Wisdom (Part 1): Week 5, Day 3

Today we are going to APPLY what we have learned in Proverbs 9 to our lives.  This is the best part about Bible study because this is where grow our fruits that others know us by (Matthew 7:15-20).

Before we begin, read Proverbs 9 again.  We have been talking about wisdom, the characteristics of wisdom, how wisdom relates to God, and how to gain wisdom.  This chapter starts off with wisdom personified again.  This time, wisdom is getting ready for a party.  Actually, if you look closely at the text, she has already gotten ready for the party.  The prep work is done.  She is now inviting people to her party by calling out for them.  Sisters, wisdom is ready for us!  There is nothing that we have to do, but accept the invitation.  Are you naive?  I admit that I sure can be at times.  Do you lack understanding?  Yes!  I know that I lack understanding of things every day.  Wisdom is for me!  Wisdom is for you!  All you have to do is accept the invitation, and abandon your prior ways.  Then, you can live in the way of understanding.

Verse 7 begins talking about a person called a scoffer.  We have learned that a scoffer is someone who jeers or mocks, a disagreeable person, or an unpleasant person.  I'm sure that you know someone who fits this description.  As much as we do not need to spend time talking about who these people are, we also do not need to spend our time trying to correct them.  Scoffers, unpleasant people, are not worth the time of those who are wise.  Leave them alone!  Do not try to correct them!  Do not spend your time trying to make the life of a scoffer better.  The Scripture tells us that spending your time that way will not only not help the scoffer, but it will make them hate you and insult you!  Instead, let us look at the wise man.  A wise person wants instruction.  They want correction.  If we are to be wise, we need to be able to accept correct and training in righteousness.  This is sometimes extremely hard.  Human beings do not like to be told what to do or how to change.  But, if we want to be a wise person, we would be good to accept this kind of instruction.  It may come in different forms - sometimes what your Pastor preaches about on Sunday mornings is the exact kind of correction that we needed to receive.  Sometimes it takes someone coming to you in love and speaking to you directly.  However the reproof comes, wise people are willing to accept it and use it for the good in their lives.

Proverbs 9:10 is a verse that we have talked about a couple of times in the past.  This is the verse that brings this thing called wisdom home to me.  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."  In order to be a wise person, I have to know the Lord.  I must have a personal relationship with God.  I must cultivate that relationship in fear and respect of Who God is.  And then, I can obtain the wisdom that He wants me to have.  Do you have a relationship with God?  Are you saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ?  If you are, you can have this wisdom.  If you are not, please reach out to someone that you trust to help you find the Lord!

Verse 12 talks again about the scoffer, but deeper than that, it talks about the individuality of our relationship with God and the wisdom that He gives us.  If we are wise, we are wise for ourselves (no one else).  If we are foolish, we are foolish for ourselves (no one else).  This doesn't mean that our words and actions will not mean anything to anyone else.  On the contrary, our wise words and actions will positively affect those around us, and our foolish words and actions will negatively affect those around us.  What this verse is saying, is that only we can determine for ourselves if we will be wise or foolish.  And only we will receive the internal and eternal consequence for our choice.  Oh sisters, choose wisdom!

This chapter ends will a look at what our lives will be like if we decide to choose foolishness over wisdom.  The woman of folly that is talked about in verse 13 is a foolish woman.  She is boisterous.  She is naive.  She knows nothing!  Yet, she is so appealing to those around her.  The things that she seems to offer to others are sweet and pleasant.  But in an eternal mindset, those who accept foolishness over wisdom will spend their eternity in Hell.  Hell is real, my sisters.  Hell is a place that people will wind up if they do not commit their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ.  You do not have to go to Hell.  If you have a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, if you choose wisdom over foolishness, you will not go to Hell.  Instead, you will find yourself in a glorious place called Heaven, a place where Jesus Himself is preparing homes for His beloved.

Choose wisdom, sisters!  Pray to the Lord that He will guide you in your choice!  If you have made your eternal choice (you are saved by grace through faith) then pray that the Lord will guide your steps every day, that every day you will continue to walk in the ways of the Lord.  If you find yourself in a position where something happened and you went the foolish route instead of the wise route, ask the Lord for forgiveness, and ask Him to guide you back to the right path.  I know He will do so!  If you have not made your eternal choice, please reach out to someone to help you with that decision.

I hope you have enjoyed this study on wisdom!

To read the previous posts on Wisdom, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 3: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 4: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 5: Day 1, Day 2

Wisdom (Part 1): Week 4, Day 3

Today is our day of APPLYING what we have learned about wisdom in Proverbs 8:22-36.

When you started reading these verses, if you did not have the correct context to what you were reading, it would be easy to misinterpret the pronoun "me" that is written in verse 22.  This is one of the reasons why context is so important to studying the Scripture, why I asked you to read the first 21 verses of the chapter before moving on, and why we mark certain words the way we do.  This "me" is wisdom personified.  Just in case you questioned if "me" was really wisdom, we looked at a reference in Job and another reference in Proverbs.  Proverbs 3:19 makes very clear that wisdom is being talked about here.

The creation account in the next few verses is just amazing to me.  I can't help but stop and praise the Lord when I read through this.  Wisdom played a critical roll in the creation account.  Wisdom was created by God (8:23) before the earth was created by God (8:27).  Wisdom then helped God create (8:30).  How powerful is that - the same God who created you and me created wisdom, and then used the creation of wisdom to go on and create the whole world.  This can be so mind-boggling if you let it.  If you truly stop to think this through, you can get caught up in it.  Sometimes, sisters, it is better to accept the Word of God for what it says, then to try and reason it out.  God said it, and that is all I need to know!

