building up

Growing Deep and Living Strong!

9:00 AM

 

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” -Colossians 2:6-7

Have you noticed that the Christian life continues the same way it begins – through faith? I believe the apostle Paul gives us three practical ways here in these verses to keep us  moving forward and growing in our walk with Jesus

Abide in Him

Jesus told us Himself in John 15:4, “Abide [remain] in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me.” (AMP)

We are to remain in Him in order to be rooted and built up in Christ. Imagine a large oak tree that is able to withstand the wind, rain (the storms of life) and even seasons of drought! It is able to flourish no matter what life throws at it because of its strong root system.  What we see above ground is only a fraction of the tree; the most important part of the tree is hidden underground.

David saw that as well when he says in Psalm 1, “…That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:3 Emphasis mine).

Our root system is to be built on the Lord Jesus and one another. Notice what Paul says in Ephesians 2:19-20, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens with the saints (God’s people), and are [members] of God’s household,  having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone,”

 According to Paul a strong faith is also dependent on a strong support system around you as well as your walk with Jesus!! Which leads to the second key in Paul’s message:

Being Strengthen in Faith

We begin our journey with Christ by faith so it only makes sense that this is how we continue to grow our faith our entire lives; “becoming increasingly more confirmed and established in the faith as you were taught” (Colossians 2:7b AMP). I want to highlight, "as you were taught", for this tells us we need others as well.

Think of faith like a muscle that needs to be constantly exercised so that it will grow strong, get in shape and be ready to withstand anything and everything. Often times God uses times of adversity, or those who rub us the wrong way and cause friction to strengthen our faith. BUT He also uses godly believers as Solomon stated in Proverbs 27:17, " Iron sharpen iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

As in our example of the oak tree, faith is like the trunk of the tree that grow tall and strong over the years. It is the part of the tree that is exposed to the elements so it needs to be strong and able to withstand outside forces. 

But take note, it is also the part of the tree that never stops growing which means neither should we. And finally we should be, 

Overflowing with Thankfulness

In keeping with our tree analogy, gratitude is the branches and fruit; the natural and visible part of the tree showing the health of the tree, and when dead branches are trimmed it benefits the life of the tree. 

In the same way, a believer's life without thanksgiving and gratitude can damage the spiritual health of the believer, and a life that overflows with gratitude flourishes.

Colossians 2:6-7 is a beautiful picture of the redeemed life; rooted, secure, strong, mature, and continually bringing glory to God through a life of gratitude.

 And Jeremiah tells us we will be blessed to live a secure life without anxiety concerning the future:

“Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LORD

And whose hope and confident expectation is the LORD.

“For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters,

That spreads out its roots by the river;

And will not fear the heat when it comes;

But its leaves will be green and moist.

And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought

Nor stop bearing fruit." - Jeremiah 17:7-8


It just doesn't get better than this! 


Blessings, 


Sue

building up

By Wisdom a Home is Built {Proverbs 24}

8:00 PM



One of the most beautiful pictures God ever designed has been His plan for the family, for here we have the picture of the trinity on display. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit- the three are One. On earth we have husband, wife and child(ren)- the three are one family. Can you see why God’s enemy is so set on destroying the family?

If he can destroy the family, he robs God of His glory, but here at the beginning of Proverbs 24 Solomon gives three beautiful ways to help us, not only exist, or live, but to flourish in our marriages and families:

By wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
And by knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.


God’s plan for marriage is simple: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. I know some of you may be thinking it can’t possibly be that easy, but let’s do a bit of investigative work and you just may come around! I like how Chuck Swindoll defined these for us:


“By wisdom a house is built....”

First, let’s lay the foundation. The word built comes from the Hebrew word that means “to restore.” It’s the same word God uses when He took the rib from Adam’s chest and rebuilt it into a woman. God says it takes wisdom to build this kind of house. Wisdom essentially means “seeing with discernment.” It’s the idea of seeing the broad picture of something. When you choose to look at the broad picture rather than the petty details, you build a strong foundation.

“By understanding a house is established....”

Established in Hebrew means to set in order something that is cluttered or to stand upright something that has fallen. If wisdom is seeing with discernment, then this second piece is responding to what you see with insight. How can you do that? With understanding.

