DAY 1 | Introduction to the Series
Opening Song All I’ve Ever Done https://youtu.be/owlQlLyN4W0
Scripture: Selected Scripture texts
Women The Bible contains both descriptive and prescriptive text. Much of our direct understanding comes from God’s prescriptions for victorious living. However, historical narratives are essential for our learning. Especially in the Old Testament, there are Bible characters whose lives parallel our modern-day behaviours and circumstances — we are all Adam’s children. In this series, the men from Mount Carmel will share their thoughts about ‘Women Who Knew God’ for the first week; and the women from Mount Carmel will share their thoughts about ‘Men of Faith’ in the second week.
God’s Virtuous Women God created the mystical, splendid and diverse complementary nature in men and women. Men and women are created “in the image of God”, and their place in Christ abolishes any subordination of either to the other. Yet, because they are complementary, they cannot be identified one as the other. Here are some notable women and their faith.
Mother of Three Nation-builders (Num 26:59) Jochebed was the mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. She passed on three traits to them: They didn’t forget their identity as God’s children during difficult times, did not follow Egypt’s gods and they had great compassion for others.
Wise Girl Beyond her Age (Exo 2:1-10) Miriam was Moses’ sister. After her mother, Jochebed, nursed Moses for 3 months, she had to send him away as she couldn’t hide him from Pharaoh’s decree to kill every Hebrew baby. When Jochebed put Moses in the basket and into the river, Miriam diligently watched over her brother. And when Pharaoh’s daughter took the baby, Miriam was wise to suggest that a nanny (Jochebad) look after the baby. Moses grew up in the Egyptian palace under the tutelage of his Hebrew mother. When Miriam did these things, she was probably six or seven years old.
Civil Rights Daughters (Num. 27:1-11) The daughters of Zelophehad, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirza stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of Israel. They spoke and won the right to inherit their deceased father’s property.
Businesswoman (Acts 16:14-15) Lydia of Thyatira sought the Lord and God put it into her heart to support Paul. She was a businesswoman and was pivotal to the spread of Jesus’ name from Philippi.
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Women who laboured hard for God (Rom 16:1-16) ● Phoebe: a servant and caring patroness of Cenchreae church. ● Mary: a Roman Christian who worked hard. ● Junia: a fellow prisoner like Paul who knew Christ and was well known to the apostles. ● Rufus’ mother: like a mother to Paul. ● Persis: worked hard in the Lord. ● Julia & Olympas: also workers for the Lord.
If you feel inadequate today, be encouraged like today’s song: Jesus is on a relentless pursuit with His invincible love, just pray to Him.
Prayer Jesus, I struggle sometimes, thinking that You are just my imagination, that somehow, I’ve dreamed You up from bits and pieces of the Bible. But I want to know You in reality, Lord. I ask that You give me the discipline to listen to and obey your Word. O Christ, reveal Yourself to me and shatter my illusions of what I should be. Give me eyes to see, make my heart resonate – May I be the real person You have made me to be. In Christ’s name, amen.
By Adrian Ang
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod
DAY 2 | Lydia | Acts 16:11-15
Opening Song How Beautiful https://youtu.be/kJM0hFvz_64
Read Scripture: Acts 16:11-15
Lydia from Thyatira “Women hold up half the sky” goes a Chinese saying. Theologically unsound, this saying nevertheless underscores the importance of women. In Singapore, the government is conducting a comprehensive review of issues involving equality and respect for women. Let us pray that other countries, particularly those in Asia, will do likewise. I thank God that in Carmel, our sisters are indeed a positive force, serving actively in key areas such as Sunday School, worship ministry through music and flower arrangement, prayer ministry, visitation/praying for the sick and ladies fellowship.
Women in the Bible inspire us in different ways. Lydia is perhaps an atypical woman. Still, her life holds precious lessons for all of us, men included. I cite three take-aways.
First, she was a godly woman. A gentile and not yet a believer in the Way. She nevertheless believed in a monotheistic Jewish God, with the concomitant religious and moral injunctions. As it was the Sabbath, she had set aside work related to her thriving business (making and selling dye for the purple cloth common in the region) to spend time with the women by the river to pray to and worship God. As there were not many Jews in Philippi, there was no synagogue in the city. It was there that her life path was changed when she met the apostle Paul and Silas, becoming, in effect, Paul’s first convert in Europe (Acts 16:6-12). Are we like Lydia, taking time to slow down to worship God on the Lord’s Day, despite any weekday preoccupations that bear down on us?
