Now, this blog entry is exposure at its extreme for me personally. I feel very vulnerable as I share the lesson I am blogging about today. In fact, my blog entries are nothing more than snippets from my personal journal. It is based on lessons that I have learned and am still in the process of learning. There are two reasons I am compelled to write about this particular lesson. First of all, I feel I must expose this, for myself as a form of accountability, and for others because God's Word tells us to admonish one another.

So here it is...I have often wondered how someone (me) could be so prideful and so self-loathing all at the same time. (Hint #1-Self-loathing is focus on self which is pride undercover.) One minute, I feel like I am worthless, and the next minute, I think I'm pretty great. Usually just after this, I make a fool out myself or fall down miserably. I do not want to be this way. I have confessed it many times, believing it was behind me, and without any warning that I could see, there it is again. Pride! In fact, pride is the very reason it is so hard for me to share my struggle in this area. Pride is an abomination to God, it goes before a fall, and it is the hidden root of many sins.

Now, let me say this. Anytime we find ourselves confessing the same sin over and over and repeating it over and over, we must realize that we are only confessing the symptom of a sin. We are not at the root of the problem yet. But God sees the thoughts and intents of the heart, and He is able to uncover the root of the matter if we ask Him to.

As I prayed and asked God to dig up and expose the root, I began to see the deeper issue. I am measuring my value by what I am doing for others and for God, instead of what God has done in me. I would never think that my salvation comes by works because I know the verse in Ephesians 2:9 "Not of works, lest any man should boast." But, somehow, I believe that after salvation, I must DO something to have value to God and to others. We all want to be accepted. We all want to feel favored. But, there is no work we can do to earn favor with God. Our "righteousness" is like filthy rags in His sight. My value lies ONLY in the finished work of God's Son on the cross. Do you see why it is so important for us to see ourselves as Purchased Pearls. We are valuable to God because His Son gave all to purchase us! He showed us favor while we were yet sinners, not when we straightened up and did enough! Great! Right? Well, that brings me to the cold, hard truth as it lies in my heart...I am not nearly as concerned about my value to God as I am the approval of man. Ouch and I mean ouch! I hate to admit this so much I am literally flinching as I write it.

Take a look at this. Here is one way it is showing up in my life...I need to feel valuable so I get real busy, do good things and impress my peers. I get that pat on the back and I do "feel" valuable, but because that feeling of value is based on my works, I am plunged into pride. "Look what I have done. I'm pretty valuable and special!" It is a vicious cycle and it makes me sick and embarrassed to put it in writing! But it is reality. That's one reason salvation can not be based on our works. If we could do something righteous enough to get into Heaven, we would be so puffed up with pride, we would be of no use on this earth. (Eph 2:9)

I can not live a victorious Christian life if I only believe what I feel or see. The instant reward of man's approval feels good, but it does not require faith. And it is impossible to please God without faith. Jesus taught that if we do the right thing for the praise of man, we have our reward. That's it! No incorruptible treasure laid up in heaven...it is spent. I just wonder how many treasures I have squandered for the instant gratification of man's pat on the back. My prayer is that we will place our faith in God's Son and allow the favor of the Cross to be enough.


***If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, if you do not know for sure that you will go to Heaven when you die, then let me tell you how it easy it is to get that settled today! Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus (that He died to pay for your sins), and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved! If you have any questions, I would love to hear from you! You can email me at timldodd@yahoo.com, or post a comment on this entry. All Heaven rejoices when one gets saved!

Heart Attack!

I didn't have chest pains or shortness of breath or any other symptoms that commonly go with a heart attack. Of course, this wasn't your typical heart attack.

Have you ever remembered a mistake from the past that made you just want to crawl under something and hope that the ground swallowed you up? Have you left a gathering and critically analyzed everything you said and did, wishing you would have shut up long before you did? Have you ever wondered what you had to offer or what purpose you could serve on this earth, always feeling like you just don't quite measure up?

I can answer yes to all of that! And you know what I thought? At one point, I believed I truly was worthless, and later I thought it was an attack of the enemy, the accuser of the brethren...you guessed it...satan. The truth is, it may have been satan on some occasions, but what I didn't consider, was that it could be "the other accuser"...my heart! I didn't consider that my own heart could be attacking me!

I John 3:20 says that our hearts condemn (accuse) us. Who knew? We can be our own worst enemy.

Verse 19 says that we know we are of the truth (If we are a child of God we are of Jesus, the way the TRUTH, and the life) and we should persuade our hearts of it, because when our hearts aren't accusing us, we can have confidence in God! (vs. 21) So, what do I use to persuade my heart?
EVIDENCE!

