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Sisterhood of the wounded

James 3:10 (AMP) Out of the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. These things, my brothers, should not be this way [for we have a moral obligation to speak in a manner that reflects our fear of God and profound respect for His precepts].

Gossip is a hard thing not to do, especially among hurting people. I have done it, even within a week. What happens when two people get together that have been hurt by the same person. They share the hurts. Why do we think it is okay in the moment? It is because we think we are not sharing what the person does not already know about the other individual. It is a hard cycle to break, but I want to be better. I have a moral obligation to speak in a manner that reflects the fear of God regarding His created.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (AMP) Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured. It does not rejoice at injustice, but rejoices with the truth [when right and truth prevail]. Love bears all things [regardless of what comes], believes all things [looking for the best in each one], hopes all things [remaining steadfast during difficult times], endures all things [without weakening]. Love never fails [it never fades nor ends].

I did not release why I was hurt, until they released why they were. How can you forgive what cannot be forgotten? I am here to tell you it is hard, but forgetting is not what we are commanded, it is the forgiveness. It does not sting as much. I have learned to pray blessings over that individual. I pray that the Word becomes alive to them.

I know that the hurt was an attack of the enemy. Why? It came from the twisting of His Word. As leaders we should not feel that it is up to us to build the church. He does. When we use tactics to grow our churches, even though it may cause hurt (premeditated), we are wrong. Why? My growth should not see you as a stepping stone or a casualty to kingdom building. Notice it is not a capital K in kingdom here, because that is not His Kingdom we are building.

Philippians 2:3 (AMP)  Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves.

This is just an example of how easy it is to rehearse it again. It is hard to forgive when you cannot forget. The enemy used a perfect tool here, another who has to respond to the Father just like you do (James 3:1). This is not the only hurt, but it was the most recent. I never wish that on anyone. I have to put my trust in God and who He calls, even if. I have hurt people, but instead of saying that it is part of ministry (which is not true, it is part of my imperfectness) I want to do better. I want to glorify Him. To hurt each other and call it ministry is false. We are to sharpen each other, not wound (Proverbs 27:17). It is to bring is closer in relationship to the Father.

Hebrews 4:12 (AMP) For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Let me always be sensitive to the Word. Even though I was hurt and was wrong it still does not give me the right to repeat the matter. It still does not give me the right to rehearse the matter. Why? I fear God more than my rights. I do not want to displease the Father, not because of fear of punishment, but because I honor Him. I honor His precepts. I honor His Word. I do not want to be so prideful that I exempt this area from His correction. I am looking for the best in those and speaking blessings over them. Praying for a deeper relationship for the Father. Praying for forgiveness for them as they will have to stand before the judgement seat, just like I will. Repenting and asking God to bridle my tongue when I start to rehearse (ultimately cursing with my mouth). Woah, to me when I do such a thing. Instead of creating a sisterhood of the wounded, let us be a sisterhood of the hopeful. Let us hope again! Let us praise again!

Abba, You are the Glory that we wake up and sing to every day. We long to be in Your Presence. Thank You for sending Your Son to be the Light and to restore us. We are sorry for making things about us. We repent for every time we rehearsed a wrong, whether it was for our gain or someone else’s. We are sorry for gathering together as wounded. Help us be to speak blessings over those who have done us wrong. We want to love deeply because You love deeply. Our awe of You compels us to follow Your Word. Holy Spirit Your voice to be louder than the voice of deception. The voice of deception will tell us to fight against flesh and blood. The voice of deception will tell us that because we do not forget that we will never forgive, therefore, never being pleasing to God. The enemy want us to stay walking wounded, but because Jesus overcame, we are over-comers. We choose forgiveness today. We choose love today. We choose hope today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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Set me free

Exodus 28:36-38 (AMP) “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engravings of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ You shall fasten it on the front of the turban with a blue cord. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall take away the guilt from the holy things which the sons of Israel dedicate, with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be accepted before the Lord.

