Communication with our Father

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone
who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek him.”
……Hebrews 11:6

Knowing God intimately is our objective and as this verse says, “He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” As we come to know God, it requires a seeking spirit. Communication is vital for all relationships and vital as well to our personal relationship with God. The word “seek” is defined as trying to find a particular thing; to obtain something; to consult somebody to obtain something such as help or advice. I prefer that latter definition…..what better help or advice could we receive than God’s?

My seeking lately has led me to discovering God’s faithfulness. The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job and Psalms all show us the heart of God. We see how He fulfills the promises He gives to His people. Ezra sees God answer his prayers. Nehemiah sees God’s goodness when allowed to go rebuild the walls. Esther shows how God strengthened her character. Job’s depth of understanding God’s nature gives him victory over Satan. The Psalms are your journal guidebook and always celebrate God’s faithfulness.

God’s word is our source of strength and learning the nature of God. Continue to “earnestly seek” Him in prayer and His word. You will grow stronger as you spend time developing your relationship with God.

Be Still and Know that I AM God

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalms 46:10 NIV

Talking to the Lord as our friend and dialoging with Him is the key to having a regular day infused with prayer. He will speak back to us through our hearts and minds and we will begin to be totally aware of His presence in our lives. God is not distant from us and He longs for our communication with Him and to be the friend who accompanies as throughout our daily life.

Another practical step to infusing prayer into our daily life is removing some of the activity that pulls us away from our relationship with the Lord. We begin by looking at our schedules and seeing how much time we spend doing things, some of which are very good things, but still not relevant in this pursuit of prayer relationship with God. Margins are necessary in our lives to make room for hearing opportunities.

To develop a friendship we must spend time together, talk together, listen to each other, study each other’s character. We can compare this to our dating before marriage. We couldn’t wait to be together and to listen to every detail of each other’s day, to sit together, talk together, walk together and plan together for our future. This is God’s desire for us in relationship with Him. We must get to know Him personally. He is not a faraway being who is distant from His creation, He is a person who has every emotion that we have and loves and grieves for us. He wants to be our Father, our Daddy.

Leading Over the Summer

"For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Hebrews 6:10

Vacations, children out of school, company from out of town and other activities seem to overwhelm us during the summer season. It is vital however, to stay in touch with the women under your leadership regardless of the distractions.

Suggestions include:
-working out a schedule for meeting, visiting or mentoring with the group, continue meeting if only one or two women are able to attend
-making some personal contacts via note, email or phone on a regular basis
-praying with and for them consistently
-plan a vision sharing meeting for early August and celebrate

Jesus is our example of a leader and teacher when we observe his time with the disciples. He took time away with them, he taught, he modeled and he encouraged them in an on-going fashion.

All Part of the Body

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.”

There is a passion and joy that comes in being uniquely matched by God in an area of service in the body of Christ. When we are obedient to His leading we are like little kids at Christmas….every chance we have we actively spend in that area.

God has always used ordinary people to accomplish His work and He is still doing that today. The twelve disciples consisted of very ordinary men and Jesus gave them the responsibility of building the church and feeding the sheep. They were not scholars or even great leaders. We often feel we are inadequate to lead, teach, facilitate, administrate or use our practical skills, but when God is calling us to it, we are only required to be obedient. God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called.

When we moved to a new city and attended a huge church (to me anyway), I was so frightened that I went off by myself and cried out to God. His response to me was “take my hand and we will have a Great Adventure together”. So I envisioned holding my daddy’s hand and walking into the unknown and He brought me to the place that He had planned for me to serve and accomplish His purposes. Be encouraged to take the step to serve and be a part of the ministry for the Kingdom of God.

What Does It Take to Lead Women?

As a novice leader seeking to learn to lead, I discovered something very valuable. I knew that I loved God and He loved me, and secondly that I was a woman. What a simple concept. My background or training in leading women was not the key issue in the calling God had placed on my life. As a woman, I knew the way to build a relationship with the Lord and I knew what women want and need. The major concern for women is to be valued and loved and to have an identity. The relationship with Jesus as seen through the New Testament was one of loving and respecting women. He would talk to them in public, He would touch them in unclean conditions, He would heal them and forgive them. Women were part of His traveling team of disciples and they supported Him emotionally and financially. A woman was chosen to tell the Good News of the resurrection to the others.

So.....I know that Jesus and had the privilege of knowing Him most all of my life. As I grew and found that the needs I had as a woman were the same for most women, God led me into a position of teaching, training and sharing all about who He is. After the calling and the initial fear of obedience, I found that He would walk before me and provide training and mentors and give me His Word in scripture and study and prayer. The key to my knowledge was the relationship with Him and His constant direction in my life.

In responding to a calling of God, it is imperative to depend on Him and spend much time with Him to learn where He is leading you in the plan that He has set forth. Surrender of control and head knowledge into the hands of the Lord will provide the plan for leading women. What a joy to be used by God to share His story with women.

"Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8

Spiritual Mothering

Leading women has always been so exciting for me. I love to see them grow in the Lord and see how He gifts them and uses them in such unique ministries. In Titus 2:3-5 we are instructed to teach the older women to train the younger women. Age isn't so much the issue here as spiritual maturity. When God blesses us with knowledge of Him and the Word, we are to share that with other women.

While teaching in Nigeria I was referred to as Mama. I was curious why that was and they explained that they saw me a spiritual mother. What a blessing to think that God had allowed me to "mother" such beautiful women. That was my calling and ministry - to be doing just what God instructed women to do in Titus 2. It seems like there should be a school or degree that equips us to do something of this magnitude and yet God, in His wisdom knows that our sharing the truth with women about who He is and what He can do is all the education we need.

No matter where you are leading women or how you are leading women, know that you are their "spiritual mother" and that God has given you the gifts to accomplish this calling. Follow Him, listen to Him, and obey Him and you will continue to grow and have valuable truth to share with the women in your ministry and life.