Leader's Journal
Tags: "Listen"
For I Am They
Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida, and I thought “They need to make this stop.” Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, MO, and I wondered, “When are they going to do something?” Then I saw the videos and heard the news reports of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor and asked, “Why do they let this keep happening?”
When George Floyd died from police officer Devon Chauvin kneeling on his neck in Minneapolis, I finally understood. “They” haven’t done something because they means we and we means me. The real question is, why haven’t I done something? Why have I sat in silence, waiting and watching for someone else to act?
Years ago, while studying 1 Kings, I was struck by God’s response to the faithfulness and faithlessness of the kings of Israel. It ran so contrary to expectation. Surprisingly, God held both the faithful and the faithless accountable. The kings who were disobedient were accountable for what they did. But those who were devoted to Him were accountable for what they didn’t do.
I wonder if that is how it will be for Christians? Will we be accountable for what we didn’t do? Will we be accountable for not using our voice and speaking up when injustice occurs, including racial injustice?
One of the favorite verses Christians recite when discussing justice is Micah 6:8. “What does the Lord require of you? To do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.” Micah could have reversed the order and said love justice and do kindness, and then we could easily love justice from the sidelines. But we are required to do justice, and it’s impossible to do anything by standing still. The “do” in do justice implies action. Instead of reciting the verse, it’s time to start living it.
As we do justice, it’s important that we approach this work with a posture of humility, openness, and courage. Our posture should show that we have a willingness to listen to others, convey an earnestness to learn, and project courage—a willingness to speak up and speak out.
Some ways to get started in addressing racial injustice include:
Listening
• Gather with others for honest and authentic conversations about racial relations.
• Learn from one another about hurts of the past and hopes for the future.
• Attend planned events where others share their stories.
Learning
• Read books, watch movies and listen to podcasts to better understand why, where and how racism and systemic racism began and is still occurring in our country.
• Study how to be an anti-racist.
• Educate our children on America’s dark history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Movement.
Speaking up and speaking out
• Let others know we are offended when they make jokes concerning, unkind remarks toward, and racist generalizations about people of color.
• Expose redlining* and advocate for it to end in cities where it is still occurring.
• Petition lawmakers for equality in education, police and prison reform, and non-discriminatory practices.
How many more lives have to be unjustly taken before we do justice? We are God’s people, and we will be held accountable.
For me, it’s no longer what will they do, but what will I do? For I am they.
* Redlining is the practice of excluding whole communities of color and other minority groups from receiving services (government, financial, etc.) on the specific basis of race or ethnicity.
Spending Time in the Wilderness
It has been two months since I have posted anything on our Leading Well page or almost on any page of the website. I realized last week, in my study of John the Baptist, that before John began paving the way for Jesus, he had been in the wilderness. Somehow reading those words resonated with me, and I felt like for the past two months I too have been in the wilderness, unable to write or think creatively.
Normally we look at the wilderness as a less than desired place to be. A place that we would rather run from than run to. However, as I reflected on the verses about John the Baptist, I realized that it was during his time in the wilderness that John received the word from the Lord that propelled him into ministry. It was similar with Joshua. It was when Joshua was in the wilderness that he received his calling and was given his marching orders. And then there was Jesus. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit after a pinnacle moment in His life. His baptism. It was during His 40 days in the wilderness that Jesus hungered and was sustained by God's truth. He wasn't teaching or preaching, instead he was building up His inner resolve against the enemy by feasting only on what the Lord had to offer.
I have come to the conclusion that being in the wilderness is not necessarily a bad place to be, as we may often think. Instead it can be a very holy time, a time to listen much and speak little. A time to reflect and repent and renew. The past two months have been a very busy time in the life of our Network - both for our churches and for our women, so I had thought that it was just the busyness of the schedule that had made me lay my pen down. Now I realize that I wasn't meant to write during this busy season. I was in the wilderness, and it was a time for just listening. Listening to God's Word, feeding on His truth and discovering some of the next steps in moving forward. What I have learned has been incredible.
There may be times when you too will find yourself in the middle of the wilderness. I would encourage you to not be discouraged by the fact that you are not completing what maybe you think you should be doing with your time. Instead, embrace this time, let go of the unnecessary and just listen. Listen to what the Lord has for you, and then follow His leading. Let the wilderness be a place to recall or discover your purpose. Let it propel you on the next steps of the journey the Lord has planned for you.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope'" Jeremiah 29:11.
Years ago, as we were launching NorthStar Women’s Network, I felt overwhelmed and under equipped. Someone suggested I start praying on my armor each day. So, I did. And as time went on, I encouraged others to do likewise.
But now, 17 years later, I am done with that. I am not going to advise women to pray on their armor anymore. Why is that? Because recently while rereading Ephesians 6, I was convicted by the Spirit that I have been advising women incorrectly. I realized there isn’t anywhere in Paul’s letter where he says we need to pray on our armor for daily protection. Instead, Paul advises us to “put on the full armor of God.” It’s God’s armor we are praying on, not ours. What a difference changing one word makes. It’s huge.
