Being a Woman of Influence Part I –

I have been teaching at retreats and women’s groups over the past 2 years on “Being a Woman of Influence”. Recently I did a retreat on this subject and we reviewed some women of the Bible and the influence they had on history. For this week let us look together at women that God used in different ways and see what we can learn from them…I hope you enjoy!

Esther – a woman who saved a Nation!

Esther to me is truly a fascinating woman and was a chosen woman by the Lord.

A few quick notes about her life.

1. She was adopted by a foster father (her cousin).

2. She had a gift of beauty.

3. She was recognized by the King and he chose her as his new wife.

4. She took her place as Queen even though it was not her choice.

5. She was not ashamed of her own race – in the end she needed to stand up and admit who she was and where she came from. This helped her save her Nation.

6. She was a great leader and when decisions were needed to be made she was ready to do it.

Esther was placed at a very key time in history when her nation needed to be helped. Now we know that the Lord does not need our help to do anything but He chooses to use us and it is up to us to respond to his calling.
Esther 4:14 (New International Version)
“… And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
Many times we talk about the phrase ‘for such a time as this”. God called Esther and this was her time. I am intrigued by this phrase. To think that God has called each one of us to make a mark in History. God created each of us for His purpose and to help complete his work. How exciting to think that God wants to use me in a special way. WOW!
Ladies it only took this one woman to save a nation. It only took one woman to take prayer out of school. It takes only one woman to save or change a life.
We are in uncertain times as we all know. The Lord’s return can come at any moment. Has and is God calling you to this point in time to save a life, a family, a NATION? Can you be the one to put pray back in school?
Remember it only took one woman!!! For such a time as this….Is this your time?
Lynn W.

Top of the Table Dealings…

Not a phrase I had ever heard before. Have you? Basically it’s the reverse of a phrase we have all probably heard; “under the table.” Let me be totally transparent, in the past, B.C., I have accepted payment for work without having paid taxes on it, let alone tithe, what was that? In my mind and in many minds the government got enough money in taxes. Everyone does it, if they don’t they are the fools. That was my attitude. It was a wrong and sinful attitude to have and I was the fool. I have often been foolish with money and have literally paid the consequences.
As I said since I have come to know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, I am learning to look at things in the light of His perspective. And now I have become well, let’s say a little gun shy. I have a certain amount of money I am responsible to invest for my son’s future. I have been tight fisted with it and fearful of investing and loosing it all. So what am I going to do with it? For a time I figuratively speaking, buried it in a hole for safe keeping and it made no interest. (Matthew 25:25, And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.) Then being the wildly wise investment guru that I am I put it in a savings account earning about a 1/2 percent interest. A short time after I had heard of something called I – Bonds and I invested it in that which offers a higher interest rate and short term lock down of the money. Do I sound like I know what I’m talking about? I don’t. This is my child’s money, it’s not a lot and even if it gained a high amount of interest it’s still by no means a fortune. But it is what his father and I are able to set aside for him and it should be invested wisely. I’d like all that I invest plus a good amount of interest to be there when I want to cash out. I don’t want to invest one cent in anything like tobacco companies etc…, or to have a big tax burden on the end.
In my sluggish search for a good investment opportunity I was reading about one firm’s principals and vision. The title of this devotional comes out of their literature and it is that kind of commitment to integrity that makes me feel a little more comfortable with investing.
Top of the table dealings for money I am entrusted with, that sounds like something God will bless. In fact, His word says that if we can be trusted with little we will be entrusted with much. I haven’t always been able to be trusted with little and in turn had been given little. As it says in God’s word, so it is; (Matthew 25:29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.) The Lord is teaching me His financial ways, I don’t always get it right, but I want to get it right more often than not. How about you? How do you handle money?
Do you know what God’s financial ways are? Do you want to know? Here is a place to start, Read: Matthew 25:14-29, Matthew 6:1-4 and 25-34, Proverbs 31:10-31.