Second, Lydia was an independent woman of means, a successful businesswoman who lived in her own house and managed her own household. Even before her conversion, she was self-assured and confident of her identity, subscribing to the Jewish God. When Paul preached by the river that fateful day, Lydia listened and “the Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message”. This first European conversion had not happened by accident. God had primed and prepared Lydia’s heart through her previous life experiences, and had brought her to the river that day and at a time when Paul and Silas also came along. This process is replicated in all conversions where God leads the convert to hear his Word, brought by someone prepared by Him. The person receiving His Word may be in different circumstances -some dire and feeling lost; others like Lydia, self-fulfilled and contented. The learning point for us is to be ready to be vessels used by God to touch lives by sharing the gospel and praying for the salvation of those whom He brings to our path.
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Third, Lydia displayed practical love by expressing hospitality readily. She must have worked hard and smart to attain her wealth and standing in society. Yet, she knew that, ultimately, it was God who had blessed her with these resources, of which she was only a steward. She exhorted Paul and Silas to stay with her (v.15). This shows that Lydia was a sensitive person. She very likely sensed that Paul and Silas may be unsure about accepting home hospitality from a woman. But she showed poise and good sense in the way she extended the invitation, making it hard for Paul and Silas to say “No” and yet not coming across as being imposing. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house” (v.15). In opening her home to God’s messengers, Lydia stands in the New Testament in the position which is occupied by the Shunammite woman in the Old Testament (2 Kgs 4:10) who prepared a prophet’s chamber for Elisha and Gehazi. May all of us who have enough space at home be ever-ready to accommodate God’s workers “so that we may work together for the truth” (3 Jn 8)
By Eld Ho Peng Kee
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod
DAY 3 | Rahab | Josh 2:1-14, 6:24-25
Opening Song Hide Me Behind the Cross https://youtu.be/JdutvZo201g
Read Scripture: Joshua 2:1-24; 6:24-25
Coming Out of Hiding The story of Rahab is a story about hiding. She hid the spies who came to check out her city. The spies hid from the soldiers of Jericho who came looking for them. Rahab hid her faith and told it only to the Israelite spies. When the city was taken, she and her family hid in her home and were spared. Most of all, God hid his purpose in Rahab, for no one could have imagined God using someone like her.
In the musical Evita, Eva Peron, the first lady of Argentina, embarks on a tour of Europe. When she lands in Rome, she fumes and complains to her host, “Did you hear that? They call me a whore!” His reply only adds to the sting, “It’s an easy mistake. I am still called an Admiral, yet I gave up the seas long ago.” However we tell her story, one thing stuck with Rahab: her profession as a prostitute. Josephus, the Jewish historian, tried to rehabilitate Rahab’s reputation by re-casting her as an inn-keeper, but few scholars are convinced. In all the references to her in Scriptures, she bore the title “Rahab the harlot.” (Josh 2:1; Heb 11:31; Jas 2:25)
Yet, for her faith in the God of Israel and daring decisions to protect the Israelite scouts, she secured a place in the history of Israel. She is listed with great men like Moses, Gideon and Samuel, in the hall of fame as a heroine of faith. Not only that, she found honour with men like Abraham, Isaac and David in the genealogy of the Messiah. Jewish tradition tells us that she converted to the faith of Israel and married Joshua, becoming the ancestress of eight priests and prophets, including Jeremiah. That may be crediting her with too much.
Matthew, a one-time tax-collector and tainted with the same despicable brush as prostitutes, gives us the prosaic truth. His record grafts Rahab’s name into the family tree of Jesus, stating simply, “Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David.” (Mt 1:5-6)
Rahab stood out as someone who had nothing left to lose. Her reputation lay in the dust. Her treachery to her city meant for her a traitor’s death. She risked her all for two strangers from another nation. She did it “in faith” because she saw no hope apart from refuge in the God of the Israelites. God not only spared her life and the lives of her family, but enshrined her name in the genealogy of the Messiah. The prostitute who had spent much of her life hiding finally found her destiny in God’s surprising purpose.
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod (For a fuller devotion on Rahab, see David W.F. Wong, “The Left Hand of God, and Other Surprises”, chapter 7.)
