{"id":11400,"date":"2013-04-26T00:01:52","date_gmt":"2013-04-26T04:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=11400"},"modified":"2013-04-25T16:49:15","modified_gmt":"2013-04-25T20:49:15","slug":"girls-with-swords-chapter-5-weekly-review-the-cross-as-a-sword","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2013\/04\/26\/girls-with-swords-chapter-5-weekly-review-the-cross-as-a-sword\/","title":{"rendered":"Girls With Swords: Chapter 5 Weekly Review \u2013 \u201cThe Cross as a Sword\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Click Here for\u00a0Next Week\u2019s Reading Schedule<\/span><\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

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Welcome to Campground USA<\/b><\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

Log Cabins, Nature Trails, Canoes,<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Paddle Boats, Bikes, Fishing<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Yep, that\u2019s the sign entering our campground where we gather around the bonfire nightly to discuss Girls With Swords<\/span><\/i><\/b> by Lisa Bevere.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

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How about that meeting we had last night discussing Chapter 4!\u00a0 The Holy Spirit moved upon Christi, and it was as though fire came down from heaven as she spoke about taking back all that\u00a0Satan\u00a0has stolen from us.\u00a0Didn’t\u00a0we have a Hallelujah time dancing on top of the old devil\u2019s head!\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

And speaking of a fire within them—Jennifer, Teresa, Tonya, and Diane did as they answered the questions: \u00a0\u201cWhere is the Battle?\u201d and \u201cWho is my Enemy?\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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  • Jennifer put it to us straight!\u00a0 Our war is <\/span>not<\/b> with each other; it is with\u00a0Satan.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Teresa laid out God\u2019s plan of Redemption: \u201cOne<\/b> Heart, Vision, Purpose, Name, Kingdom, Mandate. \u00a0<\/b>We could be the answer to Jesus\u2019 prayer He prayed for us at The Last Supper by becoming ONE.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Tonya reminded us that we must battle<\/strong> to become ONE, <\/i><\/strong>using the tools <\/i><\/strong>God has given us in Galatians 5:22-26.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
  • Diane told her testimony of how the thief had come to steal, kill, and destroy her. But, Jesus came to give <\/span>abundant life<\/b>, and she\u00a0didn’t\u00a0listen to the lies of the enemy. <\/span><\/li>\n
  • \u00a0Praise and Worship<\/b> ended the meeting with Heaven\u2019s angelic choir joining in. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u00a0<\/span>I just gotta tell you about a childhood memory I had as I was walking back to my cabin after the meeting.\u00a0 I began thinking about the cattle farm I grew up on in Georgia.\u00a0 I loved watching Daddy\u2019s herd of cattle grazing<\/b> out in the field.\u00a0 The old cows would fill their bellies full of hay and then lie down under the shade trees and wait until it was time to get up and graze<\/b> some more.\u00a0 It was as though they lived only\u00a0\u201cto be fed<\/i>.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    A thought suddenly hit me as I recalled that memory, and I stopped and prayed: \u201cFather God, help me not to just graze<\/b> on the things I am learning.\u00a0 May I feast <\/b>upon your word, and really \u2018get who I am in Christ.\u2019<\/b> May I not lie down like Daddy\u2019s old cows after feasting.\u00a0 Instead, may I rise up and use my Sword as a weapon <\/b>in my daily life.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Well, the sun has gone down here at the campground.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to make my way on over to the bonfire.\u00a0 Tonight we are discussing Chapter 5—\u201cThe Cross as a Sword.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Teresa <\/b>pinpoints the Crossroads.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    Lisa says: \u201c<\/em>Just 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> \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

