Words of Encouragement

Encouragement seems like such a small thing to give. But, for the recipients, it might play a large role in the decisions facing them at the time.

One of the most significant acts of encouragement that we have been a part of came about a year ago, when God sent us to a very small church in a small town in North Carolina.

My husband had been asked to help place a headstone at the grave of a woman that had died a few months earlier. While at the small mountain cemetery, he met the caretaker,  who told him of his mother's church. There was nothing special about it; just a small church with a small congregation on Sundays.

The following Sunday morning, we felt inclined to visit the church. Once there, no one showed up for almost an hour. We were about to leave, thinking we possibly had the wrong place. Since we didn't know the area, we had searched out its location on the satellite map.

We approached the little old lady that came and unlocked the door, and introduced ourselves. She told us her husband had pastored the church, but since he had died some months earlier, she was trying to keep the church going. Partway through her tale, another woman showed up. These two women were sisters-in-law, but both had lost their husbands recently. This pastor's wife went on to tell us that most of the time, it was just the two of them that turned out for the services.

She asked my husband to speak. He felt humbled by the request, and spoke about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. His message emphasized the fact that Nehemiah did in 52 days what was not accomplished in the 150 years previous. Not knowing until he was finished, he spoke the very words the faithful woman needed to hear. 

She also told us that she had been debating whether or not to shut the church down. For several weeks, she had been seeking an answer to her prayer. Her dilemma was that it was a Baptist church, and we all know that Baptists, as a denomination,  don't 'believe' women should hold positions of authority in church. Yet, she felt a strong desire to keep having services, even though it was against the denomination with which she associated herself.

She needed to know if her wanting to keep the church open was really God speaking to her, or her own desire to see her husband's work continue. The words given to my husband to say was the encouragement she had been looking for. (Obviously, God's call is of higher authority than that of any denomination.)

When God sends us on a mission, we never know the extent to which it will be the encouragement someone needs to make a life-altering decision.



A Woman's Place

"Women in Israel have been partners in defending Israel. Those in Israel who think a woman’s place is only in the home, they don’t get it. In Israel, women defend our homes. As I said last year at a ceremony in which we had air force cadets finishing their pilot school training, and there were five female pilots there that earned their wings. I said there that in Israel, women not only sit in the fighter pilot’s seat, they’ll sit anywhere they want. Shabbat Shalom to all from Jerusalem." ~Benjamin Netanyahu, Oct.19, 2012

The quote from Benjamin Netanyahu reminds me of a book I read a few weeks ago, 'When Life and Beliefs Collide' by Carolyn Custis James. She shows, using the definition of the original Hebrew word ezer, translated as 'help-meet' in Genesis, means a lot more than a woman put in a position to 'benefit' the man. The word ezer in other places in scripture is used to describe God himself when fighting for Israel and her people. So, ezer not only describes the 'helper' as in 'help-meet', it also describes the warrior, which is God fighting on the side that chooses Him.

Examples of these scriptures are Psalms 33:20, 70:5, 115:9-11,121:1-2, 124:8. Who better to understand the ezer of God than David, who sought God continually while he was on the run from Saul? Hosea 13:9,  Deut. 33:26 and 29 speak about God being the 'help' to His people. My favorite, Deut. 33:7, says this: And this is the blessing of Judah: and he said, Hear, LORD, the voice of Judah, and bring him to his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be you an help to him from his enemies.

If the same word is used to describe help from God and the help to Adam~and therefore all men~then how high is the expectation of women in God's eyes? He wants us [women] to be in a position to help Him, and others, in a capacity that only He can give. Examples in scripture are Deborah, Abigail, and Esther, to name a few. The women were all faced with issues that dealt with not only their own personal future, but the future of Israel, as a land and as a people. The Bible is full of women who rose to the challenge, went against tradition, ceremony, and concepts acceptable to everyone else, and chose to do what God asked of them. Not because they were female, but because they were obedient.

