Choosing the Path of Wisdom - Life
The metaphor we have heard ‘life is a journey” is probably very familiar to each of us.
The bible frequently tells us to choose the right path, but the world we are in today leads us
To thinking that there are many ways to God, and that any path you follow will eventually get
You there.
Jesus made it very clear that in this life we can only go one of two ways, each of them lead to
A different destination.
Everyone must choose which path they will be on.
There is that open road, easy street, do whatever whenever however YOU want to do it
There is that narrow road which leads to life, you are a passenger allowing God to direct your path
There is no middle of the Road.
That narrow path, is salvation. Letting God control our life. Upon receiving Christ, we made our first step
In achieving wisdom. So first… you have to be saved to receive wisdom.
In the book of proverbs the words PATH and Way are found nearly 100 times.
Throughout the book of Proverbs we are going to look at Gods ways of showing us how to be wise, to
Have wisdom. Today we are going to look at what we need to do for wisdom.
Starting in Proverbs 2 we are going to look through the chapter and see what it tells us about receiving wisdom:
Read Proverbs 2: verse 1a “my son if you receive my words”
RECEIVE – (accept) Gods word
Proverbs 2:verse 1b “and treasure my commands within you”
Hide them, store them up in our minds and hearts
chp 2: verse2a “so that you incline your ear to hear wisdom”
Incline your ear, or develop and ‘ear’ for wisdom
Chp 2 verse 2B ‘and apply your heart to understanding’
Set your heart to get understanding
Chp 2 verse 3 ‘yes, if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding
Ask for it! Cry out for knowledge and understanding
Chp 2 verse 4 ‘ if you seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures..”
seek wisdom or search after it if it were a treasure
that last one…like a minor searches for gold…. Spiritual wisdom isn’t a once a week job
it requires discipline, commitment and longing for and its forever.
In the world we are in with habits of things that are time consuming, our spiritual
Appetite is poor which makes our knowledge unpleasant.
Studying the word of God, is food for our soul.
If we don’t we fall prey to enemy’s that lurk on the paths of our life. We have to do our
Part to keep our soul healthy. If we do our part God will keep His promise and protect us from
The enemy.
So why are we so eager and willing to work hard in getting our education and in our workplace but lack
Applying ourselves to Gods word? We have so much more to gain with spiritual riches than any class at
School or place of employment or even the money we make can ever give us.
So I would like each of you to ask yourself, is there something that you are devoting time to other than
God that is holding you away from receiving wisdom?
The next part of Proverbs 2, teaches us that there are rewards and promises for seeking wisdom
Look at verse 5a, “then you will understand the fear of The Lord”
understand the fear of the lord
Look at verse 5b, “and find the knowledge of God”
now this is not saying that you will know what God knows, because if that were the case then you
would be God. Its saying that you will gain better understanding of Gods plan. Remember,
the definition of knowledge is knowing the right thing to do or information of sound character
3. Look at verse 6, “for the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding”
-if we have more understanding of Gods plan that will make our decisions in life a lot more simple
We will be able to see things more clearly
Someone read verse 7
4 victory is in store for the upright
5 God will be a shield to anyone whose walk is blameless
Someone read verse 8
God guards and protects the faithful ones
Someone read verse 9 - you will understand what is right and just
Now verse 10 - wisdom will enter into your heart and knowledge pleasant to your soul
These words stress the internalization of wisdom. It doesn’t merely mean to provide knowledge it
Means to provide insight to be learned intimately and practiced. And it saying pleasant means you
Will have a fullness to your soul
Proverbs 3:
God tells us that when we are obiediant to his precepts wisdom will direct our paths
God keeps His promise when we are obeidiant because our obiediance prepares us to receive and enjoy what he has
Planned for us.
Our responsibilities are:
First To receive Gods guidance we have to keep Gods truth Read 3:1
Vs 1 tells us not to forget Gods law. Do you know what Gods law is? We learn Gods truth through His word
The will of God is revealed in the Word of God” Colossians 1:9-10
secondly Read Vs2-4 -not only are we to read Gods word we are to obey His word. By receiving the word within ourhearts we experience
Growth in godly character so that mercy truth love and faithfulness become part of who we are then we bear fruit (the reference
Tie them around our neck, if we wear something around our neck, who can see it? That shows other people we are of God without
them asking. Vs 3-4 tell us that if we do days will be added to our lives and we will have peace.
Read vs 5-8
Vs 5
Third we can trust-In verse 5 the word ‘trust’ translated means to lie helpless facedown.
The danger we face today is that we lean on our own understanding and miss Gods will
The warning mentioned in these verses isn’t telling us to turn off ourselves and ignore our
Common sense and intellegance its cautions us not to depend on our own wisdom and experience
It is also stressing the importance of obeidance.
