The Wholeness of Holiness

Dear friends,

The reason I highlight this story today is two fold.

First, this is an early bird view of a section of my new book "Lessons I Learned in the Light” which is to be released in July of this year. I wanted my friends to get a sneak peak!

Secondly, this column features someone I love that you can meet if you watch American Idol on Tuesday night! Her name is Mandisa and she is one of the finalists on the popular talent search television show. She is worthy of your view, and worthy of your vote! When she was interviewed as a contestant and asked who her American Idol was, she answered...”Beth Moore!” I love her and so will you!

Some time ago, I was scheduled to be the final speaker at a large women’s convention. Prior to my presentation, Beth Moore dazzled and inspired the thousands of women gathered in the arena. The worship had been skillfully and tenderly led by Travis Cottrell. The weekend had gone beautifully, and God was present with us.

When I awoke on Saturday morning, however, I was nervous. It was my turn to speak and I felt intimidated to follow someone as amazing as Beth. I became anxious and grew more painfully self aware. I prayed and read the Word, but I was still a ball of mixed emotions. I went to breakfast that morning with Mandisa Hundley, a talented and gracious singer and worship leader, who was to lead worship before I spoke. She, like me, was far less known than Beth and Travis.

And so, with Jennifer being full of Jennifer instead of God, I opened my mouth and began to speak. It went something like this: “Mandisa, I sure hope they give you and me a good introduction since no one knows who we are!” I continued on with more unnerving and unnecessary comments. I did not say anything ugly or sinful. I just didn’t say anything that built up Mandisa or the potential of our ministry together.

Within moments Mandisa (who was more full of God than herself) arose, muttered something about brushing her teeth, and quickly excused herself. I sat alone. Well, not totally alone. With me was a growing awareness that I was full of myself, rather than God. It was during that lonely moment that Travis called out “Hey, Jennifer! Do you want me to walk you to the green room?” I tried to keep my composure as we walked, but inside I was crumbling. When we finally got into the green room, there sat Mandisa. Evidently, Travis could tell by her wet eyes and dripping mascara that she had been crying. Without even seeing her, I could tell, too. As soon as the door closed behind us, I also burst into tears. Now at this point, I wish I could have seen Travis! Two women sobbing, for no apparent reason, and there he was, standing in the green room amidst the emotion and estrogen!

I’ll bet his silent prayer at that very moment was, “God, remind me once again that You have called me to work with a bunch of women.” While Travis was praying and possibly pondering his future in ministry, I maneuvered my way to the couch where Mandisa sat and with a frail voice, from my own emptiness, I said, “I’m so sorry, I was wrong and I’m so sorry.” She consoled me and I consoled her. (I don’t know if anyone was consoling poor, bewildered Travis!) All three of us prayed and by the time she went out on stage, Mandisa seemed intact. As she began to minister, her holiness was radiant.

It was then my turn. And, honestly, it was one of the hardest messages I’ve ever presented. All I really wanted to say to that eager crowd of women was, “God was gracious to me! Mandisa is my hero! And I am desperate for God. If He doesn’t fill me, I will fill myself and the result is ugly. I need the whole of God to fill the whole of me. (And, by the way, please pray for Travis. I’m afraid I scared him out of the ministry!)”

Holiness is neither complicated nor self- propelled. It’s not the sum of all the thou-shalts and thou-shalt- nots. It’s not merely the absence of sin, my friend; it’s the absence of self. Holiness, simply put, is the whole of God filling the whole of me. I need His Wholeness, don’t you? The world needs to see the whole of each of us filled with the Whole of God. Otherwise, all they will see is us... full of ourselves, our own insecurities, and our own emptiness.

Let each of us worship the Lord in the beauty of Holiness. In other words, let us present our whole self to Him as an act of worship, and as He fills our emptiness with His Wholeness, the result will be pure, complete, utter, beauty.

Give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! 1 Chronicles 16:29 NKJV

Blessings and Joy,
Jennifer Rothschild
Author of Lessons I Learned in the Dark,
and Founder of WomensMinistry.NET
http://www.jenniferrothschild.com
JR@jenniferrothschild.com

Based On: Ephesians 2:10 - For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do

Description: Our one day retreat was held at a hotel to make it inviting to all women. We talked about how we each contribute to the mosaic of Christ's church with our special gifts. We also talked about how our individual lives also create a mosaic - we have titles including Mom, daughter, wife, caregiver, teacher, chauffeur, cook, Christian, spiritual leader, encourager, listener; and each of these pieces are a tile to put into our mosaic.

We learned that the word "poiema" translated to "workmanship" or "poem". We are God's poem - his workmanship - his masterpiece.

Decorations: Mosaic candle holders

Craft: We created paper mosaics.

Small group time questions:
What qualifies something as a work of art?
Where do artists get their inspiration to create?
What comes to mind when you think of God as being the Creator?
Consider the first time God reveal Himself to you - was it in a way that you consider a work of art, creative or imaginative?

We came back together and talked about caring for the mosaic; as artists care for their tools and their creations, so too should we care for our bodies and our minds.

We closed with "Framing Your Mosaic." Takling about how we will share our mosaic with others:

Living our lives to help others know that they are also God's masterpiece.
Knowing that God has taken the unique part of ourselves and joined it with others to create His mosaic.
To allow ourselves to have a positive self image - see ourselves through God's eyes - as a work of art created by the Great Master Artist.

Submitted by: Kathleen Ordiway Email: kathordiway@yahoo.com Church: First Baptist Church, Niagara Falls, NY

Purpose: Prayer and share time with ladies only

From 6:30 -7pm once a month we invite the ladies in our church to come (and bring a guest) to meet for a time of sharing and prayer. You can meet at the church, or in someone's home. After prayer, we go to a restaurant for a time of food and fun fellowship. You could also have everyone bring potluck.

This has been a great time for woment to bring friends who are in need and provides an opportunity to introduce them to ladies in a "non-church" setting that still meets emotional and spiritual needs. Social needs are met at dinner together and new friendships are made with other members of the ladies group. We do this on the 2nd Monday night of each month.

This was a vision of our ladies leader to reach out to our community. The only money involved is the persons meal which is paid either by the person who invited them or themselves. We pass out flyers (1/2 sheet) each month the week before as a reminder to our members.

Submitted by: Cecilia Hughes
Email:crmhughes@aol.com
Church:Greater Life Church, Webster, TX
Church Size: Below 250

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