March 21

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

 Faith Stewart (1873–1958) as a missionary, educator, and fierce advocate for India’s most vulnerable. Born in the United States in 1873, she carried a deep conviction that Christian love must not only be preached — it must be lived. Refusing the comfortable path, she journeyed alone to India in 1903 with nothing but a Bible, prayer, and a call from God to rescue the forgotten.

In India, she saw firsthand the plight of orphaned girls — cast aside by poverty, disease, or custom. Moved by compassion and conviction, she founded Faith Home, a refuge that would become a sanctuary for hundreds of young girls over the years. What began with a handful of children grew into a ministry that offered safety, education, spiritual nourishment, and above all, dignity. She taught them to read, to sew, and most importantly, to pray.

Miss Stewart’s mission was not backed by a denomination or major organization — her support came through prayer and small donations from believers back home. Yet her work became known across India for its consistency, humility, and power. She spent more than 50 years on the mission field and never returned to live in the U.S.

Faith Stewart’s Final Words (as recorded by those at Faith Home):

“Tell them I was not alone. Jesus was here.”

Selected Anecdotes:

The Day of Empty Rice
With no money and no food for the girls, Faith prayed in the kitchen for “manna.” A knock came at the gate — a farmer brought a bag of rice, saying he “felt led” to give it that morning.

The Girl in the Alley
She once rescued a girl left on the roadside by gently wrapping her in a sari and whispering, “You are not trash — you are treasure.” That girl later became a schoolteacher.

The Barefoot Baptisms
Faith baptized many of the girls barefoot, in muddy rivers, often under threat from local hostility. Her only fear, she once said, “was that they would not know they are loved.”

Letters by Lamplight
She handwrote letters to prayer partners across the globe by candlelight, asking only for prayer and “not to forget the orphans of India.”

Famous Quotes Attributed to Faith Stewart:

"I do not rescue children. I raise daughters of the King."
"One soul is a nation in God’s eyes."
"My feet are tired, but my heart runs."
"Jesus came poor. So I do not count cost."
"India is not my duty — it is my love."

Legacy:

Faith Stewart stands as a towering example of one woman’s obedience to God in the face of immense challenge. Her legacy is not buildings or fame, but hundreds of children who grew up knowing they were loved, educated, and welcomed into the household of faith. Her home still stands today, a testament to the enduring power of love lived out in sacrifice. Through prayer and perseverance, Faith Stewart proved that missions is not about numbers or resources — it’s about being present where God sends you, with His heart in your hands.

Christian Women Devotionals

 Isadora the Farmer (7th Century) Little is known of Isadora’s birth or lineage, but the soil remembers her. A humble Christian farmer living in the rural fields of early Byzantine Egypt or Asia Minor, Isadora became known for a remarkable act of devotion: she offered the firstfruits of every harvest — without fail — to the poor.

She kept only what remained after the widows, orphans, and strangers had been fed. Her granary was simple, her clothes plain, and her hands calloused. But her generosity became legend in the surrounding villages. Year after year, when others feared drought or poor yield, Isadora gave the first she reaped — grain, olives, figs, honey, or wine — declaring, “What belongs to the Lord’s children must not be stored in barns.”

She never preached a sermon, but her life became one. Even in hardship, she gave. Even in loss, she tithed. She believed the soil belonged to God — and so did her harvests.

Isadora’s Final Words (as preserved in oral tradition):

“Let the hungry eat before I rest.”
Reportedly spoken on her deathbed, she asked that the last basket of dried figs in her storehouse be carried to a neighboring widow before she closed her eyes.

Source: Preserved in a 9th-century monastic collection of rural saints’ sayings.

Selected Anecdotes:

The Storm-Torn Field
After a storm destroyed part of her crop, neighbors urged her to keep the best of what remained. Instead, she gathered it for the poor and said, “Better to lack bread than lack obedience.”

