There Is More: A Look At The Greek Definition of The Verse "Wives Submit To Your Husbands"

I went to hear a woman speak last week and she said the verse "wives submit to your husbands" was one of the most misused verses in the church. Deep down my heart agreed. I had always felt like there was more to this verse and I had yet to discover all of it's meaning. The speaker said that the word submit in this verse, when translated into English from Greek, did not have the same meaning as the English word submit. I did not write down her definition but I bought her book so I am still searching for the wording that she used. Her words left me on a search to find deeper truth to the meaning of this verse. I did find an article on God's Word to Women that explains it very well. It says the word submit does not mean obey, it means to lift up. "Wives lift up your husbands." Can you imagine if the Bible used this word instead of the word submit? I can tell you that every time I have encouraged or "lifted up" my husband that a miracle has taken place. I need to work harder to express my gratitude to him more often. I need to make more of an effort to lift him up.
I was sitting in church last Sunday and God reminded me of the new knowledge that I had of the authentic meaning of this definition of the words in this verse. He then reminded me of a time when my husband used this verse in a hurtful way in my life. We were looking at houses and I did not have a peace about buying a certain house that my husband wanted to buy. He got very upset with me one day and said "you are supposed to submit to me, we are going to buy this house." Let's just say that our evening was not pretty. I was not okay with being treated that way, with having that verse thrown at me in that way and I knew it was wrong. Being back in the moment at church, God whispered to me "what did you feel?" I knew right away. The experience made me feel like I was not valuable. So God said I want to heal this wound and let you know that "You are Valuable."
He God reminded me of another event that happened in my life. I was talking with my mother in law and I mentioned that my husband and I had gotten into a fight about something in the past. She got very upset and started telling me how I should submit to my husband and that I was not allowed to fight with him. I spoke up for myself at first and said that I had a different take on the verses and fights do happen in a marriage. However, she did not back down on her point, so I just decided to stop talking and move on. God whispered to me "how did you feel?" I said I felt like I didn't have a voice, like I was not valuable. He said "I want to heal this wound too and let you know that You Are Valuable." As I put the new meaning of this word into the space of this verse "Wives Lift Up Your Husbands," I felt a new sense of value. I felt like for the first time in my life, as a woman, I was important.
I heard Lisa Bevere speak on her new book about being a Lioness.  Lisa said that God gave her a dream about a Lioness and then began to teach her about it. She said that Jesus is the Lion and that we as the church, the bride, are the lioness. We fight the enemy with God and together the enemy is defeated. She spoke of how the military had called her to get her book study because they knew that if they could not reach the women in the countries they were going into that they could not help them to have victory. Without the women and men working together as a team they would not get the message of hope out to help these countries. Again I was hearing the theme, women have value. It gave me hope and once again I came alive as I was in my youth. I even found my voice.
I know God has called me to speak and write. I'm not sure how that will look or turn out.
I do want you to know this, that you are valuable. If anyone has ever misused this verse "Wives Submit to your Husbands" I pray right now that God would heal your heart and make it whole again. If you disagree with my definition, I am okay with that, but I challenge you to be open to something new and ask God to show you more about this verse. No matter what you feel, whether you want to hold onto the traditional definition of the word or you are embracing the meaning of the Greek that I found new life in, please know this, that You are Very Very Valuable.
And imagine that God himself is whispering to you, my Daughter, my bride, YOU ARE VALUABLE.

