![[BONUS] Jesus Calling Scripture Study: Mothers in the Bible with Rhonda Stoppe](https://cdn-images-3.listennotes.com/podcasts/jesus-calling/bonus-jesus-calling-3Gg-darpKOC-s5DlKPX_YWC.1400x1400.jpg "[BONUS] Jesus Calling Scripture Study: Mothers in the Bible with Rhonda Stoppe")
00:00:08
Speaker 1: Life Audio.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Did you know that Jesus Calling has its own YouTube channel. It's full of great content that will enhance your spiritual life. You'll find beautiful videos with short devotional moments to help you through your day, as well as stories on video from celebrities, authors, pastors, and everyday people who share what their faith journey has meant to them. You'll also find that Jesus Listens Stories of Prayer series hosted by Susie McIntyre Eaton, featuring new guests monthly. Subscribe today for new videos each week.
00:00:41
Speaker 1: If you look at all the moms of the Bible, so many of their flawed stories reflect the grace of God that says, now I've got you broken, and now I can use you in a way I never could have used you had you not failed, because now you're relying completely on Christ alone.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: Welcome to a special Scripture focus bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast where we examine the story and roles of mothers in the Bible with author and host of the Old Ladies Know Stuff podcast, Rhonda Stoppy. Ronda walks us through the lives of women in the Bible like Naomi Eunice, the mother of Timothy, Mary, and more. She shows us what we can learn from biblical mothers that challenge and equip us to guide the next generation.
00:01:26
Speaker 1: God calls older women to teach the younger. When I look back on my life, I remember not having a clue how to be the wife I wanted to be the mom. I wanted to be the woman I wanted to be. I needed mentors, I needed help. And it's this struggle of loneliness because we compare ourselves against other women that we think have it all together. And I think, especially in this time in history when social media is such a part of mom's and women's lives, that comparison trap makes us feel guilty or prideful. So, whether it's because you feel like you're not doing well or you're doing super well, either one is not what God has for us. The Bible says these things were written for our instruction. I couldn't stop exploring the lives of these women in history that God used for their time will. So many of their flawed stories reflect the grace of God that says, now I've got you broken, and now I can use you in a way I never could have used you had you not failed. Because now you're relying completely on Christ alone. And one of the women that stood out to me was Naomi. And I think it's because I'm older now, so I'm identifying with that older woman. But I full on expected Naomi's story to be one of mentorship. She mentored Ruth, she told Ruth what to do? You know all that. But as I got into Naomi's story, that whole account of her life, it's not a story, it's a biblical account in history, is of her walking through loss, through grief, through infertility, through not having any clue what God is doing, and being alone, all by herself. She follows her husband to a foreign land when there's a drought in Israel. They were going to come back soon one day when everything's better, will come home. Well. Then her husband died grief. She still had her two boys, but her boys married Moabite women. This was a Jewish mother who wanted her sons to marry Jewish women, which is what Jewish tradition required, and they married Moabite women, whose religion burned babies on the altar of sacrifice. But infertility visited their family and neither one of the girls could conceive, and then both of her sons pass away. Here she is in a foreign land with these two daughters in law living with her, relying on her. And that's when Naomi goes that that's it. I'm done. I'm going home. I'm going back to my people, and I'm going back to my God. And the daughters in law follow her until they get a certain distance away, and Naomi realizes I have nothing for you. Immediately she says, go back to your gods and your people, and Orpah does. She returns home to her family and her gods, and you never hear from Orpah again. But at this point in Naomi's story is when Ruth says, oh, no, your God will be my god. Your people will be my people. Where you go, I will go. This is when Ruth makes a covenant to the God of Israel. That's when Ruth followed Naomi back to the God of Israel and back to Israel. If you look at all the moms of the Bible, you will find and even children in history that were raised by their mothers, their first teachers were not theologians. It was their moms. I think of Lois and Eunus, and Eunice had Timothy and Lois was the grandma. Here's Eunice and Lois, and they're pouring into Timothy. Timothy was his dad was a Greek. Lois watched Eunus marry someone that wasn't a Jew, that was unheard of. That was wrong. She betrayed her people by marrying a Greek. Historians say that probably his dad was either divorced the mom or was dead by the time that Paul came on the scene. So this young Timothy was being influenced multi generationally by his mother and his grandmother. And that's when the Apostle Paul said, because of the truth that was implanted in you, Timothy by your mother and your grandmother, you were ready to receive the Gospel when I delivered it to you. A mom and a grandma. WHOA what power? They were just doing what's in front of them. They didn't know that they were raising the young man who one day the Apostle Paul would hand over the very mantle of his ministry to Timothy, right before Paul gave his life for the sake of the Gospel. Do what's in front of you, trust God with the outcome.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: Stay tuned for more with Ronda Stoppy after a brief message. These uncertain times bring anxiety and fear, but Jesus Listens Prayers for Every Season gives you daily prayers of comfort with seasonally inspired illustrations. This beautiful book includes prayers that speak to your situation, whether it's a time of stress or strength. Look for Jesus Listens Prayers for Every Season wherever you buy.
