Cajunquilter

Goodbye Dear blogspot

2011-02-24T17:19:00.002-06:00

If you want to see my posts, I am moving to wordpress. Here is the link.

http://cajunquilter.wordpress.com/

Hope to see you there!

Rebekah - How marriages jump the tracks

2011-02-21T09:04:00.000-06:00

Gen 24-29 tells the story of their marriage.

During the 5 chapters life happened. The end is far different from the beginning.

Godly characteristics of a wife

1. To leave their family

Gen 24:58-61

:60 When they blessed her in this way they didn't know the promise God had given Abraham.

Gen 2;22-24 This doesn't mean you never see or speak to your family.
It means your relationship with them changes.

Our husband should have the position in our life our family had.

You have to learn to work things out when there is a problem.

2. Prioritize your husband.

Only God should have a place above your husband.

Yes little children take a lot of your time. But that is why it is important to have a bed time routine. To give the parents some alone time.

As children get older, their activities can take as much of your time as the children did when they were younger if you aren't careful.

It is easy to lose your connection with your husband if you aren't careful.

3. Be a helper to our husband.

God has given us different abilities then our husband. We are on the same team. We shouldn't work against each other but together.

Gen 24:67 She was doing things right in the beginning.

4. Submit to your husband.

Submission is not a bad word.

Submission is voluntarily cooperating with anyone out of love and respect for God first, and then out of love and respect for that person.

Does that mean it will be smooth sailing? No. But first you must learn to submit to God, then the rest comes easier.

Doesn't mean you don't give input into decisions. But in the end it is the husband's decision. He will be held accountable by God for that decision. We will be held accountable to God for our submission.

You don't submit to illegal or ungodly things. But in every thing else we must submit. It doesn't mean you are a doormat. You have the right to voice your opinion. It is on them if they don't consider our input before making a decision. Even if it is a bad decision, if you submit, God will take you through the consequences.

5. Respect your husband.

Ep 5:33

Respect to your husband is what love is to you. They go hand in hand.

If he doesn't get it he will shut down and become defensive.

Respect means to honor and esteem. To be thankful for the provision, protection, leadership they bring to the family.

Your words should mean the most to him. If that isn't the case, it is between him and God and God will hold him accountable.

Gen 26

What started so beautifully became so ugly. Life can get you and your marriage off track if you aren't on top of things. You can't assume things will go well if you don't work at it. You are only responsible for your part in the marriage. It is how you get back on track after problems that will determine the end result.

Once all of your children are grown and moved out, it will be just the two of you. Does your husband have a responsibilty in the relationship? Absolutely. But you are only responsible for your part. That is what you will answer to God for, not his part. You must work on your marriage now if you want a good one in the future.

Gen 26:35 The boys were a source of grief to their parents.

Gen 27:1 Isaac was old and could not see.

The oldest son would get the blessing.

Rebekah loved Jacob more and Isaac loved Esau more.

The child who causes you the most problems is the most like you.

Because another child may be easier to handle, they may appear to be your favorite if you aren't careful.

Rebekah makes Jacob appear to be Esau so he gets the blessing.

She deceived her husband. She chose her son over her husband.

Job says the latter days can be better then the former days. But you must work at it.

Because of her deception, Jacob had to run from Esau. Jacob was grown and took part in the deception. He later was deceived when he wanted to marry Rachel.

What goes around comes around as they say.

Rebekah

2011-01-28T11:08:00.000-06:00

Gen 24 tells her story.

Isaac is grown and it is time to find a wife for him.
Abraham sent a servant to get Isaac a wife. He didn't want a wife from the people around them because they worshipped false gods.

The servant had to travel about 500 miles.

He took 10 of Abraham's camels, jewelry, etc and left.

He stopped by the well because that is where the women would come in the morning.

:15 before he is done speaking

Wouldn't it be nice if it always happened that way?

Issac and Rebekah marry.

1 Cor 7:32-34

No one knows more what is in your heart then God.

While single, there are many more opportunites for you to serve God. You have only yourself to be concerned with.

God completes you not a man.

Her name probably meant loop or tie.

Characteristics:

1. Energetic and hardworking

She watered all of the 10 camels along with the servant. She carried big heavy containers for the water. That took time and effort. Each camel would drink about 25 gallons of water. That is alot of water. Yet she ran to do it.

There is a difference between restless and energetic. Energetic people are calm while restless people are unsettled.

When you are restless, you need to seek the reason why from God.

2. Purity of body and heart

Gen 24:16

God still calls single women to purity of body and heart, whether single and never married, or single again. Just because you made a mistake and didn't stay pure, you can begin again today by asking for forgiveness and living pure from now till you are married.

3.Was generous

Not only did she give him water and his camels, but she offered him a place to stay.

Mt 5:41

We need to go the extra mile. We shouldn't look for the minimum requirement we need to do to get by.

The world is full of minimum requirement people and sadly, christians.

We shouldn't accept the minimum required from our children either. We are training them to be lazy when we do.

4. Was a woman of initiative

Gen 24:19

She didn't wait for him to ask her to water his camels.

initiative means readiness and ability to take action, one's personal responsible decision

This forever changed her life.

You won't wait for someone to ask you to do something you know needs doing if you have initiative. You will just do it.

We don't take control, but we do what we know needs to be done without waiting to be told or asked to do it.

You don't do it for recognition, you do it cause it is the right thing to do.

5. She was obedient.

Gen 24:54-58

She was quick to obey.

Delayed obedience is disobedience.

Don't count for your children to obey. You are teaching them delayed obedience, not only to you but to God.

Blessings follow obedience.

Next time we look at Rebekah married.

Lot's Wife

2011-01-18T10:43:00.000-06:00

Gen 19

The word doesn't tell us her name.

She was prosperous and probably more attached to her things then was good for her.

While the word doesn't say she took part in the sin of Sodom, she, like Lot, tolerated it. Because of that her heart became divided.

While we study Lot's wife, we may wonder why she looked back. Let's think about us. What is the first instinct you have if you are speaking to someone and they are looking behind you and say "don't look now, but"?

The choice she made to look back led to judgment instead of mercy. She ultimately refused God's attempts to save her.

Lot and his family were so used to the sin of the city, they actually hesitated when the angels told them they would destroy the city and to leave. His son-in-laws didn't believe him and refused to leave. The angels had to grab Lot, his wife, and daughters and drag them out of the city. They were warned to flee and not look back. You can't get more direct orders then that.

Lot and his daughters probably didn't realize what happened to his wife till they reached Zoar and looked for her.

Sadly his wife is remembered for the bad choice she made instead of any good she may have done.

Scriptures on mercy and pressing on

Gen 19:16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters; the Lord being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.

Deut 13:17 And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as He hath sworn unto thy fathers;

Ps 25:6 Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies and Thy lovingkindness; for they have been ever of old.

Jer 3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord: and I will not cause Mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever.

Phil 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.
:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Hagar

2011-01-17T13:25:00.001-06:00

The post below this was done yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to type it in.
Here is todays:

Her name means fugitive or immigrant

You really can't do any kind of study on Sarah without studying Hagar.

Hagar was one of Sarah's handmaidens. She was an Egyptian and probably was given to them one of the times they lied about Sarah being Abraham's wife.

Even though she was a foreigner and a slave with no rights or choices as to becoming Abraham's wife, God cared for her and her son.

She despised Sarah after she conceived according to Gen 16:4. I am sure as her belly grew with the baby, she held it over Sarah's head that she could give Abraham a child when Sarah couldn't.

Sarah and Abraham both shared in being responsible for the mess that followed. Hagar had no choice. Except for her choice of how she treated Sarah after she got pregnant.

Hagar should have thought her actions out first. But then so should we.

In Gen 16 it tells how things got so bad for her, she fled.

In verse 7 it says the angel of the Lord found her. He told her to return to Sarah and submit to her. That God was looking after her. Hagar listened and obeyed. She was told to name her son Ishmael, which means God hears. Many years later she would be forced to leave. Again an angel came to her and saved her and her son. God saw, heard, and was faithful to her.

Obviously at the beginning Sarah trusted Hagar or she wouldn't have chosen her to have the baby. But pride changed Hagar. And I am sure Sarah, by this time was regretting taking things into her own hands.

Here are a few promises from God's word.

Ps 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace and sleep: for Thou Lord only makest me dwell in safety.

Ps 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction: for Thy word hath quickened me

Ps 138:7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me: Thou shalt stretch forth Thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and Thy right hand shall save me.

Because He is an all-knowing Father who hears the cries of His children, nothing that happens to us can ever escape His notice.

Do you have the right to know why?

2011-01-17T07:57:00.000-06:00

I am still studying things about Sarah.

Gen 21:1 In one translation it says the Lord was gracious to Sarah.

I like that. But.. in our time of waiting we get impatient and take things into our own hands sometimes as I said in my last post. When we do that we miss the graciousness of God until we realize what we are doing and surrender it to God.

Sometimes God waits till our situation is beyond impossible as He did with Sarah. She was way beyond child bearing years when she had Isaac. At that point we know there is no doubt but that our deliverance from the situation is from God. Sometimes the answer isn't what we were expecting either.

We must not only surrender our expectation of what our answer will look like, but the right to know why a situation happens. Or why the answer is different then we expected.

No where in the word does it say our way as a christian will be easy. But the word does say He will never leave or forsake us in the situation.

Just as we don't owe our children an explanation for what we tell them to do or not do, God doesn't owe us one either.

Sometimes we give them an answer. Sometimes God gives us an answer. More times then not He doesn't.

As long as our answer comes as we expect, our faith is strong, but it should be just as strong (but it usually isn't) when it doesn't come as expected, or in the time period we want.

As long as you hold on to the right to know the why, you remain in bondage to that. Peace comes when you give up the right to know why.

Your faith shouldn't be based on the outcome of a situation, but on the One you believe in and Who He Is.

God doesn't owe us anything. He has already one more for us then we deserve.

Jn 9:1 the disciples asked why

There is no way that this blind man thought his sight would be given to him in this way.

When we get this desperate we won't care how the answer comes.

In this case Jesus gave a why. He didn't have to but He wanted them to know He came to do the works of God.

Jn 9:18-25

The Jews expected Jesus to come as a king but He came in a different way. Because of that they didn't believe He was the promised One. They are still praying and waiting for Him today. Such a shame, they missed the answer they have been praying for all this time. Will we miss the answer that we are praying for cause it isn't the one we expect?

Lk 7:18-23

We can become offended when we don't receive an answer the way we expect, or in our timing or the answer to why.

Is 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Anyone who knows me knows this is one of my favorite verses.

Waiting is not always easy for me, but I stand on this verse when waiting is difficult. Hope it helps someone else.

Some more waiting scriptures:

Ps 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Ps 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I hope.

Is 30:18 And therefore will the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you, and therefore will He be exalted, that He may have mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for Him.

Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Being Patient in Waiting

2011-01-10T14:05:00.000-06:00

I am still looking at Sarah today. She waited 25 years for the promise from God to be fulfilled. She wasn't always patient though. She was human after all and that is a long time to wait.

Gen 18:10-15

She was past child bearing age when the angel came and said that in a year she would have a child. God wanted there to be NO doubt that this child was from the promise He gave.

:14 Is any thing too hard for the Lord?

21:1-7 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as He had spoken.

God always fulfills His promises, but in His time not ours.

Her laughter then was of disbelief but it was turned to laugher of joy.

Issac means he laughs. Pretty appropriate isn't it?

The time of the promise of a son, till the actual birth was 25 years. Would you wait that long? Small children have no patience, but as a mature christian we should be able to wait patiently. Not as easy as it sounds.

Waiting in Websters means to remain inactive in readiness or expectation.

Sometimes the answer is immediate. But that is the exception to the rule.

The season of waiting is for our heart to be prepared for the answer when it comes.

Heb 6:13-15 And so, after he (Abraham) had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

One of the fruits of the Spirit is patience. The world says do/get everything right now, but the word says be patient.

Benefits of walking through a season of waiting:

1. A season of waiting will reveal our heart to us.

Sometimes we don't see what is really in our heart till we have to wait. God isn't surprised by what is in there. Sometimes He uses the wait time to prune us in areas.

2. Brings about a right perspective.

We come to the place where we realize the answer has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Him.

We serve Him for WHO HE IS, not what He will or can do for us.

3. It helps us realize we were never in control to begin with of when or how our answer will come. It is in His hands and His time. We still pray, but we have to wait.

4. Helps us to put our trust in God. We must trust God to do as He said. Saying we trust God is different then believing in our heart.

Is 46:11 yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

5. Brings peace of God to our life.

When you finally turn it over to God, you will have peace. No more restlessness or wrestling inside of us.

Is 55:8-9 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.
:9 For as the heavens are higher then the earth, so are My ways higher then your ways, and My thoughts then your thoughts.

6. It puts us in the right position.

Once we have done all that we can do including pray it puts us in the position to know it is up to Him.

7. It allows us to hear God's voice more clearly.

We begin to listen for Him more and to speak less. We still pray but we begin to really listen for Him and to hear what He wants us to hear.

8. It allows Christ's character to be formed in us.

We end the season of waiting more like Christ. This should be our goal during this time.

There comes a time when we have to surrender what we think the answer will look like and accept that His answer may be different then we expected.

Growing in faith

2011-01-08T20:12:00.000-06:00

Let's look at Sarah for a little while.

She was the wife of Abraham.
He and she were very wealthy.
Her name means Princess. Because of their wealth she was probably treated like one.
God told him (and her) to leave their home and God would guide him where He wanted them to go.

Gen 12:1-5

They were every day ordinary people. The supernatural things that happen to them or that they did, come from obeying God. Not from themselves. Alone without God they could do nothing. Just as we can do nothing of value without His help.

Can you imagine if God told you or your spouse to leave everything and everyone you knew?

Sarah had to believe her husband heard from God, and she had to believe God would do what He said.

The promise God made to Abraham was made to Sarah also.

