Life Lessons from Women of the Bible

Nothing empowers me more than to study the Women of the Bible and the Women of God in our world today. I must say that satan has done his job victimizing and abusing women via, religion and mens false notions of lording it over women which came AFTER  the fall but not BEFORE IT.
In Genisis14 -And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all [domestic] animals and above every [wild] living thing of the field; upon your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust [and what it contains] all the days of your life.

15And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her [a]Offspring; He will bruise and tread your head underfoot, and you will lie in wait and bruise His heel.(C)

16To the woman He said, I will greatly multiply your grief and your suffering in pregnancy and the pangs of childbearing; with spasms of distress you will bring forth children. Yet your desire and craving will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.

These were curses after the fall, but Praise be God that In Christ we are no longer under it's curses!!


This is from: About.com
1.Eve, the Mother of All Living
Genesis 2:4b and 3:1-24
God created Adam and found him wanting. Enter Eve, formed from Adam’s rib, made of the same raw materials as he, and given the power to choose between good and evil?. In the creation story we find a strong, interdependent Eve, fully engaged with the world around her. She explored the Garden, dialogued with a serpent, decided on the forbidden fruit, and liked it enough to share the experience with Adam.

Eve’s story reminds us that women can be both creative and destructive. She teaches us to weigh our choices carefully, tempering our desires with wisdom.

2.Hagar, the Stranger Welcomed by God
Genesis 16:1-16 and 21:1-21
After God promised He would make of Abram a great nation, Sarai, past childbearing age, suggested he impregnate her maid Hagar. Be careful what you ask for. Once Hagar was pregnant, Sarai regretted her scheme, and heaped so much abuse on Hagar that the weary woman fled. There, in the wilderness, the slave, whose name means, “stranger,” received a comforting message. “The Lord has heard you. God has answered you.” Hagar returned to her abusive mistress with a promise that her own son’s descendants would be too many to count.

If you are disenfranchised, despised, or despairing, listen for the voices of angels. You may find your courage is only a prayer away.

3.Rahab, a Harlot with a Heart of Gold
Joshua 2:1-24
Centuries before the tart with a heart became Hollywood fodder there was Rahab’s story. She single-handedly saved two of Joshua’s spies by hiding them, lying to the authorities, and helping the pair to escape. As shrewd as she was gorgeous Rahab knew an opportunity when she saw one. “Swear to me by the Lord, that since I am showing kindness to you, you will in turn show kindness to my family.”

Lest you think her actions were manipulative, consider how offering assistance to the spies put her own life in peril. But Rahab recognized the divine favor that rested upon the men. She boldly asked for and received what she desired. Rahab teaches us to use our wiles effectively and with great love. After all, the life you save may be your own.


4.Deborah, the Warrior Princess
Judges 4 and 5
In a time in which it was improper for a woman to be alone in a house with a man, Deborah sat outside beneath a palm tree and judged Israel. After 20 years of oppression, it was she who summoned the military general Barak to take ten thousand soldiers and storm Mt. Tabor against their enemy Sisera. Barak answered, “If you go with me.” Deborah agreed, but told Barak he’d receive no glory. “The Lord will have Sisera fall into the power of a woman.” This prophecy would have dual meaning, for not only would Deborah be remembered as the real leader of this victory, Sisera would literally fall because of a woman. (See Jael.)

Deborah inspires us to trust our wisdom and instincts and to humbly accept the credit due us. A canticle (Judges 5) is dedicated to her bravery. Her example admonishes us to always remember and respect the power of a woman.


5.Jael, the Ordinary Woman with the Heart of a Lion
Judges 4:17-22 and 5: 6, 24
When the war-weary, defeated general of Canaanite forces staggered into Jael’s encampment, he couldn’t have known that through her husband the calculating woman had bonds that obligated her to Israel. She sheltered Sisera, hid him, gave him milk when he asked for water, and comforted him until he slept. Then Jael, tiny in stature compared to the fearsome Sisera, murdered him in his sleep, fulfilling Deborah’s prophecy.

Jael’s story lets us know sometimes a girl has to slay the giants in her life, using whatever crude tools are available. Jael’s hands may have been bloodied in the process, but Israel experienced 40 years of peace because of her lion-hearted act.