In other words, an irritation I would normally take personally, I don’t take personally any longer. A conflict that cuts into my plan will not irritate me if I have wisdom and understanding. I will see it as God sees it, as good or necessary for me at this time.

“By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.”

Knowledge implies “perception” here. It carries with it a sympathy that comes with learning. As I grow in knowledge of my spouse/children, I increase in my perception of him/her. I say with my actions: I am listening. I am learning. I am open. Knowledge, when it’s combined with wisdom and understanding, Proverbs says, fills your home with precious and pleasant riches. What does that mean? It means your relationship will be filled with the things that won’t burn up if a fire strikes.


As you read over this did you begin to see how crafty our enemy is? He’s convinced so many families today that all they need are more “things”- more activities, more money, a better job, home, surroundings. Families are busy, busy, busy filling their lives with good things! After all we all want well rounded children, but have we forfeited the very best for our families for “good things”?


  • If so, by wisdom it can begin to be restored.
  • By understanding it can be righted.
  • By knowledge the home can be filled with precious and lasting qualities.


We simply need to begin by asking the Lord to build within each of us a heart of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. May He begin in us, and then may it spread like fire through the rest of the family, neighborhood, community and beyond!

Blessings!

sue

building up

Great Women Aren’t Born – They’re Made... {Proverbs 14}

8:00 PM


A wise woman builds her home, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.” Proverbs 14:1

Great women aren’t born – they’re made, and a great woman must choose to work at becoming great.

A wise woman will set the right priorities for her life; she will seek to gain wisdom, be disciplined and seek to have her family and home prosper. BUT the foolish woman is rebellious, preoccupied, and yes, even lazy and her family and home will fall into ruin during her lifetime and for generations to come.

Have I got your attention? Good, for this is serious girls!

Proverbs 14:1 packs a powerful punch! Here, we’re offered both encouragement and a warning not to be overlooked. We have an incredible opportunity to build up our family and home that will not only honor God, but may benefit others in the future. It is our choice to be wise and build or foolishly tear down what God has started. In this one verse you can see the battle lines being drawn and we as women must decide which side we will be on.

But hold on, we also know our enemy is very cunning and crafty! He will do his utmost to make it appear that we’re on the right side, when in truth we’re on the wrong. He can make it appear right until it’s too late to turn back. So how can we know for sure which side is the right side? What should it look like …exactly?

I grew up in the era when women were burning their bras and choosing to have a career over marriage and family. We were being told we could have it all, and still today, thousands of women are marching with pink pointed hats on their heads, but how can we be sure their cause is right, for this chapter also warns us, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but in the end leads to death.” (14:12)? The consequences are too great, therefore we have GOT to be certain that the path we’re on is the right path and we haven’t deviated from it in any way!  

I’ve come up with a few ways of discerning which path we’re on, but I’m sure there are more and should you think of others, I hope you’ll share them with us.

A Wise Woman:

