Author: Editor

Welcome to The Sisterhood Hub! The Hub is where I share insights, resources, and reflections that have deepened my faith and strengthened my Christian walk. My hope is that you find encouragement and inspiration, be uplifted and challenged as you navigate your own journey. The Hub is dedicated to empowering women to embrace their God-given identity, rooted in the love, grace, mercy, truth and sacrifice of our Lord, Saviour, and soon-coming King, Jesus Christ. May this be a source of strength and renewal, fostering your self-worth and guiding you to live out your faith authentically. Together, let us walk confidently in our callings, trusting God every step of the way. May our lives reflect humility, integrity, and reverence for Him, as the Holy Spirit leads us to live fruitfully for His glory. The mission is to parade God’s love by sharing the gospel, writing, engaging in outreach and missionary work, distributing Christian resources, and serving communities both locally and internationally—as a pro-life advocate, committed to the sanctity of life from the womb to the tomb and beyond the grave, in both the physical and spiritual realms, as every life matters. Blessings, Lori 💕

Precious Blood of Jesus

Published on January 11, 2022November 25, 2023 by Editor

This is a story about a little girl. She grew up in a family with a father and a mother. She lived in a little house in a little village. She had a lot of fun with her father and mother, and they did everything together. Then this little girl grew up and went to college, but whenever she got a chance, she would come home because she loved being with daddy and mommy.

Then her mom got really sick and they found out that she was going to die. The mother and the daughter were really sad. Before she died, the mother called her daughter into the room and said, “I’ve got something very special for you.” Her mother had stitched a very special dress for the daughter to wear. It was a special dress made out of a very special material. The mother said, “I want you to wear it and whenever you wear it, you can think of me. It’s made out of a very special material you won’t find anywhere else. There is no soap and no detergent that can clean it if you get stains on it. I made a little bit of a solution. It’s in this little bottle. Wherever the stain is, just use a little bit of the solution and the stain will come right off.” Then a few days later, the mother died and the daughter was very sad.

Whenever the girl was lonely, she would wear that dress. She was super excited to wear that dress because every time she wore that dress, she could smell her mother. She was very careful to keep the dress clean. She was careful when she was eating not to get food on the dress. Whenever the dress got a stain, she would go home and use a little bit of that liquid that her mother gave her and the stain would come off.

Then she got busy with work, and she was doing well at work. She was living in a big city so she had lots of friends and was enjoying life. But over time, she became careless with the dress. Food would spill on the dress, but she would think, “No problem. I got this liquid at home and it’ll come right off.” And she kept doing this for months and years.

Then one day, she came home and found that there was no more liquid in the bottle! She was really sad and thought, “What a fool I have been!”

Over time, more and more stains came on the dress because she continued to be careless, then the stains became too obvious and she stopped wearing the dress. It was so filthy because it had so many stains on it.

Finally, she said, “I’m going to ask my father what to do.” So she went to her father and just broke down and started crying. She told him everything about how she had squandered everything and how she wished she could have her mother again and how she could have a clean dress again.

Then the father said, “I know how long and how hard your mother worked to make that dress. She knew that you were probably going to get careless. She knew that you needed to come to the point where you really valued that dress again. Well, your mother gave me one extra bottle. Your mother said not to give it to you until you are really desperate to keep this dress clean. Then you can give her this second bottle.

Now the daughter had the second bottle and her attitude was completely different. She was extremely careful with the dress. When she went out to eat, she would get two or three napkins to cover the whole dress so that food wouldn’t touch it. Her friends would laugh at her, but it didn’t matter. She was very careful with the dress.

Sometimes she would make a mistake or trip and fall. But she never felt guilty. She would come home and use the liquid and the stains would come right off. Because she was so careful in using that liquid, the bottle never ran out. That was the miracle of that bottle.

This girl lived for 60 years wearing that dress, but the bottle never ran out because she used it carefully. Then she died and went home to be with Jesus and her mother.

