Matthew is the teaching Gospel, giving instruction on what it means to be a disciple of Jesus
Mark’s Gospel shows the whole arc of Jesus’s impact on those disciples.
Luke gives many snapshots of the Jesus and the disciples’ ministry.
John focuses in on individual stories, giving a whole chapter, for instance this story, the account of Jesus’s call on the woman at the well in Samaria.
The twelve calling elements, reviewed in the last video, “The Twelve Marks of Jesus’s Call to Discipleship,” and found in John Chapter 1 are now going to link the description of Jesus gathering his first disciples with Jesus’s encounter with the woman he met at Jacob’s well in Samaria, here in chapter 4.
These twelve elements don’t follow the same progression as in Chapter 1, but they are all definitely there.
Before we get to the Samaritan woman’s story, though, we need to take a look at three significant sets of circumstances that happened first.
Water to Wine
The first event happens at the beginning of John chapter 2. Jesus was prompted by his mother to provide wine for a wedding party, producing the first miraculous sign of his person and of his purpose. In his conversation with his mother, Jesus modeled for his disciples respect and willingness to listen to a woman, and to be persuaded by her.
The Temple Cleared
The second event happens later in that same chapter. Jesus unexpectedly cleared the temple of vendors and hawkers, causing many people to put faith in him. But, John observed,
“He, Jesus, was not himself putting faith in (or entrusting himself to) them, due to his knowing all.”
John 2:24
Jesus’s disciples knew that what Jesus had entrusted to them was special. They had been specially selected to receive what they had been given from Jesus.
Nicodemus
The third event is described in John chapter 4, a tête-à-tête in the dark of night between Jesus and a Pharisee named Nicodemus who was also a member of the Sanhedrin. In their back-and-forth, Jesus described being born anew from above, a divine and spiritual act that alone enables human beings to enter the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus was skeptical and confused, a good sign, since that’s part of the calling narrative, but rather instead of moving on to insight and faith, the conversation seems to have stalled out on the Pharisee’s inability to get past the necessity of being born anew.
Putting this and the temple clearing event together, John established that religious practice, education, leadership, and privilege do not guarantee spiritual sensitivity nor the Spirit’s transformative work.
And then, Jesus went to Samaria….
This is the third video in a four-part series on Jesus’s call on women to discipleship and apostolic ministry.
- First in the series is an overview of my research, “Did Jesus Call Women to Be Disciples?“
- Second is a deep dive into the twelve calling elements John depicts in Jesus’s call to discipleship, “The Twelve Marks of Jesus’s Call to Discipleship,”
This is the third video, exploring Jesus’s call on the woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria, to discipleship, and to apostolic ministry in Samaria.
Sister Joanne in Christ Jesus!
I’ve come to the conclusion that this world isn’t going to continue on as it’s been doing lately much longer! Simply by the fact of “all the rebelliousness and disarray of our society and culture” let alone the women who with the aid of some very confused or maybe “wicked men” are trying to “rewrite history and even change the Bible,” obviously seen happening before our very eyes with statements like “God is still producing new Scriptures (teachings)” which one crazy female preacher said! There was a definite reason that there were 12 men Apostles and the way men have always been the leaders (head of the family) in ancient as well modern history because God wanted it that way and it stayed as such up till the feminist, communist and woke agendas took center stage to disrupt not help mankind(Destroy)! There can be no doubt as I see it now that Satan is working overtime to bring on Armageddon and drag as many souls into hell with him that he can!
Deuteronomy 4:2 “Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.”
Revelation 22:18-19 K J V 18 “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.”
And we know from the Scriptures that Satan that serpent in the Garden of Eden went first through Eve in order to trick Adam and cause them to sin or transgress God’s command!
Genesis 2:15-17 “Then the LORD God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, 17but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
Yes a woman was used by the serpent to cause man to sin, violate the command or will of, thus against God Almighty the Father, and we can study any science or practical orderly methodology and find that in this world there is always “a weakest link” and a woman was it in the Garden; and the Devil knew it and used it to his advantage! Most modern thinking women will hate me for saying this, but, so be it, because “ultimately its God’s truth” that matters to me or should anyone that truly believes in Jesus Christ! The Scriptures and prophecies have been recorded, so there isn’t any “evolution of mankind” via new Scriptures, interpretations or revamping going on, but, only “the certain downfall” “APOSTASY” just as Scriptures along with Prophecy tell us will be the case! Amen.