6.Ruth, the Lovely Friend
The Book of Ruth
Their names say it all. Ruth, believed to be a short version of “retut,” or lovely friend, was the widowed daughter-in-law of Naomi. Naomi, also a widow, was exiled from Moab because of a famine and had returned to Bethlehem after the death of her sons. She told old friends, “Call me Mara, for the Lord has made it very bitter for me.” What Naomi missed is the sweetness of a special gift: Ruth. Naomi had released her grieving daughters-in-law to return to their people, but Ruth declared, “Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

Fortunately for Ruth, Boaz, a close friend of Naomi’s husband’s family, noticed her charms and blessed her. That got Naomi’s attention, which goes to show you: a lovely friend can turn the heart of a bitter women. Naomi hatched a successful plan to bring her kinsman, Boaz, and Ruth together. The couple later had a son, Obed, the grandfather of David. Ruth disappeared from the story, only to be remembered later as one of four women named in Matthew’s lineage of Jesus.

Ruth’s lesson to us? Steadfast love and loyalty may just lead you into a glorious destiny


7.Bathsheba, from Lust Object to Queen Mother
2 Samuel 11:2, 3, 12:2, I Kings 11:31, 2:13-19, I Chronicles 3:5
Beautiful Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, bathed on her rooftop while the king of Israel watched in secret. The country was at war, and David should have been with his men, but the king had grown more self-indulgent in his mature years. He had no qualms about sending for another man’s wife, simply because he lusted for her. And Bathsheba didn’t hesitate to go to him. The king and Uriah’s wife shared a night of passion, but not without consequences. Bathsheba became pregnant, and David had her soldier- husband killed. The prophet Nathan pronounced judgment upon the king. “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will bring evil upon you out of your own house.’” The child Bathsheba carried died a week after its birth.

But God had mercy on the couple. Though they’d continue to have trials, God blessed the pair with Solomon. Bathsheba would be remembered not only for her early indiscretion, but also for her wisdom and leadership as Queen Mother. She teaches us that mercy can be the beginning of a brave new life, and that we all must carry our grief, release it, and live again.

8.Esther, a Clever Queen
The Book of Esther
Esther was a simple orphan, raised by her cousin Mordecai, until she decided she was destined to be royalty. Hiding her Jewish identity, she became a harem contestant, and after a year of spa treatments, emerged a stunner. The king may not have been bright, but he knew how to pick a beauty queen. Smitten, he rewarded Esther with a crown. It was good to be Esther until a tip from Mordecai forced her into action. The king, who led more by whim than wisdom, was convinced by his evil minister Haman to kill all Jews. Mordecai begged Esther to intervene, even though an unsummoned appearance before the king could be deadly, even for queens. But Esther knew she had to act on behalf of her people. “If I perish, I perish,” she said. In the end her wisdom prevailed, and her bravery saved her kinsmen.

Esther reminds us to be imaginative, as well as courageous. We don’t always have to fight to get what we want; sometimes we just have to outwit our adversary.

9.Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Luke 1:26-38, 1:39-56, 2:1-7, 2:21-38, 2:41-52, 4:16-30, 8:19-21
Much has been said about accepting Jesus as the personal savior, but no one accepted him in a more personal way than Mary, his mother. She literally “fleshed out” the unthinkable: Immanuel, God with us. The Scriptures tell us that the young virgin, betrothed to a carpenter, Joseph, was granted a very special favor. “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David… and of his kingdom there will be no end.” What is most notable is not the miraculous visitation, it’s that she said an unprecedented “Yes."

Mary was the first disciple of Christ. She had to believe in him before anyone else. Her faith in Jesus was not a product of her extraordinary actions. It was a gift. Her lesson to us is that we must let go of the notion that we create faith based on our works. God gifts us with faith, which makes our good works possible.
(My comment on Mary) She represents to me, how we as children of God are to allow the Holy Spirit to birth Christ within us  as well.How we too should submit to the workings of the Holy Spirit, not knowing where this may lead us, but knowing we are in the will of God , no matter  what we have to go through in our lives because of it.

10.Photini, the Woman at the Well
John 4: 1-30
Like Jesus, the Samaritan woman came to the well thirsty. Jesus wanted to quench his bodily thirst; so did the woman, but the story hints at deeper layers of meaning. Perhaps Jesus thirsted for souls, and the woman for at-long-last love. “Give me a drink,” Jesus said, a scandal; Jews were forbidden to share anything in common with unclean Samaritans. When she questioned him he replied, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”

Living water must have sounded good to the ex-wife of five, now shacked up with a sixth paramour. She took a long, deep drink, never to thirst again. Photini became one of Christianity’s earliest evangelists, telling everyone she knew what Jesus had done. She teaches us that no matter how parched our dry soul places, love can make a surprising appearance and quench all our thirsts.