So this is a story about a little girl and how she lived her life but it’s also a parable about us and Jesus. Jesus gives us a robe to wear. It is called His righteousness. It’s the most beautiful dress we could ever wear and nobody can ever make it. No amount of good works can make this dress.

When we’re born again, God gives us this dress to wear. At first, like that little girl, we treat it very carefully. But little by little, we can get careless. We can think, “Oh the blood of Jesus can forgive me of all my sins. I don’t have to worry about sinning.” We act as if it doesn’t matter whether we stay in the robe of righteousness that Jesus gives us. Even though we gave our hearts to Jesus some years ago and were serious about following the Lord, now it’s different. We wonder what happened and we long to have that relationship again. God is trying to come get us to come to an end of ourselves. He says, “I’ll give you a fresh life, but I’ll only give it to you when you recognize the value of this dress.”

God wants me to see this dress is so precious. God wants me to see that the blood of Jesus that He shed for me is precious. When I stop seeing it as precious, God says you’re losing your way. God gives us a robe of righteousness that is absolutely clean, but when we don’t treat His blood as precious, it loses its power. But if you treat the blood of Jesus as precious, the blood of Jesus is limitless and infinitely able to clean us.

Full sermon here.

—————————

**By Sandeep Poonen © Copyright – Sandeep Poonen. No changes whatsoever are to be made to the content of the article without written permission from the author at NCCF Church / Photo by Jan Lawrence Suzara at Pexels

Prayer Binds Satan’s Hands, but a Spirit of Negativity Binds God’s Hands

Published on January 7, 2022November 25, 2023 by Editor

“***Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;” – Hebrews 3:12***

INTRODUCTION

BINDING SATAN’S HANDS

So Satan is desiring to cause disaster in our homes, in our marriages, in our churches, and in our own hearts – but we have the power to bind his works by praying, and by praying in unity. Husband and wife can bind things in their children’s lives, members in the church can bind things when they pray with one another, etc. See again in Matthew 18 verse 19, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.” So that’s binding Satan’s hands. But there’s another verse which is very interesting in Matthew 13:58, and also similarly in Mark 6:5-6 – that says that the Lord was not able to do many works for His own hometown because they had such unbelief: Matthew 13:58 “And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” Mark 6:6:5-6 “And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief…”

BINDING GOD’S HANDS

We say we want to bind Satan’s hands, but I believe we read in this verse itself that we by our unbelief may be tying ropes instead around God’s hands in our life! Maybe He’s able to work in many other people’s lives the way He wants, but with regard to my own life His hands may be tied if I have unbelief! Wow. Imagine the Father reaching down from Heaven to (figuratively) lift up a boy and care and comfort and encourage him. And as the Father is reaching down from Heaven to help this boy, the boy reaches up to His Father’s hands… but he doesn’t take His loving hands and hold them and receive His loving care; instead the boy places handcuffs on His Dad’s wrists, and then takes a rope and wraps up the wrists and hands that were reaching down to lift him up! I believe this is exactly what we do when we don’t trust our Father, and we don’t believe He can help. When we focus not on the hope and promises we have in Christ, and His power, but instead on how bad the situation is.

NEGATIVITY

I think one word for this which often sums up unbelief is: “Negativity”. A spirit of negativity is the spiritual equivalent of tying ropes around the hands of the Father who is trying to reach down to pick me up and love me. I sometimes had to repent of and ask God to forgive me for my ‘sighs’ of negativity. I don’t always use words, but have often let out a ‘sigh’ of unbelief that with my groan was actually in reality saying “Oh great I have to deal with this again.” And when I think about what it implies I have to admit that it is saying that what God has chosen to allow is bad. It’s not for my good (it denies the plain truth of Romans 8:28). Or at least, with my negativity I’m confessing that the trouble/hassle of the trial is not worth the good that it would bring. But there’s something important about faith: Faith is not just believing that what God says is true, but it’s also believing that it’s as valuable as He says it is! It’s not only believing His Word, but believing it to the point that we’re enthusiastic about it (I believe we see this in the parables of the treasure / pearl of great price Matthew 13:44-45). And so I’ve seen I have to repent of negativity. We have to have a constant attitude of faith that just as the Lord turned the worst thing that ever happened in the universe (the death of Jesus) into the best thing (Jesus dying for us, rising again and saving us forever) – we have to be confident every ‘bad’ thing is not bad, it’s actually good if we love the Lord, and if it’s fully submitted to Him so that He can do something with it. And it’s not just ‘good’, but it’s REALLY REALLY good! A faith filled Christian MUST be an optimistic Christian. Always hopeful, always patient, exulting in tribulation instead of cursing it. Romans 5:3-4 “And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 5:4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;” “Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation” (Romans 12:12), Be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12)

