Over her years in ministry, Jackie has been asked a lot of questions! Here are the answers to some of those most frequently asked questions.
A College Student asked me how I set up my prayer cards – what were the categories for the different list of names on my prayer cards. Here are the categories for my Prayer Cards:
1. People Who Need Jesus (that I know personally)
2. Married Couples (Glorify God)
3. Singles (wait for God’s best – Bozo vs. Boaz)
4. Youth (God Squad or Blazing Torches)
5. Missionaries
6. Spiritual Leaders (Pastors, Bible Teachers)
7. Family Members
8. Friends
9. Terminally ill (i.e.. cancer, etc…)
10. Emotionally ill (need healing of heart wounds)
11. Card for my heart dreams and desires
12. Individual card for my husband and each of my children
13. Professional athletes & wives (their influence for Christ)
14. Christian Celebrities (i.e.. Steven Curtis Chapman)
These are suggestions, you may think of other categories.
“I urge, then, first of all, that request, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…”(I Timothy 2:1)
My prayer partner and I just record our prayer requests each week when we pray. I don’t journal prayers…I journal the new things God shows me in His Word!
The most common question I am asked at conferences and through hundreds of emails is:
• How does one get to do what you do?
• How did you get started?
• How does one go from A to Z?
I want to answer this question in such a way to NOT DISCOURAGE. I want to MOTIVATE (Hebrews 10:24) God’s girls to keep chasing their God no matter how long the road. How did I get from A to
Here are a few steps:
FIRST: I can honestly say that I am what I am today because I understand the magnitude of the truth in the following statement:
“There is no lasting success, happiness or fulfillment in life apart from a consistent, daily growing relationship with God through the Word.”
That quote is the foundation of the success I have experienced. For thirty-five years I have been studying God’s Word and hundreds of books containing practical application of the truths expressed throughout the Word (If you would like a copy of my reading list please email me and include your mailing address).
SECOND: Another classic quote captures my going from teaching 6 girls in Sunday School in a make-shift classroom in 1971 to an auditorium with 2000 girls in 2001.
“Perseverance is long obedience in the same direction.”
As Jesus said: “Well, thou good servant: because THOU HAST BEEN FAITHFUL IN A VERY LITTLE, have thou authority over ten cities.” (Luke 19:17) Faithfulness is the greatest DEGREE to earn the privilege of serving the King of Kings.
When I was in college, I used my free time wisely. I was chaplain for my dorm, I taught a girls Bible Study in a local home, I visited teen detention centers on Sundays and shared Jesus. I would give my testimony to anyone who would listen. FAITHFUL IN LITTLE…
I have honestly been serving Jesus for thirty five years and for 25 of those 35 years – serving was NOT IN THE LIMELIGHT…it was in the non-newsy mode of the following:
• Home Bible Studies
• Sunday School (High School, College, Singles, Couples)
• Volunteer at Youth Camps
• Vacation Bible School
• Shared Jesus constantly with my kids friends and their parents
• Shared Jesus at the grocery store, dry cleaners
• Retreats for Singles
• Mission Trips
• Too many hours to count…meeting people one on one to encourage hope in Jesus!
• Thousands of letters and notes of encouragement to those struggling spiritually
• Years of studying the Word (Isaiah 50:4) to find answers for the troubled people that flowed into my life on a daily basis.
FAITHFUL IN LITTLE…
THIRD: I have always been busy in the harvest…since Jesus said the “laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37,38) – I have never faced unemployment in Kingdom Opportunities. I must admit that even when I was a mom of TODDLERS…I spent daily time studying the WORD and daily time recording the Truths I discovered. The truths discovered during all those years of study became the very OUTLINES I NOW TEACH AT CONFERENCES…
Ready for this…notes and outlines that I was given in the early 80’s – I didn’t use on a grand scale until 1992. I taught what I learned in Sunday School classes and home Bible Studies and then in 1991 while teaching some of the same principles that I had known for YEARS – I was teaching a Spring Training Bible Study for the Montreal Expos and the Atlanta Braves – one random evening I was noticed by the President of a national conference organization for professional ballplayers and the rest is history.
NOTE: The opportunity to teach a Spring Training Bible Study was through a young woman who I had mentored – years before in our home – and she started dating a professional ballplayer and referred my husband and I for this opportunity. FAITHFUL IN LITTLE…I disciple ONE COLLEGE GIRL…and it changed my life.
