Good day, ladies! Let's begin today's study with prayer.....
Father in heaven, I pray that you will once again bless us through the reading and studying of Your word today. I pray that You will speak to us through Your word and cleanse us from our sins. Conviction of sin is hard for us, Lord, because we know that our sin keeps us away from You. Please cleanse us this day and restore us. Please create in us a renewed and steadfast spirit.
I pray that today's lesson will be a blessing for the ladies whom You have brought here to this study. Give me the passages You want them to know and treasure in their hearts that we might not sin against You.
In Jesus' name, Amen."
Our passage today is Prov. 31:10- :
10Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies
I remember well the day Princess Diana died. She died on my mother-in-law's birthday. I remember watching CNN all night and reading the ticker announcing Diana had succumb to her injuries from the night before. My first thoughts were for her two sons since I knew she was so very close to them.
It is hard to believe that was 10 years ago this summer.
I really loved Princess Diana. I saw her wedding and then I watched her funeral all on television. She was only 36 years old. One thing that will forever stay with me about Princess Diana was that she had no self worth most of her adult life. She was only beginning to understand that being a mother was the most important role when her life ended. It was sad watching her self destruct during her marriage to the Prince. Seeing her weight fluctuate and her sad eyes all over the tabloids was painful to see.
It is hard to see a beautiful young woman not know her self worth.
How many of us go through the same thing or know someone who is? Not knowing our worth can lead us to depression and sorrow as we try to find it in this material world.
God knows this and that is why He gave us a way to Him. He knows that understanding who He is just so happens to be the best thing for us.
Do you know your worth? Are you trying to find your worth in this material world?
Perhaps you are a Christian woman who has forgotten who you are and what you are worth. I know I did many times in my Christian walk. I walked in a sinful state for 3 years because I had forgotten who I was in Christ. It is easy to do when you allow sin to rule your life.
Please read the following verses:
It would be wise to write theses verses down or type them out and place them where you can read them everyday. Try to memorize them. I try to so that I won't forget who I am in Christ.
Matt 5:13 Matt 5:14
John 1:12 John 15:1,5 John 15:15
Romans 6:22 Romans 8:17
1 Cor 3:16 1 Cor 6:19 2 Cor 5:17
Gal 4:6,7
Eph 2:6 Eph. 2:10
Phil 3:20
Col 3:12, 13
1 Thess 1:4
Heb 3:14
1 Pet 2:9,10
1 John 5:18
Now, because you are in Christ, all these characteristics above are true of you. Remembering who you are in Christ Jesus will give you a more productive and meaningful life since all the above are eternal. Jesus is eternal.
Please read 1 John 2:16
The world is temporal. All in the world is passing away so that is why we only get temporary pleasure in the things of the world.
I love decorating my house. It is fun to watch decorating shows on TV and dream of re-decorating my house. In our last house, I spent hundreds of dollars on decorating and gardening. It was a lovely house, too, and my backyard was like a park. But because I filled my house and my life with material things of this world, it was never enough.
My husband and I got into financial trouble and had to sell our house to pay off debt. Now, some other woman is enjoying all the things of that house. She gets to enjoy all that I worked for.
If I had invested all that money instead, I'd have something to show for it. That's what happens when you put your heart into temporal things: you are left wanting and feeling empty. Satan knows this. God does too.
Our loving Father has provided a way to Him and that way leads to LIFE. Eternal life. Forever.
Now, I'm not saying decorating your house is a sin! What I am saying is that trying to fill your empty life with material things ins't going to work. Putting material things above the things of God, like I did, is sin.
When we forget who we are, then we begin to believe the lies of Satan. And that is sin. Are you believing his lies today? If so, confess now before the Lord.
That is why it is so important to think on what is true:
Please read Phil 4:8
What comes to mind when you read this verse?
Is this verse describing someone?
Who is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good repute, has virtue, and is praiseworthy?
When my son was little, like most new moms, I used to lie in bed and worry about him sleeping in the next room. What if someone broke through the window and kidnapped him while I slept? What if I never saw him again? My heart would race as I mentally pictured the scene.
Then the Holy Spirit would bring Phil. 4:8 to my mind and I would hear the soothing and soft voice: Ruth, what is the TRUTH? Your son is sleeping peacefully in the next room. Meditate on the TRUTH. I would feel the peace ease my mind with this thought.
Then I would fall asleep only to awaken to my son's sweet face the next day.
Notice the verse in Proverbs doesn't say that the Virtuous Wife's worth was equal to rubies. It says her worth was "far above rubies."
Your worth is far above rubies too.
Your worth is far above the material things of this world. Your worth is part of the eternal now through Christ.
Always remember who you are in Christ!
Please read the following verses:
Rom 5:1 Rom 6:1-6 Rom 8:1
1 Cor 1:30 1 Cor 2:16
1 Cor 6:19, 20 2 Cor 5:14, 15
Gal 2:20
Eph 1:4
Col 1:13
I still get saddened when I see photos of Princess Diana and I cried when I watched the film, The Queen, which was about the week of Diana's death. I cried not because she is gone, but because I am almost sure she never knew Christ as her Savior. She left this world not knowing her worth.
Elizabeth George wrote:
"Afterall, the God who loves us is at work within us to make us the women He would have us to be, women who love Him with our mind as well as our heart" (Loving God With All Your Mind, 1994, p. 15).
Remember your worth and tell a younger woman this week what she is worth today.
May the Lord bless you and keep you until next time......
3 comments:
It is interesting when you look at "worth" biblically and what the world tries to deem as being "worthy". From the study, our worth is in Christ. The world tries to tell us (esp. women) that our "worth" is in how young, pretty, thin, successful, witty and/or how wealthy we are. But the truth of the matter is that these things that the world says makes up our "worth" are temporary. We become old, looks fade, weight changes, success can be sabotaged, the mind can slow and money burns a hole in our pockets. All these things are so fleeting. Solomon knew this best when he describes these fleeting things as "vanities" in the book of Ecclesiastes. Praise God that our worth is in Jesus Christ, who is worthy and eternal and unchanging and worth all of our praise and love.
Yes. Praise to God indeed for providing us the Way to Him.
testing
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