Happy New Year!!

The Year 2021 is here! For many, this is a great reprieve from the trials that came in 2020. For others, this year brings more dread with not knowing what is to come. We can continue to rest in the loving arms of our Savior and know that He is in control. If the year seems to be a horrible year, we can remember that we are one year closer to meeting our great God. We can remember that no matter how bad the day is, God’s mercies are new each morning. This may be another tough year for most, but instead of wishing for a new year to take away our troubles, we should turn to the One who has taken away our sins for eternity. God does not promise us an easy life, but He does promise that He will be with us all the way. I hope and pray that you all enjoy your new year and are able to focus on God’s mercy and love in the midst of any trial that may come your way!

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.”
– Lamentations 3:22-23

Merry Christmas!

“For unto us a child is born,
unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
– Isaiah 9:6

Our Savior humbled Himself and came to Earth as a man. Born of a virgin in a lowly manger our Savior came. Knowing that He would later die a painful death on the cross to atone for our sins, He came anyway. Thank you Lord for your great love that You spared not your Son in Your great plan of redemption for Your rebellious people!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Biblical Portrait of Womanhood Review

The first book on my study of womanhood is a little booklet by Nancy DeMoss titled “Biblical Portrait of Womanhood: Discovering and Living Out God’s Plan for Our Lives.” It’s a cute little booklet of 29 pages plus a few blank ones to write in. It reminds me of a short Bible Study.

DeMoss begins by explaining who this booklet is for. On page four, she states “the purpose of this booklet is to help us discover the path to that abundant life and to examine our lives in light of God’s design and plan.” She encourages the reader to focus on one verse a day and provides reflection questions under each verse. You could also reflect on one question per day if you wish, although that will take a lot longer. There are a total of 70 questions and 28 verses. I will admit that some of the questions that she gives are quite convicting. There are other questions that I’m don’t fully see coming from the passage, but they’re still good questions.

The second section of the book contains more reflections along the lines of: Do my _____ build up or tear down? And the three categories are attitudes, words, and actions. There are questions that go with each category. The options are detailed so you may not fully fit into one option or the other, but it does get us to question our true motives behind our actions rather than what we claim is our motive.

Overall, I enjoyed this little booklet and plan to review it again at a slower pace. I do wish that it explained some of her reasonings behind her questions, but again this is a short 29 page booklet so there isn’t too much detail. I do like how she bases all of her questions off of Bible verses so we can easily look up those verses and study the full passages by ourselves to get the full context.

How has this booklet helped me in my study of Biblical Womanhood? Well, it has given me good questions to ponder and a list of verses to study. Although I may not fully agree with every little question she puts out, I do think that this booklet is helpful in presenting a Biblical understanding of Womanhood. She unashamedly presents what she understands the passage to say in spite of what the culture today may present. One of the questions under Genesis 2:18 (The Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”) is: “Am I completing and complementing my husband rather than competing with him?” This booklet helps us to look at Biblical Womanhood through the lens of Scripture rather than the lens of the world. It’s tough, but good.

I plan to continue my study through Biblical Womanhood because I want an in depth understanding of what God has made woman to be. I have goals and a calling on my life as well as my husband on his and I desire to see how to view these things in a God honoring way.

Here is the Amazon link if you wish to purchase the booklet.

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1 Thessalonians Day 24

4:15-16

15: For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

Those who have died will enter into heaven first.

16: For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

This is a verse that supports the idea of “soul sleep” that I mentioned yesterday. I’ve heard some people explain this as referring to those who are in Christ through the Old Covenant (the people who believed in the coming Messiah, but died before He came.) I’m not as confident in my interpretation of this passage as I would like to be and hope to study more about the second coming of Christ and how that all works. What I can tell you with confidence is 1) Jesus is coming again 2) those who believe in Him will be taken up to heaven 3) those who have died before Jesus’ return will be in heaven first. This subject is on my list of things that I wish to study further, but we’ll all fully understand it when Jesus does return!

1 Thessalonians Day 13

17-20

17: But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face

Paul is telling them that although they left in body, they were still there in heart. They were thinking of the Thessalonians and praying for them (as mentioned in chapter one).

18: because we wanted to come to you –I, Paul, again and again –but satan hindered us.

The devil kept them from coming by using the Jews and others who hated Paul. Their travel was stopped and it was difficult for them to be able to see the Thessalonians again.

19: For what is our hope or joy or crown of boastin before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

Paul is happy to tell Jesus of the Thessalonians because God used Paul to share the Gospel with them and their faith in God has encouraged Paul and honored God.

20: For you are our glory and joy.

The Thessalonians have brought joy to Paul because of their faith.

When the people who shared the Gospel with us see how we grow and mature in the Lord, they are like proud parents seeing their children of the faith disciple and grow others in the faith and continuing the process for generations. It is amazing to see how believers that God has given you the privilege to impact grow and mature. How much more excited is God to see how His children come to know Him more?

1 Thessalonians Day 12

Sorry for missing a day!

2:14-16

14: For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews

The Thessalonians also suffered for their faith. Just because we are Christians doesn’t mean that we are guaranteed a life without struggles. Those struggles grow us and bring us closer to God. They are hard, but worth it in the end.

15: who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind

Paul is reminding us who called for Jesus to be crucified and who despised the prophets (just read the Old Testament.)

16: by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But the wrath has come upon them at last!

