A few years ago I was reading through Proverbs with my son, and we came to this chapter, “Avoid the Immoral Woman.” He was only about seven at the time and I remember cringing a little inside. We pressed on and I just prayed quietly to myself for God to help me explain things the way he wanted me to.

We came to verse 16 and I quickly said, “Love your wife only, and nobody else.” 

Phew, that was a close one. I almost had to talk about the three letter word with him. Thankfully what I said summed up the entire chapter perfectly. That a man would be so in love with his wife, but more importantly so in love with Jesus that he would heed and take the warnings about avoiding immoral women very seriously.

Furthermore, if I were talking to my daughters about this chapter, I would say to let their husband love them.

“Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth.” Proverbs 5:18

What does a “fountain of blessing” mean? It means a source of life, joy, and purification that bends down and puts the other person before themselves. Sounds a lot like Jesus, doesn’t it? Whenever we question how we are to love our spouse, we can always look at how Jesus has loved us and see clearly how to give ourselves up for them. Marriage is a beautiful portrait of Christ and his church. As women, we can look to his word and learn how he designed marriage and get the direction we need to honor God with our wifehood. We won’t always do it perfectly, but we will pray for a fountain of grace from our husband as we ask God to help us be a fountain of blessing to him.

We will also pray like crazy and never stop praying for our husband to listen and follow God’s commands to stay away from the  “immoral women” this chapter speaks of. She’s out there, and the enemy will be certain to try and lure him into sin through her. (I know, it’s so not fun to talk about, but somebody has to!) A husband is responsible for his own actions and we want to be a fountain of blessing to him by praying daily for him to be careful to keep the covenant he made before God to love only us.

Lastly, you can talk to your husband about putting safe barriers in place to help both of you stay true to the promises you made to love only one another. This is something my husband and I have become passionate about. We’ve spoken to groups about it together a few times and I’ve written about it in a few places (you can find links below.) As we are studying the book about wisdom, let’s be wise and put walls up and protect our most important earthly relationship: our marriage. If you haven’t already talked to your husband about being proactive to avoid letting another woman slide their way into your man’s heart, then prayer and the links below will help you. Please take the time to protect your marriage and frequently make sure you are continuing to do so. Don’t get comfortable thinking you or your husband are above the ability to sin. Set boundaries and stick to them, because a lifelong marriage is worth it.

I know this has been a tough topic to write about, as it is not the most fun to read about either, I am sure. We say “I do” and ride off happily into the sunset, right? Girls, that’s in fairy tales. We live in a world where the enemy prowls around like a lion, looking for someone (or someone’s marriage) to devour.

“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

The good news is: after you set up walls to protect your marriage and ask Jesus daily to keep them nice and strong, he also makes the space behind the walls abundant with beauty unimaginable. The stories only heaven sees behind the sacred walls of your marriage will echo into eternity. What an amazing gift the Lord gave us in marriage. It’s definitely worth making sure you are a fountain of blessing and that you are doing what you can to protect your marriage. ❤

My husband and I sharing our story

>>>A book to help you set up walls around your marriage<<<

Keep reading through the weekend! I’ll be back on Monday with chapter 8!

Amy

I’m thrilled to launch Women of the Word Wednesday here at Refocused Bible Study! This project is  near and dear to my heart. Every Wednesday, a fellow blogger will share with us how the Lord spoke to them through the day’s chapter.

The mission of Refocused is to “equip women to engage in God’s Word in a practical way and to know Jesus more intimately.”

I believe:

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.” 2 Timothy 3:16 

I believe to know His Word is to know Him and to Love Him. His Word is alive and He wants it fresh on our hearts, minds, and lips so we can walk with Him daily. It’s for the everyday woman and man; not just pastors and full time ministers.

That’s why I’m so excited to showcase some other daughters of God in this space whose hearts echo a love and daily dependence on his Word! So without further ado, I give you our first Women of the Word Wednesday from a blogging friend, Britney Clair!

Life throws many curve balls.

There are surprises around every corner, surprises both good and bad.

Happiness finds us when we least expect it and God picks us up when we have no strength left to stand.
There are many things we have to leave in Gods hands.

Many things we cannot and will not ever understand.

We cannot control the future, we cannot change the past and we cannot move the present.

As women of faith you must remember to, “trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart.”