Vs 6 – God is making us a promise of directing our paths if we obey Him, yes that promise
Is predicated on our obideance
*** this means to us we are to be totally committed to Him*** (See romans 12:1-2)))))))))))
It says by doing so we will have health and strength
Read vs 9-10
Fourthly- we are to honor the lord with tithes and offering just as has been done since the
First Hebrews giving the first crop
BY honoring God with our tithes and offering we will have the promise of plenty
Read vs 11-12
Fifth-be submissive to Gods chastening
Chastening is part of Gods plan to help His sons and daughters mature in godly character as it says in(hebrews 12:1-11))))))
God chastens us not as a judge punishing a criminal but as a parent disciping a child. HE acts in love and his purpose is that
We might become ‘partakers of his holiness’ ((Hebrews 12:10)))
Sometimes we are chastened because we have rebelled and need to repent, other times he does it to keep us from sinning
And preparing us for his special blessings. NO matter how much it hurts, it wil never harm us because God always chastens in love
As it tells us in Deuteronomy 8:2-5)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Intro to Proverbs - Sunday school lesson
Our Sunday School class, Women of Praise, we have started studying the book of Proverbs. I have typed up the lesson to share with all of you that are interested, but especially for the ladies that have had to miss. Reading a lesson on a blog page you do miss alot. But the Holy Spirit is still able to move. We serve one BIG GOD! Proverbs has been an eye opener for me. And to see the Holy Spirit working is humbling, to say the least.
Proverbs
Overview of where Proverbs came from:
King Soloman was the wisest man who ever lived. HE asked God for a discerning heart, and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and Gd granted his request. (1 Kings 3:9,12) Not only that but the Lord was so pleaszed with Solomans request that he also gave him riches and honor. So much that during his lifetime he had no equal.
One would think that the king who had everything, all the riches and fame one could possibly imagine would be on top of the world, all of the time. Yet, it is told in Ecclesiastes 2:11 that he was actually in much despair. King Solomans annual income was equivalent to $328 million in our day. And in addition to all of the he had the respect and admiration of the entire world. So how would he fall into an oppitamy of despair? The answer probably, he didn’t obey the Lord and he knew Gods word, but didn’t apply it.’’
Formula to wisdom:wisdom=knowledge + obiediance
Knowledge is knowing the right thing to do
Wisdom is actually doing it.
True wisdom is equal amounts of knowledge and obiediance.
Wisdom and Knowledge:
-we live in an information age, many people are wizards at computers first of all computers store data and obey signals.
They cannot give us the ability to use the knowledge in them wisely. Today we need wisdom. Proverbs is about godly wisdom, how to get it and how to use it. Its priorities and principles, not get rich quick schemes and success formulas.
Throughout the book of Proverbs, we will see the idea that not just obtaining more knowledge but CHOOSING to apply that knowledge in way to honor and please the Lord. True wisdom is seen through an obiedient life.
Soloman knew what he needed to to to polease the Lord because God have given him a wise and discerning heart. (1 Kings 3:12)
But he chose not to obey. That’s the difference between a follish person and a wise person. Fools blow off what they know they should do but a wise person turns knowledge into action.
Solomans sins:
He didn’t trust in the protection of the Lord
God forbide the kings of Isreal from accumulating horses and chariots because those could lead a king away from trusting solely in the Lord as his protector. (told in Deut 17:16) / Soloman hadx 4000 stalls for chariot horses + 12000 horses (1 Kings 4:26)
So instead of Soloman trusting in the Lord to protect him and his kingdom, he put his trust in himself and his army
He didn’t trust the promise of the Lord
-Soloman fortified a number of important cities he was building up a defensive perimeter around his kingdom to protect Jerusalem and all of his stuff. Soloman didn’t have any enemies, because God made a promise to his father David that during the reign of his son there would be peace (1 Chron 22:9)
* Solomon didn’t trust the promise of the Lord
3)He didn’t trust the provision of the Lord
-The Lord forbide the kings of Isreal to marry foreign women and amassing a large amount of wealth (deut 17:17), but Soloman over looked those as well he had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) he was very wealthy (ecclesiastes 2:8)
* again soloman did opposite of what the Lord instructed him to do
Solomon didn’t ‘practice what he preached’ these were not actions of a wise man applying his knowledge to a life of obiedence he foolishly trusted in himself. He suffered the consequences. We can learn from Solomon’s example and practice what he preached in the proverb and learn from his mistakes.
As born again believers we can be wise if we choose to obey The Word of God instead of ignoring it like King Soloman.
1.What is the major theme of Proverbs? WISDOM
*the words wise and wisdom are used at least 125 times in the book
*the book is to help us aquire and apply Gods wisdom to the decisions and activities of each day of our lives
*the Lord expects us to apply ourselves intellectually and do some serious thinking as we study His word. Matthew 22:37 “we should love the Lord with our minds as well as with our hearts and souls”
*God wants His children today to “walk carefully not as fools but as wise” Ephesians 5:15
*we need wisdom which is the ability to use knowledge. We have the competence to grasp the meaning of a situation and understand what to do and how to do it in the right way and time
*to the ancient jew, wisdom was much more than good advice or successful planning. Oncbibe it was put as ‘wisdom means being skillful and successful in ones relationship and responsibilities..observing and following the creators principles of order in the moral universe”
*biblical wisdom begins with a right relationship with the Lord and understanding that He has put within His creation divine order that if obeyed leads to success
*biblical wisdom has nothing to do with IQ or education – it has to do with character and values – looking at the world through the grid of Gods truth
*wisdom is isn’t something theoretical its practical and affects every area of life. It gives order and purpose to life, a discernment in decision making, and provides a sense of fulfillment in life to the glory of God.