5 Signs You Are A People Pleaser

God has been teaching me a ton about people pleasing the last few months. He's been healing me of it. Getting healed is actually a very painful process but it's so awesome at the end!
This is what I have learned and I hope it helps someone.
1. You are in denial. Most people who are people pleasers are in denial. They do not think they have this problem. God had to give me the same book 3 times before I realized it was to help me.
2. You are never satisfied with your marriage. People pleasing is a form of lust. It's a need for someone else to love you besides God. Someone else to be proud of you, need you, cheer you on etc... These are all things that God can provide and He can use other people to encourage you but a people pleaser needs to find them in unhealthy ways.
3. You update your Facebook status constantly with religious things and great things about yourself. People pleasing shows up big time on Facebook. Everytime a people pleaser get a "like" they have a warm fuzzy feeling that they are loved. This can be okay if kept in balance but can easily become an addiction to write more.
4. You share about what you are doing that is religious - all the time. A lot of People Pleasing Christians fill their lives with Religious Pride and not God. There is a big difference. Religion begs us to write things on Facebook and share things with others for praise and approval and a pat on the back. About 4 years ago, God asked me to stop posting daily updates on Facebook. My friends were actually confused when I stopped and I honestly didn't even know why I did it, I just knew I should. People Pleasers can easily use this to steal glory from God. The people pleaser needs to write every single thing that God is doing on Facebook or ell everyone they know. They may share every single person who has been saved or every spiritual thing they did in the last month by speaking it or writing. They find significance and love in sharing that they are doing things for God to make people like them more, however God is the one who did the saving, healing etc and they are just a vessel. Sometimes they even get confused and feel that they have the gift of teaching, (some may actually have it, some may not.) This his a huge block from great intimacy with God. Some things God is doing are private between the person and God. It is okay to say God did this, God did that, I believe God loves that. He wants us to give Him credit. We can look at the root of why we are sharing things, to help the person have faith for themselves or to encourage them or to make them like us more.
5. You turn to porn or romantic fanticies. People pleasing usually pops up when someone feels unloved. They either go to God or something else at this time. Men tend to go to porn, women romantic fanticies, but they are both fake love.
If you struggle with porn or you dream of going on dates with people other than your spouse, you might be a people pleaser.
There are two types of people pleasers, the one that needs attention from everyone and the one who doesn't want attention from anyone. The one who does not need attention usually wants lots of attention from their immediate family only. They had a lot of negative attention as a child and they hide in hopes that negative attention won't come their way, however they crave lots of special attention from their family, usually in unhealthy ways.
If you think you struggle with people pleasing, it can keep you from full freedom in Christ.
Please seek counseling in this area. Grab a good book like Joyce Meyer's Approval Addiction: Overcoming Your Need to Please Everyone or Jennifer Dukes Lee's Love Idol: Letting Go of Your Need for Approval-and Seeing Yourself through God's Eyes.

You Might Be A Redneck... If You Offend People, The Duck Dynasty Controversy

I’ll always support Duck Commander and Duck Dynasty, because they’ve won me over. They won me over by offering a clean, family friendly show. They won me over because they’re not overly “religious.” They have a relationship with God without being all bound up by rules. In other words, They are free in Christ. If you’ve ever watched the show, you can understand why Phil said what he said in a recent interview with GQ. I do feel that Phil’s words were harsh, but if you watch the show, you know that is who Phil is. I am sure viewers are in no way surprised by what he said in his interview. If I ran into him, I’m pretty sure he’d call me a Yuppy. I wouldn’t be offended. I’m proud that I’m a Yuppy girl. I think I’d just jump right back and call him a Redneck. I know that Rednecks tend to offend people. They are free in their own skin. They don’t care what other people think of them. Duck Commander released an official statement saying they support Phil, their patriarch.

I had two feelings when I heard this whole debate.

First, I actually feel a sense of relief that Phil said these things. I feel like through Phil Christians finally have a voice. We’ve been silenced for the past 7 years. We have not been allowed to express our views because they are not what a very small minority of people call “politically correct.” In a way I Thank God the words were finally said. Could they have been a little more compassionate? YES, they could have. If they had interviewed one of the Duck Dynasty women, I’m sure their words would have flowed with compassion and love. Phil admitted that his words came out course and he did apologize for their lack of compassion.

My second thoughts were that I think these words poured out of Phil as a symbolic gesture. Christians are tired of being told what we have to believe in America. We’re tired of the truth being twisted in our faces and in our children’s schools. We’re tired of the government telling us what is correct and what is not. We’re mostly tired of the twisted media empire who provides a vast amount of entertainment that places a false beauty upon affairs, casual sex and the politically correct agenda.