To trust in the Lord is to surrender control, to trust in the Lord with all your heart is to lay it at Gods feet.

“Do not depend on your understanding,”

In order to truly strengthen our faith we must lay it at Gods feet without any understanding at all. We must remember God has always been in control and His plan and purposes for our lives are greater than anything we could have ever imagined.

“Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”

As women of faith we must seek God everyday, in every situation and through any trial or tribulation. By doing this God will guide our footsteps and show us the way.

Through this word God reminded me that life can be much more simple, much less stressful and filled with more joy! He reminded me that by giving my worries and cares to Him I am free!
– Britney

Hi, my name is Britney Clair! I am just a girl trying to inspire the world one woman at a time! Due to the love I hold for digging into Gods word and then journaling about it, I decided to create a blog. My hope is to inspire other girls, woman, wives and mothers to dig deeper into Gods word and listen closer to what it is he has called you to do. Visit my blog today at theproverbs31wife.com

If you are interested in contributing for Women of the Word Wednesdays, email Amy at Adterry13@hotmail.com!

If you’re joining us to study Proverbs, you can purchase a study guide here.

We would love for you to join our Facebook group here. Wednesdays at noon Amy hosts a live discussion! Join us! ❤

Welcome to the first day of Proverbs, a chapter a day here at Refocused Bible Study! We’ve already started laying the foundation last week for the study of this super practical book of the bible by studying King Solomon, who wrote many chapters in this book. If you missed those posts, you can find them here.

Today we start this book as women who want God’s wisdom. But we don’t want it just for the purpose of knowing it. We want wisdom for the purpose of knowing HIM. I pray that as we approach this book, we will allow the Holy Spirit to be our teacher and show us things in his word that only he ( the One who dreamed us up, uniquely wired our personalities and pursued us in love) can whisper to us. If you are new to studying God’s word or want a refresher,  you can read more about how He teaches us through it here.

In the first seven verses of chapter one, Solomon lays out the purpose of his writing, and lays the foundation for this book:

These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel.

2 Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
to help them understand the insights of the wise.
3 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives,
to help them do what is right, just, and fair.
4 These proverbs will give insight to the simple,
knowledge and discernment to the young.
5 Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.
Let those with understanding receive guidance
6 by exploring the meaning in these proverbs and parables,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
7 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Verse seven stands at the bottom of these first seven verses, ironically the foundation of the entire book of Proverbs. Everything else in the book of wisdom stands upon this verse. Let’s study it more in depth.

According to the Strong’s Lexicon, the Hebrew Word for “fear” in this verse is

‘yir’ah” – fear, terror, fearing
fear, terror
awesome or terrifying thing (object causing fear)
fear (of God), respect, reverence, piety
revered

Are you fearing the Lord these days in this way? This kind of fear or reverence brings us to a place of honest humility. It brings us to our knees, knowing we are and will always be in need of the God who is so much bigger than our minds could understand.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9

As I meditated on what it meant to fear the Lord, I heard the preschool director’s voice echo in my memory,  “bow your heads and close your eyes, be very reverent to God while we pray.” It may sound legalistic to say that, but she was totally correct in teaching our children the outward expression of an inward fear of the Lord. She was planting reverence in the hearts of our children, and I am so thankful she did.

Reverence for the Lord should start on the inside. If we need a good dose of reverence for the Lord, we can get one by reading one of the replies God gave Job: 

4“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Tell me, if you know so much.
5Who determined its dimensions
and stretched out the surveying line?
6What supports its foundations,
and who laid its cornerstone
7as the morning stars sang together
and all the angels shouted for joy?
8“Who kept the sea inside its boundaries
as it burst from the womb,
9and as I clothed it with clouds
and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10For I locked it behind barred gates,
limiting its shores.
11I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.
Here your proud waves must stop!’

Job 38:4-11NLT

When he formed the boundaries of the seas, he knew our names, how many days we would live on this earth and which oceans our toes would touch before he decided which day to bring us home to heaven, but where were we?

The mere thought of the vast oceans fixes my need to fear him every single time. He’s so much bigger than we make him out to be.

In My Life

Grow in your respectful admiration of the Lord. Continuing to realize he is bigger and better than we can imagine will naturally lead us into more wholehearted reverence and fear of Him.

