Take 1 minute to read the scripture Take 1 minute to read the thought Take 1 minute to think about them Take 1 minute to pray Take 1 minute to finish your coffee
Proverbs Godly Women
Week 15 Day 1
Reading - Proverbs 31:25-31 “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.�
Thought - Godly women are a blessing to all those they meet, they are some of the most important people on the planet. They are the backbone of both the church and the family. Is it any surprise in mission countries that the majority of church goers are women? Or that when families breakdown it's the mother who naturally picks up responsibility for the upbringing of the children? It is therefore important that women are encouraged to live Godly lives for the sake of the church, their family and themselves. Men must therefore be encouraging and supporting that women be strengthened towards Godliness and into the areas which God is calling them to. Men should love them in the way that Christ showed love for women. Husbands then are to love their wives as Christ loves the church that she might be holy and without blemish.
Prayer For women - Lord, strengthen me towards Your calling on my life. Let my family and church be blessed through me. Guide me Lord in ways of righteousness to be a blessing to those around me. Write Your Word on my heart and guide me in Your love.
For men - Lord, let me abound with grace for the women around me. Aid me to encourage and strengthen them, equipping them for all You are preparing them for and doing with them. Use me Lord to bring to fruition the plan of glory that you have set them for, and let them become a blessing to me and others of their lives.
Planning ahead
Day 2
Reading - Proverbs 16:1-4 “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established. The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”
Thought - A plan without the blessing of God is nothing but a vain hope and a desire to do so is therefore vanity. The Lord has a plan. We are not called to make plans, but rather to listen and wait with patience for the revealing of His plan for our lives. As children we all made plans of what we wanted to do when we grew up, but how many can say they are doing what they wanted to do as a child, or as a teen, or at the age of 21? The plans of man are often unwise and come from the heart; the plans of God are established before the foundation of the world. When you make a plan hand it over to the Lord, and let Him move you and unravel His plan and His purpose.
Prayer - Lord, the plans of Your grace are wonderful and glorious. Make me Lord to walk straight paths with You in Your plan. Reveal to me Your purpose for me and establish my feet to guide me along it.
The Lord is Truth
Day 3
Reading - Proverbs 2:6, 2:9-10 “For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; … Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;”
Thought - The Lord is the source of all wisdom and all understanding, His ways breathe out righteousness. When we trust in Him, giving up our own interpretations of good, and He enters in we will receive His understanding and His wisdom, His truth becomes alive in us through the entering of the Spirit of Jesus and His Holy Spirit. It is no small thing that Jesus said that He is Truth (John 14:6) because He was saying "I am God." But in order to receive that we must first admit that we do not know what is best, that we do not have understanding. Then we will receive revelation of the wisdom, understanding and righteousness of the Lord.
Prayer - Lord, I do not know best, for only You Lord know how the Universe was formed, only You know the thoughts and feelings of the heart and the mind of man, and only You know the time of Your coming. Lord, grant me Your wisdom, Your understanding and Your righteousness. Be Truth to me Lord as You speak into my life, revealing to me Your glorious ways and plans.
Pursue Wisdom
Day 4
Reading - Proverbs 3:13-18 “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding; For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold; She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her; Long life is in her hand right hand, in her left hand are riches and honour. Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace; she is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.”
Thought - According to this wise father, those who arrange their lives around the goal of gaining wisdom will receive rewards that far exceed anything they can imagine. Do you know any wise parents, fathers and mothers who exhibit sound judgement in how they conduct their lives and raise their children? Do you know any mothers who know when to give advice and when just to listen, when to teach and when to let lives consequences be their children’s teacher? Now try and put a value on those insights: How much are they worth? How valuable are they to sons and daughters facing the challenges of the twenty – first century? On the other hand how much value would a parent attach to having children who eventually walk in paths of wisdom, who know how to deal with conflict, who handle relationships maturely, who deal with money prudently? You can’t put a price on that either. Proverbs 15:20 says ‘A wise son brings joy to his father’ – and to his mother. We are called to pursue wisdom in every walk of our life as the most valuable thing in our life than anything else.
Prayer - Lord Jesus you are the source of all wisdom and knowledge. We are privileged to serve and worship a God like you. Help us to seek you in everything we do and acknowledge your wisdom in our lives. Help us to follow your instructions and to be wise with our time, money, possessions, family, relationships and our walk with you.
Speak Truth
Day 5
Reading - Proverbs 6:12-15 “A scoundrel and villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks with his eye signals with his feet and motions with his fingers; who plots evil with deceit in his heart-he always stirs dissension. Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed-without remedy.”
Thought - Surveys cited in business magazines and management books confirm that the personal characteristic employees most value in their employers in honesty; above all employees want to be dealt with truthfully. God whole heartedly supports the idea of truth. The Ten Commandments include a prohibition against ‘giving a false witness against your neighbour’. God knew from the beginning of time that without a radical commitment to telling the truth, marriages and families would disintegrate, friendships would explode, business dealings would fall apart, churches would be split by divisions, and governments would become ineffective. Dishonesty is bad and we need to get rid of it – whatever it takes. Prayer If you sense the Holy Spirit’s prompting regarding confession, you could begin by confessing your sins of dishonesty to God. God is listening to you, he is waiting to forgive you, release you from your guilt and gradually transform your life; because he loves you more than
anything.
Do Good
Day 6
Reading - Proverbs 3:27 “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”
Thought - This verse makes it clear that some people really do need help, and we are called to help them. Jesus even went so far as to suggest if someone strikes you, turn the other cheek. This proverb reminds us that there is much need in the world and many of us are too preoccupied with our own plans that we fail to do what we can in the moment. The proverb is an instruction to practice active love and generosity to those around us. The Easter story gives us the supreme example of this when Jesus did not withhold his goodness to any man, but freely gave himself for us.
Prayer - Lord we pray that you help us to be wise in using the blessings that you have given to us in order to help others.
Trust God in Everything
Day 7
Reading - Proverbs 3: 5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Thought - We desperately need God’s mind on the serious matters of life. He offers it to us through the teaching of his Word and the inner guidance of his Spirit. Our job is not to question it or to assume that we know better, but to trust that God does know better how to make our lives work. When in doubt always, always trust the wisdom of God. Jeremiah 29:11, God says, ‘I know the plans I have for you…They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.’ So be encouraged, because God has a plan and a future for each of us. Though God doesn’t promise a life free from pains and suffering, but he does promise a life that is too good to miss. So let’s trust him and not lean on our own understandings.
Prayer - Lord we pray that in every step of Faith we take, that you will take it with us. We don’t know what you have in store for our lives, but we do know that it is a journey that we want to take by trusting you.