Chosen Women

Praise the Lord, Chosen Women!

You my dear sister are a gift, a blessing, a prize, a jewel. You must know that -- you must embrace that. I greet you in the name and in the love of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Yesterday I was unable to write to you. The day was filled with meeting after meeting -- task after task. I know many of you can related. This morning as I prepared to blog the Lord told me to look at my social network page. Lady Scott had sent me an excerpt of a message preached by Bishop Troy Dockery -- and it blessed my soul!

The Lord said it blessed you, but it is for some of my daughters. And so I post it for you. Just click the box to the right to play the message, "Don't Let It Go."

Also, I had the blessed opportunity to pray for a fellow student in my grad program. That was quite an awesome testimony, and I will share it at another time. After our beautiful fellowship I gave her a card when she said she did not have anybody in her life that was spiritual and wanted to be able to call if she needed prayer. She looked at the card, referenced the website and asked if it had testimonials. I thought, "Great idea!"

If you are willing to share a testimony about Chosen Women Conferences past or more recent; the Chosen Women website, or my personal ministry in your life or ministry please share with me at [email protected]. Your testimonials will be posted in a new area of the website coming soon. That young woman was so impacted by the power of prophetic prayer I do not think her life will be the same. Amazingly she has left the program -- I believe that she only came to have a seed of faith planted in her life. The Lord spoke prophetically about her family situation -- and by the next class she was hugging me in the hall of our campus as God had moved just that fast in her household. Only God! He gets the glory . . . now others need to hear the story! Please share yours with me.

In Service for the Master,
Evangelist Lisa Y. Mitchell 

Praise the Lord, Chosen Women!

Thank you to those that supported in ministry this week -- you are so greatly appreciated! We praise God for Sis. DeAnna Featherstone doing a wonderful job at the Bethlehem Temple Church Women's Conference -- God used you and all of the speakers mightily!

Now, to the blog . . .
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Last week I found myself going to great lengths to exhort those that now find themselves out of the local church. This week my spirit-man is in the same vein.

All week I was thinking about how some of my coursework seems so difficult when I sit at home trying to decipher the convoluted writings in my textbook. The authors seem like they are attempting to purposely confuse me by hyper-intellectualizing the topic. Sometimes I actually feel like the information is over my head.

But when I get to the classroom and participate in the lecture and class discussions the material is hashed out and makes perfect sense. I need to have that connect with the professor. He is skillful at removing all the smoke and mirrors and helping me identify the meat of the theories.

The Lord dealt with me this week about the saints. Some are confused about the issues of their lives due to enemy's smoke and mirrors. He has made life seem so convoluted and complex. You need to get to the lecture and have an audience with The Professor. And thing is, these classes are not offered online. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, The Word Network, TBN and the rest can all offer inspiration and connections. But it is necessary to show up to class to get the full benefits. Your presence is needed in corporate worship!

Week two -- same topic. God is trying to get someone's attention. It makes me think of an old hymn:

Softly: and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me;
See on the portals He's waiting and watching, watching for you and for me.

Come home, come home;
Ye who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!

Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me? Why should we linger and heed not His mercies,
mercies for you and for me?

Come home, come home;
Ye who are weary come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
calling, O sinner, come home!

In Service for the Master,
Evangelist Lisa Y. Mitchell

Praise the Lord, Chosen Women!

I pray that this is a wonderful week for each of you! I want to invite you to meet me this Saturday at Christ Missionary Bible Church -- detailed flier on this page.

Now, to the blog . . .
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This week I would like to continue and expand a Facebook status that I wrote yesterday. It said:

It's Sunday - time to get ready for the house of the Lord! "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together." Got hurt in church and haven't gone back? Read on . . . If we get hurt @ work, @ school, etc., we somehow find the ability to press our way back into those settings. Why? Because we understand that we must persevere because we have an ultimate goal (graduation, pay check, etc.) Please do not allow a former church situation that caused you hurt to keep you from coming back. You miss out on the benefits associated with being there. You miss out on pursuing that part of your purpose found in the house of God. I know it hurt -- but growth takes stretching and even breaking. You survived! And you've grown. It's time. Come home.

I got some responses to the comment, and they were positive. I know that there are negative responses -- they went unwritten. I want to address a few of the responses that commonly prevent one from coming home.

I AM SAVED! I DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO CHURCH -- I AM ALREADY A CHILD OF GOD!

Yes, that might be true. The problem is that you are a disobedient child if you do not obey the Word of God. The Bible categorizes disobedient saints as rebellious, on milk rather than meat, and immature. (Hebrews 5:13-14; I Corinthians 3:1-3; Titus 1:15-16)  The writer of Hebrews 10:25 tells us to come together and exhort one another. Did you realize that gathering together in church is not about you as much as it is about you giving to others? Somebody needs your gift -- your smile -- your exhortation -- your testimony -- your hug -- your song -- your message -- your face. It's time to once again render your gifts to the body. Even if you do it other places God said to do it there too. Come home.

THE LORD KNOWS MY HEART!

