Read: John 11:1-44 Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is taken from the NIV. Jesus was quite fond of the sibling group Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. So fond, that we simply must address one of the ways He revealed Himself through them. Well into their relationship, Martha and Mary sent word that Lazarus was ill. Through John 11 we get to witness the events that took place after this message was sent. Jesus (all-knowing), most certainly knew the fate that awaited Lazarus. He knew this illness would take his life, and yet even with that knowledge, He remained two days where he was, all the while declaring, "Lazarus' sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory from this." (John 11:4b NLT) After those two days, Jesus and His disciples made their way to Judea despite the disciples’ hesitation over knowing that the Jews’ wanted Jesus dead. All the while, Jesus was continuing to reveal himself to them, that they might be able to remove the scales from theirs eyes and see this situation through eyes of faith. As they arrived in Judea, Jesus got word that Lazarus had been dead for four days. This is significant, just as Jesus' full 3 days and nights in the tomb was significant, because under the Law of that time, in order to be considered dead, you had to remain in the tomb for 3 whole days and nights. Here we encounter Martha and, as in other selections of scripture, she is quite outspoken. The following verses from John 11:21-27 depict their conversation. When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.’ Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.’ It’s interesting to see Martha's contradictory statements. At some points throughout their conversation it seemed she had the situation under control. She had faith that whatever Jesus asked, God would give Him. Yet, with her next reply she couldn’t grasp that Jesus could physically give Lazarus life on this side of Heaven. She believed Jesus was the Son of God, yet she couldn’t begin to comprehend what that entails. Jesus then urged Martha to bring Mary to meet Him. As Mary came, she, too was so focused on the limits that she'd set for Jesus based on what she'd already seen Him do, that she also said, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:32 NLT) The next verse says "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. " (John 11:33 KJV) Christ was troubled at what was taking place. “Where have you laid him?” He asked. We can only speculate about what may have caused His troubled spirit. Was it the lack of faith of those around Him, their limited understanding of who He was, even while He walked among them? This may have been part of it however, it seems that His trouble reached much deeper than that. Jesus may have been troubled by their limitations but even more than that, He was concerned with their well-being. He knew He would not be with them much longer. He hated seeing the people He loved aching with pain. It was heartbreaking to see the evil that was brought into this world killing off His people who were never meant for death. Jesus knew the time was soon coming when He would no longer walk among them. He knew that the limitations they were already setting for God would only increase. He was deeply troubled by these things because His love for these people was so great. He was and is the ultimate empathizer as He understands and shares our feelings. He is also the most perfect giver of compassion as He takes action to soothe our wounded spirits. When He came to this earth He took on the pain of the people so that He might be an unlimited and insurmountable comfort to them--to us--in times of need. John 11:38 brings us to the tomb with a still troubled Jesus: "Then Jesus, again growning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it." His compassion for these people, the very ones He had come to save, was ever-present. John 11:39-44 brings us to the conclusion of this miraculous work saying, ‘Roll the stone aside,’ Jesus told them. While this entire interaction is so powerful, let's focus on just one of Jesus' final revelations: "Unwrap him and let him go!" Jesus had just freed Lazarus from physical death, but he was still wearing its clothes. In so doing, He revealed the plan that was yet to come from His own death: A plan that would remove the grave clothes from every tribe and nation. Lazarus went on to lead a physical life for years to come, but he would eventually face physical death once again. What Jesus revealed in this powerful statement, "Unwrap him and let him go!” was that He was and is the conqueror of death. Death had no hold on Him, and it has no hold on us when we choose His salvation. He also revealed through this interaction the importance of choosing to fully embrace His redemption on this side of Heaven. Jesus didn't just save us from our sins, He redeemed us from them. We are no longer bound by death because we have been given new life through Christ. It's important to note that Jesus made a point of instructing those present to unwrap Lazarus. In this way, He made evident the need for community, for accountability, and for helping to remove the death clothes of sin that bind us in this life. Jesus revealed through Mary, Martha, and Lazarus that He is the finisher and we are no longer bound by death. Written by Lindsey. DIGGING DEEPEROften, even the people closest to Jesus were so far off the mark in their understanding of who He was and what He could do. Limitations to His power were being placed on the eyes and hearts of His followers, long before He made His ascent into heaven. Today, His followers continue to limit and box in the power of Christ and His all-sufficient and never-ending power. We cannot even begin to comprehend all that is possible through the power of Jesus, but through the studying of His miracles, we can at least begin to break open those boxes and come to big and better revelations of His goodness than we ever thought possible.
