Strength in Submission

This weekend, I went on a retreat with my church. The topic was "Men and Women, God's Way". It was such a blessing to be with my friends and learning about what it means to be a feminine woman and how we are supposed to interact with men. I had a lot of my thoughts clarified, especially on the topic of femininity.

I grew up understanding that women were supposed to submit to their husbands and other men, but not fully understanding what it meant. I knew that submission was a good thing, but I always viewed it as the woman being the passive weaker being. At the same time, I never fully believed that the current feminine movement was a good thing either because women weren't supposed to be fully independent and strong in the world's current standards. The worldly woman views femininity in a negative way and they want to be leaders - a woman that doesn't need a man to tell them what to do or how to be. I never really believed that women were supposed to be leaders in that sense, but I didn't fully understand what it meant to be a godly feminine woman. I was confused because I knew that women should be strong, but not strong in the way that the world defines strength, and I couldn't come to terms with how submitting myself would equate to strength.

Before the sermon on femininity, I was contemplating what the women in the Bible that were feminine and came up with examples of women like Ruth, Esther, and Deborah who were very strong women. In my mind, I knew they were feminine women, but they were strong. They all had a strength in them that lead to action, but yet they were still considered feminine. While I new they submitted themselves to God, I couldn't fully grasp how they submitted to men.


Femininity does not equal weakness. Biblical femininity means that we are the enhancers to the men and their leadership. We intensify the men's ministry and magnify the leadership of the men. Without women, the man's ministry would not be as complete. A feminine woman enhances the man through submitting herself to the man's direction and vision and must be flexible to whatever circumstances comes her way in her submission to the man's work. While a feminine woman is strong in her convictions from God, she follows the godly man's vision. A feminine woman also strengthens the man's ministry by helping him. She provides the strength needed to complete the work. Women nurture those who need help in completing their ministry. She is practical in completing tasks, not passive. She gives strength to the ministry of the man. The woman's perspective - and everything about the woman - complements the man and his ministry. While the man has the vision, the women is created to think differently so that they can add to the ministry of the man and make it even better than it would have been if the woman was not there. Women need to remember that since we are the ones that complement the men, it means that we are equal to them. We are equal but different in our strengths in a way that complements men.

As women, we have the the ability to build up the man or strip him of his respect, honor, and reputation. Women can manipulate men in a negative way. Women are powerful in that respect, and we need to remember that we need to put that energy into submitting to the men so that we can strengthen them instead of harm them. Women need to fellowship with men to encourage and affirm them in their growth as a leader. 

In the end, I think it is important for women to remember that through submitting to the men in their lives - the leaders of her church, men in the ministry, and ultimately her husband - she is submitting to God's will, who is the one we must submit our whole lives to. It's not about the woman or the man, but God and His plan and will. He is the one that matters and His glory is at stake.

My questions have been answered, because now I know that only the Biblical definition of femininity is the only definition that fits strength in submission. The world will lean to either extreme, but the Biblical definition balances both in a perfect and holy way. I can finally rest my conflicted ideas because I know that God had a perfect definition of femininity when He made the world.

Fulfilled in Christ

I just finished reading Exodus 20-24 and an idea stuck out to me. We often say that the law was fulfilled in Christ. This is true, and reading through Exodus helped me understand this principle. Just as God gave the Jews the law so that they would obey Him, we are to obey Him. The law was put in place to show that we will sometimes fail do what is right and when we do disobey, we must pay a price to pay for our wrongdoing. When Christ went to the cross, He paid the price for all the sins we have committed and will commit. The law is fulfilled in Christ. The law shows that we must pay when we sin, but when we are in Christ, when we sin, the ultimate judge, God, will see that each sin is repaid in full by His perfect son, Jesus Christ. The law and Christ work together to show the sins in our life and our righteousness in Christ. We are no longer held under the law because Christ has set us free by giving the perfect sacrifice to the one we have sinned against (God) so that we can have His righteousness.

Thank You

In light of Easter, among other reminders of Christ and His character and work on the cross, I just want to say... Thank you, God.

Sometimes it's the simple phrases... at times, those are the only words that I can think of when I pray because it's just so mind-blowing that a holy God would send His only son to experience every single temptation that anyone could ever experience and still live a perfect life to one day die on the cross to experience the eternal wrath that I was supposed to experience, all so that I could one day have a relationship with Him. He loves us so much and wants to see us come to Him - to have a relationship with Him! What's even crazier is that one day we will have a perfect relationship with Him and our sin will no longer hold us back from glorifying Him and praising Him. I can't wait.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord.

None Righteous, Not Even One

Breakfast and Honesty - by Brant Hansen

I was reading the article "Breakfast and Honesty" the other day, and the author, Brant really helped me understand the idea that all are broken - all have sinned and no one is more righteous than the other. My pastor has been bringing up this topic within his messages too, saying that even within the church as more mature Christians or even young Christians, we should not approach each other in a way in which we believe we are more righteous and that we have to change the way we speak so that others who are not as mature can understand. Also, the topic of homosexuality has been brought up in the past few weeks by friends who have friends that may be struggling with it. I felt that today would be a good time to address these topics.

The Bible says that "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" in Romans 3:23 (NASB). Far too often, as Christians, we forget this. We see other people's sins and we judge them for it because we forget that we ourselves are just as broken as they are. Brant emphasized in his article that just as Rob had not chosen homosexuality, Brant himself had not chosen brokenness - yet they both had it because all sin and all are broken. I'm not saying that homosexuality is not a sin - quite the opposite. It is a sin, but it is not any worse than my own brokenness, my own struggles or even your struggles with the flesh.

Another verse in the Bible states that "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God... There is none who does good, there is not even one" Romans 3:10-12 (NASB). All are broken, none are righteous, no one is good, and none of us seek God on our own. When we realize this, we see the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice. Only Jesus Christ could take away this hopelessness of our sinful nature and our brokenness. He allows us to be whole. He allows us to seek God and have a relationship with Him. The verse Romans 3:24 gives us this hope. We are no longer trapped in our sins because we are "justified as a gift of His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" Romans 3:24 (NASB). God gives us a free gift of grace to be redeemed through Christ Jesus so that we can be freed from our brokenness! We are no longer slaves to our sin, but are able to live for Christ now.

In light of the article, I hope and that I can approach all people in a gracious and loving way, just as it says in Colossians 4:6 (ESV), "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person". I am not above anyone in my righteousness, so my response to sin should not be in judgement, but I should respond graciously - always pointing them back to the Cross. I should not judge them, but grieve the sin and brokenness that is in all of us and show the hope that is in Christ's sacrifice for us.

We must remember that none is righteous, but through Christ we are given the free gift of grace that allows us to be free of our brokenness and sin.

Hope and Joy

WHOOOO!!! 

For some reason, I just want to go out to a field and run, skip, dance, and shout/sing to the Lord. I have no reason really, except that God is amazing. I’m tired of keeping pent up emotions in my little body. These feelings of joy and love for God need to be expressed. :D