11.Mary Magdalene
Matt. 27:55-56, Mark 14:40-41, Matt. 28:1-9, John 20:18
Poor Mary Magdalene. St. Gregory the Great ruined her reputation suggesting she was a prostitute. Scholars have since rejected his thesis, and today Mary Magdalene is seen as one of Jesus’ most powerful allies. Sure, he may have had to cast seven demons out of her, or at least healed her of an undisclosed illness, but the grateful woman of means in turn led his female disciples and offered Jesus financial support. The four Gospels cite Mary as following Jesus to the end of his life, while his male disciples scattered. It was she who was brave enough to go to the guarded tomb of a convicted felon and chat with angels, and she who first encountered the risen Christ. She became the Apostle to the Apostles, when she ran, not walked, to the men by proclaiming the good news, “I have seen the Lord.”

With Mary as our example, we can follow our passions with everything within us, fearlessly, no matter what obstacles we encounter.

MADE PERFECT, A DREAM

Made Perfect
The jeweler took such pains in polishing and perfecting all His lovely rocks and stones. He asked me if I would like to assist him and I admitted I certainly would but I had no talent or knowledge to offer Him in this endeavor.

"Surely you can watch and learn," He chided, but I still was not sure that I could cope with all the intricacies involved. After all, He was such a perfectionist. Even defects that were not noticeable without a magnifying glass had to be removed.

"I need co-workers," He told me. "There is so much left to be done." "Alright," I finally agreed, "I will do my best. . . but please watch over me and guide my efforts." With that, I was led to a back room. It was a quiet place with plenty of light and warmth. There were several large boxes of rocks just brought in from the quarry. It was awesome to realize that I was being made a partner in the production of precious gems. To look upon the newly hewn rocks, one could not imagine the glorious outcome. As I took into my hands the first stone to be chiseled and smoothed, the Master gemologist handed me a solvent to use while I was chipping away. He bid me not to use it sparingly, for the more that I used it, the better the results I would have. As I took the jar from his hand, I was alarmed to discover the name it bore. The solvent, so important in this process was named suffering. "Don't be baffled," The Expert told me. "Suffering has always been helpful in perfecting My jewels. Most often it works better and faster than anything else."



I took the suffering that He gave me and found His words to be accurate and true. Suffering does help to make perfect.

--given in a dream to Frankie Moore

See John 15:20; 1 Peter 1:7, 2:5, 4:12, 5:10; 2 Cor. 8:2; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 21:19; Mal. 3:17

THE UNIQUENESS OF CHRISTIANITY

Christianity is different from other religions in that the prime suspect, God resides within the believer or follower in this religion through His Holy Spirit.In most other religions ,the gods either represents the forces of nature, or are no better than their followers ,in fact many are worse than ordinary humans ,the gods have many moral dilemmas and are definitely not perfect beings, or they dwell somewhere outside of the follower, or they are some universal unknown consciousness without personhood.Not so in Christianity God came down to us in the form of a man Jesus Christ, experience the human condition, and did something about it, you just can not compare that with any other gods. Within Christianity, the believer is transformed not by what they try to do to better themselves but they are transformed by God Himself from the inside out. Other religions have all kinds of rituals, and ceremonies, or works that one must do to appease their gods or to be accepted, even in many denominations within Christianity that do not understand that there is nothing we can do , nothing at all to change our nature into something that is holy without the Spirit of God doing that for us.In Christianity God is interested in each person and enables each person to live as God would have us live as holy unto Him. In Christianity we have a written code inspired of God to assist us in all of our endeavors, a word that assist us in knowing how God works in the world and within individuals. By the word, the Bible, we are given the needed information into what the will of God is and who God is. We do not have that in other religions.

