“But in relationships among the Lord’s people, women are not independent of men, and men are not independent of women. For although the first woman came from man, all men have been born from women ever since, and everything comes from God.”
Yesterday in church we sang the song “Brothers and Sisters in Christ.” The song tells how we all worship the same Lord united as one family. That’s what Paul is also talking about in today’s verses. In the Lord’s family, we are equally valuable regardless of gender, because we are all children of the Heavenly Father.
This statement was radical in Paul’s time, when women were treated as second-class citizens. I am blessed to live in a country where women have equal rights, and I’m blessed to worship in a church in which women have many opportunities for service and ministry. I thank God he’s placed me right where I am, free from the restrictions that held back many other Christian women in history.
Yesterday’s sermon addressed the loneliness of American culture. My pastor described how movies make heroes out of solitary figures like Batman or James Bond, who must operate alone to be effective. Also, we spend less time face-to-face with our neighbors, and more time in online communities. That’s not at all like the first-century Jewish culture, which was much more socially interdependent.
Today’s verse flies in the face of our culture’s treasured independence. As I wrote in my post two days ago, one of the most significant periods of growth in my faithwalk occurred when I started meeting with my small group. Prior to that time, I didn’t have many friends. I was a new mom living 15 minutes from town, in our house surrounded by 8 acres of woods. I’m independent by nature…but also sometimes too introverted, and at the time I was very lonely. Once I started attending the group, I felt connected to other people, and I felt better about myself.
I promote small groups as often as I can because I know how they help people feel included and valued at church. Nothing beats the hugs, smiles, laughter, and encouragement I receive from my sisters in Christ. If you aren’t involved in a church small group, would you contact your pastor today for help in connecting to one? I promise you will be blessed if you take this step.
Copyright 2009
Showing posts with label small group. Show all posts
Showing posts with label small group. Show all posts
Monday, August 17, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
1 Corinthians 10:13
“But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.”
Maybe when your eyes read the word “temptation,” your thoughts instantly flash to a particular weak spot. Just one of my weak spots I immediately think of is overeating, and that’s been almost a lifelong struggle. I’ve learned that no matter how mature a Christian is, they still struggle with temptation, even about the same issue over and over again—because we are all human. Satan will never give up trying to bait us with forbidden fruit.
However, God provides such grace in today’s verse. He encourages us by giving us a community of others tempted in the same way who can support us. And he also puts a limit on the strength of the temptation, while also providing a way out…how wonderful!
My faithwalk has grown exponentially as I have connected to my church small group. By meeting with my small group, I am part of the body of Christ and I am encouraged that I’m not alone. I can’t count the number of times that another Christian woman shares a struggle at small group, and I am so relieved that I don’t have to feel alone in that same struggle anymore.
That’s why it’s so important to reach out, as hard as it is, to other people during our times of need. Satan wants us to feel like our struggle is unique, but God tells us differently. We can make the choice to connect to supportive friends.
Another blessing God provides is staying with us himself during our temptation. Remember the story of Job? Any evil that Satan wanted to inflict upon Job had to be first approved by God—and God set limits on it. If you read the whole book of Job, you will see the purpose of Job’s suffering was to test Job’s faith, and once he passed the test, he received far greater blessing than he had had before the trials began.
God promises the same for each of us. Anything that happens to us, good or bad, must first pass through God’s hands before it gets to us. That’s how he sets limits on what we can endure. He won’t give us what we can’t handle—that is, without his help and without the help of other people. It’s our responsibility to look for the way out, and to connect to others during those difficult times. And speaking from my own experience, the blessings he provides after the trial are sweeter than I would have ever known, had I not gone through it.
While I write these words, I realize that many of you may feel alone and completely overwhelmed by whatever situation you face. Read this verse again and again, and meditate upon it, thinking about how you can apply it to your life. Jesus himself was tempted, and he understands what you’re going through. Ask him for help, and he will provide a way out and a friend to help you—if you watch and listen.
Copyright 2009
Maybe when your eyes read the word “temptation,” your thoughts instantly flash to a particular weak spot. Just one of my weak spots I immediately think of is overeating, and that’s been almost a lifelong struggle. I’ve learned that no matter how mature a Christian is, they still struggle with temptation, even about the same issue over and over again—because we are all human. Satan will never give up trying to bait us with forbidden fruit.
However, God provides such grace in today’s verse. He encourages us by giving us a community of others tempted in the same way who can support us. And he also puts a limit on the strength of the temptation, while also providing a way out…how wonderful!
My faithwalk has grown exponentially as I have connected to my church small group. By meeting with my small group, I am part of the body of Christ and I am encouraged that I’m not alone. I can’t count the number of times that another Christian woman shares a struggle at small group, and I am so relieved that I don’t have to feel alone in that same struggle anymore.
That’s why it’s so important to reach out, as hard as it is, to other people during our times of need. Satan wants us to feel like our struggle is unique, but God tells us differently. We can make the choice to connect to supportive friends.
Another blessing God provides is staying with us himself during our temptation. Remember the story of Job? Any evil that Satan wanted to inflict upon Job had to be first approved by God—and God set limits on it. If you read the whole book of Job, you will see the purpose of Job’s suffering was to test Job’s faith, and once he passed the test, he received far greater blessing than he had had before the trials began.
God promises the same for each of us. Anything that happens to us, good or bad, must first pass through God’s hands before it gets to us. That’s how he sets limits on what we can endure. He won’t give us what we can’t handle—that is, without his help and without the help of other people. It’s our responsibility to look for the way out, and to connect to others during those difficult times. And speaking from my own experience, the blessings he provides after the trial are sweeter than I would have ever known, had I not gone through it.
While I write these words, I realize that many of you may feel alone and completely overwhelmed by whatever situation you face. Read this verse again and again, and meditate upon it, thinking about how you can apply it to your life. Jesus himself was tempted, and he understands what you’re going through. Ask him for help, and he will provide a way out and a friend to help you—if you watch and listen.
Copyright 2009
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