He-Hive

 

He-Hive

1 Timothy 2: ⁸ In every church service I want the men to pray, men who are dedicated to God and can lift up their hands in prayer without anger or argument. ⁹ I also want the women to be modest and sensible about their clothes and to dress properly; not with fancy hair styles or with gold ornaments or pearls or expensive dresses, ¹⁰ but with good deeds, as is proper for women who claim to be religious. ¹¹ Women should learn in silence and all humility. ¹² I do not allow them to teach or to have authority over men; they must keep quiet. ¹³ For Adam was created first, and then Eve. ¹⁴ And it was not Adam who was deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and broke God's law. ¹⁵ But a woman will be saved through having children ( or will be kept safe through childbirth. ), if she perseveres in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.

 

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Ugh! This is a “He-hive!” I read these words and struggled to think of any example. Over the years, these words have been misused to cause pain and support inequality. After reading the words, one could go down a rabbit hole of misogynism  So I had to dissect them carefully to understand.

 

My Observations

Prayer, good deeds, and learning should be done by men and women.

Childbirth is a very difficult, stressful scary time that only women can experience.

Faith, love holiness with modesty should be done by men and women.

 

Paul writes to Timothy and is usually addressing specific issues. There may have been a situation where men were getting distracted to lust over women, causing marital problems, as best I can tell. An answer was to have the women teach each other.

 

As far as the curse, this is harder. GOD laid out a curse when Eve was deceived and disobeyed HIM. Paul reminded Timothy that the curse still stands in GOD’s eyes.

 

One would miss the solution if not reading with the right spirit, namely faith and love and holiness bring the relationship back into balance.

 

Challenge

What are your observations about women from the writer?

What are your observations about men from the writer?

What do you know about the curse GOD placed on humanity in the Garden of Edan?

Should faith, love and holiness be performed by only one gender?

Will you accept the fact that men and women were created as equals and the only balance in equality is through surrendering your life to CHRIST with faith, love and holiness today?

Supported

Supported

Philippians 4: ² Euodia and Syntyche, please, I beg you, try to agree as sisters in the Lord. ³ And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow workers, whose names are in God's book of the living.

 

⁴ May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!

 

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Not knowing what I was doing, I stayed up late trying to understand my next move. I had never led anything, and now it was my turn to lead a group. Someone must have saw my struggles so he or she paired me up with a more experienced person.

 

• I was glad to have the help.
• I did not know what I was doing and felt overwhelmed.
• I was relieved to be supported.

 

Paul begs two women to agree. He, himself had disagreements that he regretted. He later saw that agreeing with a variety of approaches is far better than everyone doing things the same way. He then requests support for the two women who had a disagreement because they were passionate about the LORD.

 

My Observations

• GOD wants me to be passionate about spreading the Gospel.
• GOD wants my passion to be focused with discernment and agreement with a variety of approaches.
• GOD wants me to appreciate many styles so I can support versus debate.

 

“There is the right way and there is your way” is most people’s approach. I mean, when it comes to GOD, it seems like worship is the most segregated, gender and age biased thing we can do. Disagreements over music types, racial examples and “young” or “old” thinking keep us separated and weak. BUT GOD has a remedy.

 

Unity with the LORD breaks down arguments about GOD. When I unite with the LORD, HE is the center of attention, not me. HE gets presented in the way that is best for all and I can rejoice even when it is not sung or said the way I would expect. I am glad to be supported and I will support the efforts of those who seek the spreading of the Gospel of our LORD.

 

Challenge

• Why do you think the writer wants these two women to agree?
• Have you ever been passionate about something and were met with someone who was just as passionate about an opposing, yet correct, view of the Savior?
• Will you unite under CHRIST and figure out how to support one another’s views so “more” people can be reached for HIM today?

Freed Woman

Freed Woman

Galatians 4: ²⁸ Now, you, my friends, are God's children as a result of his promise, just as Isaac was. ²⁹ At that time the son who was born in the usual way persecuted the one who was born because of God's Spirit; and it is the same now. ³⁰ But what does the scripture say? It says, “Send the slave woman and her son away; for the son of the slave woman will not have a part of the father's property along with the son of the free woman.” ³¹ So then, my friends, we are not the children of a slave woman but of a free woman.

 

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Hearing “GOD loves you” or “Trust in the LORD” got on my nerves. My mother and grandmothers were trying their best to impress something special on me but I wasn’t hearing it.

 

• I wanted to do what “I” wanted to do.
• I wanted to rebel and show everyone that I did not need GOD.
• I wanted to just be angry and full of rage.

 

GOD’s amazing promise was explained by Paul. Through two women, Hagar and Sarah, two covenants were displayed. One covenant was laced with mistrust, rules and disobedience, the other with belief, grace and freedom. Those who choose to believe will be freed.

