Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as god in Christ forgave you.
Ever thought you grieved the Holy Spirit? Ever wondered how that was done? It sounds like, this passage means that our speech has the ability to grieve the Holy Spirit of our God!
Proverbs 18:21
Death and Life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. ESV
Life and death in the power of the tongue, wow!
The book of James has something to say about the tongue:
James 1:19
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 1:26
If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
He said our religion is useless if our tongue is out of control. What do you think about that? If we are breaking down our brother or sister in Christ with our words, we are no longer acting as a Christ-follower. We’ve given in and lost the battle. Love isn’t winning!
Look at that next verse as it gives the real definition of religion. Maybe if we were busy with these types of things we would have no time for useless mouth running:
James 1:27
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
If there is anything that I have struggled with in my life, it is my mouth. We read that the tongue has the power of life and death, we read that a fool allows their tongue to come first and say whatever is on one’s mind. We read that the mouth is really the end of the stream for the heart where the junk can easily flow out. It’s like a bursting damn and nearly impossible to control. How can we gain control over it? Honestly, I wonder if it’s as simple as filling our heart up with God’s word, so it’s on our mind instead. Maybe it’s a combination of doing good works, memorizing scripture, and practicing self-control. If we were really following the Greatest Commandment, to love God and love others, wouldn’t we bless (speak well of) our fellow believers, and those God has created with His own purpose?
A great passage to remember – that can help us in this area – when we are tempted to think we are better than another of God’s children is Galatians 5-6. Go through and note all the phrases that deal with what you say or self control, loving your neighbor, satisfying the flesh, etc.
5:1 do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage NKJV
-don’t go back to your old sins
5:4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. NLT
What about when we do not show grace to others when they are sinning? They have the same struggle, we are all made from the same dust. We hold others to the standard of being perfect, yet they are not, they too cannot keep all the law, so we slam them, nit-pick them – that’s a big waste of our time! Instead of spending hours complaining about someone, why not spend hours on our knees praying for them?
5:14-15
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! NKJV
Don’t we all know the Golden Rule? How many of us know this follow-up verse in Galatians about biting and devouring each other?
How much of our time as the church are we spending biting and bickering with one another? Are we in a Christian aquarium where the fish we swim with need to experience some fresh water? Let’s be careful not to devour our brothers and sisters. Let’s instead keep focused on all the fish of the sea! Being busy with loving our neighbors, loving widows and orphans, praying for those in the struggle of life. Loving the lost gives us little time to hurt each other!
Oh God, we so desperately need your help in this area. Everyone struggles with the tongue, pastors, church members, nurses, doctors, moms, dads, teachers, construction workers, we all struggle. We all need Your help. Give us compassion for those you created, help us spend our time praying to You instead, or worshiping You. Let us be a blessing to those who need You rather than the one tearing them apart. We love You Lord, prepare our hearts! Amen.
If there’s any subject matter I could say I know most about, the area I know enough to say I do not need to learn more, it would be the area of failure in one’s Christian walk. Yes, there have been great triumphs, great victories. However, to really understand grace, to really understand the nature of God you must first understand failure. Failure points us to our humanity. It points us to our weaknesses. It shows us our need for His grace – His unmerited favor, forgiveness and kindness.
When I am weak I see His strength. When I am strong I mistakenly think I have no need for God. It’s in my weakness that I run to His arms. Do you too have that happen, when things are going so well, do you talk to God? Joyce Meyer says, “Go to the throne not the phone.” I’m always so horizontal, I could be a lot more vertical in my life!! What would it look like if I ran to Him with all the good things? When things are going great?
My failures could fill a book. I’ve failed over and over again in my marriage, in my parenting, in my friendships, in church relationships, with family members. Do you see a pattern of people pursuing friendships with you or not? Do your family members invite you to stuff? Or are you always trying to push your way in somewhere and discovering later that you didn’t really fit? Maybe you’re like me and you can say, “When it comes to people I’m a total failure”.
I’m not saying all this for a pity party it’s just something I’ve observed. And the best part of knowing you don’t fit with people is that moment when you realize the only one you can truly count on accepting you is Jesus Christ. However, when we discover that every single person on the planet does not like us, love us, or want to be around us, it can be a wakeup call. You might begin to question what God thinks about you, if His church members do not really love you. This is a pivotal moment! Ask yourself, “Who does God say I am?”
Galatians 3:26
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
God says you are a son (or a daughter) of His because of your faith in Jesus! You are accepted because of that faith! You are chosen because of His mercy! You are His!
However, you are also caught in a struggle, you are still on this earth, in this body, in this flesh. You are still living where you will have to face temptation, persecution, and weakness. You are still in a place where you have many faults and perfection is unachievable.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9
“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Romans 7:15-20 NRSV
Paul says, “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me”.
Now, you know you are not perfect, but what about the people you are failing in relationships with? Are they perfect? Are you expecting them to be, then upset with them because they are not? I think our relationships fail because of our unrealistic expectations. We are expecting more than a flawed human being can give. When we consider who we are in Christ and then who we are in this life, and our desperate need for His mercy we should remember those around us also need His strength in their weakness. If you’re failing miserably at relationships think about that, think about who He says you are, and who He says your friends, or family members are to Him.
Remember failure is not always a bad thing. It can put us onto the straight narrow path. It can show us the right way! Check out this article on some famous people who have failed and look where they ended up. Failure does not have to be the end, it can be the beginning of something even better!
Francis Chan really makes me think, I love to watch his videos on YouTube. He has a way of giving you a perspective that will allow you to see important truths.
1 JOHN 1:5-10 NEB
Here is the message we heard from him and pass on to you: that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to be sharing in His life while we walk in the dark, our words and our lives are a lie; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, then we share together a common life, and we are being cleansed from every sin by the blood of Jesus His Son. If we claim to be sinless, we are self-deceived and strangers to the truth. If we confess our sins, he is just, and may be trusted to forgive our sins and cleans us from every kind of wrong; but if we say we have committed no sin, we make him out to be a liar, and then His word has no place in us.
John was an Apostle of Jesus and an eyewitness to Jesus’ life. This letter is written to Christians and has a great emphasis on protection from false teachers. Some people in that day doubted that Jesus was God in the flesh. He was dealing with this. He also spoke about believer’s enjoying the fellowship of their salvation in Jesus. So having joy and having fellowship. If you have accepted Jesus, believed in the Gospel, confessed our sins, you are made right with God, so he is telling you what that looks like. John also pointed out some things the believer needs to know about God to enjoy a lasting fellowship with Him.