Dina

Pride. Humph.
Ever get the feeling God’s trying to tell you something?
In September, Dr. Dan Skogan spoke at our monthly Families For Christ ministry for married colony Couples. His topic was Pride and Humility. I wasn’t in the room 15 minutes before I knew God was speaking to me.
Dr. Dan quickly got to a list of 12 manifestations of pride. I had 14 of them!!
Let me share these with you for your personal pondering:

Manifestations of Pride:
1. Complaining against or passing judgment on God (Rom 9:20)
2. A lack of gratitude (Matt 20:1-16)
3. Anger (Mark 14:4-5)
4. Seeing yourself as better than others (Luke 7:36-50)
5. Having an inflated view of your importance, gifts, and abilities (1 Cor 4:7)
6. Being focused on the lace of your gifts and abilities (1 Cor 12:14-25)
7. Perfectionism
8. Talking too much (Prov 10:19)
9. Talking too much about yourself (Prov 27:2)
10. Seeking independence or control (1 Cor 1:10-13)
11. Being consumed with what other people think (Gal 1:10)
12. Being devastated or angered by criticism (Prov 13:1)

Proud? Who me? Yes, me!

Dr. Skogan gave much food for thought and I will be using more of his materials, with permission, next month.

Diane

No Big Deal

I recently watched the film “Time Changer” and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about its message. God’s Word is Truth and we can’t cut corners, or make compromises with the Word, or think that what is in the Word is old fashioned and out of date.
Why…. if God were to write a few more chapters today, He would have more knowledge of what “science” has discovered since the Bible was written or just been more update in His thinking. Divorce is okay not just in the case of adultery but…for mistakes, a change of mind or if times get too hard. Homosexuality isn’t a sin; it’s something you’re born with, just another lifestyle. Addiction…what does God know about that? It’s a disease, a genetic disorder. We evolved from apes. It’s ignorant to think we began in the garden with Adam and Eve.
As a society we have bought into those lies and so many others. We have become friendly with the world. We have come to think that it’s no big deal to compromise here or there. We never meant to stray this far from the Truth of the Bible, but we did. James 4:4 says “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Any one who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” Adulterous people. When we compromise His Holy Word or think we can be satisfied by something other than God, we are cheating on God…in other words adulterers.
That is very serious. We are no different from the people of Israel before the exile, who began to slowly compromise their faith. Look how far they strayed. I’m sure they never thought they would have gone that far in sin and disobedience when they made their first compromise. James was warning the first century church that they were becoming a bit too friendly with the world. He called them adulterers too.
2 Peter 1:20-21 says, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had is origin in the will of man but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Do we believe His Holy Word? If we do then we know that everything we find in Scripture is God’s Truth and nothing has caught Him by surprise. Not addiction, nor homosexuality nor any other lies of the world.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a friend of the world and in so doing become an enemy of God. It is a big deal when we compromise. We have the Truth, we needn’t look to the world. We have all we need for living a victorious life and all we need to do is go to the source …His Holy Scripture.

Mary Ann

It all started in Exodus when Moses asked the One in the burning bush, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you.'” Exodus 3:13-14

Fast forward to the New Testament, when the I AM walked among us….

These are statements of who Jesus says He is…
I am the bread of life. John 6:48; I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” John 6:51

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5

Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. John 10:7; I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 10:9

I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. John 10:14

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. John 11:25

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:29

TODAY: Worship the Great I AM.

Diane

In recent devotionals I have shared what I have learned about recognizing God’s voice. I believe most people hear various “voices” or “thoughts in their heads. Sometimes we hear good, helpful voices. Other times the voices or thoughts are very discouraging and demeaning. I have found we are so strongly influenced by the negative voices that we begin to believe the worst thoughts about ourselves.
Before I wrote the book, I’m Listening, Lord, I asked God to give me thoughts that would help me teach others how to know the difference between God’s voice and Satan’s voice. Almost immediately I began to write down the thoughts I have been sharing with you. I have already elaborated on Christ Convicts/Satan Condemns; Christ Clarifies/Satan Confuses. Today I want to share the concept Christ Confirms/Satan Contradicts.

Christ confirms our ideas generally through Scripture. When my husband and I were considering joining Campus Crusade for Christ, Glen needed to know that God would take care of those who received Christ through the Four Spiritual Laws, Campus Crusade’s evangelistic tract. As Glen was searching the Scripture for confirmation, God showed him John 15:16, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain.

Glen could have made the decision to join staff just because I was nagging him, but instead he waited until he had received scriptural confirmation from God.