About a month ago, a clear message was given to my husband and I. The message was that we make it publicly known that we stand with Israel. I am not an Israeli soldier, as are the women pictured at the top of the page, but I fight in God's army just the same. Times are changing~finally~so that women can answer the call given to them, whether in the literal army, or the spiritual army.

A woman's place is to be an ezer, a helper, in the way that God created her to be in the beginning. In His image, fighting His battles, along side the man. We women must step into the role created for us, because there is no one else to fill it.

Who REALLY Said It?

Are some words considered 'idle' because of who says them? If it is a woman repeating the words of Jesus, or the prophets, as is referenced in Luke 24:25, does it make it untrue because a woman is speaking it?

The women who had followed Jesus tirelessly, after they had prepared the spices to anoint his body, went to the tomb. They found it empty, with two angels standing nearby, who reminded them of Jesus' words, which they remembered. But, when they repeated these happenings to the disciples, 'their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.' 'Idle tales' in the lexicon means 'folly' or 'nonsense.' Were the disciples still so much without understanding that they discounted the women, even though they spoke of actions that Jesus had foretold about himself?

The obvious conclusion, as given in the account surrounding the resurrection, was that the women understood what Jesus, and his mission, was REALLY about. The men were nowhere to be found. Even some later went back to what they had once done because of their lack of understanding.

Was their disbelief because of the words spoken, or because of who said it? It is an interesting concept, as women today are still not taken as seriously called into ministry by some denominations, even though they serve side by side with them in the journey, just as the women who followed Jesus did. Did the disciples feel that, with Jesus gone, that they did not have to have to same respect for them as he did? Did they revert back to their tradition and customs that women were not equal to them now that their revolutionary leader was out of the picture? Yet Jesus himself, as well as the angel of the Lord, told the women to 'go tell the disciples." (Matthew 28:1-10)

But, Peter reacted differently. He ran to the tomb to see for himself. After seeing the linen clothes, he went away wondering what had happened. Could it be, that since Peter was married that he was more respectful of women than his unmarried counterparts?

Paul, in Galatians 3:28-29, explains it in explicit terms: There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.

God wants those that are obedient to Him; our external gender does not dictate who we are in Him.

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Looking back over my life, I always knew I was the black sheep of the family. The one just a little different; the one who didn't quite follow the rules; the one not afraid to march to the beat of  a different drum. In the context of my family, it's only in the last few years that I've realized just how non-traditional I have been. Especially in the area of 'religion'. As a young Christian in my teens, I tried to conform to the way I saw others in the family living, and saw the hypocritical life they lived in front of me. When I questioned what I saw, the black sheep became an outcast.

When most people read stories in scripture, they apply it to the time and culture in which they live. In so doing, very valid points come across with subtlety, if at all, and we miss what some points are are really about. I think every person that claims to 'know the Bible' ought to also study the culture of biblical times. Wouldn't scripture serve us better if we knew what things were like in the time it was written?

Take the woman at the well. There are several 'hints' in the scripture as to the cultural differences between Jesus and the woman. But, without reading additional literature about why there were differences, the story loses part of it's great message. Let's look at the story in John 4.

v4: But it was necessary for him to come and pass through Samaria.

Samaritans were the outcast Jews~those of mixed blood. Jews normally avoided going through Samaria when travelling between Judea and Galilee, even though it was the shortest route.

v6: And Jaqob's spring of water was there, and Yeshua, weary from walking, sat down by himself at the spring at the sixth hour.

Jesus sat on Jacob's well, figuratively associating himself with 'the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob', while the water inside it represented him. Also, that it was noon meant it was the hottest part of the day.

v7: And a woman from Samaria came to draw water and Yeshua said to her, “Give me water to drink.”

The woman came to the well when she knew no one else would be there. Respectable women would have come in the evening when it was considerably cooler. As we read on in the story, we realize why as her past is revealed.

v9: And the Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, would ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” For the Jews do not associate with the Samaritans.

