May 1, 2020
A WOMAN GOD CAN USE
Many of us don’t feel good enough to be used by God. We limp along, doing little things, looking at women in the public eye as though they are spiritual hotshots. But Matthew Chapter One tells a different story. In the genealogy of Jesus, only four women are mentioned, and all were greatly flawed. We tend to over-spiritualize Bible characters, but in reality, they, like us, we’re just human beings.
The women at the forefront of Christian leadership are different in one way; they have all learned that regardless of their past, only God can do anything with their inborn talents. What he has called them to do, he always rewards when they depend on Him. It’s one thing to know what to do, and it’s another thing to do it. That can only happen if we daily are in touch with Him and make ourselves available. Let’s look at these undesirable women in Christs’ lineage.
Rahab was a prostitute in the evil city of Jericho, saving the lives of two Jewish spies, having seen how God had favored the Israelites in their battles. All she asked was that she and her family be spared when they destroyed the city. She told the spies, “Your God is God in heaven alone and earth beneath.“ She eventually married one of the spies and became the great grandmother of King David. Grace erased her former life of Shame! Both Paul and James list her as a woman who was found righteous by God because of her actions. James 2:26, “faith is dead without good works.”
Ruth was a Moabite who married into a wayward Jewish family. Death had taken her husband, his brother, and her father-in-law, and left her and her mother-in-law trying to seek out a living with no men to provide or protect them. They traveled back to Bethlehem to find a relative willing to help. She worked hard at gleaning scraps of wheat left by harvesters. She developed a faith in God that even her mother-in-law lacked. She became an Israelite not by blood, but by faith. She married the wealthy field owner, Boaz, who was Rahab’s son and thus became the great grandmother of King David, the only person in the Bible called a man after God’s own heart.
Bathsheba became pregnant by King David while her husband was away at war. To hide the adultery, David had her husband killed and then married her. The child she conceived died, but she later bore Solomon, who was known as the wisest man who ever lived. These women all found faith in the Lord God most high and were worthy to be Found in Christ’s lineage.
Now let’s look at a woman in Christ’s life who had a questionable background. Mary Magdalene was freed from seven demons by Jesus but was present at the most important times in His life. Some theologians think Mary is the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. Along with his mother and two other women, she was always helping the disciples as they ministered to crowds with Jesus. She waited at the foot of the cross while he was dying, helped Joseph of Arimathea prepare his body for burial, and risked walking alone at night to anoint his body with spices. Her love made her brave. She sobbed when Christ’s body was missing and became the very first person to see the resurrected Jesus. Her name is always listed first when his Followers are named, and no woman surpassed her in her devotion to Jesus Christ. Tradition says she was a prostitute and possibly a prisoner in a woman’s prison, but His blood can make the vilest clean.
Every one of us is worth saving. Romans 3:10-12, “No one is righteous not even one, no one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” What’s the solution? Romans 3:22, ”We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are! Vs25,” For God presented Jesus as a sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus Christ sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.“
All of These women did the same thing we need to do. Realize that we are sinners, and put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the only sacrifice for our sinful ways. They, like us, are saved by grace!
Shalom.
Standing Together,
Darlene Gross