OK girls - ready for some "catch up"? Being out of town for 10 days to go to Seattle and then an Alaskan cruise did not help me in staying caught up on posts. I hope you've moved forward without me. Anything you want to share??? In order to get through by end of the month we need to stay steady from here on out. I'll sure try to do my part, I know I've had some interruptions that haven't helped
Proverbs 15 through 18 continues the comparisons between wisdom/foolishness; righteousness/unrighteousness; good/evil. Again, making lists of what God considers pleasing vs. what He looks upon with disdain can pull out of these verses the virtues that we want to aspire to, and those we don't!
Those that stood out to me from Chapter 15 that I want to see more of in my life were gentle, healing, wise words coming out of my mouth; joyfulness and cheerfulness exhibited regularly; listening to correction and being ready to accept it. The verse from this chapter that I especially noted was 15:3, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good." We never have to worry that the wicked are getting away with their evil...God knows. AND we always need to be aware the God is observing us, both when we are honoring Him and when we are not.
Virtues in Chapter 16 that I noted were committing my ways to God and allowing Him to lead; honesty; wisdom and understanding; patience and controlling one's temper. And the verse from this chapter that is again repeated from 14:12 is 16:25, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it is the way of death." Why do we so often insist on our way? Even when it "seems" right, if it doesn't align with God's way, it is leading us away from Him, our source of light and life.
Chapter 17 dwells more on the negative attributes - the ones we want to eliminate from our lives: strife; malicious talk; mocking the poor; seeking rebellion; returning evil for good; starting conflicts; injustice; offensive; deceitful. I pray not to be this kind of person in any of these ways. Rather I'd like to be known as one who covers an offense of a friend, who loves at all times, a person with a joyful heart, and one who uses words with restraint and keeps a cool head. Verse that sticks with me out of Chapter 17? 17:3, "A crucible is for silver and a smelter for gold, but the Lord is a tester of hearts." And then who of us who have grandchildren cannot help but smile when we read 17:6, "Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly." Yes, they certainly are!
Chapter 18 continues with the ways of those who are not living to please God: those pursuing selfish desires; rebels against sound judgment; spouts off his opinions; foolish talk of all kind; lazy; trusting in wealth---that last one, trusting in wealth, comes right after my favorite verse of this chapter, 18:10, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected." God-pleasers have learned that the only place of refuge is in Him, never in man-made wealth. I love the way verse 11 states it, "A rich man's wealth is his fortified city; in his imagination it is like a high wall." Wealth may make some think they are protected, but they truly are not.
What were your favorite verses out of these chapters? Things of note??
Lesson 8 ~The Blessings of Righteousness
The first paragraph of this lesson makes a statement that I think we all need to remember: "...ethical, God-centered living is ultimately wiser than self-centered living." Our world screams another message, that we're the center of our universe, but we're not! This lesson on righteousness did a good job of explaining righteous living while we're living here on earth. Are we going to get it right 100% of the time? Nope. The text points out that in the OT, "To be righteous, a person did not need to be morally perfect. Rather, he simply needed to be doing his best to live God's way." And through the covenant that Jesus established, we have righteousness by putting our faith in Him, accepting His death as our atonement for sin and His resurrection as our promise of eternal life.
The blessings of righteousness are many, but did you pick up on the fact that they are not always earthly blessings and that if they were, people would use acts of righteousness for their own gain, rather than for God's glory?
The question posed at the end of the lesson is especially pertinent to present news events, isn't it? "Why is righteousness essential for good government?" When we read the referenced verses we see that righteousness brings blessing, keeps out evil, allows for justice, rejects tyranny and brings discernment to those in power. Where are we? God help us! Please, Lord Jesus, bring rulers into place that seek You. Turn hearts to You, Lord God, and let them see that their ways, without seeking Your guidance, may lead to destruction.
I must end now --- I'll cover Lesson 9 tomorrow. Let's keep going, and please let me hear how you are doing and what you are learning!!
Proverbs 15 through 18 continues the comparisons between wisdom/foolishness; righteousness/unrighteousness; good/evil. Again, making lists of what God considers pleasing vs. what He looks upon with disdain can pull out of these verses the virtues that we want to aspire to, and those we don't!
Those that stood out to me from Chapter 15 that I want to see more of in my life were gentle, healing, wise words coming out of my mouth; joyfulness and cheerfulness exhibited regularly; listening to correction and being ready to accept it. The verse from this chapter that I especially noted was 15:3, "The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good." We never have to worry that the wicked are getting away with their evil...God knows. AND we always need to be aware the God is observing us, both when we are honoring Him and when we are not.
