The Virtuous Woman
A Recipe
Step 12
Welcome back!
Proverbs 31 - Verse 20
She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her
hands to the needy.
My Beloved Wife Counseling
Beloved in the Bible Explained
Happy to have you back for more of our study of what it means to be a
virtuous woman. Did you know that if you're reading this, which means
that you either have a computer or access to a computer and the
internet, chances are that you probably consider your family to be in
the middle class or lower middle class income category of working
people? And you probably wish that you had more money, am I right?
My friend, I'm sure the statistics are staggering as to how many
people there are in the world that are less fortunate than you, who
only wish they could have a fraction of what you have. It's so easy
to lose perspective of how Jesus taught us to help the poor because
we're so busy thinking we're poor ... When we're not!
Holy Socks, Batman!
I have a little story to tell you. One day in the middle of a wet
winter day, I was driving down the access road to a major freeway,
and there was a young lady on the side of the road who looked a
little worse for wear. She was shivering and her clothes weren't
heavy enough to keep warm on such a day. She held a sign that said:
Please Help
God Bless You
My Beloved Wife Recipe
Beloved in the Bible Promise
Well, as I drove past her, in my nice dry car with my nice stereo
playing in my nice warm coat that was adequate for the weather, I
opened my wallet and had only a few coins in it, but I remembered
putting on a brand new pair of thick white socks just an hour ago,
and being a person myself who is very sensitive to cold damp weather,
I thought, I could at least give her those new socks. I have to tell
you though, that after I thought about the idea for a second or two,
my second impulse was, "Nehhhhh, nobody would want socks that had
been on someone else's feet."
"If you don't give them to her, you're gonna wish you did later,"
interrupted my conscience, so I pulled over onto the shoulder of the
road, took them off and folded them up and turned around at the next
crossover. I pulled up next to her, rolled down my window, and with
an almost embarrassed look on my face I said, "These are brand new, I
just put them on an hour ago." Do you know, that girl smiled the
biggest smile, hugged that silly pair of socks to her heart and
thanked me wishing me God's blessings as though I had given her a
million bucks.
Generous Women Rewards and Generous Women Blessings
Why am I telling you this instead of keeping it to myself, after all,
Jesus said to keep your generosity secret or you must settle for the
recognition of mankind instead of a reward from God:
Matthew 6:1-4
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be
seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in
Heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a
trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in
the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you,
They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know
what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which
seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly.
My Beloved Wife Vows
Beloved in the Bible Concern
The reason I share this with you, isn't for praise (or I would
probably have told you a story where I thought I was a smidgeon more
generous than giving away a measly pair of used socks), but rather to
help you earn more rewards from God. You see, even though
something may not mean much to us, it means the world to someone less
fortunate. How many times do we hesitate, postpone, or even fail to
give, because we don't think it's an adequate gift? Nonsense, I say!
Give!
One little side comment ... When you give to someone, never
expect anything in return from them. Your reward comes from
the Lord ... After this life.
The state of mind you're in when you give is very important, too.
With a willing attitude is how the Lord wants us to give.
Mark 12:41-44
41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how
the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast
in much.
42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in
two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And He called unto Him His disciples, and saith unto
them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow
hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
44 For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of
her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give;
not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
My Beloved Wife Blessing
Beloved in the Bible Warning
Even though we live in a very materialistic society and era, the most
expensive, magnificent things cannot be taken to Heaven.
1 Timothy 6:7
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can
carry nothing out.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon Earth, where
moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal:
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be
also.
Matthew 6:33-34
33 But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the
morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof.
Luke 12:25
And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
1 Peter 3:8-9
8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of
another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but
contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye
should inherit a blessing.
My Beloved Wife is a Gift
Who Is Beloved in the Bible
There's an interesting thing in this scripture that we didn't talk
about when we studied it in our previous steps:
Matthew 25:40
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my
brethren, ye have done it unto me.
What does it mean "the least of these my brethren?" Let me follow up
with another question; Have you ever seen homeless people, and you
would have given them money, but supposed that they would just spend
it on wine or beer or drugs, so you decided not to? The Bible does
teach us to prove all things, so be sure you ask the Holy Spirit
to help you discern. Surely the Lord doesn't want us to contribute to
things that aren't righteous. Since many times you really don't
know what a person may spend your charity on, or what hardships
may have befallen them to want to spend it on things (that we in our
holier than thou state of mind) think unnecessary, unworthy, or
un-anything, it may be a good idea to ask yourself, Would this person
fall into the category of the "least" of Jesus' brethren?
Generous Women Purpose and Generous Women Intent
Hmmm, here's another interesting question. When God is tallying the
charity that you give to others, does He make a note or a deduction
if the receiver of the gift does not spend it on something
"practical" in your humble opinion, or does it only matter that
you gave from your heart?