Let’s focus in on the idea of confession, our heart towards confession, what happens to us when we confess and after we confess. Today my hope is that each person who reads through this ends with knowing they are forgiven.
That passage does not read:
“If we make alms for our sins…”
“If we do penance for our sins…”
“If we do everything right and never sin…”
It reads, “If we confess our sins, He is just, and may be trusted to forgive our sins and cleans us from every kind of wrong;
There is an excellent story of someone confessing their sin to God in Luke 18:9-14:
This parable was aimed at those who were sure of their own goodness and looked down on everyone else. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer. The Pharisee stood up and prayed thus: “I thank thee, O God, that I am not like the rest of men, greedy, dishonest, adulterous; or, for that matter, like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.” But the other kept his distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but beat upon his breast, saying, “O God, have mercy on me, sinner that I am.” It was this man, I tell you, and not the other, who went home acquitted of his sins. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled; and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.’
Did you see the heart of the men when they confessed? One was so sorry, he could not even look up! The other was full of pride. Have you ever been in either of their shoes? Have you ever been so broken by your sin that you could not lift your head!? Have you ever thought I’m good, I don’t cheat on my taxes, I give stuff away every now and then, I haven’t murdered anybody, I don’t need God’s help?
Maybe you’ve had an entirely different scenario when it came to confession, maybe you were trying to hide to your sin. How many of you can remember your very first sin, that you knew you did something wrong, and you completely regretted it? Raise your hands if you think you remember it.
When I was a little girl, maybe 7 or 8 years old I had my first confession at St. Benedict’s, my childhood church.
Internet Photo of St. Benedict’s Catholic Church
It was an incredible experience because a few weeks earlier I had been tempted to do something wrong.
I was at the church with my mom folding the bulletins in the church office. The desk I was sitting at had the most incredible drawer filled with all kinds of staplers, tapes, paper clips, rubber bands, it was just full of good stuff.
There was even a roll of stamps. Now my dad always sent letters with stamps on them, so naturally I loved stamps. This roll of stamps was brand new and looked like so much fun. So when no one was looking I took it out of the drawer and put it in my pocket for later. The problem was when I got home I didn’t know what to do with it, I realized I had stolen a very valuable thing and had to hide it so my mom didn’t find it.
Now those stamps constantly haunted me from their hiding place in my play kitchen and I wished every day I could just put them back but at some point they were discovered. So did I confess? No, I concocted a story that my dad had given me the stamps for writing him letters. My mom actually began borrowing them to pay bills! I was stuck, not a good thief and a worse liar. When I arrived at church the next week to fold bulletins there was a note in the drawer saying “Stay out of this drawer”, staring back at me!!
Fast forward to the first confession, the priests were lined up in a huge classroom along the back row of tables, each one within inches of the next. Why hadn’t they taken us to the shrouded dark confessional booth I was longing for? I thought we were going to get to use that, this was awful, “now I can’t say a word”. I thought. Now I needed to lie to cover up my lying and my stealing.
“I know!!! I’ll confess that I stole my sister’s pencils from her drawer.” Which was also not true, but those pencils in the drawer and all the stuff in there looked so appealing so when she cleaned it out I always took what I could salvage from her trash. I marched up and without any eye contact let him know I had stolen from big sis. “Ah finally it’s over”, but then he asked, “Anything else?” Of course there was something else, but I wasn’t saying. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough, sweat was rolling off of me, I couldn’t breath.
If only we had been able to confess in the dark, I was so afraid in that well lit room where everyone could see me!
This sin had a big result. It was the first sin I remember, I felt guilt, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders and I was sure that I was doomed because of it. I knew a darkness at that moment.
Confession is part of fellowship, fellowship with believers, and ultimately fellowship with God. Had I just confessed to that priest I would not have carried around that sin for most of my adult life.
What really happens when you confess?
The Light comes in.
Have you ever heard how powerful light is, to our eyes? Absolute dark hides everything but the light of a tiny match can be seen by your human eye in absolute darkness up to 30 miles away. Think of a city that’s 30 miles away from where you are! That’s powerful!
Have you ever experienced complete darkness?
My first job in high school had an initiation of being shut in, locked in, the food freezer with the light turned out. Since I’m afraid of the dark I won’t tell you the exact words I used as I finally escaped to the light but that darkness was unbelievable and when the light hit my eyes it was blinding.
Another time I experienced total darkness was photography class in college when we learned to develop our own film it was a very difficult process where you had to feel your way through the dark, and another was in Haiti.
Only 12% of their country has electricity. So at night when the city turns off its power the streets go black. This is an internet satellite photo of Haiti in the dark.
Satellite Photo from Internet
I can still remember the strangeness of it all as I could hear everyone but not see past the porch, the missionaries run generators powered by car batteries to maintain lighting. You still hear babies crying and know that moms are trying to care for little ones by the sounds and by feeling their way through the dark.
One night the city’s power came back on for some reason and the screams we heard in the streets were unbelievable, I thought people were dying or something. The people were rejoicing, screaming at the top of their lungs! Light had pierced the darkness! They could see!
Hebrews 4:13 in the NIV says,
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
One day everything will be known, everything you’ve ever done, said, stolen, lied about, everything you said you do but didn’t, everything you wouldn’t give away, everything you thought will be known. Maybe you’re reading this today carrying around the weight of your first sin, or your sin yesterday and it’s eating you up inside.
Maybe you want that fellowship with God, maybe you do not feel forgiven.
1 John 1:9 from the NIV says,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
He doesn’t say it’s up to you to feel forgiven, He says HE IS FAITHFUL and HE WILL FORGIVE US. We just need to confess our sins to Him. Accept His forgiveness and Believe we are forgiven.
Sometimes when it comes to confession and dealing with sin, you may have a spiritual struggle, a dilemma. Have you ever confessed, known you were forgiven and then later been reminded of the sin and felt lost that feeling of being forgiven?
Let’s talk for a minute about the difference between condemnation and conviction. Condemnation is punishment for evil and used for unbelievers, conviction is from the Holy Spirit and a tool for discipline and redemption of those who follow Jesus. One is healthy for the follower, the other is disparaging.
