Real WOMEN Real FAITH - Rebekah

Rebekah
Rejecting Stereotypes -
Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

- Day 5 -

Have you ever wondered what the purpose of feminine stereotypes are?

TV shows, commercials, magazines, and Internet invest large sums of money each year to show women what the latest fashion trends are.  The message they want to get across is that in order to be successful you have to look a certain way (physically) and act a certain way (intellectually).  As a woman if you follow their advice you will be able to seduce your audience and in the end you will be successful - happy!

Yesterday, our pastor gave a message on purity and one of the verses he used seemed to fit in with our topic.  Paul, in the letter he writes to the Ephesians, addresses the same attitude.  Hundreds of years ago men (and women) were thinking the same way we think today.

Ephesians 4

18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

22 You were taught,...…..23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

What does the Bible teach us?

Pastor Bonnie strongly encouraged us to “see yourself as God sees you.”  In our blog post yesterday, we read Psalm 139.  It's a good place to start......

Psalm 139:13 - 14

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Let's take a closer look at the meaning of the words and phrases:

Verse 13  You knit me together = God protected me in my mother’s womb: a place where I could not be seen; a dark and intimate location....God was there.

Verse 14  Wonderfully made = Set apart, to distinguish....God made each one of us in a unique way.

Can you see the difference?

The world says, "You can become beautiful if you......."

God says, "I made you beautifully!"

PRAY   Ask God to give you the freedom from the stereotypes of this world.

SHARE   Do you have a verse that encourages you in this battle?  Share it and encourage other women just like you.

The Lord's Day

Psalm 139:1-17

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
¹¹ If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
¹² even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,  God!
How vast is the sum of them!

PRAY

Search me, O God.

I want to be genuine with you. 

Look at what I care about and see if I do things that offend you. 

Forgive my debts and lead me onto your path - direct my life.

(Based on Psalm 139:23, 24; Matthew 9:12)

Real WOMEN Real FAITH - Rebekah

Rebekah
Rejecting Stereotypes -
Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

- Day 3 -

Stereotypes and More.....

The word stereotype means that you drop individual differences and narrow down information to form an opinion. Then this opinion becomes a standard that one should adapt to.  Do stereotypes become an authority in our lives?

In May 2010, a survey was done among 8.600 European women.  A sociologist commented on the results that showed women are influenced more than ever by social norms, fashion, and advertisement.  Many women said that they do not go out without makeup.  The women expressed a desire to make their own rules about beauty but their actions show they conformed to the stereotypes that are now the same around the world.  The result from the study showed 92% of women in France turn to the Internet to gather information.  For women who wear makeup, mascara turned out to be number one:  in France 36% of women have to put on mascara before they go out the door.....Oh, but that is France!  Au contraire - the numbers are higher in other countries: Italy 43%; Germany 39%; and England 43%.

Why do I at some point abandon my opinion, my taste, my reason and possibly common sense and turn to a magazine or the Internet to find out what is trendy?  What am I looking for?  Could it be beauty?  Acceptance?  Respect?  Love?

The Original Beauty Source

Genesis 1:1, 27  & 31

In the BEGINNING GOD created the heavens and the earth......So GOD CREATED MANKIND in his own image, IN THE IMAGE OF GOD he created them; male and female he created them......God saw all that he had made, and it was VERY GOOD.

Who was the first beauty source?  God
What was His final creation?  Man and Woman
Who did they look like?  God
What was the result?  VERY good!

Genesis 5:3

When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth.

Genesis 3:20

Adam named his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living.

Are there any descendants of Eve who are specifically described in the Bible as being beautiful?  Check out Genesis 12:11 and Genesis 24:16.

Do you see a pattern here?  According to the Original Beauty Source are you beautiful?

PRAY - Invite God into your struggle of seeing yourself as beautiful.  Is there a beauty or image goal you're striving for? Can you relinquish control over to God and His plan for you and His Kingdom?

SHARE - Who was or is your beauty icon?  What makes her beautiful in your eyes?

Real WOMEN Real FAITH - Rebekah

Rebekah
Rejecting Stereotypes -
Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

- Day 2 -

Shinning a light on the life of a Rebekah....

Yesterday morning, during the Bible study we talked about Rebekah and learned more about her life.  It has brought me joy to learn more about her life and how God used her for His purpose.  It feels as if I can relate to the young dynamic women who is ready to meet the needs of people around her.  If only I was as strong as she was. 

 

Do you remember we read that she gave water to ten camels?  Then she still had enough strength to run home and tell her family what had just happened. The next morning, she was ready to travel to an unknown land.  Not an easy thing to do!  All her life was about to change and she did not seem to hesitate to follow God's will.  There were many unanswered questions about her future.  Has your life ever changed drastically very quickly?  I have to admit that when this has happened to me, my attitude was not as good as Rebekah's.  She was a humble servant who had the strength and courage to leave and go to an unknown land.

