Category: Weekly Study Guide

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Time Well Spent

This month of June offers us so
much in spirituality. On the second weekend, we recognize both Shavuot and
Pentecost. Moments in the Torah and the Bible, where God extends his holy
spirit to the world.

According to many scholars, the
Jewish holy day of Shavuot has
a dual importance. It signifies the very important wheat harvest in Israel (Exodus 34:22), and it celebrates the anniversary of the day when
God gave the Torah to the nation of Israel on Mount
Sinai. It occurs 50 days after Passover. The Torah represents God’s Spirit externally
blanketing Israel to allow His words to move internally.

The Christian holy day of Pentecost, is recognized fifty days after Easter Sunday. It honors the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ, during the Jerusalem celebration of Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles, Acts 2:1–31. This time around, God choose to work from the interior of his people, to move His spirit to the external, to touch the lives of all people.

“…the LORD does
not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart.” ~ 1 Samuel 16:7

Though both celebrations are of equal importance, in the New Covenant, Pentecost is concerned with what is in our hearts. This is why God chose to place His Holy Spirit inside the committed disciples of Jesus Christ. He did this so that they could share the good news to all.

As women, we are up against so much. And, at times the chores, concerns, and circumstances of our days can strip us of the person God created us to be. This is why it is important to take time to simply talk with God. The empowerment we seek whether as boss, employee, business owner, daughter, wife, or friend is already written on our hearts. Let’s allow Jesus to guide us back to our Holy.

May June offer you precious and memorable moments with Our Father! And, may it be a joyous month for you.

Rev. Charlotte

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A Mother’s Sadness Ignites a King

With Mother’s Day just a few days away, I am led to think of the wonderful and strong women of the Bible. The hardship and stress they each faced, seems unbearable. Songs are made of Sarah and Hagar, poems and declarations are made about Mary, the mother of Jesus. But today, I’d like to take a glimpse into the life of Rizpah.

To teach Saul a lesson, David ordered seven of Saul’s descendants to be killed. This stemmed from his evil behavior toward the Gibeonites. Rizpah lost two of her sons in this killing. Their names were Armoni and Mephibosheth. She had these sons with Saul.

Rizpah mourned heavily for her sons. She laid down a sackcloth near the spot where their bodies were placed, and remained there from the first harvest to the first rain storm. She kept a watchful eye to make sure birds and other animals did not vandalize the bodies of her loved ones.

The author continues to tell us that David heard of her mourning and went to where she was, and took the bones of the deceased bodies. God then gave favor to the land once again (2 Samuel 21:8-12).

When someone leaves us whether by a broken relationship or death, we all try to seek closure. We may also question why this happened, as we try to find peace. Rizpah did not have anyone to talk to, she didn’t have a husband or a close friend; therefore, her time of lonely mourning may have been quite difficult, accompanied by many sleepless nights.

The sins of the father, Saul, affected his sons and descendants, but God knew that Rizpah was not to blame. He kept her safe during her 6 months of living in the wilderness. And, it’s through Rizpah’s persistence that the drought finally ended. If she had just decided to leave her place of mourning and simply give up, David would not have known of her diligence. His taking of the bones of her sons, and burying them, quenched the land once again.

No matter what we are going through, remember that our Lord knows and he cares for us. He understands our hearts, and hears our calls. He made us to be mothers, and to be gentle beings. He adores our feminine nature, which is often needed to soften our sometimes harsh world. And, he hurts when we hurt, our pain as well as our happiness, are always significant to him.

May you have a beautiful Mother’s Day and joy-filled May, 2019!

With love,

Charlotte

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Significant Livelihood

“My, how time flies”… was an idiom my mother used often while I was a young girl. She used it to refer to friends who may have left her circle for a year or two and to signify the return of family members studying or who may have moved abroad. With April already upon us, this saying seems to be creeping around in my head more often than I would like. And, I believe it is based on all that I must accomplish today, tomorrow, and this year.

It is my daily routine to work without an audience and void of accolades. I’ve never been one to garner praises for what I do. In fact, I only have a profile on Linkedin, because I believe that I needed to; a thought encouraged by colleagues. But honestly, when I have the opportunity….or even better, when I decide to delete this profile, I will be quite relieved. My heart flutters right at this moment, just thinking about how freeing that moment will be.  No more viewing of status sharing, promotions, awards…nothing like that. Whew!

