You are of great value

This week I had the privilege of speaking several times to a group of about 120 precious ladies. They are from a nation that is not predominantly Christian (only about 2% Christian).

The message God gave me to share focused on their worth and value as women.

Many in the world have not heard the truth of God's word...that He created women, as well as men, in His image and that He loves us lavishly. For many American women, this is not news. We often take much for granted, and at the same time, we can assume others know and believe what we believe. But I encourage you to stop and think about other women around the world and pray for them, that they too will know the truth of their full God-given value.

God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every living creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." ( Genesis 1:26-28. Emphasis is mine.)

The only part of creation that was proclaimed "not good" (Genesis 2:18) was for man to be alone...only one. So God separated the one person into to "man" and "man with a womb," thus "woman" (Genesis 2:21-23). God gave both the man and woman the command to subdue (conquer) the earth. The woman was to be a "comparable" helper for him (Genesis 2:20), which means an equivalent helper.

God loves men and women equally. Women are not accidents. We were not created to be sex objects or posessions. We are more than our bodies. We have a soul, personality, emotions, dreams and hopes. Women are not inferior to men; neither are men inferior to women. We are each God's purposeful design. We were created with eternal destiny and calling.

As a child, I was told that I was supposed to be a boy. As a result, I lived many years trying to be like my brother. I hated wearing dresses, learned to climb fences and trees, and played football with the neighborhood kids. But when I became a Christian and began reading the Bible I soon discovered truths about God and about myself, that God intended for me to be a woman, that I was not a mistake or an accident, and that God loves me just as I am.

Unfortunately there are women who look at their circumstances and judge God and His love based on their experience. Our situations do not always speak truth to us. They more often validate what we have always believed, what we have been told, or what we have imagined in our minds. It is the truth of God's Word that can be relied on and trusted. God says when we know the truth, we are set free (John 8:32).

One of my favorite scriptures is Psalm 139:13-16: For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You , for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works. And that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought inthe lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

I was overwhelmed when I learned that God not only knew me before I was born, but before I was conceived inside my mother, He had a plan for my life. He had a purpose and will for each day. He created you and me individually, with worth, value, spiritual giftings, and with a divine calling on our lives. How amazing is that?

Jesus demonstrated the love of God for women as He violated the traditions of those day.

- He taught God's truths to women in a culture where that was not the tradition. Women were not considered worthy of being taught religious truths. Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, sat at the feet of Jesus and heard His word. When Martha became upset with her sister, Jesus not only did not send Mary back to the kitchen to help her sistier, He honored her. Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42).

- Jesus spoke to a Samaritan prostitute about worshipping God. Men would not speak to women in public, much less "that kind" of woman (John 4:5-42). His disciples marveled that he talked with a woman (vs 27). Yet, she became an evangelist and (vs 39) many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did."

- A woman who had been bleeding internally for 12 years touched Jesus (Luke 8:43-48). The Old Testiment law said a person was unclean if they had physical contact with someone who was bleeding. Yet, when this woman touched Jesus, she was healed, and then Jesus praised her for her faith. Daughter be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. God in peace.

Jesus shed His blood for the salvation of women as well as for men. He calls each of us to come to a personal relationship with Him...men and women. We each are held accountable for knowing Him, having wisdom, and walking in His truths. God says that He is not a respecter of persons. In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him (Acts 10:34-35). And in Christ, there is no male or female (Galatians 3:28).

For many people, this will shatter their ideas, traditions and cultural perspective. Some may even be offended. If you are one of those, then please study the Word of God. In Genesis, everything God made was declared as "good." Ladies, we are God's amazing work. He formed us in our mother's womb and wrote down every day of our life in His book (Psalm 139:13-16). He also says that He has plans for my life and yours, and that they are plans for good and to give us

a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

The truth that God loves women as much as He loves men, will not only set women free, but it will set men free. Men who believe women are inferior are living a lie and walking in pride. This will be a hindrance to their worship and to intimate relationship with God. As we, women of God, come to understand the truth of God's word, and stop seeing ourselves as "lesser than," then we will walk in the fullness of the inheritance and the authority God has given to us. That authority is over the enemy of our souls and the earth God created and gave to us as a gift.

This inferority is not just an issue between women and men. If you compare yourself to another woman and believe that you are not as valuable, then you have believed a lie. Often we compare ourselves to the pastor's wife, a leader in the church, the prettiest or skinniest lady we know, the smartest woman we know, our mother, our sister. We have an amazing ability to diminish God's handiwork - which we are. If God loves us, should we not love ourselves? Only then, when we see ourselves as God's precious creation, highly valued and loves, can we love others as God desires. Love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 5:43).

There are many nations around the world whose cultures believe and teach that women are not "full citizens" with the rights and privileges and value afforded to men. The effect of that on women is shame, inferiority, purposelessness. Often, they have problems looking into my eyes because of the hurt and pain in their inner being. There are times when these women hear that they are loved by God and were created with value and purpose, and they often melt into tears and their souls are cleansed. Other times, when they hear that Jesus died for their salvation, it is too hard for them to believe. I continue to pray that faith will rise up in their hearts and lay hold of the truth.

Will you join me in praying for these women? If you have an opportunity, will you step out courageously and tell other women how valuable they are? Will you commit to speak words that affirm their eternal worth?

