Note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Watch for Part 2 next week.

Ever wish you could visit with a group of Amish or Mennonite women over a cup of coffee? In the pages of Homespun, Amish and Plain Mennonite women swap stories and spin yarns while we listen in. Lorilee Craker, bestselling author of Money Secrets of the Amish, collects these personal writings about hospitality, home, grief, joy and walks with God.

The stories include one woman who struggles with feeling inferior to her sister, from another about her longing for a baby and from a third who accidentally bought stretchy material to sew her husband’s pants. Each woman’s story is a testament to the grace of God and the blessings of community.

Q: What was the inspiration behind your new book, Homespun? How did you collect the stories included in the book?

Herald Press approached me about being the general editor of a collection of writings from Amish and Mennonite women. I collected the stories from mainly two sources, Daughters of Promise magazine, a beautiful and beautifully written literary journal done by conservative Mennonite women, and Ladies Journal, a much more spare periodical by Amish women.

It was thrilling for me to discover new writers and incredible writing from mostly unknown writers. These women have a lot to say, and I was fascinated by their take on modern life. To hear from women specifically appealed to me, as a feminist. Sometimes in conservative subcultures, their voices are silenced or muted. This book gives them space and grace to speak.

Q: In what ways were you challenged to rethink your concept of welcome and hospitality?

In our HGTV era, we can begin to believe that hospitality equals a perfectly renovated and decorated space. I love all that stuff, and that’s great, but these writers helped me get back to the true meaning of opening your home to others. I had just bought this table set for my patio, but all summer had hosted only one time. Why? Because of the weeds! Meanwhile, I could have blessed my guests all summer. These essays helped me get back to the idea of lengthening the table, not caring as much if things were “perfect.”

Q: The advice in the “Abide” section varies from painting your home bright colors to reflect yourself to having plenty of white space. However, decorating tips really aren’t the point. How does the section on abide differ from hospitality?

Hospitality is about opening your home to others, while the act of dwelling is different. How do we create a nest that nurtures and shelters us? Bethany Hege’s piece called “White Space” is one of the loveliest pieces in the book and one of the most insightful things I have ever read on the topic of home décor and design. “Keep it simple but keep it significant,” she writes. Her words really challenged me to do just that. For example, I framed an 8 x 10 print which reads, “Cheap Like Borscht,” a saying known to Russian Mennonites and something my dad would always say. Every year, I make sure and buy gladioli because they were my Grandma’s favorite flowers. I hung a large photo of a field with flax and canola—the two crops my Grandpa farmed—over my fireplace. To me, I am keeping things simple but significant.

Q: All of the stories in Homespun could actually fall under the category of testimony, but how do the stories in that section stand out among the others?

“The Lord is My Rock” profoundly moved me. Ervina Yoder tells about giving birth to her stillborn son. “I go to the grocery store and no one knows I’m a mommy,” she writes. Every time I read that, I get chills of sorrow. Yet her faith also gives me chills.

Q: Can you share one of the modern-day miracle stories included in the book?

Danielle Beiler’s “When You put Your Money in God’s Bank Account” is one of my favorite pieces in the book. It’s a very detailed journal, really, of God’s provision for her day to day. I love how she never ran out of gas, no matter how low her tank got. It reminds me of manna from heaven, except in this case manna was fuel!

Q: How is the preeminence of family different among the Mennonites and Amish versus those in other communities?

I think the biggest thing is our shared experiences. We are the “peculiar people,” an ethnic subculture with no homeland (so people don’t think we are an ethnicity) with a shared history of terrible suffering (especially the Russian Mennonites, the most recent wave of immigration from Ukraine who still have family members who remember living in Stalinist Russia). Those shared experiences set us apart and make our families close knit because we understand each other in a way no one else does.

Q: What does it mean to be one of God’s beloved? How do the stories reflect that belonging?

These women have a deep, radical faith that spreads so much light. This was the hardest section from which to choose because there were so many moving pieces. “Rebuilding from the Shambles of Shame,” for example, is profound. She compares the process of rising up out of shame to restoring a crumbling old house. Often while reading these pieces I felt stirred and uplifted.

Q: What do you ultimately hope readers will gain from reading Homespun?

I hope they will find a pocket of peace and gentle witness in their hectic, modern lives. These women have a countercultural, singular mindset that is refreshingly different. I hope our readers will see their own stories in a new, Homespun light! {eoa}

Learn more about Lorilee Craker online at . You can also find her on Facebook (@LorileeCraker), Twitter (@lorileecraker) and Instagram (@thebooksellersdaughter).