00:06:32
Speaker 1: Books Moms of the Bible. I didn't want to just visit the moms that were you know, Mary, she was so amazing, But I wanted to visit the stories of the moms like Rayhab the Harlot. It's interesting that for the rest of Rayhab's life and on through history, even in the Book of Hebrews chapter eleven, when she's named among the heroes of the Faith, her name is Rahab the Harlot. I always feel like, why did she have to keep that title? Why couldn't she shake that title and just be known by her husband that she married, who was an Israelite. When those spies popped into her house, she hid them and she said to them, oh, we've already heard about the God of Israel. We're scared. We heard the story of what God did in Egypt. Forty years ago, that story has visited us, and we are scared because we know your camp just across the river, and we know about your God. If you go back to that time in history when God was telling Moses and all of those trials and those plagues that kept coming upon Israel, God kept saying that the world may know that there is a God in Israel. And while all that was going on, yes it was to break the Pharaoh, and yes it was to let my people go and for Egypt to be set free, and yes it was for Passover, and yes it was for Israel's history, but it was also that the world would know that there is a God in Israel. His testimony went before him, and forty years later this prost two women with a shameful story, was like, hey, I know about your God and I want him. And she hid those men, knowing it could cost her. And then she said, when you come back, and I know you're going to come back and there's going to be victory, remember me and my household. And they said, if everyone that you bring into your home, you bring your family into your home, they will be safe. Another lady in that chapter that I talk about is the woman at the well, and we don't know that she was a mom, but we know that Jesus went to see her, and that scripture about her life says Jesus needed to go find this woman with a poor reputation. This woman was so ashamed of the way she had lived her life in immorality. She would rather fight the heat of the day in the Middle East to get water than have to see the stairs and gossip of the women that would be talking about her behind her back. And Jesus went to rescue her. He needed to go find her. And then in Jesus' kindness, he sends the disciples a way to get food. And I love how kind the Lord is because this woman would have felt such shame, And if all those disciples were sitting there staring at her while Jesus was talking, she may not have been as open. But it was just the two of them, and he asks for water, and then he says, if you knew who was asking you for water, you'd ask for a living water. I love her story because as soon as her eyes are open and Jesus reveals to her the first person in history that he says with his own words, I am that promised Messiah. Just as the disciples walk up, they hear him say it plainly for the first time. He chose to give that information to a woman with a shameful story, And what does she do. Immediately she drops her bucket and she runs right back into that city where she had so much shame, and she's like, I found him, I found the Messiah. Come and see if this is not the one. I love that, because when we find Jesus, we can't help but go back and tell people. One of the moms of the Bible that I want to talk about is Herodius. Herodius was the mother of Salome. Herodias was married to herod who had arrested John the Baptist, because John the Baptist approached Herodias and Herod and said, hey, you left your husband and married his brother Herodias, and that was wrong, and they arrested him, and she wanted him put to death, but Herodias was afraid of the people, so he just kept John the Baptist in prison. And then in the story we find that Salome dances before the king and he applauds and just is so proud of his stepdaughter and before everyone in the room. He says, I will give you whatever you want, up to half my kingdom. And the first thing this daughter does is run to her mother to say, what should I ask for? Okay, time out. A good mom would have been, oh, honey, ask for a new