Zebra Ministries: Keep On Marching

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Keep On Marching

Joshua 6:3

March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days.
Good morning Zebras,

Daily obedience and trust in God is a basic requirement of the Christian faith. Sometimes it seems easier to say than to do.

Right now is one of those times for me.

But this morning when I woke up feeling a little bit sorry for myself, God reminded me of Joshua and Noah. Can you imagine how foolish Noah must have felt building an ark? Or Joshua as he marched around Jericho waiting for the walls to fall down?

Or maybe they didn’t feel foolish at all. Maybe their faith in God was so strong they just obeyed without any thought to how it looked. The Bible doesn’t tell us.

But how they felt isn’t really the important part, what they did is.

Both of them obeyed God and did what seemed to be something very foolish. They believed God and obeyed. Just like Abraham.

Abraham has become one of my new favorites. The life of faith he lived should be an example to us all. He left everything he knew and followed God. But what makes it even more amazing to me is that prior to this, there is no indication Abraham even knew who God was. In fact he probably didn’t. God hadn’t spoken to anyone for three hundred years. There was no “Jewish Nation,” so most likely Abraham was an idol worshiper just like everyone else. But God spoke and Abraham went.

No wonder the disciples understood the concept of leaving everything to follow Christ.

Over and over again in the New Testament we see people called by Jesus to walk away from whatever they were doing to follow Him. Yet we still hesitate.

God wants us to follow Him with our whole life, not a portion, not the part that makes sense, all of it, every day. He has given us way too many examples to think otherwise.

Of course Jesus himself was the ultimate example. Becoming obedient unto to death and why? So the world would know that He loved His Father and did exactly what His Father commanded Him to do. John 14:31

Have a great weekend little Zebras. I’ll talk to you again on Monday.

Love,
Jill

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Why Zebras?

In the summer of 2008 I was looking at a herd of zebras in a wild animal park and commented to my son that I didn’t understand why the lions didn’t just eat the zebras because their markings make them so obvious. He told me that the opposite was actually true. God has marked zebras so when they hang together in a herd, their stripes create the illusion they are one large animal and therefore too big to attack. It is the lone zebra that is usually eaten. The same is true of Christians; we must hang together and encourage each other to fight off the lions. The lone Christian is easy prey.

1 Peter 5:8
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Therefore:

Zebras was started to encourage women who desire to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, who want their lives to be transformed to honor God and who are willing to be “zebras” in a world of “horses”. Zebras exists to reassure you that you are not alone and that God has called you to be peculiar. As a peculiar person you should look different than the world

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Pastor Endorsement

Jill Getchell speaks from her heart and from God’s word in a way that brings encouragement and hope to God’s people. I’ve been blessed to hear her at Awana conferences, a women’s retreat, and from the pulpit of our church. I am confident your people will be equally blessed by spending the day with Jill at We Have Hope...your church will be blessed as well.

Pastor Al Marks

First Baptist Church Vallejo

I have known Jill for many years now. She truly desires to encourage the churches in our community and to strengthen the believers that attend our churches. Her passion for Jesus comes out in her ability to speak, and her heart is to encourage all those that attend to go back into their churches and be a blessing.

Pastor Kelly Patchin

New Harbor Community Church, Benicia

I believe women are vital to the unity and health of the church. They bear the image of God and serve Him in a great way within His church. Zebras has the ability to unite and excite women to grow in their faith and in their relationships with each other. In John 17:20 Jesus says, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” One of Christ’s last prayers for His church is that they would be one as He is with the Father. And through our unity the world can come to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. Unity is essential for a healthy church and healthy relationships between women. Zebras can stimulate healthy growth in the spiritual lives of the women in your church too. It is a blessing at New Harbor and I believe it would be a blessing for any pastor to have in their church.

Kelly Patchin, Pastor
New Harbor Community Church

Testimonies

The Zebra herd has given me the opportunity to be myself. I think we all have a face we put on for others, especially on Sunday. We don’t want to let anyone see the pain or hurt we’re suffering because we feel that it’s a reflection on our walk with Christ. I now have a group of loving Christian women with whom to share the joys and sorrows equally… Without the Zebras, I’d still be wearing my Sunday face. ...............Dawn C.

The Zebra ministry has deepened my relationship with Christ and the women at my church beyond what I thought possible... Most importantly, it has given me a safe place to be very, very real… I have learned how to be transparent and allow my fellow Zebra sisters to support me in prayer and God to minister to the deepest part of my soul--the part that needed it the most.................... Jennifer H.

When I came to New Harbor Church I was so lonely. I knew I needed the fellowship of other Christian women but did not know if I could break out of my self-imposed isolation. I felt unworthy of anyone’s friendship, let alone" godly people"... But Zebras has made me feel the true acceptance of these wonderful women. I have slowly opened my heart to them, with their encouragement and love! I don't have that heavy ache of solitude anymore. ................Barbara B.

I was with you in the beginning meetings of the herd and watched it evolve into a place where we as sisters in Christ could share our burdens without judgment. Being a Zebra helped me through a very trying time- Leap of Faith– leaving a relationship, selling my home and trusting in God. It was encouraging to know that I was not alone and being a part of a group where women could feel understood, comforted, and lifted up spiritually. .................Tracy M.

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