The Cross
I have been asking God to show me more about the cross. When I take communion it’s supposed to be a reminder of what Jesus did on the cross, but mostly it’s just a time where I would feel guilty of my sin and ask him to forgive me. A solemn time. A time of grieving over my sin. I have felt for years that I was missing something. That if it was such a big deal that Jesus died for me, why was my life not reflecting that it was a big deal. I didn’t even really understand what it meant that my sin was “taken away”.
I am studying Exodus in my women’s bible study and we just finished studying the tabernacle. I made some powerful realizations through this study.
1. In the Old Testament, sin was never taken away. It was just covered up. Like a band aid. The priest would sacrifice an animal to atone for our sin, but it could not take away a guilty conscience. It could not change hearts and minds. Amazingly, the cross makes it possible to not just cover our sin, but take it completely away. Forgotten! It’s not just this mystical belief, but a spiritual reality. I wonder if it is also a physical reality as well.
So all the times I was beating myself up for my sin, I was rejecting Jesus and his finished work on the cross. He didn’t die so I would live in fear, guilt and shame. He didn’t die to cover up my sin. His blood on the cross poured out of his dying body and drowned my sin, never to be remembered again!
2. Jesus can change hearts and minds. Because of the cross, I can have a new heart and a new mind. So the sin that I’m entangled in can not only be removed, but my heart and mind can be healed. He wrote his law on our hearts and minds to that we would know Him and hear from him and fall in love with Him. Not so we could bang each other over the head with “shoulds” and “should nots”. If you have a way of thinking that is not from God- He can literally change your mind. If your heart is broken from someone else sinning against you- He can literally heal your heart so the pain is gone! The trick is allowing Him to do the changing. WE want to be in control of our lives…..BIG mistake!
3. Jesus took ALL punishment on himself at the cross. SO you know about all the killing and God’s anger over the Israelites sin. He struck his people with plagues, killed some of them and wanted to wipe them out more than once. Well, imagine ALL that anger and punishment that you and I deserve being placed on one man. We deserve death for the sin we have willingly done. But Jesus took it ALL on himself. Why? It is for freedom that He has set us free! Did you get that? Jesus took ALL our punishment! Do realize what that means? We will never have to experience punishment! NEVER! We may experience consequences, but never will we be punished. Jesus was punished for us.
My conclusion is that Jesus’ death on the cross was so that I could live life in freedom! So every time I choose to not forgive myself or others, every time I beat myself over the head with my sin, every time I live in fear, I’m disrespecting what Jesus did on the cross for me. I’m saying to him, “it’s not good enough”. That I’m not worth it.
I am astounded at how much I’ve been missing by not fully accepting this amazing gift. I want the abundant life Jesus died for. Now communion is a celebration. A time to not hang my head in guilt, but the raise my eyes to Him and praise Him for my freedom! I want more! Do you?
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Happy New Year 2008!
Happy New Year 2008!
We are winding down from the Christmas rush and starting to get back to real life. Real life…… here at the Reginato household real life has been messy. On the up side, we adopted our two beautiful boys, Branson 5 and Caleb 2, in March. What joy (and messiness) they bring to our home. We have the broken glasses and scuffed up walls to prove it. Branson is a sweet, tender boy that saw much violence in his little life. We are working on healing his wounded heart. We got Caleb when he was only 8 weeks old, but before that he was in 3 different homes- not including ours. Caleb is strong willed, busy, and really loud! But he says the funniest things that make us laugh everyday. Not to mention he’s just a tad bit spoiled being the youngest of six. Tori is almost 12 and is starting guitar and growing in her faith. She is in the Jr. High group at our church and is showing real leadership qualities. I’m still home schooling her. LuLu started public school in October and is excelling in every area. She has struggled in her relationship with me and so I couldn’t keep her home for school. But we are working on healing her heart as well. Nathan is 15 and is finding that he has a gift for public speaking. He is taking a Speech and Debate class and is really doing well. Nikki is 17 and not living with us right now. She has dealt with so much pain in her life that she ran from us in every way. We still talk to her, but her heart is struggling to find love. Dave has taken on a manager role at Lockheed and had the role of laying some people off, which was really hard. He also resigned as an elder at our church. A decision that was painful and long. His mom also passed away this year from cancer. SO things at our home have been hard and “messy” this year. But one thing has remained the same…..God has never once failed us! He has shown up in big ways. Most of our fears for our children have come true. Any control we thought we had has been broken. All we have is Jesus to save us. And he pulled us out of the pit many times this year. Not only pulled us out, but has given us a firm foundation to stand on. Our feet will never slip. We will never fall. And we have received God’s love and know him in ways that we never thought possible. We are so thankful for our messy year.
We pray that you had a year full of joy and wonder. But if your 2008 is starting a little “messy”, don’t fear. Remember to look up at the only One that matters. The One we live for. The One who lived a messy life for us so that we wouldn’t have to live with control, fear or doubt. Jesus will never let you down. He will hold you up when you feel like your falling. Cling to Him and you will not fall.
