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.

Time for a New Study!

Monday is the day - we will start in a new study adventure to learn about what our day-to-day lives as Christian women should look like in our own unique situations.  Here are the rules:  no opinions without a Scripture to back up the opinion.  We will be looking for biblical principles as we go and discussing how to apply them in different situations.  The goal is to not only learn for ourselves, but be able to encourage others as they walk with Jesus.  Since the only way we can know we are doing what pleases God and are advising what He would have us advise is to do so from His Word, that is what we will do.  I look forward to all your input!

Check back here each weekday to see the assignment/discussion topic and join us as we learn.

Another great summer week ahead

Hello all,

Yep, I'm certainly enjoying summer this year. My garden is overrun with weeds, but no problem. I enjoy weeding. So I spend a couple of hours out there in the mornings before it is too hot and make a little dint in the mess. Sometimes our spiritual lives feel that way. The important thing is to keep on weeding!

I'm still in Colossians.

I'm back and it's Thursday

Hello, ladies! It's so good to be home. I enjoyed my visit with my family and it was sad to have to leave them, but it's so good to be back. While I was gone I read through Colossians and part of 1 John but wasn't able to do any copying so today I will go back to Colossians and start copying. I'm excited to start again.

The church in Flint is struggling with loss of members due to economic reasons and one family for issues reasons so they really need our prayers. The Sunday before I was there their attendance was recorded on their board as 18. They are good people who are struggling to keep God's light shining in difficult times.

It was good to see Ann posting again! I hope you can post more often, Ann. We are taking it easy this summer but will get back to daily posting in the fall. Do you all want to continue this individual format or are you ready to do another group study?