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s by the Spirit, he came into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law,he received Him in his arms and blessed God and said:

“Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation (Luke 2:25-30).

The name “Simeon” refers to hearing. Over two decades ago, the Holy Spirit highlighted Simeon to me, a man who ran his race with determination and in faith until the very end. I recognized that, although most everyone else in Jerusalem was clueless that the Messiah and sovereign King of the universe had been born, Simeon was in tune and heard the Lord.

Three years before this, back in 1993, Holy Spirit showed my husband, Randy, that we were going to have another son, and that we were to name him Simeon. Just as God promised Simeon that he would not die until he saw the birth of the Messiah, our son Simeon and his generation would live to see the second coming of Christ. The Lord told my husband not to tell me the name—that He would reveal it to me in His perfect timing, which happened to be approximately three years later. Our son Simeon John was born in 1996; he is now almost 22 years old.

Based on this personal revelation, I believe that we, or at least our children and grandchildren, are living in the generation that will witness the return of Christ. Therefore, it is imperative that we are tuned in and sensitive to the Holy Spirit and stay active in faith all the way to the end of our lives, pouring into the next generation, like Simeon in Luke 2.

Finishing the race well will look different for everyone—for one, it is serving as a watchman on the wall in the global prayer movement; to another, it might entail discipling the younger generation; and to others, it might be more of an evangelistic focus.

The way we end our race is more important than how it began. Like Simeon, we want to be in sync with God’s perfect will, at the right place at the right time, pleasing God. Otherwise, we’ll have a misdirected focus, and we will miss out on the fullness of God’s intended destiny for our lives.

It’s sad to see older saints slip into patterns of fear, self-pity, depression and bitterness. But the common theme in the Bible is running the race of faith to win, and fixing our eyes on Jesus—He is the prize! The longer I live, the more I realize just how sovereign God is and how intimately involved He wants to be in our lives (see Ps. 46:1–5, 97:9, 145:18; Dan. 4:17).

I recently heard the Holy Spirit say, “Let love set the pace of your day.” Love never fails. Whenever we are yielded to the Spirit and motivated by His ways of love, we will enter His rest and glorify God (see Heb. 4:9–10). Those who are challenging to be around are gifts from God to teach us to love and are usually the ones who need to be loved the most. End your race loving others well (Matt. 5:43–48; 1 John 2:3–11).

In Acts 20:24b, Paul states, “”that I may joyfully finish my course and the ministry which I have received from the Lord Jesus.” For Paul, there was a high cost to following Jesus faithfully to the end. The same is true for many other heroes of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11 and referred to as the “great cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1–2.

Joshua is an excellent example of someone who faithfully completed his journey. Here are some insights on his life from a devotional by T. Covey entitled “Joshua—A Man Full of Commitment”:

There are many great things said of the man named Joshua in the Old Testament. Joshua was a man full of humility, full of faith, full of the Spirit, and full of courage.

Joshua’s life was also full of adventure. He witnessed the plagues, the giving of the Law, and the people always complaining. He saw a river parting, not once, but twice. He watched the mighty walls of Jericho crash as the people shouted. He saw Achan and his family die from their stoning. Most of all, he had a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus. Few human beings have ever experienced more than Joshua.

If Joshua had lived in modern times, he could have written a best-seller. Just think of the possible titles!

“Don’t Go Camping With a Bunch of Bellyachers”

“The Day the Sun Stood Still”

“Harlots Who Escape by a Thread”

Joshua’s book would not have been complete if he had not been able to write the final chapter. Someone has said, “It matters little how you begin the race. It’s how you finish that counts!” Joshua was a man full of commitment, and he finished well.

At the end of the book of Joshua, Joshua knows that his earthly life is almost over. He gathers all the leaders of Israel together and reminds them of what God has done for them since the time of Abraham. He recounts explicitly all that happened after they crossed the Jordan River and entered the Promised Land. He tells how they conquered their foes with God’s help. He also points out how God let them be defeated when sin had entered their midst. Joshua finishes by urging the people to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully.

Near the end of his life, Joshua stood before the people and said:

“Therefore, fear the Lord and worship Him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship—the gods your fathers worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord” (Josh. 24:14–15, CSB).

For 110 years, Joshua had faithfully served the Lord. He had fought battles, crossed raging rivers, defeated enemies and stood firm when others didn’t. Therefore, at the end of his life, he could boldly say, “As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.”

