Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 8; Psalm 30
Pondering Job 8 and the very true words of Job’s friend Bildad – that God is just, that He will restore Job’s fortunes and bless his life, and that the godless will surely not prosper – reminded of Proverbs 25:11, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.”
Were Bildad’s words fitly spoken? I think not. Why not? Because, like my dear friend Beth has often reminded me, “The right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.” Eloquent speeches about God’s justice and judgment are inappropriate to give to a friend who has just lost all of their children and possessions.
It reminds me of times when I’ve gone shoe shopping and have found the perfect shoes at the perfect price, only to discover that they don’t fit. No matter how beautiful those shoes are, no matter what a good deal they are, if they’re too big or too small, you shouldn’t waste your money on them.
If our words are to be fitly spoken, we must be careful not only what we say, but how and when. If our words are to be fitly spoken, they must be fit to the person, place, and time.
If our words are to be fitly spoken, we must be careful not only what we say, but how and when.
Please join me in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for the joy of Your presence. You have indeed made me glad as I have trusted in You. You are always good. Make me more like You.Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Let me look upon Your glory and see Your face.
Give me wisdom and discernment in what to say as well as what not to. Help me see what words fit and what words don’t. Give me insight into what the circumstances demand. May my words be as heartfelt as they are true. Help me to speak the truth from a heart filled with humility and love.
In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen
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Read Through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 25, Genesis 49-50
His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.”
Joseph understood that his life was not his own. He recognized that his life was too be lived in service to his fellow man and his God. Whether refusing the advanced of his boss’s wife, interpreting dreams, obeying his father, or providing for the needs of the Egyptians or the brothers who has sold him into slavery, his life was lived as an offering back to God. Can we say the same?
Is your body “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”? (Romans 12:2 ESV)
Do you see your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have received from God, such that “you are not your own,” … that you will live to “glorify God in your body”? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)
If your answer is “no,” let me make two simple, but not simple, suggestions:
You can’t live what you don’t believe. If you don’t believe God’s Word … if you don’t believe that Jesus is the perfect, sinless God-man, the spotless Lamb who died for your sins and was raised to life again … if you don’t believe that God is good and all-knowing and all-powerful over all things, then you won’t be able to trust God enough to surrender your life to Him. Start there. Start by simply reading His Word each day, while asking Him to help you in your unbelief.
You can’t give what you don’t have. If you don’t belong to God, if you’re not filled with His Holy Spirit, then you simply don’t have the power to live for Him. Surrender your life now to God. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn away from your sins and follow Him with an obedient spirit. Ask Him to change you from the inside out and fill you with His Spirit.
Please pray with me.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You for coming after me while I was lost in my own sins. Thank You for giving us the book of Genesis, that we can know how the world began, but also that we can know the true stories of ordinary men and women like Abraham and Sarah and Joseph who possessed extraordinary faith.
Help us to trust You more, to believe that nothing is too hard for You, that You have good plans for us and that You have a purpose for our lives. Make us pure and holy vessels of Your Spirit. Make us living offerings for Your glory. We love You. We trust You. Help us to love You more and trust You more, for You are worthy.
In the name of Jesus Christ who is our Savior and our Lord we pray. Amen.
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“I am Not my Own” Keith + Kristen Getty, Skye Peterson
Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 20, Genesis 38-39
I found it especially interesting to read Genesis 38 and 39 together. Genesis 38 tells the story of Judah, who got his widowed daughter-in-law pregnant, while Genesis 39 tells the story of Judah’s younger brother, Joseph, who successfully resisted Potiphar’s wife in spite of her incredible persistence.
Genesis 38 – Sexual Sin and Human Pride
I mainly want to focus on Genesis 39 today, but before we get there I do want to point out two things in Genesis 38.
About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”
And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
– Genesis 38:24 ESV
Judah is the father of this child. Judah is the reason that Tamar is pregnant. Yet Judah is who demands that she be burned. 🥺😭
How quick we are to point out the sin in other people when we are guilty of that very same sin! How prone we are to hate lying and pride and sin in other people, while overlooking it in ourselves!
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Matthew 7:3 ESV
This is part of loving your neighbor as yourself. Somehow we all manage to forgive our own lying and deceit and sexual sin and pride. We make excuses for our own misbehavior, yet we are quick to point fingers at others. May it never be.
I pray that we desire repentance in ourselves as much as we desire it in our neighbor. May we be merciful as we have been shown mercy. May we not think that we are somehow better than someone else, when we are both eating pig slop.
As a dear Christian sister often reminds me, “We are all just beggars looking for somewhere to buy bread.”