Many would say that the bible keeps God in a box, but what the bible does is show us that each individual character that is written about within the bible, was dealt with in ways that were unique to them. God requires the same from all of us, but the ways and means of carrying that out is unique to each believer. Some are told not to do some things, others are not. The Christian path is molded to the unique personality of the believer and their personal walk, and development on their journey.Christianity is not a one size fits all conformity that many believe it to be. Yes we are asked to conform to the image of Christ, but in ways that are unique to each of us individually . Yes all the laws apply to us in that we do not murder, commit adultery and so forth,but the amazing thing is that God transforms us with our person-hood still intact, we don't lose our sense of self and who we are, but that Who we are is changed for the better ,our personality ,our laugh, our mannerism, those things that make us who we are remain but are perfected and molded into the perfection of God that we were always meant to be. In a marriage a man and woman commit to be in relationship with each other the ideal is that we are in partnership with one another but we are not to lose our identity within the relationship , but that the 'relationship' becomes our purpose together.The wife should still have her personality and the husband has his ,but they join together and each fills in where the other may lack to make a whole unified being.

You just do not find this sort of relationship with God in any other religion. Within Christianity we are co -labors with Christ, we are in partnership with Christ,we become a unified being with Christ.

In Christianity God is lovingly concerned with our welfare, and is interested in all aspects of our being.God accepts us as we are, we do not need to change one thing about ourselves to make God love us, we come to God as we are, and we thank God that He does not leave us in that condition but perfects us as we continue on in relationship with Him until we die. Christianity is truly a unique experience with God, and no other religions come close to it.

for what it is worth,

blessings

WE HAVE THE FREEDOM NOT TO CONDEMN

"God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth." (NKJV ).
What I find to be the most wonderful element that is happening in Christendom these days,is that many Churches and believers are beginning to understand that it is not in the 'correct' liturgy of how a church should conduct services but how much love ,mercy and compassion can we show to ourselves , our loved ones, our communities, and our world. What is more important, from Jesus' perspective? The exact and most correct way to have corporate worship or how many ways can we love and care for each other?As believers we are all free in Christ to worship during whatever seasons and on whatever days we find fitting and appropriate. It is not the manner of how we celebrate Godde, but that we do. The correctness of the ways we do our worship is truly a matter between ourselves and Godde. The first thing that might help us get some perspective is to understand that worshipping is a human response to Godde—who S/he is, what S/he has done and what S/he is doing. It is an active, often spontaneous, celebration of Godde's work through Christ. It is in our worship as Believers and the fact, that we are participating with Christ in His work of human redemption. We must remember that to love one another does not require that we must abandon our own unique cultural values. It means we must learn to respect the cultural values of others, without feeling threatened ourselves. I believe that the main reason is their fear and the feeling threatened by different ideas which are truly hard for them to move through, and we must understand their fear and aid them in maturing in the faith and help them realize that Godde is more than capable of directing and guiding us in the way we should go. Of course, if a particular cultural value is sinful, we must abandon it. But most of our cultural values are not sinful; many are neutral and many are quite compatible with godliness in Christ.As Paul wrote to the church in Rome: "He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God" (Romans 14:6).
The question that we might ask ourselves is:Can we let this principle rule our attitudes toward one another? If our fellow believers in other congregations are gathering to worship the Lord, then surely we should not get upset about the particular choice of days they worship or the manner in which they worship, but the fact they they are worshiping and praising Godde as they know how to do at the time . What is truly the most important aspect of our faith? That a particular group worship as you believe they should? In all seriousness, how do you know that you are correct? From my personal experience especially in the area of religion ,is that many believe 'they' are the one's who are correct and 'they' are the only one who hear from Godde, but what is amazing is that all who say such nonsense are hearing supposedly from the same Spirit, and all are saying something different,how confusing is that ? So what are we to say or do in that regard? What we need to do is to make sure that what we believe and do is true to our own experience,conscience , and relationship with Godde,and let Godde deal with others in the matter of what is right or not,that is all we can hope do.How do we treat one another? Are we angry and judgmental? Are we considerate and patient? Do we try to understand and appreciate the feelings of those who differ from us? What is the real value of worshiping in a different fashion at all, if the fruit of our worship is judgmentalism and condemnation?Within the essential and central framework of Christian doctrines there is much room for diversity. Our Universal Godde is a lover of diversity which we all can see within the vastness of creation! For me , it shows a Godde that loves a variety of colors, smells, shapes, sizes, etc.. so therefore we can safely assume that our diverse ways of celebrating our faith in Godde ,leaves room for our differences in the ways we worship and in the applications of our services to Godde.We must have the unity in our worship of Godde, the faithful observance of the sacraments (the Lord's Supper and baptism,etc. )of our faith and the faithful proclamation of the Word.We have diversity in the styles and forms we use in administering the sacraments, proclaiming the Word and worshiping the Lord. The Holy Spirit makes us one in Christ, and our diversity in how we express that unity ,which is truly a gift of Godde.
I am encouraged that many Christians, Churches, and denominations have seen the error of their ways and are coming together in the spirit of love ,compassion, and mercy that has been and is continually shown to us by our Savior. We must endeavor to live by the words of Paul when he said:"One person considers one day more sacred than another; another person considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind" (Romans 14:5).
We must not go the route of the God Police and enforce what we think are the true rules of the faith, for the only true rule of Jesus was to Love Godde and ourselves and others, if we can endeavor to carry that out we will not be to far from the Kingdom.
Blessed be, be a blessing

