No exact key verse today.
All the "ifs" and "supposes'" and
All the "ifs" and "supposes'" and
My Take Aways
Something Old:
The theme of Jesus being our substitute for all law resonated in my heart today.
Something New:
Deuteronomy 24:17-18
Help me to never forget my Egypt and rescue
Something to Do:
Deuteronomy 24:17-18
Thank you God for my past and how you have used it to shape me into the person that I am today.
20 Comments:
My nugget
I am grateful I don't live in Old Testament times.
I've confessed to the Lord and asked for help. I have a hard time with seeing the God of both Old and New being the same.I've never admitted to Him before that I hardly ever read the Old testament because I like Him better in the New. I know He will answer my prayer and reconcile this for me.
Hi Everybody….Happy Thursday!
Wendy…. We will have you all in our prayers.
My Bible Verse for me today just has to be Deuteronomy 21:23:
…it shall not remain on the tree overnight. You shall bury it the same day; otherwise, since God’s curse rests on him who hangs on a tree, you will defile the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as an inheritance.
“God’s curse rests on him who hangs on a tree.” — Deuteronomy 21:23
In the Old Testament times, those who were executed for capital crimes were first killed, then the corpse was hung on a tree until nightfall, when it was recovered. In this way, those who were condemned serve as a warning to others not to commit the same crime.
Very interestingly, St. Paul the apostle quotes from this verse (Deuteronomy 21:23) in Galatians 3:13 –
“Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, as it is written,
“Cursed be every one who hangs on a tree,” that the blessing of Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the power of the Spirit through faith.”
Why was Christ cursed? For the simple reason that Christ became our substitute on Calvary — he was “cursed” because he bore our sin; we are blessed instead — salvation now being made possible for us because of his redemptive death.
Conclusion…… Christ was cursed so that we would not have to be.
I was also focused on this verse……Deut 23:23, But once you have voluntarily made a vow, be careful to fulfill your promise to the LORD your God.
Wendy you focused on “vows”….a little while back….Let me to wondering what vows have I made to the Lord. The one BIG one that came to my mind was “My marriage Vows.” So many of us stand before God…and take this vow. It breaks my heart today to see how easily these vows get broken.
Today this is a “voluntarily vow“…..we must be “careful” to fulfill our promise to the Lord. ……“Oh if everyone could read his word….and take it seriously.
….In this way, you will purge the evil form among you.
….He left us today with…. “Never forget this! (Deut 25:19)
To Do….Follow my Lord wholeheartedly.
Called to Greater Freedom
Rhonda
Good Morning GIGs! I have not had a chance to listen to the vlog yet - will get to that tonight once girls are in bed... But I have to say that I am feeling, well, like this is an awful lot of STUFF that Moses is telling everyone! I have to confess that I would be that impatient woman listening to all of this thinking, "come on, come on... let's get going!" Although I am sad to think that we'll be losing Moses soon, I feel like I do when my family takes those forever long car rides to Florida in the summer and we can see signs to our destination that we are almost there! There must be such excitement in the camp about where they are about to go.
Not much stuck out to me this morning other than how random this list seems to be. I agree with the 2 comments above saying how grateful I am that Jesus takes away my need to follow the letter of the law like they had to in OT times. The one verse that stuck out to me b/c I just thought it was sweet was 24:5 “A newly married man must not be drafted into the army or be given any other official responsibilities. He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married." I love that - bring happiness to the one you are married to. Rhonda - You are right on about the marriage vow seeming to be voluntary these days. Have a great day everyone!
Kate in VA
Ladies, I just cannot express to you how blessed I feel to be part of this awesome study of His word AND fellowship.
Not much stood out to be from the reading today, but I do have some comments on yesterday's posts, which I just got to this morning!
Jeanne -- thanks for reminding me that a busy life of service is a blessing, even if it doesn't feel that way at 9:00 at night.
Susan -- Happy Anniversary and Amy, happy 5 years of Motherhood!!
Brandee, Wendy and many others -- thanks for the tip about a pocket Bible. I'm going to get me one of those, as I feel very convicted about something that happened yesterday. I had to drive my elderly dad to the barber shop, and thought of bringing my Bible to read in the car while waiting, but didn't want to provoke hurtful remarks from my non-believer dad, as has happened in the past. I need to not care about the liklihood of snickering comments behind my back if I witness in front of my family. Lord, help me here.