RESULTS OF SIN WILL GIVE YOU EITHER CONDEMNATION OR CONVICTION, DEPENDING ON WHAT YOU ARE BELIEVING IN FAITH:
Condemnation
From the darkness of sin.
Judgement focused
John 10:10 -“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…”
Constantly being reminded with thoughts of failure.
Thinking of the same sin over and over and over again.
Not feeling forgiven.
Conviction
From the light of the Holy Spirit.
Redemption focused
Romans 8:1 “There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…”
Being prompted to seek God’s redeeming forgiveness.
Freedom knowing you are forgiven.
John 10:10
Jesus came to give life, but the thief steals and kills. Think of death when you think of condemnation.
Romans 8:1
For there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Think of life when you think of conviction.
Know this Church, He has a plan for you to have fellowship with Him. That plan includes confession. It includes His merciful grace shown to you through conviction for your sin and ultimately forgiveness.
Two years ago I went to the Walk to Emmaus, a Christian gathering for 3 days where you receive the love of God at the hands of the church. It’s like no other church experience you will ever have and gives you a vision for the Church and what it could be. It’s amazing. You sleep on air mattresses and do not wear a watch but you taste Christianity at its finest! While there I experienced the peace that comes from absolute, supreme forgiveness. There was an experience where I felt like I stood at the throne of God and knew His covering was on me. I knew His peace because I was sorry for my sin of not forgiving those who hurt me, I confessed it, accepted His forgiveness. It was quiet. It was still. It was a picture of God had not yet seen, I did not know how peaceful He is. Now I long for that – I’m homesick for that. I want His forgiveness so I can experience His peace. St. Augustine said it best, “Lord, thou madest us for thyself, and we can find no rest till we find rest in Thee.”
When the sin barrier is removed you’re free! When you forgive the one who hurt you, when you let go of the past, when you focus on real life with Jesus, you’re usable for His kingdom work to be done!
You are no longer useless. When I was stuck in unforgiveness I was useless.
Jesus calls you, the one who has confessed the one who has been forgiven, a city set on a hill!
Matthew 5:14 NOAB
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
When I was trapped in the freezer in the dark, someone helped me out and opened the door, then I could see. When the people of Haiti had the lights come back on the people rejoiced, they could see. Living in the dark, living with your sin tucked away hidden in your heart is just like fumbling around. Think of the mom trying to diaper a kid in the dark. It would not go well. Think of trying to develop film in the dark, if I had not had a teacher there who knew where the lights were I would’ve stayed in the dark room forever.
Darkness is disorienting. But the light allows you to see. When you confess – you come out of the dark. When you confess you have such freedom. When you tell the priest, “Hey it was me, I took the stamps, here’s some new ones that you can use to tell people about Jesus, please tell people about Jesus!” When you confess and say God, I didn’t forgive, please forgive me. He does, He does forgive you!
You’re free from the dark! God sees it all anyways, why not be free from it?
Luke 8:17 says,
“For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to the light.”
Why not confess it, get it off your chest and be in the light? When you’re carrying around the darkness of sin, be it unforgiveness, hatred, a painful past experience that has left you bitter, whatever it is – you might as well be carrying around a 50 lbs. of rocks, uphill.
Photo from the Internet
It’s not going to do anything but weigh you down, make you walk slower, keep you in a place where you are not good for anything else. It breaks you down. But when you confess it and allow God to deal with it, you find freedom!
The other day I had a chance to talk with a fella that had invested in me as a teenager and knew me while I was in such a dark place, I was addicted and a mess. He said the last time I ever saw you, you were totally wasted, sitting on the edge of picnic table and the next thing I knew you were lying on the ground. That man could not believe the change in me! He went wild and hugged me and just smiled like a crazy person! He saw the Light in me! The darkness is gone, the empty hollow heart is filled with fellowship with God! He could see that!
You know, we have a sin problem. It is our darkness, and God knows this, His remedy is the blood of Jesus Christ. He is our covering. When He looks at us He sees His Son, He sees the light of the world.
Our sin can do one of two things, it can drive us further and further away from God, or it can show us our need for Him. We need His light to outshine our darkness. The world needs to see His light and we are here to show them His light!
Your church is a city on a hill to those in the dark. The lost are wondering around looking for the answer, they’re fumbling in the dark. And you church member, you have the Gospel in your hearts.
Let the Church be the place you find His light. Let the church you are a part of be a place that reflects His light. Let the Church be a place where he hear from Him, let it be where the door gets open, where the light is shining in the dark, let us be a city on a hill. Let your church be one where confession is important enough we take time to do it where we bend our knees church to the God that gave them to us. Let our churches be a safe haven from the darkness of our world where we know we are forgiven, we are reminded of His covering for our sin and where the world can come and know Him also in this way! And ultimately Church let our churches be a place where you get prepared, where you experience forgiveness and peace and where you welcome in and go out to the stranger, so they too can know that amazing experience of God’s grace.
When you are forgiven and believing in Jesus, you are gonna do great things! Jesus said in John 14:12, “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.”
My challenge to you is to confess your sin, get rid of it. Let it go, like the Frozen theme song. know that Jesus gave you permission to be the light in the dark! When you are living for Jesus, your life is like the match 30 miles away for those in the dark. It’s like the lights going on in Haiti, like a person opening the freezer door! My prayer for you, Jesus follower, is one of boldness to go live out John 14:12, make Jesus’ words come true with all you have. Be the light! Be the city on the hill!
I’m challenging you to say it out loud.
Find a friend you can trust, talk to them and spill the beans, just let them know this is what I did or this is what I’m struggling with. Once you do that you might feel awful and worry they’re not going to love you but I can assure you the power that the sin has had over you will begin to fade. It weakens it when it’s spoken out loud and healing will begin.
Take time for the confession booth today, write it all down, be specific, get it off your chest and then when you’re done confessing, and making it right with God or whoever your sin is against, know you have been forgiven.
STEPS TO THE CONFESSION BOOTH
Write out your sins, be specific
Find a friend you can trust
Confess your sins – say it out loud
Make it right if you can
Know you’re forgiven
There is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ! Live your life as worship to your God! He longs to see us reflecting His grace and forgiveness in our broken world. He longs for you to accept His love through His forgiveness, for you to know who you really are, His precious forgiven child. Surrender it all to Him today! He wants to use you, He wants you to make Him famous. Know you are forgiven, and He has a plan and purpose for you today!