GOD'S PATCHWORK QUILT IN CHRIST

The Christian life is the presence of Christ in the believer. It is not the denomination and name that is on the door of the particular church that a believer goes to. The Believers of Christ , as part of the many tribes and flavors and rich colors that is found within Churchdom, all belong to His One Kingdom,and as believers our primary focus is and should always be Christ . It is His Spirit that enables and empowers all Believers to spread the fragrance of His Love to others through each and every diverse life as Children of the Living God. What makes us all ONE is that we are all in the family of God by His Spirit which is within each of us, who believes.

Believers will be likeminded inasmuch as they will seek to reach similar goals, but they will not each seek those goals in the same way, and they may not always agree as to how a particular goal can best be reached. And that is OK. I believe the diversity in this world is here for a reason, and that is to teach us the lesson of love and tolerance and acceptance of each of us for our differences and to understand that through our diversity we are basically the same it is only our covering that is different.

It is not a problem that there are so many churches and denominations, they are indeed a good thing. What it indicates is that in Christ there is a one size , that does fits all, but each of us wears Christ differently. We are all different , it is like 2 people that wears the same color and style shirt but it looks and wears differently on them . We all come in different shapes and sizes. There is one Lord, but many tribes, and flavors with Christ being the distinctive base flavor for us all and each has a unique style, sound, and look. We all process things differently which is colored and flavored by our differences of environment, social, economic and education levels, personal hystory , health, genes, diet,culture, physical make up and the list can go on and on.Yes Christ is our head, our mind, but the body dynamic is different and therefore what the Mind of Christ does in one place will be different in another but the foundation and ethics and moral behavior will be the same. We may respond differently in any given situation but it will always and should always be through the bond of love and peacemaking that is Christ Spirit within each one.

It should also be remembered that the minds of different believers are not to be pressed into a single mold of thinking--this is not what is meant by being "likeminded" (Phil. 2:2). To be like minded is that Christ is our focus, our lives should be centered and ground in Him and all our responses in each of our different lives will be flavored and colored, and enhanced by the Peace and Love of Christ within each of our different lives.

It is indeed a good thing to have different forms of expression, different ways of worship , and thanksgiving, some loud, some quiet, some vocal, some silent, some dancing and clapping, some reverent and calm. Each of us are so different and that is a wonderful and beautiful blessing, some of us are introvert others extrovert, and the rest of us falls in between. Thankfully God has designed us this way because as nature shows us ,God indeed loves diversity, and colors, and different fragrances. Our God is not a boring God who wants everything done the same way and every person wears the same clothes, but God has shown us through the various races, various animals, and insects, and different birds and fishes in the seas that our God is a God of diversity! Out God loves different flavors, and as long as we live as peace makers, and flavor all our acts through Love, we can indeed overcome all that we will encounter as long as we do all through the Spirit of love in service of Christ . We all are a different color and fabric on a patch work quilt , all adding to the creation of a master piece, that requires each of us to be a part of the big design, without our particular patch of color of fabric, it would not be what it is. Christ covers us all with his blanket /quilt of love. May we all be knit and held together with the bonds of peace and love to give warmth to a cold hurting world.

warm blessings in Christ

TEN LIES THE CHURCH TELLS WOMEN

As a woman, and a non church goer, I find that it is vitally important that true Christianity be returned to it's proper place. For over a couple thousand years men have had their way with the truth, and in the process has succeeded in marginalizing, half of the population. They have brought in lies and half truths. Think about this, do you really think that having a penis gives one more spiritual knowledge, and leadership ability?Surely you jest. It is the Spirit of God that equips us to serve,not what gender we happen to be, and the biggie, and our obedience to that call. I think, I know, that women have had the rough go at it since the very beginning when God prophesied what would happen through out the ages:Gen.3:14-15

So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman,"

Enmity means "a feeling of deep ill-will or hostility." The word is used to translate the Hebrew word of the Old Testament , pronounced ay-bah, meaning hatred, and the Greek word of the New Testament , pronounced ek-thraw, also meaning hatred.