*people with wisdom have the skill to face life honestly and courageously and to manage it successfully so that Gods purposes can be fulfilled in our lives
2.Who wrote this book?
In 1:1;10:1:25:1 we are told that King Soloman is the author of these proverbs, God had given him great wisdom and people came from the ends of the earth to listen to him. In his time he spoke 3000 proverbs, most of which are not included in this book. The holy spirit selected the proverbs that Gods people should learn and obey.
Other servants guided by Gods spirit were involved in the production of this book. 25:1 the men of Hezekiah, Agur the son of Jakeh, and King Lameul
3.What is the key verse that helps us unlock the message of the book? PROVERBS 1:7
“the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction’
(what does it mean to fear the lord? We acknowledge in our hearts that He is our creator, we are the creatures, he is the Father, we are His children, He is the master – we are the servants, it means respect God for who HE is listen carefully to what he says, and obey his word, know that our disobiediance is displeaszing to him, just like the respectful fear of a child before the parent.”
4.What does the book say about Jesus?
In Jesus Christ, ‘ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ Colossians 2:3.
And ‘HE is our wisdom’ 1 corinthians 1:24,30
Solomon was the wisest ruler who ever lived, yet Jesus Christ is greater than Soloman in both His wisdom and His wealth (Matt 12:42)
All of the qualities of wisdom described in Proverbs are seen in Jesus Christ, and His earthly walk is a pattern for Gods people to follow”(1 John 2:6)
5.What is the reason we have the book of Proverbs?
The divine reason for Proverbs is found in the last 7 verses of Ecclesiastes
-God will save all who take heed to what is recorded
There are 2 ways we can learn the emptiness of the world and the true character of sin
1st which is the most common way bny treading the thorny path each by out ownself
2nd the right way learn it all in His prescense accept His word and regard it {{regard means feeling of respect and affection}}
The Hebrew word for Proverb is mashal, which means a comparison.
We have to recognize that there are different literary forms of Proverbs
Cautionary advice or warning then its often followed by a motivational cause
Conveys consequences of action
Other times it may seem like a question with an answer response.
Either way it is meant to stimulate response and obedience.
When mentioning the study of proverbs I have heard it said that Proverbs is a manual for parents to teach their children.- yes this is correct, but let me ask you what is our relationship to our Heavenly Father? We are His children right? So that tells me that this is a manual for our actions. Proverbs tells us how to be wise, how not to be a fool, how to handle our money, raise our family, pretty much the handbook for life. I have often called it a parenting manual, it even tells how to pick your friends
Lets look on at Proverbs beginning Proverbs 1:1-4 ((( read)))))
There are 10 words repeated through scripture that we see in the KJV of this they all should be weighed heavily and looked at with precision.
Wisdom – mentioned in vs 2 is (ability to use knowledge) or exhibiting gods character in affairs of our lives
Instruction – in the same verse as well as in vs 3 ‘to teach by discipline’
Intelligence in vs 2 – ‘rendered understanding or discernment”
Understanding in vs 3d is conveys the the ability to grasp the truth
Righteousness in vs 3 refers to conduct or ‘right behavior’
Justice- ‘decisions or ability to try things that differ’
Equity refers to priciples rather than conduct ‘uprightness or moral integrity
Prudence – the kind of intelligence that sees the reason behind things
Knowledge is information of sound character
Discretion is thoughtfulness or the ability to devise wise plans after understanding a matter
In these 10 words we have the description of a well rounded character. The study and practice of Gods truth alone can produce it.
Lets look at vs 5-6
Readiness to learn is a characteristic of the truly wise
Vs 7
This is the key verse in proverbs it tells why its written to give us knowledge wisdom instruction understanding discretion learning ans counsel
Proverbs
Overview of where Proverbs came from:
King Soloman was the wisest man who ever lived. HE asked God for a discerning heart, and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong and Gd granted his request. (1 Kings 3:9,12) Not only that but the Lord was so pleaszed with Solomans request that he also gave him riches and honor. So much that during his lifetime he had no equal.
One would think that the king who had everything, all the riches and fame one could possibly imagine would be on top of the world, all of the time. Yet, it is told in Ecclesiastes 2:11 that he was actually in much despair. King Solomans annual income was equivalent to $328 million in our day. And in addition to all of the he had the respect and admiration of the entire world. So how would he fall into an oppitamy of despair? The answer probably, he didn’t obey the Lord and he knew Gods word, but didn’t apply it.’’
Formula to wisdom:wisdom=knowledge + obiediance
Knowledge is knowing the right thing to do
Wisdom is actually doing it.
True wisdom is equal amounts of knowledge and obiediance.
Wisdom and Knowledge:
-we live in an information age, many people are wizards at computers first of all computers store data and obey signals.