The second thing that jumps out at me from Genesis 38 is that Perez, one of the twin sons who was conceived in Tamar through this act of sexual immorality, is the child that God chose to be in the line of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1:3)
God uses all things, sometimes even sinful things, to accomplish His purposes. Does that mean we should continue in sin? May it never be. But does it mean that none of us are beyond hope and that God is able to use even our sinful past to bring Him glory? Yes. Yes, it does.
I have deep regrets over many things I did in the first 25 years of my life – maybe you do, too – yet those things shaped who I am today. I pray my brokenness would be holes for God’s glory to shine out of.
Genesis 29 – Handsome Joseph and Potiphar’s Persistent Wife
Let’s look next at Genesis 29, a completely different reaction to sexual temptation.
Potiphar’s wife, a woman of authority, the wife of his boss, aggressively pursues Joseph – a very different situation than the one Judah was in – and yet Joseph remains steadfast, refusing to even “listen to her.” (Genesis 39:10)
The scriptures are full of encouragement to FLEE from temptation and sin. We must actively train ourselves (and our children) to RUN from temptation.
May we not be like Lot’s wife who kept looking back as she was being forced to flee Sodom. May we not be like the Israelites who thought fondly about their years in Egyptian bondage. Instead, let’s be women who flee from temptation with our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”
Psalm 119:9 ESV
“For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!” Proverbs 5:3-12 ESV
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
2 Timothy 2:22 ESV
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:13b-20 ESV
Will you join me in prayer?
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Your mercy and grace and forgiveness. I don’t deserve it. I have been Tamar, and I have been Potiphar’s wife. Like 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Such was I, Lord! But, Lord, You have washed me clean in the blood of Jesus. You have given me new desires and new power by Your Spirit at work in me. Praise Your name!
I pray that You would protect my husband and sons. Please, Father, help them to keep their hearts and minds pure. Help them to “think about what they’re thinking about” and to “pay attention to what has their attention.” Show them the way of escape when they are tempted, and give them the wisdom, strength, and desire to flee.
Please protect me and my sisters – and our daughters – from the temptation to be temptresses. Make us honorable women. May we be found faithful, to You and to our husbands. Create in us clean hands and pure hearts, O LORD. Remind us daily that true fulfillment and satisfaction is found only at the feet of Jesus, that we would not seek it elsewhere.
You are worthy. You alone are worthy. Thank you, Jesus!
In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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When I Think About the Lord
When I think about the Lord How He saved, how He raised me How He filled me with the Holy Ghost He healed me to the uttermost When I think about the Lord How He picked me up Turned me around How He set my feet On solid ground
That makes me want to shout Hallelujah, thank You, Jesus Lord, You’re worthy Of all the glory, and all the honor And all the praise Oh, makes me want to shout Hallelujah, thank You, Jesus Lord, You’re worthy Of all the glory, and all the honor And all the praise
Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 19, Genesis 36-37
But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
Genesis 37:4 ESV
Why are the brothers mad at Joseph because their dad loves him more? That seems so unfair. Isn’t it their father, Jacob’s fault rather than Joseph’s? … Isn’t that the way of man? And Joseph sure didn’t help matters by bragging about his dreams and being the family snitch.
Have you ever hated someone because you’re jealous of them? I have. In high school I always hated the “pretty girls” … though I see now that was rooted in my own insecurity and jealousy.
And what’s up with Jacob making it so obvious that Joseph was his favorite child? That is so heartbreaking…. But also so easy. A parent can naturally get along better with a certain child. Or a certain child may come into your life at a crucial time or in answer to your fervent prayers – like Joseph did – and ends up being preferred.
I wish I could tell you that my family has avoided the scars left by the childhood struggles of jealousy and favoritism, but that simply isn’t true. I have to confess that my children and I have wrestled long and hard through these issues. It’s not pretty, friends, and it has long-term consequences.
Our culture laughs about the issue of “sibling rivalry” as though it’s just a normal and natural part of childhood. It may be normal and natural in this fallen world we live in friends, but it’s certainly not good.
If you find yourself preferring one child over another, this, too, may be normal and natural, but it’s not good.
Let me encourage you to examine yourself first. Start with you. I believe that a big root cause of sibling rivalry is parental partiality. Do you have some children who are rebellious and other children who are compliant? Do you have one child who demands lots of extra time while your other children easily fade into the background? Watch yourself!
Let me share two ways that I tried hard to help fight favoritism and jealousy in my household.
“Day of the Week”
In our family, each child had one day to call their own. On their day, they got to be the one who picked a game at lunch. That child was the one who prayed over our meal, who picked the bedtime story, who got to ride in the front seat. Wherever there was a choice to be made that day, they got to pick it.
