, motherhood is hard - but when we lay our life down to Jesus He will give us grace. He will give us His strength. I’m done filling my soul with false pleasures such as social media, shopping, ice cream, you name it. That’s a false identity. The Holy Spirit is enough - Jesus is enough - and I’m realizing this more than ever. I'm done carrying the weight of the opinions of others, and now all I want to think of is how Jesus sees me and how He wants me to release this truth to other women. I want to be known as a "Jesus pleaser" not a "people pleaser." We cannot do anything apart from Jesus.
And finally, I’m saying "bye-bye" to any addiction other than Jesus! I’m closing with this verse:
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26 NLT)
Blessings,
Jesus is worthy of our everything! He is coming back for a spotless warrior bride!
Love,
Jolene Feist