A Committed Woman - Who Can Find?

Have you been looking for a guide book for successful living? Are you wondering where you can find practical advice on issues such as work, money, temptation, discipline, parenting, etc? Have you looked at the book of Proverbs? Proverbs does not have a specific story line - it's simply a collection of practical tips for daily living. A proverb is described as a brief statement that offers a meaningful observation.

Written mostly by King Solomon, during his early reign, Proverbs' theme is practical wisdom. Knowledge is good, but there's a big difference between "knowledge" (having facts) and "wisdom" (applying those facts to life). We may gain all the knowledge available to us, but without wisdom, it is useless. We must learn how to live out what we know.

How can we look at the book of Proverbs and not take a peek into the most avoided and sometimes dreaded chapter by women - Proverbs 31. Unfortunately this chapter has been used by many as a measuring stick to the "virtuous-ness" of Christian women. What I want us to look at today is her wisdom and commitment and see how we compare with these more reasonable and attainable virtues! If you are not familiar with this passage, please take a minute to read verses 10-31 of Proverbs 31. Be reminded that this is advice from a mother to her son on what kind of woman he should look for in a wife.

* She is committed to her husband and marriage (31:11-12,23). She showed wisdom by respecting her husband and his position. Her husband in turn appreicated her and had full confidence in her. If you are married, does this describe your relationship?

* She is committed to her work (31:13-14,16,24). This woman is described as being a manufacturer, importer, manager, realtor, farmer, seamstress, upholsterer and merchant! Are you committed to the jobs you have inside and outside the home?

* She is committed to her family (31:15,21,28). Seeing that their needs are met is one of her highest priorities. Where does your family rank in the things you value?

* She is committed to time management (31:17-18,27). She uses her time wisely and makes the most of her day - not falling into the trap of idleness. How are you managing your time - wisely or wastefully?

* She is committed to helping others (31:20). She is concerned with the needs of others. She manages her time well in meeting the needs of her family and work, that she has opportunity to reach out to the less fortunate. What are you doing to help others? Are you even aware of the needs of those around you?

* She is committed to her well-being (31:22,25). She knows it's important to take care of herself as well as others. Are you too busy taking care of others that you are neglecting your own health and well-being?

* She is committed to her spiritual growth (31:26). Not only does she care for her physical health, she takes time to gain knowledge and turn that into wisdom. She chooses her words wisely and knows what words to say, when to say them and how they will be most beneficial to others. Are you gaining spiritual knowledge and applying it to your everyday life?

* She is committed to her God (31: 29-31). She is a woman who "fears the Lord" by showing God respect, honor, obedience and love by the way she lives her life. They praise her in the city gate, not for her beauty and charm, but for her faithfulness to her God. Are others praising you for the things you do or for the woman you are?

Proverbs 31 opens with the question - a woman of noble character who can find? Her worth is far above rubies. Is that your goal today - to be a woman of noble character? A woman, regardless of your age or stage of life, who is loved, respected and honored by those who know you? I hope so! Learn the valuable knowledge from God's Word and apply it as wisdom to your life today!

BLOG COMMENT: How are you doing with your Word for the Year? See if you can find some words of wisdom from Proverbs that you can claim to help you continue to strengthen this area of your life. Share with us your insights!

Psalms of Praise!

As we continue our look at Psalms, let's focus on prayer. Many of the Psalms can be described as song-prayers with the most striking feature being their unedited honesty. God wants our openness, honesty and sincerity when we pray to Him. He's not afraid of our emotions and wants us to share our fears and frustrations, doubts and delights and our needs and not-so-pretty feelings with Him! By making the psalms our prayers we can learn a great deal about how God wants us to communicate with Him.

Do you know the shortest chapter of the Bible is Psalm 117 with only two verses. It is also the exact middle of the Bible with 594 chapters before it and 594 chapters after it...just a bit of trivia for you! Even though it only has two verses, it says a great deal about praising God: Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples. For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Have you ever said, "I can't think of anything God has done for me. How can I praise Him?" This psalm gives two reasons for praising God:

1) His great love toward us - the world; the ungrateful, the unworthy, and undeserving us. How great was His love - so great that He chose to send His only Son to die on the cruel cross for our sins (John 3:16). Romans 5:8 reminds us that.."God demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This fact alone should be enough for us to praise Him! I challenge you to read Psalm 136 if you need reminding that not only is God's love for us great, it also endures forever.

2) His faithfulness also endures forever. Can we say that about ourselves? When we get hurt or offended, ignored or rejected, someone sits in our seat or takes our parking spot at church, do we remain faithful? How silly that sounds, but how many people have moved on to another place of worship because of weak-faith (fulness)? Just think if God gave up on us as easily as we give up on others? We'd clearly all be left in the dust!

Take time this week to read some of the psalms of praise - here's a few to get you started: 8, 97, 100, 103, 107, 113, 145 and 150.

