Inspirational · Relationships · Spirituality

Women of Integrity

Tea With Jennifer

Welcome! Come on in for our time of tea & reflection together my friend.

Today we’re sitting indoors near the heater as it’s still freezing here on the east coast of Australia.

I thought we would have something a little different today, a coffee instead of tea with a gf chocolate covered Vienna Eclair to munch upon.

Last week we looked at A Woman of Great Courage!

And as I mentioned in that post I’d had another post all ready for that week but it wasn’t in God’s plan for me to publish it that week.

Nor this week! So I thought I’d share a little background on that post & how I can see God working.

Women’s roles within the church

I have noticed a movement creeping into churches across the globe.

This legalistic movement has gained momentum & is quite disturbing in its agenda.

It is trying to take away the place & voice that Jesus Himself,

the King of kings,

has given to His beautiful Princesses.

In some fellowships this movement has succeeded in suppressing women’s equality we have in Christ Jesus!

We live in a time since Jesus’ birth, that’s called the New Covenant.

The New Covenant = Freedom in Christ

You see my friend Jesus came to fulfill the law, He is the fulfillment of the law & when we know Him,

“There is now no distinction, neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

Galatians 3:28

While we may have unique & differing roles within the body of Christ in God’s plan for our personal lives.

That doesn’t change the fact that every one of us, both male & female have a God given right to take part in meeting together in what the Holy Spirit leads & directs.

This may be in prayer, song, a reading of scripture, a word of encouragement, worship, a testimony or a message [1Corinthians 14:26]

As it’s the Holy Spirit that should ultimately lead a service, meeting or gathering.

You see we no longer live under the Old Covenant where legalism reigned.

burning candles with melted wax at night
We live in all the freedom that Christ Jesus paid with His life, for our redemption & freedom from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death.

We no longer have to burn sacrifices for sins, we no longer have need for ritual cleansing or send out scapegoats.

Jesus was the supreme sacrifice once & for all.

When we accept Him as our personal Lord & Saviour…we come into eternal life (shared in I go to prepare a place for you).

We become the Temples of the Holy Spirit ladies & gentleman. No longer is the temple of God a building!

So ladies, remember you are very precious in God’s sight.

And if God is leading you into any ministry or calling don’t be side tracked by man’s winds of doctrine that go against God’s leading & specific purpose for your life.

selective focus photography of candles

Courageous Women of God

If you need a little encouragement to be brave in what He is calling you to do…

We have many examples of courageous women in the Bible who completely kept their focus on God’s calling for their life & not on the passing winds of doctrines.

In the New Testament we find;

Mary, Jesus earthly Mum.

Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s Mum

Mary Magdalene

These women did not take their eyes off God in what He was calling them to do which often went directly against man’s doctrine of the day!

Jesus said,

“You are the light of the world…Let your light shine before mankind in such a way that they may see your moral excellence & your praiseworthy, noble, & good deeds, & recognise, honour, praise & glorify your Father Who is in Heaven.”

Matthew 5: 14-16 Paraphrased

Modern Women of Integrity

Last week we reflected upon one such inspirational woman, Lydia Prince. Shared HERE 

A few others you may recognise are;

Corrie Ten Boom

Mother Theresa

Elizabeth Elliott

Betty Mitchell

God is leading us in His specific Will for our life 

Now I can see what God has been doing over these past two weeks.

Showing us that we need to focus upon Him in what He is specifically calling us to do. 

And not get sidetracked by man’s misguided & disturbing doctrines that are really all about power & control.

Until next time,

Jennifer

You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook

© 2021 Jennifer M. Ross, teawithjennifer.blog All Rights Reserved. Photos by Skylar Kang & also Valeria Boltneva on Pexels.com 

Blog Party link ups

24 thoughts on “Women of Integrity”

  1. I enjoyed reading this. I think the key is following Holy Spirit’s lead. If we confidently walk as he leads we will not be detered by the boundaries of others. Mary Magadaline is a great example of that. Her ministry to Jesus in Simon’s house was so radical but necessary and commended by our Lord.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  2. I do no recognize Betty Mitchell – that is one I will need to look up. I love reading testimonies and accounts of godly women who have gone before me!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  5. Jennifer, yes, yes. If God has given us gifts to be used for His glory, He will create the right opportunities for us to use those gifts.

    We might be quite surprised at what that might look like. He smiles knowing all will be well …

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Amen! Jesus has such precious places for each of us to follow Him! I love those precious stories of women who obeyed the call of God in their lives. Just this morning I found a new telling of part of Corrie ten Boom’s story. Such grace for us to be encouraged by! Thank you for encouraging women here, dear Jennifer. Bless you as you follow Him!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. Thank you, Jennifer – this is encouraging! I’m fortunate that my church is very open to encouraging women to use their gifts, but I have encountered opposition from others who believe that women shouldn’t teach etc. I love your point that it is the Holy Spirit who should be in charge of our meetings.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  8. I am unfamiliar with the debate you are discussing. I am Catholic at the moment, though basically a follower of Jesus Christ above all. Of course the Catholic Church is totally misogynistic, but I know that Jesus wasn’t and isn’t, so it doesn’t bother me at the moment. After all, God chose a woman to bring His Son into the world!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      2. I went to a interdenominational Bible College when I did my theological/ministry studies Elizabeth. Because I grew up in one denomination & found Jesus as my personal Lord & Saviour with another.

        Realising at that point in my life (over four decades ago now) that it’s all about faith in God’s Son Jesus Christ & not in following any particular doctrine of man.
        This has served me well as I share, in being respectful of other’s differing background, understanding & beliefs 😀

        Liked by 1 person

  9. This is well written, Jennifer. Thank you for your obedience to the Lord in writing it and the timing of release.

    It reminds me of a book that I read a few years ago, How I Changed My Mind About Women in Leadership, by Alan F. Johnson. I think you would find the book encouraging.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.