2020 Women in the Word

The Study of Lois and Eunice

10:00 AM

 


Our verse for this week is 3 John 1:4,"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth."

Hi Girls, 

Lois and her daughter Eunice were early Christian converts. It seems the two lived together with Eunice’s son Timothy. Not much is ever mentioned about Timothy’s father but it is assumed he was not a follower of Jesus. 

Reading from 2 Timothy 1: 5 and 3:14 -15 it appears that Lois passed down her faith to her daughter Eunice who in turn gave it to her son Timothy. The Bible doesn't give us much information about these two women; we're going to have to read between the lines a bit, but I still believe there is much we can learn from them; especially when it comes to the roll of motherhood. 

You can read about Eunice and Lois in:

2 Timothy 1:15

2 Timothy 3:14-15

 Acts 16:1

As always our themes for the week will be:

  • Monday: Her story--a portrait of her life
  • Tuesday: Her life and times--background information about the culture of her day
  • Wednesday: Her legacy in Scripture
  • Thursday: Her promise--the Bible promises that apply to her life and yours
  • Friday: Her legacy of prayer--and praying in light of her story

We want to also encourage you to be thinking along these lines as you study Eunice and Lois throughout the week. Ask yourself:


  • What life lessons stand out to me from her life?
  • How does the culture of that day have an impact on her circumstances?
  • What stands out as her legacy ?
  • What's the greatest takeaway/promise from her story?
  • How does her story prompt you in the area of prayer?
All for now! 
I hope you are just as excited as we are to begin this week's study on the life of Eunice and her mother Lois! 

We'll see you in the morning! 

Blessings!

sue

children

Extraordinary Mission {Deuteronomy 4:32 - 6:25}

12:30 AM


We live ordinary lives, but we are on an extraordinary mission.  As a parent, we have a lot on our shoulders and children should never be thought of as a nice addition to our lives.  They are a blessing from God and they are only in our lives for a moment.

To my children:  I want to apologize for not teaching you to value God.  Please forgive me.  I cannot change your life, but I plead with you to fear God and put Him first in your life.

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I have not been a perfect, God-fearing parent.  I haven’t always placed God first in my life.  I have struggled with who I am and whose I am and didn’t find the truth for a long time.  I have struggled with guilt and shame for the majority of my life for not following the “right” way, but praise the Lord, His grace and mercy are great and He leads me on the path of righteousness.

Deuteronomy 6 is the best parenting handbook we can find and you can now toss out all the other parenting books you received when your children were born and settle down here and take notes.

We are to teach our children the truth about God.  “Hear O Israel.  The LORD is our God, the Lord alone.” (6:4). There is only one God and He has revealed Himself to us.  We cannot make Him up to be whatever we want Him to be.  It seems every generation wants to redefine God in a way they think is appropriate for them.  There’s always something about Him they want to change.  And so I ask you, does that offend you?  Do His commandments seem to narrow for you?

We are to teach our children to love God.  “And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.”  (6:5).  We are to teach our children to delight in nothing more than God.  Not money, fame , us – nothing.

We are to teach our children to trust God.  “Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with amazing power.  Before our eyes the LORD did miraculous signs and wonders, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people.  He brought us out of Egypt so He could give us this land He had solemnly promised to give our ancestors.”  (6:21-23).  We need to teach our children that God is trustworthy and that He keeps His promises.

We are to teach our children to fear God.  “And the LORD our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear Him for our own prosperity and well-being, as is now the case.”  (6:24).  This is not a fear like a scary monster, but it’s how we recognize how essential God is for our own good (…for our own prosperity and well-being…).  We need to teach our children to recognize the value of God in our lives and to take precaution to not do anything to break or damage it.

We are to teach our children the gospel.  “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these stipulations, laws, and regulations that the LORD our God has given us?” (6:20-21)  We are to teach our children that we obey God because He has given Himself to us.  This is how we learn to love and trust and value Him.  When we see His part in our lives is for our good, we learn to fear Him in the right way.  Our children’s relationship with God is our primary responsibility.  Their relationship with us is secondary.