They cannot give us the ability to use the knowledge in them wisely. Today we need wisdom. Proverbs is about godly wisdom, how to get it and how to use it. Its priorities and principles, not get rich quick schemes and success formulas.
Throughout the book of Proverbs, we will see the idea that not just obtaining more knowledge but CHOOSING to apply that knowledge in way to honor and please the Lord. True wisdom is seen through an obiedient life.
Soloman knew what he needed to to to polease the Lord because God have given him a wise and discerning heart. (1 Kings 3:12)
But he chose not to obey. That’s the difference between a follish person and a wise person. Fools blow off what they know they should do but a wise person turns knowledge into action.
Solomans sins:
He didn’t trust in the protection of the Lord
God forbide the kings of Isreal from accumulating horses and chariots because those could lead a king away from trusting solely in the Lord as his protector. (told in Deut 17:16) / Soloman hadx 4000 stalls for chariot horses + 12000 horses (1 Kings 4:26)
So instead of Soloman trusting in the Lord to protect him and his kingdom, he put his trust in himself and his army
He didn’t trust the promise of the Lord
-Soloman fortified a number of important cities he was building up a defensive perimeter around his kingdom to protect Jerusalem and all of his stuff. Soloman didn’t have any enemies, because God made a promise to his father David that during the reign of his son there would be peace (1 Chron 22:9)
* Solomon didn’t trust the promise of the Lord
3)He didn’t trust the provision of the Lord
-The Lord forbide the kings of Isreal to marry foreign women and amassing a large amount of wealth (deut 17:17), but Soloman over looked those as well he had 700 royal wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) he was very wealthy (ecclesiastes 2:8)
* again soloman did opposite of what the Lord instructed him to do
Solomon didn’t ‘practice what he preached’ these were not actions of a wise man applying his knowledge to a life of obiedence he foolishly trusted in himself. He suffered the consequences. We can learn from Solomon’s example and practice what he preached in the proverb and learn from his mistakes.
As born again believers we can be wise if we choose to obey The Word of God instead of ignoring it like King Soloman.
1.What is the major theme of Proverbs? WISDOM
*the words wise and wisdom are used at least 125 times in the book
*the book is to help us aquire and apply Gods wisdom to the decisions and activities of each day of our lives
*the Lord expects us to apply ourselves intellectually and do some serious thinking as we study His word. Matthew 22:37 “we should love the Lord with our minds as well as with our hearts and souls”
*God wants His children today to “walk carefully not as fools but as wise” Ephesians 5:15
*we need wisdom which is the ability to use knowledge. We have the competence to grasp the meaning of a situation and understand what to do and how to do it in the right way and time
*to the ancient jew, wisdom was much more than good advice or successful planning. Oncbibe it was put as ‘wisdom means being skillful and successful in ones relationship and responsibilities..observing and following the creators principles of order in the moral universe”
*biblical wisdom begins with a right relationship with the Lord and understanding that He has put within His creation divine order that if obeyed leads to success
*biblical wisdom has nothing to do with IQ or education – it has to do with character and values – looking at the world through the grid of Gods truth
*wisdom is isn’t something theoretical its practical and affects every area of life. It gives order and purpose to life, a discernment in decision making, and provides a sense of fulfillment in life to the glory of God.
*people with wisdom have the skill to face life honestly and courageously and to manage it successfully so that Gods purposes can be fulfilled in our lives
2.Who wrote this book?
In 1:1;10:1:25:1 we are told that King Soloman is the author of these proverbs, God had given him great wisdom and people came from the ends of the earth to listen to him. In his time he spoke 3000 proverbs, most of which are not included in this book. The holy spirit selected the proverbs that Gods people should learn and obey.
Other servants guided by Gods spirit were involved in the production of this book. 25:1 the men of Hezekiah, Agur the son of Jakeh, and King Lameul
3.What is the key verse that helps us unlock the message of the book? PROVERBS 1:7
“the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction’
(what does it mean to fear the lord? We acknowledge in our hearts that He is our creator, we are the creatures, he is the Father, we are His children, He is the master – we are the servants, it means respect God for who HE is listen carefully to what he says, and obey his word, know that our disobiediance is displeaszing to him, just like the respectful fear of a child before the parent.”
4.What does the book say about Jesus?
In Jesus Christ, ‘ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ Colossians 2:3.
And ‘HE is our wisdom’ 1 corinthians 1:24,30
Solomon was the wisest ruler who ever lived, yet Jesus Christ is greater than Soloman in both His wisdom and His wealth (Matt 12:42)
All of the qualities of wisdom described in Proverbs are seen in Jesus Christ, and His earthly walk is a pattern for Gods people to follow”(1 John 2:6)
5.What is the reason we have the book of Proverbs?
The divine reason for Proverbs is found in the last 7 verses of Ecclesiastes
-God will save all who take heed to what is recorded
There are 2 ways we can learn the emptiness of the world and the true character of sin
1st which is the most common way bny treading the thorny path each by out ownself
2nd the right way learn it all in His prescense accept His word and regard it {{regard means feeling of respect and affection}}
The Hebrew word for Proverb is mashal, which means a comparison.