Over the years the day of the week varied a little depending on our family’s schedule, but usually our oldest child got Monday, our second child got Tuesday, our third child got Wednesday, I got Thursday (because this was a busy day for us so there were less choices to be made), and our fourth child got Friday. (Saturday was a family day and Daddy got Sunday.)
Weekly Date Nights
The other thing we did was weekly date nights. It was usually on a Friday night, but not always. The first Friday of the month was for our first child, second Friday was for our second child, third Friday for our third child, and the fourth Friday for our fourth child. My husband and I took turns taking out the kids, so every other month each child had a date with mom and the other month with dad. This intentionality and regularity helped each of our kids to stay connected with each of their parents.
What ideas do you have to fight Favoritism and Jealousy? I’d love to hear them. Leave a comment below.
Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father,
Sibling rivalry has been around since there were siblings. The first murder was between two brothers and it was rooted in jealousy.
Please, Father, help us as parents to love each of our children fully and with all our hearts. Help us to recognize where we are falling short in this area and to confess and repent.
Lord, each of our children are unique and we naturally gravitate towards one or another.
You know our hearts. You know our motives. You know if they are right or if they are wrong. Feather, we confess our sin to You and ask Uou to forgive us and to create a right heart in us. We pray You would heal whatever scars our children have as a result of our own sin – our own feelings and actions rooted in partiality or favoritism.
We pray that You would heal any scars of bitterness or jealousy in our children. No matter their age. It is never too late. We thank you Lord for the blessing it is to have siblings and pray that You would use this unique bond to richly bless our children.
In the name of Jesus Christ who sticks closer than a brother, Amen
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Read Through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 17; Genesis 33
But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Genesis 33:4 ESV
Twenty years earlier Jacob had fled for his life after lying to his father and cheating his brother Esau out of his father’s final blessing. Jacob was terrified to go back and see Esau again. He expected Esau to kill him, his wives, and his children. At a minimum, we would expect Esau to at least give Jacob a severe tongue lashing, right?
Esau running to embrace Jacob is certainly not what anyone would expect. Forgiveness and reconciliation are rare commodities in human relationships, even between brothers.
Esau’s actions reminded me of the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.
“How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
– Luke 15:17-24 ESV
I’m reading about Esau, but all I can think about is God’s overwhelming, never-ending, faithful love. He loved me while I was yet His enemy. Truly He loved me first. I am able to love Him ONLY because He first loved me!
I confess that I don’t really understand how all this works, but I do know that it all begins and ends with our loving Father. He pursues us. He lavishes His mercy on us, and His mercy draws us to repentance.
Esau’s ability to forgive his selfish, lying, deceiving brother, takes an act of God.
Has someone hurt you? Are you struggling to forgive them? You need God to act. And He CAN! He can do it. Dear sisters, God is able to do it through us! What is impossible for man is possible for God! God can give us the strength and humility to forgive others who have hurt us.
And, let’s not forget, He commands it of us. We must forgive others because we have been forgiven of SO MUCH!
Which reminds me of another parable that Jesus told. This time in Matthew 18.
“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’
So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’
And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
-Matthew 18:21-35 ESV
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father,
Please give us the strength and humility we need to forgive others. Help us to say what our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to say, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Remind us of Christ’s own words as He was being crucified, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Help us to lovingly pursue others while they are sinners, like Jesus pursued us. Help us to overcome evil with good rather than repaying wrong with wrong. Please, Father, make us more like Jesus who was willing to suffer, in order that we could be forgiven and redeemed.
Help us to love others like you have loved us.
By the power of the Holy Spirit and the lavish, overwhelming grace of Christ, we pray this, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 15, Genesis 29-30
“When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, ‘Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.’
She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.’ And she called his name Simeon.
Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ Therefore his name was called Levi.
And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD.’ Therefore she called his name Judah.
Then she ceased bearing.”
– Genesis 29:31-35
Leah viewed her first three sons as tools to get her husband to love her.
Son #1: Now my husband will love me.
Son #2: The Lord has heard that I am hated.
Son #3: Now my husband will be attached to me.
Yet, it’s Leah’s fourth son, Judah, the son whose name means praise, the son whose birth brought Leah to say, “THIS TIME I WILL PRAISE THE LORD,” whom God chose to father the line of Jesus Christ, God’s only Begotten Son and the Savior of the World,
Friends, think about this: it wasLeah, the unloved wife, whom God chose to bear Judah.
I remember my own time of marital pains and infertility. Reading this story about Leah is such an encouragement to me.
God has purpose both in our fertility and in our barrenness. May we bring Him glory in both!
