Practical Wisdom

 

    It takes wisdom to make a marriage work.  Men need to provide for the family, but a woman needs to work.  Her work brings her praise.  It makes her family look good.  It should be a reminder of who God is and how He provides.

    Wisdom works with righteous.  Righteousness needs to be pursued.  How can you pursue righteousness?  Righteousness comes with salvation and submitting to God's authority.  The contrast is foolishness.  You either pursue a relationship with God or you do not.  

    By nature people are adulterous to God.  People struggle with lust, are seduced, charmed by smooth talk, and can be easily led astray.  It takes work, time, and the Holy Spirit to change human nature into righteousness.  If we never give up our human nature, then it will lead us to an unnatural death.

    Pursue wisdom that comes from God through salvation.  It will give you a good reputation.  It honors God as you become more like Jesus.  Wisdom begins with fearing God and grows in Jesus providing fulfillment in life.  

    Everyone needs God's wisdom.  God's way is truth.  You can trust where He leads you.  You can trust everything about God.  His work is what makes life good.  If you find yourself stumbling or getting off track, then turn back to Jesus.  Jesus has always been selfless.  He will get you back where you need to be.

Proverbs 7:6-27, 31, Ecclesiastes 7:1-14, 1 Corinthians 3:18-23, & James 1:5-8, 3:13-18

Surrender to Marriage

 

    If you want a good marriage, then you have to surrender having everything done your way.  You first learn how to surrender by surrendering your life to God through Jesus.  Then when you get married, surrendering to your spouse is not so hard.  The reward is that you will have a family that honors God and a good reputation among your peers.

    When the wife surrenders to her husband, she will have praise from her family.  She is a good role model for women.  A Godly husband will value her and give her security.  Her character becomes his his holy pride.  

    A submissive wife will teach her children how to be a part of a family and what their roles will be when it is time for them to get married.  She teaches her children how to honor, respect, and love people like Jesus did.  She fears God enough to praise what He has done in her life.

    It is more important to be submissive to God and your husband than it is to be beautiful or charming.  It will give a woman confidence in God's favor.  She will carry her self in that assurance while praising God along the way.  Being loved makes her strong enough to keep pressing forward and encouraging others along the way.

Proverbs 19:20-23, 31, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Matthew 19:4-6, Ephesians 4:31-32, 5:21-33, Colossians 3:18-19, & 2 Timothy 1:16-18

Marriage Wisdom

 

    Marriage is a covenant in which you give yourself over to for life.  It is where a man and a woman unite together as one to commit to the covenant with God in holy matrimony.  Marriage is a ministry in how God can mold two different people unto a strong unite.  It doesn't come naturally, but if you do it with your focus on God, then it will change you for the better.

    Do not be afraid of marriage.  Allow it to give you security in the fact that God will provide.  Prepare for the hard times because they will come.  Work hard to make sure that your family is taken care of.  Hold onto the joy of being a part of something so beautiful and precious.

    A Godly wife is a benefit to her husband.  She enhances his reputation if he is a Godly man.  Her attitude and actions will make him thrive to be a better man.  She honors him with respect that draws respect from other people too.  She knows how to allow him to be in the spotlight instead of always taking the spotlight for herself.  In return she will be loved and provided for.

    Wisdom in marriage teaches you kindness instead of being nice.  It gives you hope for your future.  It provides peace in the moment.  Forgive one another and overlook what annoys or irritates you.  It is not worth messing up the relationship.  Instead focus on living together in harmony.  This is a relationship united and sealed by God in love.

    If you are not certain about these facts, then do not enter into marriage.  A marriage not blessed by God is the worst torment you can put yourself through in life.  If you are not ready to put your spouse above everyone else, then do not get married.

Genesis 2:21-25, Proverbs 5 & 31, Matthew 19:1-12, Ephesians 5:21-33, Colossians 3:12-17, & 1 Peter 4:7-9

Selfless Marriage

 

    God is creative.  He made each and every one of us unique, but the same.  He made us where we can survive almost anything, but we still need other people.  He designed people to need companionship.  Families are meant to the be foundation of society and it all starts with the marriage.

    A man and a woman unite in marriage and become one.  The strength of that one united with God is not easily broken compared to someone on their own.  Marriage is needed to be stronger in this world.  God works in different relationships and seasons, but ultimately he always wanted us to have the strength of a marriage united by Him.

    God brings lives together.  Satan works to tear them apart.  No relationship is meaningless.  They all hold a purpose.  God will allow unhealthy relationships to happen to try to bring people back to Him.  We have free will, so the people we have in our lives are the people that we chose to allow into our lives.  If they are not people that you want in your life, then you have to take accountability and remove them.

    Marriage is not like other relationships.  It is a selfless and caring relationship.  The wife should be the crown on her husband's head.  She should favor her husband over other men.  Marriage requires prudence.  A wife needs to be faithful in all things.  She should be dignified, precious, and a priority to her Godly husband.