She had two major things going against her: she was a Samaritan, and she was a woman. She did not comprehend Jesus' respect toward her.

v11: This woman said to him, “My Lord, you have no bucket and the well is deep. From where do you have living waters?”

She was  amazed at Jesus' offer to give her living water, even if she didn't yet know He was speaking of himself. Notice that in his respect toward her, she addressed him with a title of respect more so than in her previous statement.

v12: "Are you greater than our forefather Jaqob, he who gave us this well, and he drank from it, also his children and his flock? "

When the Samaritans and Jews were getting along as neighboring villages, the Samaritans would claim their heritage from Jacob. When they were not, they would discount that heritage. In a subtle way, however, she questioned Jesus' authority in offering her water.

v15: This woman said to him, “My lord, give me from these waters that I shall not thirst again, and so I am not coming to draw from here.”

Still respectful, she wants the water, and even more so, wants it so she does not have to come out into the public place to get it.

v17: She said to him, “I have no husband.” Yeshua said to her, “You have said correctly, “I have no husband."

A simple statement. In today's times, it is nothing out of the ordinary. But for her, it meant having no male to represent her socially. We begin to see why she came to the well at noon.

vv19-20: The woman said to him, “My lord, I perceive that you are a Prophet. Our forefathers worshiped in this mountain, and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where it is necessary to worship.”

There is a hint of her culture~obviously her forefathers worshiped idols. She 'switches sides' to claim her non-Jewish heritage in recounting the practice of worship in her people.

v25: The woman said to him, “I know that The Messiah is coming, and when he comes, he will teach us all things.”

She has heard the prophecy, so the idea of a Savior is not new to her. In his next words, he tells her that he is indeed the Christ.

v27: And while he was speaking, his disciples came and they were amazed that he was speaking with the woman, but no man said, “What are you seeking?, or, “Why are you speaking with her?”

Here is the culture all wrapped up in a few words. The disciples were shocked that he would be talking with a Samaritan, especially a woman from Samaria.

vv28-30: And the woman left her cruse and went to the city and said to the men: “Come see a man who told me everything that I have done. Is he The Messiah?” And the men departed from the city and they came to him.

Things changed as soon as she was told that he was the Messiah. She had no shame in returning to the city, to the men, telling them who she had just met. No doubt these were men who availed themselves of her services at night and acted as though she didn't exist during the day. She was so out-of-character compared to before that they had to go see what she was talking about.

v35: Do you not say, 'After four months the harvest comes?' Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and behold the fields that are white and are ready to harvest even now."

In reference to the crowd he knew was coming from the town, Jesus explains to the disciples that the harvest is wherever the fruit is ripe. The fruit does not come to them, but it is they who must go to the fruit to harvest it.

vv39-40: Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's saying which she testified: “He told me everything that I have done.” And when those Samaritans came to him, they requested of him that he would stay with them, and he was with them for two days.

This woman was the first evangelist, playing the key role in spreading the gospel to a large number of people that probably would not have listened to Jesus had he just walked into town and started preaching. He used a woman that the people were least likely to listen to. Some denominations might downplay her role, putting it into today's terminology, saying she 'witnessed' to them, or 'shared her testimony'. So many denominations fail to recognize women as Jesus did~people worthy to be called into his ministry, regardless of their past.

This woman had been a black sheep, the outcast of the city, the shamed of her village. One meeting with Jesus changed all that. Not only was she changed, but the people she associated with on a daily basis did also. Once Jesus continued on his way, I hardly think that life for any of them went back to the way it was before she walked to the well with her water pot. She would now be shown respect from the very people that had once used her. She went from being an outcast to a friend to the people.

Sometimes, being the black sheep in a world full of traditional ones has it's advantages. Like in the picture above, it may be the very fact that we stand out against the rest that Jesus chooses us.

all scripture quoted from the Aramaic Bible in Plain English (©2010)

Two Halves Make a Whole

The wisdom of my grandmother has triumphed again. She said to me, in a conversation about husband/wife relationships, that a man that loved his mother loved the Lord. At the time, it had no real impact on me but now, some 16+ years later, it is clearer than ever before.

