The Monday Memo from John Stanko

840: Always Doing Good

We continue our study of women of purpose in the Bible this week, and it is one of my favorite examples of purpose in the Bible. It is the story of a woman who was not well connected, did not have money or power, and did not touch hundreds of lives. She simply had a heart for the poor and the ability to sew, and she combined those two things into one of the more remarkable purpose expressions in God's word. Her name was Tabitha or Dorcas, and here is her story:

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!" Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord (Acts 9:36-42).

ANALYSIS

If you are like me, for many years, I made Peter the focus when I read the above passage. For this Memo, let's make Dorcas the focus. If Dorcas was alive today, she would have a sewing machine, a source for material, and a heart to sew for the poor. She was a "nothing" woman - she had no prestige or position - in a "nowhere" village who was helping 'nobody' people. Dorcas had nothing going for her except that she was a woman of purpose, always doing good and helping the poor. Therefore in reality, she had everything going for her.

When she walked through her village, she saw the same people everyone else saw, but she viewed them through the eyes of purpose. She saw poor women who needed clothing. Your purpose sensitizes you to things around you that you think everyone should or can see, but they cannot. You see them because it's part of who God made you to be. If you are thinking, "Why doesn't someone do something about what I see?", you don't understand that they cannot do something because they cannot see what you see. You are the somebody who needs to do something.

Dorcas took it upon herself to help her neighbors and obviously became an important part of the community. Then one day, Dorcas passed away and her neighbors were sad. In her day of trouble, however, when she could not cry out on her own behalf, the evidence of a life yielded to God's purpose cried out for her. Peter, the most significant spiritual leader at the time, broke off what he was doing to come down and view her dead body. He was so moved both by how much everyone missed Dorcas and by the impact she had made while she was alive that he brought her back from the dead to continue her work.

Once that happened, a revival broke out in Dorcas' village and she never even preached a message. She just did good deeds for poor people. What an amazing story.

APPLICATION

Do you see any needs around you that you can meet like Dorcas did? If you do, what are you waiting for? Go meet them! Are you hung up on what you don't have and what you can't do? Then start focusing on what you do have and can do. Have you convinced yourself that you can't make a difference in the world around you, or have you chosen not to make that difference? Either way, your thinking is wrong! The only reason you can't is that you have told yourself you can't and it has become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Please take the lessons from Dorcas' life to heart this week and follow her example. When you do, you have all of heaven's attention, no matter how trivial or insignificant what you are doing seems to be. It's time to stop examining what you don't have and consider what you do have, and that is a purpose that no one else can perform like you. It's time that you answer a difficult and challenging question: When you leave, will people miss you like they missed Dorcas? The only way you will be able to answer yes is to start fulfilling your purpose today, right now, where you are, with what you have. As you do, you will not only have a great week, but also a great life.

839: A Woman Leader

Last week, we looked at three women of faith who were involved in the life of baby Moses. The first was his mother, named Jochebed according to tradition, the second was Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted baby Moses, and the third was Miriam, Moses' older sister. We don't hear anything about the first two women after the story of Moses adoption in Exodus 2:1-10, but we do hear more about Miriam, so let's look at what we know as we continue this series on women of purpose in the Bible.

 A WOMAN OF FAITH

I pointed out last week that Miriam was a bold young girl with faith, for she emerged from the reeds along the river to speak with Pharaoh's daughter, the princess, and offer to find a woman to nurse the baby. That took courage and a bit of the dramatic, for Miriam had to "act" like she didn't know to whom the baby belonged.

Moses was raised in Pharaoh's household for 40 years, then fled into the wilderness for 40 years before he returned to order the then-ruling Pharaoh to "let My people go." Let's assume that Miriam was 10 years older than Moses, which would mean that she was 90 years old when Moses came back to Egypt to fulfill his purpose of delivering and leading Israel (and we see no mention that Miriam was married). We learn in Micah 6:4 that, "I [the Lord] brought you up from the land of Egypt, I redeemed you from the house of bondage; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam." It is commonly said that Moses, or perhaps Moses and Aaron led Israel out of Egypt. Few people include Miriam in a leadership role, but the Lord clearly saw her as one.