One of my favorite old hymns is Great Is Thy Faithfulness by Thomas O. Chisholm (1923). If you know it, sing it as a prayer back to God today. If you're not familar with it, here it is:

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father; There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not; As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed Thy hand hath provided; Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest. Sun, moon and stars in their courses above. Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth. Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!Great is Thy faithfulness!Morning by morning new mercies I see.All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

BLOG COMMENT: Share with us your favorite psalm of praise and how you are able to turn it into a prayer of praise back to God.

Songs of Joy

This week we start the book of Psalms. The 150 individual psalms cover the poetic expressions of human and religious feeling and are divided into five books. They consist of a wide variety of styles, purposes and emotions, such as lament, thanksgiving, praise, worship, pilgrimage, petition and penitence.

The theme of Psalms is praise and worship. David, the author of 73 of the 150 psalms, shares with us his love and ever deepening relationship with God through his writings. He is a song-writer and provides for us a model of praise and worship.

Today let's look at one of David's songs - Psalm 65. It's theme is because God provides abundantly, we can be thankful to Him for His many blessings. Here's Psalm 65:5-8:

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.

God blesses us so we may:

1) Bless others - Proverbs 3:27 tells us - "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act."

2) Tell others - People are more open to listening to the Gospel if you can share a real-life experience of how God has blessed you. Not necessarily in terms of money and material things, but in the everyday things that matter most.

3) Bless Him - Our songs of joy are a sweet sound to God's ears - day and night (v. 8).

Here's a great devotional from the book Heaven Calling: "The work of an artist always points back to its creator. Do you remember the last breathtaking sunset you watched? I (God) shared it with you because I love you. The beauty you see in the sky, or the sea, or the forest, or across the plain - all of it points to me. Every good thing in this world is designed to praise me. Even the rocks testify of my works.

Child, the witness of the world around you affirms that I love your worship in any form - your songs, your gratitude, your talents and treasures, even your stumbling words of praise and your sighs of amazement when words fail. In heaven's language, a sigh can be high praise when my Spirit inspires you.

Take time to look around, beloved. Let the beauty of my creation bring forth songs of joy from your heart and life!"

When's the last time you truly worshiped God with songs of joy? You put aside your "to-do" list for God and just praised Him for who is He, what He's done and what He continues to do for and in you.

BLOG COMMENT: The most well-known psalm of praise is Psalm 100. Take time this week to read, reflect and then respond. Share with us a praise or two back to God for His goodness, His faithfulness and His abundant blessings.

Why Me Lord?

Have you asked this question lately? Has something happened in your life that is causing you to second guess God's goodness, fairness and love? Do you believe you are somehow being punished by God through a time of unexplainable suffering?

Job is said to be the oldest book in the Bible. It's theme is blessings through suffering and gives us insight into the work of Satan. Job is living his life as a godly and upright man when disaster strikes. Unbeknown to Job, God has allowed Satan to take away Job's wealth, family and health. Satan believes that if the things Job values most are taken away, he will surely curse God. He even goes to the extent to infer that God would not have any followers if He did not reward them!

The basic question is not, "Why do godly people suffer?" but, "Is our God worthy of our worship and service or must He "buy" us with His blessings?" Life is good when God is "blessing" us with good health, wealth and comfort, but throw in an inconvenience and misfortune and we start to question, "Why me?" "What have I done to deserve this treatment?" "If you are a loving God, why do you let your people suffer?"

Trouble isn't always a sign of sin in a person's life. It may well be something that God allows to draw us closer to Him. As we see calamity and suffering in the life of Job, others and ourselves, we must remember we live in a fallen world where good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior is not always punished. There is some suffering that will never be understood or explained. Only God can see the big picture and the future and knows what needs to be done in order for His will to be accomplished.

Let's look at some ways suffering can actually be helpful and beneficial:

• When we turn to God for understanding, endurance and deliverance.
• When we ask important questions we might not take time to think about in our normal routine.
• When we are prepared by it to identify with and comfort others who suffer.
• When we are open to being helped by others who are obeying God.
• When we are ready to learn from a trustworthy God.
• When we realize we can identify with what Christ suffered on the cross for us.
• When we are sensitized to the amount of suffering in the world.

Job was rewarded for his integrity and came out of his suffering experience grasping a greater understanding of God's majesty, sovereignty and independence and was able to see himself as God saw him. God restored his health, gave him another family and made him wealthier than before.

Here's a great reminder of who God is from the devotional, Heaven Calling.....

" My child, here is a truth to bring you some measure of relief from the pressure of your day: you are not God! I say that because I want to take the burden off your shoulders. You don't have to make everything in your world work according to your plans. If you simply let go and rest in me, I'll take care to make everything work according to my plans.

My love for you is greater and deeper than you will ever understand. So are my wisdom and power. As with my servant, Job, I welcome your questions, your sorrows, your requests, and above all, your burdens. I will walk with you each day of your life, and through the difficult times in particular, because I love you. And because I am God. Your God."

BLOG QUESTION: What are your thoughts on the statement - "God would not have any followers if He did not reward them?"