Some lessons from her life:

1. She trusted the faith of the person leading her.

Sometimes we don't have enough faith on our own to do what we are called to do. Or at least we don't think we do. Obviously if God calls you to do something He gives you the faith you need to do it, but sometimes we doubt that part of the call. At those times we must trust in the faith of the person God has leading us through the situation. It may be your spouse, pastor, a friend. You need people in your life that you can trust in their faith when you are having a hard time trusting in your own. They should challenge you to greater faith.

Don't be satisfied with the level your faith is at right now or you will never increase it. We must continue to grow our faith. You must be a leader to someone with less faith then you in a situation. God sends us people to help us with our faith but He also uses us to help others. Encourage them to grow in their faith as you believe along with them.

2. She turned away from the pleasures of this world.

She had to leave what was familiar. Her home, her family, and most of her belongings I am sure. And she had to set out on a journey not knowing where she was going.

1 Jn 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

We must not hold on to tightly to the things or people in this world. We should only hold tightly to the Lord.

Job 1:21 And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither; the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

3. She embraced the unknown with a heart of faith.

Heb 11 mentions Sarah for her great faith.

Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

2 Cor 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Once you can see the thing you are believing for, it is no longer faith but fact.

Now just so you don't think she was perfect
4. When God's promise didn't come in her timing, she took matters into her own hands.

Gen 16:1-6

Sarah became impatient and weary waiting for the promised child. Now after she took things into her own hands, she blames Abraham and Hagar.

Hagar was a servant and had no choice when Sarah told her to conceive a child with Abraham. It meant death if she refused.

Abraham must have been weary waiting also cause he agreed and did it.

There are situations in our lives right now that we are growing impatient waiting for the promise from God. We must not take things into our own hands. God's timing and way is not our timing and way, but His is perfect. Things will never turn out in a good way when we go ahead of God. We must wait on Him.

You don't see what God is doing to bring your situation to the end result He wants. But that doesn't mean He isn't working it out.

5. She despised the very thing she caused to happen by going ahead of God.

Gen 16:5-6

Things begin to fall apart quickly when we take things out of God's hands and into our own. And like Sarah we try to blame someone else or we blame God. We are saying we don't trust God when we take things into our own hands. We may not admit it, but that is what we are saying.

Waiting patiently for God to work may be one of the most difficult experiences of our Christian walk. We live in an age of immediate. We somehow thing if we aren't doing something to help the situation we are being lazy. Sometimes God wants us to just wait. We often get in God's way by trying to "help" Him. Trust me, God doesn't need our help. If He wants our help He will let us know. Sometimes He has something for us to do, but be sure before you do it that it is what HE wants you to do, not you taking over cause it isn't happening in your timing.

When you (or I) are tempted to step in and make things happen, let's remember Sarah.

Conversations with the enemy

2010-12-14T13:37:00.000-06:00

Have you ever had a conversation with the enemy? You may not think so but you have. Maybe even this morning.

Let's look at the very first conversation with the enemy.

It is found in Gen 3.

Gen 3: 1-13

Just as God is real, there is a real enemy. We don't walk around looking for the enemy under every rock, but we need to know he is real.

Is 14 Lucifer became full of pride and wanted to be above God

Rev Angels continually sing Holy, holy, holy

There is no match or comparison to God.

When we get to heaven and see the enemy with spiritual eyes we will be surprised that this little thing caused so much trouble for us here on earth.

Jn 10:10 The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy

Gen 3:5 Your eyes will be open, this was truth, you will be as gods, this was not, you will know difference between good and evil, this was truth.

He will always wrap the lie in just enough truth to get you to believe it.

Gen 3:12 Adam blamed all of it on Eve

Lessons learned from the first conversation with the enemy:

1. Made her desire the one thing she couldn't have

Instead of being thankful and focusing on what we do have, we often focus on the one thing we can't have and are miserable.

2 Doubted what God had told them

Gen 3:1 The enemy questioned what God had told them and got her to doubt. The enemy brought doubt to the very words of God.

When God gives us promises in His word, the fist thing that happens is the enemy comes with doubt.

God will never question what He has already told you.

Matt 3:16-17 Jesus gets baptized, heaven opens, the Spirit of God comes down and speaks that this is God's Son

Mat 4:1 Jesus was led by the Spirit to the wilderness

Matt 4:2 the enemy comes when He is at His weakest and questions whether He is God's Son

Jesus answered him with the word of God. That is our greatest weapon when the enemy tries to talk with us other then not having the conversation at all with him.

4. Don't engage in the conversation in the first place.

Gen 3:2-3 By talking with the enemy she allowed him to cause her to doubt. She shouldn't have continued to carry on the conversation. We do the same thing in our mind thinking we are reasoning things out but it is the enemy talking with us sometimes. Even if you have peace with a decision, if it goes against what God has promised or told you it is not the right decision.

5. She made a choice to disobey God

Gen 3:6

She changed her perspective about the tree and fruit based on the conversation she had with the enemy. Before when she looked at the tree it was undesirable because God had forbidden it, now it was the one thing she had to have. When she took it and ate it she chose to disobey God.

God only gave free will and choice to mankind. He will never cross your free will.

God could have stopped her from eating it. He saw her, He sees everything. But He wouldn't cross her free will. When we are tempted we also have a choice to make.

Jesus had a choice when it came to the cross. He chose to go to the cross for us.

6. She hid herself from God

Gen 3:7-10

Until verse 10 there was no fear. Once sin entered fear entered. When we sin our first response if fear and to hide.

God can't restore anything that is kept hidden. He knows it is there. We can't hide anything from Him.

The longer you try to hide the greater the fear becomes.

Gen 3:21 God made garments of skin for them. This is the first account of shedding of blood for sin.

Even with their sin, God still loved them. Just as when we sin, He still loves us, but not our sin.

7. Identify the enemy

Gen 3:13 She came clean with God

She admitted being deceived and sinning.

At the end she did the right thing.

Women have a good sense of identifing the enemy. She didn't see it while it was happening, but she did in the end.

When God asked her she didn't run and hide or blame Adam. She told God exactly what happened.

No matter how bad your sin is you can come clean with God and ask His forgiveness.

Eve, the first daughter

2010-12-13T13:16:00.000-06:00

Ps 119:11 I have hid Your word in my heart.

Gen 2:15-25

Gen 2:22 made in the NAS is fashioned

fashioned means to frame, to put in order, equipped for His intended purpose, or God's creative handiwork

God made us so special there are doctors who specilize in just treating women.

God created us with a purpose and for a purpose. He has equipped us with everything we need to fulfill that purpose.

Gen 1:26 God created man and woman to have dominion over the earth. He separated us between men and women. He gave man authority and woman influence. Men have influence but not to the extent women do and women have authority but not to the extent men do.

Eve was a daughter before she was a wife or mother. She was a daughter to the Creator and so are we.

We must realize what it means to be a daughter to the Creator before we can be a godly woman, wife or mother.

Some have fond memories of being a daughter to our natural parents. Most don't. I don't have fond memories. Because of that it is difficult for us to see God as a different kind of parent then our parents are/were.

If we didn't receive love, protection, forgiveness, mercy, grace, encouragement, etc from our natural parents, we have a hard time receiving it from God.

We have to stop looking at Father God with our earthly vision. We need to look at Him with spiritual eyes.

We must remember He is not like our natural parents.

Roles of daughters:

1. Receive our Father's unconditional love for us. God loves us period.

We can't earn His love. He loves us totally and unconditionally no matter whet you have done good or bad, or what you do in the future for Him. If you never did another thing "for God" He would still love you.

Jn 3:16 God so loved the world, that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.

Do you believe in Jesus and what He did for you?

Rom 8:35, 37-39 Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We may not accept His unconditional love but that doesn't change the fact that His love is there for us always.

2. Our Father has priority in our hearts.

He must come first. Period.

As little girls the first man you give a piece of your heart to is your daddy. Sometimes they don't treat that treasure right. It causes you heart break and you think your heavenly Father will treat it the same. He won't. He will treasure it as it should be.

This was very hard for me to accept and at times I still struggle with it. My earthly dad was only concerned with me if I was in front of him. If I was out of sight I was out of mind. It affected me in alot of ways. I found it hard to totally trust a guy to not forget about me if we weren't right in front of each other. It was the only think I knew. But my wonderful husband of 36 years changed that. He always let me know from the beginning that he thought about me even when we were/are apart. He shows up sometimes with small bouquets of flowers from the grocery. For no reason other then he thought about me when he saw them. Those flowers mean more to me then the dozens of roses he has sent in the past. Don't get me wrong, I love the roses, lol, but usually those are for special occasions. The spur of the moment ones, those mean it doesn't have to be a special reason for him to want to bless me. Just as my heavenly Father doesn't have to have a special reason to bless me.

When we don't trust our heavenly Father with our heart, we will never be able to have the right relationship with anyone else. We will never fully trust anyone else with our heart.

There is a place in your heart only God can fill. Nothing or no one else can fill it. You may think for a little while that someone or something else has, but it will only be temporary.

3. Believe the words of affirmation our heavenly Father speaks over us.

We have no problem giving compliments but how do we receive them? We don't accept the affirmation God speaks over us either.

All you wanted to hear as a child was that we did a good thing, or did something well. If we didn't receive that from our natural parents we have a hard time receiving it from anyone else including from God.

Jer 29:11 His plan for us is good

Is 49:1 He called you before you were born

Ps 139:14 I am fearfully and wonderfully made

Eph 1:4-5 He chose us in Him before the creation of the world

4. His desire is to bless us, we cannot earn that blessing.

Love, peace, forgiveness, mercy, grace, etc. You can't earn those. They are freely given to you by God.

We must walk as a daughter to our heavenly Father.

Then we will believe and except all He has for us. Then we can be the woman, wife, mother He wants us to be.

Why is it so easy to hear and accept what is wrong with us, but not what is right with us?

It goes back to the way we look at God through our natural eyes.

Will God discipline us if we need it? Absolutely. But it is easier for us to receive that from Him then to receive the blessing He wants to give us.

Remember today, you are a daughter of God.

God's Purpose for Women

2010-12-11T20:08:00.000-06:00

Jer 9:23 Thus saith the Lord, let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

If we want to be proud of something, it should be that we know God.

Gen 1:1 God's spirit still hovers over His creation

God's creation of woman was not an accident. He had a purpose for creating her. And she has a purpose.

Gen 1:26-27 man means mankind here

Gen 2:18-20 God was letting Adam see there was no suitable helper for him.

Gen 3:12-14 Everyone was blaming each other

:15 enmity - means hatred

God spoke curse over devil because of his part in it

Most women wrestle with low self esteem

God put the enemy under our feet. Not him over us, but that is what he tries to make us believe.

We were made to walk upright not lowly.

3 Purposes we have as women:

1. Develop an intimate relationship with God.

We must spend time in His word and with Him daily to do this.

Not just do you believe in God, but have you received Him as Lord and Savior? Do you have a personal relationship with Him?

2. To be a helper to man

Man wasn't complete without woman. We weren't created to compete with men.

He created us to work alongside man but to serve a different purpose.

We have authority as women but it is a different authority then God gave to man.

He gave us influence. Our attitude if good, causes us to have a good influence on others. But if our attitude is bad, we will have a bad influence on others.

It isn't our decision whether or not to be an influencer. But we can choose whether to be a good or bad influence.

3. To be a crown to your husband.

Pr 12:4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

crown: hebrew definition is to encircle against attack, to bring protection

Our husbands bear a weight every day that we will never understand. We weren't designed to bear that weight. We were designed to bear a different weight. But we shouldn't add to that weight they bear. We are to come alongside and help however we can.

God is the only one who can change someone else's heart. We only have the power to change our own.

Sometimes when we try to change our husband, we get in the way of the Holy Spirit. All we can do is pray and turn it over to God and get out of His way.

We each have a full time job watching the condition of our own heart.

If God were to look at our husband's crown would it be beautiful or rusty? We are responsible for the condition of his crown.

God won't hold you accountable for your husband's heart, but He will hold you accountable for your heart and for the crown you are to your husband.

I'm Coming back to the heart of worship

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I am doing my fall cleaning and listening to praise and worship music. Thought I would share this one with you today.

Ps 55

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:1-5 David talks to God about his enemies oppressing him

:6-8 David really wants to flee the trial he was in at this time. Ever feel that way? No, trials are not fun to go through, if they were fun, they wouldn't be trials. Some are harder then others. But just as David couldn't fly away from his, we can't run from ours. We have to go through it, not over it. It is how we grow our faith.

:9 Brings him back to God asking for God to destroy them.

:10-11 He continues to document to God what they have done. Do you think God needed a full accounting of what they did to David? Or for that matter from us when people do something wrong to us? Now I am not saying don't tell God, but don't tell Him over and over.

:12-14 Here David explains it was a friend. Those wounds are always the ones that hurt the most aren't they?

:15-19 He asks God to deal with them again.

:20-21 He again talks about what was done to him

:22-23 He says he will trust God.

What are you believing for?

2010-11-13T14:39:00.000-06:00

The post below this one has a wonderful song. It tells of believing in miracles. Do you believe God is still working miracles today? I do! He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. So since in the past He worked miracles that means He is still doing them. But in order to receive your (or my) miracle we must truly believe. Without doubting. At all.

That last part is hard sometimes isn't it? Or is it just hard sometimes for me? That is possible. But I think if we are all honest we must admit that sometimes doubt creeps in.

Deut 1:32 Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,

Are you truly believing God in the thing you are praying for?

Isaiah 43:10 KJV
Ye are My witnesses, saith the LORD, and My servant whom I have chosen : that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed , neither shall there be after Me.

Here is reason to believe Him.

Matthew 9:28 KJV
And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto Him, Yea, Lord.

Are you believing for healing?

Mark 9:23 KJV
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe , all things are possible to him that believeth .

Jesus said all things are possible if we will believe. We know He only spoke truth.

Mark 11:23 KJV
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed , and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass ; he shall have whatsoever he saith .

Not doubt in his heart. Alot of times that is our problem with believing for a miracle.

So again, what are you believing for? And how are you preventing doubt to enter into your heart?