We have to recognize that there are different literary forms of Proverbs
Cautionary advice or warning then its often followed by a motivational cause
Conveys consequences of action
Other times it may seem like a question with an answer response.
Either way it is meant to stimulate response and obedience.
When mentioning the study of proverbs I have heard it said that Proverbs is a manual for parents to teach their children.- yes this is correct, but let me ask you what is our relationship to our Heavenly Father? We are His children right? So that tells me that this is a manual for our actions. Proverbs tells us how to be wise, how not to be a fool, how to handle our money, raise our family, pretty much the handbook for life. I have often called it a parenting manual, it even tells how to pick your friends
Lets look on at Proverbs beginning Proverbs 1:1-4 ((( read)))))
There are 10 words repeated through scripture that we see in the KJV of this they all should be weighed heavily and looked at with precision.
Wisdom – mentioned in vs 2 is (ability to use knowledge) or exhibiting gods character in affairs of our lives
Instruction – in the same verse as well as in vs 3 ‘to teach by discipline’
Intelligence in vs 2 – ‘rendered understanding or discernment”
Understanding in vs 3d is conveys the the ability to grasp the truth
Righteousness in vs 3 refers to conduct or ‘right behavior’
Justice- ‘decisions or ability to try things that differ’
Equity refers to priciples rather than conduct ‘uprightness or moral integrity
Prudence – the kind of intelligence that sees the reason behind things
Knowledge is information of sound character
Discretion is thoughtfulness or the ability to devise wise plans after understanding a matter
In these 10 words we have the description of a well rounded character. The study and practice of Gods truth alone can produce it.
Lets look at vs 5-6
Readiness to learn is a characteristic of the truly wise
Vs 7
This is the key verse in proverbs it tells why its written to give us knowledge wisdom instruction understanding discretion learning ans counsel
Monday, June 20, 2011
New Challenge for me as mom, schooling....whats a mom to do
Each day as a Mom, I enter new adventures, joys, and journies in life. The kids get bigger and I develop a new outlook on life. Which brings me to my new journey, which I am very eager to conquer.
My oldest, Sydney will be going into fourth grade and Jules first grade. I find myself asking how in the world could I have had two kids who look so much alike yet are t-totally different? Sydney, well she is just Sydney. She goes for comfort, more high strung, on the wild side, and is a follower. Jules on the other hand, is more of a fru-fru girlie girl, laid back but senstive, and is a leader.
Jules does very well in school, she loves to read and reads on a second grade level. Sydney on the other hand, has to work hard to stay caught up in reading yet in math, she whizzes through. Reading has been a struggle for her since Kindergarten, so knowing how she struggled I vowed that Jules would read before she started school, and she was. As we have went through these years throughout school working diligently year, after year it never got easier. THen I start reviewing cirriculam's that are used in school. The cirriculam that they use in school is considered spiral based learning. You are taught a new concept and then throughout the year they add to that concept. Well, if you dont get a grasp on the first concept how can you add to it? For most kiddos, they are able to simply learn and go on which has not been tha case for mine. We seen week by week that peers in school, just arent what they were like back in the day. Kids today are around much different in the aspect they are expected to 'grow up' act grown up, get there now, work harder, do it faster, do it better. Their little lives are very stressful.That doesnt even touch the surface of what children are exposed to in this big ugly world. And what do we have to look forward to ?? MIddle School! Ick! I have dreaded it for my children, almost since I was there!!! I hated it! What is a mother to do???
After prayer, for an extended amount of time.. here was my answer
Isaiah 54:13-14 "all your children should be taught by The Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established youshall be far from oppresion for you shall not fear"
Ok Lord, I understand, and I understand that my children dont recieve anytype of biblical education in school because of the seperation of church and state. I am worried, that I cannot provide them quality education and christian education is expensive and would require like 3 hours driving per day.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 "and these words I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall team them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up"
Then.. Lord I kinda get what you are getting at but, I would be minority, society doesnt view homeschooling well, wouldnt they be behind socially, what about ball games prom...blah blah blah
and then.. Romans 12:2 "do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God"
and then... Yes, Lord. I will.
I have been called to homeschool my girls. Not everyone is called to do this. And its not for everyone. But, I have. I am nervous, anxious, excited, scared, and still joyful for the opprotunity its alot of mixed emotion.
Its so hard in todays world, to find the balance. I am humbled that Gods sees my capability and desires me to be the one to provide for these precious girls he has leant me. And I will do my very best to provide what God wants, until HE sees fit for something different.
Its offical, not only am I a stay at home mommy but Beginning August 2011, a homeschooling mom,
My oldest, Sydney will be going into fourth grade and Jules first grade. I find myself asking how in the world could I have had two kids who look so much alike yet are t-totally different? Sydney, well she is just Sydney. She goes for comfort, more high strung, on the wild side, and is a follower. Jules on the other hand, is more of a fru-fru girlie girl, laid back but senstive, and is a leader.