How do we teach these things?  One way is through deliberate saturation.  “Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.  Tie them to your hands as a reminder, and wear them on your forehead.  Write them on the door posts of your house and on your gate.”  (6:7-9)  I want to share some points I discovered while I researched this; the average child spends 25 minutes per week with their dad; 25 hours in front of the TV; and 50 hours at school, and many times that is in a public school where the educators may or may not fear God.  In other words, take responsibility for what your kids are learning.  We need to mark our homes as God’s territory.  You can do that by listening to Christian music and messages while your children are home with you or when you are riding in the car.  Pay attention to the TV and movies, and video games they are playing.  Use opportunities wisely.  Did you know that less than 10% of the population reads the bible with their kids or participate in bible study? 

Another way is to prioritize God’s community.  I know many parents want their kids to be involved in extracurricular activities because they believe it will help them get into college.  But don’t you care more about where your kid will spend eternity than where they go to college?  Remember, they will look like their community.  So you, as their parent, must arrange their priorities and make God the center of their lives.

The second way we can teach our children is through first-hand testimony.  ““In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these stipulations, laws, and regulations that the LORD our God has given us? Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with amazing power.  Before our eyes the LORD did miraculous signs and wonders, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people.  He brought us out of Egypt so He could give us this land He had solemnly promised to give our ancestors.”  (6:20-23).  When your children ask you, you need to tell them of your experiences – there is no substitute for first-hand testimony.  What matters to you, will matter to your children.  What you love – they will learn to love.  If you delight in God, then they will.  If you make God your most valuable possession, they will learn that. 

Your children will see how excited you get when you get a new car, than what we do about ministry.  They will see how excited you get for a vacation than for people coming to Christ.  They will see how easily you skip church and God’s community.  They see how little we do in ministry.  They see what we love.  If we don’t delight in God, they won’t delight in Him either. 

Do you kids know that you delight in God?  That you see Him as more desirable than any other thing?  Do they see you seek Him on a day-by-day basis?  Do they hear you talk about Him?  Do you demonstrate a first-hand fear of God?  A respect and awe of God that’s shown in how you obey?  Do you present yourself consistently as under His authority?  Do you confess your sins to your children?  Showing them that you are not God.  And that you are just like them – we are both under the authority of God.  Can you tell stories about how you trust God?  The ways that He has provided for you?  Your kids can see that.  They will become what you are.

I began this post with an apology to my children because I was not the example I wish I could have been.  I knew I wanted my children to grow up in a Christian environment and I chose to send them to a Christian school.  My public school upbringing simply left me with too many questions and led me into a lot of trouble.  Their education challenged me over and over because I was not equipped with biblical answers.  I felt like I learned right alongside of them.  And it was tough.  The pull of the world was always tugging at me, yet I wanted to see God through child-like eyes.  Over and over I prayed and the scales slowly fell from my eyes. 

Our children are fighting for their lives and despite our lack of godly knowledge, we can begin today to teach and encourage them to be godly children and swim upstream and go against the flow of society and follow Jesus.

We have to remember that we are all on this journey, and we are at different phases/places of this journey.  Please don’t get discouraged with why your child(ren) aren’t understanding God’s ways.  He’s working in them just as He’s working in you.  Be the Christ-like example of love and mercy, and He will give you grace.

1 John

Ramblings from a Grateful Heart on this Thanksgiving Eve {1John 3)

12:00 AM



On this Thanksgiving Eve here in America, I found I couldn’t move past the first verse of the chapter!
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not.” 1 John 3:1

The apostle John has always been my favorite of Jesus’ disciples, for I love that in John’s gospel he always refers to himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved”. I can’t prove it, but I tend to think Jesus loved all the disciples, but the fact that Jesus loved him was  all consuming to John and all that mattered to him in terms of his identity! Can you relate?
The Strong’s Concordance defines the word, “behold” as a Greek imperative meaning – literally, "Be sure to see . . . !," i.e. "Don't miss this! It is an observable, objective fact!"
Can you see how important it was to John that you and I grasp how much the Father loves us? John is calling us to turn our attention to something extraordinary in his mind! "John is utterly spellbound in holy awe. “Behold,the love of the Father.” This was something that the apostle could not get over and he never will. Eternity will not exhaust its marvel.” - John Murray


Look and See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. —1 John 3:1-2

There are very few places in the Old Testament where God is referred to as Father. Jesus radically changed that when He came, by speaking of God as, “My Father,” “Our Father,” and “Your heavenly Father.” And John is desperate for us to grasps the manner of love the Father has “bestowed” on us, for when we do, it will change everything!

