Tag: Caitie Wood

Identity: From Death to Life

If I’m honest, today left me feeling weary, burdened, and frustrated along with bit of grief. I know we all have days like that from time to time as it’s just part of living in a broken world. As easy as it is to fall into a pattern of lamenting about how awful our day was and wondering if it’ll ever get better, God wants us to respond by giving Him our burdens, worries, grief and concerns. It’s much easier said than done, but if we have faith that God has created us in His image, instilled purpose in us and loves us to the point of adopting us as His children, then can’t we trust Him with our day-to-day struggles, too? Not only that, but as children of God, we believe in the hope of eternal life in the Kingdom where there will be no more trials, pain or obstacles because Jesus overcame them all!

Matthew 6: 31-34

So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (CSB)

This passage is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Jesus, God’s son, is telling us that God knows exactly what we need and will provide accordingly. This isn’t limited to just physical needs such as food and drink; rather God will always take care of us in all aspects.

John 3: 1-6

There was a man from the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to him at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you do unless God were with him.” 3 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 4 “How can anyone be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked him. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?” 5 Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. (CSB)

Once we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior and submit to God’s authority over our lives, the Holy Spirit starts to work within us and we then become a child of God. If we are a child of God, Galatians 4:7 tells us, “So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.” (CSB)

The word “slave” is referring to being a slave to sin. We are no longer bound by sin’s punishment of death, but instead we are redeemed through Jesus and therefore able to inherit the gift of the Kingdom! (Romans 6:23)

God’s redeeming grace brings us from death to life. How incredible is that? I encourage you to take a moment to reflect on what has been weighing you down lately. What burdens have you been carrying that you need to surrender? Maybe a circumstance where you don’t have all the answers and don’t know how you’ll make it through? Maybe a strained relationship? Maybe a pattern of sin that you need God’s help to break? Whatever the situation may be, we know that the same God who fulfills His promises (Joshua 21:45; Numbers 23:19) is the God who made us. And because He never fails, we can rest in Him until the end of the age when we inherit the gift of the Kingdom.

-Caitie Wood

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway here – Isaiah 3-4 and Ephesians 5

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Identity in Christ: You are welcomed into a community

1st Corinthians 12:12-13 says, “For as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.”

Then in verses 26-27 we see the words, “So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.” (HCSB)

In the family of God, we share each other’s burdens and rejoice with each other’s victories. Everyone has a different role to play in the body, but those roles are equally important.

–Caitie Wood

Today’s Bible reading plan passages can be read or listened to at BibleGateway here – Song of Solomon 6-8 and Ephesians 3

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Identity in Christ: You are loved!

Ephesians 2

When you think of the word “love,” what comes to mind?

Our culture would like for us to believe that love is found in sappy movies, romance novels or certain songs on the radio, but that’s simply not the reality.

1st John 4:7-11 reads, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

God created each of us with a desire to love and be loved, but He did that so He could be the one to fulfill that desire and work through us. But His love reaches even deeper.

Ephesians 2: 1-10 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do. “

Let’s unpack this passage a bit. First, while we were still sinners and walking in accordance with our own will and what we wanted to do, God reconciled us to Himself through Jesus, even though we didn’t deserve it, out of pure grace. We did nothing on our own to earn that privilege. Secondly, God’s purpose for this was for us to reflect His love and grace to the world so that we could one day enjoy fellowship with Him and Jesus in the Kingdom.

So now that we have received love and grace from God to the point of Him choosing to sacrifice his only Son to bring many of his sons to glory, (as the song How Deep the Father’s Love for Us points out) what are we supposed to do? How do we go about letting our Father’s love radiate though us?

1) Spend time with Him through prayer, Bible reading and worship. Just as a bond is strengthened with your best friend whenever you go out for lunch or whatever you may do to spend time with them, our bond is strengthened with God when we make it a priority to spend time with Him.

2) Invest in your personal relationships, whether that is with brothers and sisters in Christ, or people you may know that are not Christians. We are called to the breaking of bread and fellowship (Acts 2:42) but we’re also called to evangelize and share the Gospel (1st Peter 3:15, 2nd Corinthians 5:20).

3) Finally, tell your friends and family that you love them through words and actions. I know this seems obvious, but in today’s society, social media and text messaging takes away from hearing a verbal “I love you.” When we have a friend or family member that is struggling, quite often we assume that just because we see them online, they must be okay instead of going over to their house to check in and keep them company (with their permission of course). So, I encourage you to ponder how you can show your love and God’s love to those around you.

-Caitie Wood

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway here – Song of Solomon 3-5 and Ephesians 2

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Identity in Christ: You are God’s Child!

I think we’ve all experienced chapters in life that were just difficult. Maybe you’re going through one of those times as you’re reading this. Maybe you feel like nobody understands you or hears you. Maybe you’re just looking for a hope to cling to or something to ease the aching hole in your heart.

The good news is…there is someone who knows you more intimately and loves you more deeply than any human ever could.

His name is YHWH. Or, as we call Him, Father God.

It may be true that Father God is just a title and not a technical name, but Abba is the Aramaic Hebrew word for “Father.” Jesus referred to God this way as he was battling with his anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Mark 14:32- 36

32 Then they came to a place named Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James, and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and horrified. 34 Then He said to them, “My soul is swallowed up in sorrow —to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake.” 35 Then He went a little farther, fell to the ground, and began to pray that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me. Nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

“What, exactly, is the significance of Abba,” you may ask.