chariot, ask for a palace that you can live out your days in the kingdom. What does her mom say? This bitter, evil woman was waiting for an opportunity, and she said, oh, ask for John the Baptist's head on a platter. The daughter must have been familiar with the way that her mom interacted with life and known the bitterness, and she runs over to please her mother and says to Herod, I want John the Baptist head on a platter. And I can't help but think that there are women that had a mom who was like Herodias. They had a mom who they tried so hard to please, but that mom's bitterness and harsh upbringing imprinted upon them, and maybe they're having a hard time for giving that mom. When Jesus sets us free, when we surrender to him as our Lord and our savior, and he takes our sins and washes us whiter than snow, as far as east is from the west. The freedom that can come Herodiaus story is a hard one, and hearing a call to forgive someone who has wronged you is a hard one. But that is our freedom, and that's how we break free from them only through the help of Jesus Christ in us the hope of glory man. Motherhood is just challenging, isn't It's humbling, And there's seasons that are great and there are seasons that are not. And I think of the Apostle Paul when he says, you know, I've learned in whatever state I am in to be thankful. But there are seasons in our life that are so hard and so painful, and if we hold them out to the Lord, the loss, the confusion, the overwhelmed, the beating ourselves up, the mom guilt, the marriage trouble. Maybe you're a single mom and you're feeling like you're going it alone. You are God ordained called to be the mom of this next generation. You're shaping world changers. You are the architect of the next generation. This is an incredible calling that God has put on your life.
00:12:52
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to this special scripture focused Phonus episode. To learn more about Rhonda, please visit Rondastoppy dot com and be sure to check out our book, Moms of the Bible, available at your favorite retailer. Enjoy our tire series scripture studies, each with different Bible teachers and experts guiding us through specific books, topics, and people in the Bible. On the Jesus Calling YouTube channel. To discover more inspiring stories of faith, visit Jesus Calling dot com slash podcast. Thanks for listening to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast on the Life Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring you stories from people who share their journeys of faith and how prayer and a relationship with God transformed their lives. Be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a review so others can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally, you can find encouragement resources and more on the Jesus Calling website at Jesuscalling dot com
Speaker 1: Life Audio.
00:00:11
Speaker 2: Did you know that Jesus Calling has its own YouTube channel. It's full of great content that will enhance your spiritual life. You'll find beautiful videos with short devotional moments to help you through your day, as well as stories on video from celebrities, authors, pastors, and everyday people who share what their faith journey has meant to them. You'll also find that Jesus Listens Stories of Prayer series hosted by Susie McIntyre Eaton, featuring new guests monthly. Subscribe today for new videos each week.
00:00:41
Speaker 1: If you look at all the moms of the Bible, so many of their flawed stories reflect the grace of God that says, now I've got you broken, and now I can use you in a way I never could have used you had you not failed, because now you're relying completely on Christ alone.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: Welcome to a special Scripture focus bonus episode of the Jesus Calling Podcast where we examine the story and roles of mothers in the Bible with author and host of the Old Ladies Know Stuff podcast, Rhonda Stoppy. Ronda walks us through the lives of women in the Bible like Naomi Eunice, the mother of Timothy, Mary, and more. She shows us what we can learn from biblical mothers that challenge and equip us to guide the next generation.