When the people of God crossed through the parted Red Sea, they saw Pharaoh's army destroyed by those same waters when they returned to their place. The elderly Miriam is referenced once again, identified as a prophet and a leader:

When Pharaoh’s horses, chariots and horsemen went into the sea, the Lord brought the waters of the sea back over them, but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women followed her, with timbrels and dancing. Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. Both horse and driver he has hurled into the sea" (Exodus 15:19-21, emphasis added).

A WOMAN OF POWER

We later learn in Numbers 12 that Miriam was unhappy with Moses' selection of a wife and enlisted Aaron in  criticizing Moses, perhaps feeling threatened or slighted by this foreign in-law. The Lord summoned the three siblings to His presence where He rebuked Miriam and Aaron. During that encounter, Miriam was smitten with leprosy: "So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on till she was brought back" (Numbers 12:15). It seems that the people could not move on during her seven-day ordeal, for her leadership and presence were an irreplaceable part of the people of God in the Wilderness.

Miriam was obviously a powerful woman with a significant leadership position, which she misused at one point to try and usurp Moses' position and authority. Nevertheless, she was faithful for many decades and even in her wayward moment, she became an example to God's people of how not to act, as well as an example of God's grace that restored her: "In cases of defiling skin diseases, be very careful to do exactly as the Levitical priests instruct you. You must follow carefully what I have commanded them. Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam along the way after you came out of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 24:8-9).

God expects women of purpose to function in their assignment, and that assignment may bring them into leadership. When they lead, they are held to the same standard as anyone else and are to use their leadership power to serve others, not to seek more power or authority. Have you, or a woman you know, held back from expressing your purpose because you were ambivalent about your gender? Then I urge you to consider Miriam and accept your purpose, or to encourage a woman who is struggling with that issue. God is not nearly as "hung up" on the gender issue as some of His people are, and He will continue to equip women with gifts and purpose. It is up to those women to accept God's assignment, and it is up to those around them to accept the fact that God will indeed choose and empower women of purpose to do His will and lead His people. Have a blessed week!

838: Three Women and a Baby

Happy New Year! I trust you enjoyed a good holiday season and that you are entering 2018 with hope and faith. I promised to resume our series on women of purpose in the Bible, so let's go back to the book of Exodus and look at not one, but three women, and their role in the life of one little baby who was eventually assigned the name of Moses.

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER

Now a man of the tribe of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him (Exodus 2:1-4).

Moses' mother (the Torah reported that her name was Jochebed) gave birth to her son at a time when Pharaoh had ordered that all male babies be tossed into the Nile River to drown or be eaten by crocodiles. Many mothers complied, but Moses' mother saw that there was something different about her baby - that he was a "fine" or "no ordinary" child. She recognized her baby's purpose and decided to protect him.

When she could not hide him any longer, she finally complied with Pharaoh's decree. She put her child in the Nile, but first, she built and then placed him in a waterproof basket! That was a creative way to comply with the rule, and represented complete trust that God would oversee the purpose she had discovered in her baby's eyes.

Then the baby's sister, who we assume was Miriam, followed the basket as it floated down the river and got stuck in some reeds along the shore. Why would this young girl follow the basket's progress unless she and her mother believed that something good, something miraculous was going to transpire to save their son and brother.

PRINCESS AND SLAVE

Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said. Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” “Yes, go,” she answered. So the girl went and got the baby’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water" (Exodus 2:5-10).

Pharaoh's daughter had her slave retrieve the baby when they discovered him as the princess was ready to bathe. God had taken the baby right to royalty's bathtub, so to speak, and had the baby cry on cue so that the princess' sympathies were aroused. Moses' sister was not afraid and revealed herself and offered to find a woman to nurse the baby, and the princess agreed.

Pharaoh's daughter, like the baby's mother, defied the king's order and adopted the baby. Why didn't Pharaoh question where this baby came from? Why didn't one of the slaves report the princess' unusual act to the king?  That didn't happen because Moses floated down the river, not on the waters of the Nile, but on his mother's and sister's faith. That faith coincided with the princess' bathing schedule, that faith caused the baby to cry, that faith then caused Pharaoh's household to pay Moses' mother to nurse her own child!

