I ran into Trish Bailey the other day and she said, "Don 't give up on us!" Well, don 't give up on me either! Trish reminded me of how many things are going on in the summer and I'm right in the middle of all of that as well. We travelled to Dallas for the 4th, just four days after getting back from our trip to Kansas City and Tulsa. Now we're getting ready for our major trip of the summer, flying to Seattle for three days prior to departure on an Alaskan cruise. We've never done this trip before, so we're very excited about it. I've always heard it's absolutely beautiful. So, I fully understand the ins/outs and busyness of summertime. Just promise me that you're keeping at it, and if we go through August with the study, that will be fine too! Let's just commit to gleaning all of the wisdom we can from the Book of Proverbs!
Chapters 11-14 are verse after verse of the comparisons between godly, wise, living and the opposite---ungodly, foolish, living. What I started doing, and I think it's a good exercise, is for each chapter list all of the characteristics praised and those denounced. When we do this we get a fairly comprehensive picture of the type of person that pleases God, as opposed to the type of person who is living for self, with no regard to godliness.
Here's what I mean (I'm going to give you some examples for each chapter...then you can go back and complete the exercise if you wish):
Chapter 11 ~ Qualities Praised:
Honesty in business (v.1); trustworthiness (v. 13); genuine righteousness (v. 19)
Qualities Denounced:
Cheating in business (v. 1); revealing confidences (v. 13); pursuing evil (v. 19)
Chapter 12 ~ Qualities Praised:
Justice (v. 5); insightful (v. 8); not overly sensitive (v. 16)
Qualities Denounced:
Deceitful (v 5); twisted mind (v. 8); quick to show offense (v. 16)
Chapter 13 ~ Qualities Praised:
Careful in speech (v. 3); ready to take advice (v. 10); walks with the wise (v. 20)
Qualities Denounced:
Talks freely and carelessly (v.3); arrogant, think they know everything (v. 10); keeps fools as companions (v. 20)
Chapter 14 ~ Qualities Praised:
Lives with integrity (v. 2); sensible (v. 18); shows kindness to the poor (v. 21)
Qualities Denounced:
Devious (v. 2); gullible (v. 18); despises his neighbors, doesn't want to be bothered (v. 21)
So you get the idea...for Chapter 13 I listed 18 praiseworthy qualities and 19 qualities that were spoken against. Make your own list...then the interesting part (convicting) is reviewing the lists and see how the adjectives fit in with your life. I'm sorry to say that there are some of the qualities that are not admired that I can identify in my life at times. This is where we start praying for a turning away of any of the dishonorable qualities that still remain and a turning to all of the qualities that God sees as admirable. If we just make our list and don't examine ourselves, we have not accomplished a thing. The Holy Spirit calls us to allow Him to shine His light into our lives and correct where needed, so we can gain His wisdom and His sensibility to govern our lives going forward.
The verse out of these chapters that I hear screaming to me, and to our society, so many times is Chapter 14:12 ~ "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
True wisdom starts coming by admitting that we are not wise at all...that things that "seem" right to us may very well lead us down a path of destruction. We must weigh everything against the wisdom of God as revealed to us through His Word, through His Son and through His Spirit.
What did you gain through these chapters of Proverbs (11-14)?
Lesson 6 ~ Friendship
How important are friendships to you? I have some very good friends that I feel are true gifts from God. They encourage me and they love me. I have gained some friends over the past few years that I feel God specifically brought to me because I needed them in my life right now. That's an amazing thing to experience....knowing that someone is in your life because God put them there. And I have absolutely no doubt about that, for these people have been extraordinarily important to me in a very unusual time in my life.
I have found that Proverbs 18:24 is very true..."A man with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend that stays closer than a brother." The quantity of friends is not nearly so important as the quality of the friendship. Superficial friendships do not prove nearly as valuable when you need the comfort and protection of true friendship. As much as I enjoy social media, Facebook friends will most likely not be the ones who come to our aid when we are down and out! That's when you need friends that are as close as family.
We have to realize how important our friendships are. I can look back in my life and easily see how I was influenced by the friends I had at the time. Friends that were materialistic made me want more of what they were wanting and getting; friends that loved to party and have fun made me want more of that same lifestyle; and friends that were seeking a closer walk with God (thank You God for gifting me with good friends like this), made me realize the importance of my Christian walk and the desire for knowing more of God and of His Word. "So follow the way of good people, and keep to the paths of the righteous" 2:20 ~~~ "Don't be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals." 1 Corinthians 15:33.