What a testimony! What a life! What a man of God!

God is calling you to walk by faith just like Joshua did. The first key is to hear from God. Next, you must believe God. Lastly, you must act on what God is telling you to do. It is time for you to take your stand for the Lord just like Joshua, Simeon and all the faithful men and women of God have done over the many centuries of human history.

Beloved, don’t settle for mediocrity in the remaining years of your life. This quote is very fitting: “Don’t give in to short-term thinking! Stay focused on the end game. You don’t get the trophy until the race is over, so be determined to finish strong!”

Here are some other essential keys to finishing one’s race in victory:

Self-condemnation is a snare of the enemy because it keeps our focus on ourselves—don’t go there (Rom. 8:1).

Don’t allow your flesh with its passions and desires to rule your life—yield to the fruits of the Holy Spirit instead (Gal.5:22–25).

Shake off regret and focus on the positive—regret only chains you to the past. It’s not about doing everything perfectly; it’s about moving forward. God’s not limited to our mistakes or dependent on our successes. Our identity is secure in Christ and not based on performance (Phil. 3:3–14).

Anne Graham Lotz and others in the Carolinas are already experiencing the punishing outer bands of Hurricane Florence. But the popular evangelist also faces what she calls her own “personal hurricane”: a recent diagnosis of breast cancer. In this interview with WRAL (Raleigh, North Carolina) she shares words of prophetic encouragement for all those in the path of personal storms.

My heart was gripped with such sorrow when I read the news story last week about pastor Stoecklein, who took his life.

He struggled with depression and anxiety.

While it may seem to us strange that a pastor, who leads and teaches the church, should struggle with anxiety and depression, the fact is that 1 in 4 pastors struggle in these areas.

Many parishioners who have little understanding of the deep, inner personal struggles a pastor faces on a daily basis.

This list of statistics reveals a lot about the attacks our pastors face regularly, and reveals why depression and anxiety are so prevalent in the pulpit and why many pastors feel they battle some level of mental illness.

We need to pray for our pastors.

It is easy to forget that while our pastors have a level of authority given to them by God, they are still human. They still struggle with the same issues we all have.

They still struggle with sin.

In a way, their struggle can even be greater because the enemy would love nothing more than to completely destroy a pastor and his family.

They are on the front-lines of battle.

7 War Room Prayers You Can Pray Over Your Pastor

1. “Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching” (2 Tim. 4:2).

“Heavenly Father, I pray for my pastor today that You would strengthen him to preach the Word. Help him be ready in every season and in every situation to speak your word to those who come across his path. Sharpen his mind so that he can convince, rebuke, and exhort patiently and lovingly, teaching us and guiding us as Your disciples.”

2. “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).

“Heavenly Father, strengthen my pastor and his wife today with your supernatural strength and joy. Help them to stand firm and multiply their work and labor for You. Help them to know that their labor is not in vain, and help us to know how best to encourage and bless them as our faithful pastors.”

3. “But those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary,
and they shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:31).

“Heavenly Father, remind my pastor today how valuable and necessary it is that he wait on You for daily renewal. Remind him that his strength comes from daily waiting on You in Your presence. Give him the strength today to face every situation with joy in the mighty power of the Holy Spirit.”

4. “For you need patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive the promise” (Heb. 10:36).

“Heavenly Father, help my pastor and his family today to continue in joyful endurance, knowing that fulfilling Your will and call for their life will be rewarded with the promise You given to us in your Word. Remind us, as their congregation, to encourage and bless them and to daily lift them up before you as our faithful pastor’s family.”

5. “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

“Heavenly Father, I pray for my pastor and his family today. Provide for their every need. They are so faithful in serving us, I pray that you will meet every spiritual need, every emotional need and every physical and financial need they have. In Jesus’ name.”

6. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:13).

“Heavenly Father, I know that pastors face a lot of pressure every day; and many of them deal with far more stress than we realize. I pray that you fill my pastor and his wife and children with all joy and peace. Strengthen their faith to believe in the call you given them. I pray that their hearts will overflow with hope, by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Protect them from the strategy of the enemy to destroy them and their testimony. Give them spiritual understanding to see ahead of time the trap that the enemy has laid for them and the wisdom to use the Word of God as their weapon of defense. Give us, as their congregation, wisdom to know how to pray for our pastor and his family.”