FOURTH: The Publishing journey…I disciple ONE SINGLE GIRL…and she hooks me up with a couple – Dr. Bill and Debby Jones…that I ultimately write Lady in Waiting with…
NOTE: We wrote Lady in Waiting in 1989 and it took until 1994 for it to be picked up and published…we went through 5 years of rejections…Ironically, in 1972 – in a college room on a dateless Friday night – the Lord gave me the message “How to Wait for God’s Best” from the book of Ruth…I taught it faithfully to single gals (Sunday School, home groups, small retreats) until 1989 when it was transformed into a book called Lady in Waiting. Seventeen years of sharing my heart about avoiding a Bozo…and the Lord still made us wait 5 more years for it to be published!
FIFTH: WHEN ARE YOU READY TO SERVE? When I was born again, two days later, I was asked to share at a slumber party with a group of girls how I had been born again at a friends home two days previously. I literally took out a track that had been read to me…and I read it and only embellished it a little…and 7 girls prayed to receive Jesus that night. From the moment I read I Corinthians 5:17-20 I clearly understood that I had been saved to serve Jesus by sharing the Good News with whomever He allowed me. I never had the vision of being a writer, speaker, etc…I had one desire…to do whatever He wanted me to do on a DAILY BASIS. Whether I was a waitress who shared her faith with whomever would listen or a national speaker who is sharing Jesus with the guy bagging her groceries…FAITHFUL IN LITTLE…
Just this morning I read this verse: “…serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, FOR THE LORD SEARCHES EVERY HEART AND UNDERSTANDS EVERY MOTIVE BEHIND THE THOUGHTS…” (I Chronicles 28:9)
The Lord knows our hearts and He knows who wants to glorify Him and He also knows who wants to glorify themselves. Just keep in mind that the Lord knows your heart and if you are passionate about serving Him…you will NEVER BE UNEMPLOYED!!!!
SIXTH: One final thought, my first pastor said to me one day…”Jackie, the only people who remain faithful in kingdom work are those who are not afraid to walk alone sometimes.”
There have been times when I have looked around and wondered why fellow Christians were not excited about the obvious harvest in front of us. And that phrase from my pastor would just remind me…this is one of those ALONE times…
Then I discovered a verse that a Christian who understood that ALONE reality:
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” (Acts 20:24)
Notice: I…may finish the race…one man…running in his lane…
This is only a glimpse of the journey I have been on…but I hope it provides a little clarity for you as you pursue opportunities to make a difference in this world for Jesus’ sake.
Wild for Jesus,
Jackie
Although we as Christians know that Jesus died to pay for our sins, we are constantly assaulted by Satan’s favorite tool–shame…”shame on you…” Although we as forgiven believers know that there is NO CONDEMNATION in Christ (Romans 8:1), we still seem to struggle with SHAME. Why does shame have such continuing influence on so many Christians? Well, last night in church, the Worship Leader read a passage of scripture and the Lord so rocked my world that I wanted to jump out of my seat and run to the platform and grab a microphone and share what God showed me. Instead I am going to try and share it with you.
The passage read was Luke 7:36-50. In my Bible the passage has a subtitle: Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman. I know this passage and I actually use it in the first chapter of my book Lady in Waiting–describing a woman’s reckless abandon to Jesus. But as I looked closer at the passage something new came into focus. This sinful woman (notorious in her town) walked into a most condemning situation–the home of Simon the Pharisee. It would be like a prostitute showing up for a covered dish dinner at the Pastor’s house! But this sinful woman did not allow condemning shame keep her from anointing and kissing the feet of the Holy One of Israel. Now, how did a SINFUL woman walk past a judgmental, self-righteous man like Simon????? This sinful woman was so focused on Jesus Christ that she was not tripped up by a SHAMING SIMON!! This sinful woman did something so radical–so passionate and her single-minded attention on Jesus, kept her from being frozen in her steps by SHAMES CHILLY FINGER OF CONDEMNATION. The judgmental, shaming Simon’s of this world are daily used by Satan (Revelations 12:10-11) to accuse, confuse and trip up God’s less than perfect children. When a believer focuses on Jesus, the shaming Simon’s of this world have no influence but when a struggling believer focuses on the comments of a shaming Simon…then the believer is stopped in their tracks and they never get to the feet of Jesus. We are to come BOLDLY unto the throne of grace…Hebrews 4:15,16 and we must resist the shaming Simon’s who continually whisper how “unworthy” we are. We need to focus on the forgiving Savior rather than the judgmental Simon’s.
