Ladies and Gentleman



Several months ago a phone call came to me that was quickly diverted into a confrontation challenging me as a woman with his belief that women should not be leading or “teaching” any Biblical information to men.  The challenge for me was that his comment did not resonate as truth with my spirit, but it did resonate with some past teaching or behaviors in some church-life where I too, had heard it, but had to let it drop by the way-side when I knew what God called me to do.  I was in more fear of not obeying God than man and went to the places He called me.

That phone call led me into a thorough amount of research and study that I did in the Bible as if I was holding onto the LORD’s hand in Spirit as I was led from Old Testament through New  Testament as well as looking into historic events when it seemed to be contradicted in a couple of verses. The research was nourishing to what was already set on my heart. Peace and strength were given in His Word and the evidence of God’s persistent use of women in ministry was woven throughout.

If you have some struggles with whether or not women should be in leadership roles or, if you as a woman, have felt led by His Spirit and you held back or if you felt like you, as a man, should invite a woman into that kind of position, but again, held back, this may help you.  Today I received this link that has several lessons on the matter that go completely through the scriptures that His Spirit led me through when I researched the work.  He’s teaching it in the same way the LORD revealed to me as I read it. Pastor Jerry Dirmann from The Rock, a Foursquare church in Anaheim, Calif. did a series that you can find in this link listed on Life and Liberty, “Women in Ministry Series.”   

This teacher goes further than I saw in that he sees that the barring of women to serve as God has gifted and called in leadership has been one of the worst tactics Satan wove in misinterpretation and written into the doctrines of man.

Session 2 addresses the most often cited verses in 1 Corinthians 14:34 and 1 Timothy 2:12 and 1 Corinthians 11. 

In addition to what I found in 1 Timothy, Paul was writing to Timothy who was in Ephesus. The people in Ephesus had a religion where the priests were women and the source of their religion is that they worshipped a goddess and part of the worship was over her virginity. This is where the weight of instruction from Paul to have Timothy teach to them there that a woman's salvation is in child-bearing when Christ was born of a woman from where Salvation came.

Feel free to share this with anyone you may know that may be blessed or encouraged or is looking for direction. The sessions are lengthy, but packed with great information.  It took me a long time to go through this scripturally on my own, so this is a blessing to have it all in one spot for you.

In the Beginning I Found Prosperity

 

 

When we believe we can earn what the LORD gives and that somehow now, we deserve it; that eliminates grace. When we think we should live in squalor as payment for our sins and suffer to make us worthy enough of Him; that also eliminates grace.

Earthly squabbles over the message of God’s will for us to prosper and be well is amped up in my Facebook world. It’s like my siblings fighting and I’m the youngest thinking, “But Dad really does love us and wants to take care of us.” I’m hearing arguments about my brothers and sisters in the family of God that are Bible teachers professing such things as God’s blessings and prosperity.  I don’t understand why Christians are giving verbal persecution of brothers and sisters in Christ for saying that God desires us blessed? Or why they seem to think we can only really worship God if we have some lashes on our own back and live in lack? Wouldn't that be an abusive Dad?

God’s will is not that, but the world will persecute us.  There is a difference. God isn’t the one with the whip unless it’s at the ones in the Church misrepresenting His grace and goodness and keeping them from coming to Him in the fullness of His love and by what He GIVES and who He is. It’s what Luther promoted. He was anti–penance and pro- grace.

The money changers were making the people exchange their money offering to the “old money” or currency from the past. Not only were they making people exchange it to the old way, but they were trying to profit from it themselves by making worshippers lose some of what they have and pay for what is old.  Jesus made a whip out of cords and drove out those who were making it harder to worship and robbing from what the people had. He chased off the sacrificial animals they were selling, too. He said it was to be a house of prayer, not a business. They were taking and trying to profit from what is freely given, what is theirs to do in relationship with Him without payment and receive His presence. Free. Because of Him. Because of God’s Grace and Love. Matthew 21:12 and John 2:14.

.Jesus had come.

The heart of God and His giving is at the very beginning.  

The big one: Genesis 1:27  He made us in His image.

28 “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. –Notice how it is from the trees and fruit that bore fruit and would produce more by its seeds. It is the blessing of more and of life.