Oh God, some of us are struggling today. We do not feel forgiven. We do not think we deserve your forgiveness but You gave it to us freely. We need You! God be with us, show us the way, show us the truth. Be our light in the dark! Oh God let our hearts reflect your light to our broken neighborhoods, to our cities, to our country and our world. Let us do great things in Your name we pray. Amen.
Have you ever felt like God was far away? Like He couldn’t hear you? It makes you desperate, doesn’t it? You cry out, “Oh God, where am I? Am I yours? Am I Yours? Can I be separated from You? I do not know if you hear me! I do not know if I’m in the right place or not! Can I hear from You again?”
What it must have been like for Adam and Eve, to have known You and then to become separated from you. Even their son was cut off from you by his own choice. Yet You were gracious to them. You gave them Seth. And something different happened:
Genesis 4:26
At that time men began to invoke the Lord by name.
They began to call You by a name; they began to proclaim the name of “Yahweh”.
[Yahweh Yehovah (Strong’s 3068) the self-existent or Eternal; Jewish national name of God.]
You cry out to God, “You have looked after me all my life, for every breath, every heartbeat. And now I cannot feel you, I think I cannot hear you. There has to be something You want me to learn from this.” What would God want you to learn from pulling back His presence? Could it be a test of your faith?
Maybe it’s immediate obedience. Maybe it’s to call on Him alone. Maybe it’s to not allow our heart to stay angry and unforgiving. Whatever it is, we can only beg Yahweh, to be merciful.
He is the Creator, the eternal One, He knows all things! If this is a test of faith know that while you walk through it, you should remain faithful, and keep looking for what He wants you to learn. Also know you are not alone, even Mother Theresa and many other giants of the faith have gone through such a time.
Ask yourself, is it wise of me to trust my feelings in this moment? Or should I simply trust in the Word already spoken to me by my Father?
Pray this prayer, “Dear Father, You know ALL things! You know what’s making this separation. I beg You remove it!!! I am begging! I am sorry for my sin, I’m sorry for wanting You to be a vending machine. If this is a test of my faith, I pray that I remain faithful to You alone and help me to stand on the knowledge and wisdom of your word, trusting it before I dare trust my feelings. I just beg Your presence to be back in my life, have mercy on me Lord!! Let a new thing happen, a new song be planted in my heart and a new blessing arise from this hard time. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Allowing your anger to control you is allowing Satan to master you. Who wants to be mastered by the enemy of God? Satan literally sets his sights on us, and waits for the opportune moment to strike. Why do we give him a victory?
1 Peter 5:8 ESV
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
God tells Cain, to be careful of his sin which was anger. He warns him about the way sin works, it will master you. How many days do I allow my anger, my disappointment, my broken heart to rule me? For years, since 2008 and even as a little girl I wanted to move to a 3rd world country to work among the impoverished. Though I long for this, my husband does not always have it on his radar screen. He is busily providing for our family, securing us with his 9-5 and finding activities to do around the house. This has driven a wedge between us. I’m excited for global missions and he’s on a mission to stay put. It can be a heart-breaker to long for something someone else doesn’t yet see. Having to trust in the midst of the situation can either lead to anger, frustration and brokenness or greater faith in God’s plan that I cannot see.
At one point I really felt that I laid it all back on Jesus’ big shoulders, for Him to carry. Yet there are these days where I try to carry it around. It’s probably like Cain, I could take it all to God but I choose to let it fester in my heart. Oh God, I cry out to you, do not let my sin become my master! You are my master!
Genesis 4:4-7 NEB
The day came when Cain brought some of the produce of the soil as a gift to the Lord; and Abel brought some of the first-born of his flock, the fat portions of them. The Lord received Abel and his gift with favour; but Cain and his gift he did not receive. Can was very angry and his face fell. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you so angry and cast down?
If you do well, you are accepted;
If not, sin is a demon crouching at the door.
It shall be eager for you, and you will be mastered by it.’
We all know the rest of the story, Cain leads his brother out to the second location and hits him on the head with a fatal blow. God then hears the blood of Abel calling out to him from the ground! God banishes Abel from any good thing and sends him off to make it alone.
Listen to what my favorite commentator says about Cain’s anger:
“Cain was so angry he could not be talked out of his sin- even by God. Eve, however, had to be talked into her sin by Satan; but Cain “belonged to the evil one” (1 John 3:12). It is as if he count not wait to destroy his brother – a natural man’s solution to his own failure. God’s advice was that if Cain would please God by doing what is right, all would be well. But if not, sin would be crouching (“robes” is used here in the figure of a crouching animal) at his door, ready to overcome him. Sin desires to have Cain (these words show Gods interpretation of “desire” the same Heb. Word, in Gen. 3:16), but Cain could have the mastery over it. Here is the perpetual struggle between good and evil. Anyone filled with envy and strife is prey for the evil one.” (The Bible Knowledge Commentary. P.34)
“Oh Lord, do not allow the envy, strife, and anger to fill me. Instead You fill me. Let me be overflowing with your love and grace, even when I am wounded and uncertain. Stitch me back together with extra healings of your peace I pray!! Do not let anger have the best of me. I am Your child and I long to please You, my Master! Amen.”
Did you know Jesus said, if you are His follower, you would be His witness?
Acts 1:8 NIV
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
He said, you will BE MY WITNESSES! Isn’t this exciting? Or is it making your knees shake? Maybe you just got an image in your mind of people coming to your door putting a damnation track in your hand, or interrupting your beach party to tell you about Jesus. Maybe you envisioned traveling to Africa, contracting Malaria and losing your life in a jungle somewhere. But maybe Jesus just wants you to love the neighbor he moved next door to you. Or maybe he wants to bless you as you go to a foreign country and realize that all your American dream effort has been a lie and materialism is ravaging you and sinking you in deeper and deeper debt.
Romans 10:14
“How, then, can they call on the one in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?”
My kids always ask me about the person across the ocean that has never ever heard the name of Jesus. “Will they go to heaven?” God is a gentleman, and doesn’t force Himself on anyone, but what about those who haven’t heard? What are we doing to reach the unreached? What are our churches doing? Did you ever hear the statistic that 99.9% of every US tithe dollar is spent right here in the US for US ministry? That blows my mind, but so does the statistic on how much we spend annually on soda pop. We could give fresh water to every person on the globe I’ve heard if we just gave up the pop that rots our teeth and fattens our butts.