He does. In fact He described it in Jeremiah 17:9 as "desperately wicked." God knows your heart -- the problem is that we do not know our own heart. We need the experience of the washing by the Word of God within the setting of corporate worship anointing as a part of our heart cleansing and perfecting processes. The church family or church experience produces friction sometimes. But this friction is a sometimes needful experience. Resistance and difficulty sometimes causes us to push back right into our destiny. All church experiences are not bad. There are wonderful ministers, saints and laborers in the local church. But even bad leadership and bad church experiences can have a purpose. They can teach us to pray harder, stand stronger, or even give us a vision to live and to do better than what we have seen. Let us not paint everyone with the same brushstroke. Corporate church experiences help manifests maturity, growth and spiritual insight. Come home.


CHURCH PEOPLE ARE JUST LOOKING FOR A CRUTCH!

Some people see individuals like myself that faithfully attend church as weak, dumb, and needy. They need to perceive us as ignorant to exist within their secularist mindset of superiority. Funny thing is I am far from dumb or needy. I just believe the Word of God. Revelation 21 tells me very clearly that the fearful and unbelieving are going to hell with the devil and his demons. I experienced horrible things in church and the worst of leadership at times that tried to tear me to shreds. It hurt. I went through. And now I say, "So what?" They misrepresented God -- but they were NOT God. Jesus is God! His Word still stands. I am well educated. Yet I do not care if someone regards me as less than because of my pentecostal, holiness, apostolic, tongue-talking, foot-stomping, shouting lifestyle. My life is not just in the church -- I live this life daily. I am not ashamed.  I am not fearful. I am not unbelieving. I do not put my trust in man. The preacher and evangelist are not God. But Jesus directs me towards association with His kids through His Word. And I must obey. I encourage you to obey as well. Come home.

I JUST CANNOT STOMACH THOSE  HYPOCRITES!

Yes, some hypocrites exist in the church. But they also exist in your neighborhood, your business, your job, your school -- probably within your family. Did you stop educating your children because of the hypocrites? Did you quit your job to avoid them? What about shopping? Did you stop shopping because of those hypocrites checking you out at the register? People kill me. We play God to the left -- it's really sad. People persevere past hypocrisy and other negatives in areas that are important to us. Yes, I will again acknowledge that some have misrepresented God and even abused or mishandled their role of church. I cannot make their wrong, right. Wouldn't try to. I simply say what God says in Romans 14:10, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." S/he will be judged for his/her actions -- but so will you. You cannot use them as an excuse for your own disobedience. If I was an abused child it does not give me a free pass to abuse my own child. My challenge is to get help and healing for myself so I do not become what I experienced -- an abuser. If you know better then you do better -- and better represent the living God. My heart goes out to new saints. Who will be an example of righteousness for them if we all just check out? And I do understand that this work of righteous living is not just in the church -- far from it. But God still requires that as a part. Come home.

If this message speaks to you then respond -- react -- move. Time is winding down. Come home.

In Service for the Master,
Evangelist Lisa Y. Mitchell

Praise the Lord, Chosen Women!

I greet you all in the love and peace of the Most High God! A few days ago I spoke to First Lady Alice Ross of Word of Life Outreach Ministries in Palmdale, CA. She is hosting a Women's Retreat Thursday, November 4 through Saturday, November 6, 2010 at the Holiday Inn Express in Ventura, CA. I am honored to be a guest speaker at this event along with her, and Evangelist Louise Prince. She wanted me to let the ladies of the Chosen Women Network know about this event. Please let your women's fellowships and ministries know about this event. The cost is $199 per person (double-occupancy) and includes all conference materials, two nights lodging, and four meals. To register please contact First Lady Alice Ross this week at (661) 810-1043.

Now, to the blog . . .
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My professor said something last week that was so thought provoking. In fact we have very intriguing discussions each week. I jotted down his statement, "What you bathe in is what you smell like." Simple, yet profound.

This week I have a simple question for you. It is the same question that came to me as I sat in class thinking about what he'd said. "WHAT DO YOU SMELL LIKE?"

When people come around do you give off the distinct aroma of Jesus? Do you smell like a sweet and acceptable sacrifice unto the Lord? Is there a hint of faith wafting around you? Will people get the sweet smell of love in their nostrils if they come into your presence?

Or will they find the stinky smell of gossip coming out of your mouth? Will their noses be assaulted with jealousy if they were flies on the wall hearing your telephone conversations, or if they were standing over your shoulder viewing your emails? Will they get the stench of lying, divisiveness, hatred and stinginess if they come your way?

Most importantly, how would Jesus describe your smell? What we are bathing in is the aroma that we exude. It is time for us to really start paying attention to the smell of those individuals and groups with whom we spend time. Remember, 'birds of a feather flock together'? If you are bathing with buzzards . . . well. Buzzards fly around looking for vile, dead things in which to partake. I try to surround myself with people that smell like Jesus. That's my favorite scent.

What are you bathing in? What do you smell like? Food for thought. Thanks professor!

In Service for the Master,
Evangelist Lisa Y. Mitchell