31 God saw all that He made and it was very good.

Chapter 2 speaks of the streams that came up from the earth and watered it. It is like the living waters of grace out of the rock. It lists the first river in verse 11 that winds through the garden as Pishon. Some interpretations of the meaning of Pishon is to spring up and disperse. It goes on to say the river winds through the land of Havilah where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)

God placed man in an incredible place of blessing, provision and it was “very good.” It was about blessing, fruitfulness, increase, power to subdue and rule (not each other, but the animals), food provision all over the earth and good gold. It was given.

Our hope for glory is what He is going to provide in His presence. Why do people believe others should not teach that He desires us to flourish, grow and be blessed? He says in the world we will have tribulation, but take heart, because He has overcome the world.  It is in the world we live that gives suffering, persecution and drives us to carry our own cross because we won’t deny the Father. 

It is to the magnitude that Jesus left the splendor to be one with us to the lowest of this earth. Humble and serving to come into the difficult and painful place of our sin infested world here to provide for us a way out while we are here. He came as a way to have His joy in all circumstances, His presence, and to understand His love to bless us in whatever ways He will.  Did He not provide a coin to pay taxes in a fish’s mouth? Did He not provide more than enough food?  Did He not heal, drive away demons, and raise people from the dead here on earth?

He brought the Kingdom to us. He paid the penance of sin so we didn’t have to.  Why are Christians verbally beating people for believing in His goodness? For believing in the different ways that He blesses and gave His gift of grace? Did the LORD not multiply and double all the wealth that Job had following the suffering that Satan was permitted to bring upon him? Did He not give the Hebrews the wealth and plunder from Egypt when He delivered them out of bondage?

We can’t think that allowing Satan to have his way with us in lack, poverty and illness brings glory to God. What brings Him glory is loving God and blessing Him no matter what the world tries to put on us.  Because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Let’s not heap with Satan accusations on believers of Jesus; that they are ungodly for believing in various ways of God’s prosperity when the Word of God begins with prosperity.

 God’s objection to wealth is when we become dependent on it instead of Him, hoard it or we do unholy things to obtain it. Making wealth a greater love and keeping it instead of following God is lack; as Jesus told the rich man that the one thing he was lacking and what needed to be done for him to be a true follower of His was to let it go and give it to the poor and then he will have treasure in heaven. Mark 10:21. Jesus saw what needed to be corrected in his heart. Jesus also looked at him with love. But, the actions to correct it made the man sad because he loved his riches more.

The promise of prosperity comes to every believer as Jesus said to the thief next to Him on the cross, “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  Luke 23:43

“So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!”

~ Martin Luther





Depth of Field

 

 

 

 

 

A woman died who was close to my age. Cancer. She left a husband, some children at home and a grandchild. She loved the LORD and sought healing over and over again. She could recite scripture like no one I had known.  When I prayed for her, words would spark up a Bible verse that would affirm it and she would softly say the verse aloud. Verse after verse came to her mind. She, when healthy, served in countless ways and did so much good for this world. Then, she brought serving in her death. She said to me, “I have shown my children how to live, now I am showing them how to die.” As her body weakened, her spirit strengthened.

When her body did die, it was heartbreaking. None of it seemed right. What could possibly be good about this, LORD? I wept through tears as I asked Him,” WHY?!”  In my grief I suddenly saw a stage prop of a cloud.  It was cut-out, man-made, crude and only two dimensional.  It was an imitation of a cloud for an act or portrayal of life on a stage. 

As soon as I saw that cloud the vision cut to a different one. Out at the end of the horizon were real clouds. There was a massive forming cloud, beautiful, multi-dimensional and blossoming as if it were in the process of creating something new. It billowed in light and motion, overwhelming me by what was incredibly beautiful and real to the contrast of the cut-out, flat, cloud, sitting on a dusty stage floor.

 

The vision gave a depth of insight that I could have never attained on my own. God revealed how temporal this life is here on earth, like a play. It is a moment that has representations of what is real, true, deep and immense, but displayed with and in earthly representation things that physically have little dimension by comparison to the depth of His Spiritual life. 

Who she is now and where she is; is much more real, amazing and alive than ever before. Her life there is an incredible birth of life, spirit, purpose and belonging in comparison to what is so limiting, temporal and decaying here.