CONCLUSION

So I see now more of the seriousness with which I need to take unbelief, when I see what it is – unbelief actually is tying up the hands of God so that He cannot work. Unbelief is not an ‘innocent sin’, committed by poor unlucky people who deserve pity from a God who has been too hard on them! It’s tying ropes around the very One who’s loved us from the beginning, and Who wants to help us even more than we want to help ourselves. But accepting every single situation that comes our way (both good, and difficult) as from His loving hand is what frees Him up to work mightily in our life, and also is the very thing we can do which pleases Him (Hebrews 11:6).

———————

**By Bobby McDonald © Copyright – Bobby McDonald. No changes whatsoever are to be made to the content of the article without written permission from the author at NCCF Church / Photo by Jan Antonsen from Pexels

Aim For Steady Spiritual Progress

Published on January 4, 2022November 25, 2023 by Editor

As we begin a new year, it is good to think seriously of the priorities we should be having this year in our spiritual life. Here are a few suggestions.Consider them seriously – and pray that they will all be fulfilled in your life. May the Lord help you.“Whatever your blunders or failures, you can make a new beginning with God now, as you begin a new year.”

1. Make a New Beginning: In Luke 15, in the story of the prodigal son, we read that the father brought out the best robe for a son who had failed him so badly. This is the message of the gospel: God gives His very best even to those who have failed. They can make a new beginning because God never gives up on anyone. This is a great encouragement for those who failed in the past. Whatever your blunders or failures may have been, you can make a new beginning with God now, as you begin a new year.

2. Be disciplined: In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul says, “God has given us a spirit of power, love and of discipline”. The Spirit of God gives us power, love for others and enables us to discipline ourselves. Whatever experience of the Holy Spirit you may have had, if you don’t allow the Holy Spirit to discipline you – to make you spend your timeand your money in a disciplined way, and to discipline your speech, you will never be what God wants you to be. The greatest servants of God in the history of the church were men and women who allowed the Holy Spirit to discipline their lives. They were disciplined in their sleeping habits, in their eating habits, in prayer and in study of the Scriptures. They were disciplined in putting God first above all their earthly desires. Many Christians remain satisfied with having received the baptism in the Holy Spirit and they imagine that everything in their lives will flow smoothly thereafter. But you need to be disciplined too if you are to fulfil God’s will for your life in this year.

3. Keep the fire burning: Timothy had faith and spiritual gifts and yet Paul reminds him of this, “I want to remind you of the spiritual gift you received when I laid hands on you” (2 Timothy 1:6). The Holy Spirit is not a spirit of timidity. Paul urged him to stir up that gift and to kindle it afresh, to keep the fire burning. From this we learn that even though Jesus baptizes us in the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11), we still have to do something to keep that fire burning at all times. God lights the fire. We have to keep supplying the fuel – a life totally surrendered at all times to God’s will. Don’t imagine that just because God anointed you once, that you can now relax and say, “Once anointed, always anointed”. That is as great a fallacy as saying, “Once saved, always saved”. I have seen people who were genuinely anointed by God who are spiritually dead one year later. The fire is gone. Worldly interests and pride have come in and taken the fire away. They are now running after money and a comfortable life – and have lost the fire of God. That is sad and a great loss for the kingdom of God. So, Paul told Timothy, “That fire that came upon you, keep it afresh, keep it burning. It is up to you now. If you don’t keep it burning it will die out. Keep it burning by keeping a good conscience, by studying the word of God, by humbling yourself constantly, by seeking God wholeheartedly, by staying away from the love of money, and from arguments with others and from anything that will quench this fire.”

