Tuesday, November 19, 2013

I am always shocked at prejudice. I just don’t get it............

I am always shocked at prejudice. I just don’t get it—any prejudice.

The one I want to address here is prejudice against women. Like I said, I don’t get it. I know it is a spiritual
battle and the enemy hates women but he hates men too—why the prejudice against women today. Haven’t we evolved? The women’s movement of the 70’s was supposed to liberate us, instead we have a different kind of bondage.

In many places women are still considered just one level above an animal. Some religions still not only permit beating wives, torturing women, mutilations of women, they actually encourage it. 

This is still seen in the church. The words may speak equality but the actions often prove otherwise. Recently, I have been having discussions with another pastor and we were at an impasse on whether we would move forward together in ministry or not. My heart was broken but after being in prayer I realized that underneath it all he dismissed me because I am a woman and therefore considered emotional.

Let me point out that while I am definitely passionate—I am not emotional*. Actually, I am pretty logical. I hold most things close to my heart until I hear God clearly then BOOM, the decision is made, the time has come, the enthusiasm and the zealousness pour out. This looks emotional to most people.

Mike and I talked to the pastor together. Everything changed, just because Mike was there. Nothing I had been saying changed. Mike was respected and listened to…..

This should not be in the church. I cannot find any place in the Bible where women supposed to be considered less than men or sub-human.

Rachel and Leah
“Women often played pivotal roles in Jewish society, so it would not have been unusual for her (Mary of Magdala) to follow Jesus and the disciples. The pages of Jewish history are full of heroic matriarchs such as Rachel, Sarah, Leah, and Rebecca. Miriam worked with her brothers, Moses and Aaron, to lead the exodus from Egypt. And of course the prostitute Rahab helped bring about the Israelite victory over Jericho. Women in Jesus’s time were
Miriam
considered equal to men, though separate in their worldly responsibilities. They were allowed to choose their marriage partner, enter into contracts, buy and sell property, and would speak at weddings. It was forbidden for men to beat or mistreat women, and in the case of rape, it was understood that such an act occurred against a woman’s will and that the man was presumed guilty. In fact, women were treated better in the time of Jesus than they are in a great many places in the modern world.” Killing Jesus


What has happened? Why are we so distorted today? Where did all the error come from? Actually it doesn’t really matter how you reason it out….it is the enemy.  

Genesis 3:15 (HCSB)
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.

Nothing has changed since the Garden of Eden except that the enemy appears to be winning in the “prejudice against women” department.  After we moved to Guam I went to a church that was having a conference for pastors. It was 3 meetings a day for 6 days. I was so excited. The teachings were all by different missionaries. It was spirit-filled and exciting but I knew something was wrong. I could not put my finger on it. I decided to just enjoy it and filter the error out later.

Someone introduced me to the pastor’s wife. While we were shaking hands she asked if my husband was a pastor and I told her, “No, I am the pastor.” She dropped my hand like I had a disease, looked me up and down and turned her back. I could not believe it. I thought I had to be wrong. I went 3 days. Friday afternoon the speaker was a guy from Australia. He was terrific. His message was absolutely breath-taking so Friday night Mike and I decided to go together. We got there a few minutes before they were starting and it was packed to the roof. The usher walked us to the second row. The praise was old fashioned but lively and good.

Jezebel
Friday night was the Church’s head pastor. He came in and started preaching. His topic? Those Jezebel women who try to have a position in the church. Some of his great one-liners were: “If you have a strong personalitied woman who thinks she knows the word you need to tell her husband to get control of her. Jezebel women will try to take over the church. They will ruin your ministry. Keep them in their place.” Mike could not wait to get out of there. I saw the pastor’s wife on the way out and again she would not shake my hand.

When we got to the car Mike began to quote scripture after scripture about how much error that message presented. I do not think he had ever seen anything like this man. I have experienced this a lot. He went home and researched to make sure he knew the word. He did.

There are so many examples of how valued women were in the Bible. Women are equal to men—Jesus
proved it but that is not to say they are the same. They have different styles, different jobs but they should get the same respect. There is all kinds of word-twisting to make submission into something it is not.

What does this have to do with intercession?

It is time to take back the heritage of mankind. It is time discard the prejudice and prepare the whole body of Christ.

If you know a woman—pray for her. 
If she is in ministry pray double.

Pray for the bride to be clean and pure.

*  I used to be somewhat emotional but there is a transformation process in Christ.






Sunday, November 17, 2013

Guam is a vacation haven for Japanese tourists---and you can see why..............

Guam is a vacation haven for Japanese tourists--and you can see why:







Yesterday I watched a couple come to the beach--she was dressed in a long green dress and high-platform sandals. Her hair was "done" and she was "made" up. He was in shorts and sporting a very expensive camera.

She began to pose. Over and over, twisting and turning. Sometimes he posed her and other times she did all the posing, Arm up, head turned, knee out. Twist, turn, over and over. 



The thing is, this is not uncommon. The Japanese are dressed up for everything. Make up perfect, beautiful
outfits, hats, skin protection, and they take hundreds of pictures.They pose over ever situation. Pictures waiting for the bus, eating a burger, at K-Mart with cases of shampoo. It is what the Japanese do in Guam on vacation.