We would love to pray for you. Feel free to send us an email and let us know how we can pray.
We all send our love and pray that 2008 will hold adventure, love, hope, laughter and just a tiny bit of messiness in your lives so that you can see how big our God is!
Shalom, (Peace in Body, Mind and Soul)
Dave, Kathi, Nikki, Nathan, Tori, LuLu, Branson and Caleb
We are winding down from the Christmas rush and starting to get back to real life. Real life…… here at the Reginato household real life has been messy. On the up side, we adopted our two beautiful boys, Branson 5 and Caleb 2, in March. What joy (and messiness) they bring to our home. We have the broken glasses and scuffed up walls to prove it. Branson is a sweet, tender boy that saw much violence in his little life. We are working on healing his wounded heart. We got Caleb when he was only 8 weeks old, but before that he was in 3 different homes- not including ours. Caleb is strong willed, busy, and really loud! But he says the funniest things that make us laugh everyday. Not to mention he’s just a tad bit spoiled being the youngest of six. Tori is almost 12 and is starting guitar and growing in her faith. She is in the Jr. High group at our church and is showing real leadership qualities. I’m still home schooling her. LuLu started public school in October and is excelling in every area. She has struggled in her relationship with me and so I couldn’t keep her home for school. But we are working on healing her heart as well. Nathan is 15 and is finding that he has a gift for public speaking. He is taking a Speech and Debate class and is really doing well. Nikki is 17 and not living with us right now. She has dealt with so much pain in her life that she ran from us in every way. We still talk to her, but her heart is struggling to find love. Dave has taken on a manager role at Lockheed and had the role of laying some people off, which was really hard. He also resigned as an elder at our church. A decision that was painful and long. His mom also passed away this year from cancer. SO things at our home have been hard and “messy” this year. But one thing has remained the same…..God has never once failed us! He has shown up in big ways. Most of our fears for our children have come true. Any control we thought we had has been broken. All we have is Jesus to save us. And he pulled us out of the pit many times this year. Not only pulled us out, but has given us a firm foundation to stand on. Our feet will never slip. We will never fall. And we have received God’s love and know him in ways that we never thought possible. We are so thankful for our messy year.
We pray that you had a year full of joy and wonder. But if your 2008 is starting a little “messy”, don’t fear. Remember to look up at the only One that matters. The One we live for. The One who lived a messy life for us so that we wouldn’t have to live with control, fear or doubt. Jesus will never let you down. He will hold you up when you feel like your falling. Cling to Him and you will not fall.
We would love to pray for you. Feel free to send us an email and let us know how we can pray.
We all send our love and pray that 2008 will hold adventure, love, hope, laughter and just a tiny bit of messiness in your lives so that you can see how big our God is!
Shalom, (Peace in Body, Mind and Soul)
Dave, Kathi, Nikki, Nathan, Tori, LuLu, Branson and Caleb
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Satan's Elves
O.K.! So don't freak out and call me crazy, but I've been thinking about Christmas and how we as believers in Jesus seem to get pulled away from the reason for this season. Then I began thinking about elves. Not the beautiful, serene elves in the Lord of the Rings series, but the wierd little Christmas elves. You know the ones- they are small and have distorted ears and their voices are really high and squeaky. Their job is to bring us to Santa and encourage us to sit on his lap (what's up with that?) and tell him what things we want. ANd then the elves give us sugar while Santa tells us that we will only get what we want if we are good. They also help Santa fill his sleigh with all our "toys" in some place that no one has never been to or seen. So this is the crazy part. What if Christmas elves are really Satan's elves used to lure us away from worshipping and celebrating Jesus and all the gifts He came to give. Come on, no one knows where the elves come from or how they get into every mall in our country. There must be an elf army that train all year how they will infiltrate our T.V.'s and our schools. We don't even see them coming. At least there is some truth to the story of Santa. What's the story of the elf? I think Satan devised a plan to use Christmas elves to keep our focus on Santa (the antichrist?) and all he stands for. The perfect gift, the tallest tree, the best bargain, the most beautiful table decorations and the tastiest food on the table. Think about it..... the shepherds knew what they were searching for. They left their fields to find it. The wise men knew what they were searching for. They even brought gifts to honor him. They were searching for a new Kingdom. A baby that would one day rule that Kingdom. A King that would meet our every need. See our every hurt. Heal our every wound. A King that would bring forgiveness and fill us with his love. A promise of a life after death in his presence and an abundant life here on earth. So what are you searching for? The perfect..... marraige, relationship, comfort, house, body? Take a glimpse of Perfection! The Perfect One has come. Immanuel- God with us! If we choose to search for him, he promises that we will find him! ANd you will never be the same again! This Christmas I am compelled to gaze into the eyes of the One I worship. And to not forget what my heart is truly searching for. I love Christmas just as much as the next gal, but the next time you are Christmas shopping in the mall, take a look at the Christmas elves. I will never look at them the same way again.
