Women in the Word

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2/07/2017 6:17 pm  #111


Re: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel 22 

O: Heavy responsibilities and consequences from his action. If he was wrong to lie, there was great guilt. If it was ordained for him to lie, there is still a burden realizing you caused the death of others because of your situation.
 
A: David goes on and is faithful and tries to do the best he can do by this man. Really, that is all we can do when racked with guilt or living with heavy burdens.
 
But we must remember that Christ took our sins and has declared us clean and free and He will empower us by the Spirit to live faithfully before Him so we don’t have to strive to make up for our mistakes with good works, although we should seek to repay someone for a wrong or make the situation right.
 
By not forgiving ourselves, we show ourselves to be prideful that we think we should be good enough to save ourselves by our good works and we show a lack of faith in the power of Christ’s sacrifice to cleanse.

 

2/08/2017 11:32 am  #112


Re: 1 Samuel

KimberlyP77 wrote:

There are a couple things that I battle with in terms of being afraid.  My annual review is coming up so I'm always fearful that I'm going to lose my job.  My reviews are always positive and there typically nothing bad, I just always stress out about it the week of my review and most especially the day of the review.  Speaking of which it is coming up, in 11 Days.    Another thing I'm afraid of is my estranged husband failing on his agreement of things, and that I will have no place to live.   God however always come through for me. 
 

Praying for your Kimberly. Praying that God would give you His peace, that you would walk in the knowledge of the confidence that you have in God, and that this situation will show you how God is at work in your life transforming you so that you have complete confidence in God's provisions. And not just that you would walk in confidence in God's provisions but you would trust God daily, day by day for your provisions and trust His ultimate sovereign plan. I pray that you are an example to others and an encouragement to yourself of your strong faith. I pray that you would have a willingness to hold everything with an open hand and to trust and follow God in all He has planned and in every circumstance. I pray that this would give you peace, and remove all anxieties and you trust yourself into the hands of a sovereign, all knowing and all loving God.

Thank you for sharing dear sister. Know that I pray for and care for all of you.
 

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2/08/2017 11:33 am  #113


Re: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel 23 

23:17 “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “My father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”
 
O: He was willing to put himself second even though he was the rightful heir.
 
A: We need to be willing to put ourselves second to something we thought was ours and our right to have.
 
Optional GMG Discussion Question: Jonathan could not rescue David but he could strengthen him. Is there someone in your life who is in an inescapable trial? You may not be able to rescue them but how can you strengthen them today?
Jonathan went to great risks to go and strengthen David. We can be so busy that we are not even willing to inconvenience ourselves to strengthen and encourage others.
 
K: May I always prioritize serving and loving others over my to-do list and personal goals. May I daily have a focus of being about Your work and the work of Your kingdom.

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2/08/2017 3:06 pm  #114


Re: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel 23

S: And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God (23:16).
 
O: Each morning I listen to the Our Daily Bread devotional.  Today’s devotional, written by Keila Ochoa, dealt with David and Jonathan’s friendship.  Keila writes, “Good friends don’t abandon us when external circumstances change.  They stay with us through the good and the bad days.  Good friends also may point us to God in the ugly days, when we may feel tempted to walk away from our Lord.”
 

 

2/09/2017 10:08 am  #115


Re: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel 24

S: May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you (24:12).
 
O: David refused to avenge himself, he left that to the Lord.  In Romans 12:14-21, Paul instructs us on how to relate to our enemies, including instructing us to, “never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mind, I will repay, says the Lord’” (12:19).
 
A: When someone does something to me, my first instinct, my fleshy instinct is to seek revenge, and far too often, that’s that path that I start down.  Yet we are instructed to leave that to God, to “be angry and do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26).  I need to let the Lord fight my battles and let Him direct my response.  Basically, I need to lay the offense at the altar of God and leave it there.
 

 

2/09/2017 11:33 am  #116


Re: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel 24 

Scripture
24:6 He said to his men, "The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD's anointed."
 
O: Even though the Lord had chosen David as Saul’s successor, the Lord still was the one who had anointed Saul and so it was not for David to cut Saul off. God would cut Saul off according to His will and His plan.
 
A: God is the one who controls all leader and rulers. And please do not read into this anything at all about current politics or current political leaders. This is a general statement about God based on what I saw in this passage and is related to this passage, not to any current events in the North America or the world.
 
God allows certain leaders to rise up sometimes to bless us and sometimes to judge us. With Saul, he gave the people what they wanted and honored their desires. He used Saul for good at times, and other times for evil. But He determined how long Saul would rule and He either strengthened Saul’s hand, or restrained His hand.
 
I think it is like this for us as well. God may honor what we clamor for, and it may be to bless us or to judge us depending on if we are seeking God and seeking His will or not. But with all leaders God chooses when to strengthen their arm and when to restrain them. He can use good and bad leaders to bless us or to chastise us.
 
Scripture
24:8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage.
 
O: It seems that David was still, and sincerely, completely devoted to Saul even though Saul was unjust to him and trying to kill him!!
 
A: May we remain right in our hearts even to those who do wrong to us. We cannot control their hearts and actions, but may we maintain pure motives and right attitudes in our hearts towards them.
 
K: Lord, may I never seek to take things into my own hands, but to trust You for justice and perseverance. May I seek Your will in my choices and Your leading as to when and how You want me to either act or wait, fight or submit. May I not act in my own strength or pride but remain faithful and steadfast, trusting in Your sovereignty, will, and timing.
 
Scripture
24:12 May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.
 