Wisdom is such an important part of our lives.  We are told in verse 32 that we will be blessed if we keep the ways of wisdom.  We know from reading Proverbs 9:10 that, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  We need to keep the fear of the Lord!  We never need to neglect God, and we never need to disrespect Him.  Doing so would be going against everything that we have learned about wisdom.

We listed three things about the person who listens to wisdom:

1. They are blessed
2. They find life
3. They obtain favor from the Lord

My sisters, if you choose to listen to wisdom, if you choose to fear the Lord, you will be blessed! You will find life (eternal life)! You will obtain favor from the Lord!  How amazing is this God that we serve?  The same God Who created wisdom, and then used that wisdom to create the world, is offering us that same wisdom!

But in stark contrast, the person who chooses to not listen to wisdom, who chooses to not fear the Lord, "injures himself".  It is harmful to us if we do not listen to what the Lord says.  In an eternal sense, those who do not seek the Lord will end up in Hell.  In a daily sense, if we do not do the Lord's will and walk in His ways, we will end up doing things that are not good, honorable, trustworthy, and everything else that was on our list last week.

We are given the choice - to listen to wisdom or to not listen to wisdom.  To fear the Lord or to not fear the Lord.  You have to make the choice for yourself, no one else can do it.  Oh sisters, I pray that you choose to listen to wisdom.  I pray that you choose to fear the Lord.  I hope that everything we have learned and studied so far about wisdom is causing you to choose wisdom.  Next week we will look at Proverbs 9 and continue this conversation.  Please come back and see what else the Lord has to say!

To read the previous posts on Wisdom, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 3: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 4: Day 1, Day 2

Wisdom (Part 1): Week 3, Day 3

Thanks for sticking with me in this study on wisdom.  I hope that as you have spent time reading about this topic, that you are realizing how much God can give us, if we would just ask Him!  Today we are going to APPLY Proverbs 8:1-21 to our lives.  There is so much to talk about here, I apologize in advance if I get long-winded!

This passage starts off with wisdom being personified.  For those who are far removed from high school English courses, that means that wisdom has taken on a bodily perspective.  Over the next few weeks, wisdom is going to remain in this personified form.  In other words, sometimes it seems as if we are reading about a person.  That is why we marked wisdom, including the pronouns.  We need to know exactly who - or what - we are reading about.  Do not let the personification get in the way of your understanding of this text.  We are learning about wisdom, not a person.

In this first part of this chapter, wisdom is calling out to whoever will listen to her.  She is at the city gates, at the doorways, in the walking paths - she is everywhere.  She is crying out - loudly!  This tells us that wisdom is not hard to find, not hard to gain access to.  Wisdom is available to us, we just have to make the move and ask for it.

Wisdom is speaking to several groups of people:

1. Men (women)
2. Sons (daughters)
3. Naive ones
4. Fools

No matter who you are, or what your current state is (some days I feel pretty naive), wisdom is available for you!  All of us are daughters of someone.  Wisdom is for us!  She is calling out for us, she is in our doorways, she is on the paths that we walk daily.  We need to answer her call.

Wisdom speaks about six different things:

1. Noble things
2. Right things
3. Truth
4. Righteousness
5. Straightforward things
6. Right things (yes, this one is listed twice.  If something is repeated in the Scripture, it is doubly important!)

I think we could spend the next hour talking about these five (six) things.  Wisdom speaks of noble things.  The definition of noble is: having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideals.  Synonyms of noble are: righteous, virtuous, good, honorable, upright, decent, worthy, moral, ethical, reputable.  This is the type of woman I want to be!  I want people to look at me and thing that I am a moral, ethical, decent person.  I want to speak of these things.  If I have wisdom, then I can be this way.  You can, too!

Wisdom speaks of right things.  The definition of right is: morally good, justified, acceptable.  Synonyms of right are: just, fair, proper, good, upright, righteous, virtuous, moral, ethical, honorable, honest.  People with wisdom speak of things that are fair, proper, and honest.  Let's think about the word "honest".  The opposite of being honest is being untruthful.  Lying.  Spreading gossip.  Talking about people in a bad way.  How easy is it for us to get caught up in talking about things that are not good?  It is so easy!  We need to pray for wisdom, and pray that God will help us to resist the temptation to get caught up in frivolous gossip that will not help us be an honorable person.

Wisdom speaks of the truth.  This one should be easy enough, right?  Just speak the truth!  However, in our sin-filled lives, sometimes it is just "easier" to lie.  Or so we think.  We lie to cover up what we don't want others to know.  Was the thing that we did that we want covered up done in wisdom?  If so, is there a reason to have to cover it up?  We need to live in truth.  We need to be honorable in our actions so that we do not have to cover up what we have done.  We need to pray that God would guide our every action, so that everything we do will be honorable to him.  Then, we can speak the truth about the things we do.  We should not be ashamed of our actions, as long as they please the Lord.  Pray that God will guide your life so that you can speak the truth in wisdom!

