{"id":11308,"date":"2013-04-22T00:01:55","date_gmt":"2013-04-22T04:01:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=11308"},"modified":"2013-06-13T10:13:54","modified_gmt":"2013-06-13T14:13:54","slug":"girls-with-swords-chapter-5-the-cross-as-a-sword-pgs-63-65","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/22\/girls-with-swords-chapter-5-the-cross-as-a-sword-pgs-63-65\/","title":{"rendered":"Girls With Swords: Chapter 5 \u2013 \u201cThe Cross As A Sword\u201d (pgs 63-65)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Click HERE<\/span> for this week’s reading assignment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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I have a confession to make.\u00a0 My life is not perfect.\u00a0 I\u2019m disappointed, saddened, and often angry at the events that mark my past and present.\u00a0\u00a0 Things happened to me and by me that I cannot change.\u00a0 I find myself at a \u2018cross\u2019roads’<\/span>.\u00a0 I have a choice to make: Do I let those events in my past define me and color the present I am living? \u00a0Or do I confess my past and my present, give it to the One who truly loves me and live a future in Freedom and Purpose?<\/span><\/p>\n

If I confess my hurts, my mistakes, my willful wrong choices, what will people think of me?\u00a0 I buried those things in my past so far down, no one will ever know they are there.\u00a0 If I just keep quiet, I can carry these hurts, deeply buried, to my grave and no one will ever know.\u00a0 But\u2026.I know\u2026and God knows\u2026and deep down inside those \u201csecrets\u201d are festering and poisoning my heart and I really just need to dig them out.\u00a0 NOW, please.<\/p>\n

There is a part of me that screams, \u201cWhat good could possibly come from dragging up the past?\u201d\u00a0 And then quieter, \u201cLeave it buried.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cYou really don\u2019t want to live through that again, do you?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0And then there is the part of me that says, (Quieter) \u201cYou probably don\u2019t want to say that at church.\u00a0 What if the Pastor finds out?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u201cYou really shouldn\u2019t write that in your blog.\u00a0 What if you disappoint readers or lead a bad example?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cIf you let people see that part of you, you will be left alone\u2026again.\u201d\u00a0 Do you recognize these voices?\u00a0 Do you hear the whispered hisses?<\/p>\n

As we have been traveling together through this book, we have learned so much.\u00a0 Since Lisa is using sword analogies, we have a visual representation of our cross<\/span> in our hands.\u00a0 Our sword, when stuck in the ground, is a cross<\/span>.\u00a0 Our sword, when held in the air\u2026is still a cross<\/span>.<\/p>\n

It has been said that the cross<\/span> is a bridge.\u00a0 The cross<\/span> of Jesus bridges the gap between our sinful nature and the perfect, Holy God.\u00a0 It has also been said that sin entered the world by a beautiful, fruit-filled tree, and on the ragged, bark-stripped cross<\/span>, Jesus made the perfect provision for us to be made whole.\u00a0 As Lisa says, \u201cJust as Adam stole the fruit of a forbidden tree and caused all within him to die, Jesus died on a barren tree and thus became its fruit that all in him might live.\u201d<\/em> (p. 64). \u00a0<\/strong>You and I are part of the fruit of Adam, and if we accept Jesus\u2019 gift on the cross, we are His fruit as well.<\/p>\n

Because we are Adam\u2019s fruit we have a sinful, hurtful part of us.\u00a0 We hurt people.\u00a0\u00a0 Many of you sisters have been hurt.\u00a0 Your hurt is holding you back from\u00a0the freedom and abundant life\u00a0Jesus Christ has to offer.\u00a0 Many of us have been taught to be ashamed, afraid and silent.\u00a0 We bear many burdens in silence, never letting anyone in to walk alongside us.\u00a0 We are lonely.\u00a0 I was lonely.\u00a0\u00a0 That woman next door, she is lonely too.\u00a0 What if we no longer wanted to be lonely?\u00a0 Could we just get together, talk and share our stories?<\/p>\n

That sounds risky, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0\u00a0 I\u2019m at a crossroads<\/span>.\u00a0 I can make the decision NOT to live in fear, shame and disappointment.\u00a0 I can make the choice to REACH OUT to that woman and listen<\/em> to her story.\u00a0 Maybe I will even share<\/em> my story.\u00a0 Maybe our stories will meld<\/em> together, we will strengthen<\/em> each other, we will forge<\/em> a bond that is not easily broken and we will no longer be alone. \u00a0\u00a0We will be ONE<\/strong>\u00a0 and an answer to Jesus’ prayer.<\/p>\n

My sWord says this in Proverbs 27:17, \u201cAs iron sharpens iron,\u00a0 so one person sharpens another.\u201d<\/b><\/span>\u00a0 I want to be sharp, useful and productive.\u00a0\u00a0I am created for a purpose.\u00a0 My story, when shared with another person, could be a life-changer, a world-changer.<\/p>\n

I am not that person I used to be.\u00a0 You are not that person you used to be.\u00a0 Those people (back there in the past) made us who we are today, though, and we have to look at ourselves and see if we are who God made us to be.\u00a0 I have a choice to make.\u00a0 I think I\u2019ll take out my sWord and see what wisdom I can find to lead me as I choose the path that leads to freedom in Christ.<\/p>\n

Solomon, the wise man, found himself at a crossroad.\u00a0 God made an offer to\u00a0Solomon and He makes the same offer to you. What would your heart’s desire be?\u00a0 Would you choose riches, fame, beauty, intelligence, a good job, a good-looking husband, a house full of kids?\u00a0 The Bible says Solomon asked for wisdom to be able to do God\u2019s will for His people.\u00a0 Got granted him wisdom and then added<\/em> riches, fame, beauty, intelligence, a kingdom, lots of wives and kids.\u00a0 Only God would do something so extravagant as that!<\/p>\n

When Solomon\u2019s life was nearing its end, he looked back over all he had, the choices he made, the things he had done and he was disappointed.\u00a0 The wisest man who ever lived was blessed abundantly by God and found that it is all meaningless without a relationship with the God of Heaven.<\/p>\n

Ecclesiastes 8:9-13<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I have thought deeply about all that goes on here under the sun, where people have the power to hurt each other…. When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.\u00a0 But even though a person sins a hundred times and still lives a long time, I know that those who fear God will be better off.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

Solomon\u00a0began to dig into his life experiences, uncover the meaningless parts that stood between him and the life God wanted for him.\u00a0 Solomon could have left us with the book of Proverbs and we would have thought he was quite profound and wise.\u00a0\u00a0 Why did he write Ecclesiastes?\u00a0 Solomon had a story to tell.\u00a0 He needed to share with us what he learned so we could walk an easier path if we choose to.<\/p>\n

If you are one of those sisters with buried secrets, living in shame and regret, you are at a crossroads<\/span>.\u00a0 One path leads to a familiar place\u2026loneliness, embarrassment, shame, pride, just getting by.\u00a0 The other path leads somewhere new and a little scary.\u00a0 This path makes me feel vulnerable and shaken.\u00a0 This path requires me to walk one step at a time lighted by faith, trust, hope and love.\u00a0 This path binds me to other travelers who are ready and willing to share their life story with me.\u00a0 I do not have to walk alone.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about you, but I want to RISE when He calls my name.\u00a0 I want to lay down all the sorrow and shame, lies and pain.\u00a0 I want to follow Him!\u00a0 I want to pick up a sister along the way and take her with me.<\/p>\n