Review of Lessons 4 & 5 from LifeChange Workbook

These two chapters of the book dealt with relationships - the relationship between us and God, and relationships between us and other people.  Really, life boils down to those two areas, doesn't it?  First and foremost, our relationship with God.  If we don't get it right, nothing else will fall into place, no matter how hard we try.  It might appear ok for a while, but like a house built on sand, it will come down.  Then our relationships with others --- our families, and other people all around us.  God did not put us on this earth to be isolated, living in a one-on-one relationship solely with Him.  He purposefully put us in a world of people....lots of people!  Of all types!  Some so easy to love, and then ...well, we all have others in our lives that just aren't that easy, don't we?

Lesson Four is titled "God and Man" and points out that in Proverbs three questions are posed:
1) Who is God? 2) How does God deal with man? 3) How should man respond to God?

So, who is God?  How do you answer that?  

We are led to verses that show us that God is our Maker.  Contrary to atheism, or even agnosticism, the Christian acknowledges and fully believes in the fact that God created us, individually and purposefully.  Rich and poor, all races, all nations...God is the Creator of all.  And when we acknowledge that, we honor God by treating all of His creation with kindness and goodness.

God is holy and He is righteous.  How do those qualities affect our view of God and how we react to Him?  I think this is an area when a lot of current theologies have fallen short.  We have lost our high view of God and the vast chasm that separates Him from humanity.  God is not like us.  We will never attain His incredible holiness and awesomeness.  We will never attain His wisdom.  And yet, we are told to aspire to those qualities.  We are told to "be holy as I am holy."  We are told to ask for His wisdom.  He is our lofty and unattainable goal...we long to be like Him, even though we will not.  But the Holy Spirit empowers us with that desire and with the capability to pattern our life along with that desire, and Christ imparts to us all of the righteousness that we cannot attain.  God is God - we are not.  But He has made every provision for us to be in His presence.  What a God we serve!

We are told that God is all knowing (omniscient), ever present every where (omnipresent), all powerful (omnipotent).  How do these qualities affect your view of God?

And God is sovereign --- He is the One over all, controlling our world and our universe.  I am so thankful He is!  This allows me to trust that He is holding all things together and that I don't have to worry about things spinning out of control.  Nothing is out of His sight, nothing is taking Him by surprise.  I can rest in knowing that even when things don't make sense to me and appear to be very frightening, God has this!  He IS working all things together for my good because I trust in Him!

God -> Man and Man -> God:
God has given us great treasures in order that we can know Him and relate to Him --- He has given us His Word, He has given us His Son (Immanuel, God with us), and He has given us His Holy Spirit.  All of these gifts are given in order that we can know Him.  Are we accepting these gifts with pleasure and utilizing them to God's glory?

We don't have to worry about God knowing us --- He does.  What did the verses given to us on pages 52-53 convey?  

How does man relate to God?  We are told to fear and to trust...how do those two directives come together?

Did you read the prayer referenced in Proverbs 30:7-9?  I just have to share it!
"Two things I ask of You; don't deny them to me before I die:  Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me.  Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need.  Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying, 'Who is the Lord?' or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of God."

Are we ready to ask God to give us just enough to keep us dependent on Him?  That is pretty contrary to our current culture of seeking more and more so we can prove how smart and independent we truly are, isn't it?

So what is your view of God?  Is it a Biblical view or have you fashioned God into something that suits you and your needs?   We need to be very mindful to keep our view of God in line with what His Word, His Son and His Spirit show us of Him!

Lesson Five is titled "The Family".  I thought this lesson was really good in explaining what families are really supposed to look like.

Husbands are to be focused on their homes and the welfare of their family.  They are not to be arrogant "lords of the manor" imposing fear as they walk in the door.

Wives - well this is where most of us fall - what a pattern we are given!  The Proverbs 31 woman is quite a model, isn't she?  But at the bottom of it all, the 30th verse sums up why this woman is so successful...she fears the Lord!  Lord, let that be our primary goal, and let the other attributes come as we seek You!

Parents and children - what a challenge in this day and time!  I pose the question to you all that is on page 62 - What do you think is the greatest threat to the family in our society?  How does wisdom respond to that?