By Ps David Wong
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod
DAY 4 | The Widow | Luke 21:1-4
Opening Song Offering https://youtu.be/dCh7AFvEVjk
Read Scripture: Luke 21:1-4
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
I knew these verses from young because they were my Mum's favourite. They are the words of Jesus, speaking to us. We don't know the widow's name, which is strangely appropriate, but we do know that (a) she was poor, (b) a widow, (c) gave everything she had to live on, and (d) Jesus approved.
Why did Jesus approve? She didn't give a few percent of her post-tax income, or even a few percent of her net worth, she gave ALL of her living money. It's not the amount that is important, but how sacrificial it is. She gave everything to God.
Why was she singled out? Imagine a poor old lady shuffling forward in the queue, in the midst of people who were making a great show of giving piles of money. Jesus contrasts her to the wealthy who gave handsomely. He isn't comparing someone who gives to someone who doesn't give... but someone who gives everything quietly to someone who gives less than everything with great fanfare (a theme in the preceding verses too).
Why is she so special? Would you (and I) copy her and give everything to God? The question is profoundly uncomfortable. But let's be honest here; we probably aren't brave enough to give all of our money away (even though we would be blessed immensely if we followed a calling to do so). However, unlike us, this poor widow was brave enough. She had remarkable courage to honour God with everything, no matter the consequences. Truly, we should honour her strength.
What can we learn from this? Jesus overturned the attitudes of the world through such stories, the Sermon on the Mount, and by His very behaviour. But even today, attitudes in the world haven't changed much. Look in any newspaper or magazine and we can see stories about the rich – how much they’ve made, how much they gave, and how they live. Many today still idolise the rich and famous, and even teach this idolatry to their children. But we are God's people, called to see things differently. So let us deliberately adopt the attitude of Jesus, and honour the poor widow ahead of the wealthy show-offs.
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod Prayer Jesus, thank you for that poor widow. Please help us to see the world as you see it; and give us the courage to honour and trust you as much as that poor widow did.
By Anonymous Carmelite
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DAY 5 | The Woman With The Alabaster Jar | Luke 7:36-50
Opening Song Grace https://youtu.be/0BVxAYGt2kc
Read Scripture: Luke 7:36-50
When We Sin… This was a sinful woman who came to Jesus. Far too often, when we sin, we hide away from God. Saints are simply people saved by the Lord who come to Him as willingly as they know how. Self-righteousness separates us from God. Believing that we can save ourselves is self-righteousness. Running away from God adds to the distance.
Recognising Self-Righteousness The two characteristics of self-righteousness and pride are the propensity to doubt God rather than doubt ourselves and to see others as morally inferior. “Is Jesus really a prophet? Does He really know?” Our personal modern versions would be “Is God really who He says He is? Is He really trustworthy?” Instead, we should be asking ourselves, “are we really who we portray ourselves to be?”
The Relationship Between Love and Forgiveness The key verse to understanding the parable that Jesus told is “Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown” (v. 47a). When someone displays wholehearted love towards Jesus, it demonstrates that he or she truly has come to appreciate how much forgiveness he or she needed. Many of us struggle to love God because we don’t really appreciate how incredibly sinful we are. This apprehension is the beginning of a deep relationship with Jesus. We all need forgiveness. Will you allow yourself to need His forgiveness today?
Prayer Dear Lord, show me how sinful I am and how much forgiveness I needed, continue to need and will need. In Your Name I pray, amen.
By Ps Ng Liang Wei
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod
DAY 6 | The Anonymous Girl | 2 Kings 5:1-16
Opening Song He Knows my Name https://youtu.be/hXsiWoyjw60
Read Scripture: 2 Kings 5:1-16
Who are You Again?
I was browsing a local entertainment and fashion magazine when I came across the ‘Women of the Year’ awards. Each awardees is like a super women: has good looks, is wealthy, runs a successful business, has a loving husband and wonderful angelic children, and still has time to volunteer as chairwoman for charities! It is indeed admirable, but I wonder what message such awards give to stay-home or working moms struggling to raise a family on a meagre income and taking care of the household without a domestic helper. If she is a Christian, she may be barely involved in church or connecting with other women in prayer groups for support. Such a woman would pale in comparison to the “Women of the Year”, as judged by a materialistic and meritocratic society. Yet, even in the church, our ideas of the “Proverbs 31 woman” may subconsciously mirror women who are successful in the worldly sense. How does God view and value women in this topsy-turvy world?