“Whatever you do, do your work willingly as though you were serving the Lord himself, and not just your human earthly master.” (Colossians 3: 23). For some, verse 22 of this chapter can be hurtful, specifically as referred to the word slaves. Yet, if we continue on the path of secular society, we become slaves to everything shoved at us. Nonetheless, as believers we know that if we become workers of the Bible and our service for Christ, we are redeemed.

To do so, we must reject shallow living. The type of living where we need to have tangible accolades and rewards. We must simply stop being show-offs to the non-Christian world. This world is superficial and if we are not careful, causes us to crave more of what it has set us up to believe about who we are and about what we need. This is not the way!

To re-route, all we need is Jesus Christ. When we serve Him completely, our work reflects compassion, service, kindness, and pleasantries. Not competition and putting ourselves first.

Let’s look toward our eternal journey. When we live completely for Christ, the path toward our heavenly destiny becomes so much easier. Let’s just be centered on Love.

Rev. M. Charlotte Oliver

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New Year…Same Ole’ You or New You?

Every time we are offered a new year, this event provides most the opportunity to turn over a new leaf. The other side of this leaf may be to lose 20 pounds, to find real love, to start a new job, or simply to be better than the year before.

This week for the most special reason (it’s where God wanted me to be), I spent a great time reading through the book of Galatians. In verse 5, the Apostle Paul encourages us to walk by the Spirit. He didn’t just suggest that we do this, he took the time to explain what it means to be in a constant pace with God. To walk upright we must not practice:

immortality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, and carousing.

Wow! That’s a lot to consider, huh?

But I believe, offers us a friendly reminder of things we may have done in 2018 that perhaps we should avoid this year, 2019. Women captivating to God, follow his guidelines. We wait for the God-centered husband, and this husband ‘waits’ for us. So many of us today, do not think twice when it comes to physical sensuality before marriage. This group adhere to the behaviors of the outer world, and not that of the spiritual inner world, which is God’s temple. Consider this…If you had the opportunity to visit His temple for a day, would you do something in this sacred space that is not honorable to Him?

In his letter to the church of Galatia, the Apostle Paul laid out the foundation of how to live a noble life; one that is pleasing to God. Here as follows:

To inherit the kingdom of God we must know and practice the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When we love ourselves, we can be ready to eat healthy foods and exercise more to reach the New Year weight loss goals we set. Impure thoughts and actions can no longer be a part of who we are. We are modest in our dress, and restrain from sensuality with the people we date. We teach each other to love one another through the letting go of strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, envy, and perhaps supporting a friend in his or her quest toward sobriety.  We become joyful, gentle, and peaceful. Through self-control, we have faith that all challenges will pass. We become goodness in all areas of our lives.

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh rather, serve one another humbly in love.” – Galatians 5:13

So, as you continue your stride into 2019, reflect on the Apostle Paul’s words and try to incorporate them into every area of your life. I’ll always lift you up in prayer and ask that you do the same for me.

May Christ be with you, always.

Rev. Charlotte

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Core Values of Captivating Women’s Ministry

Doctrinal Veracity: We embrace every person for the purpose of discovering a communal ground in the spiritual tenets and goals we all share. For this reason, we encourage the exploration of spiritual texts from the Bible, as the avenue to feminine wholeness.

Spiritual Vigor: We understand that some take different paths to knowing God; however, our path is through the love and appreciation of Jesus Christ. If this is not your path, we still welcome you to our circle.

Motivation: We do not exist to obtain knowledge only. In its place the epistemology acquired and relationships built in this forum, are far reaching to extend into our everyday communities. We consistently walk our talk as child, parent, wife, significant other, companion, neighbor, family member, friend, co-worker, acquaintance, and, as stranger.

Excellence: We excel as true authentic followers of  Jesus exemplifying all that is good. We are virtuous in all that we do. We respect and honor those with whom we are bonded to, and live a life which exudes the essences of  well-being, optimism, mutuality, appreciation, and nobility (WOMAN).

Servant Leadership: We follow the model of Divine Intelligence (DI) to apply guidance through the acts of fostering and authentically encouraging those around us. We give credit where credit is due, in the knowing that as we learn together, we thrive together.