Month: February 2018

by Christine Disibio

I recently read an article written by a millennial about why millennials and church don’t seem to mix. This article left me MAD. The article said that 59% of millennials raised in church are currently not attending. It then went on to state why. What made me so mad was that really many in my generation agree with this article. It’s sad.

Why is there distain for the Church? Do we know what the Church actually is? In its purest form, it is the body of CHRIST, the hands and feet of Jesus. The church is the Bride of CHRIST. The Church isn’t about an individual; it is about relationship and unity and a mission-focused life-style. It is meant to be life giving, uplifting, unifying, love seeking, and edifying. The church offers fulfilling relationships, first with God, then with each other, then out to the lost and broken world. It is a bunch of people who are so madly in love with Jesus and so forever grateful to Him that they can’t wait to be together to praise Him and be with Him in spite of all of our imperfections.

We run into problems in the church when we have people who love themselves and their individuality more than they love Jesus. People like you and me — :).  LISTEN, I or anyone of you are not better than any church leader or church attendant. We are all flawed, and the thought that my flaws are not as bad as yours is pride. Big PRIDE, spiritual PRIDE. God opposes the proud, and He spits the lukewarm out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). That statement should scare us.

I pray, Father, by the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ that you would break the sprit of pride off the millennial generation of your people! Father, remove the veil of pride and arrogance we see through, in Jesus’ name! Jesus, we need a revelation of Your love. Oh, God, if only You would reveal Your love to us, we would be forever changed.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind” which means putting nothing before Him. He also said that to “love your neighbor as yourself” is the second greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-39) That even means to love the pastor who hurt you. We need a revelation of God’s love, his forever agape love… without it we cannot possibly love His people. Without is we can’t possibly love him.

The path to His love:  

• When all you see is problems, LOOK TO JESUS.
• When all you see is the world, LOOK TO JESUS.
• When you see good, LOOK TO JESUS.
• When you see prideful and arrogant leaders, LOOK TO JESUS.
• Whenever you see anything but the cross before you and your old life behind you, LOOK TO JESUS.

Wake up, you sleeping generation, wake up and look up. Focus your eyes on what is above, and He will make right the details of your life.

If you are discouraged or have been hurt by your church, ask God where you should be. If He tells you to stay where you are, then ask Him what you should do. He will tell you to pray; I know he will. Then when you have His answer, He may set you to do something to bring restoration, but everything starts with prayer.

Now is the time! Members of our generation are mostly adults; therefore, we must take responsibility for our own actions before God. We all need to submit to God and follow His word so He can show us how to forgive so He can heal us and restore us. He so desperately wants to!!!!

A benefit of being restored to relationship with other believers is having mentors available who are farther along in their walks with Jesus. I am blessed to have mentors in my life. I started out by serving them, getting around them as much as I could and being humble and available to help them in any way possible. I still serve them, and I still arrange my plans to get near them whenever possible. I purpose to remain soft, supple and open before them and God, but I cannot have a relationship with Jesus through anyone else. People around me to help me, guide me, encourage me or admonish me are great as long as it all points me to Jesus. But nothing, nothing replaces Him. HE, will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). HE is able to heal all my wounds, and satisfy all my needs. He can do the same for you. He is able to do immeasurably more then we can ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Nothing replaces our personal relationships with him. Within that relationship he changes us and molds us. Our lives flow from that relationship.

As you seek Him, He will place the desire in your heart to be part of a community of believers, a church, if you let him. Within that church, there will be leaders, and administrators with whom you might not always agree, but scripture says God appoints them (Romans 13;1), and God also tell us to pray for them (1 Timothy 2:2). Within that body there will be preachers and teachers, prophets, worshipers, intercessors, and leaders. There will be mentors and helpers– people who are gifted at serving and giving. All these people will work together, and if they operate in humility, their effort will be blessed. If they are obedient to God, He will open the flood gates and bless them and you with His presence and glory.

I encourage you to PRAY, to seek first the kingdom of heaven, to seek the heart of God and to know your heart before him, establish a relationship with him. Then GO find a body, a church, find where God wants you to be. He has a gift, a talent, a spot for you. Not one of us is too good to take out the trash. Consider it an honor in the house of the Lord. He may use you to heal a crowd of a thousand with leprosy one day and ask you to serve cheese the next. But HE has a place for you! You just need to get involved, plugged in and  serve!!!!

Click here for Part 2: A call to Prayer for a Generation

Christine Disibio is a speaker for Women of the Word, an inter-denominational and inter-generational conference ministry. She is a millennial with a heart to reach them and the iGeneration with the Gospel. In the everyday circumstances of life, the light of Jesus shines into darkness. Her life is rooted in applying biblical principles and prayer.

Christine and her husband are entrepreneurs who see their business as an avenue to witness of God’s redemptive purposes to their employees and customers. They have two young children and live in New England.