Dare to Believe

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What's your worse fear?

2010-10-11T10:11:00.000-05:00

The world is full of fear. Let's look at a couple.

First of all are you born again? If so here are some things from God's word on fear and some things people fear

Hunger

Neh 9:15 And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which Thou hadst sworn to give them.

Ps 34:10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that see the Lord shall not want any good thing.

Ps 37:25 I have been young, and now I am old: yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Now you may say, oh that is fine for you but you have food.

Well let me tell you a little about my past.

When I was a small child, it was just my mom and I. She had health issues among other things. Many nights all we had to eat were stale crackers and cocktail onions. Was it what I would have liked to eat? No! But it was enough to eat that we survived.

Later there was a time when I was put on bed rest by the doctor awaiting the birth of our 4th child. While I was out of work during that time, my husband lost his job. Total strangers showed up at our door with bags and boxes of groceries. They all said the same thing. The Lord told them what to buy and where to bring it. I have never seen them again. So I do speak from experience. God is faithful.

Is your fear what man can do to you?

Pr 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Mt 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Afraid of death?

2 Cor 5:8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

And finally,

2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Turn those fears over to the Lord, and leave them with Him. He is bigger then your greatest fear.

Peace, be still

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Mk 4:37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
:38 And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest not Thou that we perish?
:39 And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
:40 And He said unto them, why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
:41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, what manner of man is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?

Ok, let's look at a few things.

First off, why were they surprised the wind and sea obeyed Him? If they didn't think they would, why wake Him? What good did they think waking Him would do?

Why was Jesus able to sleep through all the tossing of the boat? Because He totally trusted God to get the boat across to the other side. He knew His Father was in control.

The secret to being calm in the midst of storms is not to change the circumstances that are out of your control, but to change you. Christ in you will get you through.

We live in south Louisiana. We have a boat and fish quite a bit. There have been times that we have ventured out into the bay and it has been smooth as glass. Then all of a sudden things will pick up and you may be looking straight down into the water coming off the top of a wave. Yes it has happened and it is SCARY. I can understand why they were afraid. But they had Jesus with them. Obviously they thought He could do something about it or they wouldn't have woken Him up.

What do you (and I) need to totally trust God with today, and tomorrow, etc?

When Jesus rebuked them he said they had no faith. Prayerfully He won't say that about us.

What are your thoughts?

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Are your thoughts holy?

Pr 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Your thoughts are as loud to God as your words are when you speak loudly.

Pr 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord: but the words of the pure are pleasant words.

Dan 5:24 Then was part of the hand sent from Him; and this writing was written.
:25 And this is the writing that was written, ME'-NE, ME'-NE, TE'KEL, U-Phar'-SIN.
:26 This is the interpretation of the thing; ME'-NE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.
:27 TE'KEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.
:28 PE'RES; Thy kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.

How would you like the hand of God to write your thoughts across the sky for everyone to see? He could.

Jn 8:6 This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground, as though He heard them not.

Jn 8:8 And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

We must not only repent of sin of our words and actions, but of sinful thoughts also.

Is 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

Ps 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Ps 51:6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part Thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Sin of the body first begins in the thoughts and heart.

Mt 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Satan will come to you in thoughts to tempt you to sin.

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Don't argue with the devil. That is not resisting. It is what he wants. Once you get into a conversation with the devil, he has the battle half won.

Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Rom 12:21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

How do we know when evil thoughts come from our heart or from the devil?

If our immediate reaction is hatred of the thought it is from the devil. Otherwise it came from us if we try to justify or explain it.

If we are continually bombarded in one area of our christian life by attacks from the devil, we know he has been listening to our words or watching our actions. He can't read our minds. But he can use words or actions to figure out our weaknesses and attack there.

Mt 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

We are only as pure as our thoughts are pure.

Influences and sin

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What areas in your life influence you to sin?

Habits, friends, peer pressure, heredity?

Mt 18:18 Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jn 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Maybe we sin because of past experiences. Our spirit may have been wounded. If we have totally forgiven the ones who have hurt us, we can come in faith and ask for healing of those memories.

Is 53:4 Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.
:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him: and with His stripes we are healed.

It is sometimes hard to forgive others when they hurt us.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you , and thereby many be defiled.

Principles of total forgiveness:

1. Forgiveness is an act of will. I must want to forgive. Resentment is destructive to my mind, body, soul and spirit.

Pr 14:30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

2. I will not be forgiven by God unless I forgive those who have hurt me.

MT 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Mk 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

3. Think about all that God has forgiven you.

Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Col 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one anothe, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

4. Thank God for the blessings the person who hurt you has been to you.

1 Thess 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

5. Think about the needs of the person who hurt you, then and now. They are probably greater then yours.

Phil 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better then themselves.

6. Ask God to help you love them and forgive them as He does and receive it by faith.

Rom 5:15 And hope maketh not ashamed: because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

7. Ask God to give you opportunities of expressing His love to them in work and deed.

1 Jn 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

8. Become an intercessor for them.

MT 5:44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.

9. When we have fully forgiven others, we won't want to speak of how they wronged us.

1Pet 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Ask God to show you how to change the habit patterns, believing that He will.

Find verses addressing the sin, memorize them.

We must forgive ourselves because God has forgiven us.

Repentance

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Rev 19:6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
:7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.
:8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.
:9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

If we truly believe we are in the last days, we will understand the need for the bride of Christ to make herself ready.

Repentance precedes revival. Revival produces more repentance.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If My people, which are called by My Name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

God's call to us for repentance is an act of His love.

Is 5:16 But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.

If we don't repent He will come in judgment.

Rev 2:5 They had placed other priorities before loving the Lord with all their heart.

Rev 2:16 They had compromised.

Rev 2:22 They were corrupt

Rev 3:3 They were dead

Rev 3:19 They were lukewarm

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.

Sin dims the revelation of Jesus.

Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Confesion is key to getting rid of guilt.

Jer 3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgresed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed My voice, saith the Lord.

Jer 2:29 Wherefore will ye plead with Me? ye all have transgressed against Me, saith the Lord.

Jer 2:35 Yet thou sayest, because I am innocent, surely His anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

Is there something you are covering up? You can't hide it from God.

Pr 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Sometimes we must repent in our relationship with others.

We are only as close to the Lord as we are close to the person we love the least.

1 Jn 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
:21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

Mt 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Jesus taught repentance from the beginning.

Mk 1:15 And saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mk 6:12 And they went out and preached that men should repent.

Lk 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Act 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.
:31 Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained: whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.

Acts 3:19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

Pr 29:1 He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without rememdy.

Num 32:23 Satan tells us no one will know

Gal 6:7 Satan says sin and you will get away with it.

God doesn't let us get away with anything, even when sometimes it looks like we will. Sin always has consequences, and it always separates us from God.

Heb 10:30 For we know Him that hath said, vengence belongeth unto Me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge His people.
:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Remorse is our reaction to how our sin has affected us.

Regret is our reaction to how it has affected others.

Repentance is how we respond to sin from God's prespective from His word and how it has affected God and others.

Our Attitude Toward Sin

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There are 4 levels in our attitude toward sin I am looking at. They are:

1. Person doesn't sin because consequences are too great. They may have hate or lust, etc in their heart, but don't murder or commit adultery etc. There is no hatred of evil or fear of the Lord, only fear of the consequences.

2. Lives by golden rule. Wants peace at any price. Can be full of sin of selfishness or self-righteousness and not be aware of it. Often does good deeds.

3. The sincere Christian who earnestly desires to please the Lord. Wishes he could find an answer to why he is always having to confess over and over again the same sins. Longs for freedom from those sins.

James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

4. Person who has fear of the Lord. Hates sin; therefore, he seldom sins. If he does there is quick awareness and repentance. Willing to humble himself before others if that is what the Holy Spirit tell him.

Pr 16:6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the Lord, men depart from evil.

We don't commit sin because it is the right thing to do or we are forced into it. We choose to sin, because we love that sin more then we love and fear God. If we have God's attitude toward sin, we will not be doing the same sin over and over.

Ps 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant.

God created us for intimate friendship with Him, He wants that more then we do.

James 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

We can't serve God and the devil at the same time. We must choose each moment who we will follow.

Have you forgotten?

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God's Holiness

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To fully understand God we must first understand His holiness.

2 Cor 5:21 For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

Is 6:3 And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.

Rev 4:8 And the four beasts had each of them si wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.

How important to God holiness is!

Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.

Ps 11:7 For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; His countenance doth behold the upright.

Pr 23:17 Let not thine heart eny sinners; but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

If we stay in the fear of the Lord all day, we will remain holy in our thoughts, words and actions.

Deut 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God, require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

:13 To keep the commandments of the Lord, and His statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Notice the first thing mentioned is to fear the Lord? And we are told to do these things with all our heart and all our soul. If we do that we will be walking in holiness.

September 10, 2010

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Pr 29:25 the fear of man brings a snare

When we only fear God's reaction and not man's we have freedom.

We should say I know what man thinks, but what do You think God. Then we must act according to what God thinks.

Is 50:10 Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the Name of the Lord, and stay (rest) upon his God.

Jer 6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised (closed) and tehy cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

If we neglect the word of God, we are rejecting it.

Ps 119:63 I am a companion of all them that fear Thee, and of them that keep Thy precepts.

Lam 3:25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.

Sometimes when we ask God for direction, it takes awhile for an answer. We must wait till we hear clearly from Him and not do anything till we know it is what God wants us to do or not do.

Think back to situations where you were seeking the Lord for an answer about if you should or shouldn't do something or go somewhere.

The time came when you had to make a decision and still no answer. So you did it or went only to have everything turn bad. Know why? God's no answer may have been a test to see if you would move ahead without His direction. When you did, you opened the door for the devil to attack.

Rom 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

I believe part of that account will be whether we waited on God or went ahead when He didn't clearly answer us one way or another.

Jn 3:34 For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.

We have no spiritual authority outside of obedience to God.

Sometimes people confuse forceful speaking, even when it is the truth being spoken, with spiritual authority. Only what is spoken with God's authority will touch men's spirits and cause them to take the steps of obedience that will change their lives. Everything else touches their mind or emotions.

1 Thess 2:4 But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.

Mt 12:36 But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
:37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

September 9, 2010

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I am doing some studying on the fear of the Lord. Here are notes from today.

Lk 4:4-15 Jesus tempted by the devil. Jesus used the Word of God against the devil and that is what we should do also.

Fear (reverential fear) of the Lord is what will keep you from sinning.

There is good fear (reverential ) and bad fear. Adam had bad fear when he hid when naked before the Lord. Good fear draws you closer to God, not causes you to hide from Him.

We should seek daily to link our heart to God's.

Pr 8:13 Fear of the Lord is the hatred of sin.

God hates sin so much, He will not compromise with it and neither should we.

Lev 19:2 Be holy because God is holy.
Mal 2:5 Be afraid or in awe of God's Name.
Ex 3:14 He is the I AM. What do you need? That is what He is.
Ps 33:8-9 God spoke and it was done, do we really need more reason to fear Him?
Heb 1:3 He upholds all things by His Word.
2 Pet 3:7 The heavens and earth are kept by His word
2 Pet 3:13 He will bring new heaven and new earth by His word
Ps 22:22-23 We are to praise Him and give Him glory as we fear Him

We need to take God seriously.

Matt 10:26-28 He knows everything, instead of fearing man who can kill the body,and not the soul, we need to fear God.

Acts 5:1-13 God will reveal your sin. He struck down Ananias and Sapphira because of their lie. It was their money, they could have just said they wanted to give some of it instead they lied and said they would give all.

Ps 99:1-3 The Lord's Name is holy.
Ps 2:10-11 We are to serve with fear
Ps 119:120 We should fear God's judgment
Jer 5:22 We should tremble at His presence. He placed the sand as boundary for the sea.
Jer 9:23-24 We need to know God and glory in Him

When we have understanding of God's unconditional love for us, demonstrated by the price He paid for our redemption at Calvary, we will always feel safe and secure in Him.

Ezra 9:4, 10:3 We should tremble at His word

My greatest need is to have a far greater revelation of what God is really like.

God doesnt reward causual inquiries, only diligent seekers.

We must be careful in our studying and time with God that it doesn't become routine, that we do it with out absorbing what He is saying to us.

Obedience because of Who God Is

Gen 22;12 Because he feared God, Abraham was going to do as God said and sacrifice Issac.

When you argue with God or delay obeying Him, it shows a lack of fear.

Jonah 1:9 Jonah said he feared the Lord, but his actions proved he didn't.

Jonah 1:14-16 the others on board feared God

The consequences of disobedience are always harder then the act of obedience, no matter how hard. When we disobey we come under God's judgment.

Ps 130:3-4 When we repent God forgives us

The more we learn of God and Who He is, the easier it is to obey Him.

The fear of God is evidenced in our lives by instant, joyful, and total obedience to God. That is biblical obedience. Anything else is disobedience. Delayed or partial or obedience with murmuring is disobedience.

Heb 11:5 He rewards those who diligently seek Him.

When God gives us something to do, we need to keep the emphasis on who He is not what He wants us to do.

Alot of times we don't understand why God wants us to do something. It is not important that we understand why, it is important that we obey.

Pr 3:5 Don't rely on your understanding but on His.

Pr 28:26 He who trusts in his own mind is a fool.

Lk 22:42 Not my will, but Yours.

James 4:7 Resist the devil when he tells you not to do something God has called you to do

Jn 10:3-4, 27 His sheep hear His voice and follow Him

Ps 32:8 He will show us the way and teach us

Ps 34:11-13 Lips free from deceit

Pr 28:13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

WHen God requires obedience without explanation, it is one way your faith is built.

Pr 31:29-31

2010-09-08T08:02:00.000-05:00

I decided to finish off Proverbs 31 this morning.

Pr 31:29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.

This is the first verse that speaks more personally and to her. The rest have said she, her, etc. This one uses thou or you.

Here it says others are virtuous even though we know they are rare and hard to find. So it is possible for others, she wasn't the only one living a virtuous life.

