{"id":873,"date":"2019-10-21T00:38:22","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T00:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glitterandgraceteens.com\/?p=873"},"modified":"2019-10-21T00:38:22","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T00:38:22","slug":"predictably-prodigal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/?p=873","title":{"rendered":"Predictably prodigal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
“Prodigal son testimonies have started a false belief that struggles must come before salvation can occur.<\/em> Teens today are starting to believe that they have to ‘live and learn’ before their testimony is worth sharing. Who is the main focus of your testimony? Beware…this blog might step on your toes.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Christian testimonials have become predictable in\nthe church today. It seems as though every testimony that I have heard in my\npast, including my own, has had a prodigal child element. Most testimonies go a\nlittle something like this, \u201cI once was a child that grew up in or around\nchurch but one day rebelled against God. After a spout of rebellion, maybe\ndrugs and alcohol or even worse, I hit rock bottom and realized that I needed\nGod in my life. From that moment on, I let God into my heart and started living\nfor Him.\u201d The end. Others start out with \u201cI never knew God as a child or cared\nto know Him, but one day after living in sin for many years, I turned to God\nand surrendered my life to Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prodigal son was a character in a parable Jesus\ntold to illustrate how generous God is in forgiving sinners who repent. The\nprodigal son was a young man who asked his father for his inheritance and then\nleft home for \u201ca far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous\nliving.\u201d Later on, he realized his mistake, hit rock bottom, and returned to\nhis father. Upon arrival, his father welcomed him with open arms and even threw\na party on his behalf. The parable of the prodigal son is a moving example of\nthe Father\u2019s love and forgiveness for His children. Too many people today are\ntaking this parable as a detour required for salvation instead of an example of\nGod\u2019s forgiveness when a person turns astray.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not often that you hear a testimony about\nsomeone that was born, accepted Christ at a young age maybe at vacation bible\nschool or somewhere like that, and then they lived for Christ for the rest of\ntheir life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More often than not, it seems as though struggles must come before salvation can occur. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Too many testimonies revolve around the person and\ntheir struggles and not the purpose and the plan that God had for them. For\nabout 30 minutes a person will talk about their wild rebellious attitudes, near\ndeath experiences, drug and alcohol abuse, and maybe even jail time or worse,\nthen spend a brief 5 minutes telling the audience about how they accepted Christ\nand changed their lives. They never go into detail about the transformation or\nwhat happened after the fact, but instead they spend the majority of their time\ntalking about them and not about Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong when I talk about this subject,\ntestimonies are great when they are shared in the right way. Sharing your\ntestimony with others is important because you can relate to other people in a\nway that not every person can; however, it is very important that your\ntestimony is not mainly about you but its main focus is on Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bible says in Colossians 3:17, \u201cAnd whatever you do, whether in word or in\ndeed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through\nHim.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a false belief going around that you must\nstruggle tremendously before you can get saved. It is almost like being a \u2018prodigal\nchild\u2019 is required for the Christian life. I have sat in bible studies with\nfriends of all ages discussing their testimonies and the majority of them had a\n\u201cprodigal son\u201d element. In addition to that, I have sat in bible studies where\nI\u2019ve heard others say, \u201cI don\u2019t really have a testimony because I was saved at\na young age and didn\u2019t go through a hard time, struggle with drugs, or rebel\nagainst God before getting saved.\u201d In youth ministry multiple students implied that\ntheir testimony hadn\u2019t been written yet because they still had to live before\nthey could learn from their mistakes. They felt that without a rock bottom\nstory they didn\u2019t have a salvation story worth sharing. The sad part of that\nstory is that some people won\u2019t live through the trial they think they need to\nendure to make a good \u201cGod story\u201d to tell others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in sin and learning from your mistakes before\ngetting saved is NOT a requirement for following God. Loving God and believing in\nHim is what is required. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor\nwhat I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for\nour sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on\nthe third day according to the Scriptures\u201d 1 Corinthians 15:3-4<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLove\nthe Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your\nmind.\u201d Matthew 22:37<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testimonies aren\u2019t always about a person that ran\nfrom God, hit rock bottom, or struggled through a hard time before they got\nsaved. Your personal \u201cGod story\u201d can simply be, \u201cI knew I was lost and I needed\nJesus in my heart, so I prayed and became a child of God.\u201d You don\u2019t have to be\nan adult to tell your testimony after all the trials you have been through.\nInstead, you can be a youth, or even a young child, and share with others your\nlove for Christ. Every testimony is important in the eyes of the Lord. Share\nyour story and let God use you for His glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To those of you that have prodigal child testimonies\njust like me, I am not condemning you at all. Every testimony is important. Instead,\nI am sharing with you that we need to be careful when we present our\ntestimonies to younger generations. This hits home with me, and I\u2019ll be honest,\nwhen God gave me these words to write, I really felt Him stepping on my toes.\nThere have been times where I have told my testimony and focused more on myself\nand my struggles than the One that held my hand through it all. The very first\ntime I told my testimony I know I spent more time on me than telling others\nabout Him. I learned from that experience and have made a point to let others\nknow that all testimonies don\u2019t have to be the same. It is a major lesson I had\nto learn but I don\u2019t want people to think that salvation cannot occur without a\nstruggle. When I finish telling my testimony, I don\u2019t want people to remember\nme and my pain, I want them to remember God and His power, His plan, and His\npurpose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The parable of the prodigal son in the bible was not\nmeant to be an example of how your testimony should be; however, it was meant\nto show you that your Father will always be waiting for you with open arms. It\nis not a story that exemplifies that you should go out, live a little, then run\nback to your Father when you have nothing left; instead, it is an example of\nGod\u2019s love. We are not called to play tag with God and keep running back and\nforth until we finally feel that we need Him the most. We are called to follow\nHim, always. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a child gets saved at a young age, adults often\nquestion if they are truly believers or not because they haven\u2019t experienced\nenough to understand the depths of Christ\u2019s love. However, the bible says in\nMatthew 18:2-4, \u201cAnd He called to Himself\nand set him before them, and said, \u201cTruly I say to you, unless you are\nconverted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.\nWhoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom.\u201d<\/em>\nThe faith of a child is strong because it has not been corrupted by the world.\nA child doesn\u2019t have to go through hard times or experience pain to realize\nthat he or she needs Christ; they just know and believe that they need Him in\ntheir heart. As simple as learning John 3:16 can teach a child that God\u2019s love\nis stronger than any love we can ever imagine. It doesn\u2019t take a tragedy to\nmake John 3:16 real. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor\nGod so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes\nin him shall not perish but have eternal life.\u201d John 3:16<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bible says in Romans 10:11-13, \u201cEveryone who calls on the name of the Lord\nwill be saved.\u201d It doesn\u2019t give you an age or a scenario of what you have to go\nthrough before you get saved, it only says \u2018call on the name of the Lord and\nyou will be saved.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romans 3:23 states, \u201cFor everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.\u201d<\/em>\nAgain, it doesn\u2019t state the extent of each person\u2019s sin; it simply says \u2018everyone\nhas sinned.\u201d No person is without blame before coming to know Christ as their\nSavior. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, death and sin entered the world. While\nteaching about Adam and Eve, I simplified the birth of sin by asking my class, \u201cWhat\ntype of babies do cats have? Of course they said kittens.\u201d Then I followed up\nwith \u201cWhat type of babies do dogs have? As expected, they said puppies.\u201d\nLastly, I asked, \u201cWhat types of babies do sinners have?\u201d They sat there quietly\nfor a minute then responded reluctantly, \u201csinners.\u201d It is hard to imagine a\ntiny little baby being a sinner, but when sin entered the world, sinners began\nto birth sinners. Every person on this earth is born into a sinful nature with\nthe ability to choose to stay in that position and live in sin or to turn from\ntheir sins and follow God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each person is given a chance to follow God, but if\nwe are constantly bombarding people around us with prodigal child testimonies,\neventually generations to come will believe that they can\u2019t become followers of\nChrist without first experiencing a major struggle with addiction, near death\nexperiences, or jail time. It is important for us to share Christ and the story\nHe gave us, but more than that, He wants us to use our testimonies to lead\nothers to Him and not mislead them with what their lives should look like prior\nto getting saved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A child that gets saved at a young age may one day\ngo through hard times and move away from God, but that does not make their\nsalvation void. The bible says in Romans 8:38-39, \u201cAnd I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God\u2019s love.\nNeither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today\nnot our worries for tomorrow \u2013 not even the powers of hell can separate us from\nGod\u2019s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below \u2013 indeed, nothing\nin all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is\nrevealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, \u201cTherefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is\ngone, the new has come.\u201d <\/em>When a person is saved, their old self is washed\naway by the blood of Christ and they become a new creation. A new creation can\nslip and fall away from Christ but His love will never leave them. This is not\na free pass to do whatever you want and ask for forgiveness later, but it is a\nchance to realize that God is a forgiving God but expects His children to live\nfor Him. As a parent loves their child, they want them to listen and obey, but\nat times they know their children will mess up. When the child disobeys the\nparent, they are disciplined in a way that gets their attention and hopefully\nprevents them from disobeying them again. God is the same way with His\nchildren. He knows you aren\u2019t perfect but He expects you to try to be like His\nSon. When you fall away, He is still there waiting from you to return. He never\nstops caring for you, and He will discipline you when needed. As a follower of\nChrist, you will go through trials and mess up at times, but when you do, you\nwill know that you have sinned and you will either return to your Father or live\nwith your bad decisions and discipline that comes with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one is perfect, not even a beautiful baby born in\na corrupt world, but the Lord our God is waiting for you to hear His voice and\nrun to Him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you were a young child that knew the truth in\nJohn 3:16 and got saved because you knew your God loves you, your testimony\nmatters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are an adult that has struggled through a\nlife of addiction and sin, hit rock bottom, and finally ran back to God, your\ntestimony matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To the youth that said they don\u2019t have a testimony\nyet because they haven\u2019t lived and learned, God is waiting on you to run to His\narms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your testimony does not have to be a broken road. It\nis not a requirement to struggle immensely before getting saved. Whatever your\ntestimony may be, let it shine for God\u2019s glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let your testimony be truth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let your testimony be a Light to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And let your testimony lead others to Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May God bless you and show you His grace every day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-Kayla Rampey<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christian testimonials have become predictable in the church today. It seems as though every testimony that I have heard in my past, including my own, has had a prodigal child element. Most testimonies go a little something like this, \u201cI once was a child that grew up in or around church but one day rebelled … Continue reading Predictably prodigal<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-devotions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=873"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":875,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873\/revisions\/875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}