Power of Remembering by Guest Writer - Jason Elam

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter had grown disheartened and given up on ever being able to fulfill the call of God on his life.

It’s not hard to understand why.

Just a few weeks earlier, Peter had promised to stand by Jesus no matter what. Later that night, Peter was swearing (using actual swear words!) that he didn’t even know Jesus. On the night that Jesus needed Peter the most, Peter let Him down. The scriptures say that when the rooster crowed that third time, Jesus locked eyes with Peter.

Imagine the pain of letting down your best friend, and Savior, on the night He needed you most.

A few hours later, Jesus was dead, and Peter was sure Jesus must have gotten it wrong when He called him into a life of ministry.

Even after the resurrection when Jesus appeared to the disciples, Peter was still struggling with doubts about whether he was worthy to carry the miraculous message of God’s grace. Jesus finds Peter back at his old job, pulling nets around the sea, hoping for a catch. Jesus calls him to the shore, cooks him breakfast, and reminds Peter who he really is and what he was born to do. Peter’s heart, hardened by self-doubt melts and Peter goes back to work as a fisher of men. A few days later at Pentecost, Peter preaches the Gospel and thousands of people come into the Kingdom of God.

Just like Peter needed Jesus to remind him who he really was, every prodigal needs someone in their life who knew them before their “fall” to remind them who they really are and who God is still calling them to be.
One of the easiest things for a prodigal to do is to allow their personal failure to become their identity. Many prodigals never find their way to wholeness because they believe they have been permanently disgraced. They desperately need someone to look past their failures and see them as they really are. Or at least, how they were before.

Before the drugs.
Before the abuse.
Before the affair.
Before the long string of broken promises.

Every prodigal needs at least one person who can look beyond all of the pain they have inflicted and remind them who they really are.

1. Remind Them of God’s Love
Many prodigals feel that God is disappointed in them. It’s our job to remind them that God knew that they would make the poor decisions long before they actually did. God has never had an unfulfilled expectation of them. He never had any delusions of their grandeur. Our Father in heaven has always known the paths we would choose but chooses to love us anyway(see Romans 5:8). Even when we break His heart by choosing our own way like the prodigal son in scripture, our Father in heaven waits for us to take one step towards home and then He rushes to our aid, covers us with kisses, and throws us a party(see Luke 15).

2. Remind Them That God Still Has a Plan for Their Life.
Many people will write off the prodigals in their lives when a tragic failure happens. Prodigals need to be reminded that failure isn’t final. They need to hear that God’s gifts and callings are without repentance(see Romans 11:29). Even when we are faithless, God remains faithful. He still has a plan. He still has good plans for them. God will never write them off.

3. Remind Them of Who They Were Before the Fall.
When a prodigal’s self-identity becomes clouded by personal failure and the disappointment they feel in themselves, they need someone to remind them of the person they were before the pain. No child is born wanting to be a drug addict. Remind them of the person they were before the catastrophic choices were made. Remind them of the plans they had and the future they wanted. Remind them of their best characteristics, the good things they did, and the meaning to be found when they get the focus on helping others and making a positive contribution in the world around them(see Hebrews 3:13).

4. Remind Them That You Believe in Them and Will Always Be Cheering Them On
Finally, every prodigal needs to know there is someone who sees the best in them and hasn’t stopped believing in them. Time after time, I’ve seen hard hearts melt when someone steps up to cheer a prodigal on. It’s harder to doubt yourself when someone else is rooting for you and expecting great things.

Most prodigals I know can’t remember who they were before they fell from grace. So we have to remember that for them and remind them often. They may be afraid to allow themselves to feel valued and accepted again, so be persistent and relentless in your lavishing of grace upon them. By reminding them that God loves them, has a plan for their life, sees past their failures, and has placed you in their life to cheer them on, you might just get to witness a miracle as God raises grace from the ashes of a broken life.

Yes, life is hard and some mistakes are hard to recover from.

But grace happens.

Jason Elam is Pastor at Freedom Night Pinson, a Jesus centered, kingdom driven ministry whose mission is to help people experience the freedom found only in God’s presence. They offer community groups for those addicted to pornography, for families of addiction, and a (12 step approved) class “Healing the Wounded Heart”.

The Source of My Strength - Completed

Tonight, I completed reading "The Source of My Strength", written by Charles Stanley.  This was a very interesting and informative book.  It catches your attention from the very beginning.  If you are dealing with any troubling life problems, whatever the source or type, this book can be a great help. 

In the introduction, Stanley addresses the issue of emotional baggage.  I think we all have emotional baggage to deal with.  How we let this emotional baggage affect our lives depends on how we deal with it.  Dr. Stanley, in the introduction, guides us through the Lord's instructions on handling, or rather letting go of, our emotional baggage.

Dr. Stanley then addresses the subject of those who are dealing with loneliness in the first chapter.  He shows us the Lord's response to those who are lonely, gives advice for us when we are feeling lonely, and other sound advice, all based on God's principles.

In the second chapter, he addresses the times when we feel fearful.In this chapter, he gives sound advice on how to deal with anxiety and how to "reprogram" our minds to do away with our anxiety.  He gives us questions that we should ask ourselves each day.

In chapter three, Dr. Stanley gives us advice and words of comfort for those who are suffering from abuse.  He gives ten responses to abuse that inform on how to deal with the abuse, and what we should do if we are suffering from abuse.

In chapter four, he addresses the problem of our feeling inferior.  He gives us information on gaining a Godly perspective on our quest for perfection.  He gives several guidelines for overcoming feelings of inferiority.

Chapter five deals with feelings of guilt.  He addresses what we should do when we sin, the difference in sin and mistakes, and reminds us of the message of grace from God.

Chapter six deals with frustration - something that each of us deal with almost on a daily basis.  In this chapter, he points out that there is a difference between irritation and frustration that we cause ourselves and God-given frustration.  This chapter outlines how we can effectively deal with frustration and reach a state of contentment.

Chapter seven addresses feeling "burned out", another issue that most of us deal with regularly.  I know I deal with this quite often in my work.  Dr. Stanley outlines the seven principles that he has learned in dealing with being burned out and tells us how we can overcome this problem.

Chapter eight deals with feelings of being persecuted.  In this chapter, he outlines four keys that show us God's principles for dealing with persecution.  He outlines how to discern whether our perceived or real persecution is actually persecution for the Lord's sake or for other reasons.

In the conclusion, he speaks to pain and how it can be used to strengthen our relationship with the Lord and cause our faith to grow as we are healed through him. 

Much of this book contains examples of each of these "battles" through examples of incidents in Dr. Stanley's life. He has experienced the issues that he speaks of in the book and explains what these battles were like for him and how God has remedied them in his life.

As we are all faced with problems, many of us deal with more than one of the issues dealt with in this book.  I highly recommend the book as an excellent guide to dealing with these problems.  Dr. Stanley gives many references to God's word that deals with each of these problems.  If you are dealing with any of these issues, and I do not know of anyone who is not dealing with, at the very least, one of these issues, this book can be a very valuable guide to resolving these issues in your life, allowing you to let go of the emotional baggage that plaques you and prevents total contentment in your life.