Are you feeling unloved today? I’ve been there. But so has Jesus. He knows how it feels to be rejected by those who were supposed to love Him. And Jesus, the Great I Am, loves you. He is worth a thousand times more than the most perfect husband or a thousand imperfect sons.
Let me pray over you.
Heavenly Father,
You are close to the broken-hearted. You are the God who remains faithful when man is faithless. You love the unloved and the unloveable, the poor, the lonely, the rejected.
You are the good shepherd who pursues His lost sheep.
I pray that we would praise You when life is easy, and we would praise You when life is hard. No matter what, You are worthy of our praise!
We offer our hearts, minds, wombs, and lives to You. Father, fill them as You will in Your perfect timing and for Your perfect purposes. Help us to trust You with our hearts and our hurts.
In the name of Jesus our Savior and King we pray, Amen.
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I’ve always liked the name Rebekah, so I was extra disappointed when I read her story in Genesis 27 and 28. Reflecting the meaning of her name, Rebekah is an ensnarer. She wants what she wants, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Jacob, her quieter son, the one who “dwells in the tents,” is her favorite. (Genesis 25:27-28) She deceives her own husband – and orders her son to do likewise – so that he will get his father’s blessing.
Adam foolishly listened to his wife, Eve. Abraham foolishly listened to his wife, Sarah. Now, the son foolishly listened to his mother’s voice.
But we can’t place all of the blame on Rebekah. Jacob chose to lie to his father saying, “I am Esau, your firstborn” and “the Lord your God granted me success.” (Genesis 27:19-20) Did you notice that Jacob said, “the Lord your God” not “the Lord my God”?
Jacob himself even went so far as to insist a third time. After his dad questioned him again, “Are you really my son Esau?”, Jacob answered, “I am.” (Genesis 27:24 ESV) Ouch.
When Rebekah finds out that Esau is so angry that he wants to kill Jacob, she doesn’t go to Esau herself and admit her wrong and seek to help reconcile her sons. Nor does she go beg her husband’s forgiveness and ask for his help. Instead, she calls Jacob to her again, telling him to obey her and flee to her brother, Laban and even gets Isaac in on her scheme to send Jacob away.
Sin begets more sin. Once you open up the smallest pinprick of a stream of deceit, it’s hard to stop the water from flowing.
But, do you know what really blows me away after reading all of this?
God STILL blesses Jacob.
God. Still. Blesses. JACOB.
Why is God so merciful and faithful?
Why doesn’t He take the blessing away from Jacob and give it to Esau?
Dear friends, if we truly believed that God is as good and faithful and sovereign as we say we do, then why are we willing to go to such great lengths to make our lives go the way that “seems right to us”?
God had already promised Rebekah that the older shall serve the younger, yet she still deceived her husband and made her son do likewise, in order to “make it happen.”
Maybe God hasn’t given us such specific promises for our children, but God has promised us SO much! He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He has promised to always be with us. He has promised to take care of us. Check out some of my recent blog posts like this and this for more encouragement.
Sisters, let’s not be ensnarers – or deceivers. Instead, may we “do good” and “not fear anything that is frightening” like we’re told in 1 Peter 3:6. Let’s be women who trust God with our lives and the lives of our children.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way to death.
Proverbs 14:12
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
I pray that we would be women who trust You SO MUCH that we would not feel the need to take matters into our own hands. May we rightly fear You, Lord, that we would not dare to sin against You. May we trust that You are able to do more than we could even ask or imagine. May we trust that You are indeed for us, so we need fear no man or life circumstance.
Make us women of the Word. Make us women of faith. Make us women whose children can rise up and praise because we have faithfully trained them up in the fear of the Lord.
We love You, Lord. You are faithful even when we are faithless. Grow our faith, Father.
In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 13; Genesis 25-26
“And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, saying, ‘For now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.'”
Genesis 26:22 ESV
When I came to Genesis 26:22, I felt led to look up that word “Rehoboth,” in my Blue Letter Bible app. I learned it means “broad place,” and I wondered, “Was the first well, the Esek (“dispute”) well, not in a broad place? How about the second well, the Sitnah (“opposition”) well, was it actually located in a narrow place?Or did Isaac and his herdmen make a conscious decision to avoid a quarrel, choosing peace over strife?“
The Lord had given them all of this land, but Isaac and his men made an active choice to avoid a quarrel. (Read the story for yourself in Genesis 26:17-22)
Then I was reminded of 1 Timothy 3:2-3 ESV, “An overseer must be above reproach … gentle, not quarrelsome …” The NASB95 translation says, “An overseer must be above reproach … gentle, peaceable.”