4. Make steady spiritual progress: In Hebrews 6:1–3, we are exhorted to press on to maturity. Think of pressing on to maturity like climbing a mountain (of say, 10,000 meters). Jesus has already reached the top. When we are born again, we start at the foot of this mountain. Our goal is to follow Jesus and to press on towards the top, no matter how long it may take. Then we can say to our younger brothers and sisters, “Follow me as I follow Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1), even if we have climbed only 100 meters. Spirituality is not something that comes through one encounter with God. It is the result of choosing the way of self denial and of doing God’s will consistently day after day, week after week and year after year. It was the consistent denial of His own will that made Jesus a spiritual man. And it is the constant denial of our self-will that will make us spiritual too. In 1 Timothy 4:15, Paul urges Timothy to “take pains with these things.” A businessman takes a lot of pains to earn money and to establish his business firmly. If you are serious about the Christian life, you will also take a lot of pains to study the Scriptures, seek for the gifts of the Spirit and cleanse your life from everything impure. One translation of this verse reads, “Be absorbed in them.” When you are absorbed with these things your progress will become evident to everybody. Be so absorbed with Jesus Christ and His Word that the temptations of this world don’t attract us so much. And we won’t be chasing after the many things that worldly people chase after. If you live an “absorbed” life like that, you will make progress constantly. Every year you will be a better Christian and a more effective servant of the Lord.

5. Be an overcomer: In Hebrews 12:1-3, we are exhorted to run the race with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. We look up to Him and run this race. We don’t stand still. The race of faith is something in which you can’t stand still. The time is short and so you have to run. If you fall down, get up and continue running. There are many runners who have fallen down in a race, who got up, continued to run, and still came first. So, don’t get discouraged if you fall down sometimes in your walk with the Lord. Don’t lie there. Get up, confess your sin, and continue to run. Look at Jesus who endured the cross and ran till the end of His life. When many enemies oppose you, think of Jesus Who had so many enemies opposing Him (Heb.12:3). You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood like He did, in striving against sin (Heb.12:4). Here we see that Jesus strove against sin. In other words, His attitude toward sin was, “I would rather shed My blood than commit sin.” If you have the same attitude – that you would rather die than commit sin – you too will be an overcomer. When you are tempted to tell a lie, if you say, “I would rather die than tell a lie”, you will be an overcomer. When you are tempted to cheat a little bit to make more money, if you say, “I would rather die than cheat even a little”, you will be an overcomer. When you are tempted to lust after some woman and you say, “I would rather die than lust”, you will be an overcomer. That is the secret of living the overcoming life.

6. Be secure in the love of God: The words “He will rest in His love” in Zephaniah 3:17 have been translated as: “He is silently planning for you in love”. Do you realize that every single thing that God allows to enter your life comes from a heart that is planning for you in love? Every trial and problem that comes into your life has been planned for your ultimate good. If you believe Romans 8:28, you will never again be afraid of people or of circumstances, for the rest of your life. You will not live in fear that you might have an accident, or die of cancer, or be harmed by anti-Christian fanatics, or any other fear – because your heavenly Father controls everything and everyone.

We desire that you will have a truly blessed year of spiritual progress.

————

**Copyright – Zac Poonen. No changes whatsoever are to be made to the content of the article without written permission from the author at cfcindia.com / Photo by Brett Jordan at pexels

How to Start a House Group Fellowship

Published on January 1, 2022 by Editor

The really good news is that, to start a house church, you can lay down the burdens of planning how to cope with buildings, programs, and outreach strategies. You don’t have to be an impressive leader (though you probably will have some leadership gifts). To start a house church, you simply need to open your home to friends and neighbours and take things one step at a time.

Pray First!