Our armor – our thoughts, our truth, our faith – has no power against the enemy. If it did, Adam and Eve would have remained in the garden. Everything we do, we do through the One who gives us strength. His strength. His power. His armor.
But in the end, does it really matter what we call it? Yes, it does. Because when we call it what it is, it reframes our perspective and gives us greater insight into Paul’s instructions.
Beginning with the understanding that the Holy Spirit is actually dwelling within us (given to us at the time of our profession of belief in Jesus Christ), we can see why Paul is telling us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. If the Holy Spirit is indwelling, and He is, and if Christ is manifested through the Spirit and abides within us, which He does, then praying on God’s armor has little to do with us, but everything to do with Jesus. It is always about Jesus.
With that in mind, when we are praying on God’s armor, we pray on:
His Truth – It’s the truth according to what Christ lives and teaches, understanding things from His vantage point as He dwells within. The enemy wants to make us think truth is relative, believing all kinds of lies about ourselves and others, but Jesus has said He is Truth. Truth is not relative as the world states, Jesus is the plumb line. The belt of the armor is meant to hold in proper place those things that could easily trip us up. So it is with Truth.
His Righteousness - We have been made righteous—restored to a right relationship with God the Father through Christ the Son. Once Jesus begins to indwell our life, God no longer sees our sin. Our sins have been replaced by Christ’s righteousness. However, the enemy would like us to think otherwise, to believe we are still sinners deep in sin who can’t measure up in God’s presence. That’s why the Breastplate of Righteousness is so important— to protect our hearts from feeling unworthy or shame from the enemy’s constant attempts at condemnation.
His Peace - We often think this piece of the armor is all about the shoes of peace, but Paul says it’s actually the preparation of the shoes of peace. So how do we prepare to walk in peace? We do it the same way Jesus does as He lives and dwells within. The same way He did it when He walked the earth, by abiding in the Father’s presence. And the peace that protects is not our peace, but the actual peace of Jesus. Jesus told us, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.” We can move forward without fear, resting in His peace.
His Faith - It would be great to think our faith is strong enough to stop the “fiery darts of temptation” aimed at us by Satan, but it isn’t. If it were, Adam and Eve would not have failed in the garden, but the saving faith that can protect us from ALL of Satan’s lies is the faith of Jesus. In a more accurate translation of Galatians 2:20, Paul tells us “The life we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God,” instead of faith in the Son of God. Somewhere over the years the word was changed from “of” to “in.” I am not sure why as it totally distorts the meaning. When we are clear about the fact the Holy Spirit indwells us and Christ is manifested through the Spirit, it’s easy to understand the Shield of Faith is about submitting to Christ’s faith as He dwells within.
His Salvation - Jesus came, died and rose again as the Savior of the world, to deliver us from the consequences of sin. He set us free from the penalty of sin; we are forgiven. He set us free from the power of sin; we are restored to a relationship with God the Father. And He set us free from the presence of sin; we are cleansed through the presence of His Spirit who dwells within. Our sins are forgiven and our guilt is removed. In the Greek, the word for salvation also means deliverer. As we pray on the Helmet of Salvation, the helmet of our deliverer, let us guard our thoughts and guide them with the knowledge and truth of His salvation.
His Sword - I love the translation of this in The Amplified version, “The sword the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.” The Spirit doesn’t speak on His own initiative, as Jesus tells us in John 16. But He discloses to us what is spoken to Him by God the Father and Christ the Son, so we can thwart the enemy’s attempt the same way Jesus did in the wilderness, by repeating God’s truth, “The Scriptures say....” The Sword is the only offensive piece of the armor; let’s remember to draw it often to stop Satan’s attacks and destroy his plans.
If you don’t already do so, I want to encourage you to pray on God’s armor every day, for yourself, for your family and even for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Over the past 17 years, as I prayed for “the power of God’s armor” to be upon those on my list, I have seen lives changed. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” Ephesians 6:13 (emphasis added).
Many blessings,
Katie
Normally we look at the wilderness as a less than desired place to be. A place that we would rather run from than run to. However, as I reflected on the verses about John the Baptist, I realized that it was during his time in the wilderness that John received the word from the Lord that propelled him into ministry. It was similar with Joshua. It was when Joshua was in the wilderness that he received his calling and was given his marching orders. And then there was Jesus. Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit after a pinnacle moment in His life. His baptism. It was during His 40 days in the wilderness that Jesus hungered and was sustained by God's truth. He wasn't teaching or preaching, instead he was building up His inner resolve against the enemy by feasting only on what the Lord had to offer.
I have come to the conclusion that being in the wilderness is not necessarily a bad place to be, as we may often think. Instead it can be a very holy time, a time to listen much and speak little. A time to reflect and repent and renew. The past two months have been a very busy time in the life of our Network - both for our churches and for our women, so I had thought that it was just the busyness of the schedule that had made me lay my pen down. Now I realize that I wasn't meant to write during this busy season. I was in the wilderness, and it was a time for just listening. Listening to God's Word, feeding on His truth and discovering some of the next steps in moving forward. What I have learned has been incredible.