Wisdom speaks of righteousness.  Righteousness is the quality of being morally right or justifiable.  Remember what the Scriptures said in Genesis 15:6, "[Abraham] believed in the Lord; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness."  Habakkuk 2:4 tells us that, "the righteous shall live by his faith."  Our faith in God is counted as righteousness, and our righteousness as Christians is because of our faith.  We are saved by the grace of God through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.  Hang on sisters, let's get real.  Can we be morally right?  No!  We are sinners.  We could never be completely right, even if we tried as hard as we could.  We have a sin nature that we cannot get rid of.  And the payment for that sin nature is death - eternal death, eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23).  However, 1 John 1:9 tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  So, through faith in God and His Son Jesus Christ and through confession of our sins, we can be made righteous! (Can I get an Amen, here!)  One of the greatest mysteries in the Bible is the fact that we can be saved, we can be made holy (no time to talk of that now), we can, "become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21).  And those who are wise speak of righteousness.  As daughters of God, we can know true righteousness.  We have become the righteousness of God.  What an honor, what a responsibility.  We need to pray to God for Him to give us the wisdom we need to speak of righteousness.  We need to pray that He will help us to act like we are His righteousness.  The world will know us by our fruit.  Oh sisters, let your fruit show that you are God's righteousness!

Wisdom speaks of straightforward things.  Straightforward means honest and frank.  In other words, truthful and sincere.  Are you sincere in your words and actions?  Or are you dishonest and hypocritical?  Hypocrites say one thing and do something different.  Honest people say one thing and do that one thing that they spoke of.  They are straightforward in all their ways.  People who are wise speak of, and do, straightforward things.  We need to pray for wisdom that God would help us speak and do the same things, and that those things would be honorable.

And once again, wisdom speaks of right things.  If the Scripture says it twice in a row, it is doubly important.  Sisters, if we are to be wise, we need to speak of things that are right.

Let's now spend a little bit of time talking about the "fear of the Lord" as mentioned in Proverbs 8:13.  Earlier this week we looked at Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."  In Proverbs 8, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil."  To fear the Lord is to honor and respect Him, to fully trust Him, to do as He says, etc.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  The start of gaining wisdom is to fear the Lord.  Wisdom comes from Him, so we need to honor and respect Him in order to be wise.  The fear of the Lord hates evil.  As wise women, we need to hate evil.  There is so much evil in the world around us.  Let us fear the Lord, pray for wisdom, hate evil, and pray for wisdom on how to handle the world that we live in.

In Proverbs 8:14-16, we are told nine things about wisdom:

1. Counsel belongs to wisdom
2. Wisdom is sound
3. Wisdom is understanding
4. Wisdom is power
5. Kings reign with wisdom
6. Rulers decree justice with wisdom
7. Princes rule by wisdom
8. Nobles rule by wisdom
9. All who rightly judge do so by wisdom

Do you see, yet, what a wonderful thing wisdom is?  Do you understand the responsibility that the wise person has?  Do you see how trust and faith in God make wisdom what it is?  Do you sense the urgency to become wise?

So how do we get this thing called wisdom?  Proverbs 8:17 says, "...those who diligently seek me will find me."  James 1:5 says, "...if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God...and it will be given to him."  All we have to do is know in our hearts that we want wisdom and ask God for it.  That's it!  He will give it to us if we ask Him.  What a wonderful, powerful, amazing God we have!

One more thing that comes with having wisdom - it does not guarantee a life of monetary riches.  Our true riches are the righteousness, the justice, the love, and all the other things that we have talked about in this incredibly long blog (much love to you for sticking with me!).  Matthew 6:25-33 tells us to seek God first, seek His kingdom, seek His righteousness (there's that word again).  Everything else will come after we get our hearts and minds right.  God will supply everything that we need.  Everything.

Oh my sisters, do you see how wonderful wisdom is?  Do you sense the amazing things that can come with living a life of wisdom?  Do you understand how important it is to fear God above all else?  I hope that you do.  I hope that you didn't get bogged down in the amount of information that came from this week's passage.  Take time over the next few days to meditate on the Word of God. Pray that He will give you the wisdom to understand His Word.

To read the previous posts on Wisdom, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 3: Day 1, Day 2

Wisdom (Part 1): Week 2, Day 3

Welcome back to this Bible study!  Today we are going to APPLY the text of 1 Kings 3:16-28 to our lives.  This is where we take what the Lord has given us, and we live it out in our daily lives.  What can we gain from reading this passage about Solomon gaining, and then showing, his wisdom?  Before we get into the meaning of this text, take the time to re-read it for yourselves.

As this story starts, we are brought into a harsh reality of the times of Solomon.  Two women, two harlots, two prostitutes, living together in house.  There was no one else in the house with them, which tells us that they were unmarried.  They were each other's support system in this terrible life that they were living.  I'm sure before they both got pregnant, they were living together as roommates.  These women could have very well been best friends.  After all, if you have a choice as to who you would pick as a roommate, wouldn't you choose a friend?  Now, the Scripture does not go into this detail, so this is all speculation on my part.  Both of these prostitutes end up pregnant at the same time.  They go through the nine months of pregnancy together - the joys, the scary times, the unknown - they lived it as friends and roommates.

Now there are two babies, born just three days apart, living in this house with their mommas.  In an extremely tragic event, one of the mommas rolled over on her baby in the night, suffocated it, and killed it.  In her grief, pain, trauma, insanity...whatever emotions she was feeling at the time, she made a terrible decision to switch the babies and lie about the truth of the event.

Now think about the other momma.  She, too, was feeling very emotional, as all new mothers do.  She woke up to a dead baby beside her.  I can't imagine the pain, the grief, how upset she was to think that her baby had died.  But as she looked closer, she knew that this was not her baby.  She knew in her heart that her friend and roommate had committed a terrible act.

Enter King Solomon.  He was able to sum this story up in one short verse (verse 23). One momma says that the living baby is hers, the other momma says that the living baby belongs to her.  What is the King to do?  Last week we studied about how Solomon asked for wisdom from the Lord so that he could properly judge the kingdom.  This is how God is going to show the world how much wisdom he have to Solomon.