We see many modern-day families in dysfunction, but sometimes we get to see young families who are striving to direct their children in a godly manner and it is such a joy to see!  We went to church with my son and his family this past Sunday in Lenexa and visited their Sunday School class.  There were probably 25 young couples in this class studying on how to be effective parents in this very defective world we live in.  The verses that we covered in Proverbs and the principles they teach were being taught in this class and I have no doubt that God will work through these parents to bring up Christian children who will be an influence in our future world.  I pray for them, the parents and the children, to be faithful and true to His Word.

OK - once again - I've "blogged" myself out!  Please let me hear from you!  Where you are in the study and what you are seeing.  Respond to any of the questions I've posed, or throw out some questions of your own!

Love you all and praying for God's wisdom to become more and more ingrained in us!

We're ready for Chapters 11-14 in Proverbs, and Lessons 6 & 7 in workbook...onward!

June 28 - pardon the delay! Review of Proverbs 7-10

As I said in the comment I left on the last post, we travelled this past week to Tulsa and Kansas City to see my daughter and her husband (Tulsa) and my son and his family (Kansas City).  I thought I might have the opportunity to sit down at a computer and post the week's lesson, but I just didn't!  We were on the go and having lots of fun, and on top of the busyness, I had a sinus infection which kept me from early morning "alone times" as I was taking medication making early risings almost impossible.  Anyway, I hope you have either used this time to catch up as I heard many were saying they were a little behind, or to just keep going ahead!  You certainly don't have to wait on me!

We have four chapters of Proverbs to cover, and then two chapters in our workbook covering our view of God, and then wisdom concerning the family unit.  LOTS of material...so we better get going!

Chapter 7 ~
We are told to protect these teachings as we would protect the pupil of our eye.  How far would you go to protect your physical vision?  Well more important than that is spiritual vision, Godly wisdom.  Each time that we contemplate these verses of wisdom, we should stop and think about how critical it is to see...really see what God is showing us.

In v. 6, Solomon starts telling a story of seduction.  Again, the story talks about seduction in the form of a married woman seducing an inexperienced young man.  But again, we are to read the story and take in it's deeper meaning, and I think we can get some of that picture by looking at how the seductive woman is described: dressed like a prostitute (worldly, not modest), has a hidden agenda (manipulative), loud and defiant (demands attention and goes against moral guidelines), doesn't stay at home (not content, looking for trouble), brazen (she describes in detail how she has prepared her bed for an all-night lovemaking session, that her husband has left for a long journey), she is persistent (as is all temptation) and flattering (as with all seduction).  And then we are told that the young man "follows her impulsively...he doesn't know it will cost him his life."

Solomon is warning his son not only about seductive women, but about all forms of temptation that can seem appealing to the young and inexperienced (or the "old and should know better"!)  Temptation of all forms is worldly, looks flashy and more exciting than what we are currently experiencing.  It manipulates us into thinking that if we follow it's path, we will find fun and pleasure.  It becomes loud and defiant, yelling at us to break the rules, do our own thing, go our own way.  It pulls us away from our place of contentment and lures us into it's "bedroom", letting us believe that we are the select and sole object of it's preparation, when, in truth, temptation will take any willing participant. And many times we find ourselves following temptation impulsively, ignoring the wisdom that is whispering in our ear and putting ourselves in spiritual danger.  We are urged...
"Don't let your heart turn aside to her ways. Don't stray onto her paths."

Chapter 8 ~
The rhetorical questions are asked, "Doesn't Wisdom call out?  Doesn't Understanding make her voice heard?"  YES - they do!  PAY ATTENTION!  Whereas deception comes out in the dark and lurks in the corners, (Ch 7, vs. 9-12), Wisdom is speaking from the gates of the city, at the main entrance.  Learn to be shrewd, learn common sense (v. 5).  NOTHING desirable (any other thing that we take delight in) can compare with Wisdom.

Wisdom speaks in this chapter.  Who is this "Wisdom"?  Matthew Henry explains this chapter this way: "The Redeemer is the eternal Word and wisdom, the Logos. He is the Wisdom that speaks to the children of men in the former part of the chapter. All divine revelation passes through his hand, and centres in him; but of him as the personal Wisdom, the second person in the Godhead, in the judgment of many of the ancients, Solomon here speaks (v. 22-31). He concludes with a repeated charge to the children of men diligently to attend to the voice of God in his word (v. 32-36)."