 

Lets step over to to the shadow side....

If you continue to read about Rebekah and Isaac in the book of Genesis, you find out how Rebekah uses her strength to put together a plot to deceive her husband.  Once again she is quick to do what needs to be done.  This time, she doesn't think twice about lying so that her favorite son would have a nice future.  She knew God's plan but she took control of the situation and pushed God aside.  She wanted to be sure that her son inherited Isaac's wealth.


Genesis 25:23-28

The Lord said to her: Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.  The first to come out was red, and and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.  After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob.  Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.  Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

 

 

Genesis 27:1-10

 

When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he called for Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”  “Here I am,” he answered.  Isaac said, “I am now an old man and don’t know the day of my death.  Now then, get your equipment—your quiver and bow—and go out to the open country to hunt some wild game for me.  Prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my blessing before I die.”

 

 

 

Now Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 

 

When Esau left for the open country to hunt game and bring it back, Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father say to your brother Esau, 'Bring me some game and prepare me some tasty food to eat, so that I may give you my blessing in the presence of the Lord before I die.'  Now, my son, listen carefully and do what I tell you:  Go out to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it.  Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies.

 

PRAY - As we learned from Rebekah, our strengths can have shadow sides. Pray that God would reveal anything in us that might be leading us to act in ungodly ways.

SHARE - What impresses you the most about Rebekah?  What qualities do you admire the most in women you have met?   Share your thoughts with others and write a comment.

Tomorrow, we will look at the different sources we rely on to give us direction in our lives.

Real WOMEN Real FAITH - Rebekah

Rebekah 
Rejecting Stereotypes -
Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

- Day 1 -

Rebekah's story - some camels, a nose-ring, a husband, oh my!

Excerpts from Genesis 24

Abraham was now very old, and the LORD had blessed him in every way.  He said to the senior servant in his household: I want you to swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will go to my country and my own relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.

Then the servant left, taking with him ten of his master’s camels loaded with all kinds of good things from his master.  He set out for Aram Naharai and made his way to the town of Nahor.  It was toward evening, the time the women go out to draw water.   Then he prayed: LORD, God of my master Abraham, make me successful today, and show kindness to my master Abraham.   See, I am standing beside this spring, may it be that when I say to a young woman, ‘Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,’ and she says, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels too’—let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac.

Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder.  She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milkah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. The woman was very beautiful, a virgin. S he went down to the spring, filled her jar and came up again.   The servant hurried to meet her and said: Please give me a little water from your jar.   “Drink, my lord,” she said, “I’ll draw water for your camels too, until they have had enough to drink.”  When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a beka and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels.

Then he asked, “Whose daughter are you?   Please tell me, is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?”   Then the man bowed down and worshiped the LORD, saying, “Praise be to the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his kindness and faithfulness to my master.  As for me, the LORD has led me on the journey to the house of my master’s relatives.”

So the man went to the house.  Then food was set before him, but he said, “I will not eat until I have told you what I have to say.”   “Then tell us,” Laban said.   Abraham’s servant told them what had happened and then asked if Rebekah could go to Abraham’s house.   Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we can say nothing to you one way or the other.  Here is Rebekah; take her and go, and let her become the wife of your master’s son, as the LORD has directed.”   When Abraham’s servant heard what they said, he bowed down to the ground before the LORD.  Then the servant brought out gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave costly gifts to her brother and to her mother.  When they got up the next morning, he said, “Send me on my way to my master.”   So they called Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”   “I will go,” she said.

Now Isaac was living in the Negen.  He went out to the field one evening to meditate, and as he looked up, he saw camels approaching.  Rebekah also looked up and saw Isaac.  She got gown from her camel and asked the servant, "Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?"  "He is my master," the sevant answered.  So she took her veil and covered herself.  Then the servant told Isaac all he had done.  Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married Rebekah.  So she became his wife, and he loved her.

Join us tomorrow as we begin our discussion..... 

Real WOMEN Real FAITH - Eve

Eve

Finding Lasting Contentment in the Truth
- Day 6 -

 

My portion, my lot, my cup.....

In the gospels of the New Testament, we see Jesus use the word cup several times. During his ministry, he took time to explain to his disciples that he came on earth to die - not to replace the ruler of Israel or to bring earthly peace to the Jewish people.  

Today we arrive on the scene as Jesus' ministry on earth is drawing to a close.....