LESSONS

All three of these women had faith and God used them all to carry out His plan to save His people through Moses, their leader and deliverer. While their names were not revealed or preserved, the product of their faith, Moses, is known by countless millions. Perhaps God has empowered you to recognize the purpose of someone else and is asking you to exercise faith that will encourage and nurture that person's destiny? Maybe you will derive your own livelihood from "nursing" the purpose of others, or invest your resources in their care and development? Or are you fearlessly to "follow" the river path of someone else to watch over and speak up for them when they cannot speak for themselves?

These three women changed history because they had faith. I encourage you to have the same kind of faith for those who are closest to you, and watch God fulfill His purpose through them because of you. Have a blessed week!

833: The Annunciation

Next week, we will begin our countdown to Christmas with stories of the angels, the Magi, and my annual classic that focuses on Handel's Messiah. This week I want to do one last entry in our women of purpose in the Bible series and look at a woman who figured prominently in the Christmas story: Mary, the mother of Jesus. Some are hesitant to talk much about Mary due to the position the Catholic Church has assigned her, but Mary is worthy of our consideration as a woman of purpose, so let's see what we can learn from Mary's life that can help us in our PurposeQuest. (I wrote about this just a month ago, so you may also want to check out that post as well.)

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Here is the announcement that ushered in the Christmas story:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her (Luke 1:26-38).

We don't know much about Mary since this is the first mention of her in the Bible. God made a decision that Mary was to be the mother of Jesus, and sent Gabriel to make the announcement. Put yourself in Mary's place. She was probably a teenager. Perhaps this was her first encounter with supernatural being. She was engaged, but was informed that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. With all that background, Mary asked one question and only one: "How can this be?"

THE ANSWER

The angel gave her a simple answer: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you." Mary had as much information after the question as before, for she did not have an awareness of the Spirit that we have today. All she understood was that God was going to make it happen. It is fascinating to me that she did not ask another question, but simply responded, "May your word to be be fulfilled." That represents great faith, which is the prerequisite for anyone to find and fulfill his or her purpose. You may think that Mary's purpose was to give birth to Jesus. It was not. To identify her purpose, we go a little further into Luke's gospel to see the words of Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, that define Mary's purpose: "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

It was Mary's role to oversee in faith the promises and mission of her son, Jesus. Mary was there when the shepherds came to see Jesus, when the Magi came to worship Jesus, when Herod came to kill Jesus, when the elders of Israel listened to 12-year-old Jesus, when Jesus began His public ministry, when Jesus was hung on a cross, and when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. If Mary's purpose was to give birth to Jesus, her purpose was finished the day He was born. Her purpose to believe God for her Son's protection and blessing was a lifelong task.

THE APPLICATION

Perhaps you have not progressed in your purpose because you want more information. You have asked "How can this be?" and received the same answer as Mary did: "God will accomplish it." Since that is not specific enough for you, you wait, and wait, and wait, and today you are no further along than you were a few years ago because your expectations are unrealistic. God does not owe you a full explanation before you begin to take steps in your PurposeQuest. Thus you wait, and therefore He waits, and you end up staying in exactly the same place as you have been for quite a while, satisfied that you are waiting on the Lord.

I urge you this holiday season to reconsider Mary and her role not only in the Christmas story but also in the life of Jesus. Observe her reactions and responses, and apply them to your own life. Your role is not just to give birth to your purpose; your role is to raise it maturity so it can bear fruit. May God be with you as we end another year and position you to progress on your purpose path as never before. Have a blessed week.

832: You Can't Out-Give God

Two weeks ago, we looked at the life of Hannah in our women of purpose in the Bible series. We saw how Hannah had given her first child to the Lord before she ever gave birth and then followed through on her commitment by yielding the child to serve with Eli, the priest who had misjudged and then ignored her as she poured her heart out to the Lord.

It may strike someone, maybe even you, that the entire process Hannah went through was a bit "unfair." Hannah agonized over her childless state while her rival wife, Peninnah, had multiple births and then somehow antagonized Hannah, "rubbing it in" that Hannah was childless while Peninnah was fertile.