Pr 31:30 Favor is deceitful, and beauty if vain; but a woman who feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.

There is good fear and bad fear. If we fear God in the right way, it will draw us closer to Him.

Pr 31:31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

A godly and virtuous woman will be rewarded. She will reap from what she sows.

She has been busy doing the things God wants her to do. He rewards those who diligently seek Him with not only their words but with their actions. Words are easy. Living those words can be hard.

Pr 31:28

2010-09-04T08:22:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:28 Her chilren rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

The word blessed is sometimes translated happy.

She is blessed because she seeks God and His will for her life first. If you seek happiness itself, you may not find it, but if you seek God, happiness is often a result.

Here are some verses that tell how to be blessed.

Ps 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Ps 2:12 Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him.

Ps 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteh in Him.

Ps 40:4 Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust.

Ps 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee.

Ps 84:12 O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.

Ps 94:12 Blessed is the man who Thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of Thy law.

Ps 112:1 Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments.

Ps 119:1-2 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart.

Ps 128:1 Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord, that walk in His ways.

Ps 146:5 Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.

So basically, we need to be careful who we get counsel from or associate with. We need to put our trust in Christ alone. That one is so important that in just these few verses it is mentioned 4 times. We need to find our strength in Him. The joy of the Lord is our strength remember. We need to accept His chastening and learn from it and His word. Which means we need to spend time in His word. We need to have fear of the Lord and keep His commandments to us. We need to seek Him with our whole heart. Our hope must be in Him and nothing else.

Awesome!

2010-09-03T12:55:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:27

2010-09-03T10:26:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:27 She looketh well to the ways of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Looketh well means to keep watch.

She watches over what her children are doing. Making sure they are forming good Godly habits.

She is not idle. Idleness means sluggishness or laziness.

That doesn't mean she never has a time of rest. Just that she doesn't waste any of her time when she needs to do things the Lord has called her to do as a virtuous woman.

As an older woman, I have found over the years that if I take care of the things God has called me to do around my home, or for my family, that He multiplies the time and makes it productive. And He makes time for me to do the things I enjoy. I enjoy them more also knowing that the things I should be doing are all done.

Pr 31:26

2010-09-02T09:49:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

This is the only verse that talks about her words. Probably because she guarded her tongue all the time and that is all that needed saying.

What comes out of your mouth is what is in your heart, so be very careful when you speak. Your heart is showing.

The same love of the Lord that guards her heart, guards her tongue.

Ever say anything that you wouldn't say if Jesus was in the room with you? Guess what if you are born again, He is ALWAYS with you. He hears every word that you say. Matthew 12:36 says and this is Jesus speaking, "But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Lord help me to guard my tongue every minute of every day and only speak words that are pleasing to you.

Pr 31:25

2010-09-01T11:44:00.002-05:00

Pr 31:25 Strength and honor are her clothing, and she shall rejoice in time to come.

The Lord provides the clothing mentioned in this verse.

She knows the joy of the Lord is her strength and she totally embraces that . What a joy it must be to be around her.

The word rejoice means laugh. It says she can laugh at the future. That is because she totally relies on the Lord.

She has been wise and made provision for the future as much as she is able. And she relies on the Lord for everything else.

While she (like us), didn't know what the future held, she (like us) know the One who holds our future.

Pr 31:24

2010-08-30T10:14:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:24 She maketh fine linen and selleth it, and delivereth girdles unto the merchants.

Girdles encircled the waist like a belt.

She helped bring in money to her household without neglecting all the other duties she had as a wife and mother. I wonder if she taught her children to work alongside her. I bet she did. She would want them to learn the skills they would need later in life. I doubt she would have been called virtuous if she neglected teaching her children the skills they would need later in life.

Pr 31:23

2010-08-29T14:02:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

Do you find it unusual that in these verses about a virtuous woman we find one about her husband?

If you think about it, in earlier verses it mentioned him and how she did only good to him.

It really isn't unusual that he was well known where her worked. He would not be able to devote the time to his work that was necessary for him to do the best job he could if she didn't do all a virtuous woman is called to do every day.

While the husband has been called by God to be the leader of the home, and yes even if he isn't saved, we are to have him lead, but not into sin, God has called us to be a help and not a hindrance to him in all he has been called to do in leading the family.

Pr 31:22

2010-08-27T09:27:00.002-05:00

Pr 31:22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

She dressed well. She didn't think to be virtuous she had to look poor. Her outward appearance matched her inward beauty. No one suffered in her family or the poor she ministered to because of her clothing or coverings in her home.

While it is ok to have money to dress nicely, we are told not to trust in our riches.

We can have nice things, as long as we don't trust in them, or seek them for the wrong reasons.

Pr 31:21

2010-08-26T09:54:00.001-05:00

Pr 31:21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She wasn't concerned about the weather. Whatever came, they were prepared.

Here in south Louisian, we don't get alot of snow. But we do get hurricanes. And while we don't have to dress warmly when one comes (it is usually very hot here when we get one), we do have to have preparations made for food when one hits. We could be without electricity for a week or more.

I read this verse as a call to readiness, no matter what comes our way, or when it comes our way.

Oh, and the last part, about being clothed with scarlet. I see that as a call to be clothed with the blood of Jesus.

Oh, that we might walk daily under His precious blood. The precious blood He willingly gave so that I, and you if you have received Him as your Savior, might be called a daughter of the Living God!

Pr 31:20

2010-08-19T15:04:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

She has compassion towards the poor, and she acts on their behalf.

Just as there are physically and financially poor, there are spiritually poor also. Even among christians. No one can progress as a christian until they accept how needy they are of what only the Lord can give them.

All through the word, God looks out for the poor and needy. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't be wise in who and how we help those in need.

Some would seem to need basic necessities, yet if you gave them money would you it on alcohol or drugs, etc. Sometimes the right thing to do is nothing. Be sure before you rush in to help someone you think is in need, you seek God first and what He would have you do to help them. The answer may surprise you sometimes. It could be do nothing, it could be give them money, buy them a meal etc. The only way we can be sure we are helping in the manner God wants us to help is to seek Him first.

Pr 31:19

2010-08-17T21:16:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

These verses talk about her spinning fibers she would later use to make clothing or other things needed by her family and others.

Now while I don't spin (I tried it, but didn't like it), I do knit, crochet, sew and quilt. Do I think every woman should do those things? Well if they enjoy it they should. But I don't think you have to do those things to be virtuous.

What I think these verses show is our hands should be busy doing something that glorifies God. They shouldn't be idle or doing something God wouldn't approve of us doing.

Pr 31:18

2010-08-14T10:07:00.001-05:00

Pr 31:18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

Here she is reaping the reward of her hard work.

The last part of the verse says she was up at night doing things. She obviously gets some sleep because the earlier verse said she rises early.

So does that mean we can stay up all night and sleep all day? Not according to the earlier verse. She gets the sleep her body needs but no more. She is not lazy.

We must also be careful how we use our free time. All of our time belongs to the Lord. Sometimes we forget that. What ever we are doing is for Him. Are we glorifying Him every minute of our day?

Pr 31:17

2010-08-13T09:05:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

She prepares her body for the work the Lord has called her to do that day and everyday.

As I sought the Lord this morning a few thoughts came to me.

Ever been busy all day, yet at the end of the day, felt like nothing, or not much was accomplished? Ever been busy all day doing things you feel is important, yet when you finished the task, felt no real accomplishment?

Maybe what you were busy doing, even though YOU felt it was important wasn't what God had planned for you that day. OUCH!

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Pr 31:16

2010-08-10T20:53:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it; with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

She didn't rush out and purchase it because it was what she wanted to do. She considered it or counted the cost first. It wasn't an impulse purchase.

From what we have learned about her, we know she didn't act independently of her husband. But he did trust her to make the purchase without him. I am sure they discussed it first.

Then it says she planted it. The fact that it would require some work after purchasing was part of counting the cost. She again gets right in there and does the work. She doesn't expect others to do all of it for her.

Just as she gave alot of thought to her purchase, so should we. Are we willing to do the work involved after the purchase?

Pr 31:15

2010-08-09T21:25:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

Some believe that in order to be virtuous, we need to be up before dawn. I believe some are called by the Lord to do this, while others aren't. Sometimes we are called to be up that early for a season of our lives. But I believe you can be virtuous and sleep in till 7 or 8. I think the important thing is what we do after we are up. It is easier when there are little children in the home to rise early before them and spend time with the Lord.

Also the last part of the verse says she gives a portion of the food she makes for her family in the morning to her maidens. These were her servants. Some may wonder wy they didn't get up and make food for her and her family while she slept in til later. I think it proves her virtue that she would come alongside or ahead of them and do some of the work she easily could have required them to do for her.

We always had our children help around the house. But rarely were they working alone. I was usually working along side or doing something near by. We did it together. It helped them to do it with a good attitude when they knew I was not wasting my time and neither should they. And it went quickly since we were all in it together. Also I was there to supervise and make sure the job was done correctly, or to instruct how it needed to be done. No surprises later on when they were off doing something fun, and I checked and something wasn't done or not done correctly.

All four of our children have always been complimented by their bosses on the job they do. We are always told how they can be taught what needs to be done and left to do the job. Their boss knows when they come back later it will be done and done correctly. They were taught at an early age to do it that way and now as adults they have great work ethics and habits.

Pr 31:14

2010-08-06T10:33:00.002-05:00

Pr 31:14 She is like the merchants' ships: she bringeth her food from afar.

She gives her family a variety of foods to eat. She doesn't go to far off places to get the food. She has learned which merchant ship has the best quality and variety for the best prices.

Now today there are grocery stores on almost every corner. And my job as a virtuous woman is to decide if the sales each offer are worth the cost of gas it will take to go from store to store. Yes I know there are some stores that offer to match prices. But as I am sure you have noticed not all groceries at all stores are created equal. Especially fresh fruit and vegetables, or meat. So I must consider that also in deciding where to shop. I bet you thought shopping was easy lol.

When I was a young wife I would just shop at the nearest store. As a young wife and mother, that made sense to me. As I began to study Pr 31 over the years, the Lord began to show me that I needed to really consider my shopping habits. Now I usually shop more then a couple of stores each pay period. Once my large shopping is done, I usually only need milk, bread, eggs before the next shopping trip. We are paid twice a month, so I come up *usually* with a meal plan that will take us to the next check and purchase in the next two days anything that won't perish. Fresh foods are picked up every few days with the milk, etc. Thankfully I have 4 stores within a 10 mile area of my home, and one other that is a little over 10 miles.

How do you shop for your family? Just something to think about.

Pr 31:13

2010-08-04T09:42:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:13 She seeth wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

The next few verses can be intimidating and overwhelming. It is hard to believe that she does everything in these verses. And in verse 13 it says she does it willingly. Could that be part of her secret to getting all of it done?

Let's look at what willingly means. It is from a word meaning delight, pleasure. She enjoys caring for her family. It is not seen as a chore, but rather something she finds pleasure and satisfaction in having completed.

I know when I willingly do something it goes so much faster and easier then when I am unwillingly but do it anyway. Maybe part of it is my attitude. When I do the things like care for my home and family as God has called me to do, He is able to come alongside and give me energy and strength to do it.

I have done a study every year on this woman for many years now. And I don't ever remember picking up on the word willingly before. I just love how you can read and study the word of God over and over and He can show you something new. The word doesn't change, but hopefully I do, and I guess I wasn't ready to see that word till now.

Because she willingly works with her hands, and as we learned yesterday, her husband can safely trust her to always have his best interests in mind, he can go about the work he does knowing all is taken care of at home. How big a relief that must be for him!

I that this says she works with wool and flax. These are used to make clothing etc. Does that mean God wants us to make all the clothing for our family? I don't think that is it, but He may call some to do that. Remember back then it wasn't easy to buy clothing. But He does want us to use our time wisely and work willingly with our hands caring for our family. He gave us the family He did because He knew we were the perfect person to care for them. Whether you have a large or small family, whatever your situation, that is the one He has called you to be faithful in. Keep in mind while you are doing the things you may not always find pleasure in, who you are really doing it for. We are not really doing it for our husband or children even though they benefit, we should be doing it for the Lord cause it is what He has called us to do. I know that will give me encouragement as I do the things I would prefer in my flesh to not do today. What about you?

Pr 31:12

2010-08-03T10:38:00.000-05:00

Pr 31:12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Good means morally excellent; virtuous; righteous; of high quality, excellent; well-behaved; kind, friendly; agreeable; pleasant; honorable or worthy; genuine, honest, not counterfeit; reliable; dependable; responsible; beneficial; not spoiled or tainted; cheerful; optimistic; amiable.

Harm means physical injury or mental damage; hurt; moral injury; evil; wrong

Looking at verse 12, I see that my attitude toward my husband is as important as my actual deeds. Maybe more so. My actions are going to be a direct reflection of my attitude toward him. But in this verse it says all the days of my life. That is hard to do on days when I am upset with him. Even if I have a right (or think I do) to be upset with him, it still says I have to do him good. Well forgive me Lord cause in the last week, I haven't done that. I was upset with him about something and I didn't want to do him good. Now don't get me wrong I didn't do him evil (or at least I didn't mean to if I did) I just didn't want to do him good. When I am upset with him (and I know NONE of you are like this, just me), then I may do him harm with my words and actions either to him or to someone else about him. OUCH!

Look at the definitions above. The only way any of us can do only good to our husband all the days of our lives is through Christ Jesus and with His help. Obviously I failed in the last few days. I will have to ask the Lord's and hubby's forgiveness.

A man is really blessed if he can trust his wife to be honest, discreet, and dependable. Being the woman our husband can trust is one of the things God has called us to do. It is not always easy, especially when we are upset with him.

We must not only be honest with our husband and others but with ourselves also. That is sometimes the hardest.

In doing good to her husband, the Pr 31 woman is consistent. It says all the days of her life, not just the days she feels like he deserves it. (okay Lord you can stop stepping on my toes this morning, I get it). Her godliness toward him is consistent.

