John

As the Director of Family Life, my role is to serve as liaison between the school and the families. What that means exactly and how it will all fall into place is still being fleshed out - EXCITING! What I know right now is that October is "Reaping a Healthy Harvest" month in our Bristol Oaks News. I have scheduled a guest writer to submit some words about praying over your kids and we're encouraging couples to hit up a Married Life conference next weekend. We're going to refer to John 15 in our two newsletters next month. This is SO fun for me, because I get to dive into my commentaries and Bible notes to pontificate on what John 15 has to say and then share the insights I receive and how we can apply it to our families. I am, by no means, a renown scholar, but I am a theologian. Theology is the study of God and His attributes, so we can all be theologians.

Anyway...over the next few weeks (if I can stay focused - HA), I am going to study up and journey through John 15 here, with my Bible students, and our Bristol Oaks families.

Here today, I am going to start with John 10:10.
It occurs to me that a lot of my journey and my journey here with you has been intense and difficult and transparent. That is mighty fine with me, even if it is scary to open the window into my heartbeat. BUT, I also want to be sure that any audience, and mainly my Audience of One, knows that I aim to be joyful and content with these intense circumstances. I call it a "beautiful angst." It's beautiful, but it is also agonizing sometimes!

"The thief comes only to steal and kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

There is a real enemy. And he is not safe; hence, 'steal, kill, destroy.' That is revolting and alarming. And this enemy desires to rob each of us from the joy that God is desiring to protect.
God's answer to this issue was His Son, Jesus. Jesus came - God with skin on - to give life and purpose. Jesus' main desire was the salvation (health) of His sheep, as my NT commentary breaks it down. This is freedom and fullness in life.
Freedom from the terrain, weather, and wildlife lurking in the dark. Freedom.
That is the kind of freedom I want to LIVE OUT, no matter what circumstances I am amongst. The truth is, I am free. The Spirit of the Living God is within me.

The pruning hurts and is necessary, as Jesus tells us through John in chapter 15. But we have freedom and fullness and abundance and power and victory and triumph!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing. There is a real enemy - but he has been judged, vindicated, and wiped out.

"What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

Praising God today!