I am Free...

"I have been in bondage for over 20 years... and now I am free."
"I am leaving here a changed woman... I am choosing to forgive."
"All of the bitterness and anger and hurt stays here, I am not taking it with me. I am Free!"
Over and over testimonies like this were shared at the closing session of the women's retreat held last weekend in Atlacamulco, Mexico. I sat in awe at how big and great God is.. how He works and changes lives in powerful ways...I praise you Lord Jesus!
It had been my awesome privilege to speak and minister at this conference alongside fellow OMS missionary Shirley Carlson. The theme, selected by the women's leadership committee, was Choosing Forgiveness and we watched God work in miraculous ways as woman after woman had encounters with God... and as they chose to forgive those who had hurt them...and to move forward in their walk with Jesus.
Our message to the women was simple:
God's word is clear.... we are commanded to forgive. Luke 6:37 tells us "Forgive others and you will be forgiven." Did you read that clearly? Jesus is telling us that we are expected to forgive others and if we do so that we too will be forgiven. Clearly choosing to not forgive means that a barrier is put between us and God - that we loose complete, unhindered access to Him and His all encompassing forgiveness.
How about in the powerful Lords prayer... you know it... "Father forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors..."
What if God only forgave you to the same degree that you have forgiven others.... For me, the thought of this is terrifying... yet God's word is clear. There is no room in the Christian walk for unresolved anger, bitterness or hurt.
Perhaps you are thinking, "But surely you can not mean that I should forgive so and so for the horrible, terrible things they have done?" Yes, even them says God.
Consider one woman I counseled at the retreat. She came near me and asked for some advice. She wanted to forgive her husband but needed help. She went on to explain that for the past 15 years her husband has had two families, two wives in a sense, 3 children with each of them (she was the first wife - having been married to her husband for over 20 years) and he spent alternating days with each family. Her pain was so great... She wanted him to just leave her and the kids- but he wouldn't and she needed his paycheck (the portion she received) to survive and feed her children. Over the next hour she shared how he forced her to have sex with him to have money for groceries, how he manipulated her and abused her. The story was so terrible I had a hard time really grasping all she shared...
At the end she said - help me to forgive him..... and all I wanted to say was, "NO, God doesn't mean this terrible man - he does not deserve forgiveness...." and yet God even asks us to forgive him. I shared with this dear, sweet, broken and battered woman that the only way she could forgive was in Jesus' power... and that as a child of God she has access to the same power of God that raised Jesus from the grave! Imagine - you and I have access to this power and clearly there are many, many cases in this life that we must access this power to fully forgive someone. There are offenses so great and hurts so deep that only the supernatural grace and power of Jesus make it possible for us to experience the peace that comes from a life free of anger and bitterness - a life characterized by forgiveness.
How I praise God for the way He worked in the women's lives that weekend! It was an awesome time....

The women gathered together at the retreat! We were in the beautiful mountains.. it was cold! (and there was no heat!)

A big focus of our time at the retreat was seeking God in prayer....

Sharing with the women...

In addition to the weekend retreat I had the privilege to share with the pastors wives at a breakfast, at a gathering of women in the Campanario church and with the leadership teams of MOPS and womens ministry. In every encounter I was blown away by the way Jesus is working.... and more importantly by the way women are responding. There is an intense hunger to love God more, to know Him more, to grow close to Him.... How I pray that I too can cultivate a heart that craves more of Jesus!

Wednesday night, speaking at the Campanario church.

After the speech Wednesday night the women were invited to break in to small groups and share how God was speaking to their hearts.

Meeting with the women in leadership.... (there is always food!) YUM!