Do you know how God views our failures?
1. He expects them
2. He forgives them
3. He uses them
Great verses to memorize–that will break the finger of any shaming Simon:
“Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. YOU WILL FORGET THE SHAME OF YOUR YOUTH…” (Isaiah 54:4)
“Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.” (Isaiah 61:7)
You will probably encounter a Shaming Simon this week…stay focused on Jesus and forgive this blind person. Whenever you get ready to worship Jesus, don’t be surprised if Shaming Simon is in the room.
Love from one who has kissed His feet and has also heard the groan of a shaming Simon in the background!!!!!!!!!!!
His Warrior,
Jackie
Dear Precious Wounded One: Do We Need the Abuser to Ask Forgiveness? My father lived his life denying that he had sexually abused all seven of us (I am the oldest of seven children)…and when I told him that I had forgiven him for what he did…he verbally abused me for falsely accusing him. My dad died of a heart attack and he never admitted to any of us his horrible offenses…he said we were all lying losers! If your uncle asks your forgiveness…that is wonderful…but your freedom is not based on your uncle repenting and asking forgiveness…YOUR FREEDOM is based on forgiving him and forgiving your mom and forgiving your aunt…and LET GOD TAKE CARE OF CORRECTING< PUNISHING< ETC>>> “Don’t say, I will get even for this wrong. Wait for the LORD to handle the matter.” (Proverbs 20:22) A wonderful story about Corrie ten boom:
When the brutal guard from the Nazi concentration camp came to her after she spoke in Germany and he asked her forgiveness for torturing her and her sister…Corrie said when she saw him her heart was FROZEN WITH HATRED…but when the soldier extended his hand to her…in a split second, she found herself extending her hand to him and in a moment…God’s love flooded through her soul and her arm to her hand…
What was the principle here: The will can do what is RIGHT even when the heart has a different temperature! So when my heart is frigid with anger, my will can by faith–do what is RIGHT and my obedient behavior will “thaw my frozen heart.” I got so excited about the fact that I have spent 35 years doing what is right towards those who have hurt me and the Lord has kept me from having an ALASKAN HEART…instead I have a FLORIDIAN HEART…warm and pliable in the hands of GOD.
The best prescription for a wounded heart is to allow God to love freely through your life and your obedient love and forgiveness of your debtors will set you free. Bitterness keeps me tied to the offender, forgiveness cuts the cords of bondage to the offender and all the co-conspirators that covered up the offense.
Forgiveness is a daily reality…forgive and forgive again…and again until you look into the eyes of the One Who died so you could freely forgive. Remember–you are most like Jesus when you are forgiving. Every challenge in your life that demands forgiveness is a BE LIKE JESUS MOMENT>>>
Love from One Healed through Forgiving…
Whenever you read a familiar story, one could miss an obvious nugget. Reading through Joshua I came upon the story of Achan and his sin of craving the beautiful Babylonian robe, the silver coins and the bar of gold. We all know the story how he took these items and hid them in his tent. We also know that it was a SIN because it directly violated God’s instruction concerning the conquering of JERICHO (Joshua 6:18,19). When I read this familiar story I was focusing on the lust that drove him to disobey and the costly cravings that resulted in his death and the death of his family. Well, this deadly craving reminded me of the many addictions that are destroying homes across the U.S. Then the Lord rocked my world by taking me into another aspect of the event. I assumed Achan’s sin was lust but it was the deeper sin of presumption.
When God gave the marching orders for Jericho, He said…”no plunder for the warriors.” Achan being a warrior heard that instruction he committed a “presumptuous sin.” He ASSUMED that the “no plunder for the warriors” would be the marching orders for ALL the cities they were going to conquer. So Achan, gave into his lust and cravings because he ASSUMED that God would not provide for him as a warrior. Sadly, Achan stole what God was going to FREELY GIVE HIM in the next city of Ai.
When God gave Joshua the marching orders for Ai, the Lord included…”keep the captured goods and the cattle for yourselves.” (Joshua 8:2) So Achan’s ultimate sin was not only the lust but the presumption that God would not provide for him as a warrior. Achan STOLE WHAT GOD WOULD HAVE GIVEN HIM IF ACHAN HAD ONLY TRUSTED EL ELYON’S TIMING AND MARCHING ORDERS. How often do we steal what God wants to give us freely?