This passage speaks of a young girl who was in captivity - literally snatched from her family to be a slave in Naaman’s household. Her name was not even mentioned in the Bible. In the society of Aram, she was at the very bottom of the societal rung. Yet, for some reason, she has the ear of her mistress, and subsequently, the ear of Naaman, her master. I often wonder how she earned their trust and respect. Perhaps her behaviour and work attitude - being diligent and dutiful - has made the difference; like a “Daniel” of her time. I also wonder how she knew that Elisha was able to cure Naaman of leprosy. Why did a slave girl speak up so boldly about the prophet Elisha to Naaman? At the appropriate juncture, the young girl even reasoned with the formidable general of Israel’s enemy when Naaman was frustrated at Elisha’s suggestion to dip himself into the River Jordan. She was able to keep her faith in God and His prophet despite her disadvantaged and traumatic experience in captivity.
Although unnamed, the young girl is really the heroine in the narrative and teaches us how God can use the seemingly insignificant, ordinary and even disadvantaged person to accomplish His purposes. The mystery of my many questions about the unknown girl is perhaps the window of understanding in our devotion today. How can we know God, know of God, know about God, have faith and be faithful in God, when we feel that we are just as insignificant as she was? Perhaps being known or successful by the world’s standard isn’t the premise for significance as long as we are known by Him. On one level, many of us know this, but we don’t necessarily feel it all the time. Maybe it doesn’t really matter as long as we are known by Him, loved by Him and are used by Him for His purposes. If anyone remarks to you, “Who are
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod you again?” and you are feeling down about it, just simply remember, He knows…and that is enough!
By Dn Timothy Liu
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod
DAY 7 | Missionary Anna Sofie Jakobson Cheng | Rom 10:5-7
Opening Song King of My Heart https://youtu.be/-jkMnq2Hfzo
Scripture: Listen to the reading of Romans 10 https://live.bible.is/bible/ENGESV/ROM/10?audio_type=audio_drama
Women Missionaries Missionary Training Nationality Joined Fields 司務道Annie Skau Berntsen 1911-1992 nurse Norwegian 27 y.o. Shaanxi, Hong Kong 胡遵理Jennie V. Hughes 1873-1951 missionary American 33 Jiujiang
鄭安娜 Anna Sofie Jakobsen 1860-1913 maid Norwegian 25 Shanghai, Shandong, Shanxi, Hunan, Hebei Sophie Dorothea Reuter 1860-1891 governess Norwegian 25 Shanghai, Shandong, Shanxi 石美玉Mary Stone 1873-1954 doctor Chinese 23 Jiangxi, Shanghai Maria Tarn Dyer1 1803-1846 missionary English 24 Penang, Malacca, Singapore Mary Maria Andrews 1915-1996 missionary Australian 23 Tianjin
Missionaries have one motto – to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the people. The table above is a snapshot of the countless missionary women who obeyed God’s call. Today, we will focus on:
鄭安娜 Anna Sofie Jakobsen Cheng (1860-1913)
Background – Weak Vessel Anna Cheng became a Christian at a young age while attending Sunday school. Around her late teens or early twenties, she worked as a housemaid for businessman Theodor Rasmussen and his wife, Elisabeth, in Kristiansand, Norway. Kristiansand is a Christian community with active participation in faith missions. At the Rasmussen household, the couple supported overseas missionaries who also influenced Anna. Theodor’s wife, Elisabeth, grew to love Anna and considered her as a long-time friend. At the same workplace, Anna met her travel companion, Sophie Dorothea Reuter, who worked as a governess and later, they went to London to be trained as missionaries. In the final years of the Qing dynasty, they were missionaries in China.
1 Maria Dyer (née Tarn) – founded the oldest girls' school in East Asia: St. Margaret's Primary School.. Her daughter, Maria Jane Dyer, married James Hudson Taylor, the founder of the China Inland Mission.