Jan in TN, I will definitely put together some Bible verses for the book for your soldier son, God bless him. It's on my to do list.
Prayers today for the Proverbs 31 ladies mourning loved ones.
GIG's, I would not want to be facing life without our awesome God, our precious Wendy, and ALL of you. Bless you!
Peace,
Michelle in New England
Prayers for the Proverbs 31 family.
May the peace of Christ settle into all of the hearts of those in need of it.
I too said, "thank you for Jesus" when I read all of these verses today. Do this; don't do this; on and on.
I noticed some foreshadowing of Christ's life: Deut 21:22 talks about being hung on a tree. Deut 25:3 talks about giving no more than 40 lashes, because more than that would be public humiliation.
I also underlined Deut 22:10: "you must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together" which made me think of being unequally yoked - the two different beasts would pull against each other - like in a marriage with one believer and one unbeliever....
Basically, today's reading made me very thankful for what Jesus did for me..I don't have to be aware of all of these rules.
Oh happy day!
Morgen
Thursday, wow, the week is flying by!
Wendy, I will be praying for the Proverbs 31 Ministry. I can't imagine my life without this team that has become so close to my heart. A couple of years ago, when a friend told me to google it, and up popped your post re: the Bible Study...well, since then you all have become apart of my day -God's ways are never what we expect! It does not surprise me at all re: the attacks by Satan. The more we seek to further His Kingdom, the more the enemy singles us out to conquer! All the more to lift up praises and thanks to God to keep the enemy away!
I guess I’ve mentioned before, just how much fun this, studying with ya’ll is (Kristin, the accent is rubbing off on me too!) But, I can’t say it enough-I love the Jesus in each one of you!
Today, what stuck out the most was the “purging evil from among you” - this was repeated over and over and over again! God is after pure hearts dear friends. I was so thankful for Jesus and my faith. His Spirit guiding me and placing a desire on my heart to keep His regulations. God is so merciful, He transforms us as we abide in Him and the closer we get to Him and the more we know Him, the more we want to live our life for Him.
I loved reading for the 4th time His love for us (in Deuteronomy) “Because the LORD your God loves you” (23:5). And like you mentioned Kate & Rhonda, I also, loved when I read, “He must be free to spend one year at home, bringing happiness to the wife he has married” (24:5). This shows how important marriage is to our Father. It made me think back to my very first year of teaching. The principal would not allow any new teacher to do any extra duties, like sponsoring clubs, etc. for their first year, as he wanted them to just concentrate on their teaching for a year. He was a wise man and a wonderful boss to work for.
We read again, “You must put four tassels on the hem of the cloak” (22:12) - remember we read this back in Numbers (15:37). In Numbers God said to do this “throughout the generations to come” so they “will remember and obey all the commands of the LORD instead of following your own desires...as you are prone to do.” Our dear LORD, He knows just what we are prone to do! Also, to remember just how important it is to pass our faith down to our children. And, everyday we want our light to shine! Especially to those who are still in "Egypt" -oh, to witness to them through our loving ways - not to judge them!
Now, just one more thing before I close...did ya notice what they did with the rebellious kids?! 21:21.
okay, need to sign off now. May our lights' shine with radiance today dear lovely ladies!
Hugs, Lori
PS Praying for Kyan, and sweet Jan-5 kids underfoot! Ah, think of Jeanne's momma and her 13 children. Yikes! She was clinging to God for sure! Every time I even think to utter a complaint, I'm going to keep her beautiful face in my mind! Visuals, help! :) &&& I saw those neon spirals at Staples awhile back! I like your idea of 'sharing' the spiral's. What an awesome Christmas idea...hmmm...it would take awhile to do it, but if I start now!
PPS Michelle, thank you for your song. I'm going to add it to my ipod! Loved it!
Morning Everyone,
Wendy I am praying for the speaker team and for the ministry. God is using you all in such a powerful way and I know the attacks that you all must go through and face can be very challenging. When we are walking in God's will and making a difference Satan hates that!
I marked this morning some of the same things you all did and so thankful for Jesus! I wrote in my journal about what Rhonda said about Christ being cursed so we don't have to be.
