Convinced

Welcome to the inaugural post of a blog, titled “Romans 838,” and thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to read it. Can you share it? If you are led to do so, then absolutely. This will be written with women in mind, but if it benefits others, then praise God.

I have been praying for this for a couple of years now. Hesitancy from past experiences (to be explained later in this post) prevented any action. It was not clear if starting a blog was a seed planted from God, from me, or heaven forbid, the tempter.  Discernment is like trying to catch a greased piglet. You think you have it…then you don’t, but eventually you finally get it.

Here is a little pearl I like to call the “It Principle” adapted from Gamaliel’s advice in Acts 5:39: If it, whatever ‘it’ is, is from God, ask Him to keep it before you; if it is from elsewhere, ask God to remove it, and He will, in His perfect and sovereign timing.

I’ve been privileged to study and learn about the Jewish roots of our Christian faith which has been a tremendous blessing, strengthening both faith and understanding. Our Messiah Jesus, Yeshua Hamashiach in Hebrew, is the Jewish Messiah, but man’s traditions have stripped that away over time. This is a byproduct of how much our Enemy hates what God loves.

Context changes everything. It is my prayer that context, through the power of the Holy Spirit, will lead you to fall even more deeply in love with Jesus then you already are. So I hope to share some of these teachings and maybe throw in a little Hebrew along the way. After all, it’s fun to use words with crazy pronunciations like “l’chaim” which means “to life.” We say “cheers”, our Jewish friends say “l’chaim” (using a strong guttural “hkeh” sound, as if bringing up a hairball). Their method of toasting is way better. 😊

Ok…getting back on track. Spending the weekend with Jesus and ten amazing, godly, and inspiring Women of Joy (WOJ) plus another 9,700+…resulted in a Monday morning with renewed vigor. Romans chapter 8 was part of our church’s recommended reading for the day. The last two verses of Romans 8 contain an unhidden treasure that shouts to be discovered, repeated, embraced, and lived out. Paul places a hard-core truth at this specific point in his letter like the crescendo of a great musical composition. It also marks the beginning of a big set of parenthesis for the next part of the letter (chapters 9-11) which exhorts that God has not abandoned the natural branches of the olive tree, the Jewish people, in favor of the Church. To the contrary, we are unnatural branches grafted in so how much more will the natural branches be grafted back in when they accept Jesus as their Messiah? We will explore this more in depth later on down the road.

While trying to commit these verses to memory on Monday morning, the name for this blog seemed to jump off the page and the truth that this promise proclaims gripped my heart. So it is time to step out in faith. What the Lord does with these writings is up to Him and regardless of the outcome, it cannot separate me from His love. Let that sink in sweet sisters. You are sealed and deeply loved, always and forever.  Love for you led our Messiah to the cross – loving hands placed His lifeless body in the tomb – and a Father’s love raised Him from the dead!  Amen and Hallelujah!  What the world tells you is irrelevant. “Too much of this, not enough of that.” Take these lies out with the trash girlfriend because here is the truth: The Father’s love through Christ Jesus is unshakeable.  I pray you are convinced of this amazing grace with comforting certainty. While you are taking the worldly trash out… take this scriptural truth to the bank! This is a heavenly investment with an unmatchable return.

So about that ‘past experiences’ thing. I must confess that I took something that was good and allowed it to become a sin. Some of you are familiar with a season of writing I experienced a handful of years ago.  I look back at that time in amazement, convinced (there’s that word again) that many of the words were not possible from my confuddled brain alone.  The writings and responses to them, sadly, superseded the One who the writings were about. What a brake-slammer of a revelation that was and it brought it all to a screeching halt. Writing could be an idol?  Yep, and as much as I enjoyed it, it had to be stripped away. The inspirations, the fountain of words altogether stopped and I mourned them like a dearly lost friend (aka, depression). And as some of you also know, life in the Colston household during this time and since has been a roller coaster ride in a hurricane. 

Thankfully, we have a patient and loving God who shapes and refines us for His (not our own) purpose. What I knew cerebrally has been unpackaged spiritually: the foundation for service must be love – for He loved us first. God’s love for us can never be earned and certainly is not deserved, but we are loved, nonetheless. We serve out of our love for Him, not because of what we will get out of it, not because of who will see it, but because obedience and submission to His Word, to “The Word,” is part of the fellowship God desires. Words are powerful and, like acts, if wielded through obedience to God’s will, can do great good. Simultaneously, hear the resounding gong of Paul’s inspired words (and I am paraphrasing here) that if what we do is not out of love, then what good can come from it? Lord willing, the posts will be once a week. I ask in the powerful name of Yeshua that this blog glorifies Him, encourages you, and continues to weave our hearts together as we run our race as dearly beloved daughters of the King.

Before signing off, here is a question to ponder:  When reading Romans 8:38-39, Are-YOU-convinced?  Sing a hallelujah if yes. If uncertain, repeat it until you memorize it and then repeat it some more until it grips and persuades your heart. When that happens, we will sing a hallelujah together! Until next time…Shalom.