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod Calling Earlier on in her life, a bricklayer asked Anna directly if she had found peace with God and happiness in life. She responded that she had peace but no happiness. The bricklayer then told Anna to ask God to reveal His ‘word’ to her. Henceforth, she decided to spend time away from both friends and church activities to seek God. According to archives, she read the gospel of John and the Holy Spirit gave her a renewed understanding of God’s love and a different perspective of the world. Thus, her calling for missions was seeded, and later, Anna asked God for a companion for the missionary work ahead. God answered her request by providing her good friend, Sophie Reuter, to join her. So at the age 25, Anna Sofie Jakobsen and Sophie Dorothea Reuter were the first two single Norwegian women to heed the calling for China, and they joined the China Inland Mission (CIM) led by Hudson Taylor.
Interracial Marriage Anna’s husband, Cheng Xiuqi, was a “reformed opium abuser” and worked in a local church to help abusers recover and find Jesus in the process. Anna got to know Xiuqi in church, and their friendship blossomed into love. However, Hudson voiced his disapproval, as he thought Xiuqi was employed as a “native” helper and was considered to be of lower status than Anna, so they were deemed unsuitable as a missionary couple, as it may give the wrong impressions to those whom they minister to. After seven years of trying to resolve this cultural issue, Anna, then 38, felt that Xiuqi had waited long for her and decided to marry against the mission’s wishes. Many of her contemporaries were displeased with this union. Eventually, this international couple was expelled from CIM and looked upon as “utterly outré”. Stood Firm for God – Fruits of Friendship Still believing that China was her mission ground, Anna, 39, started the organisation, “Anna Cheng’s Mission” at Hunan with her husband. With no support as her mission was considered “non-denominational”, Theodor Rasmussen and his wife Elisabeth stepped up to support them. Legacy Anna died in 1911 at Hebei. She was 51 years old. Four years later, her husband joined her in heaven. Their only daughter, Dr Mary Jakobsen Cheng, served as a medical missionary to Sudan with her husband, Dr Mordon Wright. In 2010, a memorial tablet of Anna Jakobsen Cheng and Sophie Reuter was affixed to the building in Kristiansand. How are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”. Rom 10:15
Reflection: In times of chaos: (1) Civil unrest between Communists and Nationalists, (2) Japan invasion, and (3) Boxer rebellion as an ‘anti-Christian campaign’ in China, Anna still remained faithful to her mission calling as she loved Christ first. Each of the three
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod women, Elizabeth, Sophie and Anna, were like threads in a tapestry weaved by God at different times and places to expand God’s kingdom in China.
Elizabeth Elliot, the wife of Jim Elliot, shared their mission calling: “It is the love of Christ that constrains us. There is no other motivation for missionary service that is going to survive the blows of even the first year.” Would you respond to Christ’s love with duty, adventure and sacrifice today?
Christian Hymns as Theological Mediator When the missionaries evangelised the Lisu of South-west China, they realised that the Lisu were a singing people, so they translated a hymnbook in line with the New Testament. Many hymns were translated using Lisu poetic forms for worship and their daily rhythm of life. The hymns, still sung a capella in four-part harmony, have remained. While the bible remains out of reach to the majority who are illiterate peasant farmers, the hymnbook is well-known and well-worn. Take the cue from today’s song – “Let the king of my heart, be the wind inside my sails, the anchor in the waves”, be encouraged to take the bold step to leave a legacy. Take some time to read the story of Anna Sofie Cheng and other resources in the Further Reading section below.
Prayer Heavenly Father, I want to obey the command of our Lord Jesus to make disciples of all nations. Please secure my heart for this great spiritual work. I need the abiding presence of the Spirit to experience and live out the calling you have given me. In Christ’s name, amen.
Further Reading MA Thesis in History (includes historical pictures and maps) ● Missions, Families & the Life Course of Anna Sofie Jakobsen Cheng by Marte Drønen Lægreid (2015) Dept of Archaeology, History, Cultural Studies and Religion, Ahkr University of Bergen, Norway Yale University Library – Digital Collections China’s Millions magazine, published by London China Inland Mission (click on the page numbers) ● 1889 ‘Shan-si Province. Miss Jakobsen’. Pages 61-62 (bottom right column) and 132 (left column) ● 1897 ‘Evangelising in Hu-nan. Miss Jakobsen’. Page 114-116 (bottom right column). Other Resources ● List of Protestant missionaries in China ● Mary Maria Andrews, Australian Missionary and Anglican Deaconess ● YouTube: Songs of Lisu Hill Tribes. ● Academia.edu: God’s Mission to the Lisu by Walter McConnell (2019), OMF International.
By Adrian Ang
www.carmel.sg/womenwhoknewgod