 

My Observations

• Freedom is mine to choose.
• Accepting the fact that GOD owns everything frees me because I am in HIS family.
• Believing in JESUS is what set me free.

 

GOD chose some women to perform HIS amazing promise. HE redeemed mankind through a miraculous birth. HE grew up and raised women up from oppression so they too could be filled with HIS SPIRIT.

 

When the women were freed, there was no malice in them. They spoke about JESUS with excitement and fear. Many people believed because of their testimonies. I am glad I have had many women in my life who stood firm to the belief in JESUS.

 

Challenge

• What does it mean to be a child of GOD according to this passage?
• Have you ever devalued what a woman said?
• Will you ask GOD to look at the heart as HE does and see people as HE sees them so you can be added to HIS family and given freedom today?

Women Leaders Needed

Women Leaders Needed

1 Corinthians 14: ³³ because God does not want us to be in disorder but in harmony and peace.

As in all the churches of God's people, ³⁴ the women should keep quiet in the meetings. They are not allowed to speak; as the Jewish Law says, they must not be in charge. ³⁵ If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home. It is a disgraceful thing for a woman to speak in a church meeting.

 

³⁶ Or could it be that the word of God came from you? Or are you the only ones to whom it came? ³⁷ If anyone supposes he is God's messenger or has a spiritual gift, he must realize that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. ³⁸ But if he does not pay attention to this, pay no attention to him.

 

³⁹ So then, my friends, set your heart on proclaiming God's message, but do not forbid the speaking in strange tongues. ⁴⁰ Everything must be done in a proper and orderly way.

 

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Ugh! Another tough message from Paul! When I first glanced at the message I dreaded the thought of addressing the statement because I was taking it out of context. I mean, I can only imagine my wife dreading hearing any words that would place her in an unheard state. We are working through hearing each other to this day, as all marriages should. But Paul raises a doozie!

 

• At first glance it looks like women are not valued.
• At first glance it looks like women can never say a word.
• At first glance it looks like women would cause disgrace.

 

My Observations

Again, I have to return to the curse of GOD when Adam took down all humans in Genesis 3. GOD made a hierarchy that showed sin caused disharmony between HIM and HIS creation. GOD also added pain and struggle in this curse. Nothing exciting happens in a curse. But what does the curse have to do with women speaking in church gatherings?

 

I wish I had the letter or letters written to Paul. I mean, Paul’s reference seems to be focused on married women, not all women. He seemed to be addressing an issue written to him versus bashing women. I don’t know is my answer. Here is what I believe.

 

• I believe GOD made man and woman to live in harmony.
• I believe GOD wants man and woman to have peace.
• I believe GOD wants HIS message proclaimed by every human, man and woman.

 

In this chapter, being heard “is” the problem. Not everyone can rush the stage with a message and not everyone can speak in strange tongues without full understanding. All must have the desire to spread GOD’s message of love and sometimes be silent and use restraint as the example.

 

Women leaders are needed more and more as men have not brought the harmony and peace GOD is seeking. Women who can proclaim GOD’s message while bringing in harmony and peace are desperately needed these days. Both my grandmothers and my mother, mother-in-law, wife, sister, sisters-in-law, aunts, cousins and daughter have been and should be icons of harmony and peace pertaining to proclaiming GOD’s message. I have learned a lot from them as do many.

 

Challenge

• What are your observations about harmony and peace in this chapter, not just the passage?
• What do you think about women speaking and leading in the gathering of people?
• What suggestions do you have for seeking the “harmony and peace” GOD is looking for?

Amazing things can happen

Ruth 4: ¹¹ Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. ¹² Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this young woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

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²¹ Salmon the father of Boaz,

Boaz the father of Obed,

²² Obed the father of Jesse,

and Jesse the father of David.

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Ruth was a foreigner who decided to serve a widow instead of remarrying. What’s amazing to me is she stuck to her convictions and didn’t seem like she was secretly looking for something or trying to ‘pretend’ so she could manipulate GOD.

She wasn’t seeking a title or praise by other people BUT GOD had something different planned for her.

• GOD amazingly brought Ruth through very harsh times.
• GOD saw fit to heal a very broken situation by rescuing an older and younger widow.
• GOD delivered the right person at the right time when things seemed the most desperate and he became the redeemer.

What’s so amazing about this piece of history is JESUS was a descendant of this family when HE decided to become a human. I tried to think of an amazing story that could match what was going on here and could not think of one.  The story speaks for itself.

• GOD doesn’t need to part oceans in order to be known.
• GOD can use ordinary desires to produce something special.
• GOD can bless me without fanfare, pomp and circumstances.

Sometimes just living life is enough for GOD to do some amazing things.

• Do you think GOD is not concerned about you?
• Does life seem monotonous?
• Do you realize GOD may be doing some amazing things in your life that you are blinded to?
• Won’t you open your eyes to how amazing GOD is on a daily basis?