PHOEBE…A FAITHFUL MESSENGER…ARE WE FAITHFUL MESSENGERS???

PHOEBE…

Like other women in both the early church and the church today, sacrificed countless hours for the advancement of God’s kingdom through her various church ministries. She remained focused on the goal of spreading the Good News and accomplished this task against insurmountable odds. Driven by her deep sense of desire, purpose, faith and commitment, Phoebe traveled many miles in order to deliver the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Christians of Rome. This letter was important, for its contents would become the bridge to understanding God’s plan for future Christians.

Phoebe’s steadfast motivation touched the hearts of countless people who otherwise may not have been receptive to the gospel. Without this diligent and faithful servant, we might not have the book of Romans from which to read and garner spiritual insight.

Phoebe goes virtually unnoticed in the Biblical text, and many women servants of Christ today go unnoticed too. Phoebe’s work however was very important. In Roman’s 16:1 Paul called her “A servant of the church in Cenchrea.” Used in this way, the word “servant” the word probably refers to the position of woman deacon, or deaconess.

She served those who were receiving the message of salvation, and she carried that message to others…

Sister’s of the Faith, while our work of spreading the Good News and bringing other’s to Christ may be trying at times, we must stay focused on the outcome because there are countless others that who receive it that will be blessed in ways that we cannot possibly foresee.

As humanistic and natural as it is to want outward recognition for the work that we do, we must not lose our focus on our commitment to the Lord when we do not receive such recognition. Our true reward is in Heaven and our rewarder sees our hard work and knows what we do.

Phoebe serves as an example of a faithful woman servant who is empowered by God to serve…Women of the world…work as a servant unto God; Glorify God through all of your tasks, and He will remember you as a faithful servant. He will receive the Glory, and you and others connected to you will be richly blessed…

Dinah; An Abused Woman…

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Dinah is a forgotten woman in the Bible. While we know much about her brothers, Jacobs 12 sons, we know very little about this female child. Jacob's only daughter mentioned in scripture.
Genesis 34 tells the story of Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah. Dinah left the Hebrew campsite to visit the women in the land. Away from the protection of her family enclave, Dinah was taken by Shechem, the son of a local ruler, and raped.
When Jacob learned of his daughters rape, he was silent. He did not protest against her treatment; instead he listened to the appeals of Dinah’s rapist in the interest of political harmony between the Hebrews and the Hivites. While Jacob continued to negotiate, Dinah’s brothers began plotting against the Hivites; meanwhile, Dinah was noticeably absent from the proceedings. According to the story, her feelings and views were never taken into consideration. And not until verse 2 does the reader learn that Dinah had been in Schechem’s house all along.

As women, we may relate to Dinah’s story. We may have been devalued simply for being born in a culture in which male children are granted more prestige and promise. Perhaps we have been abused in the name of love in the name of so-called loving relationships, while those around us ignored our pain. Perhaps family members and friends are fully aware of the abuse but have chosen to turn away in silence.
This chapter tells a tragic story of yet millions of other tragic stories and an even more tragic story of a woman named Marissa Alexander. Is there redemption here? First we can relate to Dinah’s brothers when they learned of her rape. They declared that the rape should not have been done(Genesis 34:7). They declared that the rape of one woman is an affront to the entire community. And while their methods of revenge are abhorrent to us, they ultimately removed Dinah from her place of violation. We need to have the same anger as Dinah’s brothers had when we hear of violence toward our abused sisters. We, too, can declare that physical and mental abuse are unacceptable and offend the entire community. WE MUST NOT BE SILENT!!!!
When I thought about writing this today I was inspired by the tragic story of Marissa Alexander.

A beautiful woman, mother, daughter, sister and…a victim of spousal abuse and domestic violence. Any woman reading this knows what I am talking about and has suffered some type of abuse, be it at home, work, school,or sadly, even at church. Even me…I was a victim and I too could have suffered the unfortunate fate that Marissa is now facing had it not been for real justice being served on the right individual. What the authorities have done in Florida in the domestic abuse case of Marissa Alexander is just as appalling as finding a man who actually shot a 17 year old boy to death for brandishing a bag of skittles and a bottle of Snapple. Marissa stood her ground just like George Zimmerman and was sentenced to 20 years in prison while her abuser (her husband)and the murderer of a child (George Zimmerman) walked free…Where is the justice in that.

Tupac Shakur couldn’t have said it better when he posed the question “Why do we hate our women?” Men of the world why do you hate your women, lie to your women, cheat on your women, and then beat your women when they speak up and even when they don’t. Your mother is a woman, or have you forgotten? KNOCK IT OFF AND PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE AND GENDER…