Jules does very well in school, she loves to read and reads on a second grade level. Sydney on the other hand, has to work hard to stay caught up in reading yet in math, she whizzes through. Reading has been a struggle for her since Kindergarten, so knowing how she struggled I vowed that Jules would read before she started school, and she was. As we have went through these years throughout school working diligently year, after year it never got easier. THen I start reviewing cirriculam's that are used in school. The cirriculam that they use in school is considered spiral based learning. You are taught a new concept and then throughout the year they add to that concept. Well, if you dont get a grasp on the first concept how can you add to it? For most kiddos, they are able to simply learn and go on which has not been tha case for mine. We seen week by week that peers in school, just arent what they were like back in the day. Kids today are around much different in the aspect they are expected to 'grow up' act grown up, get there now, work harder, do it faster, do it better. Their little lives are very stressful.That doesnt even touch the surface of what children are exposed to in this big ugly world. And what do we have to look forward to ?? MIddle School! Ick! I have dreaded it for my children, almost since I was there!!! I hated it! What is a mother to do???
After prayer, for an extended amount of time.. here was my answer
Isaiah 54:13-14 "all your children should be taught by The Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established youshall be far from oppresion for you shall not fear"
Ok Lord, I understand, and I understand that my children dont recieve anytype of biblical education in school because of the seperation of church and state. I am worried, that I cannot provide them quality education and christian education is expensive and would require like 3 hours driving per day.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 "and these words I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall team them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up"
Then.. Lord I kinda get what you are getting at but, I would be minority, society doesnt view homeschooling well, wouldnt they be behind socially, what about ball games prom...blah blah blah
and then.. Romans 12:2 "do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God"
and then... Yes, Lord. I will.
I have been called to homeschool my girls. Not everyone is called to do this. And its not for everyone. But, I have. I am nervous, anxious, excited, scared, and still joyful for the opprotunity its alot of mixed emotion.
Its so hard in todays world, to find the balance. I am humbled that Gods sees my capability and desires me to be the one to provide for these precious girls he has leant me. And I will do my very best to provide what God wants, until HE sees fit for something different.
Its offical, not only am I a stay at home mommy but Beginning August 2011, a homeschooling mom,
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Hinderences and Desires - The enemy called contentment
Ever had expectations in your life and it just didnt quite turn out the way you wanted it to? From a Christian aspect, we have fallen into a spiritually low state. Its so sad to see countries around the world in hiding, being persecuted for worshiping and praising The King. And here we are, free Americans free to worship praise and proclaim the truth, but do we?
God is telling us that we need to examine ourselves and find what is hindering our lives and put our confidence in the blood of Jesus. THere are obstacles holding us back and once we find what those are we have to move forward and live out our faith in Christ.
Our big enemy is contentment.
One of the big milk companies make capital of the fact that their cows are all satisfied with their lot in life. What is a virtue in a cow, can be a vice to us.
In Phillipians, Paul professed that he had learned to be content with such earthly things as it fell into his lot. That is something else from being content with his spiritual attainments., With these he specifically declared he was not satisfied. (Phillipians 3:13-14)
Contentment with earthly goods is the mark of a saint. Contentment within our spiritual lives is a mark of inward blindness. Our greatest fears as a Christian, is religous complacency. Which is one who believes he has arrived at a certain place spiritually and will not go any further, from this persons standpoint it would be foolish to do so. Believing that we have arrived and we have not.
Psalm 123 " To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold as the eyes of the servant look to their master, as the eyes the eyes of a maid to the hands of her mistress, so our eyes will look to the Lord our God until He is gracious to us, be gracious to us Lord, be gracious to us, for we are greatly filled with contempt our soul is greatly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud"
- see what the Psalmist is saying about being proud..
Have you ever met someone who quoted text, to prove they have arrived, when the havent...its dangerous to simply 'quote' text. Satan knows the text too, we must make sured that we read the text, know the text, and apply the text to our lives.
Our desires control our thinking, thoughts, and fears. We are the sum of our hungers. So what are some of your desires? A million bucks, a new house, a new companion, your happily ever after? Lets take a different approach to our desires, are they effected by peer influences like my friend has.. my neighbor got.. or maybe our social habits, reading habits or even personal habits we have. Pray about these. Let God expose your desires.
Psalms 42:1-2 "as a dear pants for the water brooks, my soul pants for you Oh God My soul thirst for God, for The Living God, when shall I come and appear before God?"
The Psalmist in these verses show that their longing all but consumed them! Longing for God that is. THeir longing propelled them onward and upward to new heights which alot of Christians only entertain the thought of having and doing, thinking they will never reach it. We as Chrisitans have fallen into a spiritually low state, with minimal spiritual desire. Alot of us rarely reveal any passion or thirst for God. We fear extremes and shy away from too much 'religion' as if its even possible to have 'too much religion' faith or holiness.
On occaision we see that one, that is cheered by the discovery of a saint willing and ready to sacrifice everything, for the mere joy of experiencing God in increasing intimacy with GOd. If this is you, You go girl/boy!
we cannot under rate anything God has done for us! we have to be thankful for everything, but we cannot stop there! PRess on! Press into the deep things of GOd. Insist on tasting the mystery of redemption. We have to keep our feet on the ground but let our hearts soar as high as it will, as scripture so beautifully puts mount up on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31) We have to refuse to be average! Refuse to surrender to our enviornment!