Solomon's judgement was to order that the living baby be cut in half.  One half was to go to one of the mommas, the other half to the other momma.  Can you imagine hearing King Solomon order this to happen?  I'm sure that the guards and others on duty at the time thought that Solomon had lost his mind.  Here was the King of Israel, God's chosen King of God's chosen people, and he is ordering the murder of an innocent baby.

But, of course, the killing of the baby didn't have to happen.  The true momma could not stand the fact that her baby was about to be killed.  She loved her baby so much that she was willing to give it up to the other momma just to save its life.  Solomon knew right away that that woman was the true momma of the baby.  The other woman was going to let the baby be killed.  Solomon, in all of his wisdom, was able to determine the true momma of that sweet innocent baby.

We are not told what happened to these two women after this event.  But, we do know that one of the mommas was able to take her baby home alive.

1 Kings 3:28 shows us how this one decision impacted the entire nation of Israel.  Everyone in the kingdom "feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice."  The kingdom knew that Solomon's wisdom came from God.  They knew that this was a king that they needed to respect and honor, because he had God's favor.

So how does this impact our lives?  We do not live in a time where we would ever have to make the kind of decision that Solomon made.  But what we do know from this chapter of 1 Kings is this: if we ask God for something, and that something is in His will, He will provide it for us.  His provision will be tens and hundreds of times more amazing than we could ever have imagined for ourselves.  Let's relate this directly back to wisdom, as that is our focus.  God has told us that He will give us wisdom, if we ask for it.  James 1:5 says, "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

God wants us to have wisdom, and oh my sisters, do we ever need it!  I have told you before, I pray for wisdom and discernment every single time I open my Bible.  I know that God gives it to me, because there are times when I struggle understanding His Word.  I have read passages of Scripture that I just do not understand at all.  But with the help of the Lord, He gives me the understanding that He wants me to have at the time.  The cool thing about studying the Word of God is that it is truly living and breathing, and I gain new meaning and new understanding every time I study.  I would not be able to do this without the wisdom and help of God.

Pray, sisters, for the wisdom of God.  Pray for wisdom as you open His Word to study and learn.  Pray for wisdom as you make small, daily decisions.  Pray for wisdom as you make large, monumental decisions for your life and the lives of others in your family.  Pray for wisdom as you encounter different people every day.  Pray for wisdom.  God will give it to you!

To read the previous posts on Wisdom, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2

Wisdom (Part 1): Week 1, Day 3

What a great day this is!  I love to be in the Word of God, and I am so thankful for you and your dedication to knowing more about Him and studying His Word.  Today we are going to take what we have studied in 1 Kings 3:3-18 and APPLY it to our lives.

This is a fairly famous passage of Scripture, where King Solomon becomes the wisest king in the Bible.  The passage starts off telling us about the character of King Solomon - that he loved the Lord as his father King David had done, but that he also sacrificed offerings and offered incense on the high places.  This is the Scripture's way of telling us that Solomon loved the Lord, but he also worshiped false gods and idols.  Solomon was caught between two completely separate things - God and false gods.  He was not actively choosing one over the other, but sitting comfortably between the two.  What a terrible place to be.  We should never become complacent in our relationship with the Lord.  We should always be moving forward, focusing all of our attention on Him and His plan for our lives.  God chose to appear to Solomon in Gibeon, at the place where he offered true and false offerings.

God asked Solomon what he wished for.  This almost reminds me of the big, blue Genie in the movie Aladdin.  Solomon could be granted any wish that he could wish for.  What a question!  What a temptation!  The whole world was available to Solomon at that point in time, if God had chosen to grant his request.  Skip down to verse 11, where God list out the three things that Solomon could have asked for, but didn't.  We listed these things in our notebooks during our last time of study together.

1. Long life
2. Riches
3. Death of all his enemies

These are things that any one of us might have wished for, if given the opportunity.  I think that in today's day and time, number two seems the most appealing.  In a time where people are struggling to make ends meet from one month to the next, having an abundance of riches would seem amazing.  In Solomon's day, where there was so much fighting and people trying to overthrow the thrown, I could see where Solomon could have asked for the life of his enemies.  But, he did not ask for any of these things.  Instead, according to verse 9, Solomon asks God for wisdom.

Solomon recognized that God showed great mercy to David, and it was because of the mercy of God that he, himself, sat on the thrown.  Solomon recognized that God raises up kings, and takes kings down (look at Daniel 2:20-22).  Another thing that Solomon recognized was that he had a huge job ahead of him - to be the king over God's great nation.  In verse 7, Solomon says that God made him king over this great nation, but he was just a young child.  Solomon knew that he needed help being king, and here was his opportunity to ask for that help.  In verse 9, Solomon asks for understanding and discernment.  In this verse, understanding means: to hear, listen.  Discernment means: to understand, see; to pay attention, consider, teach, examine.  Solomon asks God for wisdom so that he could know what is good and what is evil

God was pleased with Solomon's request.  Oh, that we would ask things of God that are pleasing to Him! Not only did God grant Solomon the wisdom that he requested, but God also granted Solomon the things that he did not request - riches and honor.  God also told Solomon that if he were to walk in the ways of God, God would give him a long life.  In verse 12, God tells Solomon that he is going to be one of a kind. "There has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you."

Solomon awoke from this dream, went straight to Jerusalem, and offered sacrifices to the true God.  Solomon knew  that God granted his request, and he offered up praise and sacrifice to thank Him for it.