God bless.
Brother Lawrence-in-Christ Jesus
//youtu.be/a6otYpMfzfg?t=1008
God’s truth matters to me as well, brother-in-Christ Lawrence, very much so. “Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” and “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy” (James 1:17, 3:17). But I do reject some -interpretations- of God’s truth. Very often, interpretations are culturally driven, and that is an important–a crucial–point.
It is very clear to me that Jesus called women to follow him, learn from him, minister alongside him, evangelize, heal, cast out demons, and all the rest, just as he called men (and as I’ve shown elsewhere from the Gospels). The Twelve no one can deny were a special group, mentored by Jesus for the particular task of guiding the church Christ himself founds, for it is he who is the cornerstone and the capstone of the church. The Twelve disciples/apostles inaugurate the new covenant of a new people, just as the twelve tribes inaugurated the old covenant of the Hebrew people.
I do not agree with the interpretation of Genesis 3 that the serpent used the woman to cause the man to sin. The text does not say that, that is an interpretation. Later, Paul says more than once that the man was not deceived.
“sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
“Adam was not deceived” 1 Timothy 2:14
James also reminds us, “one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it; then, when desire has conceived, it engenders sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15). Adam was tempted by his own desire, which he knew was wrong for he was not deceived.
I do not wish to be in disagreement with you, brother Lawrence, and I always try to find the ground where we can stand together, for I respect your fervor for the Lord, and I admire the deep thinking you do in processing current events and scripture. You are loyal to the church, faithful to God, and anchor your arguments in the Word.
It is in these important first chapters of the Bible that we find the root of so much in the rest of the scriptures, and in our world today, so understanding these first chapters is absolutely vital. I am not sure where our middle ground is on this, though. When I read Genesis 1, I see complete equality in men and women from God’s speech to them about co-regents of earth in God’s image, co-laborers, co-receivers of God’s blessing. Genesis 2 gives the same portrayal, as the women is made of the same substance as the man, they are one in every way, there is no inequality between them.
But then Genesis 3.
When God asked the man about what he did, the man placed the responsibility of his actions on God, and on the woman. He did not at all take responsibility for himself, though he is the one who knowingly transgressed God’s command. And do you notice who the man chose not to mention at all, yet was right there? The serpent. Satan. The man chose to protect the serpent and attempted to blind God about the serpent’s role in deceiving the woman. The man did nothing to defend the woman whom -before- the man had embraced in love and delight.
I find that very troubling, how easy it was for the man to throw the woman before God as the villain, how the man included God in his accusation as the One who had brought the woman into the man’s life, and how the man certainly did not reveal his own role, how the man chose to protect the serpent, that he knew better and yet chose to ally himself with the serpent’s suggestions, rather than God’s commands.
God did not act on the man’s testimony, but rather asked the woman for hers, and she very simply pointed to the serpent, which was the whole truth. It is on this truth that God acted. God did not need to question the serpent for its testimony, for now the whole truth had been finally told. By the woman, not by the man.
If the woman had not already guessed it, listening to the man turn against her before God and protect the serpent instead, God now warns the woman that her heart’s orientation towards the man will remain as it was, the same powerful desire that God himself has for us (“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is for me” Song of Songs 7:10, it is exactly the same word in Hebrew, which only appears three times in the Bible). But the man’s heart orientation has changed, God said to the women in Genesis 3:16. Now, the man “will rule over you.” And indeed, that is what the man did, immediately, as soon as God was finished speaking, for the man names the woman and it is in that moment their inequality begins, as the man retains the word “human” for himself, and lowers the woman to a role among humans, the role of mother.
It is that rule, that came as a result of what happened in Genesis 3:16, that Jesus now makes obsolete with the new covenant. This is part of the heart-stopping glory of Acts 2, that Peter explained to the astonished crowd, that Joel’s prophecy has come to pass:
“Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.”
Acts 2:18
Unheard of before, and now this is the Kingdom of God on earth, for even enslaved people (who were not even really considered fully people) and women will now give forth the word of God in the power of the Spirit.
It is possible you and I will not be able to stand together in this interpretation, but certainly we do stand together in wanting and honoring the truth, and the scriptures.