We need to choose good friends and we need to be a good friend...trustworthy, patient, loving, not quick to quarrel, bringing comfort and good counsel. (p. 73 of book).
How are your friendships? Have you chosen wisely? Are you being a good friend to those who are needing you?
Lesson 7 ~ Sexual Purity
Oh what a lesson for our world today. As the author of our workbook states on p, 79, "The problem <sexual purity> is catastrophic in modern Western society." We have rampant promiscuity, fornication, adultery, homosexualtiy, pornography...the list expands on a regular basis, and each category becomes more widespread and more acceptable. Men and women are both susceptible. And, unfortunately, people in the church fall into this area of grievous sin probably more than any other.
Why is that? Why are Christians not more successful against Satan when he comes with the temptation of sexual immorality?
What did you learn about the young man in Proverbs 7? Here's what I saw:
He went where he shouldn't be, at a time when he shouldn't be there. (Put himself in a situation where he knew he could run into trouble...have you ever done that?)
He fell victim to the persistent, flattering words of the tempter. He kept hearing her tell him how wonderful he was, how special he was, how important he was, how undervalued he was...you can probably add more to the empty praises that she was feeding him. Was he innocent because he was naive and gullible. 8:1 answers that ---- Wisdom is always calling out; Understanding makes her voice heard. He had the opportunity to turn toward the voices of Wisdom and Understanding, to find the way of escape, but instead he went the way of the foolish and kept moving toward deception (v. 27:12).
Adultery is costly and damaging. Solomon wanted his son to understand this. Interestingly, Solomon had not lived a monogomous life...he had many wives. But this wise man could see the definite advantage of being faithful to one woman (5:15-23) and I wonder if he was speaking from the voice of regret that he describes in 5:7-14?
The verses in 6:27-28 make it very clear - you can't play with fire and not get burned! Satan would love for us to think that we can have a "little fun" and no one will get hurt. But that is a lie...someone is always hurt, and both parties come away damaged. Can God forgive? Absolutely. But it is a pit that no Christian should ever want to crawl out of. Reputations are damaged, witnesses are impaired, and the lives will always include regret.
We, as Christian women, need to be aware of our Christian friends and what they are dealing with. We need to become astute in recognizing when someone is showing signs of being drawn into an affair or a relationship that is out of bounds. And then we need to be true friends, who shine the light of God's wisdom into their life. To lovingly remind them that Satan is the master of lies, that everything that sounds "right" isn't if it goes against God's Word. That the way of God is always the best for us.
Let us be good Christian friends..let us be pure Christian women...let us help each other!
Love you all ~ let me know what you're thinking!
Chapters 11-14 are verse after verse of the comparisons between godly, wise, living and the opposite---ungodly, foolish, living. What I started doing, and I think it's a good exercise, is for each chapter list all of the characteristics praised and those denounced. When we do this we get a fairly comprehensive picture of the type of person that pleases God, as opposed to the type of person who is living for self, with no regard to godliness.
Here's what I mean (I'm going to give you some examples for each chapter...then you can go back and complete the exercise if you wish):
Chapter 11 ~ Qualities Praised:
Honesty in business (v.1); trustworthiness (v. 13); genuine righteousness (v. 19)
Qualities Denounced:
Cheating in business (v. 1); revealing confidences (v. 13); pursuing evil (v. 19)
Chapter 12 ~ Qualities Praised:
Justice (v. 5); insightful (v. 8); not overly sensitive (v. 16)
Qualities Denounced:
Deceitful (v 5); twisted mind (v. 8); quick to show offense (v. 16)
Chapter 13 ~ Qualities Praised:
Careful in speech (v. 3); ready to take advice (v. 10); walks with the wise (v. 20)
Qualities Denounced:
Talks freely and carelessly (v.3); arrogant, think they know everything (v. 10); keeps fools as companions (v. 20)
Chapter 14 ~ Qualities Praised:
Lives with integrity (v. 2); sensible (v. 18); shows kindness to the poor (v. 21)
Qualities Denounced:
Devious (v. 2); gullible (v. 18); despises his neighbors, doesn't want to be bothered (v. 21)
So you get the idea...for Chapter 13 I listed 18 praiseworthy qualities and 19 qualities that were spoken against. Make your own list...then the interesting part (convicting) is reviewing the lists and see how the adjectives fit in with your life. I'm sorry to say that there are some of the qualities that are not admired that I can identify in my life at times. This is where we start praying for a turning away of any of the dishonorable qualities that still remain and a turning to all of the qualities that God sees as admirable. If we just make our list and don't examine ourselves, we have not accomplished a thing. The Holy Spirit calls us to allow Him to shine His light into our lives and correct where needed, so we can gain His wisdom and His sensibility to govern our lives going forward.