That is so hard to wait and let the Lord avenge our wrongs. Because we see this world and our timing and wonder why God is letting this happen and why He is letting the wrong people get away with stuff. But, oh, we must. We must trust God to be the avenger whether in this life, or the next. But we must always act with integrity, justice, and humility.
 
Scripture
24:22 And David swore this to Saul.
 
O: Wow, still willing to honor and do good to Saul to the end. This is astonishing character, but not David’s character alone, but because the Holy Spirit was on David.
 
A: The Holy Spirit is in us, how much more should we display this character in our lives and in the inner parts of our heart.
 
K: Lord help me to continue to grow in Your character and strengthen the control of the Spirit in my life and continue to transform my inner heart.

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2/10/2017 5:54 am  #117


Re: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel 25

S: "Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have kept me this day from blood guilt and from working salvation with my own hand!" (25:33)

O: David would not avenge himself against Saul, yet he almost let his pride and anger against Nabal cause him to sin.

A: Sometimes the Lord will prompt us to speak truth to someone who is going down a wrong path.  When we speak to them, we need to do so in love.  And sometimes God sends someone into our lives to point out a problem that we have.  When that happens, we need to resist the urge to get defensive and respond in pride and anger.  We need to respond like David.  We need to be thankful that not only does God love us enough to send someone to us, but that the person was willing to do so.

 

2/10/2017 12:53 pm  #118


Re: 1 Samuel

Michelle wrote:

1 Samuel 25

S: "Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have kept me this day from blood guilt and from working salvation with my own hand!" (25:33)

O: David would not avenge himself against Saul, yet he almost let his pride and anger against Nabal cause him to sin.

A: Sometimes the Lord will prompt us to speak truth to someone who is going down a wrong path. When we speak to them, we need to do so in love. And sometimes God sends someone into our lives to point out a problem that we have. When that happens, we need to resist the urge to get defensive and respond in pride and anger. We need to respond like David. We need to be thankful that not only does God love us enough to send someone to us, but that the person was willing to do so.

I missed the contrast there between Saul and Nabal. Excellent observation

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2/10/2017 12:54 pm  #119


Re: 1 Samuel

1 Samuel 25
 
I did not know what to make of this chapter.  After reading some commentaries this is what I came to understand.
 
25:31-33 that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause, or that my lord has avenged himself. But when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your maidservant." Then David said to Abigail: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! And blessed is your advice and blessed are you, because you have kept me this day from coming to bloodshed and from avenging myself with my own hand.
 
O: When I read this initially I thought that seemed wrong to kill the entire house because the guy was a jerk. The commentators agreed that this was David acting out of rash anger, perhaps because he and his men were desperate and hungry.
 
As you look at the verses you see that both Abigail and David imply this is wrong. Abigail says she does not want David to have a guilty conscience and David says he is thankful that she kept him from trying to act on his own strength.
 
So, it really makes clear that God was NOT in this and David was acting out of human anger.
 
Matthew Henry noted that perhaps God had let them get desperate so that He could reveal to David what was in David’s heart. Even the best of men without God struggle.
 
David responds humbly to Abigail’s correction and admits his wrong. So, he made a mistake in his human frailty and desperation, but he was teachable and humble. This is probably why he was a man after God’s heart because although he failed he was quick to repent and always sought to return to God.
 
A: Good reminder when we are desperate or stressed to not yield to our flesh, but to seek after and press into God so we will not act rashly in our flesh but act wisely according to the discernment and wisdom of God.
 
Also a good reminder that even if we are in a high position (David was anointed the future king at this point) we should be able to listen to correction and receive it with humility and thank the person for sharing the truth with us.

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2/13/2017 12:18 am  #120


Re: 1 Samuel

Week of February 13
This Week’s Reading Assignment

Post your input below this post.
S.O.A.K. any verse of your choosing.

Monday
Reading: 1 Samuel 26
Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 26:23
Good Morning Girls: Introduction to the Week
Optional GMG Discussion Question: David trusted that God would reward his righteousness and faithfulness. Do you trust that God will honor your faithfulness and how have you seen this in your life?

Tuesday
Reading: 1 Samuel 27
Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 27:1
Optional GMG Discussion Question: David was discouraged and said in his heart, he was about to die – even though God had promised deliverance. What we say in our hearts has incredible power to influence our choices. In what ways has your heart discouraged you in the past?

Wednesday
Reading: 1 Samuel 28
Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 28:6
Optional GMG Discussion Question: God was silent when Saul called on him because he had not been following God’s revealed will for him. Have you gone through a time of silence from God when you were living disobediently?

Thursday
Reading: 1 Samuel 29
Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 29:11
Optional GMG Discussion Question: David was in a bad place. He had no home and was trying to live in both worlds. Have you ever been in a place where you had too much of the world in you to be at peace with God and too much of God in you, to be at peace with the world? What helped you to stop straddling the fence?

Friday
Reading: 1 Samuel 30
Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 30:6
Good Morning Girls: Devotional and Video
Optional GMG Discussion Question: God, rich in mercy and grace, heard David’s cries for help and strengthened him. God hears the cries of His people. Do you need more strength for today? Call out to God now. Write your prayer below.

Monday
Reading: 1 Samuel 31
Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 31:6
Optional GMG Discussion Question: The account of Saul dying is sad, but sadder yet is the fact that Saul knew the previous day he would die and yet he did not repent or cry out to God. Many tend to think that they will live as they want now and get right with God later in life. Later never comes. Is there something you need to make right with God? Don’t wait - do it now.

Last edited by TBG (2/19/2017 10:57 pm)

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