Taken from Matthew 26: 36,39 and 42

Then Jesus went with His disciples to a place called Gethsemane (...) going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, ''My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.'' (...) He went away a second time and prayed, ''My Father if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.'' (NIV)

After he prayed Jesus met up with His disciples just as Judas (the betrayer) arrived on the scene with soldiers, the chief priests and Pharisees.  They had come to arrest Jesus.  Simon Peter wanted to defend Jesus so he took his sword and injured the servant of the high priest. Jesus responds.

John 18:1

Jesus commanded Peter, "Put your sword away!  Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?"

What was in the cup Jesus is talking about? What was His portion?

This cup is similar to the cup we saw yesterday in Isaiah 51:17 - a cup filled with God's wrath.  In Isaiah, the people of Judah and the people of Israel had decided to not obey God's commandments and many of them worshiped gods from other countries.  They chose to sin just as Eve did.  God is Holy and can not be in the presence of sin and He became angry with His people because of the choices they made.  The peoples responded by offering sacrifices to God and the blood of the animals covered their sin in the eyes of God.

God had an ultimate plan. He sent His son to earth so that He could die on a cross. When Jesus took the cup of God, He was nailed to a cross and he bled. He took the wrath of God and the sins of the world so that His Father could replace the cup with a cup of life that was now filled with the blood of Jesus. In John 3:16 we read, "...that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Have you accepted that Jesus paid the price so that you can be forgiven and be in the presence of God by having His Spirit live in you?

When Jesus celebrated passover with His disciples before He died, He passed a cup of wine to them and he was saying to them: I will redeem you, you don't have to drink the cup of wrath, I will do that and instead I offer you the cup of redemption.

After Jesus' resurrection and ascencion to heaven, the Holy Spirit directed the apostal Paul to celebrate communion just as Jesus had. 

1 Corinthians 11:25

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ''This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.'' 28 A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29 for anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Why is it important to stop and acknowledge what Jesus did for us before we take communion?

We take time to acknowledge and confess our sins as as way of emptying ourselves (our cup) of sin.  As we take communion we recognize that we are filled with the blood and the forgiveness of Jesus, and the love of God.  Really there is no room for sin - our cup is already full and the two can't be in the same cup.  Remember that verse we looked at earlier in 1 Corinthians 10:21?

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons.

It's when we empty our cup of "everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles" (Hebrews 12:1), we can celebrate the Lord's supper - His offering, His gift.  And celebrate the full life (cup) we already have in Jesus Christ! (John 10:10)

Praise God!

Like David, we can truly say our cup OVERFLOWS!

 

Real WOMEN Real FAITH - Eve

Eve

Finding Lasting Contentment in the Truth
- Day 5 -

In our culture today, we often use words to explain or to share our thoughts.  In Ancient times the Jewish people were visual.  In the Bible, the cup was often used as a symbol to illustrate the idea of giving.  

 

When a guest came to your home it was customary to offer him a drink.  You, as the host, would then select the type of beverage to be poured into the cup.  If your family did not own a vineyard, you would have already selected good wines from another vineyard to store in your home to share with your family and guests.   When you presented the cup filled with the selected wine, it was your way of saying, "I know how to determine what is good and I want to share it with you."  If the guest refused the offer of a drink or took the drink but didn't like the taste and didn't finish the cup, they were in fact saying, "I don't like your choices, I don't trust your judgement."

 

We can see this interaction played out in the relationship between God (giver) and the Israelites (receiver).  Let's take a look at just a couple of verses in the book of Psalms:

 

Psalm 16:5

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. (ESV)

 

David accepts God (rejecting the idols of other nations) - choosing to drink from, accept, receive what God offers.

 

Psalm 23:5

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. (ESV)

 

David acknowledges that the Lord has given the Israelites a land with many blessings even in times of trouble.  So many in fact that he sees his cup as overflowing.

 

Psalm 116:13

I will lift the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (ESV)

 

David is thanking God for his gift of deliverance.

 

We also see another side in Isaiah 51:17

 

Wake yourself, wake yourself,

stand up, O Jerusalem,

you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord

the cup of his wrath,

who have drunk to the dregs

the bowl, the sup of staggering.

 

Go back a few verses and read 12-13 to find out why God is angry.  Do you see the guest who refused the drink offered by the host?

 

At times we feel empty and we are tempted to hold out our cups to be filled by things of the world.  Is God offering a "cup" that you won't accept?  or maybe you've accepted it, but now it doesn't meet your expectation and your not sure you want to finish it?

 

PRAY - Ask God to help you fall in love with his Word and feed on it daily so you are fortified and equipped for the attacks Satan will bring against you.

 

SHARE - Do you see your cup as overflowing?  In what way?  Let's praise God together!

 

Tomorrow we will take a look at the cup in the New Testament.