So what if God plants a person in front of you that wants to know more about Jesus. Are you prepared to share with them, what they need to know? Do you know how to share the Gospel, assuming you’ve made a friendship with them, and have earned the right to speak truth into their lives?
1 Peter 3:15 NIV
“But in your hearts revere 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…”
This verse says, “ALWAYS BE PREPARED”!
When you decided to follow Jesus you were given a new song in your heart. You were made into a new creation. That makes you live life with a new perspective, do things differently, think differently.
Psalm 40:3 NLT
He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the LORD.
He has given you a new song in your heart!
To be prepared for sharing your faith with someone that is truly hungry for Jesus, you might try this simple method. On a notebook page write down:
LIFE BEFORE CHRIST WAS…
WHEN I DECIDED TO FOLLOW CHRIST…
NOW WITH CHRIST LIFE IS…
Finish each statement and keep it brief. You can write out an elaborate depiction of your conversion experience (your testimony) and then condense it. Most people cannot listen past 5 minutes, some 30 seconds! So know your audience. Think of what relates to the listener. Don’t go down rabbit trails just share the facts. Your life before Jesus was dark, lonely and missing something. Maybe you were a drug addict always looking for something to fill you up. Then you met Jesus, maybe it took twenty times but it finally stuck and now you’re hooked on a new thing, the Thing, the love of Jesus. Now life has purpose and meaning and you feel fulfilled.
I’ve heard that people can argue easily about historical evidence, about scientific facts concerning both creation and evolution but what’s really difficult to argue with is your own personal experience with life before and after Christ. So don’t be afraid to share.
Now a note on WHEN to share with someone…
Sharing Jesus doesn’t mean we force people, argue with people, or fight with people. It’s something natural liking sharing a piece of pie with someone sitting at our table after we’ve just enjoyed a big meal together. I’m not handing out dessert without coffee and without first eating supper. I’m not sharing Jesus without sharing love. I’m not sharing Jesus without first getting to know the person, being there for them as Billy Hybels said I’m not sharing Jesus without “Barbecuing first”. Rick Warren said, “Jesus doesn’t need defense attorneys”, we are only His witnesses.
Dear God we pray you would help us be Your witnesses, even when it’s hard, or scary or uncomfortable, even when we are afraid of being rejected. And show us when to talk and when to shut up and just listen and help us love in a way that we never push or force people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
In Matthew 28:18-20 we can read the Great Commission. It says, “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Today I want to answer a few questions for you. What is the Church? What is the Church’s Message? What is the Church’s Mission? And what should its motive be? When you decided to follow Jesus, what did that include, what did that mean for your life? Let’s look at the big picture of those questions, and then we will look at a few first steps towards answering them. I want to give you practical ways you can step forward to answer the Great Commission individually and as a member of your Church.
Look at Mark 16:15. It is also a Great Commission verse, it says, “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”.
Let’s look at Acts 1:8, another Great Commission verse:
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 can be used alongside Matthew 28:18-20, to help us understand the “who” and the “where” much better.
When you hear Jerusalem, think of your local neighborhood (their ministry to the Jews), their city, Judea their neighboring cities and Samaria, think of the Gentiles or our neighbors (in America) the Canadians or Mexicans their neighboring countries. Then we hear the ends of the earth, to them might have been like Rome, to us New York City, Paris, Port-Au-Prince, Calcutta, Ethiopia, San Francisco. No one is off limits in the great commission.
Photo:BibleHistory.com
Let’s look more into the “Who” Are We Going To…
Missionary and author, Robertson McQuilkin reports that, “There are 400 million evangelicals in the world. Some of these are no doubt lost, but at least that many people believe Jesus is the only way of salvation and that through faith in Him one is forgiven and made a member of God’s family.
Surely some who are not evangelical also have saving faith. So let us double the number to a hypothetical 800 million. Those who remain number more than 6 billion people, or 9 of every 10 on earth. These are the lost – longing for salvation but not finding it or trusting some other way to find meaning and hope.
Not that long ago, one of every two lived in a tribe or culture or language group that had no evangelizing church at all. Today, we can thank God it may be one in every three. But whatever the precise numbers may be, there are billions of people who, unless someone goes to them from outside their culture, have no way of knowing about Jesus.”
So the who includes all nations, all who are without Jesus, in Zanesville, in Columbus, Ohio, in Kentucky, the USA, Canada, Saudia Arabia, China, all who do not know Jesus.
Did you already know what the 10/40 Window was? That’s something I learned about just a few years ago. And I’d like to share a little more info with you about it from the Joshua Project:
“The 10/40 Window is the rectangular area of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia approximately between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude. The 10/40 Window is often called “The Resistant Belt” and includes the majority of the world’s Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. The 10/40 Window includes several …countries, such as Indonesia, that have high concentrations of unreached peoples. Approximately 4.75 billion individuals residing in an estimated 8,447 distinct people groups are in the 10/40 Window. (62.5 %) of these people groups are considered unreached and have a population of 2.91 billion (61.3 %). The 10/40 Window is home to some of the largest unreached people groups in the world such as the Shaikh, Yadava, Turks, Moroccan Arabs, Pashtun, Jat and Burmese.”-Joshua Project
Why do you need to know about the 10/40 Window? Why does your church need to know about it? If you looked closer at the map, you could see that the origins of Christianity can be traced back to that very area. You can see that where Christianity was once spreading is now being banned. You can see that billions of people in that part of the world will one day die and face their Creator. We all know 1 out of 1 dies. Who do you know that are praying for these people, who do you know that are actually going to them sharing Jesus’ name? What can we do about the 10/40 Window?
We can pray, we can go, we can send.
Many closed nations or areas where the government prohibits Christianity and evangelism, mission work, exist in the 10/40 window. Spend some time today researching this area of your world. Understand that this is the area where Buddhism, Islam, Atheism, and Hinduism prevail. Where poverty is rampant and prayer is the greatest need. Pray for this area today. Research ways to make an impact in this area. Sometimes even your shirt you’re wearing today is made inside these countries. I heard about a t-shirt prayer movement where you pray for the country in your shirt tag as you put on each day. Many churches as part of the missions and outreach focus on and even adopt a people group that’s unreached to pray for. Ask your church leadership what they are doing about the unreached in your world.