The first step to starting a house church is to pray. House-church ministry must be birthed in prayer. Though it is a simple step, without prayer and God’s leading, we invite trouble. Starting a house church cannot be just a good idea; it must be a God idea. If you feel that you are called to start a house church, gather a few like-minded people together and begin to pray so that you can receive a strategy from God. Many house churches have false starts that are directly linked to a lack of prayer.

Taking time to pray gives God the opportunity to work in our hearts and purify our motives. When house churches start up because of a reaction to something we don’t like about the established church, the house church’s identity is built from rebellion and discord. Healthy house churches, on the contrary, must begin with God’s leading and a desire to reach those who don’t know Jesus. What a person sows, the Bible teaches us, he also reaps. Therefore, if you begin a house church because of an offense toward an existing church or leader, you will sow the seeds of fault-finding and pride in the church you are creating.

Along with prayer, it is also important to look to the local Christian community’s leaders for spiritual guidance and advice as you launch a new church. From day one of the Lancaster Micro-Church Network, we have cultivated relationships with established believers in our local community and beyond to answer questions and explain to them the concept of micro-church. A wise Bible teacher once said, “Lone rangers get shot out of the saddle.” We agree. Healthy house-church movements are not exclusive groups who refuse to be accountable. Vibrant micro-church networks are spiritually connected to leadership in the Body of Christ.

Know Whom You Are Called to Reach

Every micro-church should know whom they are called to reach. Here’s a great suggestion from Tony and Felicity Dale, who together started a successful network of house churches in Texas:

Draw together people from your circle of influence. We had a number of business associates who were not Christian, but whom we had come to know pretty well over a period of months or years. We asked a dozen of them to join us in a study of business principles while enjoying pizza in our home, using the book of proverbs as our textbook.

There were no rules to our discussion; everybody’s opinion was valid and there was no such thing as a wrong answer. Gradually we introduced prayer and worship and over the course of a year, every one of them became a Christian. They formed the nucleus of our original house church.

When the first micro-church in the Lancaster Micro-Church Network started in our (Larry’s) home a few years ago, we asked God for pre-Christians or new believers to join us—we also asked for labourers to help in the endeavour. However, we ran into some immediate problems. First of all, lots of believers wanted to come and check it out. Some of these Christians were looking for the latest Christian fad. They liked the idea that the micro-church met on a Wednesday, not a Sunday, and that it met in a living room, not a sanctuary.

But we were not starting something new for the sake of starting something new! Since we had a mandate from the Lord to reach new believers, we asked inquiring Christians not to come to our meetings. Having too many older Christians in the group would make the pre-Christians feel uncomfortable.

Jim Petersen, in his book Church Without Walls, clearly describes what can happen if a “migratory flock from neighbouring churches” invades a new church simply because they are curious:

I have a friend who was a part of a team that set out to start a church. The congregation was divided into house churches, each of which was assigned an elder who helped shepherd the members of that house church. Centralised activities were kept at a minimum for the sake of keeping people free to minister to their families and unbelieving friends.

The weekly meetings were dynamic. I will never forget the first one I visited. People of all sorts were there, from men in business suits to ponytails. Many were new believers. The Bible teaching was down to earth, aimed at people’s needs. I loved it.

So did most everyone else who visited. The word got around and soon the migratory flock from neighbouring churches came pouring in. Their needs consumed the energies of the leaders of this young church. Their wants gradually set the agenda. The inertia of the traditions of these migrants engulfed this very creative effort and shaped it accordingly.

So what’s the problem, we ask? The problem is that the vision that original team had for taking the church into society through the efforts of every believer was frustrated.

My wife and I knew that the vision the Lord had given to us to reach a new generation had to be safeguarded in the early days of our new micro-church network, and the young leaders of our network wisely set clear perimeters. They asked God to bring pre-Christians, new believers, and labourers—and the Lord honoured their request.

The Size of the House Church Matters

Quite soon, my wife and I had a second problem in our home-based micro-church. The pre-Christians attending invited their friends, and within 6 months of starting, we had 50 people in our living room on a given night. It was way too large!