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Read: John 8:1-11 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. It was a blush-worthy scene: She was locked in the embrace of a man other than her husband. Their interlude was abruptly interrupted when the two of them were discovered. She was dragged unceremoniously, without dignity, and led by rough hands to the Temple Courts. She barely had time to cover her body before being exposed literally and figuratively to the public. This woman, who remains nameless, was caught “in the act” according to John 8:4. In the original Greek text, the word, which is a derivative of phor (a thief), means the woman was caught while committing the act. There was no question as to her guilt. Interestingly, that Greek word doesn’t appear anywhere else in the Bible except for this book and verse. This woman, who had absolutely no defense against the accusations being made, was paraded before everyone and made to stand in front of the people and Jesus. We know nothing of her past; whether she was a promiscuous woman or whether she was an upstanding woman of faith who become entangled in sin, although verse 11 refers to a “life of sin.” The next several verses tell how the Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus. As they present the woman and her sin, they remind Jesus that the Law according to Moses commanded that a woman caught in adultery be stoned (Exodus 20:14, Leviticus 20:10). What Jesus does next could be considered peculiar. We will never know this side of Heaven exactly what Jesus was writing in the dirt, but some scholars speculate that He was writing the 10 Commandments. Others suggest He was writing the sins of each pharisee present. In any case, whatever He was writing caused every man accusing her to eventually drop their stones and walk away. The conversation that follows between Jesus and the woman is simple, yet life-changing: “At this, those who heard [Jesus saying he who was sinless should cast the first stone] began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.” A handful of words later, and that woman’s existence has changed dramatically. She went from being publicly humiliated and charged with a crime worthy of death to being fully acquitted, forgiven, and set free. She was sinful. She was caught red-handed. She was a pawn in the Pharisees’ ploy to trap Jesus. Yet Jesus, the Son of God, looked her in the eye and told her she was not condemned, that He did not condemn her. Not only did Jesus have the Law of Moses on which to justify her execution, He was God in the flesh and could have easily and justly called for her stoning. What did He do instead? He went against the Jewish custom and against the teachers of the law to set her free. This wasn’t a case of mistaken identity or circumstantial evidence. This was an open-and-shut case of GUILTY. We may scratch our heads at such an unfitting outcome, but let’s put ourselves in her situation. Maybe we aren’t embroiled in adultery like she was, but surely we have sin in our lives. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23. It doesn’t matter what our sin is…any amount of sin is too much to be in the presence of God. For that reason, God sent Jesus to take our sin upon Himself and make us clean. The very sin that Jesus came to earth to atone for, He forgave right in front of Him. In this unexpected turn of events, an adulteress woman was brought before Him to be judged. Adultery is not something God takes lightly. There are nearly 40 verses in the English Standard Version Bible alone for “adultery.” The law was very clear about the consequences of adultery and Jesus went a step further to expound on what exactly constitutes adultery in the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:27-28). The Lord railed against the Israelites as an “adulteress nation” in the Old Testament when they continually turned their back on their God. It’s a serious matter in God’s eyes. Yet, here we see Jesus do the complete opposite of what we’d expect and of what this woman deserved. In this beautiful moment of forgiveness, we see the grace of Jesus revealed. We see a foreshadowing of what’s to come on a much grander scale. Jesus, the perfect Man, the Son of God, offers grace and forgiveness to sinners; to those who don’t deserve it. He offers Himself as the only worthy sacrifice big enough to atone for our sins once and for all. He reveals the greatest love story of all time: God’s plan to send His one and only Son to save us from ourselves. Jesus’ surprise acquittal of this woman, His grace, unmerited in every instance, is the revelation of God’s own heart. He came to set His people free: Free from sin and free from the bondage of the Law. Written by Mandy. DIGGING DEEPERJesus revealed at every turn of His ministry, Grace, forgiveness, and mercy. He came to fulfill the call for righteous justice that the Holiness of God requires. He took every opportunity to reinforce the understanding that the Law could not be whole without Him, and that with Him, grace will prevail. Those who had not yet accepted His grace were struggling to keep their faith what it was. Jesus threatened their very understanding of who God was. They could not yet see the limitless possibilities Christ was bringing to the table through His ministry of Grace.