My Beloved Wife Insight
Beloved in the Bible Secret
Proverbs 3:27-28
27 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it
is in the power of thine hand to do it.
28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to
morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
That reminds me of something I read in a little book called "99
Annoying Attributes of God." On the front cover is a subtitle:
"Why God is God and You're Not."
The quote from the book is this: "God is annoying because His
sense of mercy often gets in the way of my sense of justice."
It just dawned on me that in this same Proverb that we're studying,
King Lemuel's mother addresses this very thing:
Proverbs 31:6-7
6 Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and
wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his
misery no more.
My Beloved Wife Gives Hope
Beloved in the Bible Danger
When the opportunity arises for you to help one of God's children,
don't let it escape by letting the judgmental side of you steal your
chance to erase some of your own sins:
1 Peter 4:8
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for
charity shall cover the multitude of sins.
I like the way Peter uses the word fervent in that Scripture.
Passionate, enthusiastic charity! You know that he means
"exponential" because he also uses the word fervent in 2
Peter 3:10-12 when he is describing how during the End Times, the
elements will melt with fervent heat, so you know he means to
say this emphatically.
James 2:15-16
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily
food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye
warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things
which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
James seems to have the same opinion ... Don't just say "I'll pray
for ya. Good luck."
My Beloved Wife of Love
Beloved in the Bible Promises
There are plenty of ways to give. Again, money isn't the only thing the Lord counts as charity. Donate your time, talent, service, food, clothing, prayer, it doesn't matter what you give, as long as it's from your heart. If you did an inventory of your home and gave to charity all the things that you haven't used in the past year, how many things do you suppose you really need to live? How much money and time are spent on maintaining things that people don't really ever use? Would you guess that most couples own 12 dinner plates, but rarely use more than four of them at one time? And what about the fine china that sits in the cabinet except for Christmas dinner, and when you use it you're a nervous wreck that it may get chipped? How often do you use your linen napkins? How many coffee cups does a family really need, and how many do they actually have? Bath towels? Pairs of shoes? Living rooms? Most people believe that they need more. My friend, the more you have, the more you have to worry about.
The Words of Jesus:
Luke 12:15-21
15 And He said unto them, Take heed,
and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16 And He spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do,
because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns,
and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods
laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul
shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which
thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is
not rich toward God.
For those of you who have issues with giving up your job to serve the
Lord because you think you would be bored out of your mind with
nothing to do, or you believe that your talents are so limited that
you can't think of how little old you might possibly serve the Lord
in an effective way, charity may be your niche.
My Beloved Wife - The Beloved in the Bible Summary
Volunteering is a fantastic way of serving the Lord. There are
countless Christian organizations that serve fellow Christians, the
poor and needy ... You name it. You could even start one yourself.
Create a way to give your love to God's people. You've heard of
E-Bay, well why on Earth, with as many needy souls as there are, is
there not a Charity-Bay? Sure seems like someone could make something
like that work, with the hand of God helping. Like a Goodwill online,
or a Salvation Army, but just a commonwealth of giving and receiving
between charitable and needy souls ... Couldn't that work?
Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
The secret of generosity is in the love that accompanies it. Without
love, the giving turns into something completely different, like
obligation, bribery, recognition, competition, or many other ugly
things. Don't forget to include love when you're freely giving to
others.
Don't you just love our cookbook? God clearly spells out His will in
the Bible. We can find most of what He wants us to do written on its
pages. How should we live? How should we treat other people? How can
we please God? It's all there. If we follow the recipes He created,
He will bless us.
And as always, reflect on God's Grace, every day of your life.
He loves you so very, very much.
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My Beloved Wife
Beloved in the Bible Resources
Bible Hub ... Ecclesiastes 9:9 Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days.
Holy Spirit ... Beloved Bible Path To Peace - Get to know the Holy Spirit as to obtain and maintain the status of being beloved. Since Christians are to be the Bride of Christ, according to the Bible, It would be excellent to hear Him say of you ... My Beloved Wife. This is one of the most awesome gifts you will ever receive or share.
iBelieve ... 15 Scriptures to Remind You that You're Beloved - "Beloved" means to be greatly loved. No one can love us like God. He is love. God spoke the world into existence with love.
Knowing Jesus ... 27 Bible verses about Loving Your Wife - Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.
Lifeway ... Beloved Disciple - Bible Study Book (New Look) Enjoy this classic content from the Beth Moore library for the first time or as a refresher to your faith.
OpenBible.info ... What Does the Bible Say About Beloved? Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God
Proverbs 31 Ministries ... You Are Beloved - We might believe we are the beloved of God consciously; maybe we hear it all the time. ... i would love one of the books for a bible study.
Southern Living ... Beautiful Bible Verses About Love and Marriage - Ephesians 5:33: However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. Matthew 19:4-6:
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