BECOMING A KINGDOM WOMAN, Part Four, Your Hope

Not all disabilities are physical or mental.  Some may be spiritual with a physical manisfestation like the woman in Luke 13:10-17.  When Jesus declared in verse 12: Woman thou art loosed, He wasn't acting as a mere Chiropractor, He was restoring this afflicted sister to spiritual health! He became the Source of  her hope. After eighteen years of praying, worshipping and church going with nothing happening...she finally met Christ!

I dare say that this is happening to bound up women in our church every week!  Going to church and leaving church in the same condition they came! That's why Dr. Evans' exposition of  this text proved especially eye-opening in our fourth session of Kingdom Woman, Embracing Your Purpose, Power and Possibilities.  I love that word possibility, don't you?  It immediately lightens every burden and makes any situation bearable!  It's been said that humans can live forty days without food, four days without water, four minutes without air, but not four seconds without hope! 

A Kingdom woman never has to succumb to the depths of despair no matter how dire the circumstance may look for like Cinderella, her Prince is on His way!  Here's a quote from the study: If all you see is what you see, you may not see all there is to be seen!   Many of our trials are blessings under construction.  When you see a house being built it doesn't look like much at first. A slab of concrete for a foundation and a few pieces of timber set here and there for a frame. The rest looks like an unruly mess!

Stuff might happen!  You may have to change contractors, make some adjustments along the way, but you know it's going to become that dream house that the architect promised because you've seen the blueprint! Well, God is our Architect and the Bible is our Blueprint!

Hebrews 11:1 says that Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen.  Did you get that last part?  The evidence is in that which is not seen!  You are more than what others can see!  Only in God's kingdom does your value go up the longer you are around.  So go ahead boldly ask for what you want, never giving up hope that you can receive it if it is God's will. 

 Just remember that when a Kingdom Woman doesn't get what she prays for....she changes her perspective!  She stops looking for the external and begins to look inward where the Spirit of God resides.  There like the infirmed woman she has an encounter with God...then hope  truly becomes a reality and everything changes!

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BECOMING A KINGDOM WOMAN, Part Three, The Refining

Trust the process!  Those three words summarized for me the gist of session three, of our six week study.  It was entitled, The Refining of a Kingdom Woman.  Sometimes it feels like I'll never make it!  I've blown it too many times! I'll never  be all that God wants me to be!  I'm not talking about the misguided goal of perfectionism discussed in last week's blog.  Just achieving the Christian ordinary!  Rendering reasonable service, as Paul describes it in Romans 12:1-2.  That which is sacred and spiritual.  Rational and intelligent acts that please God.

There's nothing more pitiful than a defeated Christian!   And that's the attitude, I just wrote
 about above.  Although it is quite normal to have times of doubt and discouragement on this Christian journey, we must not lose hope!  We have to remember that our quest to become Kingdom minded is not a sprint but a marathon.  We've just got to trust the process!  

God has been using flawed humans since the Garden of Eden!  Whereas mankind generally frowns upon using goods that are damaged, called seconds, or irregulars.  God has a whole bible full of them!  Men and women who would never make any one's Who's Who, list of the prestigious.   Chrystal Evans Hurst gives us a sampling of them in this list:


*Noah was a drunk
*Abraham was too old
*Isaac was a daydreamer
*Jacob was a liar
*Leah was ugly
*Joseph was abused
*Moses had a stuttering problem
*Samson was a womanizer
*Rahab was a prostitute
*David had an affair and was a murderer
*Peter denied Christ
*Paul was too religious
* Lazarus was dead

 God achieved great and mighty things through these damaged goods! And He can do the same thing with us.  If only we will submit our shortcomings, our failure, our flaws to Him for refining! 

 To  refine means to purify, to free from imperfection, to remove impurities, dross, sediment or rubbish!  That's what the blood of Jesus did for us!  ...the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son , purifies us from all sin (I John 1:7b).  All the trials, the setbacks, the struggles with temptations we experience are mere refining tools of Christ to make us into what He has already ordained us to be!  "Being confident of this, that He that hath begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6)

Chrystal went on to explain that the ugliest, most beat up pots in the kitchen are the ones that are most used and produce the best flavor because they are seasoned!  Kingdom woman in the making, we must learn to use our scars and wounds not hide them for they are evidence of the mighty power of God and what He can do with imperfect lives.  Like the ugly pots in your cupboard we can be the ones God uses  to produce good results.  We just have to learn to trust the process!

Remember,  God is not through with any of us yet we are just on His Refining Wheel!