It is wise to keep the number of people to between 6 and 12. From my experience, groups less than 6 strong tend to dwindle and be lacklustre because of the decreased number of relationships and interactions possible. However, groups over 12 tend to lose intimacy and every-member participation. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that rapid church planting movements today reproduce small house churches numbering between 10 and 30 people.

Frequency of Meeting

House churches should meet at least once a week to maintain a sense of connectedness. Again, though, we must emphasise the importance of flexibility. Some micro-churches meet at the same location every week, while others move the meeting place by rotating turns in members’ houses. Some groups meet more frequently, others less often. Some house churches meet during the week, others on weekends.

It is crucial that meeting together is an expression of the members’ desire to build community together—not just a religious duty to add more meetings to their already busy lives. If gathering together is done around food and for the purpose of fellow-shipping, it is more natural. Choose times that are convenient for everyone involved and then make an effort to connect with the other members (even just by phone or e-mail) outside of official meeting times. Building a spiritual family takes more than an hour or two one night a week!

Meeting Components

One thing is certain about house-church meetings: they should not be a smaller scale duplicate of a typical Sunday morning meeting. A house-church gathering should not look like an “escaped meeting captured by a living-room,” as one young man described house churches that do little more than replicate and repeat the traditional church service format: worship, teaching, prayer.

Instead, we have learned that there are often four basic components to a micro-church gathering: eating, meeting, small groups, and “the meeting after the meeting.

Although eating (usually a meal) is one of the elements of a house-church gathering, sometimes there may not be food. One week the house church may help someone trim their shrubs and have a time of prayer afterwards, and the next week they may come together for a whole smorgasbord of worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship. Every week should be fresh and informal as people meet to discuss the life of Jesus and life with Jesus.

—Larry Kreider and Floyd McClung; excerpted from their book Starting a House Church (Regal Publishers, 2007) / Picture by Fauxes at pexels / By Small Groups

Testimony of Gladys Aylward: A Small Woman with a Mighty God

Published on December 31, 2021December 11, 2023 by Editor

This inspiring documentary presents the events of Gladys Aylward’s life. Gladys was a commoner from a poor family in London, barely five feet tall, who worked as a maid, in a kitchen and other odd jobs to make ends meet. She was considered ordinary in every way, as there was nothing to distinguish her amongst her peers, but it was this very woman the Lord picked up, this empty and open vessel, God filled and used for His honour and glory, to be a blessing to the Chinese people and spread the good news of the gospel, as it’s not our ability the Lord wants, but our willingness and AVAILabilty, “use me Lord, send me!”

Gladys was rejected from the CIM (Chinese Inland Missions) because she couldn’t keep up with the academic studies. The CIM was set up by none other than Hudson Taylor to train new missionaries. Gladys was sure the Lord had called her and was not deterred. She needn’t have worried for she was in good company with others that had gone before her; people like Peter, Andrew, James and John lowly fishermen whom Jesus chose to be His disciples, who also in their day would’ve been rejected from the Bible colleges! But it’s these unlearned people that the Lord picked up and used. People wondered how these so called simpletons, knew and did the things they did. It was obviously all God’s doing, He had quickened their spirits, given them wisdom, guidance and much grace. He opened the doors He wanted opened, and closed the doors He wanted shut, and showed them favour. He doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called! So not one could ever touch His glory.

God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts, as stated in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, ‘But God chose the foolish things of this world to put the wise to shame. He chose the weak things of this world to put the powerful to shame. What the world thinks is worthless, useless, and nothing at all is what God has used to destroy what the world considers important. God did all this to keep anyone from bragging to Him.’ To help us remain humble in our endeavours may we never forget that, all good gifts are from above, given to us by our loving Father. What is it we have that the Lord didn’t give us? Let us pray that the Lord will keep us humble like the examples of Godly men and women who have gone before us, such as Gladys.

Gladys Aylward’s biography can be found on Amazon: