Salutations to my sisters who are striving on!
Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
Luke 13:24-25
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
1 Timothy 6:12
I hope that's what you're doing! I am here! Nothing else is worth fighting for. People fight for fame and money and other such fleeting things. But we for the eternal!
Pondering on the sword we have which is God's Word, the 'it is writtens"!
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Ephesians 6:17
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Matthew 4:4,7,10
His Word is so very important to feed on and know and be ready to use as a defense.
We women are to be on guard to be not deceived. We know we have to be aware of wolves in sheep's clothing. And aware of satan as angels of light and many other things. We know we can't run away from this world but have to face life and these perilous times but God can keep us from evil. The internet is full of such deceptions (which we need to close the door to) and the church systems and every other thing not of the truth of God.
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Matthew 7:15-16
And ponder about what wolves do to sheep...they wound and kill. Let us look to the good Shepherd! He cares for His sheep and we know He can bring to life 'dead' sheep and heal wounded ones.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Isaiah 40:11
I decided to read some of John 10 to help us ponder on the good Shepherd!
(That was the sunset while I was making it.)I share even more scriptures on sheep and shepherds etc. I'm sure people back then could more easily relate to what the shepherd and sheep relationship was. That practice is lacking in today's western cultures, but we should try to understand it so we can make sure we are correctly understanding and obeying the Word.
And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
Mark 14:27
Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
Hebrews 13:20
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
1 Peter 5:2-4
How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?
And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.
Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
Matthew 18:12-14
He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
John 21:16
And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Matthew 25:32-34
Good subject to think about! I appreciate all the pictures in scriptures we have to relate to. Many things about farming and harvests and things too. Life was more simple and straight forward back then. They didn't have the multitudes of professions that we have today.
And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
Genesis 4:9-10
I was pondering that scripture and how we don't want to stumble or hurt anyone spiritually. We should care for one another...those the Lord brings into our lives. It will not be good on judgement day for those who stumble others.
I also reached out to another older sister I used to be in fellowship with. Praise God she's still striving on, though through many sorrows.
But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we also to see you:
Therefore, brethren, we were comforted over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith: For now we live, if ye stand fast in the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 3:6-8
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
1 Thessalonians 5:14
That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
1 Corinthians 12:25-26
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Romans 12:10
And here's the Matthew 23 reading...
Good one about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of their day. We need to make sure we don't have that. And beware for those like that of our day.
Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
Matthew 23:24
That's an interesting picture for sure of focusing on the details and overlooking something major. Reminds me of the mote and the beam in brothers' eyes too.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
Luke 6:41-42
His Word is just so very true to what we see going on. Nothing new under the sun right sisters. Sometimes it's just so amazing how fitting the Word is to what's going on or experiences we have.
This one is a good one to ponder...
Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.
Ezekiel 33:12
Goes along with Hebrews 10:26-27 too.
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
Let us take sin seriously, sisters.
I love that scripture.Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
Isaiah 66:1-2
Pumpkin soup blessings...
I would serve my sisters a bowl (or hungry enemies).
Keep pressing on in your Titus 2 works sisters! I am doing that here, and I have travel tomorrow Lord willing.
I leave you with this scripture which says a lot...
Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
James 3:13-18
Strive on in true godly wisdom from above sisters. There's such a huge contrast between that and the devilish earthly wisdom it talks about. We don't want to be childish and fleshly and have strife and envy about things that do not matter. Yes we should contend for the faith once delivered and sound doctrine...but in the ways of the wisdom from above that He gives us to walk in! His ways are very good! Let's walk in them sisters! Look to the Lord!
Love, peace & joy in Christ,
Sister Chayil
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