- How often do we impatiently go after what our Father wants to give us when we are sitting still? (Isaiah 64:4)
- How often do we panic and assume that God is not going to provide? (Matthew6:25-33)
- How often do we assume what God is going to do next and we rush ahead, drenched in fear that it is not going to be the best for us? (Romans 8:32)
- How many times have you and I suffered because we ASSUMED what God would do and then we were knocked down by the surprise turn of events? (Isaiah 55:8,9)
“Lord forgive me for a propensity to sin like Achan…Forgive me for living even a moment of my life, drenched in fear rather than drenched in faith.”
Many of you would immediately think of Jacob…wrestling with God in Genesis 32:28 “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” Jacob was blessed after struggling and wrestling with God and man.
Have you been struggling with God or men recently? I have and this morning I was reading Deut. 33:23 and I found nugget that I couldn’t wait to research and then share with those of you I love.
“Moses said this about the tribe of Naphtali: “Oh Naphtali, you are rich in favor and full of the LORD’s blessings; may you possess the west and the south.”
Immediately I wondered – WHY WAS NAPHTALI so rich in favor and full of blessings???
Rich in Favor: means that a superior is gracious and kind in reacting to an inferior; the superior is taking delight and pleasure in this servant!
Full of the Lord’ blessings: means the completion of something that was unfinished and the filling of something that was empty…
Do you need the completion of something that is unfinished?
Do you need the filling of something that is empty?
Now fasten your seatbelt…
Naphtali: means wrestling and struggling…
So if you have been struggling and wrestling…you are a likely candidate for God’s favor and full blessing of completion of what is yet unfinished in your life. The struggle is part of the route to completion. The wrestling match does not mean you have missed the blessing, the wrestling match is an aspect of the blessing–like a frame on a great picture.
So like Jacob and Naphtali…to struggle and wrestle with God or men or circumstances, etc. is a BLESSED WRESTLING EVENT when you and I remember that our Superior, Incomparable God is pleased with us in Christ and He is going to complete the good work He has begun in each of us.
God is going to use our wrestling and struggling to continue to sanctify us through and through.
Love from a Naphtali Warrior,
Jackie
This morning while reading a most familiar passage in Luke chapter 11 about Jesus teaching His disciples how to pray…I almost missed a most precious nugget. (Luke 11:5-8)
Jesus tells a story of a VERY INCONVENIENT REQUEST FROM A FRIEND AT MIDNIGHT…Jesus tells how the friend grants the request NOT BECAUSE OF FRIENDSHIP but because of the FRIENDS PERSISTENCE–BOLDNESS.
I decided to look up persistence/boldness in my New Testament Lexical Aid. Well…fasten your seatbelt…persistence/boldness in Greek (anaiden) means:
•”unabashed audacity”
•”shameless boldness”
•”brazen persistence displayed”
•”in the pursuit of something”
•”an insistence characterized by rudeness”
Wow, when was the last time you or I prayed with “unabashed audacity and shameless boldness?” As I pondered this question, the Lord reminded me of the prayer life of my first mentor. Mamie Hinch would pray with such “shameless boldness” that I would wonder if I would ever have enough confidence in God to pray with such glorious audacity.
“I cry out to God without holding back…” Psalms 77:1
As I continued to ponder this boldness in prayer, the Lord reminded me of Hebrews 4:16 that speaks about coming before the Throne of God with confidence…
I looked up confidence (Parresia) it means:
•”freedom in speaking all that one thinks”
•”confident boldness in speaking”
•”plainness and exactness of speech”
I am excited about Jesus reminding me today that “shameless boldness” is a critical aspect of prevailing prayer power.
May we pray with holy audacity and shameless boldness,
Love His Warrior,
Jackie
P.S. I am reading a book on fasting and prayer and I am absolutely being blown away by the reality of the “lack of hunger for God in America.”
“The weakness of our hunger for God is not because He is unsavory, but because we keep ourselves stuffed with ‘other things.'”
— A Hunger for God by John Piper
QUESTION:
In a recent email I received this often asked question:
“I want to be a conference speaker like you–what do I do?”
ANSWER:
“I wait quietly (resting/not anxious) before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalms 62:5)
Your desire to minister to women as a speaker is a noble desire. When I told you to get in the WORD DAILY…that is foundational to blessing others. You can only export what you have imported.