I like word pictures, and I think of a court room scene here. The accuser (satan or my heart-which ever is attacking me at the time) is on one side and the defendant (me and my representative, Jesus) is on the other. The Judge, God, is sitting at an enormous bench at the front of the room wearing a robe with gavel in hand. The hearing begins. The accuser glares at me and begins to charge at me with accusations. Some of them are true. My face is hot as I look at the Judge, but there is no expression on His face. Just as I'm preparing to receive the anger and punishment that is sure to come, my Representative stands up and yells, "Objection! I've already paid the penalty for that offense". Then He presents the evidence: scars in the palms of His hands. The judge doesn't look at me at all! He looks right at the evidence and says, "Sustained. Case dismissed." Case after case, accusation after accusation, and it always ends this way. When the Judge looks at me, He doesn't see my offences. He sees the blood of His Son and my Representative.

WOW! That is GOOD stuff!

Unfortunately, it is SO hard for us to really get this concept. It seems too good to be true and we have learned to be cynical of things that seem too good. I encourage you to really meditate on this and let it sink in because when we can truly understand how God sees us, we learn to live in victory! I get so excited and humbled and amazed every time I picture Jesus Christ presenting His blood to my Heavenly Father as the payment for my sins.

Have you ever heard someone say, "Trust your heart" or "Follow your heart"? According to God's Word, the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9)
You know what that tells me? I don't need to let my heart persuade me, I must learn to persuade my heart, using the evidence found in God's Word.

According to I John 3:22, when our hearts are not condemning us , we can have confidence in God and whatever we ask of Him, we receive. We can go to Him boldly.

So...let's do a spiritual check-up. Are you experiencing this kind of heart attack? Treat it using the prescription found in I John 3. Persuade it, using the same evidence that is good enough for an Almighty Judge and learn to live in victory and confidence!

I John 3:19-22
And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure (persuade) our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

Judge Not!

Possibly, one of the most misused and misunderstood terms in the Christian language is the one that says, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Many times, it is used by someone who has been confronted about a wrong doing. It is followed up by something like, "Until you are sinless, don't point out what I'm doing wrong." What does the Bible say about it? Well, let me make it very clear, I'm not a Bible scholar, but I have asked God for wisdom in this area and I will share with you what He has shared with me.

As Christians, we have a responsibility to share the Truth with the non-believing, (Romans 10 tells us they can't call on Someone they haven't heard of and they'll never hear if no one tells them. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.) We also have a responsibility to encourage and edify fellow believers. (Eph. 4:15 talks about speaking the truth in love, and Galatians 6 talks about restoring someone who has been overtaken in a fault or who strays from the Truth.) No where in Scripture does it say that a person must be perfect and sinless to do these two things. It would certainly be wise to examine our own life to be sure there isn't a glaring fault that would discredit our efforts, but when God hand picked His apostles, they were far from perfect and He still uses imperfect people today. Praise the Lord for that!!!

Now where do we step over the line into judging?

Let's think about the job of a judge. A judge has a couple of responsibilities: To use the law to decide if a person is guilty and to assign punishment and see that it is carried out if that person is found to be guilty. John, chapter 8 gives an account of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery. The Pharisees and Scribes believed themselves to be the most spiritual and they immediately brought the woman to Jesus. Not for healing, not for restoration, but because they wanted to be sure that she was punished for her sin. They even made a suggestion as to what punishment should be issued. What was Jesus' reaction? Verse seven says that He stood up and said, "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her." According to Scripture, you do have to perfect to convict and decide punishment for someone in a spiritual sense. These jobs belong only to a holy God.

They could have went to her lovingly but they didn't. They could have pointed her to Jesus for forgiveness, which was the whole reason Jesus was on the earth. But they didn't. Their spirit was all wrong. Most likely, they forgot that they too fell short of the glory of God. If they happened to remember that they had sin, they probably compared it to hers and decided that their sin was somehow less offensive to God.

We can, however, and should, proclaim the Truth to all that God leads in our path. Why? Because the truth will set them free!! The key is what spirit you do it in. The only effective way is in love. I Cor. 13 tells us that the good things we do must be done in love, or it has no profit or effectiveness.

It isn't time for Christians to back down. We should be bold in sharing God's Word. In order to so, we must first know what His Word says. Satan and even unbelievers use Scripture, and if we don't know it, we will be tossed to and fro. Ephesians 4:14-15 says we need to quit being immature Christians, tossed to and fro and blown away by every wind of doctrine and by the trickery of men and cunning craftiness. They are trying to deceive us. Instead, we need to speak the truth in love and grow up into Him in all things. (paraphrased...please read for yourself) Boldness comes from confidence. Confidence comes from knowing the facts. If I focus on myself, I can't be bold because I hear Satan reminding me of all the reasons I am not worthy to speak God's Word. But, if I focus on what I know to be true about God, I can proclaim truth with all confidence!!

"Time to Clean House"

"God, I ask you to bless both of them and help them. Lead them to do what is right. In Jesus' name, Amen." That was the prayer prayed by a friend of mine about her husband and the woman he left her for after 25 years of marriage. Her testimony goes on to explain how, as soon as she was done praying that prayer, God let her know that it wasn't what He was looking for. "I don't know what you want from me, God! You say in your Word that we are to bless them that curse us and pray for them that despitefully use us. Well, that's what I'm doing and now you are telling me you won't accept my prayer? What do you want?" God's response was simple. "I want what's in there...I want what's in your heart."
"Okay! Here it is!", she responded and she began to pour out her heart to God. She told Him about the anger and how she wanted to die. She told Him she was afraid and alone. She told Him it wasn't suppose to be this way and she wanted to hurt the woman who tore her children's daddy away from their family. Everything was laid out on the tear stained floor of her bedroom. Her very heart was lying there, bare and exposed. And guess what. The healing began!
God took those pieces of her broken heart and began to mend and heal it. He let her know that it wasn't okay what happened to her...His dear precious child. He let her know that He saw every single tear she cried and was holding them in the palm of His hand. He let her know that He would never leave her nor forsake her.
God is not looking for prayers of fancy words. We don't need to place our pain in pretty packages before we present them to God. Certainly, we should come reverently to the throne of a Holy God, but we should also come boldly to find help in time of need! (Hebrews 4:16)
It's time to clean house. Go in the closets of your heart and empty them out at the feet of your Father. Doing anything less, is squandering the gift God gave us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Because of what He did for us on The Cross, we CAN come straight to God to find grace, mercy and help!! We don't need a priest or anyone else.
Oh, we are all tempted to call up someone, whose voice we can hear audibly, to share our troubles with. And sometimes that is okay...it just shouldn't be our first, and certainly not our only, reaction in the face of hardship. It may seem impractical to talk to Someone we can't see...it requires faith. It was hard for me at first. It went against what I believed prayer was about. It was SO hard for me to understand that God wanted to have that kind of relationship with ME! I could never express to God that I had angry feelings about something. But, He certainly knows it's there whether I tell Him or not. He wants me to give it to Him so He can change it and heal it! WOW! No one was more surprised than me! I was so excited about this new way to communicate with my Heavenly Father, that I dug out stuff that has been weighing me down for years. I got real honest with myself and real honest with God. The healing was refreshing, peaceful, wonderful, awesome, and amazing! I hope you'll try it for yourself.
Psalm 62:8 "Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us. Selah." (Meditate on this)

If You Don't Run...You Can't Win!

Month after month, and still no change. Prayer after prayer, and still no answer. That's it! I see no logic in continuing...I quit!
I felt like I was in the middle of the ocean in a rowboat paddling my heart out...going around and around in circles. I was pretty sure I would never get to the other side at this rate. Paddling harder only sent me in circles faster. I had done all I could do and my decision was made...I would spend my time and energy on something worth while instead of on something that was destined for failure. The problem was...I never asked God what His will was. I just let logic lead the way!
Logic is a funny thing...I learned. It's not the basis that God works on. I'm sure it didn't seem logical to the children of Israel when they were running for their lives from Pharoah and his army, and God led them to the banks of an enormous sea. I'm sure it didn't seem logical to the disciples as they looked at five thousand hungry people, and Jesus told them to bring Him 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. The Bible is full of miracles and not one of them is logical. We forget that God is SO much bigger than logic.
We are faced with a difficult situation and immediately, we begin to beg God to make it easier. But, what if He is setting us up for a miracle? I once heard it said like this, "If a situation is not too big for us, then it is too small to become a miracle". We have to encounter situations that overwhelm us, before we can see how mighty and awesome God is.
Here I was..in the midst of an impossible situation by human standards. I had exhausted all of my options and came up short. So, what did I do? I summed up the situation, told God what He needed to do, and when He didn't do it...I freaked out and prepared to bail out! (Ain't that a hoot? I couldn't work it out, so I told God how He should work it out. )
The Bible puts it like this...we are in a race and we are to persevere. We are to run it to win the prize. When we don't see the finish line...we keep on running. When it seems like there is no hope of winning...we keep on running. Remember the movie Chariots of Fire? I'm like the character, Harold Abrahams... he said, "I run to win. If I can't win, I won't run!" When I see no hope or suffer a set-back, I want to quit...but remember his girlfriend's response? "If you don't run, you can't win."
Yeah, we are to run it to win it...but how does dropping out of the race accomplish that? How ironic, that I would be so afraid to fail, that I would take the only path to failure...quitting.
Let's keep on running...seeing those impossible hurdles as opportunities for miracles...living not by logic but by faith!!!!