The Woman Who BledRead: Matthew 9:20-22, Mark 5:25-34, Luke 8:43-48 Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is NIV. We know her simply as the woman who bled. We know she was afflicted for twelve years with bleeding. We know that she sought every medical resource of her time. We know that despite these attempts, this woman found no one who could heal her. What some may not realize or connect to is the fact that, at this point, these people were still bound by Levitical law. Grace had not yet saved the people. Levitical law dictated this: "When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean, as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period. Any bed she lies on while her discharge continues will be unclean, as is her bed during her monthly period, and anything she sits on will be unclean, as during her period. Anyone who touches them will be unclean; they must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening." (Leviticus 15:25-27) Her bleeding wasn't fatal, but this woman probably led a life that felt like a death sentence for over a decade. It's not likely she had many friends; her relatives probably only visited out of obligation, to bring her supplies. She wouldn’t have been welcomed into the city or any type of fellowship. She would have been banned from places of worship. She was unclean and alone. Anyone who came in contact with her would, themselves, become unclean and would then be required to wash their garments and their bodies, and remain unclean and untouchable until evening. It can be assumed that most wouldn't have time for that kind of commitment. This woman was untouchable. She probably hadn't felt another's embrace in those twelve years. She probably hadn't had any deep conversations. She probably missed celebrating holidays with her loved ones, or collecting water with the other women from town. Her bleeding made her unclean, but her inability to be cleansed made her valueless in society. As we begin to understand the back story, we can understand just how "rebelious" this woman's actions were in regard to the Levitical law that many religous leaders had been using legalistically. Most likely through word-of-mouth, this woman had heard of the Miracle Worker, Jesus. She knew that He was passing through her city; maybe a relative had brought it up as a last-ditch effort. So despite the realization that she would most definitely touch people in a crowd of that size, and despite knowing her intentions were to get close enough to Jesus to purposely touch Him, this woman was determined to try. After twelve years, she could have said, "Nothing will heal me, there is no point." Instead, she heard the testimony of Jesus' power and knew that she had to risk everything to meet this Man who could make her clean. In turn, as the woman stepped out in faith, Jesus quickly acknowledged the very specific power that had gone out from Him, power that could only be grasped when it was faithfully sought after. This woman's affliction may have even been allowed for such a time as this, that her faith might shed light on the power Jesus held and on the necessity of putting one's faith in Christ. In a thick crowd, Jesus first showed the town not only His power, but His individual concern for people, in that He was able to distinguish a touch of faith from that of the hundreds of others pressing against Him. Next, Jesus listened as this woman shared her suffering and testified not of an unclean woman, but of a woman changed by faith. Finally, He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." He chose to acknowledge her. He cared so deeply about her restoration and about the pain she'd suffered during her affliction, that Jesus called her out of the crowd and made her cleansing known. He proclaimed her restoration, and in so doing, He proclaimed her value in society--a value and worth that was due entirely to the value that God saw in her. Jesus displayed, for all to see, the counter-cultural Grace of God. This woman, a lost cause to everyone else, was a precious jewel in the eyes of the Father. He also showed throught this situation the great value of faithful action. It was the woman's faith to pursue Jesus and His healing power that allowed her to be healed. She’d stepped out in a big way. She'd also humbled herself and sought The Healer. Her faith in the Great Physician set her free from her affliction. We know her simply as the woman who bled. Yet, while we don’t know her name, we can surely learn much from her testimony. Jesus chose to reveal Himself to this woman. He chose to reveal this woman's actions to the crowd gathered around Him. He so purposefully made these decisions so that the wisdom and knowledge of what He had come to earth to complete could be revealed to all. Through this woman's affliction, Jesus was able to reveal to the whole world—even to us today—that His cleansing can reach into the lives of every one of us. The time we’ve spent in affliction cannot hold us back when we faithfully seek out the Great Physician. Written by Lindsey. D I G G I N G D E E P E RSo often, our relationship with Jesus, and our ability to receive His many blessings is hindered by our lack of faith. We want desperately to walk on water, move mountains, and perform miracles, yet we lack the faith to take that first step and reach out for the hem of The Healer's garment. The Woman Who Bled, she had nerve. She was willing to risk doing something socially and religiously unacceptable because she had faith and hope, that this Miracle Worker would heal her.