The key to being what God has purposed you to be…is to be faithfully obedient every day to the many little opportunities that come your way to be a display of God’s splendor. I have been sharing God’s Word with women (and some men) for 35 years…whether I was sitting on a blanket in a backyard with 7 junior high girls sharing my heart or squeezed into the tiniest Sunday School room teaching a bunch of disillusioned singles…or speaking to a mom’s group with so many crying babies that I don’t know if ANYONE heard a complete sentence that I shared…or teaching a workshop at youth camp and the reward was a bunch of teens covered me with shaving cream and threw me in the lake…Whether I am sharing the God’s Word with the cashier at Publix or a businessman on a plane or at a bridal shower or a funeral…all these opportunities were part of God’s purpose and I would have missed being effective if I hadn’t had my daily dose of God’s Word…(Isaiah 50:4)
“To those who use well what they are given, EVEN MORE will be given, and they will have an abundance…” (Matthew 25:29) Thirty five years of faithfulness in God’s Word and in sharing wherever I was…is why I am living the privilege of EVEN MORE…
Our daughter Jessica is prayerfully considering the call to women’s ministry…that is why she jumped at a chance to be a counselor for Senior High girls at camp this week. She is transferring to Liberty University to be trained for ministry and prepared ultimately for Seminary which she knows she will also need to be fully equipped for women’s ministry.
Get as much training as you can…In 1972 I went to college and got a degree in BIBLE during a time when it was not VOGUE for a woman to be teaching ANYTHING other than Vacation Bible School. I was constantly challenged by the men in many of my Bible classes who often said, “What are you doing in a class on Hermeneutics (training in proper interpretation of scriptures)?”…but I knew that only two things last forever…PEOPLE AND THE WORD…and I wanted to be on the FOREVER GOD SQUAD…
If you will send me your address…I will send you a mentoring sheet of all the books that have helped shape my life message… I am actually going back to school this fall…for more training so that I can be even a more effective women’s minister…I am going to Seminary (via correspondence)…
I am assuming that you have DEVOURED the message that is in Lady in Waiting. If not, let me know because I want to send you a copy of the book and the BOZO video. If you are going to minister to WOMEN, the principles in Lady in Waiting are a basic PRIMER!
QUESTION:
I just wanted to tell you how much the Lord has spoken to me through Lady in Waiting. It was such a blessing and I have bought many more copies for my friends b/c it was so helpful to me and I just want to share it with everyone. I have really grown in the last month.
I have a question for you though: Many of my friends have boyfriends but I don’t. I have been friends with both the boys and the girls for many years before they started dating. Not being like everyone else and having a boyfriend isn’t the issue (for once) I just feel really awkward and like a third wheel when I hang out with them. I can’t very well isolate myself from couples either so I guess my question is how would one handle being around couples all the time?
ANSWER:
How does one handle being the “third” wheel in friendship with couples? This is GREAT PRACTICE TIME FOR YOU…because the WORLD IS FULL OF COUPLES…and relating to our “siblings in Jesus” is a critical reality–regardless of your status (single) and their status–“a couple. One of the coolest aspects of being around “other couples”…as the THIRD WHEEL you are the WHEEL OF FORTUNE because you have the most Objective view on the relationship and when trouble comes – you will be the BEST counselor and comforter. Share people’s joy…regardless of the “couple thing”…and when you love them as INDIVIDUALS in Jesus…then you will only deepen your capacity to be used by God in so many ways. The Lord has allowed me to minister to men and women for years and that is because I see them as INDIVIDUALS who need SOUL CARE…
Don’t trip over the couple thing…many of THOSE dating couples will be “uncoupled” in the future and your loyal friendship will be ABSOLUTELY INVALUABLE…Hebrews 10:24; Proverbs 11:25; II Corinthians 1:3-8.
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…” (I Timothy 2:1)
While breaking this verse into bite size pieces, I found something new that I had an absolute fit about…let me try to summarize what I found.
First the Lord used the expression “first of all” to remind me of the PRIMARY role that prayer is to have in my life daily…
Secondly the Lord used “everyone” to remind me of the MANY people that God anticipates my praying for regularly…
THEN I started looking up requests, prayers, intercession…to make sure I understood the passage and when I read the definition of “intercession” I had a holy fit…
Intercession has several definitions: audience with the king, encounter, social interaction…I am loving these intimate terms then I read “chance upon”…now that phrase may not ring your bell but it cranked my tractor beyond words…let me try to explain.
