For His Glory

"She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant's ship, bringing her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plans the day's work for her servant girls. She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; Her lamp burns into the night....She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness." Proverbs 31:13-18&27 Working Inside and Out of the Home: This part of the text sounds so old, foreign, and out of date for today's wife. What could all this merchant ship, servant girl, and vineyard planting possibly have to do with the wife of 2018? Even though wives of old literally did the things mentioned in this text, the same basic principles apply to us today. We are to run our homes with efficiency. She is taking the resources she finds and making ...

"She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life." Proverbs 3 1:12 Intro: I was married for six years to my husband when we were separated for the first time. A few months later we separated permanently, and two and a half years after that we were divorced. Nearly one year after our divorce was final we were remarried again, and we just celebrated our fifth anniversary last week. The reason Proverbs 31 is so dear to me is because I strongly believe none of us set out to cause our husbands harm, but we still do. Whether intentional or unintentional we are still responsible for our actions. This devotion will lay out what my husband and I both feel are the top four contributors that cause husbands harm. #1 DISRESPECT: In preparing for this devotion I asked my husband the number one factor in a woman causing harm to her husband in marriage. Without hesitation he quickly fired back, "Disrespect!" I couldn't agree more. As w...

"Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life." Proverbs 31: 10-11 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ I'm sure there are some fellas out there asking themselves this same question; wondering if they will ever find a woman who is virtuous and capable. There may even be some long-time husbands asking the same. The good news for us women is we can start sewing these qualities into our lives at any time. Being a woman who is virtuous and capable isn't dependent upon your past, your relationship status, the attitude of your husband, or any other external factor. It's a prayerful decision made within ourselves each day that's able to operate independent of outside influences. The Virtuous Wife: What man wouldn't want a virtuous wife? The dictionary describes this adjective as  conforming to m...

Give Yourself Grace: As we dive into the Proverbs 31 wife portion of these devotions know that there is grace abounding for you as a wife, mother, and child of God. Even though this is a portion of Scripture written a long time ago, Scripture is for all people, for all times. There is something in here for each of us. This chapter, although it may appear to be works-based, needs to be tackled one devotion at a time with close examination of our hearts, but an even closer realization that we are a work in progress. God is making us more like Jesus and transforming us from glory to glory with each passing day. "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord -- who is the Spirit -- makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image." 2 Corinthians 3:18. This chapter was written for women who have committed, surrendered, and completely given over the reigns of their lives to our Lord and Savior, ...

" Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves;   ...ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice." Proverbs 31:8-9 Last Preparations: Here we have it; the last of the preparations before he is ready to meet his bride, and perhaps the most difficult because these instructions require true relationship with Jesus. You cannot spend your life speaking up for those who don't have a voice, making sure the crushed receive justice, or genuinely invest in the poor and helpless until you know the One from who you draw strength. Stuff is about to get real. This is the point of inception for real change as a man decides whether he is willingly ready to lace up his boots, dig his work gloves out of the shed, and prepare for some serious work.  Selfless: God knows our fleshly nature is to basically be selfish "give me, give me, give me" little life suckers. But he asks us to ris...

"O my son...do not waste your strength on women...who ruin kings. It is not for kings ...to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol. For if they drink, they may forget the law and not give justice to the oppressed. Alcohol is for the dying, and wine for those in bitter distress. Let them drink to forget their poverty and remember their troubles no more." Proverbs 31:2-7 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well, well, well...It looks like there are some things King Lemuel needs to get in order before he will be ready for that Proverbs 31 wife of his future. In fact, these verses are jam packed with many qualities and characteristics consistent with a Godly lifestyle.  Choose Wisely: It is so easy when dating to gravitate toward the good-looking who like to have fun and present themselves as the life of the party. Unfortunately, women who live this li...

"The sayings of King Lemuel contains this message, which his mother taught him"  Proverbs 31:1 Our Children Remember What We Teach Them: Until really stopping to study this chapter, I had no idea the first nine verses were about who King Lemuel's mother taught him to be before obtaining a wife. Did you? This entire chapter is written as a remembrance of ideas, values, morals, and character traits that a mother placed into the heart of her son as she looked toward a future where he would be king.  Verses two through nine are the king reflecting on all his mother taught him about his role as a leader and man of God. Then, in verse ten, we finally dive into the kind of wife he is now prepared for. Isn't that interesting? This is a good word for all you single ladies. It's important that you prepare yourself to be a Proverbs 31 wife, but it is equally important to ask for wisdom and discernment in seeing to it that your potential husband has...