M A R Y M A G D A L E N ERead: Matthew 27:55-56, 61; 28:1; Mark 15:40, 47; 16:1-19; Luke 8:2; 24:10;John 19:25; 20:1-18 All scripture, unless otherwise noted, is NIV. The darkness. The heaviness. It threatened to smother her. Again. Mary Magdalene is a profound figure in history. Mary, from Magdala, likely knew a life of affluence and influence, yet she gave it all up to follow Jesus. She and a band of other women traveled extensively with Jesus and the disciples. The women likely took care of the Master’s needs on a practical basis as far as preparing and serving meals and doing laundry—mundane tasks to many, yet they were done with an abundance of love and devotion. These tasks were only some of many ways she and the others showed support and love. Her financial support, along with that of many other women, was likely an enormous blessing to Jesus and His disciples, yet it was the time spent and the relationship that grew that were surely the most prized. Jesus met Mary at the lowest point in her life. He found her broken and defenseless. Her world was dark and lonely. Jesus brought Light and Life into her world when He healed her of seven demons. Seven, the number representing “perfection” or “completion” in the Bible, may detail how dire was Mary’s situation of demon-possession. Whatever her affliction, it was a serious situation that likely robbed her of all control and joy in life. Although the details of her healing aren’t noted in scripture, we can make an educated guess as to the effect that Jesus’ mercy had on Mary. We aren’t sure how long Mary suffered from this torment, but we can understand that she saw life through dark shadows of loneliness. There would be no laughter, no smiling, no rest. She went from being hopeless, afflicted and possibly alone, to fully restored and healed in an instant. Surely one look into Jesus’ eyes as He lovingly looked past her outward actions and appearance to her very soul was enough to tether her heart to the Master’s forever. Add to that the time spent watching the Lord patiently teach, consistently heal, and laugh with genuine joy and we can understand how her affections for Him grew. Her status, her wealth, her family, and her standing within the community couldn’t save her in her time of need. She was hopeless and defeated. It was Jesus and Jesus alone who rescued her from the literal hell she lived in day in and day out. And it was Jesus who continued to teach and heal her as she followed Him from town to town. Her name is mentioned several times in the New Testament, usually along with other women who followed Jesus. Many women, as already noted, whom He’d healed, followed Him and offered support. One woman—influential of her own accord— was the wife of a government official (Luke 8:2-3), yet it was Mary Magdalene whose name was listed first among women and only second after Jesus’ mother and aunt. It was she who had stayed when all others had fled, while Christ was put on trial and beaten. It was Mary Magdalene who had remained to offer any comfort possible, while Christ struggled to carry His cross to Golgotha. It was Mary Magdalene who had knelt, with tears streaming down her cheeks, to minister to Jesus’ mother and the Lord Himself, as He was brutally nailed to the cross and anguished for hours. It was Mary Magdalene who stayed behind after the others had gone home when the tomb was found empty. She knew loneliness. She knew inner torment and suffering that no one could save her from. It was this woman to whom Christ had restored the hope of life and life abundantly, who would linger longer than most, to be with the Master as the last of His life drained away. And it was Mary Magdalene who had the privilege of seeing the Master, restored and resurrected, and heard for the first time that He had indeed overcome the world. Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene revealed His respect and purpose for women. In a culture and time when women were considered property and not worthy of being taught the serious teachings of religion, Jesus surrounded Himself with them. He spoke with, and taught them, along with the men who followed Him. To allow a woman the immense privilege of seeing the newly resurrected Messiah, and to be the first EVER to hear from Him that He was alive, in addition to being tasked with telling the other disciples the Good News, displays Christ’s tenderness toward women. Beyond that, it displays Christ’s purpose for and value of women. He respected women and showed that respect in the responsibilities He gave them. He entrusted an enormous duty to Mary and He trusted her with it. With that task, He showed her that not only was she healed and restored, but she was important. She was needed. His character as a loving Father, devoted Teacher, and the Savior of the world is absolutely apparent in how He chose to treat Mary and the other women. Jesus