Whenever we take the time to pray…we are positioning ourselves to “chance upon” intimacy with our heavenly Bridegroom…now–the phrase “chance upon” radically impacted my life in 1972…when I read the scripture in Ruth 2:3 where Ruth “chanced upon” an encounter” with her future bridegroom. Ruth’s “chance encounter” was part of sovereign destiny—yet such destiny filled encounter’s with our “heavenly bridgegroom” are available 24/7 to each of us.
When Ruth had her “chance encounter” with her future bridegroom Boaz spoke such encouraging words to her needy heart…when you and I pray…our heavenly Boaz/Bridegroom wants to speak very specific blessings and directions when we “chance upon” such a holy intimate moment with Him.
We need a more conscious holy pause when we pray…remembering this is an opportunity for “chanced upon” intimacy with our heavenly bridegroom…Maybe the reason so many of God’s people don’t hear His voice is they know how to beg and implore God with their needs but they don’t expect to hear something specific during their audience with the King. The reality is–most of God’s kids know how to pray but they never make it to intimate intercession which is ultimately followed by Thanksgiving…such intimacy with one’s heavenly bridegroom produces a thanks that cannot be restrained…this is the sacred romance most people are reading about yet still missing their “chanced upon” intimacy with Jesus.
As I began the book of I Timothy I was captivated by the fact that it was addressed to the one that Paul called “my true son in the faith…” (I Timothy 1:2)…then I thought–what was the first thing Paul instructed Timothy about in this first letter. Here is the first POWER POINT from Paul: “As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may COMMAND (pass on an order) certain men not to teach FALSE DOCTRINES (alien ideas, deviate from truth) any longer nor to devote themselves to MYTHS (fabricated by the mind, lying fables of false pretense) and endless GENEALOGIES. These promote CONTROVERSIES (minister questions of doubt) rather than God’s work-which is by faith.” (I Timothy 1:4)
I am sure you noticed that I did not include the definition of GENEALOGIES…I didn’t because it was so long…and I was so shocked by the meaning that I needed to take the time to type it out in full…
Genealogies in this verse does not refer to charting of one’s ancestors…in this verse genealogies refers to a way of “misinterpreting” Scripture. Paul was referring to a Rabbinical practice of taking ordinary figures and events in the Bible and treating them as “cryptic” messages. Such a style of “misinterpreting” the Scriptures lead to “outlandish stories and legendary personalities” that became nothing more than myths.
Now what does any of this have to do with being politically correct? Stay with me…Myths and so called “Cryptic” Messages are the very basis of ALL false religions and cults in the world…we know how many false teachers use the scriptures for their personal agendas. They take verses out of context and they teach about HIDDEN (cryptic) Messages that only the elite can access…anyway…
In the above verse…Paul is encouraging Timothy to CONFRONT those who deviate from the truth…then Paul immediately makes a powerful remark about WHY CONFRONT DEVIATION FROM TRUTH…”The goal of this command is LOVE…” (I Timothy 1:5). It is not LOVING to water down the TRUTH…it is not loving to fearfully remain quiet when a person is expounding on some supernatural cryptic revelation…
How many times have you heard people use the name GOD rather than JESUS so they aren’t offensive striving to be politically correct? How many religious people have you heard expounding on some supernatural experience of legendary proportion–yet alien to Truth, yet you have remained quiet…non-confrontive…in hopes of being LOVING?
Consider the irony that in Paul’s second letter to Timothy, Paul had to address Timothy’s spirit of fear–a fear that would keep one silent in the presence of “false teachers expounding on the cryptic messages they have discovered in certain Bible texts.”
Oh that we were so full of the TRUTH that we would be fearless confronters…”…speaking the truth in love…” Ephesians 4:15… Just remember…TO SPEAK THE TRUTH IN LOVE IS A LOVING GOAL…too many allow fear to keep them from lovingly telling the truth…
I close confessing to you that I have feared being “offensive”–a couple times this year when I have heard some “myths and fables” referred to by certain believers–I remained silent because I feared offending…how unloving my silence was…
I am hoping to be more like Paul and Timothy in the days ahead…
Love from a perpetual learner (disciple)…so grateful for the WORD OF GOD which is an “Adoring Tutor”…