A Daily Portion
The time of the year when we honor and celebrate Mothers has come once again. And, as I sat this morning and thought about the women who have impacted me, I received a message from a former student of mine, who will be a Mommy for the second time! She was thanking me for having impacted her life! And so, I began to think about our call within the kingdom, as women, mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, and just about any other role we can have! It brought me to this quote from Maria Woodworth Etter:
"My dear sister in Christ, as
you hear these words may the Spirit of Christ come upon you, and make
you willing to do the work of the Lord has assigned you. It is high time
for women to let their light shine; to bring out their talents that
have been hidden away rusting; and use them for the glory of God, and do
with their might what their hands find to do, trusting God for
strength, Who has said "I will never leave you". Let us not plead
weakness; God will use the weak things of the world to confound the
wise. We are sons and daughters of the Most High God. Should we not
honour our high calling and do all we can to save those who sit in the
valley and shadow of death? Did He not send Moses, Aaron - Miriam to be
your leaders?The Lord raised up men, women and children of His own
choosing. Is it less becoming for women to labour in Christ's kingdom
and vineyard now as it was then?" -Maria Woodworth Etter
I believe we have a great call and ministry in our lives, as Mothers. We were created to let our light shine, bring forth the hidden talents we have and use them for His glory, in His Kingdom, to therefore bring forth the talents in so many others that we can daily impact! I am so grateful to God for all the people He has put in my path at one time or another, for the words He gave me to give to them at a certain time in their lives, whether they received it or not at the time, I know He used me for His glory. And, as I think of my former students and former people under my leadership at a given time, as well as friends, God brings my thoughts back to focus on my family.
Am I using my talents for His glory with my family? Can my daughters see their strengths or weaknesses through me? Is my light shining in my home with my girls and my husband? As women and mothers, may we never forget that as daughters of the Most High, our family is our priority and my constant prayer is that I can always speak to my family with wisdom, offer words of love, encouragement and edification during times of needs, but most importantly, may I always lead by example. Woman you are the crowned jewel of your Daddy's creation! You have a big responsibility, an even bigger calling, but an even bigger Creator who is with you, who has promised never to leave you! As we celebrate this Mother's Day, let me just remind you how special you are to so many who love you! Let me remind you there are many who look up to you and who see themselves in you! As Maria Woodworth Etter said, let your light shine for the glory of God and allow Him to fulfill His purpose in your calling!! I am right there with you, let's let Him use us today and be a blessing to someone!
"It takes wisdom to have a good family, and it takes understanding to make it strong. It takes knowledge to fill a home with rare and beautiful treasures. " -Proverbs 24:3-4
It is my prayer that this reflection be a part of your daily portion.
Love & Blessings,
Michelle
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Showing posts with label wisdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wisdom. Show all posts
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Lead by example... whether it's through love or offense?
A Daily Portion
Originally written and published August 28, 2009 while I was pastoring and ministering the congregation God had given us at that time.
I wanted to write a little something regarding a topic that I am now seeing more and more in the Body of Christ. I have a very hard time with people who are leading by example in their call, but hurt and offend others with their actions and words... I am talking about sarcasm. It's sad to see how much sarcasm is found in the Body of Christ. Sarcasm may easily be tried to be defined as a literary device, or as a high form of intelligence, but when we look at its root, we find that sarcasm comes from "French or Late Latin; French sarcasme, from Late Latin sarcasmos, from Greek sarkasmos, from sarkazein" and it means "to tear flesh, bite the lips in rage, sneer..." All my life I have come across people who are sarcastic in everything they say, and we are basically told that, 'oh that's just their way of being'... or, 'oh, it's a clever way of telling people truths without them even realizing what you are doing'... the truth of the matter is, there should be no excuse as to why someone would need to use sarcasm to get a message across to someone else. The Bible teaches us that we should: "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." ~Colossians 4:5-7
"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." ~Proverbs 12:18
This leads me to believe that sarcasm lacks wisdom, for if we were wise in the ways the Lord wants us to act and speak, we would do so in authority, in love and to edify, not to tear, pierce, hurt or offend. Why am I writing about this? Because I have had to give this part of my flesh up to the Lord daily. I too, used to be sarcastic, very sarcastic, and was always praised at how "good I was at being sarcastic". I even considered it one of my "strengths". Wow! Now, when I look back, first I realize I need to submit this unto the Lord every day, because the old man would love to come out once in a while... but what I realize even more is that there are many leaders in the Body of Christ who are like this, who speak like this and what's even more scary is that we are training those under our leadership, to speak and act this way!
