This week's quote is:
"As Christian women, we must repudiate the worlds agenda for women and seek to understand the Words agenda for women... we must determine to be obedient to the the Word of God no matter what is says, with no comporomises. This is what is means to be a woman of the Word. We must find out what the Bible teaches about marriage, about children, about men and women and their roles, and then we must be obedient with no apologies, no matter what the cost. Is this radical Christianity? No. This is basic Christianity."
"As Christian women, we must repudiate the worlds agenda for women and seek to understand the Words agenda for women... we must determine to be obedient to the the Word of God no matter what is says, with no comporomises. This is what is means to be a woman of the Word. We must find out what the Bible teaches about marriage, about children, about men and women and their roles, and then we must be obedient with no apologies, no matter what the cost. Is this radical Christianity? No. This is basic Christianity."
~Nancy Wilson ~The Fruit of His hands
***
If you were to go into a room full of women and do a survey about which character in the Scriptures had affected their lives the most, 99% would answer with the name of a male character!
Joseph gives us courage to stand up for what's right under persecution and teaches us about forgiveness.
Moses give us key leadership encouragement.
Joshua teaches us about courage and victory.
And the list goes on. But where are the lives of our Bible Sisters? Why are they so conspicupusly absent from our lists?
Several years ago, a Christian psychologist and Bible teacher challenged my heart to find a Bible heroine - a woman in scripture whose life experiences mirrored my own, who had come through her trials victoriously. I immediately began praying and searching through all the women's stories to find this Scriptural mentor.
After several weeks, I was feeling discouraged - I had found several who had suffered some form of sexual abuse, but none who had inspired my heart because they overcame the effects of it.
As I continued my research. I came to the book of Ruth. All of the sermons and books I ever heard about Ruth dealt with her love and faithfulness to her mother-in-law or her romance to Boaz. They painted glowing pictures of her life and character.
"Have you considered Ruth?" The Lord nudged my heart as I prepared to turn the page.
"No, there's nothing here for me, Lord," I said, determined to move on. "Ruth never suffered from incest or anything like that. There's nothing in her story to even hint at it."
But the Lord wouldn't let the issue go. "Where did Ruth come from?"
"Well, Duh! Lord, everyone knows she was a Moabite." I felt irritated at His insistence.
His gentle voice persisted. "Yes, She was a Moabite. But where did the Moabites come from?"
"Okay Lord, I'll Bite. Where did the Moabites come from?" I did a name search and found their origin in Genesis 19:36-38. 36
So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. (NIV)
Now He had my attention. Ruth was a descendant of the tribe of incest. The more I studied Ruth - her behavior, her emotional responses to those around her and the events of the book, the more I began to understand and see her as one who had walked a similar road to my own. The evidence was all there.
The message from the Lord to my heart was this: "It doesn't matter what is in your past - I will orchestrate the events of your life and bring you to the place I desire for you - as a Daughter of God!"
I found my Bible heroine and wrote her story in novel form to share her life from the perspective of an overcomer of sexual abuse. Through Ruth's story, my life has been enriched, stirred and forever changed. Thank you Ruth! I pray that others will be as touched by her story and her life as I have been.
"We must find out what the Bible teaches about marriage, about children, about men and women and their roles, and then we must be obedient with no apologies, no matter what the cost. Is this radical Christianity? No. This is basic Christianity."
Joseph gives us courage to stand up for what's right under persecution and teaches us about forgiveness.
Moses give us key leadership encouragement.
Joshua teaches us about courage and victory.
And the list goes on. But where are the lives of our Bible Sisters? Why are they so conspicupusly absent from our lists?
Several years ago, a Christian psychologist and Bible teacher challenged my heart to find a Bible heroine - a woman in scripture whose life experiences mirrored my own, who had come through her trials victoriously. I immediately began praying and searching through all the women's stories to find this Scriptural mentor.
After several weeks, I was feeling discouraged - I had found several who had suffered some form of sexual abuse, but none who had inspired my heart because they overcame the effects of it.
As I continued my research. I came to the book of Ruth. All of the sermons and books I ever heard about Ruth dealt with her love and faithfulness to her mother-in-law or her romance to Boaz. They painted glowing pictures of her life and character.
"Have you considered Ruth?" The Lord nudged my heart as I prepared to turn the page.
"No, there's nothing here for me, Lord," I said, determined to move on. "Ruth never suffered from incest or anything like that. There's nothing in her story to even hint at it."
But the Lord wouldn't let the issue go. "Where did Ruth come from?"
"Well, Duh! Lord, everyone knows she was a Moabite." I felt irritated at His insistence.
His gentle voice persisted. "Yes, She was a Moabite. But where did the Moabites come from?"
"Okay Lord, I'll Bite. Where did the Moabites come from?" I did a name search and found their origin in Genesis 19:36-38. 36
So both of Lot's daughters became pregnant by their father. 37 The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab; he is the father of the Moabites of today. 38 The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the Ammonites of today. (NIV)
Now He had my attention. Ruth was a descendant of the tribe of incest. The more I studied Ruth - her behavior, her emotional responses to those around her and the events of the book, the more I began to understand and see her as one who had walked a similar road to my own. The evidence was all there.
The message from the Lord to my heart was this: "It doesn't matter what is in your past - I will orchestrate the events of your life and bring you to the place I desire for you - as a Daughter of God!"
I found my Bible heroine and wrote her story in novel form to share her life from the perspective of an overcomer of sexual abuse. Through Ruth's story, my life has been enriched, stirred and forever changed. Thank you Ruth! I pray that others will be as touched by her story and her life as I have been.
"We must find out what the Bible teaches about marriage, about children, about men and women and their roles, and then we must be obedient with no apologies, no matter what the cost. Is this radical Christianity? No. This is basic Christianity."
***
Our hostess this week is Chelsey over at her site Joyful Living. Be sure to pop on over and see what Chelsey shared today. While you're there, leave her a comment and visit some of the other participants' blogs.
If you'd like to play along, simply bolg about the quote on your site, then visit Chelsey and leave your URL in the Mr. Linky box.
4 comments:
Wow! I am going to a women's conference in September and the theme is the book of Ruth. I will listen with different ears after reading this. Bless you for sharing.
Bonnie,
I LOVE this. I will be adding your book to my "need to get and read list". Thank you.
I love Ruth! And another woman of the Bible that has become such a role model to me is Sara. She is my example of true Biblical Submission.
There is another quote by Nancy Wilson that I have grown to love:
"A woman who trusts in God can rest in her submission to her husband and can do good in her calling as a wife and a mother. This puts her in a position of strength, enabling her to be like Sarah, who was 'not afraid with any terror'."
Thanks for sharing today!
I've been studying the book of Ruth lately and it is really speaking to my heart too!
Thanks for sharing this!
sheila
Ruth & Esther are two of my greatest women heroes of the Bible. Their courage is a characteristic that I admire so much. Thank you for sharing your heart with us today. I have a new respect for my hero...
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