Sarah

Ladies Bible Study June 16, 2012   Study of Sarah

Thinking about a stranger in our midst, Sarah, who is Sarah?

Patient to a point- then impatient; She was Abraham’s half-sister.  She was 90 when she had her first child and died when she was 127; She was very beautiful in a time when most were weathered,  she was jealous, She came from a wealthy family, she had comforts of home with her, her luxury was different than ours.  Men noticed her even in her older age, ageless beauty and she had inner beauty. She followed her husband in faith. She was barren, but God promised her children.  She was jealous and vengeful, yet she never turned from God. She didn’t waver in her husband or her faith. 

Romans 4:17-20 these verses show the deadness of Sarah’s womb and the agedness of Abraham.  God provided the complete miracle in the birth of Issac.

God keeps us from harm’s way, yet we have frailty, impatience, deceptiveness.  But through their faith God rewarded them. We don’t see their asking for forgiveness, but they remained faithful to God.  God had a plan to make Abraham the father of many nations, God provided the wealth and growth of these people directed in His plan.  They fell hard, but God still used them.

We wish we could be a little further over on the perfect scale, but because of our inadequate and sinful nature we can clearly see and praise God even more for taking our imperfect selves and using us for his greatness. God looks on the heart, and God knew them.  Even though we do stupid things, God knows our hearts as well, and uses us anyway. 

Even after Hagar became pregnant because of Sarah’s impatience, Sarah waited another 13 years before she had her child.  During that time she may have questioned herself wondering if she had made a horrible mistake.  But God in his mercy has the perfect plan.

A Road Map-

She left Haran for an unknown land of promise. In our handouts we marked all the mentioned places that they had traveled to and through, Reading from Genesis 12-23.  They traveled the land that Israel inhabits today.

Hebrews 11: 13  All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them

End of the study on Eve

Ladies Bible Study June 2, 2012

We opened with prayer

We began with question 8 page 4 to finish the study of Eve.  The reflective questions were discussed as desired.

#8 What is the biblical understanding of the crushing of Satan by Jesus?   Romans 16:20; Hebrews 2:14; 1 John 3:8; Gal. 4:4

Jesus took the place of the yearly sacrifices because he is the ultimate sacrifice!  We forget that Jesus gave his perfect submission, that he might render the devil powerless, God is all powerful. So why was it written that Satan will be crushed shortly, this was after the resurrection.  Humans must still deal with Satan and the influence that Satan puts in our lives.  Just like a kid, Satan still pushes against God and tries to get us to fall. 

The ultimate lie of all lies is our wanting to exalt ourselves over God. That exultation is still goes on in our lives.  The moment we place ourselves over any situation without exulting God, we are sinning. The ultimate insult would be from those that insist there is no god.  Atheists state that we are just chemical reactions, a result of evolution, yet they go home and cherish their own families, placing value on those “chemical reactions” thus, giving value to humanity and thus giving God glory.

 The perfect woman- by not giving us her physical attributes, we do not feel we have to live up to those standards.  We in our imperfections, realize that the physical is not the focus. It is the heart that determines who we truly are.  Eve was made for Adam, God made her specifically for him, knowing what Adam needed and what Adam would desire.  Before we were saved we may have concentrated on the physical, but as we grow in the Lord, you learn to love in a different way.  God changes people. Ps. 45:15 - The king’s daughter is all glorious within.

Vulnerability- being vulnerable, is it an excuse? Are we pasting a fig leaf on us? 

How do we best protect ourselves from the vulnerability of Eve? 

Physically- we place boundaries around us, spiritually I know my shortcomings and so does God and so does Satan.  But by opening up our lives before the Lord and others we become approachable, others see where we fall short and are lacking.  We have scars,  but so does the Lord.  He has scars for us.  We need to be vulnerable for the Lord.  It is easy to be vulnerable with those you feel safe with.  We can feel safe with God and we trust that we are safe with other Christians.  Not judging others is so important.

Vulnerability is tied in with meekness- the definition of vulnerable is open for attack, weak.  But with God our vulnerability is invulnerable in Christ!  It is His strength that makes us invulnerable.  God gives us discernment, asking God for wisdom, he supplies it.  When we lay ourselves open and vulnerable we lay ourselves open before God, giving him all. It is who we are with that will result on how we are treated by those we are with, we need to place ourselves before God. In the garden, after they were removed, God still remained with them and their vulnerability.

It was her misunderstanding of God’s word that led her into disobedience.  Every word of God is very important. We must not misquote, misunderstand, or misinterpret God’s word.  To understand that God is the one in charge of the ministries, the church, his leading, we keep him preeminent.  

Day 4 – Why is important to pursue the knowledge of what is good without gaining the knowledge of that which is evil.

When you are soaked in the truth it is easier to spot the counterfeit.  When Jesus was being tempted by Satan, he used the word.  God’s word needs to fill our hearts and lives. 

We gain knowledge through experiences.  God takes you through things to build us.  The consequences of sin live on and hurt others, it is far better to learn through God’s good.  Like the story of Dorian Grey, the evil that comes into our lives changes us to ugliness on the inside and ultimately the evil will change the outside.  Beauty may be skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone.

The ultimate picture of self, when a tennis player thought she would win the match, it was her “due”.  “She didn’t need to do much to win”.  But, her opponent, who struggled through the year by heartaches and physical ills, was the one that was triumphant.  The girl that thought she would win, walked away with her self-reliance, but the girl that won took a year of difficulty and learning with her along with the win.

Nothing is due us. We are not entitled to anything.  The first things we learn as a child, “it isn’t fair”.  But God did not promise us anything, everything that we have or get in our lives is a gift from God.  We are to be dependent on God, praising him for everything he has blessed us with.  We need to realize that God doesn’t owe us anything, we owe HIM everything.

Women in different roles, wife, mother, daughter, caretaker, etc…  We don’t think about it a lot, but we move and transition into different roles.  If we do all for Christ, it will last. It is the relationship with the Lord that lasts.  Each person at a funeral may see a different aspect of a person, but we are blessed by the people that God brings into our “family”.

Eve had generations of grandchildren, she suffered with her children’s acts, she may have rejoiced with the promise that God told her about her children.  She was human.  When we don’t repent we experience judgment, but through repentance we have repentance.  One small act of disobedience changed the world and the future of mankind.  When we sin we don’t think things through and how much does our sin impacts the world.  Every time you stop and think about something and choose to do the right thing for God you are dying to self, putting yourself last.

Just Think! We have so many more wonderful examples to go through!
Sarah is next!