BECOMING A KINGDOM WOMAN, Part Two, In The Making

A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

A diamond in the rough, is a diamond sure enough, but before it ever sparkles, it is made of diamond stuff.  But first someone must find it, or else it won't be found.  And then someone must ground it, or else it won't be ground.  But when it's found and when it's ground and when it's burnished bright, that diamond everlastingly just flashes out its light...(anonymous author)

In week two of our Kingdom Woman study we learned that like precious diamonds we all start out dirty and flawed! What a relief it was for many of us who thought a Kingdom woman had to be perfect!  I mean isn't that the rhetoric we've been hearing for years?  At almost every Women's Day program I've attended, the icon of the Christian woman, The Proverbs 31 Woman has been presented in one form or another.  You know the one who rises while it's still night and whose lamp does not go out at night fall.  Whose house and family are well appointed and happy.  Who sells real estate and feeds her entire household.  But did you notice in verse 15 that she had hand maidens?  Girl friend, had some help with all that work!

Dealing with our past was in a question that turned up the discussion knob last week.  It had to do with disclosure or the level of transparency needed when giving a personal testimony. Chrystal Evans Hurst used the Samaritan Woman, of John 4 as an example.  She called her the Kimberlite woman, referencing the dirty, rock like substance that covers all diamonds before it is mined. This was a woman with a past...a dark, dark past!  Yet, Jesus Christ purposely sought her out to share His love with her! 

Imagine that!  Christ, Himself, digging through the dirt and mire of her past sexual relationships to let her know that the only relationship that mattered was the one she has with Him!  If you follow the scripture lesson, you'll see that she tried to evade it too but after this encounter with Christ, she hurriedly ran through the town testifying  in John 4:29, to come see a Man who told me all things I ever did.  

So the question remains.  How much should you tell about your past when giving testimony of the transformation that took place after meeting Christ?  It's simple...as much as the Holy Spirit prompts you at any given time!  If He prompts you to share, believe me somebody out there needs to hear it and profit from it!  Guilt and shame about our past is one tool that the Enemy uses to keep us in bondage but it has no validity (Romans 8:1).  Nobody wants to dish out dirt on themselves and of course we never want to be gossip fodder even if it's only among good church folks.  Note I said church folks not Saints...there's a difference you know!

But as a good friend reminded me, and which was repeated more than once in our study, becoming a Kingdom Woman is a process!  Being absolutely transparent about our past is one of those rough hills we must climb to claim what every Kingdom Woman must have--Authenticity!  The courage to be real has more than one of us, dusting off kimberlite, but it gets easier the more you realize just how amazing God's grace is in your life. 

Chrystal described it like this.  It is the realization that...What Jesus did for one, He can do for you!   It truly does keep us humble, compassionate, and sensitive to sisters who are still making their way, tracking kimberlite dust all the way!  Be Encouraged!

BECOMING A KINGDOM WOMAN: Part One, Your Value

On Display for God

Take a hundred dollar bill.  Walk on it. Crumple it. Sneeze on it. Spit on it. Tear it in two...it never loses its value and neither do you! This is one of the illustrations world renown preacher, Dr. Tony Evans uses in his book, Kingdom Woman, Embracing Your Purpose, Power, and Possibilities.  A woman's value was the point driven hard in the first session of a group bible study I am facilitating developed by Dr. Evans and his daughter, Chrystal Evans Hurst.

Our class went  back thousands of years to revisit the origin of our Divine Design (Genesis 2: 21-25) and we rediscovered just how wonderful it is to be a woman.  Throughout the ages women have been described in many ways.  Some of the more positive terms are: Adam's Rib, The Better Half, The Weaker Sex. But here's one rarely mentioned in the context of power and strength, ezer kenegdo!  You may recall it as help meet in Genesis 2:18. But perhaps have never appreciated it in its full symbolic meaning. It's a rare word used only when God wants to display unusual power. No wonder that in some bible camps it is controversial to relate it women.  I wonder why?

For years bible preachers and teachers have assigned Eve's role as essentially negative or at best a sort of assistant or subordinate worker to Adam. Yes, the Sistah messed up but the truth is that she was co-regent in Eden, important, valued, and of equal importance and essence!  She was Adam's Completer, one who enabled him to be the leader God ordained to rule His kingdom!  Sin entered the world when they BOTH failed to realize their value!

Praise God for His amazing grace!  Humankind and his authority has been restored through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). His kingdom is not the Garden of Eden now but the entire world! Like mannequins in a store window our assignment is to live a life so attractive that we draw others into God's kingdom of righteousness and grace.  Sounds intimidating doesn't it?  Like walking all day in four inch heels, Chrystal says.  But with the right designer and the right material it is not only doable but comfortable!