I made a reference to the Genie in Aladdin at the beginning of this post.  No, I do not think that God is in the "wish-granting" business.  I do not think that God will just give us anything that we ask for.  But, I do believe that if we ask God for wisdom and discernment, He will give it to us.  I do not ever start a time of Bible study without asking God for wisdom and discernment.  I could not understand the Scriptures without the help of the Holy Spirit. I know that He helps me in my understanding of His Word, and as I apply what I study to my life, He helps me discern how to properly live my daily life.  I'm not perfect by any means, but I strive to live my life the way the Lord would have me to live it, and I know that the time that I spend in prayer and Bible study help me to live in His ways.

My sisters, I challenge you to ask God for wisdom and discernment in your time of Bible study, and in your every day life.  We must live in the ways of the Lord, and in order to know what that is, we have to be in constant communication with God - through prayer and Bible study.  If we ask God for wisdom and discernment, He will give it to us.  Give it a try.  You won't be disappointed!

To read the previous posts on Wisdom, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2

Encouragement (Part 1): Week 6, Day 3

This is our last study of encouragement (for now).  You have made it through six weeks of faithful study of the Word of God.  I hope that you have been blessed by this study.  I know that I have been!  Today we are going to APPLY Jeremiah 29:1-14 to our lives, and find encouragement in God's Word.

Read through the passage again.

God is telling the people of Israel who were exiled to Babylon that they were going to remain there for a significant period of time, so they needed to live their lives.  Build their houses.  Plant their gardens.  Marry and have children.  Continue to grow the nation of Israel; do not let it decrease.  This is a mighty reminder that God is going to do what God says he is going to do.  He had been warning the people about this exile, and they continued to walk in their own ways.  Now, He was fulfilling what He had promised.  The people needed to recognize that God's ways were going to happen.

The people of Israel had made a major mistake in their lives.  They had listened to false teachers.  They prophesied falsely in the name of the Lord, and the people listened.  Instead of listening to Jeremiah, the true prophet of God, they chose to listen to these false teachers.  In present time, this world is full of false teachers.  How can we be sure that we do not listen to them?  We must know and understand what the Word of God says.  That is one of the reasons why Bible study is so important.  The more we study God's Word, the more we are able to discern when the teaching is false.

Even though the people of Israel had sinned against God, even though they had worshiped false idols, even though they had listened to false teachers, God is still merciful.  He is a just God, and He punishes sin.  Verse 10 says that the people will remain in Babylon for 70 years.  That is the length of their punishment - that is God's justice.  Verse 10 also says that after the 70 years, God was going to bring the people of Israel back to their land - that is God's mercy.  This is an awesome thing that we need to remember in our lives.  God punishes sin, making Him just.  God also forgives sin, making Him loving.  We have to respect every aspect of God equally.  But we can also expect forgiveness, if we confess our sins to God.  Look at the promise of God in 1 John 1:9.

Verse 11 shows the Sovereignty of God.  God is promising to His people a future and a hope.  His plans for His people are not calamity, but hope.  Yes, they are going to be in exile for 70 years.  They deserved that punishment,  But that is not the end of the nation of Israel.  God will prevail!

Verse 12 and 13 tell us that if we call to God, He will listen to us.  If we search for God with all of our hearts, we will find Him.

Once again in your notebooks, write out Jeremiah 29:10-14.  This is a mighty word of encouragement that we can hide in our hearts.  God knows the plans that He has for us.  He is not writing our stories day by day.  Our stories are already written, and they are stories of hope and a future.  We studied about the Highway of Holiness - that is our future.  We talked about Jesus Christ dying for our sins and giving us eternal life - that is our hope.

As believers, we have a responsibility to call out to the Lord and seek Him.  Yes, He is our future and hope, but we are told very clearly that we will only find God when we look for Him with all our hearts.  We cannot put half of our effort into our relationship with God.  He is worthy of, and demands, our whole heart.

Be encouraged, my sisters.  God has big plans for you.  Plans to give you a future and a hope.  But, you must remain faithful to Him.  The Israelites were unfaithful to God and had to spend 70 years in exile.  Remain faithful to God.  Stay in His Word.  Remember that He has awesome plans for you.

I have truly enjoyed this study.  There will be more in the future.  I hope that you will come back soon and see what else the Lord has to show us in His Word.

To read the previous posts on Encouragement, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 3: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 4: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 5: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 6: Day 1, Day 2

Encouragement (Part 1): Week 5, Day 3

I am so glad you have come back for today's study!  Read through Isaiah 35:1-10 slowly, and absorb the feeling of joy that comes from this text of Scripture.

This Scripture passage is talking about a time when the Lord will come back for His people.  At that time, even the desert will bloom and be glad!  The glory of the Lord will be seen in the land.

We may feel feeble and exhausted in this present world, but do not get weary.  Isaiah 35:4 tells us to, "Take courage, fear not.  Behold, your God will come with a vengeance!"  God is coming back!  He will save us!  Rejoice, be glad, and wait for the glory of the Lord.

When the Lord does come back, miraculous things will happen.  You listed these things in your notebook, and we are going to review them today.

1. the eyes of the blind will be opened
2. the ears of the deaf will be unstopped
3. the lame will leap like a deer
4. the tongue of the mute will shout for joy
5. the waters will break forth in the wilderness
6. the scorched land will become a pool
7. the thirsty ground will have springs

All of the bad that is on the earth will go away.  All of the trials and tribulations that we face, whether big or small, will go away, and the Lord will be glorified.  What an amazing time that will be!