In 2010, when my husband, James, and I were in Mississippi, we met a lovely woman whose soul I instantly knitted with. (It was a Jonathan and David moment.) She was the wife of the pastor at the church we were visiting. And, she was being abused. I immediately recognised the signs~watching his every move, not giving eye contact to others, watching her language around him, making sure nothing was done or said that he could use against her later.

Upon introduction, I told her that I knew that there was abuse in her life. When she asked me how I knew, I told her that I recognised myself in her~that two years prior, before I met my current husband, I had been just like her. She started to cry. I continued to tell her that God did not create her to live in fear, and by the time we left four days later, she was looking people in the eye instead of keeping her head down. I am thankful that God gave me the words from my own experience to give her the courage to take the step to be freed from the 'infirmity' that bound her. 

There is an account in Luke (13:10-17) where Jesus heals a woman on the Sabbath. The woman's illness is described as 'a spirit of infirmity, was bowed together' and could not lift herself  up. She had been in that condition for eighteen years. This was a woman who did not seek Jesus out~He called her to Him. He released her from the physical bonds laid on her by Satan, because she was a 'daughter of Abraham.'

Her ailment was physical, but how many women have been under other types of male-dominated bondage? Take my friend in Mississippi. She was in bondage to her pastor-husband for more than eighteen years. And, just like the religious leaders in Jesus' time, he thought he had the right to treat her however he wanted because he was her husband. The ruler of the synagogue was indignant with Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, saying that if the woman wanted to be healed, she should come on a 'workday.'(v.14) For the religious leaders in the Luke account, and the pastor-husband of my friend, it was about 'rule and authority.' They wanted someone weaker so they could 'lord' over them. But, a woman lifted up in Jesus, and by Jesus, is a daughter of Abraham~free of man's bondage. The hypocrites, as Jesus called them, have no submission in themselves toward God. If they had, they would know that Jesus is the authority under which we ALL submit.

The analogy of family and church is described in Ephesians 5 and 6. Wives, in 5:22, are told to submit 'unto their own husbands, as unto the Lord.' Does that mean women should think of their husbands as 'God'? Absolutely not! It means that if they have  Godly husbands~ones who have an humble, obedient relationship with the Lord~they should trust the leadership in their marital relationship. In v.25, husbands are told to 'love your wives, even as Christ loved the church (His bride) and gave His life for it.' A Godly man would not hurt himself (v.28) and therefore, would not hurt his wife. If a man harms his wife, he is harming himself. (v.29)

But what if the woman's husband is not in submission to God, and tries to lead his wife astray. Is she supposed to to follow him just because he is her husband? No! 1 Corinthians 11:3 spells it out plainly: the head of the man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. If the men in leadership are not following Christ, then the women are not obligated to follow. Each individual Christian woman is married to Christ first and foremost. That is a relationship that must remain intact, for each of us are responsible for our own salvation and our Christian walk.

There was a time when Sarah told Abraham to 'cast out the bondwoman.' (Gen. 21:8-12) but he was reluctant because it meant casting away his son. But, God told him to 'hearken to her voice, for in Isaac shall your seed be called.' Sarah was all about promoting the kingdom of God, but if it had been left up to Abraham~the husband~it would not have happened. So, it's the obedience to God that counts, not the gender through which the obedience comes.

So God created man in His own image...male and female created He them. (Gen. 1:27) Both in Genesis (2:24) and in Ephesians (5:31) it is written that the 'two shall become one.' In order for this to be mathematically correct~for 2 to become 1~ then each half has to be equal to one another. It does not work any other way. The men that want to show off their power and authority over women would have the equation read something like 7/8, for the men, and 1/8, for the women. But, in order for 1 to be divided by 2, the answer can only be 1/2. This is a basic mathematical statement that is not only true in the physical world, but also in the spiritual world.

Two halves make a whole.

(1/2 +1/2=1)