So come on Kingdom woman-in-the-making embrace your inner royalty.  Command the respect God has accorded you by accepting who you are and loving it in all its uniqueness.  Do not allow anyone to demean you or make you feel inferior.  You are chosen, regal and a priestess of the Most High! (I Peter 2:9)  You are still needed and have a role and place to fulfill but  can't do it with  heads bowed down in shame....if we must bow our heads let's do so in prayer but then raise them up again in the spirit of an Ezer kenegdo woman.  A woman with value and strength on display!

EXPERIMENTING WITH MARRIAGE!

Committing to No Commitment

Channel surfing the other day, I came across a new reality show on the FYI network.  I'd heard about it but thought it too ridiculous to spend my time on until I caught a marathon.  After binge watching three episodes it irritated me enough to write about it. It's called, Married At First Sight!

Here's the premise: Three couples agree to be be scientifically matched by experts (a sociologist, psychologist, sexologist, and spiritualist) and then marry the best prospect sight unseen.  No kidding, they won't know the names or what their future husband or wife looks like until they meet at the altar on their wedding day!  

They have four weeks to decide whether they are in love and want to stay married.  During this time they have a wedding and honeymoon (they can choose to consummate the marriage sexually or abstain), get to know each other and move in together. It's all based on a Danish social experiment.  No prizes or cash payment is offered, singles volunteer for a variety of reasons but I guess because it is for the sake of science it's all fine!

Well as entertaining as this show can be and I suppose with our increasing desire for voyeurism and living vicariously through others this fits the bill; you've got to know that this is just another attack on traditional marriage!  (Genesis 2:24; I Corinthians 7:12-15)

Christians are fighting hard to keep marriage between heterosexual men and women, and now the devil throws another blow--the sanctity of marriage!  You've heard the preachers say it over and over, marriage is not to be entered in lightly!  It is a sacred vow before God.  A covenant relationship of love, commitment and unity.  Only to the Divine Godhead can it be compared. It is no Four Week Experiment! 

Arranged marriages are nothing new in the Asian and the Middle Eastern culture.  You can find many biblical examples like Isaac and Rebekah in Genesis 24.  Ruth and Boaz in the book of Ruth but God was the Matchmaker not scientists! In each case love, loyalty, respect, and relational roles were established by Holy writ. Not scripted for Nielsen ratings or someone's guilty pleasure.

Listen, I'm speaking from over four decades of marriage. I've learned much from my marital experience and still learning new things about my husband after all these years.  We had no prenuptial agreement, no trial period to see if we were sexually compatible; no personality tests or psychological screening (well, that last one might have been helpful....only kidding!)  We just had God and tenacity.  His word and  growing faith that we could and would make it past all the storms, trials and set backs we knew would come! 

If you want a marriage, a true God-blessed one, you've got to do it God's way!  It isn't Married at First Sight.  It Doesn't Take A Church (another relationship show)....It takes God!  Take it from someone who knows!

(For the next six weeks I will be blogging on insights from a women's bible study starting at my church tomorrow,  Kingdom Woman, Embracing Your  Purpose, Power, and Potential by Tony Evans and Chrystal  Evans Hurst.   You don't want to miss it!)

GOD'S SPEAKING....Are You Listening?

This is My Beloved Son, Listen to Him! (Mark 9:7)

Some of you may be old enough to remember the old E.F. Hutton commercial from the 1980s.  The one where the young professional is at a dinner party and says, "My broker is E.F. Hutton" and suddenly the room grows silent. Everyone stops talking.  The sound bite there was, When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen!  Wouldn't it be wonderful if God got the same response?

It reminds me of the story of young Samuel, Hannah's little boy who was put in the care of the prophet Eli over in the first book of Samuel (I Samuel 3:1-10).  It took both Samuel and Eli a minute to figure out it was God who was talking but they finally got it!  There are a lot of  us walking around here today who are still clueless!  We haven't the foggiest notion how to discern God's voice although He's talking to us every day through His Word, The Holy Spirit, Circumstances and People!

I think it's because of so many distractions.  Most of them self-imposed. Every thing and every one is in our ear but Him!  We don't listen when God talks because frankly, we're not sure who's talking--we don't recognize His voice!  This is true even if you're a regular church-goer. Don't get me wrong, there are many preachers and teachers who are faithfully expounding the truth of God's Word...but folks don't want to hear them. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. (2 Tim. 4:3-4)  My sisters it is very popular today to be spiritual but not necessarily holy! There's a big difference and weights are piling up on the spiritual side.

Another voice that we hear is that of the intelligentsia-the smart folks of our time.  They have an answer for every situation we find ourselves in. Today, it's all about getting needs met.  It doesn't matter whether it's biblical or not.  We can find a study, survey, or academician to support just about any stance we want to take to justify our behavior. 