Eph 3:14-19 This is where our daily and lifelong faithfulness comes from. From Christ being in our hearts by faith. That we are strengthened with might by His Spirit, that we are rooted and grounded in love for God and others.

The Lord's faithfulness to us is daily and constant. Not depending (Thank GOD!!) on what we do or don't do or how we feel at the moment.

Jer 29:11 says the Lord has thoughts of peace and not evil toward us.

Doing good and not harm is the very definition of love and what God demonstrates to us.

Aren't you glad the Lord wants only good for us all the time even when we don't deserve it? I know I am.

The Virtuous Woman Continued

2010-08-02T10:47:00.000-05:00

Before I start my notes today I thought I would give you something to think about as I do this study. Like Pr 31 isn't enough to think about right :-)? Well this goes along with the study really.

Have you ever compared the woman of Pr 31 with yourself or the woman of today? Or of any day? God's wisdom is timeless and she is very much like us or any woman of any other time period.

She runs a household, makes important decisions for her family, juggles meal planning, shopping, helps worthy causes, and cheers on her children and is a helpmeet to her husband.

Wisdom is not just timeless but it takes time to get wisdom.

I don't know of anyone who can honestly say they have it all together. I surely can't. But I think we need to be striving daily to become more like her. We need to keep moving forward even if we are moving slowly. The problem comes when we start moving backwards instead of forward, or when we aren't moving at all. Just as water becomes stagnant and smelly so do we. If you have ever past by stagnant water you know what I mean. That is how we must smell to God when we are not moving forward. I know the word says be still and know that I am God, this is not what I am talking about.

Ok here we go after much chatter over the last couple of days on just the first verse lol. This may be a long few days.

Even if we don't do everything listed in the verses 10-31 we can still be a virtuous woman. As we have been learning it is a heart attitude.

God does have a set of standards for us as women, and they are found in these verses. These verses will be the outward result of a heart following after God.

In Phil 3:12-14 it says: Not as though I have already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

It doesn't happen in one day. God knows we are not perfect and haven't fully arrived. We won't be perfect until we are with Christ and transformed.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus daily gives us the strength to face our day and whatever is in store for us that day according to God's will.

With these thoughts in mind let's look at 31:11

Pr 31:11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

Dependable, steadfast, trustworthy, wise

Dependable means That may be depended on; as dependable friendships.

Steadfast means 1. Fast fixed; firm; firmly fixed or established; as the stedfast globe of earth.
2. Constant; firm; resolute; not fickle or wavering.
Abide stedfast to thy neighbor in the time of his trouble.
Him resist, sted fast in the faith. 1 Peter 5.
3. Steady; as stedfast sight.

Trustworty means deserving of trust or confidence; dependable, reliable

Wise means 1. Properly, having knowledge; hence, having the power of discerning and judging correctly, or of discriminating between what is true and what is false; between what is fit and proper, and what is improper; as a wise prince; a wise magistrate.

Do our lives reflect these words? If not are we self-focused? Are we over committed? Do we think we won't make that much of a difference in someone else's life so why bother?

Even the most responsible person can slip into being undependable if they become self-focused.

If we have over committed then we need to start to say no to the people and situations that distract us from where and what God wants us to go or do. We need our priorities to line up with God's.

Many problems arise when we fail to live up to the responsibilities God has called us to, or we take on responsibilitites He has not called us to.

If we take on things we shouldn't here is what happens:

1. We don't have the time to spend with God that we should.

2. We can't serve as our husband's helpmeet as God said we should.

3. We don't have the time or energy to train our children according to God's word.

4. Everything else we are called to do, minister to others, housework, etc suffers.

You can't be there for everyone all the time. I am not talking about for your husband or children. You have to say no sometimes to people. Being truly available and trustworthy to the few God sends to you is more important then being available and untrustworthy and superficial to everyone.

Let's look at two wives. Noah's and Job's.

We don't know much about Noah's wife. We don't even know her name. She isn't mention very much at all.

In Gen 6 God tells Noah to build an ark.

Can you imagine what she must have thought when he came home from work one day and said God told me to build an ark? What would have been your reaction? Or mine? Then in chapter 7 he tells her they all have to get in the ark with all these animals and live that way till God says differently.

Can you imagine what the other wives said to her while he was building the ark? They must have ridiculed her horribly.

But no place does it say she ever complained. His heart could safely trust in her to support him. But remember he probably made it easy for her because the word says he and his family were spared because Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord in Gen 6:8. He wasn't selfish, overbearing, untrustworthy.

Now by contrast let's look at Job's wife.

Job was perfect and upright according to Job 1:1. This is why the devil wanted to test Job. Now I understand that when his wife told him in Job 2:9 to curse God and die he had lost everything. But Noah's wife had to leave her home to live in the ark. The big difference here is obvious. Noah's wife loved and trusted God and Noah enough to know Noah wouldn't be doing it if he wasn't sure God had told him to do it. Job's wife on the other hand had enjoyed their life till God let the devil test him. When things got uncomfortable she no longer trusted God or Job.

It is easy sometimes for us to brush off those who care about us and we care about. We figure they will understand. But what about when we brush God aside because we would rather do something other then spend time with Him? Or we want to do something we know He wouldn't approve of but our flesh wants to do it anyway? Remember He sees you no matter what you do or where you do it.

As we develop dependability and trustworthiness in our relationship with God, it will spill over to our relationships with our husband, children and others.

Pr 31 part 2

2010-08-01T14:58:00.000-05:00

The Virtuous Woman - continued

Pr 31:10b for her price is far above rubies.

Value is to esteem, to hold in respect, to highly regard, or to have great significance.

Our worth and value come from what is inside us.

We should be more valuable as we get older just as jewels are mover valuable as they get older. The world sees things differently. Thankfully God sees us as very valuable.

Precious gems are hard, and have rough edges when they are first found. We see them after they are buffed and shiny. But we don't see the process they go through to get that way. When we first begin to walk with God we are the same way. We are hard and have rough edges. We will always have some rough edges for God to work on. But they should get smaller and fewer as we grow in the Lord. He uses people and situations to file our edges down and sometimes, alot of times it hurts or is uncomfortable.

Gems sparkle in the end and so should we.

If we look up to other christian women and want to be like them, we need to find out what it took for them to get there. It was a process for them just as it is for us. And we will most likely find that it was a hard and difficult process. Are we willing to go through whatever our process will be? It will be different for each of us. Each of us are different, we will have different struggles we will have to face and deal with.

God has always valued us as women. Virtuous women are hard to find, just as rare jewels are hard to find.

6 Strategies of the enemy to come against women

The enemy will try to rob us of our value.

If we don't see our value we can't pass it on to others to see theirs.

1. He will come to attack your identity.

Most women don't place enough value on themselves.

Gen 3:1 He questioned what God said
Mt 4:1-3 He questioned who Jesus was even though at the end of chapter 3 God made it very clear He was the Son of God

If he questioned Jesus about His identity he will surely question us.

He will make you question your salvation and your walk with God.

Jn 1:12 says those who receive Him become children of God. Have you received Him? There is your identity. Don't let the enemy tell you differently.

2. Comparison

He will try to get you to compare yourself with other women. That is a no win situation. There is a difference between comparing yourself and aspiring to be more virtuous because of something you see in someone.

If in comparison you find you are better then them, that leads to being prideful. If we are equal to them, that leads to being competitive, if we are less then them, you become inferior.

We have all compared ourselves to someone at one time or another. We need to take a stand against the enemy and not do it anymore.

Ps 139:14

We need to thank God for the way He made us. Doesn't mean we can't strive or aspire to be better. Doesn't mean we have always taken care of the body He gave us the way He wants us to, but we should be thankful He created us the way He did in the beginning and strive to be all He wants us to be.

3. Insignificance

He will make us feel unworthy. He will point out how far we have left to go instead of how far we have come.

You listen to one lie of the enemy and end up under a wave of insignificance and unworthiness.

Jer 1:4-5
Jer 29:11

God gives us a little at a time of the plan He has for us because He knows we couldn't handle all the great things He has planned for us at one time.

4. Unrealistic expectations

He will try to get us to carry an undue weight and responsibility.

90% of the responsibility we have, we took on ourselves. If a responsibility comes from God, He will provide everything I need to handle it also.

When we take on responsibility that God hasn't given us, we are trying to take the place of God. When responsibilities are to heavy for us to carry, they are not from God.

You will have peace and strength for anything He has called you to do. If we take on responsibility that He didn't give us, it can weigh us down even when we are trying to do the things He has called us to be responsible for.

5. Doubt

Alot of times we carry on a conversation in our minds and we think it is ourself but it is the enemy.

This is the same thing that Eve did in Gen 3. She had a conversation with the enemy. And we know how that ended. Our conversations with him won't end any better.

The enemy will try to make us doubt the very thing we know God has spoken to us about.

In MT when he is talking to Jesus, just two verses before God said Jesus was His Son.

A woman of resolve dispels fears and doubts.

The more we have discussions with the enemy the more we become defeated.

God will never question or change what He has told you before.

If you haven't heard from God lately, what is the last thing He gave you to do? You must not be completed finished with that yet.

James 1:6

6. Discouragement

He will remind you of your failures and mess ups.

It doesn't all happen in a day. He does it a little at a time.

When you are discouraged it is hard to witness or do anything else for God because you feel unworthy.

Ps 121:1-8

Discouragement keeps your eyes cast down.

Remembering where your help comes from will cast out discouragement.

No one will value you as God does. No matter how great they are. Your value and worth come from who you are in God.

Pr 31

2010-07-31T14:56:00.000-05:00

A Virtuous Woman

Jer 9:23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
:24 but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exerciseth lovingkindness, judgement and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents (attitude) of the heart.

2 Tim 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Pr 31:1 The kings mother taught him- these are her words to him- all the other chapters were written by Solomon. This is the only chapter that God says exactly what a godly woman should be.

This is what God wanted him to look for in a wife. Inspired by God, but told from a mother's heart.

Pr 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

virtuous is translated in some versions as noble character. You can't find a virtuous woman easily.

Virtuous means strength, able (ability), might and power.

Same hebrew word used to describe valant men of war.

Not power of our own strength and power but of His in us.

He placed that in us to help us work through whatever comes our way even when we think it is to much for us.

We must show the younger women that they have that strength from God also. We must teach them because today there is an attitude among young women that they don't have it in them.

3 Characteristics of a Virtuous Woman. (There are more in other verses)

1. She is a woman of character.

There are no real descriptions of her outward appearance. It is all about her inner beauty. Her beauty comes from her character in her heart.

Character means features and traits that form the individual nature of a person. Its her moral or ethical quality.

Qualities of honesty and integrity. Its who you are really on the inside, when no one else is around.

2. She is a woman of resolve.

Resolve means determined, to clean away or dispell fears and doubts, to make up one's mind, a firmness of purpose or intent.

She recognizes the lies the devil brings to her to cause fear.

She is not indecisive.
She knows what she believes and why.

3. She is a woman of determination.

There is a difference between stubbornness and determination.

Stubbornness means unreasonably obstinate, unyielding, unsubmissive, resistant, difficult to handle.

Determination means to settle or resolve, to have a purpose or firm intention.

Be honest with yourself about if you are stubborn or determined. The difference is the attitude of your heart. And God always sees the truth.

You can be determined and still be submissive to God, but you can't be stubborn and submit to Him.

You can be all these things and still have a submitted heart.

Submitted to God first, then our husbands if we have one, and then to others in authority over us.

Some theologians think Proverbs 31 is a picture of the perfect woman and that no one can live up to it. But God wouldn't have set that standard for us if we were not able to achieve it with His help.

More to come...

What I have been doing

2010-07-30T22:40:00.001-05:00

I was finishing up the bible study I started back in March. Tomorrow I hope to revisit Proverbs 31. I do this once a year, usually around my birthday. Since that was this past Wednesday, this seems like a good time to do it again.

This year while studying it I have 4 cds from my pastors wife I will be listening to. I will share a little from them I am sure.

Pr 24, Ps 53, 2 Sam 23 and 24

2010-07-24T20:22:00.000-05:00

Today I finished 2 Samuel.

Pr 24
:8 He that deviseth to do evil shall be called a mischieveous person.

Ps 53
:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

2 Sam 23

:1-39 This chapter gives the names of the men highest in David's men and their deeds.

2 Sam 24

:1-9 The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he had David number Israel and Judah. Joab didn't agree but did it cause the king ordered it.

:10-11 When they return David realizes he sinned by doing it.

:12-15 The Lord gives David 3 choices. 7 years of famine, 3 months fleeing before his enemies, or 3 days of pestilence.

:16-25 David buys the threshing floor where the pestilence stopped to build an altar to the Lord.

July 17

2010-07-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

I never got around to typing in on the 17th so here it is.

Pr 17:20 He tha hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hat a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.

Ps 52
:8 But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God: I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.

2 Sam 22
:1-50 David sang a song to the Lord the day He delivered him from Saul.

Quote I read

2010-07-05T09:56:00.002-05:00

Tim Hansel in "You've Gotta Keep Dancing" said that perhaps one of the most commonly used sentences in the English language is: If I can just get through this problem then everything will be all right.

He goes on to say the birth of maturity is when we realize tthat once we get through our present problem, there will be another one slightly larger and a little more intense waiting to take its place. If we are to grow up and grow in Christ, the time must come when we make this realization.

Pr 29, Ps 51, 2 Sam 21

2010-06-29T19:18:00.000-05:00

Pr 29

:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

Ps 51

:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

2 Sam 21

:1- There was a three year famine. The Lord told David it was because of Saul.

:2-9 David asked the Gibeonites what he could do to appease them for the things Saul had done to them.

:10-They wanted seven of Saul's sons to kill and David agreed.

:11-14 David got the bones of Saul, Jonathan, and the seven and had them buried.

:15-David went to war with the Philistines again and grew tired.

:16-22 David was almost killed and the men said he shouldn't go out to war anymore. There were many battles with the Philistines.

