Showing posts with label Scripture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scripture. Show all posts

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Women of the Bible: Eve

I was going to get up and go to work early today... but I had such a great time with the Lord yesterday, I decided not to let this time pass by without sharing it with you.

A friend and I decided to get to gather every now and again to have a Bible study. I shared this study I picked up a while back that I couldn't pass up,"Women of the Bible." It offers up 52 individual studies of the women of the Bible.... wow! Like I said I couldn't resist grabbing it. It could come in handy one day. So my friend agreed to do it with me. We of course began at the beginning with Eve.

The reading was Genesis 1-4. Yes, I have read this before... on more than one occasion, but this is classic God... He brings out new things for me every time! I saw thing that were speaking directly to me...

My Role as a Wife:
After the sin of eating the forbidden fruit occurred, God said, "Because you have done this,..." (Gen. 3:14) then handed out the consequences... He told Adam, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, ..."
(Gen. 3:17-19)

I know that this curse is already in effect, our men will toil and things will work against them... but I'm going to try to do my best to stay under the protection and authority of my husband as to not to cause any more grief. Yes, it is hard at times but we women can work at it, start anew each day. God set up a wonderful structure of authority to give us all freedom.!! He honestly did. Read Romans 13 & Ephesians 6!!

I know that I personally fail at this. Over and over! I don't think and then spout off my opinions and I sway him to follow my lead, when I should be following his. I'm bossy and feel that this is my home to run the way I want it. What happened to the man being the king of his castle? How can he be if I'm the one calling all the shots? Our job as wives is to RESPECT our husbands. His is to Love us... (Ephesians 5:33) but it's hard when we are bossy and pushy. As if he doesn't work hard enough to provide for us!

(Side note to this... it makes me think of The Taming of the Shrew! At the end she give a wonderful speech to her sister and another woman about the duties of a wife... you must see it. I wish I could get a recording for a pep talk to myself on a regular basis! This link is the best I could find. The text is under the pictures.)


My Anger Issues:
I spent too much time looking for "Taming of the Shrew" speech that I am now out of time! Ugh. But I will leave you on this. In Genesis 4, before Cain killed Able, God spoke with Cain. "Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” I need to take these words to heart. I am angry often! Typically for trying my best and not being appreciated or heard. But I do let my anger sway me to behave badly. I have to conquer the anger and not sin in it. Anger is not a sin... it's the behavior that I allow to take control of me.

Out of time. There was so much more... but I'll share later! Have a wonderful day!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Measure

I have chosen to blog about what God is saying to me lately. So. Here is a little sample of scripture that is moving me this week. Two different translations.

"I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." ~John 17:22-23 (NIV)

"I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me." ~John 17:22-23 (NLT)

What a great verse to pray for, "perfect, complete unity" with fellow Christians. Why let those little things get in the way? Don't judge, forgive! Allow people to see God's love in your relationships. Right now I need this in my own life. Some days the people around me seem like the enemy and they are not! I see them as "not measuring up" to my standards. Which is totally wrong of me. I'm expecting things that are not mine to expect. We allow ourselves privilages that should not be. Who am I? Not the Judge... that's for sure... but boy do I act like it!

I am soaking in the word "measured" in my own life...

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
"
~Matthew 7:2-3

Ugh... it is so easy to measure others. Lord, help me to get to a place where I don't feel I need to be the one to point out that speck!

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Word of God Speak...

I would like to point out a great verse that I have found lately.

"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it."
~John 12:47

Hello! Believers! Did you see this?? If you are have accepted the sacrafice of Christ death on your behalf you are His. You hear His voice! Here are some verses about hearing His voice.

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ~John 10:1-5

We, believers are the sheep. Jesus is our shepard. Jesus knows us all by name, He is our guide, leading us to the good pastures.

"I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live." ~John 5:25

So back to the original verse... "but does not keep them" ... let's face it. We want to keep Christ commands, but it is tough. We all fail. We are all sinners. None of us are finished. This verses shows us that we don't have to worry about whether we will loose our salvation or not...

Once we are His.... once we believe in Him... we are saved. And along with that "salvation deal" is not being Judged by the One who will judge all in the end. When we stand before God we will have been washed clean of our sins by the work of Jesus. He has already taken the punishment for your sins past, present and future. AMAZING!

So stop beating yourself up about what ever it is. God is not standing over you ready to hit you with a lightning rod! Have you accepted God's gift to you through Jesus? If yes, stop judging yourself. Confess it and be done with it. Learn from it but move on. Every day is a NEW DAY, every moment is a NEW MOMENT. Begin again!

I'm not telling you there will not be human conseqenses. You do have to deal with that, but you are allowed to hold your head high and move forward.

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28

Monday, May 24, 2010

HOPE

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

Ephesians 1:18-19a