found her broken. He healed her. Their friendship and relationship grew through her devotion to Him. She followed Him with abandon, forsaking all else, even when she was alone. As a result, she got to know Him in a way that most didn’t. She gained His trust and a calling on her life. She heard and accepted her calling and embraced it. She literally ran to fulfill it. Her devotion and obedience led her to a place of great importance in Christ’s ministry. She gave of herself: her time, her emotions, her finances, and was rewarded by being regarded as worthy by the Savior. “A further lesson is that of what a woman can do for the One who has done so much for her. Once Mary was healed and saved, she practiced her faith in following Jesus and ministering to Him and His disciples of her substance and witnessing to His death and Resurrection, to others. Are there not a thousand ways in which converted and consecrated women can serve the Master acceptably? Mary’s gratitude and love manifested itself in devotion to Christ. She owed much, gave much, loved much and served much. Has He expelled Satan from our lives? If so, are we loving and serving Him to the limit of our capacity, daily witnessing to the power of His Resurrection?” [1] Written by Mandy. S o u r c e s[1] Biblegateway.com, 1988, Mary Magdalene: The Woman who had Seven Devils, Zondervan. OTHER SOURCES: Mary Magdalene:https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-women-bible/Mary-Magdalene The Quest Study Bible, NIV, 1983, Zondervan D I G G I N G D E E P E RSo often our relationship with Jesus can be rushed or come in second place to the chaos that is around us. We long for Jesus revelations in our lives, yet we lack a commitment to pursuing Him. Mary knew how to gain wisdom and insight, she knew how to be a part of the inner circle, even if she didn't realize it. Are you being like Mary?
Our Jesus is amazing.
No statement has been more grossly understated. Have you met Jesus? Have you met the man who wept simply because His friends' sadness was too much to bear. Have you met the man who spoke with such tenderness, grace, and dignity to the women who were scorned by society? Have you met the man who spent His life homeless, wandering from town to town just to spend time with the undesirables? Have you met the man who loved His people so much that He died to pay the penalty for their sin? This is the Jesus you will meet in our new Devotional Series: REVEALED. Jesus, the Son of God, The Almighty in flesh, is a man of justice and righteousness, for sure. He's also the emblem of grace and mercy. He's the embodiment of all that is right and good. He loves His children. He respects women and offers them a place in His ministry and in His Kingdom. He did for us what we can't possibly do for ourselves. And He did it with warmth and often with a smile. This series will be featured here online for FREE for a time and then taken down from the site to be bound and printed and also made available for PDF download. Join us for this 4-week series where we will feature 6 women from the Bible to whom Jesus REVEALED different aspects of His character and person. If you've never met this Man, please get to know Him here. Take a moment to spend time in the scripture and be moved by this Man who defied convention, beat death and overcame the world! If you know Him, come along with us to see Him with fresh eyes. We can't wait! We'll post every Monday and Friday here on the Devotional page, beginning Friday, April 25th, Good Friday. We are very excited to announce that SHE HEARD is now available directly from us and less expensive than on Amazon! Now you can order your SHE HEARD Devotional for only $12.99 for your small group.* That saves you over $5! Also, we have SHE HEARD available on our site now for individual use for only $15, that's a $3 savings from Amazon. To order for your small group, click HERE. *Small group orders must include a minimum quantity of 3 to be considered a "bulk" order. It's come to our attention that some are having difficulty commenting on our site for the giveaway? Oh no! It's a glitch with our platform and we're addressing it. If you've tried to comment and can't, please email us HERE and let us know so that your entry counts. We see LOTS of "likes" and "shares" on Facebook, but not so many comments, which is a mandatory entry. So sorry!! We can't wait to get these books into your hands! Too impatient to wait for the giveaway? We have SHE HEARD available at Amazon HERE and a PDF version available for download (you print and bind yourself) HERE! ***CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! THANK YOU FOR ENTERING!***
***UPDATED 3/5/16: It's come to our attention that some are having trouble commenting on this post. If that's the case, please email us at deliberate women {at} gmail {dot} com and we will count your entry that way. Thank you!