Pr 28, Ps 50, 2 Sam 20

2010-06-28T10:40:00.000-05:00

Pr 28

:5 Evil men understand not judgement; but they that seek the Lord understand all things.

:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

:13 He that coverth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Ps 50

:7 Hear, O My people and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.

:23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth Me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

2 Sam 20

:1-2 The men of Israel said they had no part in David and followed Sheba. The men of Judah followed David.

:3 David put the concubines he had left to keep the house in isolation and they lived as widows till their death.

:4-6 David sent Amasa to assemble the men of Judah and he took longer then he should have taken . David sent Abishai after Sheba.

:7-10 Joab and his men went after Sheba. Amasa went also. Joab shew Amasa.

:11-26 A woman comes to Joab at Abel and says she will toss Sheba's head over the wall and she does. Joab and his men return to David.

Pr 27, Ps 49, 2 Sam 19

2010-06-27T09:29:00.000-05:00

It has been awhile. I have been going to doctors, etc alot and just haven't had time to post. And sadly I have not always been in the word. When I have, it has been just quick short studies and not part of my usual bible study that I post here. So here is the next in the series.

Pr 27

:9 Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel.

:12 A prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.

Ps 49

:15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave; for He shall receive me. Selah.

2 Sam 19

:1-4 The people heard how David mourned his son.

:5-7 Joab tells David he and the people are upset that he is mourning Absalom who tried to kill and the people.

:8-10 David went out to the gate and met the people. The ones who had been following Absalom talked about bringing David back as king.

:11-18 They welcomed David as king.

:19-23 One of the men who cursed David when he left came to meet him. He repented but some still wanted to kill him. David said no.

:24-43 Others came to meet him also. Some argued they had more of David then others.

Pr 23, Ps 48, 2 Sam 18

2010-05-23T16:36:00.000-05:00

Pr 23

:17 Let not thine heart envy sinners, but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

Ps 48

:1 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in the mountains of His holiness.

:2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.

2 Sam 18

:1-14 Joab and two others take men out to battle Absalom. Absalom gets caught by a tree branch and even though David said to not hurt him, Joab puts 3 darts in him.

:14-33 News is sent to David about Absalom and David mourns for him.

Isn't the love of a parent amazing? Even though Absalom did evil to David and would have killed him if given the chance, David still said for his men to not hurt him and mourned him when he died.

Pr 20, Ps 47, 2 Sam 17

2010-05-20T09:20:00.000-05:00

Pr 20

:29 The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head.

Ps 47

:6 Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises unto our king, sing praises.

2 Sam 17

:1-14 One advisor (Ahithophel) says give me men and let us go after David. The other (Hushai) says gather everyone and you go after David. Absalom listens to Hushai.

:15-16 Hushai sends word to David.

:17-23 David crosses over Jordan with his people. When Ahithophel sees his counsel is not followed, he goes home, puts his house in order and hangs himself.

:24-29 Absalom passes over Jordan. He makes Amasa captain of the hosts instead of Joab. Shobi feeds David and his men and gives them a place to rest.

Pr 19, Ps 46, 2 Sam 16

2010-05-19T09:46:00.000-05:00

Pr 19

:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

Ps 46

:10 Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Ever get really busy with life? Do you still find time each day to be still and know that He is God? I am sad to say there have been days I have not taken the time. Prayerfully I won't have any more like that.

2 Sam 16

:1-David is told Absalom has taken over in Jerusalem. He meets up with Shimei and he curses David. One of David's men wants to kill him but David says it is from the Lord.

:12-23 Absalom goes into David's concubines.

Pr 18, Ps 45, 2 Sam 15

2010-05-18T10:36:00.000-05:00

Pr 18

:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.

Ps 45

:7 Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

2 Sam 15

:1-6 Absalom set himself up at the gate and acted as judge even thou David didn't know. He won the peoples hearts from Hebron by doing that.

:7-11 Absalom gets the ok from David to go worship the Lord in Hebron. But that is not what he had planned. Even the men with him didn't know he had sent spies ahead telling the people at the sound of the trumpet they were to say he reigned in Hebron.

:12-16 They get word to David and he flees with the people leaving ten concubines behind to keep the house.

:17-21 David tells Ittai to go back as he is a stranger but he says he is staying with the king.

:22-30 David sends the ark back to the city with the priests. He tells him to let him know when it is safe to return.

:31-37 David is told of a spy. He sends a spy to Absalom and tells him to send word to him by the priest's sons. Absalom enters the city.

Pr 16, Ps 44, 2 Sam 14

2010-05-16T09:01:00.000-05:00

Pr 16

:3 Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Ps 44

:7 But Thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

2 Sam 14

:1-33 The chapter starts out with Joab going to a wise woman and tells her to go to the king and exactly what to tell him. She does but in the end the Lord shows David what Joab had done. When David asks her she confirms. David has Joab send for Absalom but he can't see the king. It says also that Absalom was very handsome. At the end of the chapter Absalom is allowed to see David and David kisses him.

Pr 14, Ps 43, 2 Sam 13

2010-05-14T09:05:00.000-05:00

Pr 14

:9 Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.

Ps 43

:3 O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me: let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacle.

Amen!

2 Sam 13

:1-14 Amnon loved his half sister Tamar. He rapes her. (what a horrible way to show love)

:15-He hates her once he has raped her (probably mixed up with self loathing for what he has done to her)

:16-20 Her brother Absalom tells her to keep secret what happened to her.

:21-28 David finds out what happened. Absalom waits two years to kill Amnon for what he did.

:29-31 David is told Absalom killed all his brothers, but it is not true.

:32-33 David is told it was only Amnon.

:34-39 Absalom flees. David mourns Absalom. He was relieved Amnon was punished for raping Tamar.

Pr 13, Ps 42, 2 Sam 12

2010-05-13T08:15:00.000-05:00

Pr 13

:12 Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Ps 42

:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

2 Sam 12

:1-7 God sends Nathan to David about his sin using a parable.

:8-13 David admits his sin.

:14-19 Nathan says the child will die, he fasted while the child was sick asking God to spare him.

:20 Once he heard the child had died, he washed, worshipped, and ate.

:21-23 The servants don't understand why now he will eat. He explains he didn't know if he kept seeking the Lord if the Lord would spare the child.

:24 He comforted Bathsheba and she bore Solomon. The Lord loved Solomon.

:25-31 Joab sent word to David of how the battle was going. David went out to meet him and captured the city.

Pr 11, Ps 41, 2 Sam 11

2010-05-11T08:57:00.000-05:00

Pr 11

:27 He that diligently seeketh good procureth favor: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.

Ps 41

:9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.

Ever been betrayed by a close friend? All of us have at me time or another. Those are the betrayals that hurt the most. ZBut if you allow the Lord to enter that part of your heart, He can and will heal it. The friendship probably won't be the same as before, but it can still be a good one. And yes, I speak from experience.

2 Sam 11

:1-3 David sees Bathsheba.

:4-10 David tries to cover his sin but Uriah doesn't go home.

Have you ever tried to cover up your sin? Just as David's sin was seen by God and dealt with by God, so is ours.

:11-18 David sends word to Joab to have Uriah killed in battle.

:19-24 Joab sent word to David Uriah was dead.

:25-27 Bathsheba mourned her husband, then David sent for her and made her his wife. But what he did displeased the Lord.

Pr 10, Ps 40, 2 Sam 10

2010-05-10T08:29:00.000-05:00

Pr 10

:3 The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but He casteth away the substance of the wicked.

Ps 40

:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

2 Sam 10

:1 The king of Ammon died and his son Hanun took his place.

:2-7 David sent servants to comfort him in honor of his fater, but his servants told him they were coming to spy, so he shaved half of David's men heads and cut their clothing. Then he hired soldiers from other kings. When David heard he sent Joab out to meet them with all the host of the mighty men.

:8-13 Joab split the men up between himself and his brother. When he came out against the Syrians they fled.

:14- When Ammon's people saw the Syrians flee they did also.

:15-19 The Syrians that were left gathered together. David gathered with all of Israel and came out against them. David won and all the kings that were servants to Hadarezer joined Israel. The Syrians were afraid to help Ammon any more.

Pr 6, Ps 39, 2 Sam 9

2010-05-06T09:30:00.001-05:00

Pr 6

:23 For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

Ps 39

:13 O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.

2 Sam 9

:1-13 David sends for Jonathan's son and takes him as his own son. He gives him everything that belonged to Saul.

Pr 5, Ps 38, 2 Sam 8 and MRI results

2010-05-05T08:48:00.000-05:00

First off I got the MRI results and it came back clear. Now just waiting for the results of the other two tests.

Pr 5

:21 For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all his goings.

Ps 38

:18 For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin.

Am I really sorry for my sin? If so then I won't repeat that sin.

2 Sam 8

:1- David smote the Philistines and subdued them.

:2 He smote Moab, some were killed, others became his servants.

:3-6 He smote Hadadezer, Syrians.

:7-8 He took from Betah brass, Hadadezer gold.

:9-18 Toi sent his son to salute David. He brought silver, gold and brass that David gave to the Lord. He made servants of Edom. He put men over different places and things that needed to be done. The Lord preserved David where ever he went. As a side note my bible says preserved means the Lord gave victory to David.

Lord I need You to preserve me in my health.

Pr 2, Ps 37, 2 Sam 7

2010-05-05T08:43:00.001-05:00

Pr 2

:6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

Ps 37

::39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: He is their shield in time of trouble.

2 Sam 7

:1-8 David wants to build a house for the ark.

:9-14 God says He will be David's father and chasten him if he needs it.

:15-17 He won't remove His mercy from David as He did from Saul. Nathan tells David all the Lord said.

:18-29 David goes in and give thanksgiving to the Lord.

Pr 1, Ps 36, 2 Sam 6

2010-05-01T12:31:00.000-05:00

Pr 1

:10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

We will be tempted, but He has given us the power to resist.

Ps 36

:7 How excellent is Thy lovingkindness O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.

Many years ago I was riding in the back of a pickup truck. A voice kept telling me to jump out. I knew it was the devil and didn't listen. I started praying and the Lord showed me a vision of an eagle and me under its wing. It brought me peace and I know God was watching over me.

2 Sam 6

:1-5 David gathered 30,000 men and got the ark of God. They played instruments before the Lord.

:6-8 Uzzah put his hand out to straighten the ark. The anger of the Lord was directed at him and he died. David was displeased that the Lord killed him for trying to straighten it.

:9-12 David feared the Lord. He had Obededom take the ark and the Lord blessed him for having it. David heard and had the ark brought to the city of David.

:13-16 David sang and danced before the Lord. Michal saw him and despised him in her heart.

:17-23 Michal rebukes him for dancing and leaping before the Lord. He tells her he did it for the Lord and will do it again. Michal died never having a child.

Pr 30, Ps 35, 2 Sam 5

2010-05-01T08:22:00.000-05:00

Pr 30

:5 Every word of God is pure. He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.

Lord I put my trust in You.

Ps 35

:28 And my tongue shall speak of Thy righteousness and of Thy praise all the day long.

Amen!

2 Sam 5

:1-4 The elders anointed David King when he was 30 years old. He reigned for 40 years.

:5-10 David grew great and the Lord was with him.

:11-16 David took more wives and concubines and had more children.

:17-19 The Philistines heard David had been made king and came out against him. He sought the Lord and the Lord said He would deliver the Philistines to him.

:20-21 David won the battle.

:22 Again the Philistines came out against David

:23-25 Again he sought the Lord and the Lord gave him instructions of what to do and again he defeated the Philistines.

Ever inquire of the Lord about a situation? Do you pay attention to what He says to do about it? Do you forget to even ask Him sometimes?

Sometimes I think I have it all figured out and know exactly what God would have me do in a situation. But the second time David sought the Lord he was given a different way of going against the Philistines. Probably cause if he went out the way he did before they would be ready for him. So the Lord had him go around the back. If we don't seek God, and listen and follow His direction, even though what we think is the right thing to do cause it worked in the past, may not be right this time. It is important, no imperative, that we seek and listen each time, in each situation, even if it is one we have found ourselves in before.

Update and devotion (Pr 29, Ps 34, 2 Sam 4)

2010-04-29T09:31:00.000-05:00

First the update. I went to the neurologist yesterday with some symptoms of MS. After the exam he stated he thought I probably have TIA's instead of MS. TIA's are mini silent strokes. They are caused by blood clots that don't stay stuck in the brain, but cause issues while passing through. Tomorrow I have an MRI and then Monday I have an ultrasound on my neck and heart. I see him again in 2 weeks for the results and to find out what we will do from there, assuming nothing urgent shows up on the tests.

Ok now to the devotion for the day.

Pr 29

:11 A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.

Lord, help me to listen before I speak.

Ps 34

:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.

See that word trusteth? Present tense!

2 Sam 4

:1-8 Some of Ishbosheth's (Saul's son) men slew him and brought his head to David. Jonathan's son was 5 years old when Jonathan died. His nurse dropped him while running away and he became lame.

:9-12 David had the men killed that slew Saul's son.

Pr 27, Ps 33, 2 Sam 3

2010-04-27T08:27:00.000-05:00

Pr 27

:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

Ever been wounded by a friend? I have, and it hurts alot. But here it says they are faithful wounds.

Ps 33

:20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: He is our help and our shield.

Amen!

2 Sam 3

:1 The war between David and Saul was long. But David's house grew stronger and Saul's grew weaker.

:2-5 David had children during this time.

:6-13 Abner made himself strong in Saul's house during this time. Abner wants to meet with David. David says only if he brings Michal to him. Remember Saul gave her to someone else even though she was David's wife. Abner went into Saul's concubine.

:14-15 David tells Saul's son he wants her back and he gets her from her husband.

:16 Her husband follows and Abner sends him home.

:17-21 Abner tells the tribes following Saul to make David king. That the Lord already has.

:22-23 Joab returns from a fight and they tell him Abner was there.

:24-27 Joab asks why he sent him away in peace. Joab sends for Abner without David knowing and kills him for killing his brother.

:28-30 David hears about it and says it is all on Joab. He had no part in it.