7. “That you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, pleasing to all, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might according to His glorious power, enduring everything with perseverance and patience joyfully” (Col. 1:10-11).

“Heavenly Father, I pray that our pastor and his family will finish strong. Help them to remain faithful to You and Your commands each day. Help them to walk worthy of you, pleasing you and bearing good fruit through their faithful work for your kingdom. Increase their knowledge of You, as they daily spend time in your presence. Strengthen them by the might of Your Holy Spirit, according to your glorious power! Help them to bear patience and long-suffering in their life, along with the joy of the Lord that will strengthen them each day as they faithfully serve You and the church.” {eoa}

Rosilind Jukic, a Pacific Northwest native, is a missionary living in Croatia and married to her hero. Together, they live with their two active boys in the country, where she enjoys fruity candles and a hot cup of herbal tea on a blustery fall evening. She holds an associate degree in practical theology and is passionate about discipling and encouraging women. Her passion for writing led her to author a number of books. She is the author of “A Little R & R,” where she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be. She can also be found at these other places on a regular basis. You may follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.

This article originally appeared at .

We were watching a competition show on TV last night, and one of the judges tried to encourage a young contestant by telling him, “Remember: You’re enough. You’ve always been enough.” And I lit up. I’m so mad right now just thinking about it that I can feel my pulse rate going up.

Do you realize there are a whole bunch of these little expressions that creep into our culture, and they’re like gross jelly beans? “Oh look, candy!” you say, until you pop it in your mouth and realize it’s actually barf flavor. Why do they make those disgusting flavors? Why do people buy them and eat them?

“You’re enough” is a sweet-coated, candy-shaped expression that we hear all of the time, but let’s open the Word of God together and look at the truth about ourselves: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

We’re not enough. We’ve never been enough.

I can feel this as school starts, and I know there are going to be times when my precious students say and do what is wrong. And I know from years of experience now that there will be times all throughout the year when I’m going to have to say to a student, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that to you” or “I’m sorry, I should not have done that.”

We fall short. We’ve always fallen short.

Which is why we need Jesus in a desperate way, from the minute we wake up until the minute our heads hit the pillow. This is why we hear the blessed words of Psalm 23:1: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” My husband preached a good one last week and said that we’re always desperately needy, but Jesus is always the shepherd.

Jesus brings the “enough.”

C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity, uses the word “relief.”

I wish I had got a bit further with humility myself: if I had, I could probably tell you more about the relief, the comfort, of taking the fancy-dress off—getting rid of the false self, with all its “Look at me” and “Aren’t I a good boy?” and all its posing and posturing. To get even near it, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert.

Let’s pick the candy-coated, barf-flavored expressions out of our language and throw them in the trash. Feel the sweet relief of humility, as you say, “I am not enough and never will be, but thank God He sent Jesus to be all that I lack.” We reach out needy hands and rejoice in having all we need in the Good Shepherd. {eoa}

This article originally appeared at .

Join the celebration as David and Nicole Binion take believers before the throne at the 2018 Charisma Conference. Worship as you watch!

In Romans 16:7 Paul says, “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles who also were in Christ before me” NKJV). Although the NKJV above has translated the Greek Junian as “Junia,” which is a female name, many today vehemently argue that the name should be “Junias,” which is male.

In fact, I recently received an email in which I was accused of “misleading” people by telling them that “Junia” is the correct reading of this passage and that she was a female apostle. In my response, I sought to be gracious, but shared some of the following information showing why “Junia” is the correct reading, and why she should be given her due recognition by the modern church.

1. The Manuscript Evidence

In this passage, Paul wrote the Greek name Junian, ending with an “n,” because the name is in the accusative sense, or on the receiving end of Paul’s greeting. Because of that ending, the name could be either male (Junias) or female (Junia), depending on how it is accented. Accents, however, were not introduced until the seventh century and so we are left, some think, with a textual conundrum.

The conundrum, however, evaporates in the light of textual and historical evidence. For example, Dr. Bruce Metzger, one of the world’s leading New Testament textual scholars, points out that in and around Rome over 250 Greek and Latin inscriptions have been found with the feminine name “Junia.” The male name, “Junias,” on the other hand, is unattested.

This is significant since Paul’s letter is addressed to the believers who are in Rome; for while the female name “Junia” is common there, the male name, “Junias,” is unknown. “Junias,” therefore, is a hypothetical name invented, it would seem, by those who cannot accept the possibility of a female apostle in the New Testament.