Your thoughts matter. We can be very creative in our imaginations. When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, he had to imagine a light that did not require it to be lit daily by fire. Josephine Cochrane originally came up with the idea of a mechanical dishwasher that would hold dishes in a rack while pressurized water sprayed them clean. After her husband passed, she marketed her invention to hotels. It eventually became the standard household appliance we know today.

2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (AMP) For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man. The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ, being ready to punish every act of disobedience, when your own obedience [as a church] is complete.

Every description of strongholds refer to the mind. Arguments, knowledge, and our thoughts can lead us to want to seek division to flesh and blood. We vow never to allow access to certain areas of ourselves. We use the creative parts as a defense. We think our lives will be better. There is a light bulb that was invented that stayed lit for over 100 years. The light bulb that Thomas Edison invented was not cheap. It cost nearly a days wages…for a light bulb. What about the dishwasher? That created jobs for not just making them, but repairing them. Then there is the question of disposal once they stop working and can no longer be repaired. What has this to do with my mind? When we try to do fix a hurt with a vow, because of the argument, the thought, or the knowledge we have from past experiences we change the way we approach people.

1 Peter 1:13-16 (AMP) Prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], fix your hope completely on the grace [of God] that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. [Live] as obedient children [of God]; do not be conformed to the evil desires which governed you in your ignorance [before you knew the requirements and transforming power of the good news regarding salvation]. But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your conduct [be set apart from the world by your godly character and moral courage]; because it is written, “You shall be holy (set apart), for I am holy.”

As I was reading in Exodus last week, I ran across the passage that described the garments that Aaron was to wear as the chief priest of the Levitical priesthood. In Exodus 28 it describes the turban he was to wear. They made a plat of pure gold and engraved a signet that said ‘Holy to the Lord‘ (AMP) and fastened it to the front of the turban. It was to be on Aaron’s forehead (verses 36-38). At the beginning of this passage in 1 Peter, he is telling us to prepare our minds for action. What is holy to the Lord? Have you ever thought about your mind being holy to the Lord?

Many times when we want to see the outward change in a new convert. We tell them they should be dressing different. If they are a smoker, then we tell them to stop smoking. The first thing that was done with me was I was taken to buy new clothes. What really we need to do is help them with their new identity. We take the scripture out of context and tell people that their conduct (what they do) makes them holy.

Jesus read from Isaiah 61 the last time He was in His hometown of Nazareth (verses 1-3):

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned me
To bring good news to the humble and afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted,
To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captives
And freedom to prisoners,

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,
To comfort all who mourn,
 
To grant to those who mourn in Zion the following:
To give them a turban instead of dust [on their heads, a sign of mourning],
The oil of joy instead of mourning,
The garment [expressive] of praise instead of a disheartened spirit.
So they will be called the trees of righteousness [strong and magnificent, distinguished for integrity, justice, and right standing with God],
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

When we understand the significance of the turban in context of the priestly garments, then we understand what Jesus really came to do. He came to set the captive free. They believed their freedom was going to come from being liberated from Roman rule. Then He went to tell about what He was going to put on them. A new mindset, Holy to the Lord! We have to be consistently renewed in this (Ephesians 4:23). Our old way of doing things will want to creep back in. None of us are without wounds and we all have made vows in some form or another. I do not know about you, but I want the freedom that Jesus talked about here in Isaiah 61. It is time to tear down those strongholds. It is time to set the captives free! It starts with me.

Father, Your Word says that because You are Holy, You want me to be holy. I cannot do that apart from Your Son. Search within me and bring back to remembrance any wound that I have created a vow against. I release that wound right now. I repent for me trying to control what should have been Yours all along. Give me a new mindset regarding that wound. Jesus, I release my control and submit it into Your care. I desire freedom in every area of my life, which includes my mind. I choose to cast down any imagination that has caused me to divide from the body of Christ. Holy Spirit, thank You for teaching me this revelation knowledge. Your Spirit alive in me is how I keep my mind holy to the Lord. Thank you for my freedom. In Jesus Name, Amen.