Christine will be leading a session at “Fearless Love”, the spring Women of the Word conference on April 28, 2018 in Bristol, Connecticut. The keynote speaker is Barbara Benton. Worship will be led by Josh and Elizabeth Eldridge. 

by Christine Disibio

Click here to read Part 1: A Message to Millenials from a Millenial

I am a member of the group of people they call “Millennials” although I don’t feel as if I fit the common description of that group, and I wonder if other millennials feel the same. The media and pretty much every person who is older than a millennial like to describe us using words most of which are not edifying or encouraging. Who are the millennials? Why have they been so disparaged?

Technically the millennial generation spans the birth years of about 1980-2000 or so. People say if you were born in the early portion of the generation (as was I) you’re not so bad. Really what I want to know is why are any of us considered bad? It has become so popular to mock the millennial generation, I am left to rationalize that it is the devil himself who is out to get us. Even millennials themselves don’t know how to speak life over the generation. I confess I have been one of those people.

We are created in the image of God, we are his children, and He loves us. He made us unique individuals with gifts and talents, and he has a great desire to be in relationship with us. I really wish people of all ages would stop speaking destruction and death over our generation.

I want to plead with you to pray for this generation. Satan himself is after us! He is after all mankind, but never in history has he sought such destruction against an entire generation. Abortion is one of the proofs. Roe v. Wade in 1973 legalized abortion, a mere 9 years before the first precious millennial baby was born. According to the National Right to Life website, approximately 31,700,000 babies have been aborted in the years 1982-2002. That is 31,700,000 babies murdered who would have been members of my generation. My husband and I sat on our couch adding up the numbers year by year… we sat in silence, in horror. Deeply saddened, my husband noted that the number of aborted millennials is roughly ten times the population of Connecticut.

OH MY GOD, MY GOD HAVE MERCY ON US! Father, that you would still call us your children and want to bless us after such perversity. We have allowed ourselves to be fooled by satan into thinking we aren’t doing anything wrong by destroying these most fragile of lives. Lord, forgive us. Lord, thank you for your forgiveness, heal us, oh God. Heal our land, heal our people, heal our souls.

There is a song on Christian radio by Tauren Wells:

People hurting, people broken, beaten down and feeling hopeless….Wonder if it’s gonna always be this way?

Who will speak up for the captive? Show some love and heal a past that binds the wounds we think will never go away.

But what if we could be a people on our knees as one before the KING ‘Cause we believe. All the world starts changing when the church starts praying! Strongholds start to break……Oh, when we pray! Prison walls start shaking at the sound of praising. Nothing stays the same…. Oh, when we pray….Oh, when we pray…. oh in Jesus name…

I believe that all to be truth. If we would all stop speaking death over millennials and start uplifting then in prayer and speaking life…if we would all pray that satan and all his demons would SHUT UP and be gone in Jesus name! Listen, millennials are up against a lot. They have inherited a lot of iniquity, and little understanding of the state of their own souls. Many are hurting and some, no doubt, have been hurt by the church. People of God, the time is now to pray for this millennial generation. Will you join me? 

Click here to Read Part 1: A Message to Millenials from a Millenial

Christine Disibio is a speaker for Women of the Word, an inter-denominational and inter-generational conference ministry. She is a millennial with a heart to reach them and the iGeneration with the Gospel. In the everyday circumstances of life, the light of Jesus shines into darkness. Her life is rooted in applying biblical principles and prayer.

Christine and her husband are entrepreneurs who see their business as an avenue to witness of God’s redemptive purposes to their employees and customers. They have two young children and live in New England.

Christine will be leading a session at “Fearless Love”, the spring Women of the Word conference on April 28, 2018 in Bristol, Connecticut. The keynote speaker is Barbara Benton. Worship will be led by Josh and Elizabeth Eldridge. 

by Betsy Roy

Another mass school shooting happened in our nation this week. A high school in Parkland, Florida was the scene of 17 senseless deaths.

It seems like a bad nightmare is being replayed. For many of us it is almost too painful to watch; too painful to look at the pictures of the victims, never mind the videos of the event. Yet, we can’t just pretend that nothing is happening all around us. We’d like to. We’d like to forget and just move on. But the cycle continues: a mass shooting – outrage and lots of comments on social media – some tears and some prayers – little if any action – forget and move on – some time passes – another mass shooting.

Many have ideas of how to break the cycle and stop this insanity. Few do anything, expecting someone else to act and fix it. As Christians we must ask “What does the LORD require of us?” The Bible points us to many places one of which is Micah 6:8:

“O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right (act justly), to love mercy (kindness), and to walk humbly with your God. “ (NLT) Read different versions here.