One other thing did stand out in all these regulations. In Deut 22:20-21 God shares His regulations for what to do if a man marries a woman that is not a virgin and that was "promiscuous in her father's house." I thought about Mary and the path that God asked her to walk. She would have fallen into this regulation. She would have been shunned, looked down upon, if not even stoned to death for being pregnant before marrying Joseph. God had to keep His hand upon her. Can you all imagine how hard her life must have been? She did this because she trusted God more than she wanted her own way. She followed Him no matter the cost to herself. Sometimes what God asks of us is very, very hard. Others may not understand, they may even shun you, not be friends with you, turn away from you, but we have Christ's strength just as Mary did. That was my nugget: rely on God's strength, do what He asks and he will protect, guide and give strength to obey.
You all have a very blessed Thursday!
Brandee, TN
Good Morning from (at last!)a very springlike New England!
Wendy, I will be lifting up Proverbs 31 in prayer today.
My familiar but new was Deut 25:19-21 regarding leaving "forgotten" crops (grain, olives and grapes) for the foreigners, orphans and widows. This is how Ruth got food for herself and Naomi! From Boaz' field! And Ruth was a part of Christ's lineage. Our God is Alpha and Omega, the Great Provider, the Master Orchestrator!
There were a lot of "didn't knows" - and I too had the sense of being overwhelmed by all the laws. The sandal removal was interesting..and it too is mentioned in Ruth 4:7-8.
Take Away: Deut 23:14 - The LORD you God moves around in your camp to protect you and to defeat your enemies. He must not see any shameful thing among you, or he will turn away from you.
He is here, in my home, moving around in my "camp". Once again, a call to live a life that pleases Him, make good choices - do what He requires - love Him, serve Him, obey Him, respect Him. He is here.
I hope he will never turn away from me - His Word says He is faithful, but sometimes I feel so faithless, weak and sinful. I am hoping that the blood of Jesus covers all that.
A blessed and peace-filled day to all!
Lord-
I pray that you would protect and bind Satan from the Proverbs 31 team. I pray for the families especially. You have great plans for them that can never be shaken from your grasp! I pray that even in this that they would see victory in You.
Amen
Wendy
Thank you for asking us for prayer. This ministry has been such a blessing in my life (and those around me). Over the last 2 years of following several of you and your studies, I have grown so much and have become so much more confident in my relationship with the Lord and in life. Thank you all for your leadership and dedication. So I have prayed and will continue to hold you all up in prayer.
Nuggets from today:
Different: Deut 21:15-17
“Suppose a man has two wives, but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons. And suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife he does not love. 16 When the man divides his inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son. 17 He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him.
This made me think of Esau & Jacob and Rebekkah helping Jacob steal the first born rights (Gen 27) and then Jacob w/ Leah and Rachel (Gen 29). Jacob favored and loved Rachel but not Leah.
Apply: Deut. 24:14 "Never take advantage of poor and destitute laborers.....
Don't take advantage of the down and out -
Hope everyone has a super blessed Day!
Lynn - OR
Wendy,
It is an honor to lift up P31 in prayer. I visited their blogs and found out that Tracie's stepmom and Melissa's mom had the same illness my mom had, so I could totally relate to what they were going through.
Today's reading made me wonder, too. So I picked up bits and pieces from Jon Courson and found these:
*Deut 22:1-4 This passage addresses sins of omission rather than sins of commission - failing to do what's right rather than overtly doing wrong, missed deeds rather than misdeeds." (Sufficiently convicted on that one, thank you very much.)
*Re Deut 22:9-12 on not mixing various items together. He said they all speak of mixture and he quoted Jesus in Rev 3:15 'Either be hot or cold but not lukewarm.' "Why? because lukewarm is a mixture of hot and cold....If we're hot, He can use us. If we're cold, He can break us. But if we're neither hot nor cold, not only will He "spew us out of His mouth" but we'll be miserable as well because we'll have too much of the Lord in us to enjoy the world and too much of the world in us to seek the Lord. That's why He wants us to be hot or cold, linen or wool, yeah or nay (matt 5:37), all or nothing."