Review verse 8.  This verse talks about the Highway of Holiness.  Only those who walk in the way of holiness can walk on this highway.  So who, exactly, are those who can walk on the Highway of Holiness?  Isaiah 4:3 says that everyone who is recorded for new life in Jerusalem will be called holy.  1 Peter 1:15-16 says that the Holy One has called us, and we are to be holy in our behavior because He is holy in His.  As Christians, we are called holy.  We are also to act holy, just as God is holy.  He has a place for us on His Highway of Holiness, praise Him, hallelujah!  But, as Christians, we need to make sure that our behavior reflects the Holy One who saved us.  Remember as we have studies previously, we are known by our fruits.

So if Christians - those who are called holy, those who are set apart by God - are allowed to walk on the Highway of Holiness, who is not allowed to walk there?  The unclean, the fools, the lions, the viscous beasts.  There is no in between with God.  Either you are holy and set apart, or you aren't.  I hope that you have made the personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, so that you can experience your eternal future with Him, and you can feel the abounding joy that comes from Him alone.  If you haven't done this, please contact me, or another Christian that you trust.  We want to lead you to a saving knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Verses 9 and 10 go into more detail about the holy ones allowed on the highway.  The two terms used to describe Christians in this passage are Redeemed and Ransomed.  What glorious words to describe us!  We are Redeemed, meaning that we are reclaimed as Christ's!  We once were lost to sin and death, but we are now found to new life in Him.  We are Ransomed, meaning bought with a price.  Jesus Christ died for our sins on the cross.  He paid our penalty.  Romans 6:23 says, "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ."  When Jesus died on the cross, He said, "It is finished." This means, "paid in full." We are ransomed by Jesus to new life in Christ.  And because of our new life, we are called holy, and we get to walk on the Highway of Holiness in eternity.

Not only will we walk on the Highway, we will do so with joy and gladness.  We will never have sorrow or sighing again, once the Lord comes to take us into eternity with Him.

What a glorious thing that we have to look forward to!  Keeping with what we have already learned, while we are here on earth, God will always be with us.  When we go to heaven, we will have nothing but exceedingly great joy.  What comforting words!  You may be experiencing sorrow and sighing now, but you won't always.  Wait on the Lord, my sisters.  Wait on Him, be faithful to Him, and be holy in all your ways.  The Lord is with you in the present, and the future is glorious!

To read the previous posts on Encouragement, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 3: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 4: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 5: Day 1, Day 2

Encouragement (Part 1): Week 4, Day 3

Today we are going to APPLY Psalm 27 to our lives.  Before we do that, take the time to read through the Psalm again, absorbing the words of the Scripture.

In verses 1-3, David describes the Lord in three ways:

1. my light
2. my salvation
3. the defense of my life

David is facing evil doers, adversaries, enemies, host camps, and war as he is writing this Psalm.  He had every reason to write a Psalm of being worried and afraid.  But instead of letting his fear overtake him, David put is faith and trust in the Lord - his light, his salvation, his defense.  In verse 3, David says that, "in spite of this" - in spite of the evil doers, in spite of the adversaries, in spite of the enemies, in spite of the host camps, and in spite of the war, David is putting his confidence in the Lord.  We need to be like David and put all of our faith and trust in the Lord God.  No matter what is around us, the Lord is our light, our salvation, and our defense.

In verses 4-6, David asks from God to dwell in His house and to meditate in His temple forever.  Forever is a time phrase (green clock).  Because of the reference to "secret place" in verse 5, I do not think that David was talking about a literal place.  I think that David was referring to an internal, safe place, that he will always have, forever.  Think about what the Scriptures says in 1 Corinthians 6:19.  "Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you."  If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit is always inside of you, with you wherever you go.  When our bodies die on this earth, our souls will go to heaven where we will be with God forever.  David understood that he not only had the Lord with him on earth, but that he would forever be able to be with the Lord, even after he died.  David experienced joy when he was in the tent.  He offered God praise and sacrifice.

We can have these same experiences with God within ourselves.  I hope these studies on encouragement have shown you the joy that God wants us to experience.  He is always with us, no matter what is happening around us.  No matter what kind of enemies or evil doers are at our doors, we can offer praise to God.

The Lord commands David to seek His face, and  David commits to do this.  We looked at the passage in Joshua about meditating on the Bible day and night.  We are commanded over and over again in Scripture to always seek the Lord.  We do this by studying our Bibles, by praying, by living our lives 100% of the time in tune with God.

Look at verse 10.  This verse literally means, "If my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up."  God's message does not change through out Scripture. In Joshua we are told that God will never leave us or forsake us. In Psalm 27 we are told that even if those who were once closest to us abandon us, God will still be with us.

David asks God for three specific things in verses 11 and 12:

1. teach me Your way
2. lead me in a level path
3. keep me safe from my adversaries

How can we learn the ways of the Lord? By studying His Scriptures.  I have said it before, and I'll say it over and over again. I truly believe that the Lord has given us 66 books that He wants us to know, understand, and do.  We can learn the Lord's ways by studying the road map that He wrote for us in the Bible.  He has given us everything we need, we just have to be proactive in reading and studying it.  Thank you, sisters, for sticking with this Bible study.  Not for my sake!  I do not want you to study the Scriptures for me.  I want you to study the Scriptures for you.  I want you to grow in the Lord, to meditate on His Word, and to live your lives the way God intended us to live - as holy people, set apart to glorify Him

David wanted God to lead him in a level path.  According to Psalm 5:8, God's level path is righteousness.  Doing the right thing.  Being righteous before God.  This is something that we should strive for every day.  

