Heh..i didnt ask permission to share this but hor...good things are meant to be shared right??!?!?!?
Enjoy the sharing from shirley.
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Beloveds of God,
I attended a talk today, entitled, "Being God's Women in God's World", by a lady Carolyn Ash. Her husband is in Singapore to preach and she felt that she could do a ladies' ministry, which explains the talk.
I felt really encouraged by the way God has made me and how He sees me.
I think, in our post-modern world, I am using the term rather loosely, there are ideas about what makes a woman. There is the feminist movement, telling us that we are equal to men. Then, there's the other school, which tells us the outward appearance maketh a woman, we must look and dress a certain way to be beautiful.
The speaker shared a quote, I didn't quite get who said it, or did I even get the quote in its entirety, but it goes like this: "Who needs to be noticed, when we have the Creator looking at us".
The Creator is looking at us, and what is He looking for in us?
Carolyn started by taking us back to the creation of man and woman (Genesis 1:26-27). We are essentially the same, to reflect God's image to the world. Adam's role bears God's image of being the leader and initiator, and Eve shows the character of God to be the helper and completer. But the fall of man distorted the roles we are supposed to have. Instead of taking on the role we are supposed to have, both men and women wanted control.
So what does it mean to be a beautiful woman in God's sight.
She shared from 1 Peter 3:1-7. Though it's a passage relating husbands and wives, it also tells us the woman God perceives as beautiful. Especially in verse 4, "Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."
Indeed the Lord does not look at our outward appearance. Having a gentle and quiet spirit ranks high in God's sight. To be gentle is to be accepting, calm and self-controlled, being quiet does not mean being mousy, but having peace a nd being contented. She shared with us characters from the Bible. Though we are not in the exact same circumstances as they were, and it's not for us to say "she has done it and so can I", but rather learning from these women.
The list of women she shared - Abigail (1 Samuel 25), Esther (Esther 4-8), Deborah (Judges 4), Hannah (1 Samuel 1:2-10) and Priscilla (Acts 18:24-16, Romans 16:3-4, Acts 18:2, 1 Cor16:19 and Acts 18:18).
These women, exhibited these qualities of hospitality, resourcefulness, courage, obedience, faith in God, trust in God, being prayerful, humility, submission, they encouraged, use words to build up and not tear down, presented the truth wisely and firmly, and most importantly, their motivation is God's glory.
She left us with many questions:
Do we relate to others beautifully, in our words and actions, are we content with where God has placed us? Or are we seeking to dominate and control? Are we building people up? Or are we t earing them down? What or who are we focusing on?
I am glad I can be a beautiful woman in God's eyes; you are too! Hope you are encouraged by how the Lord sees you, a beautiful woman instead of how the world wants you to conform to!
love,s