So this seems to make sense.  But then it can get tricky.  If we claim that Wisdom in Chapter 8 is actually Jesus, verse 22 would then indicate that Jesus was a created being, and this is a proof text used by Jehovah's Witnesses in just such a claim.

So is Wisdom in Chapter 8 referring to Jesus Christ, or is it a form of literature personifying Wisdom, just as Chapter 8 personified Seduction?  While I agree with Matthew Henry that Christ is the divine revelation of godly wisdom, I do not believe Chapter 8 describes Christ.  I believe it is a personification of Wisdom following the personification of Seduction in Chapter 7.  Both being portrayed as women with a purpose..Wisdom to bring people to life and the favor of the Lord (v. 35) and Seduction to bring people to the chambers of death (Ch 7, v.27)

Agree - disagree?

Chapter 9 ~
Here we find the argument between Wisdom and Foolishness...again Wisdom is portrayed as a woman calling out to the inexperienced and naive to pursue the way of understanding.

How do we reconcile v. 11?  I have known many wise, godly people who did not live long lives, and yet this verse tells us that Wisdom brings with her added year to our lives.  Again, I think we have to read these verses with spiritual eyes and hear their words with reborn ears...how long will our lives be in eternity?  How many year will be added?  Endless.  Wisdom, godly wisdom that allows us to understand God and His ways, brings us to the life that He alone can give...eternal life.

And then there is the Woman Folly!  Rowdy and gullible, calling as well to the inexperienced and naive, but not to a pursuit of understanding, rather to "stolen water" and "bread eaten in secret" claiming them as sweet and tasty.  Whatever is presented to us to be done in secret can almost always be attributed to that rowdy Woman Folly!  If we must do it in secret, it is most likely something we don't need to be doing.

Chapter 10 ~
This chapter is just packed with verse after verse of Solomon's proverbs.  It is a chapter full of wisdom to be gleaned.  Which is your favorite?  It is hard to pick.

I would love to hear from you stating your favorite proverb out of this chapter.  Mine is v. 17 because I think it is such a good reminder to pay attention:  "The one who follows instruction is on the path to life, but the one who rejects correction goes astray."


Lord, let me follow Your instruction and let me heed Your correction.  I ask for Your correction over my life, wherever I am off Your path, correct me and guide me back.  Don't ever let me get comfortable in the way of foolishness or seduction.  Forgive my failures, and set my path straight.  Thank You for Your Word and for Your grace, mercy and forgiveness through Jesus, my Savior!

This is enough for tonight!  Please let me hear back from you...I'll do a review of the workbook Chapters 4 & 5 tomorrow!

June 16 - Review of Proverbs 4-6 and Intro to Week 4

Starting this week we take a two-fold approach - review of the Scripture in the order presented and covering topics raised in our workbook on Proverbs by LifeChange.

Proverbs 4-6 
Solomon continues his discourse to his "sons", which could be literal children or could be students of Solomon's royal court.  Either way, these are instructions to young people designed to allow them to live the best life and to avoid the pitfalls of foolishness.  These were lessons that would be taught to Jewish children for centuries.  And now, we have access to the wisdom of the world's wisest man, given to him by God.  Are we wise enough to take this wisdom?  Or will we repeat the same foolish mistakes of people through the ages who resist wisdom and choose their own way?

Chapter 4 ~
As I look at verse 3, I can't help but picture Solomon sitting on David's lap, hearing his words of instruction and seeing Bathsheba nearby, with Solomon feeling her adoration, feeling "tender and precious" to his mother.  Solomon remembers the words of his father, and maybe that is why when God asked him what he wanted above all else he responded by saying, "Wisdom."  For in vs. 5-9, David had explained to Solomon the value of wisdom over everything else...wisdom is supreme.

Solomon then advises that there are two roads in life and everyone gets to choose which one they will travel down.  One is the "Way of Wisdom", the other is the "Path of the Wicked".  The first is a walkway of light that gets brighter and brighter, while the second is a path of the darkest gloom, full of pitfalls and stumbling blocks that you can't even see.  To stay on the Way of Wisdom we are told we must guard our hearts and keep our eyes looking straight ahead.  Don't even consider getting off course.