Metzgar also points out that when accents were put in use, the scribes, without exception, made the name feminine. This means that even though the earliest manuscripts of Paul’s letter to the Romans had no accents and so were ambiguous on this point, when accents were added, every extant witness construed the name as feminine. This is why Dr. N. Clayton Croy says, “There is not a single ancient Greek manuscript that accents the name as ‘Junias.’ In effect, then, the interpretation of the name as that of a man is completely lacking in explicit textual support.”

2. The Historical Evidence

Early church fathers, even those who had a bias against women in leadership, understood “Junia” to be a female apostle in the early church. Origin (185-284), who is known as the church’s first systematic theologian, understood the name to be feminine as did the famous church father, Jerome (A.D. 347-420), who produced the Latin Vulgate Bible.

There is also the testimony of John Chrysostom (A.D. 349-407), Bishop of Constantinople, who exclaimed, “O how great is the devotion of this woman, that she should be even counted worthy of the appellation of apostle.” (Hyatt, Paul, Women and Church, 25).

In her excellent book, In the Spirit We’re Equal, Dr. Sue Hyatt points out, “The first known commentator to understand “Junia” as the male name “Junias” was Aegidius of Rome (1245-1346).” She rightly notes that the idea of the name being male is, therefore, a much later development and not worthy of serious consideration.

3. Evidence of Translations

Based, no doubt, on the overwhelming textual and historical evidence, early English translations all opted for the feminine name, “Junia.” These include Tyndale’s New Testament (1526), the Coverdale Bible (1535), the Great Bible (1539), the Geneva Bible (1560), the Bishop’s Bible (1568) and the King James Version (1611).

We only find the male name “Junias” appearing in modern translations beginning with the Revised Version in 1881 and followed by the RSV, the NASB, the TEV, the MSG and the 1984 NIV. Newer translations, such as the NRSV, NLT and NKJV, have returned to the original understanding of the word as “Junia.” Faced with the overwhelming evidence, the translators of the NIV changed the name to “Junia” in their 2011 edition.

The Issue of Authority

The most common reason given by those who oppose recognizing “Junia” as an apostle is that women cannot function in what they would call “the apostolic teaching office.” The problem with this reasoning is it has no basis in Scripture. Neither Jesus, the Twelve or Paul established an “apostolic teaching office.”

Jesus made it clear that His apostles would be characterized not by authority, but by service. This statement came when James and John requested the two most authoritative seats in the kingdom. Jesus rebuked them and told them they were thinking like Gentiles, that is, those who do not know God.

After pointing out how pagan leaders lord it over those under them, Jesus said, “Whoever among you would be greatest must be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:44-45, MEV).

Jesus’ statement must have been shocking to those first apostles, for the word “servant” in this passage is from the Greek word diakonos and referred to a lowly household servant with no status or authority.

Nonetheless, they took His words seriously and diakonos became a common word for Christian leaders in the early church. Paul uses it of himself and his coworkers. We miss the force of the word for early Christianity because our modern translations often render it as “minister.”

John G. Lake, a true modern apostle, got it right when he wrote, “The modern conception of an apostle is usually that he is a big church boss, but that was not the conception Jesus left. An apostle was not to be a big boss; he was to be like his Lord–a servant of all.”

So, during the first century, while apostolic ministry was characterized by service, women freely functioned in apostolic ministry. It was only after the church institutionalized and began to think of the apostolic in terms of authority, office and power that women began to be excluded from leadership and apostolic ministry.

Where We Go From Here

Jesus left His church an authoritative message. He did not leave her an authoritative office or structure. Professor Burnett Streeter was correct when he wrote,

Whatever else is disputable, there is, I submit, one result from which there is no escape. In the primitive church there was no single system of church order laid down by the apostles. During the first hundred years of Christianity, the church was an organism alive and growing—changing its organization to meet changing needs. Uniformity was a later development (Hyatt, Pursuing Power, 43).

We are to contend, not for authority over others, but for the purity of the message that was entrusted to us. This is what Jude was referring to when he wrote, “I found it necessary to write and appeal to you to contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

In such a setting, there are, I submit, a multitude of modern Junias who will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit prompting them to go forth and proclaim the authoritative message that has been entrusted to them and to the entire body of Christ. {eoa}

This article is derived from Eddie Hyatt‘s books, Paul, Women and Church, and Pursuing Power: How the Historic Quest for Apostolic Authority and Control Has Divided and Damaged the Church. Both are available from Amazon and his website at .

