Champion!

Mining God's Word: Exodus 17: 8-16
I had a dream the other night that I was speaking at a women's conference.  I was telling the women that we need to Champion one another. Not to give too much away in case I actually end up speaking about this one day but...I used the story of Moses from Exodus 17: 8-16 as my example. If you aren't familiar with this story it's Israel vs. the Amalekites. Moses asks Joshua to get some fighting men and go out and fight the Amalekites. As long as Moses had his staff held high above his head the Israelites were winning.  He began to grow tired and when his arms fell the Amalekites gained the upper hand.  So, Aaron & Hur get him a rock to sit on and they each hold up an arm and Israel WINS! I ask the women to stand up and hold up their arms, then look at the woman standing next to them and hold up one of her arms. I look around the room and all the women are holding each other up! They are Championing (who knows if this is a word but it was in my dream) each other!  I wake up (and it's still the middle of the night) and I hear the Lord say, "Remember this and write down - Champion."

Slight tangent:
When I wake up I look up the story and read it again, all the way until the end.  Then I begin to cry (I'm a sap). In verse 15, "Moses built an altar there and named it Jehovah-nissi (which means the "Lord is my banner")."  Moses made a declaration: We are the Lord's!!!  This is my FAVORITE name of God. Why it didn't occur to me that this is where it is I don't know. In any case, this is also one of my favorite Bible stories.  It's just one of those really cool God moments where He shows up in this crazy way and Moses doesn't question, he just obeys. I absolutely love the names of God.  To study them, pray them and use them. I have learned so much about His nature through His names and who He wants to be for me in every moment/situation in my life.

Even more of a tangent but it's worth it...
Banners - they are lifted to a height where we can see as a reminder that symbolizes: security, hope & freedom. Rabbi Kirt Schneider says, "With the Lord as our banner we are assured victory, we can run & not grow weary, we will have joy & peace."  Maybe it's just me (and it frequently is) but this is so awesome.  God is our banner because he gives us identity and our label is saint, holy one. Banners hang from the rafters to honor Champions.  To Celebrate!  Let's celebrate one another and our incredible God!

OK, back to the word Champion.
Champion as a verb means: Support the cause of; defend
I listed the noun in my graphic.
As women of God we have got to start flexing our spiritual muscles and Champion one another. We need to let go of our insecurities and reach out to one another to offer encouragement, support, love or just a sounding board. This leads me to what I am most passionate about. I LOVE to encourage people, especially other women.  That looks like so many things, sometimes it's as simple as saying, "I love those shoes or you look so cute today." Ladies don't usually know how to react but very quickly they recover and I can tell that the Lord used me to breath life into their soul for just a second.  It took me a long time to figure out that this is my "signature move." It's what God has gifted me to do and I want to do it well!

What's your "signature move?" What are you most passionate about?  How can Champion someone else today?

There is so much more I want to say about Champion but I need to develop it more and hey maybe this will be my first sermon. 😉

Encouragement for Today: 
I've been reading the book Agents of Babylon by Dr. David Jeremiah.  It is a fantastic book and I highly recommend it.  Here is an excerpt from his book that is an amazing word that I have to share...

• When you think all is lost,thing again! "The dream is certain and its interpretation is sure" (Daniel 2:45). We know the script in advance, and we're clued in to the ending.
• We know a divine secret: the framework of all of history, including its conclusions. So, good-bye, insecurity! Good-bye, fearfulness! These are the days that call for boldness.  This is the time to be confident in Him who has begun a good work in us (Philippians 1:6).  This is the time to pray, "Thy Kingdom come!"

We KNOW the ending.  Jesus already WON!  Victory is ours, so get rid of that fear that is lurking, God has won the battle and He is the same God today that healed the blind man and touched/healed the leper. 

Random Thoughts: Repeating words...
Have you ever caught yourself saying a word in every sentence you speak? The main word for me is "like." I literally, purposefully think before I use the word like in a sentence now because I couldn't take hearing myself saying it over and over again.  Nate is really bad about it, every other word is like. Other repeating phrases I have noticed are "that's funny" (even though its not), "you know" as if you didn't! My craziness takes over and I can't help hearing it everywhere and correcting myself as much as possible.  What words do you repeat over, do you ever think about these things?  I would love to hear back from someone! 

May the amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you!  

Hannah