    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. <\/b>Because we are Adam\u2019s fruit we have a sinful, hurtful part of us.\u00a0 Many of you have been hurt.\u00a0 Your hurt is holding you back from\u00a0the freedom and abundant life\u00a0Jesus Christ has to offer.\u00a0 If you have buried secrets, living in shame and regret, you are at a <\/b>crossroads.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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    • One path leads to\u2026loneliness, embarrassment, shame, pride, just getting by.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • The other path leads somewhere new and scary, feels vulnerable and shakey. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • It requires us to walk one step at a time lighted by faith, trust, hope, and love.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
    • But,it binds us to other travelers who are ready and willing to share their life story. <\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      \u201cAs iron sharpens iron,\u00a0so one person sharpens another<\/i>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0(Proverbs 27:17).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      Could we get together, talk, and share our stories?<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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      Jennifer<\/b> spoke on Transformation.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      Isaiah and David prophesied that God\u2019s chosen people would kill His only Son. The religious leaders thought that by killing God\u2019s Son they would get to steal His inheritance. \u00a0“None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified The Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8).\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      Lisa asks the question:\u00a0 <\/em>\u201cWhat blindsided each and every ruler of that age<\/em>? They could not see the transforming power<\/b> of The Cross<\/i>.\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

      What about you?<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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      • Do you<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0see the transforming power of The Cross?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • Do you\u00a0live<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0a transformed life?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • Do you live fully believing<\/span><\/strong> that Christ died for you<\/span><\/i><\/strong>?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • It is one thing to know about<\/span><\/i><\/strong> The Cross and what happened that day on Calvary. <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
      • Do you live<\/b> in a way that your life represents this knowledge?<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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        We were saved, forgiven, healed, loved, graced, empowered, and restored \u201cin Christ\u201d at the Cross. \u00a0It was the dead tree that brought us all back to life.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        You were already transformed because of the Cross<\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

        The question is – Have you accepted it<\/em><\/span>? <\/em>Are you living it?<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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        Tonya <\/b>spoke on the power of The Cross.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

        “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity”<\/span> <\/i>(Ephesians 2:13-16).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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        Lisa said:\u00a0 \u201cOn the cross God leveraged<\/b> all that He was for all that we could be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        • Jesus died on the Cross, so<\/span> that we could one day fulfill our potential.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n
        • The Cross brings us together.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • The Cross lifts us up above any attack used against us.<\/span><\/li>\n
        • Christ created the bridge needed between our neighbors and ourselves, between races, between genders, between ages, between classes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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          The Cross has the power to unify all who are willing to embrace it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

          In Christ the far-off and the wandering come near.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

          Diane <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b>spoke on the Scapegoat.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

          Everyone\u2019s journey to The Cross is different.\u00a0 We can all relate with the scapegoat in different areas as we journey to The Cross.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

          Guilt\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Lonely nights\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Oppression\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rejection<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

          Jesus knows the pain and the hurt behind each and every word used to describe what a scapegoat represented.\u00a0 Yet, this pain was all taken with Jesus on the Cross as He became the ultimate sacrifice. Lisa is right:\u00a0 The Cross is a Sword of Love<\/i>.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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          “Yet it was our weakness He carried; it was our sorrows that weighed Him down.\u00a0 And we thought His troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for His own sins!\u00a0 But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.\u00a0 He was beaten so we could be whole.\u00a0 He was whipped so we could be healed.\u00a0 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.\u00a0 We have left God\u2019s<\/i> paths to follow our own.\u00a0 Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all”\u00a0<\/i>(Isaiah 53:4-6). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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          \u201cLadies, we must pick up His Sword and follow Jesus to Heaven!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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          After Diane spoke, many women shared their painful past as Teresa had suggested.\u00a0 Suddenly, a woman spoke out boldly:\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s lay hands on these women that God would restore the years that the locusts and\u00a0canker worm\u00a0has eaten up!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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          This lady has \u201cgot it.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

          She knows who she is in Christ and is applying the Sword to the hurting.<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

          Praise and Worship<\/b> followed with old hymns of the church flowing throughout the campground: Near the Cross<\/span>, At the Cross<\/span> to name a couple.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

          The smell of s’mores roasting nearby filled the air, and what\u2019s that <\/span><\/span>other smell I smell?\u00a0 Could it be the aroma of Christ?\u00a0 (Ah, how sweet it is!)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n