Maybe you're thinking,  if I can't trust the preacher and I can't trust popular culture perhaps I should listen to myself--go with my gut!  Bad idea.  There's a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is destruction (Proverbs 14:12). So what are the steps you need to take to hear God. There are none!  No formula.  No quick, sure fire guarantees (after all this is not an infomercial!)
Just some conditions that the Bible says must be met:  

1.  You need a personal relationship with Christ based on love and trust--spend time with Him in His word, in prayer --talk to Him,  consult Him, obey Him! (2 Corin. 1:9)

2. Develop a heart of worship (Rom. 12:1-2; John 4:20-24).  Make God a priority, have an attitude of gratitude for everything. Give Him respect and honor.

3. Study His Word:  Read it, Meditate on it, Memorize it, Obey it!  Line upon line, precept upon precept. (Psalms 119: 97-99).  Let it be your counsel. 

4. Surrender your will, your thoughts and desires to His will! (Ps. 37:4; 2 Cor. 10:5, Phil. 2: 5-11)

So there you have it!  Let everyone who has an ear, let her hear what the Spirit says to the church..Now let's try this again...God's Talking...Are You Listening?

Our Christian Legacy For Sale!

Strivers Row: A Priceless Treasure of our Past

I just returned from a few days in New York City.  It was my first visit.  I had a wonderful time seeing  the common tourists sights:The Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Times Square, 9/11 Ground Zero, etc.  But at the top of my list was a trip to Harlem, the epicenter of black religion, art, culture, and history.  I was both thrilled and disheartened as our charismatic tour guide told us what the tour books didn't.  Very few black visitors  take the Harlem tour. The whites who do are generally from Europe and elsewhere. Our group of 20 was entirely black and he was so overwhelmed that he took a picture of US!  Younger blacks, he said don't appear to have an appreciation for the contributions of their forefathers.  They either don't know their rich history or they don't care!

Secondly, he described what has become a normal urban phenomena.  Historical districts, rich with the sights and sounds of an ethnic group's past are rapidly being renovated to appeal to the rich and affluent to the tune of millions of dollars.  The result is that previous homeowners not being able to afford the expensive renovations are forced to move or willingly sell their inheritance (that which their parents worked so hard to get) for a small percentage of its value. They are in fact selling their legacy!

Such is the case of  Strivers Row  pictured above.  It is a couple of blocks of row houses, exquisitely designed at West 138th and 139th Streets (between Adam Clayton Power, Jr. Boulevard and Frederick Douglass Boulevard ) in the St. Nicholas Historic District.  These houses sell for several million dollars a piece.  They are considered architectural works of art and are highly prized.  Just not by us!! Pretty soon the only hint of its black origins will be the famous names on the street signs that defines its boundaries!

Lest you think I'm on a racial diatribe, let me explain why this topic came to mind. On the airplane coming into New York, I sat next to a young Indian Jehovah Witness returning from a huge conference in Indianapolis.  In our conversation, he explained that he was a minister who received no salary and was totally supported by the Witnesses. He has traveled all over the U.S. and abroad not knowing where he will stay or eat but is welcomed, fed, and housed everywhere he goes by other Witnesses who practice the law of love.
This ironically he describes as carrying out the legacy of Jesus in Matthew 10: 5-15 and 22:34-40. To love others as yourself and to receive brethren with hospitality and kindness.

 He also went on to tell me that JWs do not tithe or pass offering baskets in their service. They don't run building campaigns, have fund raisers and such because faithful Witnesses understand their obligations and wish to do whatever is necessary to carry on the work and preserve its legacy.  One building they owned in New York recently sold for 8 million dollars.  The money will get reinvested into the ministry.   

It brings to mind something I heard: "If Christians would only do for the Truth what False Religions do for a lie" we would be oh so much further along.  I have to ask the question then.  Are we as Christians becoming Sell Outs like the descendants of the Strivers Row generation?   At  what price are we selling our spiritual inheritance?  This wonderful legacy of faith,  morality, gratitude, perseverance, patience and love.

What is it then if we are willing to buy the latest electronic game for our children to play with for hours but won't get up and bring them to church for praise and worship!  Why would we rather sacrifice all to get them into the best schools but think nothing of providing them biblical instruction. What are we teaching them about their spiritual heritage and the faith of their godly fore parents?  Have you ever talked to them about their hardships and their victories in Christ.

 I see others coming to America hidden in boats, riding on train tops, sneaking across our borders even sending their babies simply to get what we already have but don't appreciate!  Don't let the same be said of us as Christians.  For the sake of Christ let's take back our heritage and tell the world that our Legacy is not for sale!