Grace and peace to you, your sister-in-Christ, Joanne
Sister Joanne in Christ Jesus. I’ve been working my thoughts with prayer to respond in kind to your lengthy good commentary here! I will do that soon, but today someone a very nice older Christian woman brought o my attention something I had written a while ago and it really is part and parcel of the same dilemma we banter about lately so I’m offering a couple of things right now that may help to clarify my stance on much of this discussion we have of late!
God bless you and yours!
Brother Lawrence-in-Christ Jesus.
If I have challenged you with my abrupt and even harsh rhetoric then good; because we all need to be, all, and as a matter of fact we all need to be chastised and corrected because we are doing wrong, every one of us is screwing up in some way or at some moment! Sure we are imperfect and human and can make mistakes but much of the wrong people are doing is avoidable and inexcusable and that gets into being evil, which I’ve experienced in my midst and people were evil with political wicked agendas and out to protect their own bottom line of past corruption and continuing nefarious ways. I’ll say this and leave it to anyone reading all of this, dump all I said and me into your own private garbage pail, but I think we all need a WAKE UP CALL, me INCLUDED!
https://twitter.com/glennbeck/status/1564405035164909568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1564405035164909568%7Ctwgr%5Eb4b34a0f3dc143f30fdd5b6c1b1016fda74aa16c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Flawrencemorra.com%2F2022%2F10%2F15%2Fthe-world-on-the-brink-of-collapse-and-utter-annihilation%2Fcomment-page-7%2Fcomments
http://lawrencemorra.com/2022/08/31/we-must-fight-to-regain-control-of-this-country-or-america-is-gone-for-good-we-dont-have-much-time-2/
Dear Brother in Christ Lawrence, I think Jesus would also agree when he said, “But be alert; I have already told you everything….Beware, keep alert, for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Therefore, keep awake, for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight or at cockcrow or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.” Mark 13:23, 33-37
It is good to keep the heavenly perspective about what is happening on the earth.
Grace and peace to you, your sister in Christ, Joanne
Dear Sister in Christ Joanne, absolutely that is the proper perspective, and as we’ve been told so also it’s said to remain vigilant!
Luke Luke 21:35-36 “For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of all the earth. 36So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 Amplified Bible “Be on guard; stand firm in your faith [in God, respecting His precepts and keeping your doctrine sound]. Act like [mature] men and be courageous; be strong.”
Matthew 24:42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.”
We start with prayer to call upon Jesus Christ who will ask that the Father send us the Comforter who will teach us all things!
John 14:15-17 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you.”
John 14:26 “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.”
John 16:7 “But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”
Jesus who is seated with the Father can now send the Comforter, because of what He accomplished at Calvary and we belong to Him our Savior; so what He asks of the Father will be granted!
First God breathed life into the dust of the earth and make man then he while Adam slept removed a rib which he then breathed life into making Eve and this was I think to make them as one so that one could not live or be complete without the other they are cohabitators in all regards of the Eden that God intended them to be!
“John also wrote that we are to leave alone the sins that lead unto death. Is that physical death or spiritual death? Recently I heard an argument that suggests John meant physical death. There were times in the Christian Testament when death was God’s severest mercy to that person–Ananias and Sapphira are the first and easiest example (Acts 5), but also 1 Corinthians 5:5. We must never go against what God is doing–and here is one of the scariest examples of God at work in ways that will terrify anyone:”
Interesting point but I have believed death in such a case to be physical also but the “2nd death” is when the soul is put to death in hell for eternity and that “men should fear God not mankind who can only kill the flesh life while only God Almighty can put both the physical and spiritual life to death by judgment!” So we “wisely fear God and that is the beginning of wisdom” as Isaiah wrote.
Matthew 10:28 “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”
We know that old expression of “don’t get so high on your horse!” Well that is where the human race is now up on their high horses (so much decadence, pleasure seeking and materialism ruling people everywhere) doing what pleases them all the day and night long, not genuinely loving the Father who will judge us all!
Oh yes we are on a same wavelength Sister Joanne on the timeline of present life as I’ve discussed such matters with my very own sisters and how all of our perspectives when discussing what you explained so well here reflecting back on our past is very in sync, as we are all in that same age bracket as you! The good thing as I see our generational perspective is that we have experienced some of those older generations firsthand and grew up with some very valuable and precious experiences, either while they were here with us, or vicariously when they would spend time with us talking about way back when they were children how different things were! Youngest among us often have no clue or visceral connection to any of that and that ia so sad as I see it! That is why so many don’t have a clue or are meandering around or even shiftless and dazed in today’s fast and furious changing not for the better world that will gobble them up! This is the advantage we have coming from the space we were nurtured, fostered or growing up in and sadly most of that is gone already!
