Wisdom in Our Integrity (Week 3 recap)

This past Sunday we covered quite a few chapters as we had no class on July 4th. I hope everyone had a great holiday! Thank you Lord for the freedoms in our country and for having your hand on it's inception!

Since we had a break, here are a few "class reminders":  1) Remember to be in touch with your accountability group every week by email, phone or snail mail. 2) Remember to journal...this will be wonderful for getting your thoughts down on paper NOW as you are reading. Jot down any verses that speak to you (many will!) and also jot down your thoughts, prayers, petitions to God about those passages in your journal. When you go back and read them later, it will be interesting to see what you said then and what you think presently when you re-read Proverbs, which I hope you will do time and time again! 3) Remember to pick out a verse or passage that is particularly special to you and MEMORIZE IT. We will recite these to each other in accountability groups each week, so the verse(s) you memorize will change weekly and should come from the current reading for the week. This way you can have 9 passages memorized over the course of our class. 4) Remember to designate a section of your journal or create a new book to serve as your Scripture Resource. Determine the titles that are accurate to the various passages you're reading, then jot down passages that relate to that title on that page in your journal. For example, this week I highlighted that Prv. 6:1-5 speaks to NOT becoming a co-signer for anyone on a loan. This clearly speaks to "financial wisdom", so on your journal page titled "Financial Wisdom", list this passage and a brief synopsis or description: "don't co-sign on a loan". Continue to do this with as many passages as you can, especially with those passages that speak to you, and you will develop a great reference of Scripture when issues arise. For more detail see paragraph 5 of the blog "Class 1 Recap" posting.

Sunday night we reviewed Proverbs 5-9 and discussed "Wisdom in Sexual Integrity" and "Wisdom in Relational Integrity." Chapters 5-7 have Solomon discussing the dangers of adultery and the lure of the harlot. He pleads to the reader to "drink water from your own cistern...let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth" in 5:15a, 18. In other words keep sex within your marriage and do not stray from it. Stay sexually pure before and during marriage so as to bring glory to God with how He designed marriage to be. We can all succumb to wandering eyes and impure thoughts. That's part of our sin-nature from birth. Work on keeping those eyes straight ahead (4:25) and guard your thoughts, what you see, what you say, what you do. Remember the little kids song "Be careful little eyes what you see"? Each verse of that song speaks about those body parts we mentioned last week that can bring sin into our hearts, minds, and lives. Yes we're all grown up now, but do not forsake the teachings of your youth. Those childhood lessons, songs, etc. still have application today for us as adults. We want to be sure to have integrity with our sexuality, whether married or single, and not end up like the harlot described in Chapter 7. Once we start sliding on the slippery slope of sex before marriage or entertain thoughts of another other than our own husband...we are in trouble! Pray, pray, then PRAY some more, seek counseling and accountability, and most importantly get into God's Word so as to flee from the temptation before you. If you have fallen into this sin of adultery or pre-martial sex, you can be redeemed! Amen, thank you Jesus! Repent, seek reconciliation, and move forward. A great book I highly recommended on Sunday, especially for married couples but also great for singles,  is "His Needs, Her Needs" by Williard F. Harley. Check it out! (FYI--Details on the sexual needs of men and women are given.)

Chapter 6:16-19 speaks of the 7 things the Lord hates and finds an abomination. These are strong words and should be taken as such! This key passage shows us what to avoid in order to have relational integrity.  Use the armor of God and the fruit of the Spirit (see Week 2 Recap) to prevent yourself from having 1) a proud/haughty look, 2) a lying tongue, 3) hands that shed innocent blood, 4) a heart that devises wicked plans, 5) feet swift in running to evil, 6) a false witness who speaks lies, and 7) a person who sow discord among brethren (i.e. fellow Christians male and female). Avoid these abominations by praying on the armor of God DAILY so as to protect yourself. In addition, remember the fruit of the Spirit? We all have each of the 9 descriptors of the "fruit" in us, if we are Christians, thanks to the Holy Spirit. We must practice the "fruit" in our lives and in the areas we are weak, we must work on them in order to have the self-control (#9) to remain pure and to maintain our integrity. We also should practice Godly holiness by watching our speech, attire, even our body language. Seek to be above reproach in your daily walk and life. In doing so, you won't be perfect every day but you will become more and more like Jesus and THAT is the goal of our Christian journey!

Chapters 8-9 focus again on wisdom with a comparison of wisdom vs. folly in Chapter 9. In 9:10 we see a correlation to our key verse in the book of Proverbs (1:7):  "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." I don't know about you but this consistency is really driving home for me the importance of a personal relationship with Christ and how that is the bull's eye on the "wisdom target" sort of speak. Wisdom is critical in enabling us as Christian women to gain sexual and relational integrity.