The Potter Knows the Clay.

*Song-"The Potter knows the Clay"

Recently, I was involved in two events that both had a "tea party" theme. As I reflected on the teapot, my mind went to several verses in the Bible that refers to us as vessels. Just like the teapot is filled and used to serve others, God desires for each of us to be filled with his Spirit so we can serve others; so he can use us to pour out His love into others.

The Potter is fashioning each of His vessels for an exact purpose. He is forming us and molding us and refining us in the fire of trials. He knows just how much pressure to apply and how many times we have to go around His wheel, before we are ready to be a vessel of honor and beauty. Sometimes, we feel like we will break or burn up in the fire...sometimes we scream out for Him to stop, but He continues His loving work. Sometimes, we look at the progress and we think He's made a mistake or it seems like the pain has lasted too long and He's forgotten about us. But, Isaiah 29:16 says, "Surely you have things turned around; shall the potter be esteemed like the clay; for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing formed say of him that formed it, He had no understanding?" The Potter knows the clay!

Sometimes, the Potter has to break the vessel in order to remake it to fit His plan. Sometimes our vessels get damaged when someone abuses it or mistreats it, and sometimes we make mistakes that cause our vessel to become weak and cracked. The psalmist wrote, "I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel." Psalm 31:12.
Have you felt the pain spoken in that verse? I certainly have...I sat on the shelf, broken and filthy and unusable for several years. But...and this is the good part... II Timothy 2:21 says, "If a man therefore purge (cleanse) himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified (set apart), and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work." It doesn't say, "unless you are too filthy or too broken". The Potter specializes in changing worthless into precious, guilty to forgiven, hungry into satisfied, empty into full...He specializes in changing broken into beautiful.
Friend, I don't know where you are at. I don't know if you are going through the fire of financial troubles, or health problems, or the loss of a loved one, or an unexpected tragedy. But I do know that the Potter has planned a beautiful design. You may not be able to see it right now because of the flames and the pain, but you will. You may be empty right now, but He is going to fill you and use you for something beautiful. Trust the Potter...because He knows the clay!
Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of they hand.

"The Big Picture"

***Song from Danielle's Picks~ "Trust His Heart".

I was faced with a big project...I was painting huge pieces for a Christmas float. As I was adding deep shades of red to the gigantic wooden presents, it appeared to me, to be too dramatic. The sharp colors were right in my face. I found myself stepping way back to take in the whole picture at different times because it just didn't feel right. I mean, I knew the rules of shading and highlighting, but since I'd never worked on something this big, I began to question if the same rules would apply to such a big task. "What have I gotten into?", I mumbled to myself while I worked in unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory. "From now on I'm only tackling what I'm comfortable doing...smaller pieces...I need to see the whole picture while I'm working on it." However, after several hours of repeating the process of painting a little and stepping back, I finally realized that I could trust the rules of shading and highlighting on a huge piece...it worked the same no matter how big or small the task.

God used this experience to teach me. (He does that you know. He will often use the everyday familiar things in our lives to show us something special...something secret between you and Him.)
This is what He said to me that day: "This is your attitude about my promises, Danielle. You believe me and my Word, until a situation comes along that is too big for you and you can't see the whole picture. When are you going to learn to trust what you know to be true about me when things seem too dramatic...when things are in your face? There's no reason for you to step back...just keep going forward with confidence in what you know to be true about my promises. Don't settle for small things because it feels safe...I want to do big things on the canvas of your life. My promises work the same no matter how big or small the situation is."
What a sweet Father I have. He knows I am so tempted to live by my feelings...He knows I am his little, timid sheep. He uses the everyday things to gently remind me that I can trust Him...no matter how big or distorted the picture seems to me.