The verse out of these chapters that I hear screaming to me, and to our society, so many times is Chapter 14:12 ~ "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."
True wisdom starts coming by admitting that we are not wise at all...that things that "seem" right to us may very well lead us down a path of destruction. We must weigh everything against the wisdom of God as revealed to us through His Word, through His Son and through His Spirit.
What did you gain through these chapters of Proverbs (11-14)?
Lesson 6 ~ Friendship
How important are friendships to you? I have some very good friends that I feel are true gifts from God. They encourage me and they love me. I have gained some friends over the past few years that I feel God specifically brought to me because I needed them in my life right now. That's an amazing thing to experience....knowing that someone is in your life because God put them there. And I have absolutely no doubt about that, for these people have been extraordinarily important to me in a very unusual time in my life.
I have found that Proverbs 18:24 is very true..."A man with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend that stays closer than a brother." The quantity of friends is not nearly so important as the quality of the friendship. Superficial friendships do not prove nearly as valuable when you need the comfort and protection of true friendship. As much as I enjoy social media, Facebook friends will most likely not be the ones who come to our aid when we are down and out! That's when you need friends that are as close as family.
We have to realize how important our friendships are. I can look back in my life and easily see how I was influenced by the friends I had at the time. Friends that were materialistic made me want more of what they were wanting and getting; friends that loved to party and have fun made me want more of that same lifestyle; and friends that were seeking a closer walk with God (thank You God for gifting me with good friends like this), made me realize the importance of my Christian walk and the desire for knowing more of God and of His Word. "So follow the way of good people, and keep to the paths of the righteous" 2:20 ~~~ "Don't be deceived, bad company corrupts good morals." 1 Corinthians 15:33.
We need to choose good friends and we need to be a good friend...trustworthy, patient, loving, not quick to quarrel, bringing comfort and good counsel. (p. 73 of book).
How are your friendships? Have you chosen wisely? Are you being a good friend to those who are needing you?
Lesson 7 ~ Sexual Purity
Oh what a lesson for our world today. As the author of our workbook states on p, 79, "The problem <sexual purity> is catastrophic in modern Western society." We have rampant promiscuity, fornication, adultery, homosexualtiy, pornography...the list expands on a regular basis, and each category becomes more widespread and more acceptable. Men and women are both susceptible. And, unfortunately, people in the church fall into this area of grievous sin probably more than any other.
Why is that? Why are Christians not more successful against Satan when he comes with the temptation of sexual immorality?
What did you learn about the young man in Proverbs 7? Here's what I saw:
He went where he shouldn't be, at a time when he shouldn't be there. (Put himself in a situation where he knew he could run into trouble...have you ever done that?)
He fell victim to the persistent, flattering words of the tempter. He kept hearing her tell him how wonderful he was, how special he was, how important he was, how undervalued he was...you can probably add more to the empty praises that she was feeding him. Was he innocent because he was naive and gullible. 8:1 answers that ---- Wisdom is always calling out; Understanding makes her voice heard. He had the opportunity to turn toward the voices of Wisdom and Understanding, to find the way of escape, but instead he went the way of the foolish and kept moving toward deception (v. 27:12).
Adultery is costly and damaging. Solomon wanted his son to understand this. Interestingly, Solomon had not lived a monogomous life...he had many wives. But this wise man could see the definite advantage of being faithful to one woman (5:15-23) and I wonder if he was speaking from the voice of regret that he describes in 5:7-14?
The verses in 6:27-28 make it very clear - you can't play with fire and not get burned! Satan would love for us to think that we can have a "little fun" and no one will get hurt. But that is a lie...someone is always hurt, and both parties come away damaged. Can God forgive? Absolutely. But it is a pit that no Christian should ever want to crawl out of. Reputations are damaged, witnesses are impaired, and the lives will always include regret.
We, as Christian women, need to be aware of our Christian friends and what they are dealing with. We need to become astute in recognizing when someone is showing signs of being drawn into an affair or a relationship that is out of bounds. And then we need to be true friends, who shine the light of God's wisdom into their life. To lovingly remind them that Satan is the master of lies, that everything that sounds "right" isn't if it goes against God's Word. That the way of God is always the best for us.
Let us be good Christian friends..let us be pure Christian women...let us help each other!
Love you all ~ let me know what you're thinking!