SHE HEARD is available now HERE! When we began writing over six months ago, we had no idea exactly where God was going to lead us with SHE HEARD. Where we find ourselves now is looking at the glossy cover of this amazing devotional and shaking our heads. SHE HEARD was written to minister to those women who feel inadequate, unprepared, or uncertain how to serve the Lord using the gifts He's given them. The amazing thing of it all is that it's also ministering to US! SHE HEARD is an 8-week devotional featuring 8 women of the Bible who were extraordinary in their obedience to the Lord just by living their ordinary lives. You, too, can be extraordinary in God's Work as you walk forward in obedience to what He is calling you to. And you can do that just by being who you are, where you are. TODAY, we are SO EXCITED to announce a SHE HEARD giveaway! We will be selecting 5 people from the comments below and on our Facebook page. Those selected will receive the following: 1st Winner: SHE HEARD Devotional, An NIV Study Bible, & A beautiful journal from Whole Magazine. 2nd Winner: SHE HEARD Devotional, DW ONE YEAR Journal, & a jewelry piece from ViBella jewelry. 3rd Winner: a SHE HEARD PDF Devotional (to be downloaded and bound by you.) 4th Winner: a SHE HEARD PDF Devotional (to be downloaded and bound by you.) 5th Winner: A SHE HEARD PDF Devotional (to be downloaded and bound by you.) Contest runs from Wednesday, March 2, 2016 through Wednesday March 9, 2016 until 11:59 PM EST. Winners will be selected and contacted Thursday, March 10, 2016 via email and also announced here and on our FB Page. Winners must respond within 24 hours or prize will be forfeited.
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Special thank you to Daniel Critchfield for video editing.
8 women of the Bible. All are very different, yet all share one very important thing in common: They HEARD the Lord and stepped forward boldly in faith to serve...just by being who they were, where they were. Do you believe you couldn't possibly have anything to offer to ministry? Does the word "ministry" sound scary and daunting? Maybe...
We don't all serve in the same way. Some of us will travel overseas, some of us will be at the forefront of leadership and very visible, some of us will be on the front lines in exotic and faraway places...and some of us will be on the front lines in our own backyard. Where you are is not an accident. God has planted you there to 1) Serve Him in that exact spot and 2) To prepare you for future service. You need only to be available to HEAR the Lord and to step forward in obedience to whatever He calls you to do and then step back and watch God do the rest. God will take your obedience and multiply the fruits of it as only He can. We may never see the full scope of our obedience, but be sure the Lord does, and He will bless us for it. The Lord can easily accomplish His Will on His own, without us, but He chooses to use us. What an honor! What a privilege! Do you have a heart to serve, but you don't know where to begin? Begin by meeting these eight incredible women of the Bible; women who despite culture, time, and geography are just like you and me. Regardless of 2,000 years passing, we can still learn from and imitate the faith of these women. Let's continue the legacy of being women who HEAR the Lord and obey, to His glory.
