Great Commission Churches

February 2011

Dear Sisters,

We have a follow-up letter from one of our "Titus 2" series writers, Barbara Wilson. Barb wrote on having a pure heart before God. Recently, the Lord showed her even more about having a heart that is completely His. I think you'll be blessed with her transparent and humble application of her own teaching. I praise the Lord for His Holy Spirit, Who is so faithful to reveal Jesus to us and in us, as we keep our eyes on Him.

Like Barbara, let's follow her urging and "take inventory and take action" in developing a heart that is purely God's.

In Christ's love and service,

Sandy Hopler

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Pure, Part 2

by Barbara Wilson (Grace Community Church, Cary, North Carolina)

Dear Ladies,

I wanted to follow up my previous encouragement with a testimony of what God has done in my life since I wrote the article on "pure." God is so good to finish what He started - still perfecting us each day to be more like Him. So this is Pure - Part 2.

A dozen women in our church have been going through Beth Moore's book, Breaking Free. It is a wonderful book that helps her readers shed Satan's strongholds in their lives. When we chose this book, I had specific women in mind in our church who could benefit from taking this book to heart. Of course, since I've been following the Lord for 32 years, combined with being a pastor's wife, I figured I had no struggle with such strongholds. Surely I had dealt with all of them in the past. Right?

Well, a few weeks ago, God came through (as always). I'm usually a calm person until it comes to electronics - when they don't work and I have no idea how to get them to work, I get a bit...feisty. Our computer wasn't working and the "fix it" book that came with it didn't give me the answer. I angrily went to Berk, threw the help books on the counter, and LOUDLY announced that there was nothing I could do to make the computer work! He quickly addressed my attitude. I "repented," but I was still angry. Then a week later, he asked me to help him and I responded in a very ungodly way, a way that I had never responded like before. This time, I was very repentant and went to the Lord for help. Something was very wrong. I was believing a terrible lie from Satan. What was it?

When I was a young girl, my brother used to hit me in the arm and call me two names - DIS (dumb, ignorant, and stupid) or a VIP (very ignorant pig). I heard these names at least once a day for five years. My parents tried to stop him, but to no avail. I think they thought it was kind of cute, and very normal for a brother to harass his sister, but I took the names to heart and they hurt...very badly. And so I grew up believing that I was stupid. I worked hard to graduate first in my high school senior class. I got involved in lots of activities in college, even being crowned Miss Clemson, because I just wanted my parents to affirm that I wasn't stupid. Unfortunately, they never told me anything contrary to what my brother called me.

So, that was the lie. I was stupid. I got so used to the lie and I learned to live with it. I could compensate for the lie in other ways until I was around my family. Then, I would become so stressed because all I could think was "Don't do anything stupid!" And then, of course I would, and Satan would reinforce in my heart what I thought was true all along.

Isaiah 61:1-4 is a beautiful picture of breaking free from the bonds of Satan - the brokenhearted are bound up, the captives are set free, the prisoners are released from darkness, the mourners are comforted, a crown of beauty replaces ashes, and a garment of praise replaces a spirit of despair. Little did I realize that I was in this category of captives and prisoners. Beth Moore does a great job of illustrating how to replace lies with truth and rid ourselves of the shackles of Satan.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations (Isaiah 61:1-4).

So, God and I had several conversations about exposing the lies and replacing them with truth. Isaiah 61:4 says, "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor." What a beautiful illustration of God's goal for each one of us; to be strong in righteousness and display His splendor.

I am still renewing my mind daily with the truth, as Satan still tries to accuse me of being stupid. I really encourage each one of you to take inventory of your heart. Don't be deceived like me into thinking that since you have walked with the Lord for so long, surely there is nothing wrong. If there are recurring attitudes or actions in your life that are contrary to God's Word, you may have a stronghold. It's so easy to stuff the sin and live with it, and be deceived into thinking you're okay. Perhaps there is someone close to you that is struggling with imbedded sin. If you have had repeated conversations with a friend, and she struggles with the same thing over and over, that's the key that Satan has his talons imbedded somewhere in her heart.

Pick up Beth Moore's book. It's worth reading and working through the steps of breaking free. We will more and more display God's splendor as we address sin in our lives, identify strongholds, believe God's truth, and apply His Word in our daily obedience.

I hope this has encouraged you to take inventory and take action. You women are an amazing demonstration to me of God's glory!

If you would like to respond to Barbara, please email info@gccweb.org.