After much pain and suffering, Hannah finally gave birth, but then carried her young son off to be raised in a monastery of sorts, only to see him every now and then for the rest of her life, making a new garment for him every year. All godly parents dedicate their children to the Lord's service, but usually that child stays with them until they are of the age to go off for training. In Hannah's case, Samuel went off as a toddler and, in a sense, Hannah was once again childless.

THE REST OF THE STORY

If the story ended there, it would seem a bit unfair, but God is a just God, and it is impossible to out-give Him. First, God revived Hannah's reputation in the house of God. Whereas before Eli ignored her, he eventually blessed her every time he saw her:

But Samuel was ministering before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod. Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed for and gave to the Lord.” Then they would go home (1 Samuel 2:18-20).

Then Hannah's personal worship life took on a whole new meaning and we read in 1 Samuel 2:1-10 her song to the Lord. Here is part of her song:

"My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God (1 Samuel 2:1-2).

It doesn't seem like Hannah resented giving her son to the Lord, does it? Sometimes the best aspect of giving is the joy the giver receives!

The best part of Hannah's story, however, is recorded in 1 Samuel 2:21: "And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord." God gave Hannah five more children after Samuel! What's more, Samuel, the son she surrendered to the Lord, is still speaking to God's people today while we don't even know the names of one of Peninnah's children.

WHAT'S GOD ASKING YOU FOR?

If God is asking you to surrender something to Him before you have it, it is so you will not attempt to shape, control, or minimize what He ultimately wants to do for you. You may be approaching the end of the year, and you are facing another barren year behind, not like anything you wanted it to be. Yet you cannot quit or give up, and something in you is asking you to commit your future to the Lord, the future you hope to have but for some reason have not seen come to pass. I urge you to do what Hannah did, and then be encouraged by Hannah's story. Surrender your future to the Lord, follow through on the commitment, worship God, and then watch Him work on your behalf in a way that will astound you.

That is certainly my testimony as 2017 comes to a close. God has taken what I surrendered to Him years ago, before I had anything, and made it a fruitful work that I love. None of it looks like I thought it would 30 years ago, but God has surpassed all that I could imagine back then. Therefore, I am not only encouraging you from the biblical story of Hannah; I am encouraging you with my own personal testimony. God is good and I have found again and again that no one can out-give him, but it's fun trying. Have a blessed week!

831: Giving It to the Lord

Last week, we looked at Hannah's story as part of our women of purpose series. I want to return to Hannah this week to see what else we can learn, man or woman, from this woman of faith.

MISUNDERSTOOD

In the last Monday Memo, I pointed out that God required Hannah to give her child to Him before she had an y children to give. That meant she was so convinced that she would conceive that she surrendered her son to God before she ever laid eyes on him in the natural, promising she would not comb his hair. That indicated that she would not try to shape and fashion what God was doing in her child's life to her own satisfaction.

All that sounds super spiritual, which it was, but as soon as Hannah made this commitment, she was tested in two ways that involved the same man, Eli the chief priest. First, as Hannah prayed, she moved her lips but did not make a sound; her prayers were silent groans of unfulfilled purpose:

As she kept on praying to the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, “How long are you going to stay drunk? Put away your wine" (1 Samuel 1:12-14).

As if Hannah was not already in enough pain, she had to endure the biting and sarcastic criticism from the man of God. Eli did not properly discern what Hannah was going through, and did not bother to make inquiries. He simply jumped to a conclusion that Hannah was drunk, and curtly chastised her. After Hannah explained, Eli did not apologize or investigate the cause for Hannah's agony, so that he could stand with her in prayer. Probably embarrassed, he sought to dismiss her as quickly as possible: “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him" (1 Samuel 1:17).

GIVING IT TO THE LORD - REALLY

God heard Hannah's prayer (not Eli's) and she conceived and brought forth a son whom she named Samuel. Hannah had made a vow in her distress, and once the pain was gone, she was not going to back away from the vow. As soon as the child was weaned, she took him back to house of the Lord to be raised there by the very man who had misjudged her spiritual condition. This man was not worthy of Hannah's sacrifice, but Hannah had given her situation to the Lord, and she was not going to renege on her vow:

After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there (1 Samuel 1:24-28).