As we read the book of Proverbs, I pray we will respond to Lady Wisdom calling to us and listen. No matter how many times we have read these words, I pray they will fall fresh on us and that God will give us specific direction about things we have questions about in our lives right now. I know he will be faithful to do just that, and I look forward to hearing how he leads you through it!

What was your verse today? How is God speaking to you?

Download the FREE Study Guide by subscribing in the pop up box! 

We’d love for you to connect through our Facebook Group here!

Praying for you,

Amy

Proverbs, a chapter a day starts right here at Refocused Bible Study on Monday! I have an exciting announcement! There is a study guide/journal now available to help you organize your quiet times during the month of May!

The Proverbs Study guide includes weekly memory verse cards,  quiet time patterned journal pages, and an introductory devotion to prepare your heart for studying the book of Proverbs. Your purchase helps support the continuation of this ministry.

Printable Proverbs Study Guide $5.00

Here are some sneak peaks of what you will find inside:

Front cover

Weekly memory verses (5)

Journaling Pages

If you are not able to purchase the study guide, no worries! We still want you to be a part of studying this very helpful and practical book of God’s Word.

We are using another acronym to study this month based on the word “Wise.” See the image below. 

The mission of Refocused Bible Study is to equip and encourage women to engage in God’s Word in a personal way and to know Jesus more intimately. We would love to have you join us for the book of Proverbs Monday as we grow together. You can join our Facebook group here. If you aren’t on Facebook, you can receive posts during the book of Proverbs study on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday by email here. We hope you’ll join us!

Amy

 “Here’s what I want:

Give me a God-listening heart

so I can lead your people well, discerning the difference between good and evil. For who on their own is capable of leading your glorious people?” 1 Kings 3:9 MSG

On Monday here at Refocused Bible Study, we will start studying the book of Proverbs together for the month of May. I hope you will join us!

Today we will be diving deeper into the conversation the author of many of the Proverbs, King Solomon, had with the Lord when he asked for wisdom. How do we relate to King Solomon? Why do we need wisdom as much as he needed it?

I pray that after reading this post, we will all have “a God-listening heart”like King Solomon had in the above verse as we approach the book of Proverbs!

Let’s dive into the conversation.

God has just asked Solomon to request anything he wants, and promises to give it to him.

“Solomon replied to God, “You showed great and faithful love to David, my father…

2 Chronicles 1:8a

Solomon acknowledges God’s faithfulness in the past — and how it’s affected his present. 

Do you? Take a moment and thank God for the way he’s been faithful and kind to draw you into a relationship with Him. It’s been generations in the making. Just as Solomon saw how God had been kind to his father, we can be sure that the Lord has had plans in motion to call us children that predate our existence.. He loves you that much! I spent a few moments thanking him for my faithful grandparents whom I know offered many prayers for me and also for my mother who always faithfully took me to church where I fell in love with Jesus. Be assured, sister, God has been pursuing you for generations. Isn’t he amazing?

…and now YOU have made me king in his place.”

2 Chronicles  1:8b

Next, Solomon acknowledges that it is God who has made him King of Israel. You may be asking, how does this apply to me?

You may not be king of Israel, but God has placed you in a significant role today. 

Now, YOU (God) have made me ___________________________ in this place. 

You fill in the blank. God has placed you in significant roles that will affect future generations. My blank reads  “wife, mother, bible teacher.” Yours may say something different, but whatever roles God has you in during this season are significant for building the kingdom of God and affecting future generations! This is a big responsibility. Solomon felt it, and so should we.

‘ Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” 

1 Kings 3:9

For who, by herself, can _________________________________?

Fill in the blank with whatever role God’s placed you in today. We cannot fulfill the call of God on our life on our own. We cannot build his kingdom here without his help, everyday, every hour. We must stay fully aware of our need for Him, every second.

“Neediness” is often viewed as a weakness in today’s world. Independence is something that is praised and cultivated in our daughters from a young age. But God’s Word shows us to never outgrow our dependence on God.

May this be our prayer as we approach the book of Proverbs next week.

Lord, help us:

acknowledge your past faithfulness

realize and take ownership of the roles you’ve placed us in today,

and stay in total dependence of you, our Savior and Source of Wisdom.

Give us a God-listening heart through the Proverbs, Lord, that comes alive in every area of our lives, Lord, Amen.