Friend, what are you facing today? No matter what it is, know that it has not surprised your Heavenly Father. I love what Joshua 3:4-5 says...you have not passed this way before...but get ready because the Lord is fixing to do wonders for you. (paraphrased by me...look it up!)
Psalm 62:8 "Trust in Him at ALL times; ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is our refuge."
Matthew 19:26 "But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible"!!!

Trust Him...He is worthy and He sees the BIG PICTURE!

YOUR Love Story

Once upon a time, there was a prince who was the son of a great king. Never before or since has there been a King as great as his father. Mighty men tremble in his presence, all the banks in the world do not have as much wealth as his, and his army is mightier than any other.
Now, the prince was hopelessly in love with a simple maiden. But there was one question: How could he share his love with her?
He could bring her to his palace and clothe her in royal robes, a crown and beautiful jewels. She wouldn't be able to resist...but would she love him back, or would she secretly dream of her old life?
He could ride down into the valley to greet her mounted on his royal horse, surrounded by his armed escorts and bright banners. But would she love him back... or simply submit to him because he was the prince?
There was only one thing he could do. He would descend and give up the throne. He would give up his wealth and power and he would walk away from his identity. He would wear the clothes of a beggar and simply live among her people, allowing her to choose him as he had chosen her. It would be a costly risk, but she was worth the cost.

You write the end of the story...you are the fair maiden.
The Prince of heaven desires you. He wants nothing from you except your love. He is seeking you but he will not force you to love him back. He is waiting for you to choose him just as he has chosen you.



(I adapted this from a story told by the author Soren Kierregaard...I read it in a book by Dannah Gresh.)

Its A Twister!

***Song from Danielle's Picks~ "Mighty is the Power of the Cross".

The bus was rolling along the Oklahoma interstate as I sat quietly in my seat just behind the driver. (Hey! I'm telling this story and I say I was being quiet.) The wind was gaining strength and making it difficult for the bus driver to maintain control of the bus. As I looked at the horizon from my window, I could see three distinct layers. Layer one was flat land that stretched out for miles around us. Just above that was a thin layer of dark blue sky and directly above that was a black layer that confirmed the forecast for storms coming in. There was talk around the bus about some nearby dangling clouds that could easily spin off a tornado, but there was no rain or lightening. Just a light foggy mist.
Moments later, one of the other passengers sat forward and said, "Is that a funnel cloud or is my eyes playing tricks on me?". All eyes shifted forward immediately as leadership began to assess the situation. The pastor told the bus driver to get us under the overpass.
I was trembling. It was a perfect funnel cloud right in front of us beside the interstate. I knew what we were about to be facing. Within seconds, I had processed every possible worst case scenario and had accepted our plight.
Then I heard the pastor say, "Keep going!".
WHAT?!?!?!? Keep going? You mean as in toward the funnel cloud?
The bus passed under the only safe shelter available to us and proceeded in the direction of the storm. But, the closer we got to the tornado, the clearer it became. Something was in the center of it.
Almost in unison the cry came, "Its the cross!"
The spotlight that illuminated a huge metal cross from the base, cast a shadow in the foggy mist that looked just like a funnel cloud.
As soon as we got the cross in focus, the threat of the storm was gone. What a lesson!
I wish I could tell you that I was brave and had great faith, but I was just like the disciples in the midst of the storm on the sea. In Mark 5:40, Jesus asked them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" That's what happens when we focus on the storm instead of on Him. When they entered the ship in verse 35, Jesus told them that He was going to get them to the other side, but they forgot His words.
Verse 41 says they were in awe of Him when the wind and sea obeyed Him. That is one of the reasons God leads His children into storms. To show us great and wonderful things about Himself.
One of the greatest mistakes I made, was picturing how I would handle problems that didn't even exist. God's grace is distributed at the moment it is needed. Not before and not after. I was trying to handle tomorrow's problems with only today's grace.
All things, including storms, have a purpose to bring us good and Him glory! (Romans 8:28) Believe that! Get that! Because God has not given us the spirit of fear...but of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7

The "Secret Formula" For Happiness.