The lessons for us are clear from this story. Your purpose belongs to God; you cannot seize it to use as you see fit. When you give your purpose future to the Lord, He will use it as He sees fit, perhaps investing or injecting you into situations that are not to your liking or that do not fully appreciate the sacrifice you are making. Finally, when you make a commitment to the Lord to do something, especially a vow you made in your pain, you need to follow through on your commitment when the pain is gone and God has answered your prayer. Next week, we will look at one more lesson from Hannah's purposeful life. Until then, make sure you have a blessed week.

830: Purpose Hair

I am back from a wonderful trip to Nigeria where I made many new friends. It's time this week to resume our series on women of purpose in the Bible, and this week we will look at Hannah's story in the opening chapters of 1 Samuel. I did a search of all my Monday Memos, and I am surprised that I have never written about Hannah before this, but I have taught from her story many times, so now it's time to write her story as well.

CHILDLESS

Hannah was one of Elkanah's two wives, and we are told that Elkanah loved her more than his other wife named Penninah, which was small consolation for Hannah who was childless. The stigma of not having children was so overwhelming then that Hannah was almost inconsolable over her condition and her rival wife used her child-bearing ability to irritate Hannah and perhaps to try and win Elkanah's favor. This situation drove Hannah to her knees as she sought the Lord for relief from the burden she had to bear. As she sought the Lord, she made an interesting vow:

“Lord Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head" (1 Samuel 1:11).

Even though she was childless, she was surrendering to the Lord what she did not have. She abandoned her motherly instinct to help shape her child's life ("no razor will ever be used"), refusing to put her hands to try and mold what would come forth from the child in the way of gifts, calling, and purpose. It is a magnificent faith gesture that Hannah gave to God what she did not have, and what she was believing Him to give her.

Like Hannah, you may be waiting for your purpose, and you see others around you who are finding and flowing in theirs. Perhaps God is asking you to yield your purpose to Him, to abandon any tendency to shape it according to what you think looks best, before you know what it is. I did that as I waited for many long years to be released into my purpose. I vowed that I would go wherever God wanted me to go and say what He wanted me to say, and that vow has led me to Africa. My purpose hair grew in a way that God desired, and I have not tried to comb, color, or fashion it - I have just let it grow in the way that God wanted it to grow.

GIVE IT TO THE LORD

I did not choose my work in Africa; it chose me. God had something special in mind for Hannah, just like He did for me, but it required both of us to seek Him and surrender to His will. It involved tearful expressions of anguish and pain that were all part of God's plan. God gave Hannah a son, and He gave me a purpose. Both the son and my purpose grew to be something neither one of us could have imagined beforehand. Perhaps the same will be true for you. If so, it all starts with giving to God what He hasn't yet given to you, and promising not to try and comb your purpose hair whenever it starts to grow. We will return to Hannah's story next week, but in the meantime, have a blessed week!

829: She Was There

Greetings from Benin City, Nigeria. I arrived a week ago Friday, and had hoped to send you a Monday Memo last week. My schedule and connectivity issues would not permit it, so I am going to try again today. I had a busy week last week and am facing another one this week, but I am not complaining. I have a lot of chances to talk about purpose here, and that's just what I intend to do.

Speaking of purpose, I want to continue the women of purpose in the Bible series that I began in September. We have already looked at Lydia and Deborah. This week I want to look at Mary, the mother of Jesus, and start out by making the statement that her purpose was not to give birth to Jesus. In fact, no woman's purpose is to give birth to any child. That statement may surprise you, so before you write off what I just wrote, you had better read on.

MORE THAN A MOTHER

I maintain that childbirth is not a life purpose, but a role that a women has in her life for quite a few years. She gives birth, nurtures, and cares for the child, but eventually that child is going to go. Problems arise when the child wants to go, but the mother derives so much of her identify and fulfillment from the child that she cannot let him or her go, and there can be problems. I have always taught that a women has purpose before she marries and after her children are gone and her husband precedes her to glory. Of course, there are many women who do not have children, so does that mean they are purposeless or less than mothers? Absolutely not! Therefore, if Mary's purpose was not to give birth to Jesus, what was it?

