Preparation for the work of the emancipated
woman comes through faith. She does not battle “for” victory, she battles
“from” victory. Her power that comes from Christ, makes her
invincible. Her faith makes her “whole” ~ even in the face of death.
CROSS-REFERENCES TO MATTHEW 26:6-16
According to Thompson’s Chain Reference
Matthew 26:6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known
as Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an
alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was
reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples saw this, they
were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked. 9 "This
perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the
poor."10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are
you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The
poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.12 When
she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. 13 I
tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what
she has done will also be told, in memory of her." 14 Then
one of the Twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot--went to the chief
priests 15 and asked, "What are you willing to give me if
I hand him over to you?" So they counted out for him thirty silver
coins. 16 From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to
hand him over.”
· Paraphrase of Thompson’s commentary.
o Personal observations of how this applies to
the Christian woman today.
2 Timothy 4:1-8
·
The
Christian woman refrains from twisting the Scriptures to say what she wants to
hear, as it leads to insanity.
o In our service to others, us women must first and
foremost, show our children how all the religions of the world come from
Christian roots. We must teach our children how to recognize truth from
lies, and how to utilize the good and discard the bad in these teachings in
order to confirm what Jesus said about the world after He left.
Isaiah 32:1-8
·
The
Christian woman is careful as she examines the claims of others’ beliefs, and
refrains from making false interpretation of Scripture that could lead to poor
decisions…
o In our service to others, us women have the
opportunity as mothers to teach our children how to be respectful of others’
religious beliefs and practices, to compare them to Scripture, and to guard
their mind and heart from being swayed by anything that is not in accordance
with God’s Word.
Jeremiah 18:1-23
·
The
Christian woman keeps her heart open before the Lord, as she knows that
stubborn thinking will lead to a broken heart over many things…
o In our service to others, us women have the
opportunity as mothers to teach our children that it is through a
childlike Spirit that the Lord works His truths into realities 1) that true
maturity does not give way to pride which destroys the mature mind protected by
the Spirit, and 2) converts the mind not to follow the foolishness of the
world.
Ezekiel 11:1-15
·
The
Christian woman refrains from judging a situation merely on circumstantial
evidence alone. She “seeks” the driving force behind the circumstances
and prays accordingly before confronting anyone involved in order to prevent
predicting events…
o In our service to others, us women must guard
our heart from gossiping (especially those of us who are mothers) about our
children with other mothers or family and their children. When the
circumstances of other family and friends negatively affects our family, we
need to bring it before the Lord and refrain from commenting in one way or
another about it to our children or anyone else in a way that could cast a
negative light over the situation instead of leaving everything confidently in
God’s hands.
Micah 2:1-5
·
The
Christian woman is careful how she prays, knowing that whatever plans she makes
“for” or “against” anyone on this earth in God’s name, it will likewise be done
to her in Spirit through Christ…
o In our service to others, us women need to be
careful how we speak about others and their circumstances. Jesus told His
disciples that whatever they loosed on earth would be loosed in Heaven, and
whatever they bound on earth would be bound in Heaven.
Psalm 41:1-13
·
The
Christian woman guards her heart as she makes observations of her world around
her. Though she cannot know the heart of another human being, even if she
knows them very well, she can know the heart of God by observing how He
protects and provides for others through her…
o In our service to others, us women need to
hold ourselves accountable for our own actions. Jesus told His disciples
that they could judge a person by their “fruits” – evidence of their “heart
condition”, giving them an example of how to do this through His interactions
with the Pharisees. Confronting and challenging their hypocrisy as well as
welcoming and nurturing the genuine sincerity of those who secretly followed
Him.
Micah 7:1-7
·
The
Christian woman cannot put any hope in mankind – not even her closest
family. She knows true happiness comes from putting her hope in Christ
alone…
o In our service to others, us women will find
that there is nothing like the joy of the Lord, even as wonderful as the
closeness of family is. As mothers, we don’t want to come between our
children and God. We do not want to inadvertently set ourselves up as an
idol that they have to routinely worship the ground we walk on. We don’t
want our relationship with our children to become so almighty important that they
completely miss experiencing their own relationship with Christ.
1 Samuel 18:1-30
·
The
Christian woman knows the only right response to God is obedience to Him at all
times – even when family and friends pressure her for her allegiance to them
over Him…
o In our service to others, us women who are
mothers need to teach our children that there is no relationship more important
than the one they have with God. A mother must prepare her children how
to maintain their priorities in this regard, especially when it comes to
in-laws… that no one should stipulate the terms of that relationship other than
God Himself, through the Word and by the power of the Spirit.
2 Samuel 13:1-39
·
The
Christian woman does not rush ahead into situations without assessing them
first. She knows that taking matters into her own hands instead of
waiting for God’s answer results in grave consequences…
o In our service to others, us women must
practice tolerance, especially us mothers in our interactions with our children.
There is always going to be someone with whom we have conflict, and if children
don’t learn while they are young how to avoid conflict, then when they are
grown up, they may become consumed with eccentric thoughts and indavertently
take matters into their own hands, that could invariably ruin relationships and
their testimony of God.
1 Kings 21:1-29
·
The
Christian woman is careful to find something to be joyful about. She
knows that when she is not content with her lot in life, she may become jealous
of others to the point of putting them down to lift herself up…
o In our service to others, us women reveal a
lot about our home through our attitude toward others. A lack of
compassion and happiness for others’ successes reveals a heart that does not
have true joy in the Lord. In order to find true contentment, a woman
must first make a purposeful effort to be grateful to her husband for his
efforts of providing and leading his family, and then she must encourage her
children to honor their father for his leadership and guidance.
Esther 3:1-15
·
The
Christian woman is careful not to manipulate others to suit her own
interests. She is careful not to buy another’s love because she knows in
the end it is a cheap trick to play on someone. She knows that buying
someone’s allegiance for her personal agenda will result in her own failure,
disgrace and destruction..
o In our service to others, us women who are
mothers will find ourselves protective of our children. Our children are
our pride and joy. But that pride can also become a mother’s downfall if
she is not careful. A Christian mother knows that she should never come
between her children and God. But she must also teach her children not to
come between her and God either. As Paul said it best, “as far as it is
possible, be at peace with one another”.
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Psalm 19:14 "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer." ~ NIV