Prior to the fall in the Garden the order that God established for Adam and Eve was simple and straight forward as they “shared in their idyllic harmony and beauty equally” and unfettered but after “the fall” that all changed and there could never again be “an equality” as once was in this realm until God reestablishes such. As they went on from that point and to this present time all of mankind is under condemnation and we carry original sin so confrontation or a battle commenced and even between man and woman, which we still see playing out now on steroids with radical feminist ideology and all of the assorted blasphemies such as transgenderism and the “mutilation of children” to suit these “diabolical ends and absurdities” that there are now men and women who are saying men can have babies, which is a “total absolute LIE!” Thus the “family unit” which God set in motion as part of His plan to even allow for reconciliation is turned on its head contradicting what God commands, and corrupting the paradigm further, so that what we are seeing instead is work of the Devil, that is what we see in this fallen world now, there can be no doubt about it!
Women that are radical screaming they can make it what they want it to be just like Joyce Meyer and her ilk. But aside from this troubling situation men and women here in this form, fallen from God’s original plan, are not equals in multiple ways and that should be an academic point to anyone that is rational and being honest. This “rebelliousness has fractured and ruined the family structure” causing “mayhem and confusion with so many dysfunctional people running around more confused and destructive than ever before in human history” creating new massive problems as they go not just for the family paradigm but to society as a whole and thus we see the “WOKE” agenda flourishing which is work of the Devil!
God Almighty chose for His purposes to have 12 men apostles and if it was best to have women be equal in this part of His plan then He would have had both men and women as bona fide apostles Peter or John! Anyone that can’t see the simple truth of God’s will in all of this is as I have to say it plainly, antichrist and anti-God! Now that is straight into the realm of Lucifer and again “rebellion” which we see throughout the human race now with more “secularism and pagan behavior” than this world has ever seen with so many humans on the planet at one time! This is becoming a “more chaotic and out of control human race” by the day and that will only lead to destruction and total annihilation which I very clearly see is coming! Final judgment is coming for all of this transgression against God our Creator, and Revelation states it as such for this reason;
Revelation 20:11-13 “Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.”
Revelation 6
The Sixth Seal: Terror
“12And when I saw the Lamb open the sixth seal, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black like sackcloth of goat hair, and the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree shaken by a great wind. 14The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?”
Obviously multitudes of the human beings on this planet don’t believe any of this, because if they did, we would not see any of this “arrogant self-serving blasphemous behavior we see going on throughout” but “rather they would be trembling with fear while they shake in their boots!” And Scripture points out clearly “we should be in fear of judgment” which is coming most assuredly!
Philippians 2:12 “Therefore beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not when I am near to you only, but now when I am far from you, all the more, with awe and with trembling, do the service of your life.”
The following form gives added depth to the overall importance of this Scripture.
Philippians 2:12 Amplified Bible “So then, my dear ones, just as you have always obeyed [my instructions with enthusiasm], not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ].”
Rather than fear of their judgment people are running hog-wild seeking “glitter, glamour and gold” in a world where it’s all about “fame, celebrity and being filthy rich!”
The main stream media for example cranks up the volume about Taylor and Travis (while cranking out the TV ads for Big Pharma the bearers of all cures modern witchcraft Pharmacia), and how great they are and how in love or how amazing in one way or another these people are; they make me sick, and I say who cares what the heck they are doing or how they feel and how much they have or do with it all; this is all so ridiculous and lustful? There is “nothing in them to admire or want to emulate” they are so far from “humble and being Christ like” that it makes me nearly puke at times, I’m truly nauseated looking at them or hearing them speak!! People that adore and “hero worship” them make me disgusted with humanity as they slip so easily into “the debauchery of our time” that is so decadent and over the top that it’s beyond just sin and is “absolute abomination!” If people can’t see how sick this is and how low human beings have gravitated into such darkness, then please God bring on your judgment quickly, this is so disgusting and perverse!
Instead of people “worshiping and fearing God” they are “loving self and worshiping money” with all of its trappings!