Often when we hear about this Great Commission we are tempted and reminded of all the “what ifs” and the “I could nots…”, we think we are too old, too young, not educated, not smart enough, or wealthy enough. We think we are too far away. Let me tell you about too old…
Mother Theresa at age 86 operated nearly 517 different missions in 100 countries. She passed away in 1997 at 87 years of age and life leaving a legacy of selflessness. She did not allow her age, or her circumstances in life to stop her from reaching out to the hopeless.
“On the day of the Nazi imposed boycott in Berlin, of Jewish stores and businesses Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s grandmother Julie, who happened to be 91 years old and under a hundred pounds, marched right passed some Nazi’s who were barricading Jewish storefronts and exclaimed, “I will shop where I want to”. She was not squashed by fear, limited by age. She walked forward in the face of a giant.
Do you think you are too young to make a difference? Hudson Taylor was less than 30 years old when he founded China Inland Mission. He was 17 when he felt God calling him to China. “By the time of Taylor’s death in 1905, the CIM was an international body with 825 missionaries living in all eighteen provinces of China, more than 300 stations of work, more than 500 local Chinese helpers, and 25,000 Christian converts.”
Psalms 118:6 says, “The Lord is on my side, I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Romans 8:31 says, “…If God is for us, who can be against us?”
We may think we are too old we may think we are too young, I for one have always felt I was too young. I had too much trouble speaking, too many issues, not enough tact, I always felt not good enough to share the Gospel, to be a missionary, to cross cultures and boundaries and oceans and tell people of the love of Jesus.
Back in 2008 I felt the distinct calling on my heart to go to Haiti with my church. This would mean I’d have to gather up $1800, I’d have to fly in a plane, I’d see the ocean for the first time from up above, and never smell it, I’d go where I did not have a phone, internet, or a way to call home, I’d use a cold shower, and most difficult l would leave my 4 precious babies at home. Gathering money for that trip meant writing letters, we were pay-check to pay-check people and even though I knew people might not give I wrote anyway.
God showed me how people leave change all over the place so I started collecting pennies and wouldn’t you know one time I turned in 40 some dollars and another 70 some dollars, I started seeing pennies everywhere I went, on every bathroom floor and sidewalk. God was making a way for me to get there, like pennies rained from the sky. I was the last person to turn in the money but it got turned in all $1800. Some of the people that gave to me weren’t even Christians. Though God was providing, and doors opening, simultaneously it seemed like a lot of opposition kept coming my way, and I would question and think “what if”, “I can not…” The day I was to fly out, my temperature soared to 103 degrees, I was very sick but nothing would stop me, I was Haiti bound, I was going to answer the call! Too young, not educated enough, too much of a talker, not enough money, simple mom and housewife, I was still going! Because I knew with God all things truly are possible.
Haiti is the poorest nation in our hemisphere. It is a country where the literacy rate is only 53%. That means half its people cannot read at all. Only 12% of the population has electricity. The average yearly income is between $300 and $1200 US dollars. Though no one there would ever readily admit to you, their poorest of the poor regularly make and eat cakes from dirt. When you arrive in Haiti you are immediately met by the smell of Haiti. Things have improved slightly now after the 7.0 Magnitude earthquake that hit the country in Jan. of 2010 however there is still much to be done, in the island that is only 2 hours away by air from one of the richest and most capable countries in the world. Any student that wants an education in Haiti has to pay for it. And with an annual income as low as it is – many are unable to afford the 300-600$ a year tuition. 80% of the population is below poverty lines, with 54% in abject poverty.
On my first trip there I crossed cultural lines, I flew in a plane, I saw the ocean for the first time and I fell in love with a people that not only knew God, they worshiped Him for 3 hours on Sunday in seats made of wood that nearly made me pass out from pain to sit on. There was also a darkness there, it is a place where you will seek God like you’ve never sought Him before, and it’s a place where you still see absolute miracles but also incredible plights of sadness. Haiti is a place we, as followers of Jesus, should not ignore. It is full of the most incredibly brave, wonderful people you’ll ever have the privilege of knowing! Mwen renmen Ayiti!! -I love Haiti!
A boy bringing home water from a well for the day.
Years after the earthquake there are still many people living in makeshift tents (tarps stretched over sticks with dirt floors), where at night hungry rats invade and women are raped. It’s our neighbor and there are still people there who do not know Jesus, and need to know His love in practical ways.
On my last trip there in a room filled with about 40 kids, mostly boys around 11-12 years of age, with a show of hands only 4 of them regularly attended any kind of church or had Christian families, and the majority answered they did not know how to read.
Haiti was a wakeup call for me. It made me think about my neighboring countries, my neighboring cities, even my next door neighbors. It made me realize how important it is to share my faith and to shower love even on the loveless person next door.
Have you ever gone next door to love your neighbor, the one your neighbors wish would move away? Have you mowed their grass when their lawn mower is broken? Have you shoveled their snow, brought them a pie? Fixed their car? Given them a car? These things can be done you know, just to share the name of Jesus. The Church needs to be known for its crazy radical love!!! Not crazy behavior. I repeat, the Church needs to be known for its crazy love!!! Before you know it, your other neighbors might get involved and mow the grass before you can even get to it – trust me, I’ve had it happen.
You see, sharing the Gospel is sometimes using whatever you have, going where no one else will go, doing what no one else wants to do. Then look what God does, it gets contagious! We’ve talked a good bit about what it means to go. There’s another part of answering the call. What about sending?
Charles Swindoll told the story of “A famous artist once was asked to paint a picture of a dying church. It was expected that he would paint a small and humble congregation in a dilapidated building. Instead, he painted a stately edifice with a rich pulpit and magnificent windows – and near the door, an offering box, marked “Missions”, with the contribution slot blocked by cobwebs.”
Maybe you physically cannot travel the world to share the Gospel. A friend of ours named Jim was always going back and forth to Haiti but one day his health became such a problem he could no longer go. So he took what he would have spent and gave it to my husband. My husband went to Haiti for the first time because of that donation. He was able to use his welding skills to save a well from destruction for a community near Croix des Bouquet. There is something to be said also about those who send people to answer this calling of going. Amazingly, it was a well that we had given towards the funding of earlier on. It was amazing for him to be a part of the project!