How she lived here had an audience.  We cheered for her and we felt the sorrow when the curtain closed, but she walked off into what is real life.

The depth of field of the scope of what is in our horizons and having that in focus has brought a far deeper view into God’s Word and an incredible joy to what is at the end of this field of life in Christ here. Its depth has brought powerful prayer and faith into Who He is and what He does. Those kinds of prayers from what is of His Kingdom into these temporary, two-dimensional things of this life bring His power and depth and life that He can unleash into us for all of eternity.

 He can provide clarity of vision in the midst of a prayer of brokenness and bring hope and joy in the images He can place into our mind’s eye.  Just like that! The spiritual power of Him to pop that into an earthly mind is a moments’ doing for Him and a complete change of vision and focus for me.

It is a vision to look to the things not seen and to see the things that are seen among us as temporary. It is recognizing glory in the fields of this life and the full dimensions of spirit in eternal life.

We are spiritual beings and for now, we have a body.  Looking to fullness of life is looking to its eternity and what it took in Jesus/Yeshua to bring us into such a pure and perfect place of eternal life.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18  For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

 





Trying to Survive Christmas? Try Again

Trying to survive Christmas has been a phrase I have heard and one I have let myself succumb to in past Christmas’. My only peace and joy seemed to happen when I finally settled into the church pew for the Christmas Eve service after all of the shopping, baking, dinner making, wrapping and whirling up a bedazzled day of joy that was finally ready to come in the morning.

I had missed it. 

I had missed the peace up until that time and had lost a lot of joy. 

The place of peace has always been in the presence of Jesus. Sure, I’d think about Jesus, but I wouldn’t consider His presence or even imagine He was keeping up with my fast pace.  He was there at all speeds and I often only noticed when I reached the finish line.

This year, He has opened my eyes to Him and His peace now.  I had been doing it wrong.  The weekly advent to Christmas gives a periodic stop to think of Him, but sometimes the schedule seemed to get in my way.  It was one more thing to have to do.  Instead, He has met me in morning time in prayer and evening and throughout the day, every day. He has been with me in times of shopping when I ask Him to show me what is best to get and I am finding things miraculously available or even a sale.  I am seeing Him in the process. I am seeing Him in the ingredients of baking, in the ingredients of foods that He provides.  I am seeing Him in the loved ones in my life for whom I desire to give a gift of my love to them.  It isn’t a check off of my list this year.

There is peace and with that is joy. 

Considering the ways of His peace, it always came in His presence.  Isaiah 9:6 prophecies of the peace of Christ.  

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

John 14:27  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

A lot of people have troubled hearts as they try to get it all done and frankly…over with. Some are afraid their gifts won’t be nice enough or afraid they don’t have enough money or are afraid of relationship dynamics or being alone.  Jesus leaves us with his peace.  His peace isn’t as the world gives, not in perfect gifts or money spent or being in the perfect setting which is impossible in this world.  But He leaves us with His peace.  It’s in His presence of Him of being in Him and knowing that what really matters is what He has given.  It is enough and so much more.  Walking in that gift and being aware and thankful for it is like a blanket of comfort that calms even the fussiest child.  He’s here and He’s got this and what is lasting is what He gives. 

That’s when the joy comes.  When peace is found there is joy.  The fears fall away and the troubles lose their power.  The gift of peace is a gift from Jesus; from His life to us.  That is the perfect love of His.  In that perfect love, it casts out all fear. No one can out-give Jesus and when we walk in the graces of His gifts and His love, it can make this season one of peace, joy and good will to all the people. If we release our ideals of a worldly view of a perfect Christmas, fear falls away, troubles cease to matter, unreal expectations of others won’t allow disappointment to rule.  Give and release those loved ones to Him in prayer.

John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Take heart, He says.  Be in His peace.

Be in the awareness of His presence and gift of peace. Look to Him, see Him, trust Him and enjoy Him.  This is a season that the angels proclaimed that the presence of Jesus being born among us, present with us, is great joy to ALL people.

The simplest way to acknowledge Him is saying thank you. We say thank you for a gift given.  It’s a great way to start.  Every moment of every day He gives.  Hold out your hands and recognize the gifts He is giving and receive your Christmas gifts from Him. He lets us open them now.