I actually love watching them. But, yesterday I was "on guard" knowing God was going to show me something. 





The green dress lady backed towards the water. He wanted her right by the waves. Twisting, turning and them a wave hit her feet--she squealed, jumped and took off away from the water holding her dress so it did not get wet. I chuckled but kept watching. A lot of the tourists are afraid of the water so that was not unusual either. They left.




I immediately heard the Lord. How many Christians are like this?

They come to Christianity.
They clean up.
They dress up.
They pose, looking like something they are not.

But when they get close to the power of the Holy Spirit and renewing water of the word they are frightened and run back to what was comfortable.

Sounds like the Israelites leaving Egypt doesn’t it…..

Know someone who is posing? Someone who is frightened?

Time to pray……

You can think about Guam when you do.................








Tuesday, November 12, 2013

It is Veterans Day which always causes me to wax nostalgic.




I was raised to be patriotic. I watched John Wayne movies with my dad. I read history books for fun. I love reading about weapons. I always look for military museums to visit when I travel. I blog on intercession. I teach on intercession. I preach on intercession. I have never figured out if I was called to be an intercessor because of my love for the military or if I loved the military because I was called to be an intercessor. You know like the chicken and the egg…..

I guess it really doesn’t matter but it does make me wonder. I mean, really, I LOOK normal.

As I have considered (and prayed over) every person I know that has served (including the families who serve in a different way but no less relevant) I have thought so much about intercession.

In the Military people know who the enemy is…..
In the church sometimes we fight the enemy, but that may also include the church, the unsaved—anyone who disagrees with us.



In the Military people who are wounded know the medics are coming……..



In the church people who are wounded withdraw so they are not wounded again by the ones who love them.



In the Military people who hear the call to war grab their prepared gear and take off…….
In the church people who hear the call to war try to figure out what their gear is, try to ignore it, justify it, explain it, or hide from it.

In the Military people are disciplined, they show up for work no matter what………
In the church most people are not—when was the last time you heard your pastor say, “We are cancelling the Bible Study because there are so many people coming we cannot handle it?”


I am not being critical—I am observing. These are things I see. People seem tired just “living” so being a Christian is just too much sometimes. I hear a lot of people talk about how hard it is to be a Christian—I completely disagree. It is hard to look for your next fix, your next drink, the money for your next cigarette. I could go on—but you get the point.

Galatians 6:9 KJV
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

He told us not to be weary in well doing for a reason—because he was letting us know we would become weary. We need to be on guard. He was also promising a reward if we do pay attention and do not let it happen.

The Military says……..
“I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.” George S. Patton

The word says……
  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10 

We are so similar—the military and the church. My heart’s cry for the military on Veteran’s Day was not all that different from my heart’s cry for the church each day.





We enlisted. We need to get our gear prepared. We need to get disciplined--in the word, in prayer, in our relationship with him. There is no AWOL in the Army of God.





The Ranger Creed 5th Stanza:
Energetically will I meet the enmies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field od battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever emabrrrass my country. 

Do you feel that way about Christ? Is that how you feel about the church?

My heart is breaking for the church.


  


 What breaks your heart?




Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Pack a bag…it is time to GO…..

We went to Hong Kong recently. God spoke to “go…” and we bought the first tickets available. The Lord spoke so strongly to me while we were there—and isn’t that His way when we are in the middle of obedience?


When the Lord speaks do you “go…” or do you rationalize, justify, argue, or do you “go…..”? We cry out to God and we expect—often times demand—quick answers. We want our needs met now. We pray, we expect. We talk to others when the answers do not come like we think they should.

Malachi 3:13-15

“You have spoken arrogantly against me,” says the Lord.
“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’
“You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’”

We decide (usually with help from our friends--think Job's friends) that God is testing us. Somehow we think our actions will coerce Him into doing what we want. Nowhere does the Word say He does tests/tempts us. He does let us know that it will happen. He shows us the way out of it. He protects us in the midst. “BUT He allows it.” Is the most common response. That is such a perverted excuse to sit down and mope. Sounds harsh doesn’t it? I guess it is but sometimes we need harsh to wake us up out of our legarthy. We are in a war and the enemy gives no mercy.



I Corinthians 10: 13 AMP

For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.

If we are following His leading we go through in the quickest, shortest, most efficient way possible. It is like going through those revolving doors. To enter the building you may have to go through the door but there is no reason to go round and round. Just go through.

Mark 16:15-18 HCSB

Then He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new languages; they will pick up snakes; if they should drink anything deadly, it will never harm them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.”


So many times when God tells us to “go…”we give Him all the reasons we cannot instead of “Yes Lord, where and when?”

When you die will people say she/he “went….” or will it be said she/he hesitated?

Matthew 9:35 HCSB

[ The Lord of the Harvest ] Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness.

The term “Jesus went…” is used in dozens of scriptures….be the one who goes both in the natural and in intercession. Pray for boldness for those who hesitate. It is time to love Him so much that we walk in the obedience that not only shows Him that love but also honors His command to love others as we love ourselves.



Pack a bag…
it is time to GO....