*Deut 25:17-19 when the Amalekites attacked the Israelites from the back. He said "God's people were not to lag behind but to be front and center in their walk with Him, in their commitment to Him because it is those at the back who get attacked." He compared the Amalekites to our enemy who attacks us in our weakness, when we're lagging behind. "Be careful when you feel feeble that you don't say, "I'm not what I should be or not what I used to be so I'm going to follow Jesus afar off. When you follow Jesus from afar, there's a chill in your soul that will drive you to the fires of the enemy (Courson was using Peter and his denial episode in this example) in search of warmth...You'll fall prey to the attack of the enemy when you allow former sins or tendencies to drive you to the back of the pack...What are you to do when you're weary and feeble? Do NOT go to the back. Go to the front. Become more engaged than ever, more involved that you ever were before in your spiritual walk and devotional life, more committed to service and ministry, to worship and Bible study...Because in doing so our strength is not diminished. It is renewed, replenished and restored."
Glad to be in front of the pack with my GIGs.
Thank you Wendy for staying strong and leading us in this study. The whole Proverbs 31 team has such an impact on us all and we are so thankful for each and everyone of you. Continued prayers to stand firm and carry on with the "mission". Prayers to Tracie, Wendy B and Melissa with what they are dealing with.
I didn't have anything specific from todays reading other than yes it was exhausting but to be oh so thankful that we do have Jesus and to remember and obey.
Blessings to all
Gail in CO
Hi Wendy,
I wanted to know if there is some way to email you without posting publicly on the blog? Thank you for your continued leadership. You have enriched my spiritual life tremendously :) I am really enjoying your vlogs!
Thanks again,
Jodie (with baby Elliot :)
Something malfunctioned and my comment didn't post. I'll try to get back later, but I wanted to get the rest of the comments. Thanks for sharing, everybody!
Prayers for the P31 team and their families. May the Lord just fill those who need HIS peace and comfort at this time.
Praying for the P31 team that God keeps the team close in the palm of His hand.
Like others, I am so glad I live under grace! Yet, I do not want to "take advantage" of the grace so freely offered for the price of the grace was so high.
As I spent today taking my mother to do some errands, she always states how she feels bad that she is so dependent on us kids (she is 80, widowed, doesn't drive - big PTL there!) and I keep telling her it is a privileged to take her places, to be able to spend time with her. I love taking her around and also love doing errand for her. Then today's reading Deut 24:19 - to leave the fallen or overlooked grain for the widowed. We are to take care of the widowed.
I so enjoy and get so much out of the vlogs and everyone's comments. God bless you all!
Gaylene
My prayers are with the Proberbs 31 ministry team...I am familiar will mos of these women by way of receiving the devotional emails everyday and just love it. There is also a free daily encouragement you can receive every day from klove.com christian radio station that I just started receiving and it is a WOW also....
Today Deut 23:21 was a WOW - When you make a vow to the Lord your God, be prompt in fulfilling whatever you promised. I started fasting on Wednesday's with nothing at all except water and then changed to liquids (soup), then changed to 24 hours from the last time I ate and now feel terrible that I have changed it according to what I want to fit my wants. I have an older son that is always first on my list of prayers for his life as a divorced father of four children, working, cleaning house, keeping up with his business and under a financial bind and that was my inention - to fast on Wednesdays and pray for him through out the day and now that I have changed it up - and when I read this, which we covered in the past about vows - if he fails - I will blame myself, but I have got to remember that God knows my heart and this temptation of eating on Wednesdays is something I can overcome because God is on my side - so this Wednesday I will do it with fasting and will remember if i trip and fall, i can get up again with God by my side.
You guys are great and this is one of the best things i ever did for myself - i love reading all the comments and listening to Wendy - can't wait to hear and read every morning and evening or whenever i can get it in. I also started bringing my bible wih me to work and opened it up while eating or taking a small break. It's the Best.....keeping in the Word is the Way of Life, if only everyone knew what the Bible holds for all of us....
Bless all of you and keep me in your prayers to keep my vow of fasting on Wednesdays - i will keep all of you posted next Wednesday night.
Blessed in Louisiana - Shelia
Hi gals!
I am so proud of all of us. Day 77! Yeah!
