Recommended Read: Woman Thou Art Loosed by TD Jakes
(Sidenote) I chose this picture because Blair Underwood is on my vision board and I never want to miss a chance to place my vision on the tablet.
This is a classic read when it comes to Women's Ministry.
I really enjoy TD Jakes' ministry because he is one of the few preachers I've ever heard who can squeeze every little bit out of a Bible text. I mean by the time he gets through with it, you see things in the text that was there all along but you just missed it.
The same is true when it comes to the scripture of Luke 13:12
And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.
Healing wounds from the Past
Many women are in need of healing these days. It's not just physically but it's emotionally, spiritually, and relationally. There's so much that women are dealing with and as Jakes tells the story of the woman who has been sick, bound, bent over, and disabled for a number of years but was called by Jesus to be loosed from her disability you understand that this is a story for all of us.
When I studied mindset the teaching was that Success is Not about what you're doing. It's finding out what's holding you back. Often times it is our histories combined with mindset that is preventing us from moving forward. In order for us to be healed fully we must confront the pain of our past.
This is the cornerstone of Jesus' ministry. Healing what's wrong with them and setting them free so that they can go forth and THRIVE.
Even in church (which is mostly women), the women are in chains and flocking to these churches and preachers hoping to hear something that will heal them but the only thing that can loose them is getting honest about the past and allowing JESUS to set them free. I
n fact, Jakes makes an observation that I had observed all of my life but when he said it...it all just clicked.
Legalistic Religions
He said that abused and low esteemed women tend to flock to authoritarian legalistic religions where God is seen as a punisher and has a paternalistic nature. That's why I fled legalism and authoritarian religion Once I began to understand we are supposed to have a RELATIONSHIP with God and not just follow religious rules and uphold arbitrary religious traditions, it was time to Go.
It was also time to Go because that type of religion has ZERO POWER. Over the past seven years I've had incredible spiritual experiences and God encounters. Spiritual experiences and God experiences never ever happened with legalism and as the years go by and I see the fruits of legalism, I will take the fruits of the spirit ANY DAY.
Teaching on Delilah
Perhaps the most intriguing piece of teaching in this book for me was that on the Delilah spirit. We always hear Delilah preached one way in churches (mainly because many of these preachers are anti woman) but his teaching on Delilah was so interesting that I really found it helpful and a great insight for women.
Communicating with Men
Many of us need to learn to communicate better with men and we need to have some insight on how to do so in a HEALTHY manner. I don't know who would have a better opinion than an actual man and I found the teachings on this to be incredibly helpful
Overall Review
Great Book with lots of scripture reference and solid teaching. I believe this was the book that launched TD Jakes into the public eye and I can see why. Most books for women when it came to spiritual matters were all fluff. This book talks to the single woman, the broken woman, the abused woman, the molested woman, the older woman, the married woman, and so forth.
It's a book that you just don't want to read but do some self reflection and journaling. You should buy the 20th Anniversary edition as it has study guide questions for deeper reflection.
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