00:01:26
Speaker 1: God calls older women to teach the younger. When I look back on my life, I remember not having a clue how to be the wife I wanted to be the mom. I wanted to be the woman I wanted to be. I needed mentors, I needed help. And it's this struggle of loneliness because we compare ourselves against other women that we think have it all together. And I think, especially in this time in history when social media is such a part of mom's and women's lives, that comparison trap makes us feel guilty or prideful. So, whether it's because you feel like you're not doing well or you're doing super well, either one is not what God has for us. The Bible says these things were written for our instruction. I couldn't stop exploring the lives of these women in history that God used for their time will. So many of their flawed stories reflect the grace of God that says, now I've got you broken, and now I can use you in a way I never could have used you had you not failed. Because now you're relying completely on Christ alone. And one of the women that stood out to me was Naomi. And I think it's because I'm older now, so I'm identifying with that older woman. But I full on expected Naomi's story to be one of mentorship. She mentored Ruth, she told Ruth what to do? You know all that. But as I got into Naomi's story, that whole account of her life, it's not a story, it's a biblical account in history, is of her walking through loss, through grief, through infertility, through not having any clue what God is doing, and being alone, all by herself. She follows her husband to a foreign land when there's a drought in Israel. They were going to come back soon one day when everything's better, will come home. Well. Then her husband died grief. She still had her two boys, but her boys married Moabite women. This was a Jewish mother who wanted her sons to marry Jewish women, which is what Jewish tradition required, and they married Moabite women, whose religion burned babies on the altar of sacrifice. But infertility visited their family and neither one of the girls could conceive, and then both of her sons pass away. Here she is in a foreign land with these two daughters in law living with her, relying on her. And that's when Naomi goes that that's it. I'm done. I'm going home. I'm going back to my people, and I'm going back to my God. And the daughters in law follow her until they get a certain distance away, and Naomi realizes I have nothing for you. Immediately she says, go back to your gods and your people, and Orpah does. She returns home to her family and her gods, and you never hear from Orpah again. But at this point in Naomi's story is when Ruth says, oh, no, your God will be my god. Your people will be my people. Where you go, I will go. This is when Ruth makes a covenant to the God of Israel. That's when Ruth followed Naomi back to the God of Israel and back to Israel. If you look at all the moms of the Bible, you will find and even children in history that were raised by their mothers, their first teachers were not theologians. It was their moms. I think of Lois and Eunus, and Eunice had Timothy and Lois was the grandma. Here's Eunice and Lois, and they're pouring into Timothy. Timothy was his dad was a Greek. Lois watched Eunus marry someone that wasn't a Jew, that was unheard of. That was wrong. She betrayed her people by marrying a Greek. Historians say that probably his dad was either divorced the mom or was dead by the time that Paul came on the scene. So this young Timothy was being influenced multi generationally by his mother and his grandmother. And that's when the Apostle Paul said, because of the truth that was implanted in you, Timothy by your mother and your grandmother, you were ready to receive the Gospel when I delivered it to you. A mom and a grandma. WHOA what power? They were just doing what's in front of them. They didn't know that they were raising the young man who one day the Apostle Paul would hand over the very mantle of his ministry to Timothy, right before Paul gave his life for the sake of the Gospel. Do what's in front of you, trust God with the outcome.
00:06:07
Speaker 2: Stay tuned for more with Ronda Stoppy after a brief message. These uncertain times bring anxiety and fear, but Jesus Listens Prayers for Every Season gives you daily prayers of comfort with seasonally inspired illustrations. This beautiful book includes prayers that speak to your situation, whether it's a time of stress or strength. Look for Jesus Listens Prayers for Every Season wherever you buy.
00:06:32
Speaker 1: Books Moms of the Bible. I didn't want to just visit the moms that were you know, Mary, she was so amazing, But I wanted to visit the stories of the moms like Rayhab the Harlot. It's interesting that for the rest of Rayhab's life and on through history, even in the Book of Hebrews chapter eleven, when she's named among the heroes of the Faith, her name is Rahab the Harlot. I always feel like, why did she have to keep that title? Why couldn't she shake that title and just be known by her husband that she married, who was an Israelite. When those spies popped into her house, she hid them and she said to them, oh, we've already heard about the God of Israel. We're scared. We heard the story of what God did in Egypt. Forty years ago, that story has visited us, and we are scared because we know your camp just across the river, and we know about your God. If you go back to that time in history when God was telling Moses and all of those trials and those plagues that kept coming upon Israel, God kept saying that the world may know that there is a God in Israel. And while all that was going on, yes it was to break the Pharaoh, and yes it was to let my people go and for Egypt to be set free, and yes it was for Passover, and yes it was for Israel's