We don't have to be a brain surgeon to see that since the beginning women have been treated like second and third class slaves. It doesn't matter what religion, be it of the Book or Pagan, women have had a rough go at it. I am tempted to say, and will, "could it be Satan?" that has done this to the minds of men? I would ask the men and the Churches to see that Christ has set us free from the curse, any curse, and that would be from the very beginnings as well, it is time for us all to wake up and get out of the claws of the evil one and put on the Mind of Christ, and put this demon to rest.

From Christopher Witcombe, Eve and the identity of women.

"Eve represents everything about a woman a man should guard against. In both form and symbol, Eve is woman, and because of her, the prevalent belief in the West has been that all women are by nature disobedient, guileless, weak-willed, prone to temptation and evil, disloyal, untrustworthy, deceitful, seductive, and motivated in their thoughts and behaviour purely by self-interest.
No matter what women might achieve in the world, the message of Genesis warns men not to trust them, and women not to trust themselves or each other. Whoever she might be and whatever her accomplishments, no woman can escape being identified with Eve, or being identified as her."

Here is a wonderful article on this.

Ten Lies The Church Tells Women
FOR CENTURIES, A PATRIARCHAL SYSTEM OF CONTROL HAS KEPT WOMEN IN SPIRITUAL CAPTIVITY THROUGH DISTORTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. IT'S TIME TO DEBUNK THE MYTHS.
By J. Lee Grady
We live in the 21st century, but if we're honest we have to admit that in some ways the church is still in the Dark Ages--especially when we look at the way we treat women.Even though the Scriptures never portray women as secondary to men, our male-dominated religious system still promotes a warped view of female inferiority. Women are tired of this, and as a man, so am I--because such demeaning attitudes don't reflect God's heart. Jesus challenged gender prejudice at its core when He directed so much of His ministry toward women. In a Middle Eastern culture that considered women mere property, He healed women, discipled them and commissioned them to minister. Yet today we spend much of our energy denying them opportunities--and using the Bible to defend our prohibitions. I've identified 10 erroneous views about women that for too long have been circulated in the church, preached from pulpits and written in the study notes of popular Bible translations. I believe we must debunk these lies if we want to see the church fully released to fulfill the Great Commission.

LIE #1. GOD'S ULTIMATE PLAN FOR WOMEN IS THAT THEY SERVE THEIR HUSBANDS.
How sad that so many Christian men view women from a selfish perspective. This view is often promoted by misreading the account of Eve's creation in Genesis 2:18-25, in which Adam is provided a "helpmate." The Hebrew word used here often is translated "companion," denoting intimacy and partnership. But through the centuries it has been used to imply that Eve was some type of domestic appendage. We men have assumed that God gave Eve to fulfill Adam's sexual needs as well as to serve as his cook, laundress and maid. But the Genesis account does not say this. After Eve's creation, God did not tell her: "You are Adam's helper; I command you to serve him well." She was not created for servitude; she was fashioned to be a co-laborer with Adam so that they might rule together over creation as God commissioned them to do (see Gen. 1:28).

LIE #2. WOMEN CAN'T BE FULFILLED OR SPIRITUALLY EFFECTIVE WITHOUT A HUSBAND.
From the time she was released from a German death camp in 1944 until her death in 1983, Corrie Ten Boom taught the world about a Savior who could forgive the cruelest Nazi. Yet she never married. Did the fact that she did not have a husband make her less "complete"? Some Christians would say yes. We have spent so much energy defending the concept of the biblical family that we are guilty of idolizing it. We've preached that a woman's primary responsibility is to find a godly husband, have lots of babies and stay home to raise them for Christ. But marital status is not a qualifier for ministry. The Bible does not even state whether certain key followers of Jesus, such as the 12 disciples, were married or not. The highest calling of all believers--married or unmarried--is to develop a relationship with Jesus. Any other earthly relationship is secondary, and Christ Himself warned us never to allow people we love to become idols that distract us from Him.