    If a husbands has confidence in his wife, then it is a blessing to him.  In return, he needs to take care of her willingly.  Together they should work together in life with willing hands.  That means taking care of all of the needs that the other has without resentment, anger, or frustration.  Choose to love each other selflessly.

Proverbs 12:1-4, 18:22-24, 19:12-14, 31, Mark 10:41-45, Romans 12:10, Ephesians 4:31-32, & Colossians 3:12-15

Wisdom for Women

 

    Lemuel is credited for Proverbs 31.  It is a chapter designated for women.  Lemuel's mother advises him to be devoted to God.  She taught him how to be a leader and how to treat women, but he also held the responsibility to look for a certain type of woman.  This chapter is about the type of wife any man should seek to have a happy and successful marriage.

    It is the responsibility of the father to teach their sons how to be a God fearing man.  They teach their daughters what to expect in a man that they date and hopefully will marry one day.  The mother teaches her sons what to expect in a marriage from the wife.  She teaches her daughters how to be that woman that a man can take pride in their character more than their surface beauty.  Our values shape the person we become and the spouse that we will be.

    The values you find in Proverbs 31 are in acrostic format.  That means that each letter has a meaning.  In Hebrew it makes a lot more sense than when translated into English, but the value of the words are still there.  It comes down to the attributes of the culture of the time, but still apply today.

    The structure is chiastic.  That is parallelism.  The top connects with the bottom with the same thought.  For an example verse 10 connects with verse 31, 11 with 30, and so on.  This proves how much thought went into these versus.  Each one holds powerful wisdom for women and men.  

    The crux is that the husband is known with honor because of his wife.  A woman should expect a man to take care of her, but in return she needs to bring him respect and prestige by her appearance, behavior, and stature.  

    All the attributes of a wife reflect on the husband.  If the husband does not treat his wife with respect, honor, and love, then it can be harder for the wife to be the woman that she needs to be.  Marriage is a conventical partnership where the man and woman need to be working together for the same goal and not working against each other for their own self-interest.

Psalm 46, Proverbs 31, Luke 1:42-45, Titus 2:3-5, & James 3:17-18

Is God's Word True?

 

    God's Word is the true Bible.  It is holy and powerful.  It gives life instruction, shows the need for God, it reveals power and love.  You know that God's Word is true through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.  You know that he will return for a different reason one day because it is promised.  Jesus is the revelation of truth.

    The old testament supports the new testament.  The new testament brings the old testament to life by making things clear.  Together they are the sealed standard and doctrine of God.  Together they prove that God's Word is true.  They affirm each other.  Nothing has stood the test of time like God's Word.

    If you believe in God's Word, then you have faith in Jesus.  That means you have been saved.  Once you are saved, the Holy Spirit comes in to live in your heart.  He is your stamp of approval for being adopted by God as one of His.  Once you are saved, then nothing can take that away from you.  

    You learn, accept, and grow all this in God's Word.  God's Word transcends time, generations, cultures, or anything else that may try to take away the truth.  It is consistent and available to anyone who wants it.  

    Some cultures may make it difficult, but God is stronger than man's will.  He will find a way to people if they want Him.  He has written the truth and if you beleive in the truth, then you are made holy.  Anyone who tries to change or add to it will be proven false and judged by God.

Proverbs 30:5-6, John 14:6-7, 17:13-19, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, Hebrews 1:1-4, 4:12-13, & Jude 3-4

God's Word: the Shield

 

    God's Word provides all the protection you need in this world.  Without God's Word, we could not have faith.  God warned people not to add to or change His Word.  He had it written and spoke just the way it needs to be.  There are serious consequences to go against God.  His warning comes with consequences: plagues.

      Do not judge or add a condition onto people.  God's laws and ways bring life to people.  It is other people that add to it that makes life hard.  If you make another person's life harder, then you can't judge if they do not act the way you think they should.  Do not humanize to rationalize sin.  If you go against God's Word, then you are sinning.

    Put yourself under God's control,  Anything else is you trying to control God's plan.  It never works and you waste a lot of energy in the process.  Make plans and give them over to God.  Go along with the plan until God gives you new direction.  He will not bless those who sit and wait for everything to come to them. 

    God does not change.  You are the one that will change.  If you change to become more like Jesus, then God gives you a life with fuller meaning and reveals additional truth to you.  To have God's wisdom is to have profound insight.  He does not need you to speak for Him, but He chooses you to do so for your benefit or to benefit someone else more.  You are meant to be a tool for unity, not division.

    God's revelation is enough.  You discover it in God's Word.  When you are under attack it comes to you to protect you.  That is why you need to know God's Word for yourself.  You essentially to have a hunger for His Word.  Avoid babble that will lead you away from the truth to avoid many problems in life.  This is how God's Word is your shield.

Deuteronomy 12:1-3, Psalm 18:30-45, Proverbs 30:5-6, Ephesians 6:13-17, & Revelations 2:18