Joyce Meyer a so called pastor is a “money hungry greedy witch” with an “agenda to get as much as she can as fast as she can” which is not unlike so many wicked politicians, say like Chuck Schumer for example who not only has bilked the public but now “sold them out to Communist China” as he waves a CCP flag during a ceremony actually “praising our staunchest enemy on planet earth which is ruled by Satan” that evil communist empire that exterminates human beings (genocide), God’s children like they are garbage; and they want to destroy us as well! My friends this world is so sick and evil now I am shocked that most of the human population is not so “sickened and afraid” of what we’re becoming or that they haven’t already “fallen down on their knees and are praying for God’s forgiveness;” they do don’t care about that or anything Holy, they want what they want now! “Live for today and to hell with tomorrow” is the world’s motto! Too many are going to burn in hell for eternity, perhaps even most and that judgment is coming upon this unruly evil world very quickly now! Sodom and Gomorrah was Childs-play compared to this “over the top” evil age we are in!
It’s not a game or a joke so do these fools think God the Creator of all things was joking when He made sure this Truth of His was made known!
Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
God bless you and yours! And we pray that everyone will wake up quickly and turn from evil and seek only God with their hearts fully!
In Jesus’ name we ask this I hope and pray!
Amen.
T
(while cranking out the TV ads for Big Pharma the bearers of all cures modern witchcraft Pharmacia)
My mistake I meant to write the word pharmakeia which I’ve written about in past essays.
There is much in what you say, brother in Christ Lawrence, that I see too. Many who are swept up in the pursuit of pleasure to to quiet their souls, not wishing to reflect on why they are aching inside, or what it is they may be trying to run from. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will convict, and indeed the Spirit does, but it is that easy to ignore God’s call to cleansing and new birth and seek one’s own way instead.
My heart goes out to every person who experiences body dysphoria, who struggles with our cultural norms for gender, for sexual orientation and the like.
Genesis 2 describes one man and one woman bonding in marriage and becoming one body, and their story indicates it was so for their whole life together. It is how the church has understood God’s ideal for marriage, and Jesus’s teaching reinforces that ideal.
Even Jesus’s own disciples found his teaching too hard, and Jesus agreed it is an austere calling. His alternative was celibacy, and that was the early Church’s alternative as well.
Nevertheless, God has always given grace to those who do not observe God’s ideal. The Law allowed for divorce (because of the hardness of men’s hearts, Jesus said), allowed for polygamy, allowed for women to be taken captive in war and forced into sexual slavery (concubinage) or marriage, allowed for remarriage after the dissolution of a marriage.
All the great men of the Hebrew Scriptures transgressed God’s ideal for marriage, yet God still worked mightily through them–Abraham, Moses, every king (though Saul’s wives are not mentioned), even (perhaps especially) David, and so on.
So, my heart goes out to those who struggle so with these things. So did those in Scripture.
I feel certain Jesus returned equality to women, you and I have talked through that, apart from the twelve apostles, Jesus did invite women to be his disciples, to travel.with him, learn from him, minister beside him, and be sent on apostolic missions. Not as -the- apostles, but certainly apostolic, as Junia is named to be by Paul (Romans 16).
The gate is indeed narrow, but not by pur behavior. It is by our new birth, by the Spirit.
Grace and peace to you from the Lord and from your sister in Christ, Joanne
Sister Joanne in Christ Jesus! I want to come back to this point which you stated so fittingly! “Jesus did invite women to be his disciples, to travel with him, learn from him, minister beside him, and be sent on apostolic missions. Not as -the- apostles, but certainly apostolic, as Junia is named to be by Paul (Romans 16).”
I was just reading this Blog Essay of yours again, I do that many times with your writings just in case I messed up in seeing things clearly which I do at times; and I can say this now! About 10 years ago by attending a church where I had also befriended the fine priest there about another several years before that, I had met some wonderful ladies of the church, “consecrated women” from a fine order within the church. Some of them were working at the elementary school that was part of this parish and one of the ladies a lot like you was the principle who I had a great rapport with immediately, while the others worked at an all women Catholic college! At the time I was going through a personal hardship after a severe injury and I also took over the legal component of my injury/illness matter that resulted at my place of employment! Anyway these ladies were doing such magnificent “apostolic missions” type work beside their usual work duties and some of those that worked at that all women college nearby were also quite kind and inspiring to me. They at that time I met them were also just starting an evening adult small group Bible study class during the week, which a couple of the ladies prompted me to sign up for, which I did! I was very happy to learn from them and have that golden opportunity to converse and study with such “wonderful disciple/teacher women” who “inspired” me so much!