The Quiet Bell
When the harvest was ready, she rang a small bell — not for laborers, but for the poor to come. They called it “Isadora’s gospel bell.”

The Stranger’s Sack
A traveling pilgrim once dropped his sack. She filled it with wheat and whispered, “I sow upward. You walk forward.”

The Plow in Winter
Even in lean seasons, she plowed and planted. One villager asked, “Why?” She replied, “Because hope has roots even in frost.”

The Famine Exchange
During a regional famine, she traded her winter cloak for extra grain. When asked if she was cold, she said, “Warmer than the child who now eats.”

Famous Quotes Attributed to Isadora:

"I do not fear hunger — I fear greed."
"What feeds the body fades. What feeds the soul multiplies."
"Let the barn echo with grace, not gold."
"The soil obeys God. So must I."
"A generous hand reaps peace."

Legacy:

Isadora the Farmer reminds us that generosity is not measured by wealth, but by willingness. Her harvests were small, but her heart was large. She lived out the biblical principle of firstfruits — not as a ritual, but as worship. In every loaf shared, every fig given, and every seed planted, she honored Christ. Her life teaches us that fields can become altars, and giving is a form of praise.

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

Christian Women Devotionals

 Lucy Rider Meyer (1849–1922) was a pioneering Methodist educator, theologian, and reformer whose vision opened doors for thousands of women in Christian ministry. Born in New York, Lucy was academically gifted and deeply committed to both science and Scripture. After earning a degree in chemistry from Oberlin College and serving as a teacher, she was called to ministry — not from a pulpit, but through the classroom and the care of others.

In 1885, she founded the Chicago Training School for City, Home, and Foreign Missions, which became one of the most influential institutions for training women in ministry in America. At a time when women were largely barred from seminaries and pastoral roles, Lucy’s school trained over 5,000 women in biblical studies, social work, urban missions, and evangelism. Many of her graduates went on to serve as deaconesses, missionaries, and leaders across the globe.

She was also instrumental in reviving the role of deaconess in the Methodist Episcopal Church, arguing that women’s spiritual gifts must be recognized, equipped, and deployed in the body of Christ. Through her leadership, writing, and relentless advocacy, Lucy helped lay the foundation for women's full participation in ministry.

Lucy’s Final Words (as recorded by her assistant):

“Let the Word go forth through her hands and heart.”
Spoken while visiting a classroom just weeks before her death, reflecting her lifelong passion for equipping women to serve.

Source: Biography of Lucy Rider Meyer, 1925.

Selected Anecdotes:

A Classroom and a Calling
Lucy often combined science and theology in her lectures. One student recalled her saying, “The laws of chemistry are the handwriting of God.”

The First Deaconess Home
She helped establish a home for Methodist deaconesses in Chicago, saying, “Let the Church not only send women, but shelter them.”

Sermons with Shoes On
When asked if women should preach, she replied, “They already do — in hospitals, kitchens, prisons, and classrooms.”

A Bible and a Broom
She trained women to teach Scripture and clean tenement homes, declaring, “Ministry requires both wisdom and wash water.”

The Graduation Prayer
At the close of each term, she laid hands on her students and prayed, “May your life be a sermon to the suffering.”

Famous Quotes Attributed to Lucy Rider Meyer:

"Train the woman, and you prepare the Church."
"Christ called women to rise — not retreat."
"No gospel is complete without compassion in motion."
"Let her preach — if not with her lips, then with her life."
"The Church that ignores women limps when it could run."

Legacy:

Lucy Rider Meyer stands as a bold figure in Christian history — not for fighting pulpit battles, but for quietly and persistently changing the landscape of ministry through education and empowerment. Her Chicago Training School reshaped how the Church viewed women’s calling. Her revival of the deaconess movement revived forgotten paths of service. Through her intellect, discipline, and godly vision, Lucy declared that theology belonged not only to men, but to all who serve Christ with mind and might.