There may be times when you too will find yourself in the middle of the wilderness. I would encourage you to not be discouraged by the fact that you are not completing what maybe you think you should be doing with your time. Instead, embrace this time, let go of the unnecessary and just listen. Listen to what the Lord has for you, and then follow His leading. Let the wilderness be a place to recall or discover your purpose. Let it propel you on the next steps of the journey the Lord has planned for you.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the LORD. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope'" Jeremiah 29:11.
Years ago, as we were launching NorthStar Women’s Network, I felt overwhelmed and under equipped. Someone suggested I start praying on my armor each day. So, I did. And as time went on, I encouraged others to do likewise.
But now, 17 years later, I am done with that. I am not going to advise women to pray on their armor anymore. Why is that? Because recently while rereading Ephesians 6, I was convicted by the Spirit that I have been advising women incorrectly. I realized there isn’t anywhere in Paul’s letter where he says we need to pray on our armor for daily protection. Instead, Paul advises us to “put on the full armor of God.” It’s God’s armor we are praying on, not ours. What a difference changing one word makes. It’s huge.
Our armor – our thoughts, our truth, our faith – has no power against the enemy. If it did, Adam and Eve would have remained in the garden. Everything we do, we do through the One who gives us strength. His strength. His power. His armor.
But in the end, does it really matter what we call it? Yes, it does. Because when we call it what it is, it reframes our perspective and gives us greater insight into Paul’s instructions.
Beginning with the understanding that the Holy Spirit is actually dwelling within us (given to us at the time of our profession of belief in Jesus Christ), we can see why Paul is telling us to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might. If the Holy Spirit is indwelling, and He is, and if Christ is manifested through the Spirit and abides within us, which He does, then praying on God’s armor has little to do with us, but everything to do with Jesus. It is always about Jesus.
With that in mind, when we are praying on God’s armor, we pray on:
His Truth – It’s the truth according to what Christ lives and teaches, understanding things from His vantage point as He dwells within. The enemy wants to make us think truth is relative, believing all kinds of lies about ourselves and others, but Jesus has said He is Truth. Truth is not relative as the world states, Jesus is the plumb line. The belt of the armor is meant to hold in proper place those things that could easily trip us up. So it is with Truth.
His Righteousness - We have been made righteous—restored to a right relationship with God the Father through Christ the Son. Once Jesus begins to indwell our life, God no longer sees our sin. Our sins have been replaced by Christ’s righteousness. However, the enemy would like us to think otherwise, to believe we are still sinners deep in sin who can’t measure up in God’s presence. That’s why the Breastplate of Righteousness is so important— to protect our hearts from feeling unworthy or shame from the enemy’s constant attempts at condemnation.
His Peace - We often think this piece of the armor is all about the shoes of peace, but Paul says it’s actually the preparation of the shoes of peace. So how do we prepare to walk in peace? We do it the same way Jesus does as He lives and dwells within. The same way He did it when He walked the earth, by abiding in the Father’s presence. And the peace that protects is not our peace, but the actual peace of Jesus. Jesus told us, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you.” We can move forward without fear, resting in His peace.
His Faith - It would be great to think our faith is strong enough to stop the “fiery darts of temptation” aimed at us by Satan, but it isn’t. If it were, Adam and Eve would not have failed in the garden, but the saving faith that can protect us from ALL of Satan’s lies is the faith of Jesus. In a more accurate translation of Galatians 2:20, Paul tells us “The life we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son of God,” instead of faith in the Son of God. Somewhere over the years the word was changed from “of” to “in.” I am not sure why as it totally distorts the meaning. When we are clear about the fact the Holy Spirit indwells us and Christ is manifested through the Spirit, it’s easy to understand the Shield of Faith is about submitting to Christ’s faith as He dwells within.
His Salvation - Jesus came, died and rose again as the Savior of the world, to deliver us from the consequences of sin. He set us free from the penalty of sin; we are forgiven. He set us free from the power of sin; we are restored to a relationship with God the Father. And He set us free from the presence of sin; we are cleansed through the presence of His Spirit who dwells within. Our sins are forgiven and our guilt is removed. In the Greek, the word for salvation also means deliverer. As we pray on the Helmet of Salvation, the helmet of our deliverer, let us guard our thoughts and guide them with the knowledge and truth of His salvation.
His Sword - I love the translation of this in The Amplified version, “The sword the Spirit wields, which is the Word of God.” The Spirit doesn’t speak on His own initiative, as Jesus tells us in John 16. But He discloses to us what is spoken to Him by God the Father and Christ the Son, so we can thwart the enemy’s attempt the same way Jesus did in the wilderness, by repeating God’s truth, “The Scriptures say....” The Sword is the only offensive piece of the armor; let’s remember to draw it often to stop Satan’s attacks and destroy his plans.
If you don’t already do so, I want to encourage you to pray on God’s armor every day, for yourself, for your family and even for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Over the past 17 years, as I prayed for “the power of God’s armor” to be upon those on my list, I have seen lives changed. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm” Ephesians 6:13 (emphasis added).
Many blessings,
Katie