We have become so influenced by our societal standards that we forget to check and confirm our actions with Scripture. The Bible is very clear on its stance regarding marriage, divorce, fidelity, homosexuality, modesty, and most issues we are faced with today. Satan is the one who rearranges and tries to rewrite Scripture. He has been contradicting scripture since Eve. Read Genesis 3 to see how Satan managed to contradict God’s word. To be able to check God’s word before taking any action, it is, of course, best if we have become students of God’s Word. However, a lack of knowledge of Scripture should never be an acceptable excuse. We can always check a good concordance or topical Bible to get God’s perspective on the decisions we make.

Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed by his word by the signs that accompanied it (Mark 16:20).

CHRIST CONFIRMS/SATAN CONTRADICTS

Marilyn Heavilinsubscription, reply to victorycall-unsubscribe@lists.americaskeswick.org

I have to smile. I have been hoping that God would give me ideas and experiences that would be appropriate to share in Victory Calls. And He did. God doesn’t waste anything and doesn’t seem to be interested in fluff. I have on occasion prayed and asked God to change me and use me that I may share life truths with other women on this journey. That’s a nice way of saying I have been willing to be a guinea pig, a living example of God’s hand at work. Of course, by God taking me up on that, I have experienced things that remind me that I am weak and that I am a sinner, and I have not arrived.
God had been working in my life for a few weeks, challenging me to pray in faith not in fear. I wasn’t sure exactly what that looked like. I really wanted to pray in faith but I had nagging fears that captured my attentions and hindered me, sometimes. Perhaps it would make more sense if I explained it this way… There were times I would be praying about a situation but what I was picturing in my mind was not victory but defeat. I would finish my prayers having done what a ‘good Christian’ should do but none-the-less felt defeated. I could just sense God trying to reveal the unbelief in such prayers.
I was reading a book From Fear to Freedom by Rose Marie Miller when I was stopped in my tracks. Miller wrote: “We confessed our unbelief; that is, that we had been praying for Barbara with a negative image of her future, without praising God for Christ’s power to change her. We confessed that our minds had been clouded with doubts.” That’s what I had been doing! Praying with unbelief! What could be more discouraging that to pray, not believing for victorious results? I was praying fearing the wiles of the enemy, rather than praying believing the surpassing power of God to transform and to grant victory.
Father, forgive me for my unbelief. Teach me to pray, believing.

How are your prayers?

Diane

Delight in the Lord (Part Two)

Earlier the same night that my husband was reading to me, I’d been to a meeting. The meeting opened with a song I’d only heard, in part, on the radio. (It’s this song I’d listened to over and over again on the way to work that caused my heart to dance).

That night, as the song began to play my heart began to well up within me. Unlike David my worship took the form of tears, free flowing tears! The song wasn’t even a little bit sad. However, something in the words struck a deep part of me, so much so that my soul responded. Just being in the room at that time was the culmination of something that only God Himself knew. He alone knows and knew how my heart longed to express and how I hadn’t for such a very long time. The words were simple and yet powerful to me.

All Things Are Possible
(Australia Hillsongs)

“Almighty God
I lift You up
My hiding place
My safe refuge
No other name like Jesus
No power can stand against you.

My feet are planted on this rock
And I will not be shaken
My hope it comes from you alone
My Lord
And my salvation!

Your praise is always on my lips!
Your Word is living in my heart
And I will praise you with a new song
My soul will bless you, Lord

You fill my life with greater joy
Yes I delight myself in You
And I will praise You with a new song
My soul will bless You, Lord.

When I am weak You make me strong
When I am poor, You make me rich
For in the power of Your name
All things are possible!
All things are possible!
All things are possible!”

CCLI #1301252

I wish that I could share that song with all of you in person and we could have our own dance of worship, celebrating the God of our salvation, who has led us from victory to victory.

The songs tempo was happy, upbeat and so encouraging to my spirit that I asked to borrow it and that’s how I wound up with it in my car, playing it over, over, over, over and over again. I couldn’t help myself!! I wanted to experience the joy expressed in the song and each time I heard it was a delight!

My friends, today, whether it’s in a recorded song or some other thing, find something to praise God for and then rejoice; worship with all that is presently in you.

Stephanie

Delight in the Lord (Part One)

A couple of nights ago my husband was reading to me from a daily devotional book by D.A. Carson, titled For the Love of God. The reading was for September 11th. In the devotion the author described David as “an intense man, exuberant in his pleasure, crushed in his discouragement, powerful in his leadership, unrestrained in his worship.”