Wendy, I'm praying for the entire Proverbs 31 team. I'm praying that God holds all of you in his hands through this difficult time and always. All of you have made such an unbelievable impact on so many women around the world. I found Proverbs 31 and your blog. You and all the other P31 ladies have encouraged me to re-dedicate my life to God. I'm praying that you all gain strength in God's love, that he lifts up your spirits so that P31 may continue to shine and brighten so many people's lives, like you all have mine. Thank you for all that you do and thank you for continuing to lead our bible study Wendy.
There were a couple verses that stuck out to me. Deuteronomy 22:1 and 24:22.
We as humans and children of God have many responsibilities(as Moses continues to tell the Israelites) including obeying God, but also helping your neighbor. "...don't ignore your responsibility." We have a responsibility to do the right thing, help those in trouble and those who have less or are in need.
24:22 I know we have heard this so many times, "Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt."
I pray not to be greedy or get too big for my britches. I need to remember where I started and recognize the place God has brought me to today. God made all this happen not me.
I have loved reading your comments and continue to learn so much from you all. I love hearing the excitement in your comments because I am so excited.
Have a great evening!
Kristin in Wisconsin
Wendy I am praying that our powerful God pours out His grace, mercy & peace over all the women of Proverbs 31 7 & your families! That our Lord Jesus sends His angels to surround you all at home, work & as you go about your day to protect & keep you all safe. I'll be praying & praying some more.
Blessings & Peace Mary
Wendy,
You are such a mighty servant of the Lord. I learned so very much from the vlog today. I never thought about my past in Deut.24:17-18 until you went over it.
As a matter of fact, as I started on my notes, I wrote: I didn't enjoy a lot of this reading today:
marriage to a captive woman
dealing with a rebellious son
regulations for sexual purity
spitting in face....
THEN came the vlog and the comments from you gals. Whoa!!!!
For it not to be interesting or important applications, I sure did take 8 pages of notes from my sisters. WHAT A WEALTH OF TEACHING GOD WANTED TO GIVE EACH OF US TODAY!!!!!!
I "clung" to the scripture about making vows. I listened to Jon Courson's comm. He said about Deut.23:21-23 that God is saying,I'm going to hold you to it because I want you to be a man of integrity. If you make a vow to Him, you must keep it. You don't have to, but if you do, you had better perform. If He blesses you as a result of your vow to Him, and then you forget to do what you told Him you'd do, it is a sin. God is saying, you should grow up...it's a matter of integrity; God is after raising maturity in a person. He doesn't want a free will offering; He's trying to grow you up. **** David Gusik stated this:"There is a vow we all can and should make---a vow to praise God". *Ps.56:12--"Thy vows are upon me, O God; I will render praises unto thee." *Ps. 61:8--"So I will sing praise unto thy name forever, that I may daily perform my vows."
My to do: I vow to praise God for He is Worthy of my praise.
The following is what I enjoyed and learned from you. It is so important that we share what God gives us from each other; otherwise, we might miss a whole lot on just our own. ;):
Wendy~Deut.24:17-18 (our past)
Rhonda~Deut.21:23 (what a blessing to learn about the curse of Christ)
Kate~Deut.24:5 (newly married soldier)
Morgen~Deut.21:22 (foreshadowing of Christ's life); Deut 22:10; Deut.25:3
Lori~Deut. 22:12 (tassels)
"I love the Jesus in each of you"**
Deut.21:21 (rebellious kids ;) )
Brandee~ Deut 22:20-21 (reference to the precious mother of Jesus,Mary)
Anonymous(New England)~Deut.25:19-21 (forgotten crops->Ruth and Naomi... the sandal thing mentioned in Ruth 4:7-8; Deut.23:14(He is among us in our "camp")
Lynn~Deut. 21:15-17 (2 wives, 2sons..ref. back to Esau, Jacob, &Reb. Gen.27...ref. to Jacob with Leah & Rachel Gen.29
Grace&Peace~Deut. 22:9-12 (mixing things together...J.Courson comm. that scripture)
Did I miss anyone with Scripture references that stood out to you? And I thought I would not enjoy!!!!!!!!! God gave each of us what He wanted each of us to have and what each one must have needed for the day; then He blessed each one of us by sharing His Mighty Word among us. He is just toooooo good to us. I'm with Sheila from Louisiana when she says,"It's the BEST...keeping in the Word is the Way of Life.
As Dixie says,
..Not only keeping on, but pushing for the outer limits,
Jeanne,NC
I love ya'll!!!!!
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