Why I Would Never Label a Specific Teacher as Preaching The Prosperity Gospel

After much prayer and searching, This is what I have found: The words, prosperity gospel, are not in the Bible. They are man made words. The definition of the prosperity gospel actually has a very wide range. I believe it to mean that pastors abuse their church in an effort for financial gain. I think people misunderstand pastors who do not preach from the same denomination and label them prosperity gospel pastors. Here is why John Piper says not to label a pastor a prosperity gospel preacher.
John Piper has a video on YouTube about why he does not point out specific pastors as prosperity gospel preachers. He actually says Mark Driskell does but he does not and this is why. He says has to be aware himself that he does not preach the prosperity gospel. He says that everyone at some point can make a mistake and preach the prosperity gospel. He says it is not something that you label a specific person with. John Piper says do not label specific preachers as preachers of the prosperity gospel. He says when you listen to someone preach, look for it in their teaching and be cautious. I actually think John Piper went back and made this Youtube video to correct people because he had no idea entire groups of people would take his Youtube message and label specific preachers with this label.
Matthew 7 Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

I fully support Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer and I can tell you why they preach Biblical truths are mislabeled with the prosperity gospel.
In fact, they are very close to God and God uses them greatly.
First we will look at Joel Osteen:
1. Joel Osteen does not take a salary from his church. If he was in this for money, trust me he would take a salary. People with greed always need more. Joel preaches that you have to pray in faith and believe God for things. This is actually in the Bible. God says to many people "Your faith made you well." There are many denominations who completely run from praying with faith when it's actually a Biblical concept. God is sovergn, He's the one that heals and it's in his timing but faith can be an intrical part in that healing. If you don't believe this Biblical concept, you're probably not going to understand Joel Osteen and I can see why you would mislabel him as preaching a prosperity gospel.
2. Joel Osteen believes that Jesus is the only way to God. If you need proof, here is a list of Lakewood church's values. He gave an on camera interview when asked this question he said that he can't judge people's hearts. He can't know if someone has accepted Jesus or not. His call is to reach sinners, I and I personally think he gave a great answer.
3. This is a major misconception that I hear often "God calls us to suffer and Joel Osteen claims that God has good plans for our lives." Really? God does not call us to suffer. Jesus suffered on the cross for us. Thinking God wants us to suffer is very wrong. This is a poverty mindset which many denominations have. It is also child abuse. God would never want one of his children to suffer. Jeremiah 29:11 states that God has good plans for our lives. In fact he says God's plans are not to harm us. Now, the enemy of our soul has other plans. Satan wants us to suffer, in fact he wants to devour us. Satan causes suffering in our lives, not God. God allows it and He is with us as we go through it. He has the power to heal us and to help us get restored. He can give us joy in our trial. We could be Joni Erickson Tada and have complete joy from God everyday. I pray she never gives up on her healing. Because whenever God decides to give it to her, whether it's when she gets to heaven or while she's on earth, it's going to be a glorious moment. When I am going through something, I fight for my healing. I fight for my wholeness. 1 Peter 5:10 states And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 
In an interview with The Christian Post on April 21, 2013, Osteen expressed his sentiments on being perceived as being part of the prosperity gospel. "I get grouped into the prosperity gospel and I never think it's fair, but it's just what it is. I think prosperity, and I've said it 1,000 times, it's being healthy, it's having great children, it's having peace of mind. Money is part of it; and yes, I believe God wants us to excel...to be blessed so we can be a bigger blessing to others. I feel very rewarded. I wrote a book and sold millions of copies; and Victoria and I were able to help more people than we ever dreamed of. But when I hear the term prosperity gospel, I think people are sometimes saying, "well, he's just asking for money."
Let's look at Joyce Meyer: 
1. Joyce Meyer's events are completely free. She is one of the only speakers I know that speaks at a venue outside of a church and her event is entirely free. If she wanted money, she would charge money. 
2. Joyce Meyer believes the same way as Joel Osteen as far as praying in faith goes.
3. Joyce Meyer's ministry donates 83% of the money that they receive to the poor.