1. Do what is right – act justly and live righteously, following God’s ways in relationship with him and with people. It means to live unselfishly by putting other’s needs before your own. Let your “talk” be known by your “walk”. Live authentically. Write letters to government officials expressing your views. Respond to hatred and evil with love as Jesus taught us.
2. Love mercy and kindness – show your children the way of the Lord by how you live. Talk to them about how to be kind to others.Do not tolerate bullying. Reach out to the lonely and forgotten. Consider getting involved in your child’s or grandchild’s school. Pay attention to the other children in the classroom. Click here for one teacher’s strategy that speak volumes. 
3. Walk humbly with your God – exemplify a life of prayer that earnestly seeks God in knowing what to do and how to live. Pray for others. Pray for your child’s or grandchild’s school, administrators, teachers and schoolmates. Do this regularly.

Our nation has lost its way. We have taken God out of the school. It’s more than time to stand up as Christians and say “enough”. We do this by how we live. We will pray. We will believe God and trust him for his protection. We will live lives that honor God and teach our children to do the same. We will reach out to others in Christ’s love and seek to bring his comfort and healing to those that are hurting. We will act in the school and within government. We will not sit idly by, forgetting the lives that have been lost. Right now we pray for Parkland, Florida and we will continue to do so, asking God to intervene in that community and bring his light into the darkness. We “weep with those who weep.” (Romans 12:15)

Don’t go it alone! Gather others to pray and act with you – even two or three can make an impact. A group of people can encourage each other and help keep one another focused and accountable. It’s too easy to start and then quit. Perseverance is key. Here are some suggestions on how to start a prayer watch written by Mike and Cindy Jacobs.

Women of the Word is committed to pray for our children and grandchildren and to teach them the ways of the LORD. We desire to raise up godly offspring and encourage the generations following us to live out Micah 6:8. 

Please join us at a WOW gathering soon! We welcome women of all denominations, cultures and generations.

by Betsy Roy 

Click here to hear this message in its entirety on mp3

I have been spending a lot of time in the book of Haggai (ESV) over the last several weeks, reading it in several different versions of the Bible, studying some of the words in Hebrew and asking the Lord to bring revelation. What is HE saying? What does it mean for Women of the Word? Here are some things I gleaned:

• It’s good to “Give careful thought to your ways” (Haggai 1:4 & 7 NIV). Am I changing more into the image of Jesus? Do I reflect His likeness to others more than I did a year ago? Is the fruit of the Spirit evident in my life? If not, I must sincerely take time before the Lord and ask Him to examine my heart and motives and be willing to make adjustments as He directs.
• Obey the voice of the Lord and fear (reverence) the Lord (Haggai 1:12). Obedience results in blessing and peace. It also affects others because nothing happens in a vacuum. The Body of Christ is a community.
• Know that God is with us (Haggai 1:13, Haggai 1:4 & 5). Jesus echoed this when He said “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
• The Lord STIRRED (ESV) up the spirit of Zerubbabel (governor), Joshua (high priest), and all the remnant of the people (Haggai 1:14). In the NLT the word stirred is translated SPARKED! It means to arouse and awaken. Are you catching what God is doing? He is working on three levels: governmentally, in the Church, and among the people. HE is doing this in 2018!
• Three times the Lord says “Be strong” (Haggai 2:4). He says it to Zerubbabel (governor of Judah), Joshua (the high priest), and the people. He’s not just saying it to the leaders! HELLO! Please hear me. He’s saying it to YOU and me! 
• We tend to look back at the “former glory” or the “glory days.” The book of Haggai is about the Jewish people returning from exile in Babylon. They are attempting to rebuild the destroyed temple of Solomon. But they become disinterested, discouraged and dissastified. They were more interested in building their own houses rather than the house of the Lord. Once they did start building they became discouraged because it was taking a long time and they had to fight against enemy interference. The older generation who had seen the First Temple was dissastified with the Second Temple because it didn’t have the splendor of Solomon’s temple. For us this means we must stop looking at what “church” or “the ministry” looked like in the past. We judge by our eyes. God is interested in building a dwelling place for Himself within us (individually and corporately). Let’s stop looking at the “former glory” (Haggai 2:3). He promises that that the future glory will be greater than the past (Haggai 2:9). For baby-boomers, like me, that tells me I ought to be encouraging and mentoring the millenials and future generations to live authentically and passionately for God.
• God is shaking the heavens and the earth (all nations), but He has all resources at His disposal to build His dwelling place among men (Haggai 2:6 – 9).
• God has made an everlasting covenant of peace with us, His dwelling place, and He affirms it again (Haggai 2:9).
• If I were to summarize these OT verses in NT terms, I would say “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). Jesus tells us 6 times in this chapter “do not be anxious.” Anxiety is rampant in the world and in the church. We must actively live out “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6 ESV)  Then we can expect that the “peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7 ESV)

As a result of studying the book of Haggai (ESV) I’ve made some decisions. I will NOT be  disinterested, disfocused, discouraged, nor dissastified.  I will NOT give into anxiety. I will seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and I will get to work building the dwelling place of the Lord in myself, the church and in Women of the Word in whatever ways He shows me. Will you join me? 

Click here to hear this message in its entirety on mp3.