I just think it's time to reflect on ourselves and consider why we speak the way we do; why we act the way we do; and give it all up to Christ, knowing that when we crucify our flesh, this raw meat of ours that will get us nowhere, we humble ourselves in wanting to be more like Him, like His image! I once read somewhere that we use sarcasm as a defense mechanism due to our own self esteem issues, and when I read that, I got offended. Can you guess why? :) Because it was a truth that hit home... And, as I have become more aware of how sarcasm and hypocrisy work well together, I see it's such a scheming and dangerous spirit that wants to destroy instead of edify and we have allowed it to get into our churches and as teachers and preachers and leaders we are educating our disciples and passing along this negative influence. Instead of just smiling and laughing "with" our leaders who are "aggressive and sarcastic" why don't we begin to lead in example of wisdom and authority we have received through Christ's blood and resurrection on the cross, and through the marvelous power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in each and every one of us? That way we can really begin to be imitators of Christ and be like Him, in His image! I know I have learned my lesson and ask for wisdom every day!
Blessings to all who read this. These are just my thoughts and I hope this serves as a help to others who may be thinking the same as I have.
Pastor Michelle
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
~Ephesians 4:29
Connect with A Daily Portion's Official Facebook Page!
Check out Rhema 7:38 new CD, titled Postrados Ante Ti and get your copy today!
Follow Rhema 7:38 on Facebook!
Originally written and published August 28, 2009 while I was pastoring and ministering the congregation God had given us at that time.
I wanted to write a little something regarding a topic that I am now seeing more and more in the Body of Christ. I have a very hard time with people who are leading by example in their call, but hurt and offend others with their actions and words... I am talking about sarcasm. It's sad to see how much sarcasm is found in the Body of Christ. Sarcasm may easily be tried to be defined as a literary device, or as a high form of intelligence, but when we look at its root, we find that sarcasm comes from "French or Late Latin; French sarcasme, from Late Latin sarcasmos, from Greek sarkasmos, from sarkazein" and it means "to tear flesh, bite the lips in rage, sneer..." All my life I have come across people who are sarcastic in everything they say, and we are basically told that, 'oh that's just their way of being'... or, 'oh, it's a clever way of telling people truths without them even realizing what you are doing'... the truth of the matter is, there should be no excuse as to why someone would need to use sarcasm to get a message across to someone else. The Bible teaches us that we should: "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." ~Colossians 4:5-7
"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." ~Proverbs 12:18
This leads me to believe that sarcasm lacks wisdom, for if we were wise in the ways the Lord wants us to act and speak, we would do so in authority, in love and to edify, not to tear, pierce, hurt or offend. Why am I writing about this? Because I have had to give this part of my flesh up to the Lord daily. I too, used to be sarcastic, very sarcastic, and was always praised at how "good I was at being sarcastic". I even considered it one of my "strengths". Wow! Now, when I look back, first I realize I need to submit this unto the Lord every day, because the old man would love to come out once in a while... but what I realize even more is that there are many leaders in the Body of Christ who are like this, who speak like this and what's even more scary is that we are training those under our leadership, to speak and act this way!
I just think it's time to reflect on ourselves and consider why we speak the way we do; why we act the way we do; and give it all up to Christ, knowing that when we crucify our flesh, this raw meat of ours that will get us nowhere, we humble ourselves in wanting to be more like Him, like His image! I once read somewhere that we use sarcasm as a defense mechanism due to our own self esteem issues, and when I read that, I got offended. Can you guess why? :) Because it was a truth that hit home... And, as I have become more aware of how sarcasm and hypocrisy work well together, I see it's such a scheming and dangerous spirit that wants to destroy instead of edify and we have allowed it to get into our churches and as teachers and preachers and leaders we are educating our disciples and passing along this negative influence. Instead of just smiling and laughing "with" our leaders who are "aggressive and sarcastic" why don't we begin to lead in example of wisdom and authority we have received through Christ's blood and resurrection on the cross, and through the marvelous power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in each and every one of us? That way we can really begin to be imitators of Christ and be like Him, in His image! I know I have learned my lesson and ask for wisdom every day!
Blessings to all who read this. These are just my thoughts and I hope this serves as a help to others who may be thinking the same as I have.
Pastor Michelle
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
~Ephesians 4:29
Connect with A Daily Portion's Official Facebook Page!
Check out Rhema 7:38 new CD, titled Postrados Ante Ti and get your copy today!
Follow Rhema 7:38 on Facebook!
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