Jodi Kozan on 100 Huntley Street

Here is the link to the interview on 100 Huntley Street. Host Moira Brown asked questions of my personal faith journey and what drives me to lead the ministry of WJOF.

100 Huntely Street Interview- Fear of God or Fear of man?

 

Journey friends-

They say that public speaking is perhaps the #1 fear people struggle with regardless if they are extroverts or introverts. I have been reflecting on this notion for years, especially when it comes to sharing one's faith. Whether it's one on one or in front of millions, we all tend to have a 'fear of people' rather than a healthy 'fear' of God. Hard to do when many of us struggle with being a people pleaser! For the unbeliever, the fear of God is fear of judgement and lives in fear because they don't know Jesus. For the believer in Christ, a healthy fear of God means a reverence for Him and a desire to follow Him daily.  

The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:14-16 " But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience..." Since 1996, I have been compelled to share who Jesus is in my life and I have learned so much through my trials and errors. More importantly, to learn that my witness is through both my words and my actions. When it comes to speaking or sharing our faith, I am convinced that we are to take the above scripture seriously that we are always to be prepared to give an answer to give a reason for the hope we have. Recently, I travelled to 100 Huntley Street studios in Burlington Ontario for a scheduled interview which is being played this monday, Sept 28th.

http://crossroadstv.ca/television/huntley/upcoming-guests I was fully intending on sharing about Women's Journey of Faith and the "restoration of women" on the show, but the host wanted to focus primarily on my story of how I came to know Jesus. Yikes, with 2 minutes before the camera's were rolling- I had to shift gears and go in another direction. Realizing that things happen for a reason, I still go through fears of this world and apprehension of saying the wrong things and making mistakes! Well, another lesson in humility. God asks us to be ready and He doesn't ask us to be perfect, just willing to share of our lives and faith in Christ at any given moment. Why? Our stories make incredible inroads to those who don't know Christ Jesus yet. Seeds of faith planted in a human heart that may one day take root to a full blown faith and relationship with God. 

"They overcame him by the blood of the lamb (Jesus) and the word of their testimony..." Revelation 12:11 

Please pray that my story and the seeds of faith I planted on air tomorrow will take root in those viewers who could relate to my story. They say that it plays throughout Canada, in 14 million US homes and literally across the globe as they stream it on their website for weeks following. Fear God, not people, fear God, not people, fear God, not people- continues to be my motto when I step out and share my faith.  

How about you? 

Blessings,

Jodi (my knees are still shaking- smile)

Flawless- By Jodi Kozan

 

Where were you on June 25? After weeks of neglecting 

my workout regime, that day found me back in the gym 

when I learned of the deaths of two celebrity icons: 

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. With the news came 

a wave of childhood memories of dancing to Michael's 

tunes and watching empowered, beautiful women fight for justice in the first run 

of Charlie's Angels. (Yes I was a major fan, as I named my firstborn daughter 

after one 

 

It’s interesting to watch the reactions of others, with worldwide events such as 

these. Somehow celebrities are put on a pedestal at their peak, and when they 

fall from stardom the rumors fly. Celebrities rise high and fall hard because of our 

nature to want to worship someone or something. The pressure to be perfect or 

flawless for one’s fans is all consuming for most celebrities, and impossible as it 

is unattainable.  

 

No matter how perfect someone's life may look to us, we never know what's 

going on in their heart. The last leg of Michael's journey was a sad one, while 

Farrah seemed to have come to a place in her life where she understood beauty 

and purpose come from a deeper place. I pray that both of them made their 

peace with God, but only He knows. No matter how far one has strayed or how 

deep the sin stain is on one's life, there is hope for the hopeless. I'm very thankful 

that I am not the judge and that Jesus, who died for sin, judges perfectly. 

 

Reflecting on the life and death of another human being, including those whose 

names have made the walk of fame, we realize this world is not as it should be. 

Deep down we are all looking for something more: perfection. 

 

“But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 

5:48 

 

Whoa. My perfectionist tendencies are revealed to me when I read this verse. I 

know that if I try to be perfect or flawless by my own merit, I am bound to fail. 

 

The dictionary defines flawless as: "without a flaw; a flawless gemstone, being 

complete of its kind and without defect or blemish." When a diamond is being 

judged on a quality level, the one doing the judging follows the 4 C's: cut, color, 

clarity and carat. Thankfully God does not judge on the outside, but sees what is 

going on within us - He looks to our hearts. 

 

 of them!)  

 Don't you long to be flawless? With all my wayward ways and rough edges, I 

have a long road to travel on my journey of faith. I want to be all I can be, but 

need all the grace in God's kingdom to hold me up.  Jesus loves us just as we 

are, but loves us too much to leave us as we are. It’s all about restoration. 

 

In studying the Bible, I am reminded that our English language is quite limited. 

We can be so thankful for those who study the original Greek and Hebrew Bible 

texts, as they increase our understanding of the scriptures so much more. In 

Matthew 5:48, the Greek word for perfect is teleio, which means complete. Jesus 

Christ was the only person who was able to live a complete life because he was 

without sin. As we look to Jesus, our perfect and complete example, we are able 

to see what being complete looks like. In light of this, we can pursue perfection 

by the grace of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, who enables us to 

demonstrate His fruit, as mentioned in Galatians 5: “Love, joy, peace, patience, 

kindness, gentleness, self control, and goodness.” 

 

Here is that same verse from the Amplified Bible, which expands in parenthesis 

the meaning of some words that need clarification.  

"You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in 

mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as 

your heavenly Father is perfect."  

Matthew 5:48 (Amplified Bible) 

 

As a jeweler constantly views gems for flaws and rates them accordingly, the 

world judges with its own standards of perfection. God's Word judges us. Christ 

Jesus is the only perfect judge and as we live in faith and abide in Christ we are 

accepted, secure, significant and loved. Do you struggle with perfectionism? 

Grace covers us all as we seek to have complete dependence on the One who is 

flawless. 

 

“As for God, his ways are perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless.” Psalm 18:30  

 

 

Jodi Kozan is the founder and Executive Director of Women’s Journey of Faith -  

a non-profit, non-denominational ministry to all women. The WJOF team is 

gearing up for their 10th anniversary this fall with their Flawless event: at 

Saskatoon's TCU Place on November 7th with keynote speaker Liz Curtis Higgs, 

and at Calgary's Telus Centre for the first time on November 14th, featuring 

Angela Thomas. For more information, visit their website at www.wjof.com