Missions are like a buffet, like a giant feast, step out and try something, you can’t possibly eat everything at a buffet, well maybe you could but you shouldn’t. Try one thing. Of course the easiest thing may be to start with is prayer. Prayer is like the water, you cannot eat at a buffet without something to drink. Try praying about missions.
It has been my privilege to work with international students for the last 4 years. 800,000 of them come into the US annually and 85% of them never enter an American home. They come from closed off to the Gospel nations like China, India, and Saudi Arabia. Have you thought about becoming a host family to a student? They live on campus but eat dinner with you once or twice a month, attend family activities and learn about your culture, country, traditions and faith all while you practice showing them hospitality.
As I have my experience with the poorest people in my hemisphere I’ve also had experience with the richest. Some of the students you meet in this international student mission field are at the top of the socioeconomic chart, they live in the lap of luxury but can I tell you they are just as poor as my Haitian friends, as my drug addicted friends, as the kid who lives on the street. They are poor because they do not know they have a soul. They do not know they are created with a purpose and loved by God. They do not know the word grace, the meaning of it and that it’s free for the taking if they accept Jesus Christ. No one has told them, no one has shown them. The majority of the students I work with come from the 10/40 window. They will never know the name of Jesus, unless someone tells them. Look for an opportunity in your area to get involved with internationals.
So to Recap:
The Church is Jesus’ Messenger
The Church’s Message is the Gospel
The Church’s Mission includes the Whole World
And the Church’s Motive is always to love God, and love others.
Follower of Jesus, you are a messenger of Jesus, called to be a witness for Him to the whole world with the motive of love!
Take a moment to remember how Jesus came into the world, do not forget how He left all He had and came here in obedience to the Father for our redemption. How He came and gave up His life for you and me. Do not be afraid to step forward to serve Him, He is at the right hand of God right now making intercessions for us. He loves you, He will not allow you to be separated from that love, He calls you conquerors! He said be bold and courageous, He said be my witnesses. He said go and make disciples in My name, teach them, baptize them. Jesus said, love God your Father with all your heart with all you have, and love others!! Jesus said, the gates of hell will not prevail against His church.
What are we waiting on? There’s a whole world outside your door that needs to know the love of their Savior, that needs to know the Gospel, that Jesus Christ came and bled and died as the sacrifice for their sins and was raised to life and they too can know Him and know that their sins are nailed to the cross. They are nailed to the cross. They can have a new life in Him.
Ask yourself these questions:
When is the last time you saw someone commit their life to Christ or asked someone how they are doing with their walk of faith?
Are you currently or would you be willing to pray for a neighbor, classmate, cousin, old friend, your city or a country to know the love of Jesus and accept Him as their Savior and then follow Him with their life?
Are you willing to go if He calls? Are you willing to send? Are you willing to pray?
Remember Jesus gave His life willingly for you and for the whole world. They nailed Him to the tree, How can I not respond as being His witness when my Savior was nailed to a tree for me?
Have you ever seen Schindler’s List, the movie? Oskar Schindler who saved over a thousand Jews during the Holocaust realizes he could’ve done more, a reminder for us of what we are willing to give up to answer the call. When I saw this video clip in this context it pierced my heart. There’s nothing in this life more important than Jesus Christ. If you haven’t seen it go watch it. When you watch, think about holding on to everything so tight and think about letting go, going, sending, praying. Think about your neighbor, think about that 10/40 Window and billions of people, think about the poor both in food and things – but in spirit also. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to respond.
Lately I’ve been studying through the book of Mark. While reading it, I’ve had the firm impression that God wants to prepare my heart. He wants all of us who follow Him to be prepared for Him. As the church, we are His bride and He loves us, so naturally we should as a bride be prepared for our marriage with Him.
Mark 13 describes an incredible time of tribulation that Jesus knew His followers would one day face, and it describes also the final tribulation that will happen in the last days. I will not read the whole text but listen to the warning words of Jesus in Mark 13:
Take heed that no one deceives you
But watch out for yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils…
And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake… But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
But woe to those who are pregnant and nursing babies in those days.
But take heed, I have told you all things beforehand.
How will we withstand such a day? In 70 AD, Jerusalem was devoured to the point even the foundation stones of the recently completed temple were literally dug up. There was a greatly trying time then for Jesus’ followers and Jews. Women nursing babes did have to flee but this tribulation was just a foreshadowing one that gives a glimpse of the great one to come.
God is so patient, but He does keep His word. If He says this will happen, it will. Like the bride and groom sending out invitations, and preparing the guest list, we too should get prepared. He will return someday, will we be waiting for Him? Will our hearts be prepared?
Before the return, He says there will be “tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the creation”. Now that said, I don’t want us to get caught up like doomsday preppers trying to stockpile food, or teaching courses on editable wild greens. Those things are all great to know, and honestly I do not know if the Church will be removed from this time of tribulation or not I sure hope so, but what I do hope to focus on is the fact that Jesus thought it important enough to warn us, to prepare us. To get His bride ready to meet Him.
He said, “Take heed…”, “Watch out…”, “Woe to…”these are all warning words. Our Lord is warning us so we can be prepared. Dear Father, prepare our hearts.
Think about your desires over the past week…
Psalm 42:1 says, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, oh God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before my God?”
Matthew 22:37-38
‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’. This is the first and great commandment. –Jesus said.
What is the 1st thing that comes to my mind when I ask myself,
“What is my heart’s greatest desire”?
What about our church, what is its greatest desire? Some church’s greatest desire is to have the largest congregation, the best soup kitchen, the best praise band, or the most excellent children’s programming in the whole area. Those are all great things. But what if they have that all and forget to love one another, what if they forget to love God? What if they’re doing it all out of obligation, not at all with the motive of love?
Let’s look at a church from 2000 years ago, the Church at Ephesus located in a major seaport city, “the location of the great temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. “ Think of this church like the Chrystal Cathedral or the mega-church of Joel Osteen, Lakewood or Bill Hybel’s Willowcreek. It was big, powerful, well known, and many people passed through its town and were affected by it. Yet with all their “programming” and activities they had forgotten their first love. They had forgotten the greatest command ever given. To love God.