1.      Fears the Lord.  God’s Word is pretty clear that this is the place to begin our quest for wisdom, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverbs 1:7) Matthew 4:4 also tells us, “[Wo]man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” She knows charm is deceptive and outward beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears God will be the one gaining the praise! (Pr. 31:30) We’re on the right path when our thoughts, words, actions and advice are based on the God’s Word and not ours or others orpinion.
2.       Possesses a teachable spirit.  “Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.” (Proverbs 8:33)  “Give instruction to a wise [wo]man, and [s]he will be yet wiser: teach a just [wo]man, and [s]he will increase in learning.” (Proverbs 9:9)  A wise woman is constantly taking in Biblical knowledge and applying it to her life. She is also focused on gently teaching others through both sharing the Word and through her action; “She speaks with wisdom, and kindness and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” (Proverbs 31:26)
3.      Plans ahead.  “She carefully watches over the affairs of her household, and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness.” (Proverbs 31:27). “[S]he that gathers in summer is a wise: but [s]he that sleeps in harvest causes shame.” (Proverbs 10:5)  Several other verses in Proverbs 31 describe the virtuous woman as one who is organized and prepared.
  1. Maintains a calm and quietness of spirit. “Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” (1 Peter 3:4) She isn’t frantically wringing her hands when unforeseen things occur, but knows The Lord has it all under control. As a godly woman she has an inner peace of the Holy Spirit to comfort, guide, and teach her when things seems out of control, for she has learn to lay her concerns at the foot of the cross and leave them there.
  2. Is relentless in prayer, for she, “prays continually.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) The Lord needs women who fervently grab hold of Jesus just like the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 and refuse to let circumstances dictate the final outcome over faith. She will never give up praying for the hardest hearts, the deepest needs, and waits with great anticipation to rejoice over seeing her prayers answered!
  3. Confess her faults, “I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.” -Psalm 38:18. She is careful to resist the devil and draw nearer to God; cleansing her hands and striving to purify her heart, humbling herself before God that He and only He will lift her up! (James. 4:7-10) She understands that she is forgiven and is quick to confess her sins to God on a regular basis, to keep her humble and tender towards others who fall into sin.
  4. Forgives as easily as she has been forgiven. “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13) She knows her forgiveness must be unconditionally given to others as she was unconditionally forgiven by God. She must choose to forgive in spite of her feeling, knowing it won’t always be easy, but trusting God to heal all her hurts in His perfect timing.
  5. Is generous to others. “She opens her arms to the poor, and extends her hands to the needy.” (Proverbs 31:20) and “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…” (2 Corinthians 9:11). With the help of the Holy Spirit, she keeps in tune to the needs of others. She will give of her time, energy, gifts, and finances in days of feasting or even famine. She has learned it’s more blessed to give than receive and resists the fear of holding back because of her strong confidence in God to meet her family’s needs according to His riches in glory. She leans only on the Lord’s directives.
  6. She prays God will set a guard over her mouth (Psalm 141:3) so that the words that she speaks to other will always be true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable—for she wants all she says to be worthy of praise. (Philippians 4:8) in order to encourage and build up her family and others. (1Thessalonians 5:11)
  7. Finally she prays that she will do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility she will consider others (and their needs) more important than herself. (Philippians 2:3). She understands she is a bond-servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has no rights apart from Him. She prays she is wholly surrendered each moment of each day, so that He is free to love others through her.

We may not score a perfect 10 in all the above every day or hour. We will all fall short at times, for these are goals that can’t be done in our own strength alone. Our first step is trusting in God’s Spirit to come in and take over each day, step-by-step, and then we’ll begin to see and sense a deeper maturity in Christ, and our family will be blessed because of it.


building up

12:00 AM

Welcome to Scripture Saturday!

Today we are memorizing Jude 20 - 23. These verses will be our last for 2017.

But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Ladies, these verses show us what our charge should be here as members and followers of Women in the Word!

The first and most important thing Jude tells his readers to do is to build themselves up in the holy faith.  This is a command given to the members of the church corporately.  They are to build up the corporate body of Christ, which is God’s temple.  Being in a strong Christian community of faith lessens the enticement to follow false teaching or sinful lifestyles.  Women in the Word believes just that - women who come to a place to fellowship with other believers and commit to each other in Godly love.

Jude next implores them to pray in the Holy Spirit. As a community of Christ they are to develop a life constantly in communion with the Spirit through prayer.  This intimacy with the Spirit will guard them.  Here in Women in the Word we pray for each other - we share with one another our fears, desires, and failings. We are transparent with each other and pray for each other with commitment and fervor.

Jude tells his readers to keep themselves in the love of God.  As members of our Women in the Word we are keeping ourselves in Christ by reading, reflecting, journalling, and sharing our thoughts with each other.  By participating we are enabling and motivating to keep ourselves in the love of God.  We have hope that salvation awaits those who come to Him and keep themselves in the love of God.

Jude then tells his readers the attitude that (our) Christian community is to have towards those who are lost, those that may have followed false teachers.  Here in Women in the Word we understand that we all are the spokesmen through whom God works. We are to help those who are doubting and searching for the truth, being careful that false teaching does not hinder our own belief.

So, today, as Women who are in the Word, we acknowledge that we all need a vibrant, loving community grounded in the Word of God and filled with the Holy Spirit, hating sin, but pursuing lost sheep.

WitW will be traveling through the iWorship bible during 2018.  I will be posting a schedule of memory verses soon and the first verse of 2018 will be posted December 30, 2017! We here at WitW are confident that it will be another incredible year!

Have a blessed and precious day and Christmas everyone!