Eventually as things moved along the elementary school and college both had to be closed quite sadly, and all of these consecrated women went on to do that work in many locations, some overseas! I love them all, and they are remarkable women with beautiful souls that I greatly admire! And I “truly miss them and love them as a brother!” You are that too, as you do your work and studies in whatever capacity you do; as even here in this venue, I have gained so much good and a richer understanding and love for our Savior Jesus Christ “by your love for Jesus and the inspiring work” that you do in this regard! A disciple of Jesus Christ!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
God bless you and yours my Sister Joanne in Christ Jesus!
Your Brother Lawrence in Christ Jesus.
Thank you so much brother-in-Christ, Lawrence. And am thanking God on your behalf that there were sisters then to minister to you when you needed God’s strengthening and heartening. This is indeed consecrated work, holy work, to encourage and build up the brothers and sisters in Christ.
You have your apostolic mission as well, and you do it with all fervor and passion. May we both hear, one day, from our Master’s lips, well done, good and faithful servant. Come and enter into your Master’s happiness.”
Grace and peace to you, your sister in Christ, Joanne
You’re very welcome sister-in-Christ, Joanne. I’m very thankful for your prayer of thanks to our heavenly Father for providing some of our sisters to help tend to the as you said correctly, my need of “strengthening and heartening” when I was dealing with a very difficult personal trial, both figuratively and literally on a spiritual level as well as physical and in a court system facing powerful adversaries with plenty of expertise, while I was as the saying goes, “flying by the seat of my pants!”
In the end the judge who really did like me, as I did him also; told me that I did as well or actually better than any attorney could have done for me! I told him I did it all with and by the direct intervention of God! I had told the judge something very poignant as I saw it when I asked if I could take my own case over, how I carefully watched him over the course of that first year in court while I had an attorney and learned something very important! I said; “your honor I think you’re a great judge but more important to me I believe you’re an even greater human being.” And I know now that if I had any of the other judges in the court system they would have told me, “no you look for another lawyer,” so the greater story is that it was “God’s will” that I ended up with the right judge and also absolutely the right doctor, who is “a women and one of the top best in her field, as well medical school department chair, scientist/professor” and she came into the picture without me having a clue who I should find to help me, all because of one person I met at the hospital, another woman, behind the desk who was working in the clinic I went to! Then with all these Godsends, I was given the ability to pull it all together for victory while ill. And like nurses of the spiritual realm those “consecrated women” came along at just the right time too, so that I had spiritual assistance to empower me through the battle for nearly three more years in the system. I did have many lengthy conversations with my great priest/friend who had great wisdom and a wide or expansive educational background similar to yours! Still with all of that I spent many sleepless nights at times, preparing my legal briefs, objections or motions to effectively move the case forward to its “proper conclusion” and the “judges final decree.”
So the moral to this story is, that regardless of how things were in ancient times, we now have highly qualified and deeply spiritual persons “both male and female” that can bring the aid and comfort needed in major conflicts be they physical or of a medical nature, and also on a “spiritual level to minister;” as you stated my Sister of Faith Joanne!
I truly hope and pray like you said that, “we both hear, one day, from our Master’s lips, well done, good and faithful servant. Come and enter into your Master’s happiness.” I also pray that countless others on this earth will hear our Master tell them these same words; I would rather that most can have that same opportunity and only very few won’t; provided through God’s divine plan, in the Holy name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Savior and Redeemer! Amen.
Brother in Christ Jesus, Lawrence.
I’d like to add just one thought that I see as a vital caveat to my many words here. In this current hi-tech complex man-made system we now live within, both women and men must remain vigilant to see the truth that all of this can and will be used against us by the father of all lies! We know this easily because we can already see in history and especially in our recent past, how people when given the opportunity to be tyrants and rule with impunity or an iron fist always gravitate to such power and control over others for their own selfish benefit and even nefarious desires for more power! That is why I mention throughout what communism and freemasonry are really all about in the New Age Plan, being united to a coming of the one church and government establishing it’s power and control over all of humanity, to usher in the antichrist. We can see plainly by world events and what’s been happening to Christianity how this paradigm is developing quickly.