What to do if this is you, "I Don't Want to be Gay Anymore."

If you feel you are swaying to the same sexual orientation and you want to be straight. Believe it or not you can! Even if you were "born gay" you can change your sexual preferences. Now first off, this is a Christian blog, thankfully since it is legal to have a personal opinion, I believe that being gay, happened by an open door somewhere in your life. It could have been through your parents which means you could have been born with the open door. I have spoken with many lesbian women and heard this from gay men as well. Hear me out, The Creator (God) wants to help you turn straight, if you want to. He'll also love you if you decide to stay gay.  I am not going to lie to you and say, sorry buddy you were just born that way, I can't help you. God gives us many choices in life.
The first step to healing is too look back at the door that was opened. You could have been born with a door opened in your parents life and it was passed down to you. You may have opened the door yourself. You may have been a harmless innocent child and were molested. God wants to love you, heal you, protect you and close that door for you. Now, you have to understand, God designed a man to be with a woman. It's natural. Their parts match. When a door is opened in someones life, it could be opened to lust, perversion, molestation and it might not even be your fault. Maybe you just wanted to kiss that one person who was the same sex and you opened the door yourself, That's okay. Maybe you have no idea how in the world these thoughts are there. That's okay too.
Here is what you need to do. You need to pray. Jesus is the authority over the spiritual world. Talk with God for a little bit and ask God to close all the doors. Rebuke a spirit of lust, a homosexual spirit and a perverted spirit. Ask God to completely heal you. Look up a local church for more follow up. Make sure they have a deliverance ministry. Believe that you are healed!

Praying in Faith is Different Than Name It Claim It

I want to clarify some things about Praying in Faith. Praying in Faith is believing that God will do something. It is Biblical and God asks us to do it.

James 1:5-6

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

If we are praying a prayer for God to show us where something is located, a mature Christian understands that God is a good dad and would want His child to find it. To pray God help me find my cell phone if it is your will, is actually not a faith filled prayer. If you had a child, would you want them to find there lost cell phone?
This type of prayer should not be confused with name it claim it. If you have gotten caught up in a group that models the name it claim it theory, you should seek the Lord for deliverance. God wants to be sovereign if your life and help you do what you are asking. He does not want you to name it and claim it. Now you should believe for your prayer requests, but believing for something is very different than naming it and claiming it.
A good example of a faith filled healing prayer, "I am believing for my healing, it was done in the spiritual realm right when I asked, but God you are sovereign to make it appear in the natural realm. I can't wait to see it show up."
I used to pray things like this, God please heal me and I believe that you will. One time an intercessor came up to me and said God said to tell you that "He will."
Occasionally if I pray in prayer in faith (believing God for it) and God has a better direction for me and that prayer is not His will, He will often tell me. I will then change my prayer to align with His will.
If you are praying for direction, you do want to know what God's will is and you should pray for God's will. An example would be "God if it's your will please give me this new job."

Discerning The Religious Spirit

The Religious Spirit is a common attack from the enemy. It can keep you bound from experiencing complete freedom in Christ. Look for these signs: The Religious Spirit says everything is a spiritual experience. The truth: sometimes life is just life, enjoy time with friends without having to minister to them or see something spiritual happen. The Religious Spirit says you can never pray enough or read the Bible enough to please God. The Religious Spirit always says to do more. I can cause you to strive. Truth: You are free to pray as little or as much as you want, God still loves you the same. The Religious Spirit can have you constantly analyzing your sins. If you are constantly confessing sin, you could have a Religious Spirit oppressing you. The Religious Spirit may have you pray out of nervousness or rebuke the enemy all day. The Religious Spirit try's to keep you out of balance in this area. To get rid of the Religious Spirit, rebuke it. Ask God to reveal revelation to you if there is a root lie. This might take a few days. If He reveals one say the lie out loud. Say I am getting out of agreement with the lie and state the truth. Rebuke the Religious Spirit again. I pray that as you walk this out God would continue to renew your mind from these old thought patterns until you are completely healed.