history, but it was also that the world would know that there is a God in Israel. His testimony went before him, and forty years later this prost two women with a shameful story, was like, hey, I know about your God and I want him. And she hid those men, knowing it could cost her. And then she said, when you come back, and I know you're going to come back and there's going to be victory, remember me and my household. And they said, if everyone that you bring into your home, you bring your family into your home, they will be safe. Another lady in that chapter that I talk about is the woman at the well, and we don't know that she was a mom, but we know that Jesus went to see her, and that scripture about her life says Jesus needed to go find this woman with a poor reputation. This woman was so ashamed of the way she had lived her life in immorality. She would rather fight the heat of the day in the Middle East to get water than have to see the stairs and gossip of the women that would be talking about her behind her back. And Jesus went to rescue her. He needed to go find her. And then in Jesus' kindness, he sends the disciples a way to get food. And I love how kind the Lord is because this woman would have felt such shame, And if all those disciples were sitting there staring at her while Jesus was talking, she may not have been as open. But it was just the two of them, and he asks for water, and then he says, if you knew who was asking you for water, you'd ask for a living water. I love her story because as soon as her eyes are open and Jesus reveals to her the first person in history that he says with his own words, I am that promised Messiah. Just as the disciples walk up, they hear him say it plainly for the first time. He chose to give that information to a woman with a shameful story, And what does she do. Immediately she drops her bucket and she runs right back into that city where she had so much shame, and she's like, I found him, I found the Messiah. Come and see if this is not the one. I love that, because when we find Jesus, we can't help but go back and tell people. One of the moms of the Bible that I want to talk about is Herodius. Herodius was the mother of Salome. Herodias was married to herod who had arrested John the Baptist, because John the Baptist approached Herodias and Herod and said, hey, you left your husband and married his brother Herodias, and that was wrong, and they arrested him, and she wanted him put to death, but Herodias was afraid of the people, so he just kept John the Baptist in prison. And then in the story we find that Salome dances before the king and he applauds and just is so proud of his stepdaughter and before everyone in the room. He says, I will give you whatever you want, up to half my kingdom. And the first thing this daughter does is run to her mother to say, what should I ask for? Okay, time out. A good mom would have been, oh, honey, ask for a new chariot, ask for a palace that you can live out your days in the kingdom. What does her mom say? This bitter, evil woman was waiting for an opportunity, and she said, oh, ask for John the Baptist's head on a platter. The daughter must have been familiar with the way that her mom interacted with life and known the bitterness, and she runs over to please her mother and says to Herod, I want John the Baptist head on a platter. And I can't help but think that there are women that had a mom who was like Herodias. They had a mom who they tried so hard to please, but that mom's bitterness and harsh upbringing imprinted upon them, and maybe they're having a hard time for giving that mom. When Jesus sets us free, when we surrender to him as our Lord and our savior, and he takes our sins and washes us whiter than snow, as far as east is from the west. The freedom that can come Herodiaus story is a hard one, and hearing a call to forgive someone who has wronged you is a hard one. But that is our freedom, and that's how we break free from them only through the help of Jesus Christ in us the hope of glory man. Motherhood is just challenging, isn't It's humbling, And there's seasons that are great and there are seasons that are not. And I think of the Apostle Paul when he says, you know, I've learned in whatever state I am in to be thankful. But there are seasons in our life that are so hard and so painful, and if we hold them out to the Lord, the loss, the confusion, the overwhelmed, the beating ourselves up, the mom guilt, the marriage trouble. Maybe you're a single mom and you're feeling like you're going it alone. You are God ordained called to be the mom of this next generation. You're shaping world changers. You are the architect of the next generation. This is an incredible calling that God has put on your life.
00:12:52
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to this special scripture focused Phonus episode. To learn more about Rhonda, please visit Rondastoppy dot com and be sure to check out our book, Moms of the Bible, available at your favorite retailer. Enjoy our tire series scripture studies, each with different Bible teachers and experts guiding us through specific books, topics, and people in the Bible. On the Jesus Calling YouTube channel. To discover more inspiring stories of faith, visit Jesus Calling dot com slash podcast. Thanks for listening to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith podcast on the Life Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring you stories from people who share their journeys of faith and how prayer and a relationship with God transformed their lives. Be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a review so others can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally, you can find encouragement resources and more on the Jesus Calling website at Jesuscalling dot com