Revelation 2:1-5 is written by Christ to this church, through the mouthpiece of John as he’s exiled on the island of Patmos near the end of the 1st century. This is what the letter says, from Christ to the church:
“These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
All this time has passed and still this message and its warning is relevant to our church today. Let’s take a personal inventory and ask, “Have we also forgotten our first love?”
Who is my “One and Only”, who is “my first love”?
What does love look like anyways?
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 says:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails.
God calls us to love Him. To love Him first. If our heart’s greatest desire is not to love God we need to desperately seek Him for help. We all have our idols, we worry about money, we lust after material objects, we have more time for our cell phone than our Bibles but Jesus is clear, we have to repent, and turn around and love Him first. This is an area we all struggle in and fail, but I’m convinced that He longs for more of us, He longs for our love, just as a husband and wife long for the love of each other. If you’re ready to take this to the next level I’m asking you to make a decision to give Him your heart 100% of your heart, give Him your love.
It’s often helpful to me to pray scripture, and memorize it. I’m challenging you, to forget all the stuff you have to do and simply ask God to prepare your heart. To clean it out and create in you a heart that loves Him. He’s faithful. If you ask Him for a heart that loves Him He will give it to you.
Memorize this, write it down, hang it on the fridge, meditate on it, pray it…
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Our God is a god of wonder, a god so incredible our minds cannot even fathom His power. He spoke our beautiful life giving planet into being. Can you speak something into being? Even the kids that my body produced do not do what I ask when I speak! But our God spoke, and it was.
This God created the earth not just for His own delight, if so why would He put people here? He also put this beautiful earth full of fruit trees, and sea monsters for us to delight in. His intention was for us to enjoy it, to multiply on it. He gave us all kinds of things to eat in the plants and trees and when He looked back at all of it He said, “This is very good”.
When you read this incredibly story in Genesis, chapter one, don’t miss this very important statement about our own beginning with our God, “Let Us make man in Our image and likeness to rule the fish in the sea, the birds of heaven, the cattle, all wild animals on earth, and all reptiles that crawl upon the earth.” Look closer, “Let Us make man in Our image and likeness…” Did you catch that, you are created in the image of God! We are His representatives! We are His image bearers here on the earth.
Our God is truly the God of Wonders! If He could take all the darkness of the earth’s forces and make light, what could He not do in your heart, in your marriage, or your kids lives? Why doubt this God?
He has promised to make you a new creation, He wants His light to shine through you!
2 Corinthians 4:6 NEB
For the same God who said, ‘Out of darkness let light shine’, has caused his light to shine within us, to give the light of revelation – the revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
You were created with a grand purpose! You truly are His girl, His child – made to bring light into darkness, sharing the glory and hope of Jesus wherever you go! Remember your beginning today, remember Who created you, and why He has chosen you!
Me with some of my favorite women at Women of Faith in Columbus, Ohio!
What kinds of contributions are okay for a woman to make in the Christian community? Can they be preachers? Can a woman work outside her home? Can she be a missionary? Can she… Can she…. Can she… These are questions that I as a woman want to know an answer for. So instead of listening to a televangelist, a pink wife book, or a well-meaning stay at home mom that wants me to also stay at home, or a mom that works outside the home, though their advice is appreciated and even helpful, I think I’ll go with what the Bible says. Here are a few examples…
Phoebe
Romans 16:1-2
I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.
“servant of the church in Cenchrea” – in greek diakonon (office of deacon)
1:1
Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ,… [slaves of Christ Jesus]
-Phoebe was a slave to Jesus, a bondservant…
1 Tim 3:8
Likewise deacons must be reverent, not double-tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy for money…
-Phoebe would have fit this description if he used this word “diakonon”
1 Tim 3:12
Let deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
-The word “deacon” is used to refer to a male here but in Romans 16, we can see that Paul may have counted Phoebe as a deacon with his use of work “diakonon” (deacon).
Deborah
Judges 4
Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, was judging Israel at that time. And she would sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the mountains of Ephraim. And the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
“God doesn’t explain Himself. Suddenly, in a time when Israel has become unfaithful to the Lord, the scripture proclaims the position of Deborah, the only female to rule Israel during the years of the judges – the era between Joshua’s death and Saul’s accession as king. Deborah was not just a minor judge; she was an authoritative woman who decided disputes between men and held the power common to all Israel’s judges… As a prophetess, Deborah would have heard and communicated God’s will to His people. Though she is not the only prophetess in the Bible, she alone ruled Israel. Not only that, she effectively led her country during wartime, when many people might have chosen a man for the job.” (The Top 100 Women of the Bible. Pamela McQuade. P. 36-37. 2007)
-As you read this chapter, also see the incredible contribution to the nation of Israel by the tent making wife Jael, who used her tent-setting skills to drive a stake through the enemy’s temple. No king, or prince can say he had the victory in this chapter, it was God’s faithful daughters who answered His call and captured back their nation’s freedom. God shows us that even women are put to work in mighty ways for His glory.
What Stops Women from Participating in Ministry?
1 Timothy 2:8-15
I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.
-“Silence” -a woman will be in silence? Is that really what he is saying? That word in the Greek is “hesychia” and it means to be settled down, undisturbed, not unruly, restful..” It is not the word “sigao”, which means to actually be literally silent, saying nothing out loud. We are misinterpreting the scripture, missing the point if we think we are to be silent in church, silent in the Christian body!
Priscilla
Romans 16:3
Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
-Priscilla is not mentioned without her husband, however as is noted among commentators her name appears first – she was possibly the greater contribution to the work of the church.
100+ women are listed in the Bible, some good some evil, some great warriors, great leaders, great business women, mothers, wives, grandmothers, heroes of faith – all are listed to show us the intricacy of a woman, the uniqueness of God’s creation. He has a purpose for each woman, each vessel. Are we willing to be used in whatever way He chooses to accomplish His mission?
Remember these words as you consider your role in family, your contribution to the Christian body, and to your community:
Joel 2:28-29
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves; in those days, I will pour out My Spirit.
Commentators point out this passage being about all nations, an important observation. However don’t miss the part about it including both genders, male and female. This was written in a time when the female was often disregarded and here she is portrayed as equally important to the future work of God. Do some homework today, get out your commentaries and start looking at the women in your Bible. Pink wife books are terrific, but what does God’s book have to say about who you are as a woman?
Prepare Our Hearts 