Chapter 5~
Solomon spends this chapter talking about seduction and marriage.  The first half of the chapter is about avoiding seduction, and the ruin that can come from falling into this trap.  The world is full of all kinds of seduction, not only sexual.  We can be pulled off of the Way of Wisdom by any of Satan's guiles.  So whatever your weakness is, you can read 5:1-14 and apply them.

Starting in v. 15, we are told of the blessings of a faithful marriage.  And I can't help but stop and think of what a blessing this truly is.  I look at couples who have been married 60 years and the history they have built together, the cohesiveness of their family, and the example they are to their children and grandchildren.  As my husband and I are a second marriage couple, we envy that.  It is something we cannot have due to times that we did not follow the Way of Wisdom, God's way.  We listened to the "wisdom" of the 1980s that told us divorce is OK, children recover, and you deserve to be happy.  While God has brought us through the error of our ways and through repentance and forgiveness we enjoy His blessings today, the result is still the same. We miss the blessing of a complete, intact family unit.  If you have that, understand that it is important and God wants you to value it.

Again, I think these verses can also be applied "spiritually" in that God is calling us to be faithful to HIM.  Don't wander off, don't embrace any other.

Chapter 6~
Oh my what a chapter!  SO much wisdom! We are told not to get into financial traps with a neighbor or a stranger.  When we realize we're in something where someone else has control over us, we need to get out of it. We are also told not to be lazy - to look at our little example, the ant, who prepares or winter.  We are told not to be a sneak, making dishonest plans and stirring up trouble.

Then we have the list of things God hates, and this reminds me of a discussion that my son and I had just the other night.  We are constantly being bombarded with the idea that "hate" is a very bad virtue, that there is nothing we should hate.  Well, God hates.

God hates: arrogant eyes (prideful eyes that look down on anyone), a lying tongue (any falsehood), hands that shed innocent blood (what can be more innocent than a baby in the womb?), a heart that plots wicked schemes (those that work against God and His ways, bringing about destruction), feet eager to run to evil (just can't wait to get there!), a lying witness that gives false testimony (and thereby incriminates an innocent person), and finally the one who stirs up trouble among brothers (those that cause division among families and among God's family, the church).

What do you think about God's hate and does that allow us also to hate?

The remainder of Chapter 6 is a warning against adultery.  When you read through these verses, again, apply spiritual meaning.  In the Old Testament, God warns Israel about committing adultery against Him.  This meant being unfaithful.  While we certainly want to be faithful in our marriages, and all the warnings in these verses apply in that context, we supremely want to be faithful to God and not commit adultery with the world, who can be a very seductive lover.

Please Lord, keep our hearts guarded, and keep our love for You burning hot so that we will not be tempted away from You!

OK - not for a quick review of workbook material!  I'm just going to list some things that I thought especially noteworthy.  PLEASE add your comments as well!!

Page 32 gives us a "bullet list" of wisdom contained in Proverbs 3-4:

• Importance of Scripture memory
• Trusting God
• Turning from sin
• Proper attitude toward money
• God's discipline
• Living fearlessly
• Love for neighbors
• Humility
• Avoiding bad company
• Disciplining the body

Go back through those two chapters and see if you can identify where these subjects are covered.  If we would style our lives to incorporate this list of wisdom, we would all be better off.  What do you need to add to your lifestyle?  Ask God to help you with that.

Lesson Three (p. 37-45) covers the three kinds of people that follow the path of folly:
1.  The Mocker
2.  The Simple
3.  The Foolish

Of all three, I would least like to be known as a mocker.  This is the person that Proverbs 21:24 tells us has the primary trait of pride --- they are the person who always takes someone else down in order to push themselves ahead.  The Hebrew word (luwts) brings with it the picture of someone who scorns, talks arrogantly, boasts, derides others.  They are the braggart, the showboat, the one who never needs to listen, because they already have all the answers and, besides that, they are smarter than anyone else anyway.  They certainly do not need to, or intend to, humble themselves before God. Forgive me, Lord, for ever behaving in this manner...and please, please, keep me from ever being like this again!