Perfect for small group and individual use!CARMEN MILLER OF WHOLE MAGAZINE WANTED TO BE REAL IN HER WRITING AND OFFER WOMEN HOPE TO BE WHOLE.Carmen Miller is a woman who knows what it is to be broken. Her testimony includes teen pregnancy, domestic violence, and infidelity. Her heart is to lead other women to wholeness through Christ. She does this via Whole Magazine, a women's ministry she founded. Carmen had been blogging on her own personal blog for about two years. Although it was a Christ-centered blog, she felt it was missing more; more realness, more pain, more rawness. She began to pray and ask God how that would look. She wanted to share things that she'd endured; trials she'd overcome, and how God’s grace had brought her through all the messiness of life. More importantly, she wanted to share with other women that her life is still messy at times. She was a writer, but also an avid blog reader. She remembers reading many posts and thinking, “Wow, what’s wrong with me? What am I doing wrong, 'cause this woman’s life seems perfect!” Obviously, she knew deep down that wasn’t the case, but she realized that so many of these blogs lacked that real-life story. Yes, we love Jesus. Yes, we are Christians, but we still have messy, broken, and crazy lives. She began reading Matthew 9:20-22: "Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, 'If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.' Jesus turned and saw her. 'Take heart, daughter,' he said, 'your faith has made you whole.' And the woman was made whole at that moment." She thought about how the rest of the day went for this woman. Life wasn’t going to be easy for her; not as a woman living during those times, but she had something she hadn’t had in twelve years: She had hope. She was healed. Carmen wanted to give the hope that, although we are not perfect, we serve The Perfect One. After continued prayer, God gave Carmen the vision almost immediately, including who she would reach out to and ask to write. Whole Magazine officially launched in the fall of 2012 with over 40 writers from all over the world. Carmen responded quickly to the Lord and His calling. She began to write the vision and make it plain (Hab 2:2). He began to pour ideas, even so far as to how the website would look. Carmen shares that it was wonderful and scary all at the same time. When asked what lessons the Lord has taught her through this, Carmen shares that there are so many lessons and she is still learning! The biggest lesson she learned early on was that her ministry wasn’t her readers, but her writers. These were women who were sharing their lives daily- sharing their hurts, pains, and joys. Some of them had experience writing and others never had written, but had such an immense passion to share what God had done in their lives. So they began a writers group where amazing Christian authors provide writing tips and more to help them get better at writing. Carmen also learned that she couldn’t do it all on her own. She tried for months to juggle writing, editing, publishing, managing social media, promoting, etc and she got burned out. Whole was like her baby, but God told her that she had to recruit help and delegate tasks. So many women were excited to help. When asked what advice she would offer to other women in HEARING the Lord's calling, she offered: " "Saturate everything in prayer. What sounds like a good plan, may not always be God’s plan for you. If it is His will, He will provide the people, tools, and resources you need. Pray, and let Him make it happen. Then listen. He will speak through His Word, or through others. We all have a calling and a purpose and the more we sit at the feet of Jesus and remain in His presence, His plan will be revealed." ~ Carmen Miller, Whole Magazine You can support Whole by sharing articles on social media, download their FREE mobile devotional app. Also, they are not a 501(c)3 and all of their costs for the website, app, and design software comes out of Carmen's pocket. Carmen and her team also ask for prayer. And, if you feel led to sow, you can do so here. Be sure to follow them on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.
Along with Whole Magazine, carmen also fronts another ministry that she co-founded with her husband: God Over Porn. Together they are working to address the very real issue of pornography and the damaging and tragic effects it has. Carmen is one of many examples we've shared during the SHE HEARD Devotional Series here on Deliberate Women of women who have stepped forward boldly to answer the call God placed on their lives. Carmen, like the others, simply made herself available to the Lord and responded in obedience where He led. All of us can do that. We are all called to be women who HEAR the Lord and obey. May we recognize the Lord's voice, may we follow Him without delay, and may we trust Him to multiply our efforts as only He can for His glory. Do you have a story of your own (or someone else's) obedience and of HEARING the Lord that you'd like to share? Contact us HERE. |
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