LIE #3. WOMEN SHOULDN'T WORK OUTSIDE THE HOME.
Many evangelical churches have preached that women who work outside the home are breaking a scriptural commandment, but this conclusion can be reached only by distorting the biblical record. The woman described in Proverbs 31 is often used to bolster a traditional view of the June Cleaver-style matron who spends her day baking casseroles while her husband is at the office. But a careful reading reveals that the Proverbs 31 woman, in her ancient Middle Eastern context, functioned as a real estate agent and ran a textile business.
Titus 2:5 instructs women to "take care of their homes" (New Living Translation). But most scholars would agree that this passage simply exhorts married women not to forsake their children.
It is true that, because of ambition or materialism, some Christian women neglect their children even though the Holy Spirit has urged them to put their career objectives on hold. But rather than placing a legalistic burden on women by telling them that having a career is ungodly, we should tell both men and women to submit their career plans to the Holy Spirit's direction.

LIE #4. WOMEN MUST OBEDIENTLY SUBMIT TO THEIR HUSBANDS IN ALL SITUATIONS.
A distraught Christian woman who was regularly beaten by her husband finally gained the courage to seek counsel from her pastor. After she told him about her husband's fits of rage, the pastor responded, "If your husband kills you, it will be to the glory of God."The pastor reached this irresponsible conclusion because of a distorted view of "male headship." We often portray marriage as a hierarchy, with husbands on the throne and wives at the footstool, and we use Scripture to justify this view: "Wives...submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord" (Eph. 5:22).We assume this verse means women have no say in family matters or that their opinion is second-rate. In extreme cases, women have been told to submit to abuse in order to honor male headship. But this is not a Christian view. Paul also told the Ephesians, "submit to one another" (5:21, emphasis added). I have heard teachings by male clergy on the subject of male headship, but I've never heard a pastor encourage men to submit to their wives! Yet in a loving marriage, a man and woman will defer to one another as they make decisions. In my 16 years of marriage, my wife and I have had plenty of disagreements. But when we reach an impasse, I don't announce, "I am the head of this house, so what I say goes." Rather, Deborah and I either agree to pray about the matter, or we choose to defer to one another. The point is never who is in charge. I view my wife as an equal. I am not "over her." We function as one.

LIE #5. A MAN NEEDS TO "COVER" A WOMAN IN HER MINISTRY ACTIVITIES.
This idea came from a distorted interpretation of the apostle Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 11:3, "the head of woman is man" (NKJV). People have used these words to bolster the idea that women are subservient to men or that they cannot approach God without a male authority figure in their lives. Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 11 about head coverings is a difficult passage, and Bible scholars don't agree on its meaning. However, most teach that Paul is addressing specific cultural concerns in first-century Corinth and that he is calling for propriety and order in a society where immorality and paganism had blurred gender distinctions. Paul was not placing men in a position of generic rulership over women. Because there is "no male or female in Christ" (see Gal. 3:28), women can pray, worship, study the Bible or minister without a man present. How silly to think that a man, because of his gender, could add credibility to prayer or Spirit-empowered ministry! To believe this would be to trust in the flesh.

LIE #6. A WOMAN SHOULD VIEW HER HUSBAND AS THE "PRIEST OF THE HOME."
Search your concordance. Scripture never describes men as "priests of the home." This man-made concept was popularized in evangelical churches in the last century. We have one priest, Jesus Christ, whose blood atoned for our sins. It is a mockery of the gospel to suggest that any human being needs an additional priest apart from the Son of God.The Bible says all believers are priests (see 1 Pet. 2:9, Rev. 1:6); there is no gender restriction. Husbands function as priests when they pray for their families or when they minister the Word of God to them, and wives also function in this role. My experience in marriage has been that God speaks both to me and to my wife. He doesn't say to me, "Since you are the head of this house, I'll tell you my plans for your family, and you can tell the others what I said." Often God has revealed His plans to my wife before I heard anything!Christian men need to stop being defensive and recognize that God has called us to function in unity with our wives. We need to listen to their counsel, consider their opinions, and pray together for the mind of the Lord rather than putting our foot down and shouting, "I am the leader of this family, and what I say goes!"