:31-34 David has everyone mourn Abner.

:35-36 The people wanted David to eat but he says not till the sun goes down. It pleases the people.

:37-39 David says these people are hard to rule over and that the Lord will reward the evil doer according to his wickedness.

Pr 26, Ps 32, 2 Sam 2

2010-04-26T09:07:00.000-05:00

Pr 26
:20 Where no wood is, there the fire goesth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.

Ever hear the saying it takes two to argue?

Ps 32

:1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Praise God this is me!

2 Sam 2

:1-3 The Lor told David to go to Hebron.

:4-7 David was annointed King by the men of Judah and is told who buried Saul.

:8-10 Abner doesn't agree and makes Ishbosheth, son of Saul, king. Judah follows David and the rest followed Saul's son for 2 years.

:11-17 Abner and David's men fight and David wins.

:18-23 Asahel followed Abner. Wehn Abner told him to stop and he wouldn't Abner killed him.

:24-32 Joab, Asahel's brother, went after Abner. When the fight is over Joab had 19 men plus his brother missing. Abner had over 300 missing. Joab goes to meet David.

Pr 25, Ps 31, 2 Sam 1

2010-04-25T08:28:00.000-05:00

Pr 25
:21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink;
:22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee.

We are called to love everyone, especially the ones who make it difficult.

Ps 31
:1 In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me not be ashamed: deliver me in Thy righteousness.

2 Sam 1
:1-12 David finds out Saul and Jonathan are dead. An Amalekite brings him Saul's crown and bracelet.
:13 -15 David has him killed cause he said he killed Saul.

:16-27 David mourns Saul and Jonathan.

Pr 24, Ps 30, 1 Sam 30 and 31

2010-04-24T09:24:00.000-05:00

Today I finished 1 Sam and start 2 Sam tomorrow.

Pr 24
:9 The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men.

Wow just the thought of foolishness is sin.

Ps 30
:2 O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

This is my prayer.

1 Sam 30

:1-3 When David and his men returned home the place was burned down and their wives and children were taken. The Amalekites were responsible.

:4-6 The people were upset and wanted to stone David but he encouraged himself in the Lord.

:7-8 David sought the Lord about going after them and was told yes.

:9-11 David and 600 men went after them but 200 were weak and had to be left at Besor.

:12-15 They find an Amalekite who was left in a field cause he was ill. He tells David they burned down his town. David asks if he can find them and he says yes if David will swear to not turn him over to them or kill him.

:16-18 Only 400 escaped. David recovered his wives and all they had taken and more.

:19-25 Some of the 400 didn't want to share the spoils with the 200 who couldn't go but David said they would all share equally.

:26-31 He shared with the elders of Judah and others also.

1 Sam 31

:1-13 Just as Samuel had told Saul, he and his sons were killed by the Philistines.

Pr 23, Ps 29, 1 Sam 29

2010-04-23T10:13:00.000-05:00

:9 Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words.

Every try to speak to a fool? Or someone acting foolish? It does no good.

Ps 29

:11 The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.

Lord I need Your strength and peace today.

1 Sam 29

:1-7 David goes out with Achish to battle Israel with the Philistines. The Philistines question David's loyalty and even though Achish trusts David he tells him to return home.

:8-11 He tells David to leave at first light with his men. David obeys.

Pr 15, Ps 28, 1 Sam 28

2010-04-23T10:06:00.000-05:00

I did this back on the fifteenth but never posted it.

Pr 15
:2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

Lord help me to have a wise tongue.

Ps 28
:7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him.

I need His strength today, and everyday.

1 Sam 28

:1-2 Achish is going out to fight with Israel and wants David's help.

:3-5 Saul gathers with Israel against the Philistines and is afraid.

:6-7 He seeks the Lord, but He doesn't answer. He tells his servants to bring a woman with a familiar spirit to him. After Samuel died Saul had all the people with familiar spirits and the wizards put out of the land.

:8-11 He disguised himself and went to the woman at night. She asks if he is setting her up to die because Saul had sent them away. He tells her she will be safe and to bring Samuel to him.

:12 When Samuel comes she knows it is Saul.

:13-19 Samuel tells him that tomorrow the Lord will give Israel to the Philistines and Saul and his sons will die.

:20-25 Saul hadn't eaten and was weak. The woman feeds him and his men before they leave.

MIA

2010-04-21T08:10:00.000-05:00

I have been MIA for a while and may still be for awhile. I am seeing a neurologist next week to begin testing to see if I have MS. I would appreciate any prayers you would send my way. Thanks.

Comment Moderation

2010-04-16T10:36:00.001-05:00

Due to some links to objectionable material being left on my comments, I am now doing comment moderation. How sad that people have to do things like this. I will approve the appropriate comments as quickly as possible.

Pr 14, Ps 27, 1 Sam 27

2010-04-14T08:38:00.000-05:00

Pr 14

:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

I want to be a wise woman and build up my home. But you know the saying, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? Well my flesh can usually find something else to do. Don't get me wrong, I do the usual every day things, but somethings just don't get done as often as they should. Today the Lord is speaking to me that for today, for me, this verse means my home needs a little extra attention. I need to do the dreaded DUSTING. Yes, I admit it, I don't like to dust. And I am actually sitting here sneezing just thinking about it lol. But dust I will. So all you dust bunnies, do us both a favor and hop away now while you can.

Ps 27

:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Wait on the Lord. Now that can be easy sometimes, or really hard. Just as when I am waiting at the doctor's office or at a red light. There are times when a long wait seems short, and when a short wait seems to take forever. Depends on my attitude I suppose. So today, I chose to wait patiently on the Lord. Wonder what He has in store for me? I am waiting for xray results from the doctor. Maybe that is what the wait is about today?

1 Sam 27

:1-4 David goes to Gath and Saul seeks him no more.

:5-7 David stayed in the country of the Philistines for 16 months and asked the king for some land.

:8-12 David goes out against the Philistines and destroys everyone in the area he goes to so no one can tell the king what he is doing. When asked by the king he says he went out against Israel.

Pr 13, Ps 26, 1 Sam 26

2010-04-13T08:53:00.000-05:00

Pr 13

:4 The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.

As a person who struggles with weight, the only thing I desire to be made fat is my soul. How does that happen? By feeding it with the Word of God.

Ps 26

:8 Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth.

Do I really love where the Lord dwells? He dwells in me if I am born again. How do I take care of my body?

OUCH

1 Sam 26

:1-3 Saul goes after David again.

:4-David hears Saul is again after him

:5-8 Abishai wants to kill Saul when they find him sleeping and all of his men are also sleeping.

:9-10 David won't let him. David says Saul is the Lord's annointed and that he will die according to the Lord's plan, not by David or his men.

:11-12 David takes Saul's spear and water. No one knows as they are in a deep sleep caused by the Lord.

:13-17 David calls out to Abner once he and and his men are far off and says he didn't do his job to protect Saul. Saul hears and knows it is David.

:18-20 David asks Saul why he is again coming after him.

:21-Saul says he has sinned again and that David can return.

:22-25 David lets Saul know he has his spear and gives it back and they again part ways.

Unto Thee O Lord

2010-04-13T08:47:00.000-05:00

Pr 9, Ps 25, 1 Sam 25

2010-04-13T08:24:00.000-05:00

Pr 9

:6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

Ps 25
:1 Unto Thee O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
:2 O, My God, I trust in Thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

I LOVE that song!

:4 Shew me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths.
:5 Lead me in Thy truth, and teach me; for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day.

Do you ever have a hard time waiting for God to speak to you about a situation, or for Him to act on a situation? I do unfortunately. But I am getting better. He is still doing a work in me praise God!

1 Sam 25

:1 Samuel dies
:2-13 David sends someone to talk to Nabal, Abigail's husband and he refuses them water and food, he is not nice about it.
:14-17 One of the servants tells Abigail how David's men protected them while they were caring for the sheep. They had previously told Nabal but he didn't care. They tell her David will be coming to deal with Nabal.
:18- 38 Nabal means fool - Abigail goes to meet David with provisions. She tells him to not take venegence and to remember her when the Lord makes him king. Ten days later the Lord takes Nabal.
:39-44 David takes Abigail as his wife. He also took Ahinoam for a wife. Saul had given David's wife Michal to someone else.

Pr 7, Ps 24, 1 Sam 24

2010-04-13T08:15:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have gotten behind, I will catch up here and hopefully get back on track.

Pr 7
:2 Keep My commandments, and live; and My law as the apple of thine eye.

Ps 24
:1 The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.

1 Sam 24

:1-4 Saul rests in the cave David and his men are hiding in and David cuts off a piece of Saul's skirt.

:5-16 David calls out to Saul and shows him the piece of cloth. Tells him the Lord delivered him to David but he didn't kill him.

:17-22 Saul says he now knows that David will be king and leaves.

Pr 6, Ps 23, 1 Sam 23

2010-04-06T09:53:00.000-05:00

Pr 6

:2 Thou are snared with the words of thy mouth, thou are taken with the words of thy mouth.

Be careful of your words, you may have to eat them. You WILL have to answer to God for EVERY word out of your mouth. Would you use the same words if Christ were standing next to you? If you have Him as your Savior, He hears them. OUCH.

Ps 23

This was my mom's favorite chapter.

:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

That covers it all doesn't it?

:2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.

Have you ever spent time in a green pasture? I used to spend time as a child laying in one watching the clouds. It is one of the few good memories I have from my childhood. It was so peaceful there. Even after being stung by a yellow jacket, I still returned every chance I had to that place.

If you have never really read and thought about the verses in this psalm, I encourage you to do so, there is so much love and encouragement in the verses.

1 Sam 23

:1-5 David seeks the Lord before going to battle. When his men say they are afraid, he sought the Lord a second time. When God gave the same answer they went out and defeated the Philistines.

:6-14 David hears Saul knows where he is and asks the Lord if Saul will come and destroy the city. The answer is yes, so David leaves. Saul continues to search for David when he hears David has left.

:15-19 Someone tells Saul where David is hiding.

:20-29 David continues to avoid Saul with the Lord's help.

Pr 5, Ps 22, 1 Sam 22

2010-04-05T08:38:00.000-05:00

You get two posts today. I read and took notes yesterday, but never got around to posting them because of church and Easter.

Pr 5

:18 Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

Ps 22

:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art Thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

Ever feel as though God is far away? You moved not Him.

:11 Be not far from me: for trouble is near: for there is none to help.

God is always there to help. Why do we usually try to do things on our own and then when that doesn't work out we call for God to fix the mess we have made? Why don't we call for His help first? Then things would go well from the beginning.

1 Sam 22

:1-2 David's family and anyone unhappy with Saul join David.

:3 David asked the king of Moab to keep his parents while he worked things out.

He honored his parents.

:4-8 Saul hears David was found. He is upset that his servants didn't tell him about Jonathan helping David.

:9-13 Doeg tells him about David going to the priests and they helped him.
Saul calls the priests who helped to him.

:14-17 the priest defends David and Saul orders the priest and his family killed. None of his servants will kill them.

:18-20 Doeg kills the priest and family. One escapes and fled to tell David what happened.

:21-23 David takes the responsibility for what happened to the priest and his family. He tells him to stay with him and he will protect him.

Pr 4, Ps 21, 1 Sam 21

2010-04-05T08:07:00.000-05:00

Pr 4
:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Guard your heart carefully.

Ps 21
:13 Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise Thy power.

1 Sam 21

:1-11 David goes to a priest and gets bread and the sword David took from Goliath.

:12-15 David pretends he is crazy so they won't know it is him.

Pr 3, Ps 20, 1 Sam 20

2010-04-03T06:56:00.002-06:00

Pr 3

:11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His correction.

Because He is our Father and loves us He disciplines us.

Ps 20

:7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses: but we will trust in the Name of the Lord our God.

1 Sam 20

:1-4 David tells Jonathan Saul is trying to kill him, but Jonathan doesn't think so.

:5-16 Jonathan is going to question Saul about David.

:17-23 Jonathan tells David how he will let him know if he is safe from Saul.

:24-33 Saul tells Jonathan he will kill David.

:34-42 Jonathan tells David to flee.

Pr 2, Ps 19, 1 Sam 19

2010-04-02T08:25:00.000-06:00

Pr 2

:2 My son, if thou wilt receive My words, and hide My commandments with thee:

See the little word if? We are given a choice. It would have been so much easier for US if God didn't give us free will. But He wanted us to CHOOSE to follow Him.

:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.

Verses 1-4 give us what to do if we want verse 5.

There are more verses that say what we get for doing what God commands.

Ps 19

:1 The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament sheweth forth his handiwork.

:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

1 Sam 19

Verse 1 has Saul asking Jonathan and his servants to kill David.

:2-6 Jonathan tells David and tells him to hide. Then he speaks to Saul on David's behalf. Saul swears he won't kill David.

:7-10 David goes to war with the Philistines again. Saul tries to kill David again.

:11 Michal warns David

:12-17 Michal helps David escape and then tricks Saul's men. When he finds out he is upset with her.

:18-20 David goes to Samuel and tells him what is happening. When Saul sends messengers to take David, they begin to prophesy instead.

:21-24 Every time he sends more men they do the same thing. Finally he goes himself and ends up prophesying and stripped.

Pr 1, Ps 18, 1 Sam 18

2010-04-01T09:57:00.000-06:00

Pr 1
:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Lord please give me knowledge.

Ps 18
:3 I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.

Thank You Lord for saving me.

:28 For Thou wilt light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

At the end I will post a video about our candle.

1 Sam 18

:1-8 Jonathan's soul it says was knit with David's. Saul resents when the people say Saul has slain thousands and David ten thousands.

:9-14 Saul is jealous of David and trys to slay him but God protects him. The Lord's Spirit had left Saul and gone to David.

:15-20 The daughter that was supposed to marry David was given to someone else, but Saul's daughter Michal loved David.

:21-24 David is hesitant about being son-in-law to Saul

:25 Saul wants the Philistines to kill David so he doesn't have to.