David was facing evil doers, adversaries, enemies, host camps, and war as he was writing this Psalm.  It would have been so easy for David to despair, but his faith in God kept him from that.  David said that he, "would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord."  David knew what his eternal future held.  And because of that, he encourages us to wait for the Lord, be strong, and be courageous.

Through out this Psalm, David is constantly seeking his refuge in God, and he is reminded that God is always with him.  No matter what we are facing in the world, God is always our refuge.  We face evil everywhere we go.  We have adversaries and enemies everywhere we go.  David reminds us that we can take refuge in God.

David also reminds us the importance of staying in the Word of God. We never need to neglect the importance of God's Word and learning His ways. God's way is that of righteousness.  If we continue to seek Him, we will continue to learn the way of righteousness.  As we learn the way of righteousness, we will live that out in our lives.  The Scriptures say over and over again that people will be known by their fruit.  If you study the ways of righteousness and live that out daily, you will be known by good fruits.  (It is so much better to be known by good fruits than by bad fruits!)

Finally, my sisters, wait on the Lord! Be strong and courageous and wait on the Lord.  David said it twice - that means that it is doubly important.  Isaiah 55:8-9 says, " 'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are Your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.' "  God's ways are so much better than ours.  Let us trust in Him, study His Word, and wait on His ways.

To read the previous posts on Encouragement, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 3: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 4: Day 1, Day 2

Encouragement (Part 1): Week 3, Day 3

Welcome back, sisters!  We are going to APPLY 2 Kings 6:8-23 to our lives today.  Now, I know what you must be thinking - I have never, ever, EVER seen chariots of fire surrounding me. How can we apply this to our lives?  Maybe you have seen real chariots of fire.  If so, I would love to hear about it!  But just because we have not seen the chariots doesn't mean that God doesn't have His armies surrounding us at all times.

Once again, take the time to read the passage through.

The King of Aram was upset that the King of Israel was guarding the place that he wanted to conquer.  The King of Aram thought that one of his servants had snitched on him, but his servants were quick to inform him that the prophet Elisha was the one who told the King of Israel what was going on.  The King of Aram decides that he is going to capture Elisha.

The servant of Elisha was terrified when he awoke to see them surrounded by the army of Aram.  I asked you to write down how you think you would have felt if you were in that situation.  I would love to tell you that I would not be afraid, that I would be confident in my Lord at that time.  However, no one truly knows how they are going to react to a situation until they are in that situation.  I do know that we can take this lesson from Elisha and realize that no matter what crazy situation we find ourselves in, our God is in control!

Verse 16 is so crucial to this whole story: "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Amen, praise the Lord, hallelujah!  God's army is bigger than any other army that will come our way.  We are like Elisha's servant in so many ways - seeing the thing that is coming for us and forgetting our God who is always beside us.  We may not be able to see the chariots of fire, but it does not matter.  No matter what you are facing in your life, God's army is bigger than that.  Do not fear, my sister!

Elisha prays for two very specific things in verses 17 & 18.  In 17, Elisha prays that his servant would see the miraculous thing that he could see.  In verse 18, Elisha prays that the army of Aram would be struck with blindness.  Both times, God granted Elisha what he asked for.  Elisha had a never-shaking faith in God.  He knew that God was on his side and that no matter what happened, God was in control.

In the next few verses, Elisha leads the army of Aram to Samaria, right to the King of Israel.  The King of Israel did not know how to react to these people.  Thankfully, he had Elisha, guided by God, to help him out.  In a strange turn of events, they fed the captives and let them go.  The last part of verse 23 tells us that, "the marauding bands  of Arameans did not ever again come into the land of Israel."

Once again, as we have studied in the previous weeks, we are reminded that as children of God, we have nothing to fear.  Our God is much bigger and much more powerful than anything we will face on earth.  We may never have a literal army outside our door, but we have lots of armies that fight us every day - emotional battles, financial battles, personal battles, whatever it may be. Just remember that even though you are fighting battles, God's army is always bigger.  And, if we remain faithful to God and His Word, He will remain faithful to us fight these battles for us.  Our faith in God cannot waiver, no matter what situation we find ourselves in.

Stay encouraged, my sister.  God will never leave us, He is always with us, and His army is larger than we could ever imagine!

To read the previous posts on Encouragement, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 3: Day 1, Day 2

Encouragement (Part 1): Week 2, Day 3

Welcome back to our third day of studying through Joshua 1:1-9.  This is the day that we APPLY what we have studied to our lives.  This is the day that we take everything that we have observed and interpreted in the text, and make it real and relevant to us.  I'm so thankful that you have come back today, on this most important day of study.

Take the time, one more time, to read through the text of this week (Joshua 1:1-9).

At this point in Scripture, Joshua is getting ready to lead the nation of Israel into the Promised Land of Canaan.  This is a mighty task for Joshua, one that surely would bring about fear and trepidation, if Joshua did not have the Lord directing his every step.

Look at verses 2, 3, and 5.  Earlier this week we wrote down what God said about Himself.  Review this.

1. I am giving.
2. I have given.
3. I spoke to Moses.
4. I have been with Moses.
5. I will be with you.
6. I will not fail you.
7. I will not forsake you.

If Joshua had any worry in his heart about his upcoming adventure, this should have surely taken it all away.  Joshua could look back at the times when Moses was in charge, and see how God fulfilled His promises to Moses.  God is using Moses as an example to Joshua to show how faithful He really is.  We also have Moses' example to look at (Joshua's, too...) to see God's faithfulness to His people.  God told Joshua that He was with him, He would not fail him, and He would not forsake him.  We can take these promises to the bank!  God is always with us, He will not fail us, and He will not forsake us!