It was that last part which most captured my attention – “unrestrained in his worship”. What does; what could that possibly look like? II Samuel 6:14 gives us a clear, unmistakable example of David’s intense worship before the Lord. Verse 14a says, “and David danced before the Lord with all of his might. The verse finishes by saying, “David was wearing a linen ephod. An ephod? Now, I have to be honest and tell you, my first thought was one of David in his underwear. The image came from watching “David”, the Hollywood produced movie wherein he is portrayed dancing through the streets in what looks look a loin cloth…in other words, underwear.

Anyway, being ignorant of the word, I though it best that I at least look it up. Guess what, it isn’t what I thought. The short definition – it’s an apron, but not just your mama’s old apron. This apron, according to Webster is “a richly embroidered apron-like vestment having two shoulder straps and ornamental attachments for securing the breastplate.” When I looked it up on the internet I was impressed by how ornate it actually was. So, needless to say, David was dressed for the occasion and after closer investigation in scripture I believe he was more than appropriately dressed. He was after all celebrating God. (Sort of puts how we choose to dress for Sunday morning worship in a different light.)

So we know from this that not only did David dance with all his might, he did so in priestly garments. What is the chance that David was concerned about how he looked? To dance with all your might has to look a little bit crazy, but David didn’t care one iota what any single, solitary, individual person thought of him. His love for God was huge, so huge that not even funny looks or potential murmurings of men deterred him from worshipping His God. At that moment worship was the only thing on his mind.
In David’s mind and heart God was big and people were small. D.A. Carson pens it like this, “…he is so God-centered he cares very little about his persona.”

I think it’s safe to say that I am not like David. I tried to be the other day and I couldn’t do it. I was too conscious of where I was and the fact that I might be seen.
All the way to work that day I was singing and praising God in my car. (Since I was driving I obviously was not able to dance.) But oh how I wanted to. I so much wanted to get out of my car and dance before the Lord. I thought to myself, “why don’tcha?” So, I decided I would do exactly that just as soon as I arrived at work. I drove on the grounds, clocked in, parked and got out intending to do just as I’d planned. The song was still playing and both my mind, heart and body were ready to go…but I didn’t do it. I was after all here at work, and dancing isn’t allowed, and someone might see me, blah, blah, blah. I chickened out! Nonetheless, my joy was still intact and I praised God in a different way.

What is the point of all this? My point, my hope is to encourage us to long for, and seek after God in such a way that we, like David can just as passionately abandon ourselves and worship God with all our might. No excuses.
Our worship may not look like David’s and dear ones, that’s 100% okay. Whatever it looks like will be and is as individual as we all are. Whatever it is; whatever the measure or intensity of your worship, do it!

Indwelling each of us is the Spirit of the same God that David’s heart was after. Dare we be bold enough to take God at His Word and enter into worshipping Him, without a care of who sees or hears; without any concern over how we’ll be judged or criticized?

Stephanie

What are you thinking?

Penny for your thoughts….Just think….I have been thinking…did you ever think about…what are you thinking about…what were you thinking?

We have a lot of ways of expressing the word thinking. Today I found myself in the middle of a few situations. Home had some things I needed to attend to. At the present I am at work with many things needing attention and I also had a few things that needed to be addressed with family and church. Not that anything was wrong, there was just a lot going on and somehow it all needed to be worked out. I needed to think.

In one of my favorite videos, a young British boy says… “I need to have me a bit of a think”. This phrase described my day.

The web dictionary (www.dictionary.com) says the following about the word “think”, along with much more.

think1
1.
to have a conscious mind, to some extent of reasoning, remembering experiences, making rational decisions, etc.
2.
to employ one’s mind rationally and objectively in evaluating or dealing with a given situation: Think carefully before you begin.

As I was having a bit of a think, I looked up and over my desk, and the following verses are in a picture frame and they helped me rethink how I needed to think.
Philippians 4:8-9 (New International Version)
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you”.
Philippians 4:8-9 (Amplified Bible)
“For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].
The dictionary can give us a definition but the Word of God gives us instruction. So the next time you stop to have a bit of a think…read over these verses.
These verses tell us to think on these things, fix our minds on them. What are we to think on or fix our minds on? Things that are truth, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. What is this describing? The Lord is true, right, pure and praiseworthy. If our mind is fixed on Him first the rest of our thoughts can be filled by Him.
When you need to just think about things, remember to think of Him first and then ask Him to direct your thoughts.
Lynn W