We worship a God who adopts His enemies through the sacrifice of His Son!  A God who makes us His children at the price of His only begotten. Can you imagine such a love!? That’s how much He loves YOU. It's overwhelming and awe inspiring! And John stands breathless in awe of this incredible truth. “Behold, what manner of love the Father has given to us that we, we should be called children of God.” 

For, the Father’s love is the highest form of love; a devoted love as of a father for his child.  It’s a love that looks beyond our past with all its mistakes and failures.  It looks beyond our present faults and weaknesses!  It sees the potential in all of us as to what we can become with God’s help.  It sees in us what we can do when we put our lives into His hands and let Him shape us into His image.  
What manner of love is this?  It is a love that claims us as a true daughter/son, as one of the family, even as a soul worth dying for.

I remember as a young Christian, I had a hard time calling The Lord Jesus, my Friend. I could call Him, Lord, God, Savior, but Friend seemed so foreign that I actually prayed and asked Him to help me be able to call Him, "Friend"! Has that ever happened to you? Up until that time, my view of God had been of a righteous Judge! One to be feared and revered, but as I drew closer to The Lord (James 4:7-10; 1Pet 5:6-8) and as He began to reveal more and more of Himself to me (Phil 3:8,10), it really wasn’t long at all that one day, as I was praying I whispered, “...my Friend”. I can still remember the moment and the joy that filled my heart! It was in becoming more and more deeply and intimately acquainted with all He is that caused my love to grow and our relationship to deepen.  It seemed so trivial then, to share that moment with anyone else, but this is exactly what John is trying to convey here in this chapter!! For I believe John already understands that when we truly grasps the depths of God's love for us, constant sinners, that, this will be what will motivate us not only to obey and follow the Lord, but to turn and lavish His love on others as well!

Jesus told us, “If you love Me, you’ll keep my commands.  And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever—  the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for he lives with you and will be in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” - John 14:15-18

He also gave us a new command,


We know that God’s love (1 Cor 13) is not a feeling, but has always been active! It’s been proven time and time again by actions, which is precisely what John is pointing out in this chapter. He draws a line in the sand with those who are children of God on one side and those of the devil (3:8) on the other, and he exhorts those that are His to actively be about demonstrating the love that dwells within each of us!
And what better time to be reminded of these truth than on the eve of Thanksgiving; the day we set aside to give God thanks for all He has given to us!?
O Father, Please help us to continue to marvel over how amazing Your love for us is!! May we never loose sight of the depth of Your love for each one of us!! And may it cause us to love You all the more abundantly, so that it will begin to spill over unto others around us! 
If we could only grasps how deep and wide Your love is for each one of us today, I do believe we could hugely impact this world all for Your glory, honor and praise!! Amen

2 Thessalonians

Teaching Our Young to Stand on Thier Own {2 Thessalonians 1}

10:00 PM

Paul writes this second letter to the church at Thessalonica shortly after his first. His reason for writing once more is to encourage the Thessalonian believers to stand firm in their faith in the midst of fierce persecution, which got me thinking… shouldn’t we be doing the same today? After all, Christians are hated, persecuted, even martyred more today than in the First Century and it’s only growing worse. Are we preparing our children, grandchildren and young believers to face such opposition? Are we teaching them how to walk so closely to the Lord that they will be able to stand firm in their faith when the trials come?  

