Friday, March 8

He who observes the wind will not sow,


And he who regards the clouds will not reap.   Ecclesiastes 11:4


Our first week is coming to an end.  Looking at diligence has helped me focus on my life with spiritual eyes and see areas that need work.  It's easy to become discouraged when I open my eyes and look honestly at myself, but becoming discouraged only happens when I forget all the strength and love from my Father that is at my disposal - when I change my focus from God to myself or my circumstances.   Diligence is hard, but...

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.    Galatians 6:9

Next week we will begin looking at specific areas which we are told by Peter to diligently add to our spiritual walk.  We will study what this looks like in a different woman each week.  By looking at various women in differing circumstances I hope to learn how to make application no matter what season of life or situation I find myself in.

 Your assignment for today is to make sure you have a plan to be able to diligently continue in this study.  Do you need a study buddy as Ann mentioned - someone to remind you if you forget to comment?  Maybe you just need to set aside a certain time of the day so you don't forget.  Would having a friend to sit down with to work on the assignment be better for you?  We have nine weeks left.  I hope we all make it to the end!

Thursday, March 6

I am really enjoying all your comments.  Thank you for helping me out in this study!  I particularly like the practical ideas you are sharing that will help improve your diligence.  This is wisdom - to understand and apply.

We have looked at some examples of people who were not diligent at some point in their lives.  This will happen to all of us at some point, unfortunately.  Today your assignment is to share an example in the Bible of someone who was successful in diligence or because of diligence at some point in his/her life.  Tell us why you particularly like this example and what application you can take away from it.

I choose the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31.  She sticks in my mind because I have just finished a study on Proverbs with Toni, and I was impressed with the way she embodied all the lessons we learned in the chapters before she appears.  She is herself an application of the book, diligence personified in an older, married, wealthy woman and mother.  Why do I like particularly like her?  I enjoy a challenge - and she certainly presents one.  I love word pictures.  And I like happy endings.  She is all these things.  When I see how the end of her life becomes such a big blessing to herself and all around her, it gives me motivation to continue when it doesn't seem my efforts are doing much good or are being noticed by those I love.  Her diligence is day to day stuff.  I'm sure she started with baby steps as a young bride and then a young mother.  Now as she approaches the last part of her life, her baby steps have led her to a wonderful place with not only her family, but with God.  Application?  I'll choose just one principle I see in her life for now.  I see that she accomplishes quite a bit during the day because she rises early and sets things in motion right away. Something I can do to facilitate that would be to start planning tonight for tomorrow.  I could take out tomorrow's meat (if we are eating meat for dinner) tonight so it is ready to cook tomorrow at dinner time.  Or I could start  the crock pot first thing in the morning if it is beans or soup.  I can make a list of what I need to accomplish before the girls come for school so I don't waste the time without meaning to.  That list should probably include my daily Bible reading.  I'm not a clear thinker first thing in the morning so these lists really help me focus.  That's a little application that would take a lot of stress off me.  To facilitate that, I probably should make it more of a priority to get to bed on time.

Doesn't that seem so small?  But isn't diligence made up of small things done regularly?  Baby steps. And does it seem like it's really not very spiritual?  Ah, but it is very spiritual.  It is working in the realm in which God has placed me to the best of my ability and in His strength.  That brings Him glory.

Just so you know, I have made my prayer list.  Now on to some organization...

Wednesday, March 6

As I look over all your comments something comes to mind. It seems it is hardest to be diligent in areas that involve walking in the spirit. We can be diligent with the work we are paid to do, diligent in following our hobbies or sports teams, diligent even with our money (some of us, anyway) – all things that give fleshly satisfaction or prevent pain/discomfort in our flesh. Why is it that the spiritual things take so much more work? In Romans 7 Paul wrestled with this fact:

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. ¹⁹ For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. 

In meditating on this, I began to think about the difference between the demands of the flesh and of our spirit. Our flesh is loud. "I'm hungry NOW. I want to feel good NOW. I DESERVE this. I want to spend my time THIS way – it's more fun. This crisis demands my attention NOW. I'm too tired."  Our spirits are not so demanding. They, like the small voice Elijah heard on the mountain when God came to him, call quietly. True, if we don't listen we will feel a void or longing; but our flesh is quick to find other ways to try to fill that void or longing with something quicker than study, more exciting than prayer, easier than service.

God knows this. Why else would he need to warn and encourage us to remain diligent? The battle, as Roger likes to say, is in our minds. We get to decide who wins. That's a good thing! - and a hard thing. That means there is no excuse. We have to choose to be diligent.

I also have experienced that when I am regularly feeding my spirit, its voice becomes louder. It actually begins to compete with my flesh. Sometimes it even creates a spiritual crisis which is an opportunity to grow. And of course my flesh finds this very uncomfortable.

So far we have defined diligence and looked at things that get in the way of it. Today your assignment is to go back to your verses from day one and give some examples of how to be diligent in the area specified. I didn't specifically choose a passage to share on day one, but I did mention Hebrews 6:11 so I'll do that one. For me, a practical way of making sure I remain diligent in caring for the needs of the saints is to actually make a prayer list of needs and pray for opportunity to help. As I type this I realize I don't currently have one so that will be my challenge to myself before I post again. Making the list makes me do a couple of things I don't naturally do: actually look for and remember others' needs, and then look for a way to help out. I do tend to get weary sometimes, but the second part – praying for opportunity – reminds me that I can do what is needed if I use God's strength instead of trying to do it myself.

I'm looking forward to reading your practical ways to keep yourself diligent. Be specific – if you need to study more, tell us what your plan is to help you make sure that happens. Meanwhile, I'll be making my list...

Tuesday, March 5

Yesterday we looked at what diligence means and you came up with some good definitions and passages to help us understand how important it is in our daily walk as Christians.  Today as you think about diligence, I want you to come up with an example of someone who was NOT diligent about something so we can learn about the things that hinder diligence.  Being able to recognize the temptations can help us stand against them.  Choose your character and analyze what happened.

I have chosen Moses for my example.  After he finally agreed to let God use him to deliver the Israelites and lead them to the promised land, Moses was usually very diligent.  He carefully listened to God and obeyed Him exactly.  But there was this one instance...


10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. 

12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.



What I notice about this incident is that although Moses went to God for the answer, understood the answer, and set out to obey, something got in the way.  Maybe he had allowed the constant complaining to get to him.  Maybe someone said something to him on the way to the rock that made him angry.  Maybe he forgot to eat breakfast.  He probably wasn't hormonal, but maybe he was just tired.  After all, he was nearly 120.  And on top of that, earlier in the chapter his older sister Miriam had just died.  So what got in his way?  We are not told for sure but when I look at all the possibilities I realize that even though they probably seemed pretty big to him, they were not justification for not being diligent.  I guess most of all he lost his focus.  Instead of looking at God, he started looking at himself..."must we..."  Taking my eyes off God will cause me to stop being diligent.

Now let's hear what you have discovered from your examples!

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.