Closing 2018

If I could only choose one name to describe God this year, it would have to be Redeemer. He has redeemed my life in so many ways. He has been liberator, deliverer, rescuer, and preserver. This year He opened my eyes to see that despite spiritual ups and downs, He has preserved my calling and my dream. What once seemed hopeless and forgotten, was redeemed in a new and unexpected way. 

It will be five years in May 2019, that I endured an almost crippling spiritual divorce (there is no other way to describe it than by calling it as such). Depression and bitterness settled in my heart, BUT God plowed through every so gently and with great patience. I suffered spiritually in seasons of dessert living while my Bible remained closed, BUT God continued to satisfy my hunger and thirst through the faithful teaching of the Word and worship at Calvary Chapel Fort Lauderdale. It was and will always be my oasis, my place of refuge and relief. 

My image of the church had been shattered, BUT God painted a beautiful picture of what the church truly is through the Bible study group He has called Josie and I to lead. We were broken women who needed to study the Word together with other broken women, and God has used each life as a paintbrush to paint community, love, and truth in our hearts. 

And just when I was satisfied with how He had redeemed what was broken, He redeemed what was forgotten. In November of 2017, I filled a card to serve at Christ Fellowship. Though I was extremely apprehensive about doing so, I did it out of obedience. Five months later I received a call. And in that conversation, what had been tucked and sealed away in the hidden chambers of my heart was brought to surface. And the verse the Lord gave me in January 2018 made complete sense to me in that moment: “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you...” 1 John 2:27. The anointing still abides in me! I set no expectations other than to wait on Him and walk in full obedience. 

Oh, sweet Jesus, you truly redeem what is broken, hopeless, and forgotten. 

My encouragement to You: 

He can do the same for you. 

Hope, believe, and persevere in hardships. 

Don’t give in and don’t give up! 

Walk in obedience and He will make all things new. 

Fireflies : Eve

Happy Saturday!
Last week was the October meeting for the Fireflies. The girls and I took a deeper look into the first woman ever created: Eve! We learned so much and embraced the Eve in all of us. I pray that you may be blessed by her. Feel free to use these notes if you have a little girl in your life.



October's meeting during our Bible study of Eve



EVE

Genesis 2:18-23

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the LORD God formed from the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and the man chose a name for each one. He gave names to all the livestock, all the birds of the sky, and all the wild animals. But still there was no helper just right for him.

So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.
“At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’”

A woman was created not by accident or chance but with purpose: born to be a helper. She was not equal to an animal, or a tree or even God, but equal to a man. God created her to perfection, ready for every good work.

Her responsibility as helper was to assist Adam by sharing the work of overseeing the earth. She was to help him so that he could improve in his work. She was to be a servant, a remedy to the man. Through this woman, God rescues Adam from his loneliness. Alone Adam could not fulfill the call of being fruitful and populating the earth, even in this, the woman would equally work to help complete the task. Together they become one, the visible representation of an invisible God.

Unfortunately, the woman is not known for her courageous and marvelous works as a helper but rather is known for her failure.

Genesis 2:15-17
The LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.”
Genesis 3:4-6
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

Her one act of disobedience not only affected her, it affected everyone after her. Fortunately for the woman and all of humanity, as many as the Lord loves, He rebukes and disciplines (Revelation 3:19). As a loving Father, God didn’t dwell on their sin(s); He rebuked and justly spoke to each the consequence for their sin.

As women, we have not only borne the results of her sin but also a name. From Genesis 2:18-Genesis 3:19 she is only known as “the woman” but in verse 20 a name, an identity, a declaration is given.

Genesis 3:20
"The man called his wife's name Eve [life giver], because she would be the mother of all the living."
Eve is embedded in all of us:
(This list is homework. Read through the verses with your helper and life-giver aka MOM!)
• Each one of us has been created with a purpose; our days have been fashioned for us (Psalm 139).
• God intended for us to live the life we each have, to look the way that we do with the unique personalities that we have for such a time as this (Esther 4:13-14).
• We are helpers, assistants, aids, co-laborers (Ephesians 4:11-12, 15-16).
• We are to help one another’s burden be easier to carry (Romans 12:9-21) and cause improvement in each other’s life (Romans 15:1-3).
• We are to be servants (Philippians 2:3-4) who remedy the pain of those around us (Isaiah 35:3 & 61:1-3) and rescue those who are lonely (Hebrews 10:24-25).
• As helpers we are to be fruitful (Galatians 5:22) and multiply (Romans 10:14-15).
• It is no longer Adam who gives us a new name but Jesus, our Lord and Savior, through His precious blood. He has given us a name, an identity, a declaration: life giver (2 Corinthians 2:14-15)!

I encourage you to be the helper and life giver that God created you to be. What better way to be a helper than pointing people to Jesus. In doing do so you will be a life giver, for only Jesus has life to give. Love God. Love the Word. Love the Lost. Love the Found.