May 6, 2002
LifeWay women's convention draws 7,000 to Fort Worth
___By Jerilynn Armstrong
___SBC Annuity Board
___FORT WORTH (BP)--Greeted by applause and a standing ovation, Beth Moore welcomed almost 7,000 women to the first National Christian Women's Convention, meeting in her home state of Texas.
___"I am so glad to have an audience that understands my twang and doesn't need a translation," said Moore, author of several in-depth Bible studies for women and founder of Living Proof Ministries, based in Houston.
___At the three-day meeting sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, Moore spoke on hope.
___She introduced the topic with the Scripture passage Ezekiel 37:1-14, the account of God bringing Ezekiel to a valley full of dry bones and commanding him to prophesy over the dry bones. As Ezekiel preached, the bones came together and were brought to life.
HOUSTON Bible teacher and author Beth Moore speaks to LifeWay Christian Resources' first National Christian Women's Convention in Fort Worth. (Jim Veneman/BP)
___"Ezekiel preached over these bones because God desired to raise up a vast army, but the enemy was trying to make a valley of dryness," Moore said. "If the enemy can convince us that something is hopeless, life will begin to drain from us.
___"We can't let the enemy talk us into losing hope. Hope is not a feeling for Christians. We have biblical hope that is different," she said.
___Many Hebrew words exist for the word "hope," Moore said, but she focused on three of the most frequently used in the Bible.
___These Hebrew words mean expectation, a cord or attachment and binding together.
___"Do you have absolute anticipation and expectation for God?" Moore asked. "Hope means my God is showing up. He is on his way. I am anxious and expecting him. Have we quit looking?"
___Likewise, hope should be an attachment to God, she said. "Every single one of us is hanging on to something. What is your biggest attachment? If it is anything but Jesus Christ, you are dangling by a thread."
___Further, the hope God offers is "a hope you can hang on to," Moore said. "Right now many of us are hanging on to things we can't guarantee will stay in our grasp. The Lord Jesus Christ is someone you can dig your hands into."
___The binding type of hope may be illustrated by the clinging of a child to his mother, she added. "I remember walking around the house with a preschooler standing on my feet, hugging my thighs and hanging on for dear life.
___"Right now picture yourself grabbing on to the leg of God and hanging on for dear life. All the work you need to do is hang on to God and let him do the walking."
___In another session, Moore spoke to the women about freedom. She drew from the Old Testament book of Genesis, where she said the word "free" first appears in the Bible.
___In Genesis 2:17, the Bible says God commanded Adam and Eve, "You are free to eat of any fruit except for one."
___"God is telling man he is free, and the way to stay free is not to eat from one fruit," Moore said. "Now if you have a 'no' concept of God and believe God is all about what we cannot do, then it is time to think again.
___"Bondage," she said, "results from the erroneous belief that God is withholding something good from us. ... God is not holding out on us with no's. His no's are to help us enjoy the yeses."
___Also, she admonished: "Don't buy Satan's lie that all that is good and fun is displeasing to God. Many of us are bored stiff. Church has become routine and one-dimensional. Take a break from the apples and oranges and go eat some kiwi and mango."
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