Paul wanted to share the Gospel to the Gentiles as well and the Jews. He knew that God wanted all of His people to hear His Word. If you recall, often in the Old Testament God will refer to bringing judgment upon sinners when their sin has reached a certain level. As for the last portion of this passage, it is a little confusing and there are a few different options for understanding it.

the wrath is referring to the judgment that will come upon them when they die (but Paul sought for all to be saved so I don’t think he would be excited about this)

the wrath is referring to the wrath bore by Jesus on the cross for their sins (although there is an issue regarding whether or not they were actually saved and if not, their sins couldn’t have been covered by the cross)
the destruction of the Temple in AD 70 (but this book is dated to around 52 AD so unless the dating is wrong, that isn’t possible)

So I will admit that I am unsure of exactly how to understand this particular part of the passage. I do, however, understand that the measure of their, the Jews, sin had reached a certain level and God was bringing judgment to them. What the judgment is, I do not know.

We can learn from these passages that we will face trials, even as Christians. If we look around us, we can definitely see that as true. Fortunately our eternity is secure and all our struggles on earth will feel like the blink of an eye when we enter into the presence of our holy God! We can also be reminded that the wicked people will face judgment. We should seek to share the Gospel, but those who do not believe will face judgment when their measure is up. Ultimately that will be hell, and I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy. Hell is where people are eternally separated from the love of God and instead feel the full wrath of God against the sin of man for all eternity. The joys of heaven are balanced out by the realization of what comes to those who do not repent and believe. Praise God for His goodness and ask that He will save more and use us in our imperfectness to do so!

1 Thessalonians Day 10

2:9-10

9: For you remember, brothers, our labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

Paul reminds them of his time with them. We know from studying Paul that he was a tent maker and would do that in order to pay for travels and needs. That way he didn’t need to depend on others to sustain his mission trips, but could focus on presenting the Gospel rather than raising funds. Paul also notes in this verse that they proclaimed the Gospel to the Thessalonians as they worked.

10: You are witnesses, and God also, how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers.

Paul’s conduct while with the believers was worthy of repetition. He and Silas treated the Thessalonians well and were seen as respectable.

We should seek to live in unity with others, whenever possible. There are cases, however, where we must stand our ground and speak of what is right. Paul and Silas’ testimony among the Thessalonians was without reproach. They were in unity with the believers, but were chased out by the Jews who didn’t want the Gospel preached. We should seek to live our lives without reproach. Paul and Silas were not chased out because of bad conduct, but were chased out because the Jews didn’t want to hear the truth of the Gospel. Our reputation should be without reproach and our words should be words of truth.

1 Thessalonians Day 8

2:5-6

5: For we never came with words of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed –God is witness.

At this time, there were people who would come with flattering speech and would be paid by their listeners. Their goal was to make money by speaking things that people wanted to hear. Paul and Silas were different. They spoke words to glorify God instead of seeking to catch a profit or become popular.

6: Nor did we seek glory from people, whether from you or from others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ.

Paul is saying that they could have asked for things, but they didn’t. Their focus was on God’s glory and not on what they could get out of it.

We are told to do everything to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31) and Paul is leading by example. He did not seek any personal gain, but instead sought to glorify God through his words and actions. That should be our viewpoint as we live our lives. I know that I am selfish sometimes and do things for myself or to be noticed rather than for God. Thankfully He gives us second chances and does not leave us to struggle on our own!

1 Thessalonians Day 7

2:3-4

3: For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive

Their message was not filled with false teaching nor did they desire to trick people by it, instead they sought to convey the truth and that is what made their message so appealing to some.

4: but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.

God has chosen to send them out to share the Gospel to others. Paul reminds us that our goal in sharing the Gospel is not to tickle man’s ears and be liked by them, but to please God who sent us. God tests are hearts, not to because He is unsure of our faith, but instead to show us where we are and to bring us closer to Him. In each testing of our faith, we learn to more wholly trust in God and grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him.

God sends us out to share the Gospel with others. We should do so not to glorify man (or ourselves) but to glorify God. In each testing of our faith, we will learn more about Him and grow closer to Him.

Some trials are hard and difficult to understand in the moment. To the brothers and sisters who read this, could you please pray for some friends of mine. I just found out yesterday that they lost their two-year-old daughter. They have two other children if you could pray for them as well. Their faith has been encouraging through this, but I know that it still hurts to lose a loved one. The funeral will be on Tuesday. I unfortunately can’t make it to the funeral because we live a few states away and only have one car. Thank you all in advance for your prayers!

1 Thessalonians Day 5

Chapter 1 Review

Questions

Who is the Author?
Who else is traveling with the author?
Who is the letter to?
What did we learn?
How can we apply what we’ve learned?

Answers (Answers for 4 and 5 may vary)

The author is Paul
Timothy and Silvanus (Silas) are traveling with Paul
The letter is to the Thessalonian church
We learned about prayer, the witness of believers, and are reminded of what Jesus has done for us
We can grow in our prayer life, realize how much our witness can affect others and seek to grow in our witness, and always be thankful for what Jesus has done and share the news with others

Some notes that I took while studying this chapter were:

people notice our testimonies
pray for our brothers and sisters
proof of our being chosen by God is in our daily lives
we are to be imitators, to turn from ourselves, and to await Jesus’ return

I look forward to going through the next chapter with you all!