God is comforting Joshua by telling him how wonderful and powerful He is.  Be strong and courageous.  Don't worry about anything.  I've got this!

Look closely at verses 7 and 8.  Joshua is given another command - to follow the law and do what it says.  Joshua is told to follow the law so that he will have success wherever he goes.  Joshua is told to meditate on the law day and night.  Why? So that he is careful to do according to all that is written in it.  If Joshua takes care to do this, he is told that he will be prosperous and successful.  This is not talking about being prosperous in a monetary way.  This is talking about being prosperous in a successful way.

There is so much to take in from these two verses alone.  I am passionate about studying my Bible.  I am convinced that God gave us 66 books that He expects us to know, understand, and do.  That is part of the reason why I am so excited about this online study.  I think that Bible study is so important to a Christian's daily walk, and I am so happy to lead you ladies through this study.  The command that Joshua is given is applicable to our lives today.  We need to "be careful to do according to all the law".  How can we be careful to do what the Bible says, if we don't take time to study the Bible?  We need to be careful to, "not turn from it to the right or to the left." We are commanded to follow the Bible exactly as the Bible says.  We have to know what is in the Scriptures, so we can know how to follow the Scriptures.  So how are we to accomplish this?  Verse 8 lays is out clearly for us: "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall mediate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it."  We are to be thinking about Scriptures day and night.  In our first day this week, I suggested that you mark time phrases with a green clock.  Day and night are time phrases.  They tell us exactly when we are supposed to think about the Scriptures - all the time!!

I talk to people who say that studying the Bible is an overwhelming task.  I agree that studying the Bible can be tough at times.  It takes dedication, and it takes time.  You and I have to make that time each and every day to study the Word of God.  Why? Because we are commanded to do so.

And just as Joshua was told that he would be successful, we will be, too.  This doesn't mean that we will have everything that we want, that we will have all the money in the world, that we will always have the perfect job, etc.  It means that if we remain faithful to God and His Word, then He will remain faithful to us.  We will be successful in all of the things that God has in store for us in our lives.

Be strong and courageous!

Do not fear or be dismayed!

The Lord is with us!

The Lord will not leave us!

The Lord will not forsake us!

Meditate on the Scripture!

Studying the Bible is the way to stay in His Word. Getting into the Scriptures, reading them, pondering them - the more more you are in His Word, the more important His Word will become to you.  You will see the world from God's perspective.  You will begin to appreciate the things of God more and more.

I am so glad you are on this journey of encouragement with me.  Be strong and courageous, my sister.  The Lord you God is with you wherever you go!

To read the previous posts on Encouragement, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3

Week 2: Day 1, Day 2

Encouragement (Part 1): Week 1, Day 3

Congratulations, ladies!  You have made it to the third day of our study.  Your faithfulness to God and His Word is amazing!  I hope today's study will be beneficial to you. Today is our APPLICATION day.  This is when we can really grow in God, as we apply His Words to our lives.

Once again, read through Deuteronomy 31:7-8 & 23.

Review the commands that Moses gave to Joshua in verses 7-8.

1. Be strong and courageous
2. Do not fear or be dismayed

Joshua was getting ready to become the leader of a nation (think President of the United States, think boss of a major company, think leader of [fill in the blank]). I'm sure that Joshua was trembling inside because of the major responsibility that he was going to have.  Have you been in a leadership role where there was some fear and trepidation because all of the decisions were placed on you? That was Joshua.  Yet, in spite of this new role - which wasn't just the leader of a nation; it was also lead the people into the Promised Land that was already conquered by other people groups, and conquer it - Moses was telling Joshua to stay strong and don't be afraid.

Moses didn't just leave Joshua hanging.  He gave Joshua four good reasons why he could be strong.  Review the four things that you learned about God in our previous lesson.  Because of these things, Joshua had nothing to dread. Think about your current situation.  Are you in fear of something? Are you in a leadership role and have second guesses about it?  Just as the Lord was with Joshua, He is with you!

Look at those four things again:

1. He goes ahead of you.  The Lord knows what you are going to get into before you do because He is there before you are there.  He is Sovereign and already has your future planned out.
2. He will be with you.  Not only does He go in front of you and see what is going to happen to you, He is going to be right with you throughout every aspect of your life.  You have no reason to fear or panic about what is happening because God is right there with you.
3. He will not fail you.  There is no one on this earth that you can say this about.  People are human; we all have faults.  God is perfect; there is no fault in Him. He will not fail you, no matter what.
4. He will not forsake you. God will not give up on you.  He is right with you all the time, step by step, every day of your life. No matter what, God is there for you.

Look at verse 23 again.  Not only did Moses give this word of encouragement to Joshua, but God gave the same word to him!  Moses said, "the Lord will be with you."  God said, "I will be with you." Let's just pretend that Joshua didn't quite catch the message the first time (although I sincerely doubt this was the case).  God wanted to make sure that Joshua knew the truth.

The Lord God is with us, my sisters!  Do not ever forget it! No matter what you are facing, no matter what trial or tribulation, no matter what project is in front of you, no matter who is around you grumbling or complaining, God is always with us. That is a promise from Him, and the Lord never breaks His promises!

Be encouraged in this Word, and live your life daily knowing that God goes ahead of you, God will be with you, God will not fail you, and God will not forsake you.

To read the previous posts on Encouragement, click these links:

Week 1: Day 1, Day 2