Most everyone, desires change, made over into something they desire to be, how easy in our walk to take for granted that things should be changed but dont want to work for the change. THink of an athelete going to the Olympics. are they going to have a steak dinner with fries and top off with a funnel cake for dessert every day? Go out for a night of fun before the big day? NO. THey work hard, running, working out, eating right, getting the right amount of sleep put everything into a gold, silver, or maybe a bronze. So our life, Spiritual Olympics if you will, first requires us to be totally transformed in order to run a race like this, where are you today in your spiritual olympics? Romans 12:2 the message to each of us not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we can prove the will of God which is good and acceptable and perfect'
conforming to ourselves, leads to tragedy. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us we must have help from outside the self from above to escape sinful nature.
Lets look at faith-
Our faith in GOd is only as consoling as far as we trust Him. The truth is we have to allow faith to intrude our lives, shift our gaze away from our own self, our worldly desires. No its not easy. It can actually be disturbing, uncomfortable, even painful.
Authentic faith begins with understanding our place in Gods thinking.
Psalms 8:4 & Hebrews 2:6 .. hmm.. another one of those verses repeated in the Word. "what is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"
- this is not an academic question, its not for sake of argument, it is an explination. The 'thought', or to be mindful of implies man is a fixture of Gods mind and comes to His rememberences continuously, constantly. Gods love for us us a hurt for HIm, He is deeply wounded by our sin, our bad decisions. Continually, constantly never sleeping He is always with us.
1 Samuel 20:3b 'but truly as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death'
--only a step away from death...Christian faith isnt so much what we say we believe but we have to live it, consistantly, for we are a step away from death.
2 Corinthians 3:18 expains that All things begin in God and end in God Time, space, matter life it moves from God (creation) and returns back to Him (death)
we have to open our eys to see whatever does not begin in and end with God is not worth our attention. Any intrest that does not gave God in it, is an enemy. We were created for God, in His image, we are to serve Him worship Him, admire and enjoy Him. Look at Adam, the result of the fall of man. Ended up just as Adam planned huh... no not quite.
Think of God as a sculpter, our life as the art. God chips away everything that is not part of the image of Christ, so that Christ can be revealed. We are to be Christ like, Hebrews 6:1 ' go on unto perfection'
God will stop nothing short of His will. It can be difficult. Help yourself, save yourself troubles, heartace - chip away imperfections, shed them.
It seems that at times we go through any length to get what we want. We cant get a job, we long for a companion, the doctors cant help us, whatever it may be isnt this precisely the reason we fear to desire. Life is hard enough as it is but to think that GOd himself is working against what we want... JOb 10:3 JOb cried out ' what do you gain by oppressing me? YOu hunt me down like a lion and display your awesome power against me" See .. even then the same desires existed. We live in a broken world, broken people, a lot of our heartache comes from these things we have to understand we cant arrange life the way 'we'want it no matter how hard we try, we just cant.
Isaiah 57:10 "you were wearied by all your ways but you would not say it is hopeless, you found renewal of your strenth and so you did not faint''
Psalm 131:2 ' I have stilled and quited your soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me' ---what a beautiful picture of contentness, no fussing, no tears, she just learned to..wait.
The time has come for us to stop playing games, we cannot win we are just delaying victory.
THere are 2 types of losses in life,
1: losses in which we have no control over - we cant determine when they happen, or how all we can control is our reaction to them.
2: chosen loss or spiritual surrender
I dont know what God is speaking to your heart about, in order for us to find that quiet contented soul we have to .. surrender all.
God is telling us that we need to examine ourselves and find what is hindering our lives and put our confidence in the blood of Jesus. THere are obstacles holding us back and once we find what those are we have to move forward and live out our faith in Christ.
Our big enemy is contentment.
One of the big milk companies make capital of the fact that their cows are all satisfied with their lot in life. What is a virtue in a cow, can be a vice to us.
In Phillipians, Paul professed that he had learned to be content with such earthly things as it fell into his lot. That is something else from being content with his spiritual attainments., With these he specifically declared he was not satisfied. (Phillipians 3:13-14)
Contentment with earthly goods is the mark of a saint. Contentment within our spiritual lives is a mark of inward blindness. Our greatest fears as a Christian, is religous complacency. Which is one who believes he has arrived at a certain place spiritually and will not go any further, from this persons standpoint it would be foolish to do so. Believing that we have arrived and we have not.
Psalm 123 " To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold as the eyes of the servant look to their master, as the eyes the eyes of a maid to the hands of her mistress, so our eyes will look to the Lord our God until He is gracious to us, be gracious to us Lord, be gracious to us, for we are greatly filled with contempt our soul is greatly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud"
- see what the Psalmist is saying about being proud..
Have you ever met someone who quoted text, to prove they have arrived, when the havent...its dangerous to simply 'quote' text. Satan knows the text too, we must make sured that we read the text, know the text, and apply the text to our lives.