Introduction to Proverbs (Class 1 Recap)

I am so glad for such a great turn out our first night of class! We had 26 ladies (including myself). I am also excited about those who will be taking our class "online" via the blog. We can have interaction online by posting "comments" below (available at the end of each blog post). I'm thankful for this tool because friends, family and sisters in Christ from out of state and all over the world can join this class. For those who miss a class, this is a great way to stay in the loop and jump in with us at the next class meeting. So now...here's the recap:

First and most importantly we have to begin any study of Scripture with a baseline understanding: The Bible is GOD'S WORD. It is TRUE and WITHOUT ERROR. If we do not agree with those statements fully and completely then we can pick and choose what we believe the Bible says and what is true and/or applicable to our lives. This would be wrong and would lead us astray as Satan would love to see happen. NO...We MUST start HERE with faith and trust in the Bible being GOD'S WORD and that it is COMPLETE and ABSOLUTE TRUTH...and IS applicable to our lives everyday and in every way! (2 Tim. 3:16)

As we begin our study in the book of Proverbs, notice that this book is written in a different form than most of the other books of the Bible. These are a collection of "wise sayings" (primary written and collected by Solomon, but also has contributions from other "wise men": Prv.22:17, 24:23, including Agur: Prv. 30 and King Lemuel: Prv. 31; and additional compilation by Hezekiah's men: Prv. 25). These "wise sayings", known as Proverbs, are to be read individually, meaning in the sections or segments the publisher has broken the Scriptures out into visually, sometimes with headings. For example, my Bible has Chapter 1 separated like this: 'The beginning of knowledge' v. 1-7, 'Shun evil counsel' v. 8-19, then 'The call of Wisdom' v.20-33. Some Bibles do not have that type-facing, but most do. Try to use one that does and a translation that is easy for you to read and comprehend. I personally enjoy the New King James Version, New American Standard Bible and the New International Version. A study Bible is an excellent resource and/or one with cross-references of Scripture in the margins is great too. These tools will enhance your study but are not required.

As we move through our study of Proverbs, our goal is to read the proverb (be it one verse or a grouping of verses that are related), then to meditate upon that section (meditate = ponder, pray over, reflect on), then journal any thoughts, prayers, insights, or questions you have of this section of text. Then read the next proverb and follow the same steps. You may get through a whole chapter in one study time or it may take 2-3 study times to cover one chapter. Try to allot a minimum of 15 minutes at a time to allow for the reading, meditation and journaling of a proverb or two. You may have several times a day you can do this...GREAT! You may have a bigger block of time, an hour or more, that you can do this in...WONDERFUL! The goal is to take your time, take time with God during the course of this study and to do something daily. Remember the more YOU put into this study the more you will get out of it!

In addition to reading and journaling with this study, we are also focusing on Scripture memory and developing a Scripture resource for future reference. Scripture memory: Each person will recite their chosen proverb they memorized to their accountability group weekly. Each week this will change. Be sure to pick a proverb (one verse or a few verses) that has impacted you. Some helpful hints for memorizing Scripture is to use a dry erase marker and write it on your bathroom mirror so you see and recite it multiple times a day. Write it and post it on note cards, in your car, at your desk, wherever you will see it. Practice saying it out loud with your eyes closed, have your family or friends help you with memorizing your chosen proverb. Scripture reference resource: As you are journaling, consider categories of wisdom each proverb you read may fall under. In the back of your journal or in another notebook, write at the top of each page the category title (for example: Godly wisdom, Marital wisdom, Financial wisdom, Parenting wisdom, Practical or Social wisdom, etc. the possibilities can be whatever you want them to be). Then as you read a proverb that speaks to that category, jot that chapter and verse down, maybe your own thoughts on that category page. This way when you, or a friend, encounter a trial in one of these areas you can quickly find what God's Word says about that area. When we encounter hard times, sometimes Scripture recall is a challenge. My goal by incorporating Scripture memory and this Scripture resource, plus God's Word (of course), in this class is that you will be more empowered to defend yourself against the attacks of the devil and be encouraged by God's Holy Word!

This past Sunday in class we memorized, as a class, Proverbs 1:7: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (NKJV) This verse encompasses the theme and purpose of the book of Proverbs. The author here, Solomon, feared God AND asked for wisdom (1 Kings 3:3-14). As fallen creation we cannot possibly know God, much less His wisdom, without His help. James 1:5a reminds us: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God..." (read through v.6 for full effect!). We too need to ask God to open our eyes, ears, hearts and minds to the truths of His Word as we study. 'Fear of the Lord' is seen not only as 'reverence' but also as 'trust in' the Lord. HE will guide and direct us (Prv. 3:5-6) IF we trust in Him, and allow Him, to do so. We can have all the head smarts and even "know" what Scripture says, but without a personal relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit's dwelling within us that guides and directs our study, it will be in vain. If you have more questions about having or developing your personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please see me, call me, email me and I will be glad to share more with you!

The next part of v.7 speaks of wisdom and instruction. These two attributes go hand in hand. One commentary mirrors wisdom to skill and instruction to discipline. Wisdom is the ability to live life skillfully and that skill is perfected with discipline (instruction). Wisdom and instruction impart moral discernment and develop mental perception. As we learn as grow in the fear of the Lord, and in turn in knowledge, wisdom and instruction will display themselves as 'practical righteousness' in all areas of our lives.

That's it for the recap. On Sunday we will delve into Chapers 1-4. I hope to see you then! Remember, if you haven't already, be sure to contact your accountability partners to see how their week is going and to hold each other accountable with your study and Scripture memory.