19 Comments

Thank you Kristen, I don’t cry often but your words touched me deeply.

Expand full comment

so sorry for the tears! hope they were healing ones!🤍

Expand full comment

So so good. I am encouraged and challenged at the same time.

Expand full comment

Such a beautiful read. My devotion was Matthew chapter 6 this morning. As a mom of teens I worry a lot. I want them to stay connected to Jesus and know right from wrong but I never want them to feel unloved if an error or mistake happens. Thank you so much for sharing your heart with us.

Expand full comment

I really appreciate what you've written and would like to add something if I may.

I think we need to realize that Jesus eats and drinks with sinners. To me, this means that if you had been successful in eradicating your inner sinful self, then you wouldn't have been a person with whom the Lord eats and drinks with. Because He came for sinners.

So when the enemy points out that we are wicked on the inside, we can freely acknowledge that we are wicked on the inside; since we know that Jesus came and died for wicked people like us, and eats and drinks with wicked people like us.

In other words, let us recognize that our inner wickedness doesn't drive us from God. Instead, our wickedness qualifies us to draw nearer to God than any righteous person can be. Because Jesus came not for the righteous, but for the wicked. Let us use the awareness of our wickedness to draw nearer to God, knowing that He joyful takes us in because of our Savior.

I hope that makes sense

Expand full comment

Thanks for sharing this! Two things can be true at the same time : sin separates us from God (I think Isaiah 59:2 describes this well) AND our sin doesn't disqualify us from his presence. If it did, who could ever be near him?

Expand full comment

accidentally hit post before I was finished! haha. But yes! He joyfully takes us in!

Expand full comment

The Lord Jesus makes all the difference in bringing a sinner close to God.

Expand full comment

WOW! This is powerful stuff! I love how you've worded this! Im 52 years old, raised in a strict Christian home, and raised our kids the same way. We just recently left our Independent Fundamental Baptist Church, after the Lord is opening our eyes at how much "religion" plays in our churches. (Long story). It's also allowed me to question my thoughts on how God perceives us...namely me! So, you have put into words exactly how I've been feeling! It's not about "religion" or what we do or don't do. It's about our Relationship with our Creator, the One who live in us! When we grasp that concept, it is so freeing! It's amazing to love God because we WANT to, not out of fear or demands! Thank you Kristin! You are helping me so much!

Expand full comment

Wow that sounds like a lot to unravel! I know a little bit about the IFBC so I can only imagine who difficult this journey has been and will be for you! I'm so glad you're experiencing his freedom!

Expand full comment

This is one of the hardest parts of rebuilding my faith. (Subsequently why I’m very careful what Bible things we teach our kids. Easier to get it right from the beginning.). I’m reading Gentle and Lowly right now and the author says that the Christian life is having an expectation of who God is (angry, judging, etc) and then encountering a very different God in the Bible (gentle, lowly, merciful). He calls acts of justice his “strange work” and mercy his natural and whole hearted work. A different view of God helps me reconcile a different view of myself.

Expand full comment

oof. So so good!

Expand full comment

My therapist and I were just talking about this. I understand this so much it’s terrifying. But also freeing cause someone else understands. You spoke to my inner voices like no one else would be able to because you have the same inner voices. So incredibly grateful, Kristen. I will read this over and over...

Expand full comment

I'm sorry we share that inner voice. But glad my words can give you some validation. There's so much freedom in hearing just one other person say "yea, me too".

Expand full comment

It’s still in progress, but I’m grateful for a total upending of my life. I got honest, realized how angry I was, everything felt like it crumbled...and I figured, guess I’ll go to hell then. But God didn’t abandon me, and I think maybe that’s the only reason I battle to trust him now. Having experienced being “rescued from the miry clay” and having my feet set on a rock, when I knew I didn’t deserve it re-made something. I get stuck on attachment theory and how it plays out in our attachment to God often - how much our view of him as angry and punitive ends up making us anxious or avoidant. Then there’s how that impacts parenting which is a whole other thing...

All this to say, I can really relate.

Expand full comment

anger is part of lament. something that the church has neglected in recent years. Have you read Attached to God by Krispin Mayfield? Just started reading it and it's really insightful!

Expand full comment

Wow. I needed to hear this today, a year after you wrote it haha. Thank you for attaching it today in your stories. Thank you. I’ll have to sit with this for a bit, let it sink in.

Expand full comment

"It’s loving the image of God that he has reflected in you." ...That sentence made me stop and think: What part of God's image did He put in me that I am to be reflecting back to others? Wow. Hadn't thought of it quite like that before. Thanks for the food for thought.

Expand full comment

Good, timely message -- thank you

Expand full comment