“Swept up in the pursuit of pleasure to quiet their souls, not wishing to reflect on why they are aching inside, or what it is they may be trying to run from.”
“But it is that easy to ignore God’s call to cleansing and new birth and seek one’s own way instead.”
“My heart goes out to every person who experiences body dysphoria, who struggles with our cultural norms for gender, for sexual orientation and the like.”
Those 3 points are stated so beautifully!
So graciously stated and yet these are such a prevalent massive societal problem now, like so much else in a single dysfunctional family, society and the whole world; all of it stemming from the fallen nature and loss of Eden and our original idyllic symbiosis with our Creator back then to what we fight through now even with Jesus offering the way out! God has used all of His most loving, gracious power to allow for reconciliation and renewal but still too much of this world doesn’t really truly care they party on or dance to the beat of their own drums! That is a huge and intolerable wickedness and madness spawned by the father of all lies, and why else does God tell us that “the gate to everlasting life is narrow and few find it!”
I’ve witnessed like you and countless others how we’ve had horrible catastrophes and events caused by evil men and after the event passes and the dust settles “people go right back to their bad habits or established wrong and sinful ways as we plainly saw after, 911, covid-plandemic, other attacks and wars like the staged proxy Ukraine/Russian! “They lie to us and say Biden got more votes than anyone before in a presidential election; and if he is what the people wanted look at how things are going since; just the war machine, military industrial complex being stoked up and running wild now is enough of a horror!” We see in the mainstream mass media all of the hoopla around sports heroes or pop music superstars and TV shows like American Idol or America’s got Talent! I know some people have talents with one thing or another (like some in our government being “prolific Liars”) but does that warrant all of this massive billion dollar attention when there are much more important things people could focus all of that resource, their inner-selves and energies into, “to make a change or difference” before it is “way too late” for many people to get their lives in order? I admit these things can or have attracted me a bit at times like a moth to a bright light in the darkness, but, then I catch myself and say stop being a fool, this triviality means NOTHING, and certain people behind it all are getting richer just like they did with COVID; that’s the name of that tune! This is the evil in the world and it’s out of control, over the top and horrible, but, people refuse to see it or deal with the harmful effects on all of their lives and our world, which is sinking fast!
Marriage, let’s not even go there it’s such a sham and monstrosity of fakery and “get what I can while I can” in so many marriages, in this “super materialistic phony world;” which is predicated on “me me me!”
Men and women have been made slaves for one reason or another by one group of people or another since before the ancient Egyptians in all locales around the planet! Scripture also tells us that a woman can only marry again if widowed, not anything about divorce yet our culture is based on divorce today, as most people have been married more than once so actually they are all adulterous and sinful, along with all of the pornography which is all over the internet and in publishing, with the $Billions a year sex trade it’s a Sodom and Gomorrah on steroids today; so I say to people let’s not kid ourselves that we are doing a proper job, the human race is quite ill for the most part with too few exceptions! Then come the feminists on top of all this trash screaming we demand our rights and it’s my body and I’ll do what I want; even with that unborn innocent child of God’s in me! Feminists are so far from Feminine!
The whole male/female added conflict won’t subside and yes there have been some positives all the way back and even now within that struggle! But what I mean is that it’s mostly a distorting and very damaging conflict within our human condition, as we now see not just aberrant confusion about sexual identity but rather the “MAN-ufacturing” of a problem with little children being groomed in public schools and actually talked into or brainwashed into seeking gender change and development of a warped twisted mind, with many major public figures and institutions in-tow! Sorry to be so harsh about this with you and anyone who cares out there, but, I like to “call a spade a spade” when the time comes and it doesn’t come often enough as far as I’m concerned, because, way too many people are floating along trying to have a “merry old time and party hardy!” I’ve had far too many guys say to me “it is what it is” or “that’s not my problem so I’m out,” so they just “blow it all off” and “kick that can down the road” until this culture change going on explodes, and then it will be far “too little too late!”
What am I driving at in all of this? I think judgment should come in “my humble opinion” a lot “sooner than later;” we’ve already been part of some of the ugliest evils in this universe past, present or coming, and it will only get much worse!
Yes I do have Hope and Trust in the Lord, we have been forwarded how bad things will get!
God help us.
Amen.