We find Mary's purpose statement uttered by Elizabeth in Luke 1:45: "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Mary''s purpose was to preserve, oversee, and participate by faith in the promises that were uttered where Jesus was concerned. In order to fulfill that purpose, Mary had to be present at all the important occasions in Jesus' life and ministry, and exercise faith that God would do through Jesus what He promised He would do. Consider these situations where Mary was  present:

1. ". . . and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:18b-19). Mary was listening carefully to what was said about Jesus and kept those things in her heart, perhaps to share with Jesus, and certainly to share with the gospel writers.
   
2. "Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: 'This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too'" (Luke 2:34-35). Mary's proximity to the events in Jesus life would cause her much pain and some confusion.
3. "His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you'" (John 2:5). Mary instigated the start of Jesus' public ministry at the wedding feast in Cana.
4. "When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, 'He is out of his mind'" (Mark 3:21). Like John the Baptist, Mary was not clear on how Jesus would do what she had heard God promise, and came to take Him home because she thought he was going off course.
5. "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene" (John 19:25). Mary got it straight and was there to watch her son die on the cross as a witness to God's plan.
6. "When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son" (John 19:26. When Mary "sided" with Jesus, the rest of her children wanted nothing to do with her, so Jesus assigned John His disciple to care for His mother.
7. "They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers" (Acts 1:14). After the resurrection, some of Jesus' family "saw the light" and were present in the upper room when the Spirit was poured out. In a sense, it was Jesus sending His mother a message saying, "I arrived and the trip was good. I'm home." Is it then safe to assume that Mary spoke in tongues as the others did on the day of Pentecost?

SHE WAS THERE.

In a sense, Mary's purpose was to be there to support, protect, and clarity the plan of God for the world through Jesus. She had great faith, was present from start to finish, and had a role in the explanation of what had taken place before and during Jesus' infancy. There is no way Matthew or Luke could have written their accounts of the Nativity without Mary's testimony.

Mary played an important purpose role that God had chosen for her. While it involved her son, Jesus, it was not simply to give birth and raise Him to be a good Jewish boy. Mary played a role in the plan of salvation, and is a good example of purpose.

Ladies, I have given you a lot to think about this week. I would appreciate your comments with your thoughts, for this perspective is not often heard or shared. Feel free to write them on the site where this entry is posted. Do you agree? Is this helpful, or am I confusing you? Write when you can, and in the meantime, have a blessed week!

828: Women Wrote Parts of the Bible!

I'm sure I have your undivided attention based on the title of this Memo in the ongoing series focusing on women of purpose in the Bible. It has been taught that the Bible was written by men, but I want to dispute that widely-held belief. While men may have penned the Bible, not all the words originated from their minds or mouths, and I am not talking about dialogue that included quotes from a woman's mouth. Rather than try to explain what I may be trying to say, let's get into what I truly mean.

THE INSPIRED WORD

The Bible is the inspired word of God, isn't it? Of course it is! We maintain that the Holy Spirit moved on the hearts of the writers to wrote what the Spirit wanted written. Evangelicals believe that the very words used were inspired by God. Therefore, if a man was recording what the Spirit inspired a woman to say, then in essence, that woman was the source of the inspiration, and the writer was also inspired, but only to record for posterity what that woman had to say.

Having said that, consider the women who contributed to the inspired words in the inspired Word. What about Mary's words that Luke recorded after her encounter with her cousin: "And Mary said: 'My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name'" (Luke 1:46-49). So who really "wrote" that prayer? Did Luke write it or did Mary compose it and Luke reported it? The correct answer is the latter: Mary "wrote" it, Luke passed it on.

How about Hannah's prayer in 2 Samuel: "Then Hannah prayed and said: 'My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance. There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God" (1 Samuel 2:1-2). Isn't that the same as Mary's words when a woman uttered them and the man, recognizing that the Spirit inspired the woman's words, wrote them down for others to read and benefit from?

THEN THERE WAS DEBORAH

Then there was Deborah, whose leadership we looked at last week. After Deborah urged King Barak to pursue and defeat God's enemies, we read this account:

On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang this song:

“When the princes in Israel take the lead,
    when the people willingly offer themselves—
    praise the Lord!

“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers!
    I, even I, will sing to the Lord;
    I will praise the Lord, the God of Israel, in song.