The simple are those who are gullible, believing anything anyone tells them.  They walk right into danger, not even realizing where they are headed.  At first we are prone to feel sorry for this type of person, after all, they can't really help it.  But then we have to remember, God has promised us wisdom if we will ask.  He has told us that He will guide our steps if we will seek Him.  So, the simple may be sweet and gullible and pulled into places by others who have more evil intent, but they are still not seeking the Way of Wisdom.  They have been lackadaisical in their focus and they end up on the way of folly.

The last category is the fool.  The fool is pictured as one who is undisciplined and unrestrained.  They are constantly looking for the easy way out, they are chasing fantasies, waiting for the next best thing, the "pie in the sky".  They lose their cool quickly, give full vent to their anger and are hard-headed and resistant to correction.  Again, I feel pride is in the heart of the fool --- they feel they are going to figure out a better way to make big money quick because they are smarter than the average bear!

And where do all three of these types of people end up?  On the path of folly...it leads to no good end, and then who do they blame?  God.  The One that they resisted the whole time.

Solomon tells us to be wary of fools...hanging around with foolish people can make you behave foolishly!  You put yourself in danger because of their tendencies to overreact.  And you are wasting your breath when you argue with a fool...they have no interest in hearing your wisdom.

It makes me consider how I react when people correct me or disagree with me.  Am I open to hearing what they have to say, knowing that maybe, just maybe, they may be bringing wisdom into my life?  I don't want to be a fool without realizing it.

OK - I've gone on way too long!  IT IS YOUR TURN...let me know what you've seen in your study so far!  

Thank You Lord for Your wisdom that you are so ready to share with us.  Thank You for giving us this day to walk in Your way.  Help us to be ready to share You and Your Word with those that come in our path today, knowing that it is the way of light and life.  Clear our paths, Lord, so that we can be unhindered in growing more and more into the likeness of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Thank You, Jesus, for dying for us and providing salvation for us so that we will live in Your presence forever...in an atmosphere of absolute wisdom.  Oh, what a glorious place that will be!

June 8 - Review of Proverbs 1-3 and Intro to Week 2!

Proverbs 1-3 ~
As I started out saying earlier in the week - Wow!  Solomon does not hesitate in his admonitions to us, does he?  He dives right in, packing these first three chapters with a multitude of advice for good living --- Godly living.

I think the first question we really have to ask ourselves as we enter this book is, "Do we really want to be wise?"  If we do, then we have God's inspired Word in front of us to start us on that journey.  But if we don't, then let's dig deeper and see what is it that is keeping us from seeking?  Is it a lack of confidence?  We shouldn't have that because James tells us that if any lack wisdom all we have to do is ask God for it, He will not deny us.  (James 1:3)  I think more often, it's complacency and laziness.  We feel like we've reached a level of being "OK" with God, and we're just not ready to spend the time and effort to go further.  That's not where God wants us, and that's not where Proverbs is ready to leave us.  Hopefully, we're all ready to dig into this book and mine its treasures for us.

So, Chapter 1 -
Starting out, Solomon gives us five purposes for these Proverbs in which he is about to instruct his student:
1. To gain wisdom
2. To be instructed
3. To be able to understand wise/insightful sayings
4. To learn righteousness, justice & integrity
5. To become shrewd, not naive, and to gain knowledge & discretion

Then in v. 7, Solomon shares the well known words of, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and instruction."  This led to Debbie's comment in the week of what the "fear of the LORD" actually is and my reply back to her.  (See comment on earlier post.)  How do YOU view the "fear of the LORD?"  Please share your thoughts.  One other thing that I had noted was that fearing the Lord, brings with it humility.  When we view God as our ultimate authority, then we view ourselves as His creation, never His equal.  Fools despise God's wisdom because they have asserted themselves as equally wise.

Chapter One goes on to warn against joining up with sinners/those bent toward violence and dishonesty.  And that Wisdom is crying out to us...calling to all to turn toward her!  We have a choice!

Now, I have a challenge for you...how do you view v. 28?  "Then they will call to me, but I won't answer; they will search for me, but won't find me."  I'm opening this up for discussion!  

I also note that v. 33 says that those who listen to Wisdom, will live free from the "fear of danger."  I note that because there are many in the world today severely suffering for their faith, so they are not free of danger...but I hear multiple stories of how they are not fearful.  They live securely because they know where their true security lies, and fear has been removed because of their confidence in God.