Who doesn't want to be happy? I was so desperate to find happiness, that it became my daily focus. I tried relationships, medication, hobbies, entertainment and even church. The problem was, my focus was completely self-centered. It became all about me. I would have saved myself a lot of trouble if I would have read Ecclesiastes. Solomon set out to do a little experiment of his own on the matter, holding nothing back from himself. In chapter 2, he tried pleasure, great accomplishments, riches, and even wisdom, and found it all to be in vain. None of it brought happiness. In verse 17, he said he hated life!
If you are driven to attain wealth, you will never be satisfied by wealth. (Vs 10) If you are driven to attain happiness, you will never attain happiness. Why? Because, God designed happiness as a reward for focusing on Him. When we are trying to make ourselves happy, we are focused on ourselves.
Happiness comes when we realize that our goal needs to change. So, what should the goal be?
Simply to glorify God with our lives. We are purchased pearls! "For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" I Corinthians 6:20
When I quit striving for happiness, and began striving to glorify God with my body and spirit, I woke up one day and was able to say, "So, this is happiness...life is good!!!" Try it!
It is the "secret formula" for happiness and it is guaranteed to work for anyone.

KIDNAPPED!!

***Song from Danielle's Picks~ "Come to Jesus".

A couple of weeks ago, I read an article about an man in his 30's who was taken from his parents right after his birth. He had just been reunited with his father. Unfortunately, his mother was deceased.
When the father was interviewed, he said, "I never gave up. I never stopped thinking he would come home."
Just days before I read this article, I was speaking with a lady who was ready to give up...she has been battling depression for some time. Now, at the beginning of her healing, she was realizing that though she was saved as a child and has went to church her whole life, she has had no real relationship with God. "All these years I have lived for myself, I doubt God even wants me anymore", she said. She thought she was doing it right. But, her eyes were being opened to truth and sometimes that is difficult to look at.
Satan loves to kidnap baby christians and hold them captive so they are useless for the Kingdom of God.
That night, I was talking to God about all this and He talked back. That doesn't always happen...but this time it did, and this is how our talk went:
God: Danielle, what would you do if one of your children were taken at birth?

Me: I don't even want to think about that God. I would never rest until I brought them home.

God: Even if it had been thirty or forty years since they were taken? You had no relationship with them. They had never done a thing for you.

Me: I would never stop...they are a part of me. I would be heart broken without them.

God: What if they finally returned home to you, but they had terrible baggage and scars because their captor had delt harshly with them? Would you send them away in disgust wondering why they didn't try harder to escape their bondage?

Me: No! Of course not God. I would lavish my love on them and rejoice that they had finally come home. I would do everything in my power to help them through the pain.

God had to say nothing else. I knew exactly what He was showing me. Even as I type this, tears are welling up in my eyes.

This is the end of the interview with the 32 year old man about his ordeal:
"For the first time, I know who I was, who I am", the young man said still marveling at his new identity. At times, I wondered what I was living for. But being reunited with my father and understanding my indentity...its as if a hole in my soul has been filled. Never again will I use my old name. To have your identity is the most beautiful, life-changing thing there is".
Excuse me while I shout!!! If you've ever been in captivity, you know what this man is talking about. Bask in your identity in Christ and realize your Father is waiting...not with judgement, but with arms wide open...ready to welcome you home!

Broken Legs

In 2007, I began my journey out of the pit of depression. I had just started attending a program called Reformer's Unanimous for people who are struggling with strongholds in their life. I had been in two different facilities and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I was on so much medication, I was numb but I still had this dark heaviness that sat on me like a lead jacket...you know, the kind they use during x-rays. Nothing was helping and I was desperate. This was my last ditch effort for help.
I wanted a quick fix (who doesn't?), but I soon found out there is no shortcut. Every shortcut led back to the pit. I wanted to quit so many times, but I kept crying out to God from that dark pit. I did the work in the program, sometimes not feeling like it was doing a bit of good...I mean I knew God could help me, I just didn't know if He would.
After several months of faithfully attending the program and really doing the work, I began to notice a difference. The darkness was lifting slowly...it was a long journey and didn't happen over night. But it was a victory none the less!
The problem was, when I started feeling better, I stopped crying out to God. I noticed this heaviness returning in the mornings...I would wake up with this dread every morning. I was so discouraged! "Its coming back". I thought. In a moment of frustration, I called out to God through tears..."You could heal me completely! Why are letting me be this way every morning...its so hard to get out of the bed and face the day. I just want to be whole!"
The Lord said (brought me to an understanding right there) "The shepherd sometimes has to break the legs of his precious sheep to keep them from running away. He then carries the wounded sheep on his shoulders. I am teaching you to stay close to me even when you feel good." Wow! He "broke my legs" to protect me.
Psalm 23 says that He makes us lie down in green pastures so He can nourish us and restore our soul. Then we will follow close behind Him on paths of righteousness.
The great news is that He makes the bones which He has broken rejoice...Psalm 51:8