“When you, Lord, went out from Seir,
    when you marched from the land of Edom,
the earth shook, the heavens poured,
    the clouds poured down water.
The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai,
    before the Lord, the God of Israel.

“In the days of Shamgar son of Anath,
    in the days of Jael, the highways were abandoned;
    travelers took to winding paths.
Villagers in Israel would not fight;
    they held back until I, Deborah, arose,
    until I arose, a mother in Israel.
God chose new leaders
    when war came to the city gates,
but not a shield or spear was seen
    among forty thousand in Israel.
My heart is with Israel’s princes,
    with the willing volunteers among the people.
    Praise the Lord! (Judges 5:1-9).

Even if Deborah co-authored this song, it is fair to say that she contributed to the collection of God's inspired words that today we know as the Bible. If God used Mary, Hannah, and Deborah, then it is safe to assume that there were many other women He inspired to do His work that the Bible does not record. Nothing has changed today, for He still wants to use the female half of his human creation to do His bidding. The question is will that female half step up and take their role, or shrink back because of bad theology that God doesn't "use" women, or only uses them to populate the earth?

So how about it, sister? Are you ready to step up and be used of God and fulfill your purpose? How about it, brother? Are you read to sing a duet with a sister in the Lord like Barak and Deborah did? The world needs all of God's children, men and women, to play their part in this wonderful realm called God's kingdom. I hope you won't play small or not at all, but will perform to the full extent of God's purpose for you. Have a blessed week!

827: A Blow to the Head

This week we continue our series on women of purpose in the Bible and look at the Old Testament prophet, Deborah. We never hear much about Deborah because she violated all the norms of Old Testament life. She was a woman who made her "name" not because of who she was married to, but because of her spiritual gift and wisdom:

Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided (Judges 4:4-5).

A WOMAN WAS LEADING ISRAEL

Deborah was leading Israel! Let that statement sink into your mind - a woman was leading the people of God! She was not doing so because she was queen or had inherited the role from her husband who had the role but then died. Her leadership emerged from the experience that the people had with her, for they recognized God was with her when she judged and spoke.

Israel was oppressed in Deborah's day by the Canaanites led by a man named Sisera. Deborah summoned the head of the Naphtali tribe, named Barak, and told him to assemble an army and march against Sisera's superior forces. If he did, God would grant him the victory. When Barak hesitated and insisted that Deborah go with him, Deborah agreed, but said,  

“Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh (Judges 4:9).

Just as Deborah had prophesied, Barak routed the enemies of Israel: "Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite" (Judges 4:17). It was then that Deborah's other prediction came true: Sisera was not slain by his rival warriors but by the woman he had fled to for protection:

But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died. Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead (Judges 4:21-22).

A BLOW TO THE HEAD

When Deborah assumed her God-given role, the Bible does not report it was because no man wanted the job. Deborah led because God chose her, knowing full well she was a female! What's more, when Deborah accepted her call, it made room for another woman to stand up and lead, and her name was Jael, who dealt with Sisera with one fatal blow to his head.

This story reminds me of what William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, once said when asked why he sent so many women into the slums of London to reach out to the lost: "Some of my best men are women!" This was certainly true in the case of Deborah and Jael, and it may be true for you, too. Perhaps you are a man and you have been stifling the gift of a woman or women with whom you live or are working.

If you are a woman, have you been stifling your own gift, trapped and restricted by your own erroneous philosophy that only men can lead in certain situations? If someone has a gift to lead or speak or write, who gave them that gift? Was God aware of their gender when He bestowed that gift? If God is not offended to give that gift and then see it used, then why should you, or anyone else for that matter, be offended when they express that gift? Why would God give a woman a gift, then not permit them to deploy it? That makes no sense.

The judges of Israel rose to leadership based on their gift and purpose, not based on their gender or family connections. God knows your sex when He calls you, whether male or female, and if He is comfortable with who you are to fulfill an assigned role, then you should be as well. There are some strongholds that are waiting for you to pick up a spiritual hammer and peg and deal the enemy of God's people a fatal blow to the head. If you happen to be a woman, you only need God's permission to do so. I suggest you get on with the work that God has given you to do, and follow in Deborah's - and Jael's - footsteps to play your part in setting God's people free. Have a blessed week!