Paul begins his letter by expressing a need to pray and give thanks for the believers there in Thessalonica, “We ought always and indeed are morally obligated to give thanks to God for you…”(1:3)    And then closes the chapter with a prayer for them, “ With this in view, we constantly pray for you, that our God will count you worthy of your calling [to faith] and with [His] power fulfill every desire for goodness, and complete [your] every work of faith,  so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the [precious] grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” (1:11-12)

How is your prayer life? I know we often say we will pray, we should pray, but are we taking the time to pray for others; especially for our loved ones, as well as our own needs? I became curious, and discovered through my research, that Paul prays 42 times in his epistles. No doubt about it, Paul was a man of prayer, who not only prayed himself, but encouraged others to as well. Why is it many of us struggle to pass along a legacy of prayer?

Paul, himself has admitted prayer is warfare (2 Cor 10:3-5; Eph 6:10-20), and we know our enemy will do all he can to keep us from praying, but sometimes I think we tend to over complicate the simple act of prayer.

Take for example just the name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush - YHWH - actually denotes breathing sounds in the Hebrew language. Linguists call them aspirate consonants. If you try to pronounce the name without the vowels, one simply breathes. So, every time we breathe in (YH) and breathe out (WH), we are speaking the name of God. (Try it) Every time we breathe, YHWH all of us; believers and skeptics alike are actually speaking the name of our God, the One who is the Breathe of Life.  

The highest name of our God is the sound of our breathing. Calling on our Lord is just a breath away! Here’s a little of what Scripture has to say about breath:
  •  “Cease to trust in [weak, frail, and dying] man, whose breath is in his nostrils [for so short a time]; in what sense can he be counted as having intrinsic worth?” -Isaiah 2:22
  • “[It is] the Spirit of God that made me, and the breath of the Almighty that gives me life”. -Job 33:4

Knowing this, can you see how sometimes man seems to complicate thing?

I learned these truths right about the time my son went off to school for the first time. He had a very sweet teacher, who was in her first year of teaching. The trouble was, she tended to allow the class to get out of control and then she began raising her voice to try to bring the children back under control. My son was not used to “a yeller”, as he called her, and began to get anxious the moment the class started getting chaotic. As he described it, he wanted to, “run out of the room and not stop running until he made it home”. Somehow, I had to help him at six years old to sit tight, and call on Jesus when the class got out of control and he began to grow anxious. 

The first thing I did was to pull out my Amplified Bible. It’s now referred to the Classic Amplified Bible and I highly recommend every home have one and here’s why:

Here’s Hebrews 2:18 in the English Standard Version, “ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

Here’s the same verse my son read in the Amplified Bible,
   
For because He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried), He is able [immediately] to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to suffering]. Hebrews 2:18 (AMPC emphasis mine)

I explained to him that God had a purpose for him in that classroom! He needed him to be an intercessor to help keep the class from getting out of control. I then referred him to God’s name, YHWH and that he didn’t have to go into a posture of prayer, or even pray a long prayer; all he needed to do was call out to Him with a deep breath and a whisper, and ask His help referring to Heb 2:18. I convinced him to go back to school the next day and give it a try, and you can bet I was praying throughout the day as well, until he returned home, and I'll never forget our conversation once he made it home:

Me: “So, how did your day go today? Did the class get chaotic again?”
JD (eyes growing bigger): “Yep!”
Me: “Did the teacher start yelling?”
JD, (Nodding): “Oh ya!”
Me: “Did you pray?”
JD: “Yep, just like you told me.”
Me: “Well, what happened!!?” (not being able to stand the suspense any longer!)
JD: “Jesus came running to the rescue, Mom! Just like the verse says! The class all of a sudden started quieting down!”

That day, not only did Jesus start to become more than someone JD learned about in Sunday School, but he also learned that the words in the Bible are true and can be trusted! And today, that little guy has four of his own children, and is doing a far better job than his mom at teaching his children how to stand on their own!

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Hi Everyone!
If you enjoyed this post I'd like to personally invite you to join me and a wonderful, eclectic group of women from all over the world on a Facebook site we call, Women in the Word . We are currently traveling through the entire New Testament - one chapter a day! It has been such an incredibly journey which we want to share with you! So, if you've ever wanted to know more of what God's Word has to say about everything, and meet and make new friends from all over the world, come join us by clicking on this link . 
There will always be someone there to welcome you! Oh! And please feel free to invite others!
God bless you,
sue