Women are a secret weapon

Have you watched a movie about Moses and saw the thousands he bravely moved out of Egypt through a parted river? How many people who watched this movie saw any credit to the women who gave birth to such a large population when it was against the orders of the Pharaoh? 

Once again the women are the underdog hero in a historical event as they are in many biblical texts. I believe it was TD Jakes that once said women are the secret weapon in God's arsenal. I don't doubt it. The Bible said God created women in a dark secret place while man was so sound asleep he didn't move when his rib was being ripped out. 

Look at these Hebrew mothers in Exodus  chapter 1! Midwives are ordered to kill their male children but they never can follow those orders because the Hebrew women are so determined they give birth without a midwife. Pharaoh plots revenge but the women see strength in God. They grow in numbers.

"The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” So God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. (Exodus 1:19, 20 ESV)"

There is an enemy of our soul and one of the first things we learn about him is his enmity with women. There's an enemy ruling this world and for some odd reason women don't bond together like they could. There is an enemy among the many divisions of family I'm sure.

Churches are striving to grow their women's ministries and many churches see the power of God at work when their women share their prayer needs.

Girl power is evident in the Bible! Own it sisters. Let's go out there encouraging eachother instead of gossip. Let's not listen to the worlds ways of putting down families. Let's put aside any differences and unify to glorify God. 

...Besides it may be fun on those moody days to make the enemy's bruise a little more deep purple.

What she said

Ever receive revelation from God so profound it transforms your life but after five years you still can't seem to pen the exact words to explain it to others?

Today I can sum up my 2008 mind-blowing God intervention with "what she said." 

Lisa Bevere nailed it, especially in the profound 30 minute audio attached to the article link below. It tackles the life changing fast we all have to take from any temptation in order to be free from its restlessness to rest in God. Let Him transform you and teach you to walk in Spirit! 

How? Embrace His love, surrender to His  work in you, listen to every lesson He gives even if it hurts, praise always and witness peace within.

 http://messengerinternational.org/blog/devotional/fasting-purity/#comment-3422

Not a single mom

Not a single mom.

Not a widow.

Not a divorcee.

Not a slut or mistress.

Not alone.

Not unwanted.

Not unloved.

Not burdened.

Not ugly.

Not a loser.

Not abused.

The woman you see with kids and/or who wears no wedding ring and/or has no obvious kid father around is NOT any of these things.

She is a surrogate mother of Jesus Christ. Why? Because she chose life in a culture of death. No matter what 

circumstances brought her to her status, she is not defined by the world's definition of her situation.

Mans categories and labels above demand a sense of shame that God clearly calls a "reproach" she should not let weigh her down.

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. (Isaiah 54:4 NIV)

Remember no more sisters what the world has called you and how they judge you while you are carrying your children on your own with God's mighty strength.

"because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord. (Isaiah 54:1 NIV)

In this passage of Isaiah God is speaking of a woman who has no other family with her but her son. She is called a "widow" which was the homeless status of her day. 

Have we shut similar women of today out or refused to lend a helping hand or hear their cries for understanding in similar ways? Have we misjudged them? Have we missed an opportunity to praise them for choosing life?

How they have been served by others and how deserving they are to be put in a positive light is not a factor in how we should speak life to them and about them. Imagine if we spoke to them the way God did this widow:

"For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit— a wife who married young, only to be rejected,” says your God. (Isaiah 54:5, 6 NIV)

To the Women who have been given the slanderous titles above,

Stand up, hold your head high and claim that you are not those things because you can have confidence in this truth! 

As the wife of the Lord this is what you've inherited when you said "I do":

"All your children will be taught by the Lord, and great will be their peace. In righteousness you will be established: Tyranny will be far from you; you will have nothing to fear. Terror will be far removed; it will not come near you. (Isaiah 54:13, 14 NIV)

God, our protector and provider, is there for everyone.  Even in the Old Testament where the words "adulterous" and "widow" are used to show nation Israel sometimes chose to break the marriage covenants God offered, God never stopped pursuing them and never divorced them or left them alone. Never ever does he stop loving you or take his ring off.

He doesn't leave women in today's circumstances alone either. And he doesn't expect her "I do" to mean to go off and "do" perfectly. It means "I do" believe in His promise. Sing the vows out loud, no matter if in sickness or in health. The angels will join you and His Spirit will empower you. 

"no weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the Lord. (Isaiah 54:17 NIV)

Focus NOT on what the world calls you but the ABUNDANT LIFE God gave you. So much in this chapter promises a great inheritance no threat of shame can steal. 

God had eyes in the back of His head too

As a parent I can understand the fear of leaving your child alone. You don't want toddlers to go unwatched because you don't know what they will get into. Same goes for teenagers. It's why they say we have "eyes in the back of our head."

I can't imagine what stress God must've had watching His children run around Earth, living up to 900-some-odd years old in Genesis 5-6. They didn't behave very well!

I'm sure he wanted to run down here to protect us with safety first toddler items like plastic covers for the outlet, lock anything that can be weapons in cabinets, stow away alcohol/anything poisoness and everything else we know kids get in to those two crucial seasons of childhood. 

I couldn't help but notice what happened in Genesis 6 when they started to notice each other's beauty and began to sought after each other. It was the start of a slow fade.

"When the human race began to increase, with more and more daughters being born, the sons of God noticed that the daughters of men were beautiful. They looked them over and picked out wives for themselves. Then God said, “I’m not going to breathe life into men and women endlessly. Eventually they’re going to die; from now on they can expect a life span of 120 years.” (Genesis 6:1-3 MSG)

God just couldn't leave us alone down here more than 120 years. 

He had enough and seen enough by that point I guess. He no longer needed us to be up to 1K years old. I don't blame him one bit! 

Sometimes it's hard to watch my son more than one minute and 20 seconds do something crazy or act out, especially if it's impulsive and can lead him to some danger he is unaware of.

Genesis 6 started with an impulse and ended with this:

"As far as God was concerned, the Earth had become a sewer; there was violence everywhere. God took one look and saw how bad it was, everyone corrupt and corrupting—life itself corrupt to the core. God said to Noah, “It’s all over. It’s the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I’m making a clean sweep. (Genesis 6:11-13 MSG)"

Of course later, like most of us parents, God rejected his impulsive response to His children's impulsive behavior. He had every reason to be worried and angered. But what would bother him most was needing so badly for them to see how much He loved them was not recognized in the mess. They were so far lost they couldn't hear his voice. 

We pray our children never stop hearing our voice even in the moments where they are not with us. May our moral guidance be there to speak to every decision. Most of all, may God's word be so deep in their heart they can pull it up and use it impulsively in response to something. And may they never forget we will always be there for them like the rainbow in the sky God gave Noah.

In the meantime, I pray for the strength to watch this teenage season in my son's life. I pray, in the middle of all the mess, I notice at least one, true, good thing daily that gives hope for the rest of my concerns. For God this was Noah at that moment.

"But Noah was different. God liked what he saw in Noah. This is the story of Noah: Noah was a good man, a man of integrity in his community. Noah walked with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Genesis 6:8-10 MSG)"

Thank you God for giving us Jesus to be that "Noah" in our daily walk with you.