Virtues in Chapter 16 that I noted were committing my ways to God and allowing Him to lead; honesty; wisdom and understanding; patience and controlling one's temper. And the verse from this chapter that is again repeated from 14:12 is 16:25, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it is the way of death." Why do we so often insist on our way? Even when it "seems" right, if it doesn't align with God's way, it is leading us away from Him, our source of light and life.
Chapter 17 dwells more on the negative attributes - the ones we want to eliminate from our lives: strife; malicious talk; mocking the poor; seeking rebellion; returning evil for good; starting conflicts; injustice; offensive; deceitful. I pray not to be this kind of person in any of these ways. Rather I'd like to be known as one who covers an offense of a friend, who loves at all times, a person with a joyful heart, and one who uses words with restraint and keeps a cool head. Verse that sticks with me out of Chapter 17? 17:3, "A crucible is for silver and a smelter for gold, but the Lord is a tester of hearts." And then who of us who have grandchildren cannot help but smile when we read 17:6, "Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly." Yes, they certainly are!
Chapter 18 continues with the ways of those who are not living to please God: those pursuing selfish desires; rebels against sound judgment; spouts off his opinions; foolish talk of all kind; lazy; trusting in wealth---that last one, trusting in wealth, comes right after my favorite verse of this chapter, 18:10, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected." God-pleasers have learned that the only place of refuge is in Him, never in man-made wealth. I love the way verse 11 states it, "A rich man's wealth is his fortified city; in his imagination it is like a high wall." Wealth may make some think they are protected, but they truly are not.
What were your favorite verses out of these chapters? Things of note??
Lesson 8 ~The Blessings of Righteousness
The first paragraph of this lesson makes a statement that I think we all need to remember: "...ethical, God-centered living is ultimately wiser than self-centered living." Our world screams another message, that we're the center of our universe, but we're not! This lesson on righteousness did a good job of explaining righteous living while we're living here on earth. Are we going to get it right 100% of the time? Nope. The text points out that in the OT, "To be righteous, a person did not need to be morally perfect. Rather, he simply needed to be doing his best to live God's way." And through the covenant that Jesus established, we have righteousness by putting our faith in Him, accepting His death as our atonement for sin and His resurrection as our promise of eternal life.
The blessings of righteousness are many, but did you pick up on the fact that they are not always earthly blessings and that if they were, people would use acts of righteousness for their own gain, rather than for God's glory?
The question posed at the end of the lesson is especially pertinent to present news events, isn't it? "Why is righteousness essential for good government?" When we read the referenced verses we see that righteousness brings blessing, keeps out evil, allows for justice, rejects tyranny and brings discernment to those in power. Where are we? God help us! Please, Lord Jesus, bring rulers into place that seek You. Turn hearts to You, Lord God, and let them see that their ways, without seeking Your guidance, may lead to destruction.
I must end now --- I'll cover Lesson 9 tomorrow. Let's keep going, and please let me hear how you are doing and what you are learning!!
3 comments:
Janice Thanks so much for your continued teachings and I hope your vacation was awesome. Recently I heard a clip on Facebook by John Bevere talking about deception. I think this goes along with the section about God knowing what we are doing in our lives that is good and that which is evil. He mentions that we can easily be deceived if we are not strong in the word thinking that something is good but actually is evil. We are just looking at it in a earthly manner. It said that what will deceive Christians most in the end days won't appear as blatant evil. It will be in the form of good that is blatant evil in God's eyes.
Interesting read.
Marilyn
Marilyn - I've seen Bevere's videos posted on FB, but have not watched yet. They are among the things that I've saved to go back to! I'm going to find this one and watch. I'm convined that we are beginning to see how Satan is turning things that displease God into "seeming" okay. Just like in the Garden, he's still saying, "Did God REALLY say...." Yes, He has really said and let us know pretty clearly what pleases Him and what does not. Will we be labeled as intolerant and narrow-minded for not going along with what the world tells us is just fine? Probably But as Jesus told His disciples, if the world hated Him, then we should expect to be hated as well. Keep our eyes on Him and our ears tuned to His Word and He wil expose deception to us. Thank you for your encouragement!
The full message from John Bevere can be found at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU5V4AgHum8
The clip containing the section on deception that Marilyn references can be found at:
https://www.facebook.com/John-Bevere-32273893010/videos
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