And if you are one of those who finds it difficult or even impossible to believe you are of great value to God, please know that I am praying for you. God loves you. That is reality and truth that can set you free and bring you into an eternal realtionship with the One who created you out of His heart of love.

A "good" Christian or a desperate Christian...?

There was a time in my life when I would have described myself as a "good Christian." I went to church regularly, sang in the choir, attended Bible Study. Almost every time the church doors were open, I was there, as were my children. I even became a Sunday School teacher...a true step up the ladder to success and value.

Unfortunately, church life became like a drug that put me on a high and made me feel good when I was doing good deeds. When I was not "working" I felt insignificant, empty and worthless. It was mostly all about me and I did those things that made me feel good. I wanted to be needed. I was working hard to be accepted, by God and by other Christians.

However, if there is such a thing as a "good" Christian, there must be such a thing as a "bad" Christian. And a "bad Christian" sounds like a dichotomy.

What does it mean to be a "good" Christian, anyway? To me it meant "the things I did." It had much to do with the value others placed on me, and their confidence that I could do a good job and the resulting praise. I had become a valuable member of the "religious organization." Of course I had become a Christian, but I defined being a Christian by service and mostly within the walls of the church.

By the way, if you want to read a stirring and potent book, go to Walmart and purchase the novel, So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore. I can pretty well promise you that the contrast presented of the institutional church and relationship with God, will be thought-provoking and I warn you that it may even be life-changing.

The longer I have been a Christian, I find my mind and my perspective being transformed (Romans 12:2). Rather than thinking about how I can be a "good" Christian or a good person, I seek to better know God, who alone is good (Matthew 19:17), and to serve Him obediently. But most of all, my focus in on character. In the hidden places of my life, I want truth, honesty, transparency, purity and passion for God. If those things are worked into my heart, I know that what comes out of my life will look more like Him.

And yet, what I find inside is mostly desperation. No matter how much I grow, I still fail. No matter how much I seek God, I still have large pockets of worldliness in my heart and I find too many times that I trust in my own human reasoning and judge issues or people according to Western cultural worldly standards. Worldly perspective still seeks to invade my thoughts, wanting to control my belief system.

It seems that the closer I come to the Lord, know His character and see Him as He truly is, the more I see myself for what I really am, and the more I need His amazing grace. I identify with the prophet Isaiah, "Woe is me, for I am undone. Because I am a (woman) of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5).

A friend shared with me recently that our lives are always full of tension - not like tension headaches or strife in our relationships. But tension, defined be Webster as being stretched or strained as different degrees of tension in chords give different sounds; the greater the tension, the more acute the sound. It is like the tension on a piano string or a guitar string that when stretched has no slack in it. The picture I see is that of a rubber band that is not limp, but is stretched. My life feels stretched with that kind of tension. There is tension between my hunger and thirst for God and that which keeps pulling me back to the world's ways. There is tension between my wanting to be right and wanting to live by grace...wanting to do good works and at the same time live by grace through faith. There is tension between where I am spiritually and where I want to be...and thinking I should, at my more mature age, see significant progress in the perfection process.

My friend says the tension is a good thing, and a gift of God's grace. Without that tension, we would not be desperate for God. If we became all we wanted to be and all we believe God wanted us to be, we would most likely take control of our lives and slide rapidly back into independence, not relying on and seeking Him.

At the same time, we cannot make ourselves perfect. We can only help the process by relying totally on God and crying out with a heart of desire for His Kingdom to come into us and His will to be done in our lives.

And there is that question that comes back to me often, "Lord how can someone like me who is no further along in my spiritual walk, go to other nations and teach people about You? All I know is that I am in desperate need of You. I can do nothing apart from You, and You alone can bring about holiness and value in my life. Why did you choose me? Why didn't you choose someone who was more capable?" Ahhh....back to worldly thinking...that what I have or have not accomplished is more important and valuable to God than my heart for Him and my availability. Even my availability is completely dependent on Him, because without Him, I have nothing to say. I cannot teach; I have no anointing; I have nothing of eternal value to impart apart from Him and a divine move of His Spirit.

In the quiet after my question, the answer is there..."That IS the message, My child! Call the world, and especially my children, to live in desperate dependence on their Father and Creator."

What the church calls "original sin" is actually living independently of God, who created us to be dependent on and in relationship with Him. It was the first man and woman who decided they could know what is good and what is evil. They decided they didn't need to depend on God; they could know righteousness on their own. Another friend said, "We can be independently desperate or desperately dependent!" What does your heart want?

The older I get, the more the desperation grows inside of me. It is not about my being "good" or an accomplished church-goer, teacher, minister. It is not about my being known or seen by man. I simply want to be so focused on Him that His consuming presence draws me beyond the things of the world. When I depend on Him, the things of the world are tasteless and pale in comparison to His glory. Anything "good" in my life is only good because God put it there and purified it so that it would look like Him, and not like me or like the world.

Are you desperate? What are you desperate for? If you are desperate for more of God, you are in a good place. He says He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). If you are like me, it is my desperate need and love for Him that causes me to seek. May you grow today in your desperateness and may He deliver you from any drive to be a "good" Christian. May you rest in His hands and near His heart.