LIE #7. WOMEN ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO ASSUME LEADERSHIP ROLES.
The most common mistake we make in biblical interpretation occurs when we take one isolated verse and build a doctrine around it--even if the verse seems to contradict other passages. This is often what we do with 1 Tim. 2:12, "I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man" (NASB).Most theologians believe that this passage was addressing an isolated situation in Ephesus. They came to this conclusion after studying the myriad of references in the Bible to women in spiritual authority. The Old Testament records that Deborah was a judge over Israel--and God blessed her leadership in battle (see Judg. 4-5). Other women who held authority over men include Miriam, Huldah and Noadiah. Jesus issued His first gospel commission to women (see Matt. 28:1-10), and both men and women were empowered to preach on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4). Priscilla, Chloe and Phoebe were leaders in the early church, and one woman, Junia, is called an apostle by Paul (Rom. 16:7).The promise of the prophet Joel was that "sons and daughters" would prophesy after the Holy Spirit was given to the church (Joel 2:28, emphasis added). Yet we have taken one misunderstood verse from Paul's writings and used it to negate hundreds of other passages that support the full release of women into ministry.

LIE #8: WOMEN MUST NOT TEACH OR PREACH TO MEN IN A CHURCH SETTING.
Since 1 Timothy 2:12 obviously contradicts the overall biblical endorsement of women in authority, how are we to understand it? What is Paul actually saying in this passage?In their book I Suffer Not a Woman, Richard and Catherine Clark Kroeger explain that certain cultic worship practices involving female priestesses of Diana had invaded the first-century church. These priestesses promoted blasphemous ideas about sex and spirituality, and they sometimes performed rituals in which they pronounced curses on men and declared female superiority.What Paul was most likely saying to the Ephesians was this: "I do not allow a woman to teach these cultic heresies, nor do I allow them to usurp authority from men by performing pagan rituals." He was not saying, as some Christians have assumed, "I do not allow godly Christian women to teach the Bible." In his day, Paul would have been thrilled to have had more skilled women who could teach the truth!

LIE #9. WOMEN ARE MORE EASILY DECEIVED THAN MEN.
This idea has been taught by twisting the meaning of 1 Timothy 2:14, which says, "It was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression" (NLT). Some have suggested that because Eve was tricked by the devil, women have a stronger propensity toward deception. Others have gone so far as to insist that women are to blame for all the evil in the world and are therefore under a greater curse than men. No respectable Bible scholar in the church today would promote such a view. The Bible clearly states that Adam and Eve were both held guilty by God for their disobedience, and they were both punished. In 1 Timothy, Paul cited the creation account not to place extra blame on Eve but to refute a bizarre teaching that was circulating in Asia Minor. In the first century, Gnostic heretics were mixing Christianity with paganism. One of their teachings stated that Eve actually liberated the world when she disobeyed God and gained secret knowledge from the devil. Paul was not teaching that women are more prone to deception. He was explaining that what Eve did was not right, and that the Christian view of the creation was that Adam and Eve sinned when they listened to the serpent. Women are certainly capable of spreading deception because they have a fallen nature as men do, but there is no evidence that they have greater gullibility. That view is rooted in demeaning stereotypes and prejudice.

LIE #10: WOMEN WHO EXHIBIT STRONG LEADERSHIP QUALITIES HAVE A "SPIRIT OF JEZEBEL."
Once I was listening to Bible teacher Cindy Jacobs speak at a prayer conference in Colorado. When she approached the pulpit, two men who were sitting in front of me turned to each other and began to pray softly. "Lord, we bind the power of the devil from bewitching this audience," one man said, adding, "We bind the power of Jezebel in the name of Jesus." These men believed that the crowd would automatically come under a spirit of deception when Jacobs taught them--simply because she was a woman. How absurd! Was Barak "deceived" when he took orders from Deborah? (See Judg. 4:14.) Did baby Jesus come under a harmful influence when Anna prophesied over Him? (See Luke 2:36-38.) Was Apollos spiritually emasculated when he submitted to the teaching of Priscilla? (See Acts 18:26.) Of course not!To associate godly women with Jezebel, a wicked Old Testament despot, is unfair and offensive, yet men in the church today often pin Jezebel's label on strong, anointed women because they feel threatened by them. Let's stop the insults. If a woman is using manipulation to usurp authority or if she is spreading heresies, then she certainly deserves the Jezebel label--as do men who do such things. But women who walk in spiritual integrity and preach the Word of God with power deserve our respect. ________________________

J. Lee Grady, editor of Charisma magazine, has enlarged on this topic in his book, Ten Lies the Church Tells Women. It is excellent.