Monday, March 4
OK. Now you are a Christian, a saved member of God's family. You have been baptized and are attending a local congregation regularly. That's a great start! Where do you go from there? The specifics will most likely be different for each individual; however, the general principles from which we draw the specifics will be the same for everyone. Each week we will look at a new item on the list beginning in 2 Peter 1: 5 and how it applies to women in different situations. To facilitate this we will be looking at a specific woman in the Bible to see how she applied the topic in her life (or didn't apply it), and then we will look at our own situations to see how we should apply it. You can make your comments as personal or as general as you feel is appropriate. If you want to share your own personal problem or ask for advice, that is fine. But you may not share someone else's problem in the process.
Diligence
Because this week is the introduction to the study, we will not use an actual Bible character. Instead we will focus on the meaning of this word and what it looks like in real life. You will notice in 2 Peter 1:5 that we are to add the characteristics Peter mentions with diligence. According to Thayer, the word that is translated "diligence" in this verse has two primary meanings. The first one listed is "haste." The second meaning listed is "earnestness" or "diligence." So from this we begin to get a feel for what diligence is. It is something done right away. In fact, in Hebrews 6:11 it is used in opposition to the word "sluggish."
Today's assignment is to look up the word "diligence" in an English dictionary. Post the meaning you find. Then post two Bible passages that use the word diligence. If you don't have a concordance at home, you can find a free one on the internet to use. Tell us what your chosen passages teach about diligence. You will need to know this so you can actually be diligent as we progress through our study.
4 comments:
Diligence: Vigilance. Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.
Proverbs 4:23 "Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life."
This passage teaches me that diligence is necessary for something to be done completely. Diligence carries with it the idea of intensity. For example, if I’m watching over my children as they play at a park next to a busy road, I know I have to keep my eyes on them completely and intensely in order for them to stay safe.
Hebrews 6:10-12 “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”
This passage supports what Debbie said about diligence being an opposite to sluggishness. Ministering to the saints, as the writer talks about, is something that can’t be done once or twice, it has to be continual, constant and earnest.
Diligence: an adjetive characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort.
Proverbs 13:4 ESV "The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied."
I see this as a reminder that if we truly seek the knowledge of God and apply it whole heartily, we will never feel empty. The moment I start to feel like there's something missing in my life, it always goes back to me not striving and becoming complacent. The desire to be diligent should be ongoing, otherwise, we become stagnant and we have nothing to gain.
I Corinthians 15:58 ESV "Therefore, my believed brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always
Diligence: attentive and persistent effort (Merriam-Webster, online). I also checked their thesaurus for synonyms...assiduousness, industriousness.
I immediately thought of Prov. 6:6-8 "Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest." While this verse doesn't specifically use the word, an ant is obviously the epitome of diligence and persistence.
When you consider your own life and "take stock" of how you spend your time and energy, where are you persistent and where are you lacking. Personally, I find that I am "fairly" persistent in my roles as wife/mother/grandmother...day-to-day housework, taking care of my family's needs (and of course my paying job), but I am lacking diligence in my Bible study, among other things. This has always been a struggle for me, to make time to truly absorb God's Word.
Romans 12:8 - "...he who leads, with diligence..." Although I think this is talking mostly about leaders in the Church, we're all leading someone in this life, we're all examples. We must conduct ourselves as if someone is always watching, because we know that God is...ALWAYS...but so is the world, so are our families. Someone is always looking to "me" to lead them, to be the example of how a Christian conducts him/herself. It takes much diligence to constantly be on guard of our ways, our tongues. (and man, it's exhausting too). :)
Care and caution.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. Deuteronomy 6: 6-7 NKJV
This teaches me that we need to be earnest in teaching our children and always have the word of God on our lips.
Proverbs 4:23
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. NKJV
This teaches me that we need to keep our heart (mind)on God because what you speak and how you act comes from what is in your heart.
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