Our desires control our thinking, thoughts, and fears. We are the sum of our hungers. So what are some of your desires? A million bucks, a new house, a new companion, your happily ever after? Lets take a different approach to our desires, are they effected by peer influences like my friend has.. my neighbor got.. or maybe our social habits, reading habits or even personal habits we have. Pray about these. Let God expose your desires.
Psalms 42:1-2 "as a dear pants for the water brooks, my soul pants for you Oh God My soul thirst for God, for The Living God, when shall I come and appear before God?"
The Psalmist in these verses show that their longing all but consumed them! Longing for God that is. THeir longing propelled them onward and upward to new heights which alot of Christians only entertain the thought of having and doing, thinking they will never reach it. We as Chrisitans have fallen into a spiritually low state, with minimal spiritual desire. Alot of us rarely reveal any passion or thirst for God. We fear extremes and shy away from too much 'religion' as if its even possible to have 'too much religion' faith or holiness.
On occaision we see that one, that is cheered by the discovery of a saint willing and ready to sacrifice everything, for the mere joy of experiencing God in increasing intimacy with GOd. If this is you, You go girl/boy!
we cannot under rate anything God has done for us! we have to be thankful for everything, but we cannot stop there! PRess on! Press into the deep things of GOd. Insist on tasting the mystery of redemption. We have to keep our feet on the ground but let our hearts soar as high as it will, as scripture so beautifully puts mount up on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31) We have to refuse to be average! Refuse to surrender to our enviornment!
Most everyone, desires change, made over into something they desire to be, how easy in our walk to take for granted that things should be changed but dont want to work for the change. THink of an athelete going to the Olympics. are they going to have a steak dinner with fries and top off with a funnel cake for dessert every day? Go out for a night of fun before the big day? NO. THey work hard, running, working out, eating right, getting the right amount of sleep put everything into a gold, silver, or maybe a bronze. So our life, Spiritual Olympics if you will, first requires us to be totally transformed in order to run a race like this, where are you today in your spiritual olympics? Romans 12:2 the message to each of us not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of our mind, so that we can prove the will of God which is good and acceptable and perfect'
conforming to ourselves, leads to tragedy. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us we must have help from outside the self from above to escape sinful nature.
Lets look at faith-
Our faith in GOd is only as consoling as far as we trust Him. The truth is we have to allow faith to intrude our lives, shift our gaze away from our own self, our worldly desires. No its not easy. It can actually be disturbing, uncomfortable, even painful.
Authentic faith begins with understanding our place in Gods thinking.
Psalms 8:4 & Hebrews 2:6 .. hmm.. another one of those verses repeated in the Word. "what is man that you take thought of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"
- this is not an academic question, its not for sake of argument, it is an explination. The 'thought', or to be mindful of implies man is a fixture of Gods mind and comes to His rememberences continuously, constantly. Gods love for us us a hurt for HIm, He is deeply wounded by our sin, our bad decisions. Continually, constantly never sleeping He is always with us.
1 Samuel 20:3b 'but truly as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is hardly a step between me and death'
--only a step away from death...Christian faith isnt so much what we say we believe but we have to live it, consistantly, for we are a step away from death.
2 Corinthians 3:18 expains that All things begin in God and end in God Time, space, matter life it moves from God (creation) and returns back to Him (death)
we have to open our eys to see whatever does not begin in and end with God is not worth our attention. Any intrest that does not gave God in it, is an enemy. We were created for God, in His image, we are to serve Him worship Him, admire and enjoy Him. Look at Adam, the result of the fall of man. Ended up just as Adam planned huh... no not quite.
Think of God as a sculpter, our life as the art. God chips away everything that is not part of the image of Christ, so that Christ can be revealed. We are to be Christ like, Hebrews 6:1 ' go on unto perfection'
God will stop nothing short of His will. It can be difficult. Help yourself, save yourself troubles, heartace - chip away imperfections, shed them.
It seems that at times we go through any length to get what we want. We cant get a job, we long for a companion, the doctors cant help us, whatever it may be isnt this precisely the reason we fear to desire. Life is hard enough as it is but to think that GOd himself is working against what we want... JOb 10:3 JOb cried out ' what do you gain by oppressing me? YOu hunt me down like a lion and display your awesome power against me" See .. even then the same desires existed. We live in a broken world, broken people, a lot of our heartache comes from these things we have to understand we cant arrange life the way 'we'want it no matter how hard we try, we just cant.
Isaiah 57:10 "you were wearied by all your ways but you would not say it is hopeless, you found renewal of your strenth and so you did not faint''
Psalm 131:2 ' I have stilled and quited your soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me' ---what a beautiful picture of contentness, no fussing, no tears, she just learned to..wait.
The time has come for us to stop playing games, we cannot win we are just delaying victory.
THere are 2 types of losses in life,
1: losses in which we have no control over - we cant determine when they happen, or how all we can control is our reaction to them.
2: chosen loss or spiritual surrender
I dont know what God is speaking to your heart about, in order for us to find that quiet contented soul we have to .. surrender all.
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