This title shows how God works in the context of being in relationship with His children.

Romans 8:14-15

14 All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!”

Galatians 4:6

6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!”

Do you see it? The faith, love, and trust we can put in God are similar to the love and trust we put in our earthly fathers. As awesome as our dads can be, God’s love and knowledge of you runs even deeper. Crazy, right?!

With this comes the comfort and peace of knowing that God hears and understands our hearts, even when we don’t always feel seen and heard because God knew everything about you even before you were born!

Psalm 139: 13-16 is a beautiful account of that. “For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, and I know [this] very well. My bones were not hidden from You when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all [my] days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” (CSB)

Another example is one of my favorites, Ephesians 1 verses 4 though 6 which read, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So, we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” (NLT)

The scriptures say it all. So, to conclude, may I quote one of my Atlanta Bible College professors for a moment, the wise Dr. Joe Martin: “Hallelujah, praise God, AMEN!”

-Caitie Wood

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at Bible Gateway here – Song of Songs 1-2 and Ephesians 1

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Identity: Purpose

Continuing on with our theme of identity for this week, today we will talk about purpose, of which there are two kinds: collective and individual.

Having a collective purpose means that we all work together to achieve a common goal. In relation to God, our collective purpose is to evangelize and make disciples of all nations as Matthew 28:18-20 tells us. We also have the responsibility of serving others (1st Peter 4:10-11), and both of these things apply to brothers and sisters in Christ and those outside of our faith.

Let’s discuss some practical examples of how we can love God and love people while striving to make disciples and further the Kingdom:

Most importantly, we are to love each other! (1st Corinthians 13:2, 1st Corinthians 16:14, John 13:34-35). We are also instructed to gather together in fellowship (Acts 2:41; Matthew 18:20). Additionally, we must confess our sins and hold each other accountable (James 5:16, Proverbs 27:17). Finally, Galatians 6 tells us to bear each other’s burdens, lovingly correct those who are struggling with sin and to work for the good of all.

In Jeremiah 1, we find a beautiful example of individual purpose. Let’s look at verses 4-8:

4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 6 “Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Jeremiah’s individual purpose was to be a prophet and be a vessel for God to speak through, though there are many examples of individual purpose in the Bible. We have the Apostles. We have John the Baptist. We have Jesus himself! All of these people had a different individual purpose, but their unique purpose all worked toward the common purpose of furthering the Kingdom. Just like Jeremiah who was chosen, set apart, and appointed before he was even born, God created us with the same intention. Just like He did for Jeremiah, God will be here guiding our steps as we fulfill whatever He has called us to.

Maybe you don’t know what your individual purpose is yet, and that’s okay. But if you continuously trust in God’s plan for your life, you will find out what your purpose is in His timing. However, I challenge you this week to ponder and pray about how you have seen God’s love displayed in your community and/or how people have ministered to you. I also encourage you to seek God’s guidance about what you can do in your personal life to show His love to others in the spirit of bringing our Father’s lost children back to Him.

-Caitie Wood

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway here – Ecclesiastes 11-12 and Galatians 6

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Identity: Made in God’s Image

This week’s theme is all about our identity in Christ. In our modern society, we associate our identity with things like our name, age, what we look like and our personality. But in reality, our identity is not who WE say we are or even how the world perceives us. Rather, our identity is not WHO we are but WHOSE we are. Our identity is who God says we are. We’ll get into that in a little bit, but I first wanted to share a summary of why this topic resonates with me so much. So, let’s go on a little journey.

My biological parents got divorced when I was a toddler, so I was too young to remember any of that process. However, this granted my mom physical custody and my biological father weekend visitations. From my early childhood up until my pre-teen years, he was mostly in my life, but the consistency tapered off as I got older. When I did have visits with him, they were traumatic because of the choices he made. There were consistent patterns of irresponsible and violent behavior that resulted in me no longer having contact with him.

Through these experiences, I learned a lot about identity, even though I didn’t recognize that at the time. But in retrospect, I subconsciously sought out validation from other people and I placed my worth and my identity on the perceptions of others. I felt the need to prove something to this world and I got so exhausted trying to be liked and understood for who I thought I was. I didn’t understand until much later that my identity came from God, and that I could rest in Him knowing that I didn’t have to seek anything out from my peers or the World.

So, let’s go back to who God says we are. What is our true identity? Throughout the week, we will look at specific attributes of who God says we are, focusing on a unique one each day.

Today, we will concentrate on attribute number 1: We are made in God’s image. That means we reflect and display who He is. We’re not perfect like Him, of course, but we resemble and reflect Him because he made us with intention. But how do we go about bearing God’s image in our daily lives?

1) We are to reflect the fruits of the spirit, which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

2) We are to bring glory and honor to Him through our actions and genuine worship. (1 Corinthians 6:20, 10:31)

3) Jesus spoke and acted with the authority of his Father (Matthew 28:18) and therefore we are to reflect Jesus’ examples of love, ministry, compassion, obedience and sacrifice.

4) We should see people for how God sees them and love them as He does. Loving God and loving people is exactly how we achieve our Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) of making disciples of all nations.

5) Being in fellowship with other believers (Acts 2:42).

6) We rest in Him in order to lay our burdens at His feet and regain His strength so that we can fulfill our purpose (which will talk about tomorrow!).

-Caitie Wood

Read or listen to today’s Bible reading plan passages at BibleGateway here – Ecclesiastes 9-10 and Galatians 5

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