:26-27 David kills 200 Philistines instead of the 100 Saul asked for.

:28-30 Saul is more afraid of David when he sees the Lord is with David.

Pr 30, Ps 17, 1 Sam 17

2010-03-31T10:00:00.000-06:00

Pr 30

:5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him.

Lord I put my trust in You.

Ps 17

:5 Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.

:8 Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.

1 Sam 17

:1-7 Introduces us to the battle and Goliath.

:8-10 Goliath taunts the army of Israel.

:11-16 For forty days he taunts them. We are also told about David leaving Saul and going tend the sheep during this time.

:17 Jesse sends David to bring food to his brothers who are in Saul's army.

:18-23 Once David gets there, Goliath comes out to taunt them again.

:24 The army fled when they saw him again.

:25-28 David's oldest brother became angry that David would speak out that no one would face Goliath.

:29-31 Saul is told David's words about going out himself to fight Goliath.

:32- David sayes he will go.

:33- Saul wants David is to young and that Goliath has been fighting a long time.

:34-37 David explains God has delivered him from a bear and a lion and will deliver him from the Philistine.

:38-39 Saul agrees and wants David to wear Saul's armour. It is all to big and heavy.

:40- He takes his staff and 5 stones along with his sling.

:41-44 Goliath taunts David.

:45-46 David tells Goliath he comes in the Name of the Lord and that God will deliver Goliath to him.

:47- He tells Goliath the battle is the Lord's.

:48-49 David takes down Goliath with one stone.

:50-51 David didn't have a sword so he used Goliath's to cut off his head. When the Philistines see this they ran.

:52-54 Israel pursues the Philistines.

:55-58 Saul wants to know who David's father is. David tells him Jesse.

Pr 29, Ps 16, 1 Sam 16

2010-03-29T13:06:00.001-06:00

Pr 29

:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

Ps 16

:1 Preserve me, O God; for in Thee do I put my trust.

1 Sam 16

:1-2 When Saul is removed by God, Samuel mourns him and God tells him to stop. God tells him to go to Jesse and God will provide a new king. Samuel fears Saul will kill him if he does.

:3-6 Samuel obeys

:7 God tells Samuel not to look on the outward appearance, that God looks on the heart.

:8-13 finally after going through all the other sons, David is called from the sheep and is chosen. The Spirit came upon David from that day forward.

:14 The Spirit of the Lord leaves Saul and an evil spirit troubles him.

:15-23 Saul's servants tell him to get someone to play the harp to drive away the evil spirits. Saul sends for David. David comes and Saul is refreshed when David plays.

Pr 28, Ps 15, 1 Sam 15

2010-03-29T12:57:00.000-06:00

Pr 28

:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

We must be careful of our attitude all the time if when we pray we want God to hear us.

:20 A faithful man shall abound with blessings; but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.

Get rich quick scams were mentioned int the word of God. Sounds to good to be true? Then it probably is, and if you do it anyway, you can't claim innocence to God when it falls apart.

:24 Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, It is no transgression; the same is the companion of a deceiver.

Ps 15

:1 Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?

:2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

Verse one asks the question and verse 2 answers.

1 Sam 15

Verses 1-6 has Saul reminded that the Lord had Samuel annoint him to be king. Then the Lord tells hm to go and destroy all of the Amalek and everything they own. Saul tells the Kenites to leave since they had shown kindness to the Israelites.

:7-9 Saul doesn't obey God, he takes Agag the king alive and also some livestock and anything that appeared good to him. That was against what God had told him to do.

:10-21 God tells Samuel He is sorry He made Saul king because he didn't obey. Samuel confronts Saul but Saul still doesn't understand he disobeyed God.

:22 Samuel says to obey is better than sacrifice.

:23 Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubborness is as inquity and idolatry.

Wow that is some harsh comparisons.

:24 Saul finally admits he sinned because he feared men more then he feared God.

:25-29 Samuel tells Saul the Lord has rejected him and chosen someone else as king.

:30-33 Samuel calls for Agag and kills him as the Lord had commanded.

:34-35 Samuel didn't see Saul again till he died.

Pr 27, Ps 14, 1 Sam 14

2010-03-29T12:47:00.000-06:00

My computer has been down a few days so I will post the missing ones in each a post to catch up in case someone is reading along.

Pr 27

:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.

This is so true. Since Jan 18th we have gone to the funeral homes way to many times, including this past Saturday.

Ps 14

:1 The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt; they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

1 Sam 14

:1-23 tells how Jonathan left with his armour bearer and the Lord delivered some Philistines to them. Saul and some Hebrews living among them joined Jonathan.

:24-31 Saul told the people they couldn't eat all day and they grew faint. Jonathan didn''t hear the order and tasted some honey.

:32-35 Because they were so hungry they sinned when they did eat by eating with the blood.

:36-40 Saul asks God if He will deliver the Philistines to him that night and God doesn't answer. He has the people draw lots to see who sinned because no one will tell him it was Jonathan. Wonder why Jonathan didn't admit it?

:42 God reveals it is Jonathan.

:43-46 The people save Jonathan from being killed for his sin.

:47-52 Saul continues to battle with his enemies.

Pr 26, Ps 13, 1 Sam 13

2010-03-26T07:51:00.000-06:00

Pr 26

:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.

Be very careful when dealing with foolish people.

:12 Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.

Be careful of conceited people even more.

Ps 13

:1 How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?

Ever feel this way?

Remember Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Doesn't matter how we "feel". God's word is true, He is right there with us all the time.

1 Sam 13

The first few verses tell how when Saul had been king for two years they went to battle with the Philistines.

In 8-12 Saul makes an offering to God cause Samuel isn't there. In 12-14 Samuel arrives and tells Saul because of his foolishness his kingdom will not continue.

:15 Samuel leaves

:16-23 Things are not looking very good for Israel. Only Jonathan and Saul have weapons.

I always love when I am reading in more then one place and they both talk about the same thing. Today the theme was foolishness.

Pr 25, Ps 12, 1 Sam 12

2010-03-25T07:23:00.000-06:00

First this morning I will share what the Lord impressed upon me this morning right as I was waking that I should share.

No matter how good you are, no matter how much good works you do, no matter who you know, the only way ANYONE will get to heaven is by asking the Lord Jesus Christ to be their Savior, by repenting for all the sin in their life. There is no other way. No other prayer that will do it. Anything else that you try to get to heaven is worthless. Are works bad? No, but they are if you think that will be the way you get to heaven. Is prayer bad? No, but unless it is the prayer of salvation it won't get you to heaven. Do you have to prayer for salvation more then once? Not if you truly mean it the first time. If this is for you I would love to get a response either as a comment or to my email. I would love to add you to the list of people I pray for.

Ok with that said, here is todays reading.

Pr 25

:7 For better it is that it be said unto thee, come up hither: than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

:9 Debate thy cause with thy neighbor himself; and discover not a secret to another.

Have a problem with someone? Discuss it with them. Don't gossip by telling everyone else and that person has no clue why you are upset with them.

:28 He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

Wow this shows how important self control is doesn't it?

Ps 12

:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver is tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Are my words pure? I pray they are.

1 Sam 12

In verse 12 Samuel tells them that God was their king, but that they weren't satisfied with that.

:17-19 Samuel tells them that he will call to the Lord to bring a storm on the wheat harvest because of their wickedness in asking for a king.

He goes on to say because they repented and said they shouldn't have done that, if they follow God, then He will lead them through their king.

Pr 24, Ps 11, 1 Sam 11

2010-03-24T08:16:00.001-06:00

Pr 24

:17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth.
:18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.

When someone you are upset with stumbles or falls have you ever been glad? Or thought, finally they get what they deserve? If so, be careful. Remember we ALL deserve punishment for the things we have done but instead we received mercy and grace.

Ps 11

:1 In the Lord put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?

Help me to always put my trust in You Lord.

1 Sam 11

:6 And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.

In previous verses Nahash tells some Israelites that he will make peace with them only if they let him thrust out their right eyes. When Saul hears this is when the Spirit of God comes on him and he gets angry and takes action.

This was righteous anger cause it came from God.

:9 Saul sends word help is coming.

:12 After Saul helps the people want to kill whoever spoke against Saul at the beginning.

:13 Saul says no one is to be harmed.

Pr 23, Ps 10, 1 Sam 10

2010-03-24T08:08:00.000-06:00

I did my reading, etc yesterday but never got around to posting it. Here it is and then I will post todays.

Pr 23

:7 For as he thinketh in is heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.

Ps 10

:6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never see adversity.

The word clearly says we will have trials.

1 Sam 10

Verses 1-9 are Samuel prophesying to Saul what will happen. Verse 9 says God gave Saul a new heart.

:16 Saul told his uncle only part of what Samuel told him.

:21 Samuel couldn't find Saul when everyone had gathered. Saul was hiding. Reminds me a little of Jonah. Ever hide (or try to) when God wants you to do something? We can't hide from God, ever.

Samuel announces that Saul will be the king they asked for. Some are not happy with the choice and are vocal about it.

Pr 22, Ps 9, 1 Sam 9

2010-03-22T13:18:00.000-06:00

Pr 22

:1 A good name is rather to be chosen then great riches, and loving favor rather then silver and gold.

Your name and loving favor are more important then anything else. Guard them well.

:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Notice is says correction not anger. Be sure you never discipline in anger. Even angry words will hurt a child for a long time.

Ps 9

:2 I will be glad and rejoice in Thee: I will sing praise to Thy Name, O Thou Most High.

This is how I have spent most of my day. Listening and singing praises to the Lord while getting things done.

:10 And they that know Thy Name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.

Isn't it wonderful to know that we can always trust God?

1 Sam 9

:3 Saul was very tall.

:15 The Lord told Samuel the day before that Saul would come to him.

:20 Samuel told him that the donkeys were found.

:21 Saul said he was least of least.

Isn't that how God works? He uses the least and He gets all the glory just as it should be.

:27 Samuel has a word for Saul from God.

Pr 21, Ps 8, 1 Sam 8

2010-03-21T07:49:00.000-06:00

As you will notice, I missed a day. I got sidetracked from my normal routine yesterday. Sigh.

Pr 21:

:2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the heart.

You can't hide anything from God.

:31 The house is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.

Thank You Lord for keeping me safe.

Ps 8

:9 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth.

1 Sam 8

:5 Because Samuel was old and his sons weren't following the Lord, the people wanted a king.

:7 The Lord told Samuel to give them a king, that they weren't rejecting Samuel, they were rejecting the Lord. It is hard to remember that sometimes when someone rejects us.

:18 In the previous verses, Samuel tells the people what it will be like with a king. The Lord told Samuel to lay it all before them. And that when they have enough, the Lord will not hear them.

:19 Even knowing all of it they still want a king. Aren't we like that sometimes? We don't care about the eventual outcome, we just want what we want when we want it, and we think that we can change the eventual outcome. How foolish we are.

:22 The Lord tells Samuel to give them what they want.

Sometimes the Lord says yes to things He knows is not best for us, because we need to learn something. In this case He warned them what having a king would be like, but they still wanted it. So by saying yes and giving them what they wanted He would teach them sometimes it is not a good thing to get your way.

Pr 19, Ps 7, 1 Sam 7

2010-03-19T15:07:00.000-06:00

First off let me clear something up from yesterday. I know in Pr 18:24 that the friend is usually thought of as Jesus. I agree He is our friend and He is closer then a brother, and He will never leave you. What I was trying to get across was that I personally believe that He also wants us to have friends here in the physical that He can use to minister to us when we need a hug, a shoulder to cry on, or just someone to tell us verbally it will be ok. I just didn't want anyone to think that I didn't know of that interpretation. I sat for over 18 years under a pastor who only used the Word of God to interpret the Word of God. I am blessed to have done that. I just took a little liberty to show that we can have earthly friends and Jesus also. With that said here is what I read today.

Pr 19

:11 The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

Ok Lord, I know this is for me today and I will do my best to obey. But I may need help. Well I will definitely need help.

Ps 7

:1 O Lord my God, in Thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:

:8 The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness, and according to mine integrity that is in me.

Are you judgmental of others? Here it says that the Lord is the judge. I know that in 1 Cor it says we will judge angels, etc. But that is once we are with the Lord. Not here, not now.

We must be very careful in this area, cause it also says that how you judge, you will be judged.

:10 My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.

1 Sam 7

Chapter 7 tells how the people returned to the Lord. They got rid of the false gods and repented.

Because of this, they were able to defeat the Philistines, and take back the land they had lost.

We must be very careful about false gods. It can be things, desires, dreams, even people. God has told us to love each other, but if we put anyone ahead of God, even our spouse or children, then they are a false god to us. As mothers that is something we must be ever mindful of. Our children, especially when they are young, need us for everything. But if we begin to worship them instead of love them, there is a problem. How will we know the difference? Well first off divine order according to the Word of God is first God, then our spouse, and then our children. If you put your child or children before your spouse, there is a good chance you are putting them before God also.

There is a difference between meeting our children's physical needs and letting them run your life. If your husband wants to do or not do one thing, and your child wants to do or not do something else, what choice do you make? That would be a great indicator of who is first in the relationship between your spouse and your child. If you choose the child's preference I would seek the Lord and ask if you have made the child a false god in your life.

Just my ramblings, take them or leave them.

Pr 18, Ps 6, 1 Sam 6

2010-03-18T08:24:00.006-06:00

Pr 18

:6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.

Like to argue?

:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

This is right up there as one of my favorite verses. See the is? Present tense! Woohoo, that is for me!

:22 Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord.

I pray I am always a good thing for my husband and that I help him find favor with the Lord.

:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer then a brother.

I have just such a friend in Marty. I pray you have one like that also.

Ps 6

:9 The Lord hath heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer.

God hears, receives and answers our prayers. But sometimes the answer is no.

1 Sam 6

In this chapter the Philistines return the ark. They knew it was God judging them for taking it but in the first few verses it says they put a test before God. Reminds me a little of Gideon.

When the people of God saw the ark, they called the priests to come get it. They knew not to touch it cause it was holy.