Chapter 2 ~
This is the Chapter that has the multiple "IF / THEN" comparisons.  I really liked the question posed on page 21 of the workbook (Question 11) - "Many people ask, 'How can I know God's will?' According to 2:1-9, what are some concrete steps to take?"  How did you answer that?

Here's what I saw: Store up His commands within me - Listen to God's wisdom - Direct my heart toward Him - Call out to Him for insight - Pray for understanding - Seek His knowledge & wisdom above all earthly gain - Live with integrity - Be loyal to God and His ways!

In Proverbs 2:20 it says, "So follow the way of good people and keep to the paths of the righteous." This was a reminder to me to surround myself with people who are leading lives that I admire - lives that I want to emulate.  These people will not be perfect, but they can serve as a great encouragement to me!  This doesn't mean that we don't also allow areas of our lives to be with people who are not living godly, in order to bring them to God's wisdom.  But we need to be mindful to be balanced in our companionships.

Chapter 3 ~
Who doesn't want to find favor with God & man?  It reminds me of the verse in Luke 2:52 that says that as Jesus grew up, He "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people."  There's our perfect example!  In Proverbs 3:3 it tells us that 1) loyalty and 2) faithfulness bring this high regard.  Other translations say 1) kindness and 2) truth - the core meaning of the two words is:
1) unswerving fidelity, constancy
2) and rock-solid integrity and trustworthiness.

One of the most quoted Proverbs is found in 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths."  I loved the note on p. 27 of the workbook, "This means more than guidance; it means God removes the obstacles, making a smooth path or way of life, or perhaps better, bringing one to the appointed goal."  The question was raised of how this related to Abraham's life...well Abraham certainly trusted God when he didn't understand, and God certainly brought hi to the appointed goal, didn't He?  It also reminds me of Philippians 1:6 that says, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion."

Chapter 3 also starts many verses with either "Do not" or "Don't"...I count seven.
"Don't consider yourself to be wise" v. 7
"Do not despise the Lord's instruction...and do not loathe His discipline" v. 11
"Don't fear sudden danger or the ruin of the wicked when it comes, for the LORD will be your confidence." v. 25-26
"Don't say to your neighbor, "Go away! Come back later. I'll give it tomorrow---" v. 28
"Don't plan any harm against your neighbor" v. 29
"Don't accuse anyone without cause" v. 30
"Don't envy a violent man or choose any of his ways" v. 31,

Those are pretty good "Don'ts" aren't they?  If we will remember the don'ts we will avoid a lot of "getting off the path" times.  In the middle of all of these don'ts, though, are verses 13-18, which give us the blessings of finding Godly wisdom.  That is where we want to live, because those who "hold on to her are blessed."

Pray with me the words of Chapter 2:1-5
LORD, let us accept Your words and store them up within our hearts.  Let us listen closely to Your wisdom and direct our hearts to Your understanding.  Let us call out for Your insight, and lift our voices to understand You.  Let us seek Your wisdom as the greatest treasure ever given, and let us come to understand the true fear of the LORD and discover Your knowledge so that we can live lives that are pleasing to You, our sovereign and gracious King!

Our first week is accomplished!   What have you garnered in the way of Godly wisdom this week?  Please share what God is showing you and any other questions or comments that you may have!

On to week 2 ~ read Proverbs 4-6.  Make notes as you go along as to questions or comments you may have.

For those of you using the book, which I think most are, we will be reading through Proverbs in order, but we will also cover material in the book, which after Chapter 4 goes more by topic than by chapter order.  So while we will read Proverbs 4-6, we will also cover in our books, pages 31-45.

Loving God's Word and loving studying it with you!

Janice

Checking in....

OK - I hope you are all well into the first three chapters of Proverbs!

The study guide asks a question on Page 22 that I would be interested in hearing some of your responses.  "What is the main way you would like to see your life change as a result of studying Proverbs?"

What's your answer to that?  No right or wrongs on this one....just what change do you hope to see?

For me, I would like to gain more of God's wisdom and then be more confident that I am living in His wisdom, every day, avoiding the errors of my ways.  So far, I've learned that I must humble myself and admit that God's ways are always better than mine, surrender to Him, and let Him direct my paths.  But also, I have to be a determined seeker...I need to make gaining God's wisdom my passion, just as if I were told, "there's gold in those hills!" and would set off with my pick or my pan determined to find the mother lode!  We have been told there IS treasure within God's Word...we should be excited about the prospect of finding such valuable treasure that money can never buy.