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Porch Light
I held her in my arms in the therapist’s office. I had never been able to hold her when she was a baby, toddler or even a pre-schooler. As I looked into her eyes there was so much I wanted her to see in mine. The regrets of not seeing her brokenness. The way I let her push me away. My own walls I put up so that she could not hurt me. It was a battle of the broken…. She threw her poisonous darts to hurt me so that I would stay away, because the love of a mother scared her too much. And I put up my walls so those darts would not hurt so much. I didn’t know what she needed and so she didn’t get it. Don’t get me wrong, I am a good mom. I bake cookies with my kids, make them healthy meals and read them stories. I pray for them and with them. But the wall I put up wasn’t seen or noticed. Oh she felt the wall and I felt hers, but they were hidden deep within our hearts out of fear. What was there to fear? She was only a child and I an upstanding woman in my community and church. There was much to fear. So much,
in fact, that it drove both of us to keep our walls firmly in place lest one of us get hurt. Now as I gazed into her eyes those walls were broken. At least mine were. The eyes are amazing! You can see into a person’s soul if they let you. She would allow me a glimpse every now and then and this was one of those moments. Her eyes told me of deep wounds that were inflicted viciously by her own mother. The things that she had experienced could not even be spoken because they were too traumatic, too unthinkable to imagine. I saw the little girl that I never knew aching for someone to rescue her, to protect her, to love her. I wanted her to see into my soul. I wanted to scream…”I’m here! I’ve come to rescue you! You are not alone! My walls are gone now! You can fire your darts at me; I’m ready to take your pain! I want to take all the suffering, all the abuse, all the evil that was done to you so that you can be free!” But it was too late. The doors in her soul shut. The glimpse was over. My chance was gone. Her defenses went up and the darts came again. With my walls down you would think that her darts would be painful. But the opposite happened. I was able to absorb her darts and the years of pain that came with them. I continued to see the wounded little girl and persevered in my love. This angered her even more. There was no one to hurt. No one to push away. So she did the only thing she knew to do. Run! She ran away from my love. Why, you ask? Why would a child who was loved run away from it? Fear is the answer. If one mother could hurt her so deeply, so deeply it would change the way she acted, felt, and thought, she would never let that happen again. So she left. And all that’s left of this mother’s heart is an empty ache that can only be filled by her. Yes, there are many other children who fill this mother’s heart. But there is a hole that is longing for the day she will return. A hope that never dies, yet a pain so piercing that it’s a reminder every morning when I wake up and every evening when I fall asleep. When a child leaves their mother, whether physically or emotionally, that mother is never the same. She turns the porch light on in her heart, waiting for her beloved child to return. She is always ready, always hoping, always loving. There is nothing that can soothe it and nothing that can extinguish it. That light is always burning. A beacon to show the way back. Back to love, back to healing, back into her arms. My arms are ready….I’m waiting.
in fact, that it drove both of us to keep our walls firmly in place lest one of us get hurt. Now as I gazed into her eyes those walls were broken. At least mine were. The eyes are amazing! You can see into a person’s soul if they let you. She would allow me a glimpse every now and then and this was one of those moments. Her eyes told me of deep wounds that were inflicted viciously by her own mother. The things that she had experienced could not even be spoken because they were too traumatic, too unthinkable to imagine. I saw the little girl that I never knew aching for someone to rescue her, to protect her, to love her. I wanted her to see into my soul. I wanted to scream…”I’m here! I’ve come to rescue you! You are not alone! My walls are gone now! You can fire your darts at me; I’m ready to take your pain! I want to take all the suffering, all the abuse, all the evil that was done to you so that you can be free!” But it was too late. The doors in her soul shut. The glimpse was over. My chance was gone. Her defenses went up and the darts came again. With my walls down you would think that her darts would be painful. But the opposite happened. I was able to absorb her darts and the years of pain that came with them. I continued to see the wounded little girl and persevered in my love. This angered her even more. There was no one to hurt. No one to push away. So she did the only thing she knew to do. Run! She ran away from my love. Why, you ask? Why would a child who was loved run away from it? Fear is the answer. If one mother could hurt her so deeply, so deeply it would change the way she acted, felt, and thought, she would never let that happen again. So she left. And all that’s left of this mother’s heart is an empty ache that can only be filled by her. Yes, there are many other children who fill this mother’s heart. But there is a hole that is longing for the day she will return. A hope that never dies, yet a pain so piercing that it’s a reminder every morning when I wake up and every evening when I fall asleep. When a child leaves their mother, whether physically or emotionally, that mother is never the same. She turns the porch light on in her heart, waiting for her beloved child to return. She is always ready, always hoping, always loving. There is nothing that can soothe it and nothing that can extinguish it. That light is always burning. A beacon to show the way back. Back to love, back to healing, back into her arms. My arms are ready….I’m waiting.
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