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been afraid of heights. Even as an adult, I just figured it was part of me, kind of like brown eyes and brown hair.

Even after learning how to work with God to bring much healing of emotions that had been brewing since childhood, I never thought to ask about my fear of heights. It was just part of me.

I lived with my fear. It became me. And I just let it remain, like a tenant who wouldn’t pay rent. I was too afraid to kick out.

Then, one day, I was in our community pool where I go at least five days a week to exercise. The pool is in a huge building more than two stories tall. Around its perimeter, on the second story, is a walking track. It has windows on both sides looking both outside and into the pool area. When walking the track, it feels like you are walking outside without a railing to hold you in if you fall.

This day, I glanced up at the track, and I felt like Jesus whispered to me, “Go walk that track.” My first thought was, I can’t. I’m afraid of heights. But I sensed He wanted to set me free of that issue.

So I asked, “Why am I afraid of heights?” In an instant I was taken back to a time when my dad, mom, brother, sister and I were in the Colorado mountains on vacation. My brother and sister wanted to stop at an overlook.

Dad, knowing my mom was scared of heights, parked as far away from the overlook as possible. The three of them jumped out and ran to the overlook. Mom and I got out of the car and watched them. As soon as they got to the edge, they vanished.

My mother went crazy, yelling that they were dead, crying and screaming. In that moment, I saw that as a girl of about 12, I partnered with her fear and allowed it entrance. Of course, my dad, brother and sister had just stepped down to a landing we couldn’t see.

As soon as Jesus showed me where my fear began, I knew what to do. I symbolically gave the fear she gave me back to her. I took back my lack of fear from her, washed through the blood of the Lamb.

That day, I walked the track, and since then, I’ve done many height-related things I wouldn’t even attempt before, the most exciting of which was going up in a hot air balloon.

Recently, I was working with a client who happened to be a little brother in the lineup of children. One time, his older brothers climbed through their bedroom window to sit out on the roof of their house. Since he was always wanting to do what they did, he went out the window too.

Then, the older brothers went inside and shut the window, leaving their little brother out on the roof. His next statement was, “And to this day I am afraid of heights.”

This was just one issue in a long line that he needed help with regarding his status as the little brother. As a matter of fact, he felt as though this was not the most important issue. He said they wouldn’t let him in their window, and he had gotten back in the house through another window but didn’t even remember that window being in the house.

When my client asked Jesus what His truth was about all the things he endured as a little brother, Jesus told him that He loves him, created him, made him His and brought him back from sin.

Then, my client asked Jesus, “Will you catch me when I fall?” I was thinking that he meant if he fell into sin again. But Jesus’ answer was, “I will steady you, so you won’t fall.” Jesus was addressing the fear of heights issue.

And to be sure, my new friend asked, “Jesus will you take this fear of heights from me.” Jesus answered a solid, “Yes.”

After several more questions, my friend asked, “Where were You, Jesus, when I was a scared little boy sitting on the roof?”

Jesus answered, “I was there.” Then as a clarifying question, he asked, “Can You show me where You were?”

Jesus answered. “I opened the window.”

“I cried to God in my distress and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears! Gaze upon him, join your life with his, and joy will come. Your faces will glisten with glory. You’ll never wear that shame-face again” (Ps. 34:4-5, TPT).

I’m not sure what fears you have, but I know we all have them. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, God wants to meet those fears and replace them with the truth that no matter where we are, He will catch us if we fall or make a way for us to get to safety.

He’s done it for me and for those I’ve coached in so many areas where we feel there is no possible way for Him to help us get free from the doubts, shame, anger, isolation, fear and feelings of worthlessness. {eoa}

Teresa Shields Parker is the author of seven books, all available on Amazon. Her latest book, Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God, is available now, and Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds is the No. 1 Christian weight-loss memoir. She is also a writing and weight-loss coach, blogger, speaker, wife and mother. Visit her online at to find her books, coaching programs and free gifts.

This article originally appeared at teresashields .

Carter Conlon, pastor of Times Square Church in New York City, shares this inspiring message, teaching about the mighty weapons of our warfare in the Spirit to pull down the demonic onslaught in our world today.

In this enlightening interview, Dr. Sam Storms clarifies the biblical basis of spiritual gifts, including the “more overtly miraculous, or more overtly and conspicuously supernatural.” He emphasizes the way the Spirit works through the gifts He gives to manifest His power. Watch and learn from this insightful Bible teacher and preacher!