So what's your reason for being in Proverbs today?  PLEASE, come on and comment!!  If you're trying and can't get it done, e-mail me and I'll post for you! ( janicehodges1356@gmail.com ) --- I really want this study to be interactive, it's just as important for you to share your ideas as it is for me to share mine!

Loving God's Word and hoping this Saturday morning finds you in love with Him and enjoying this beautiful day!

In His Amazing Love,

Janice

June 1 --- Day One of our study of Proverbs - God's Book of Wisdom!

It's exciting, isn't it?  Starting something new?  Well, this is really new for all of us.  We may hit some bumps in the road, but we're doing something different...and, hopefully, worthwhile!  Summer, sometimes, can be when we vacation---from both work and, regrettably, from Bible study.  I hope this will keep us in the discipline of staying in God's Word through this summertime...it's such a beautiful time of year, let's not ignore the Creator of the beauty around us!  It's often a time we get to spend a little more time with friends and family, let's put God's Word in us regularly so we can have the most Christian influence possible around those we love the most.  I'm reminded of the verse in 2nd Corinthians, speaking of the aroma that we are to have as Christians.  In the summertime we have the beautiful fragrance of flowers around us, but WE are to be a beautiful fragrance as well.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.  2 Corinthians 2:14

If we are to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Jesus wherever we go, then we must possess that knowledge.  We are to be the ones going before Christ's triumphal return, much like John the Baptist preceded His first coming, spreading the wonderful fragrance of His good news for all men.  Let's be inspired today to seek His knowledge.

We might ask, "So what does the study of the Book of Proverbs have to do with the knowledge of Jesus?"  Everything.  I believe every word written in all of the Bible points us to Jesus in one way or another.  That may be part of our quest...to see Jesus written in these words.  I think what we will come to find is that Jesus is our human picture of the wisdom that Proverbs describes.  Jesus is the One that portrays how a life looks when lived under the guiding principles of Proverbs.

So, with all of that said (see, I can type about as fast as I can talk...and just as much!), let's look at The Book of Proverbs.  As I stated earlier, I'm going to be using the LifeChange Bible Study Series on Proverbs alongside my Bible.  I like these study books because they are very much a tool to accompany your Bible, offering historical background, word definitions, and explanatory notes, without taking precedence over the Bible itself.  One of their objectives that I like is "to teach you by example how to study a book of the Bible without structured guides." The guide is 15 lessons---I won't be going through them lesson by lesson because we only have 9 weeks.  But I will reference things that are pointed out that I feel worthwhile to look at.

Today, I'm quoting from the book's introduction:
"As Psalms is the hymnbook of the Old Testament, so Proverbs is its teacher's manual.  The moral maxims found there were used in ancient Israel to help the young acquire mental skills that promote wise living.  Both the content of the proverbs and their structure contributed to the student's development.
"The word proverb comes from a verb meaning 'to be like, to be compared with, to be parallel, to be similar.'  Hence, a proverb is simply a form of communicating truth by using comparisons or figures of speech.  As brief maxims, the proverbs crystallize and condense the writers' experiences and observations.  The concentrated saying cause the reader to chew on them until the truth is extracted and digested.  The reward for this effort is wisdom."

I love those last two sentences.  Let's chew, extract, digest and gain all the wisdom possible out of these proverbs, written by wise King Solomon, who had the innate wisdom to ask for God's wisdom. (1 Kings 3:5-15)

Let us make that same, humble request as we enter into this study.

Our Father in heaven, please hear our hearts' requests as we come into this book that You have given us.  Let us hear these words and apply them to our lives.  Let us honor You by lives well-lived.  Let us spread the aroma of the knowledge of the perfect life of Jesus, our Savior, wherever we go.  It is YOU we seek to please.  Let us do that.  Fill us with Your Spirit and let us allow Your power to show itself in our lives each day.  We ask these things in Jesus' holy name and through His blood that saves us from our sins.  Amen.

Starting off -- this week read Proverbs Chapters 1 through 3.  As you read, please post comments, questions or just thoughts that you note as you go through these chapters.  That way, we will feel connected as a group.

We're doing this!  Let's start!