That word that the ESV translates “not quarrelsome” and NASB translates “peaceable” is amachos (G269). a + machos = not + fighting, not + contentious.
Paul uses this same Greek word amachos in Titus 3:1-2 ESV, “Remind them (that’s everyone, not just overseers or elders. See Titus 2:15 for more context) to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one,toavoid quarreling (NASB95: be peaceable), to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”
We can’t possibly talk about quarreling without looking at Proverbs. (Proverbs has a lot to say about quarreling!) Here’s a sampling of verses from Proverbs of quarreling:
Proverbs 17:14 ESV – The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out.
Proverbs 19:13 ESV – A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
Proverbs 20:3 ESV – It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife, but every fool will be quarreling.
Proverbs 21:9 – It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
Proverbs 21:19 ESV – It is better to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman.
Proverbs 25:24 ESV – It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.
Proverbs 26:20-21 ESV – For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases. As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
Proverbs 27:15 ESV – A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
And how about a few verses from Romans 12,
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12:16-21 ESV
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
No matter how big or small my house, no matter how big or small my yard, no matter how many or few people I have to share my place with, You have indeed given me a wide place for my steps. The boundary lines You have given have fallen for me in pleasant places. I have a beautiful inheritance because You, Lord, are my chosen portion, and You hold my lot.
Whom shall I fear?
You are the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?
In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. I can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
I pray that so far as it depends on me that I will live peaceably with all. Help me, Father, to avoid quarrels, to keep a careful watch over my mouth that I may not sin with my tongue. Help me to guard my mouth with a muzzle, especially when the wicked are in my presence.
I pray that my mouth would be FILLED with Your PRAISE and GLORY all the day.
Please, Father, I pray that I would not be a quarrelsome or contentious wife. I want to be an excellent wife who does my husband good and not harm all the days of my life. I pray that I would open my mouth with wisdom and that the teaching of kindness would be on my tongue.
I pray all this to the glory of Your name and for Your Son Jesus Christ who gave Himself up for me to redeem me and to purify me, to make me a woman for His own possession who is zealous for good works.
Amen.
I love to pray scripture. This prayer was guided by Psalm 16:5-6; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 56:11; Psalm 118:6; Hebrews 13:6; Psalm 141:3; Psalm 39:1, Psalm 71:8; Proverbs 21:9, 19; Proverbs 31:12, 26; Titus 2:14
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Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 12, Genesis 24
When I read the story of Abraham offering Isaac in Genesis 22, I noticed in verse 8 that Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the Lamb for a burnt offering” and then in verse 14 that Abraham called the place, “the Lord will provide.”
“The Lord will provide” is the Hebrew name of God, “Jehovah Jireh.”
It really clicked in my mind, though, when I was teaching an online English Beginners Bible class focusing on Matthew 6:26-33.
“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not of more value than they?
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
And why are you anxious about clothing?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Which then reminded me of Philippians 4:4-6
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Reading Genesis 24, I kept thinking about how Abraham trusted Jehoveh Jireh, the providing God. I’m Genesis 22, Abraham was willing to offer up his dearly loved son, Isaac, because he had full confidence that God would provide. And now again in Genesis 24, Abraham fully trusted that God would provide a wife for that very same son.
This, friends, is FAITH. Faith is trusting that God will provide whatever we need, whatever is best for us.
Yesterday, my husband and I spent the day together as our youngest son, our own dearly loved son, attended a scholarship competition for a Christian university not too far from home. We are praying for the Lord to provide for him. Meanwhile, our youngest granddaughter has a bad case of hand, foot, and mouth. She’s miserable, and Mommy is exhausted. Again, we are praying for the Lord to provide for them.
What do you need the Lord to provide? I’d love to pray for you. Leave a comment below.
Heavenly Father,
You own the cattle on a thousand hills. You are all-powerful, and You are good. You see us. You hear us. You know our every need. You are a good Father who delights in giving Your children good gifts.
Again and again you force us to rely on You. Truly, Father, this is a severe mercy. We are thankful for our neediness, so that we can recognize our desperate need to rely on Your power.
We are such a weak and needy people. We need daily bread. We need breath and food and rest. We need strength. We need wisdom. We need forgiveness. We need peace and hope and comfort and joy.
But what we need most, Father, is Your presence. Please, stay close to us, Father. Walk with us. Hold our hand. Abide with us and guide us by Your Spirit.
Thank You, Father, for providing everything that we need according to Your riches of glory in Christ Jesus.
Will you please provide for the specific needs that we each find ourselves in? I’m asking You to provide the finances, healing, and strength that my family needs. I know that You are able. Be glorified in our lives.
In the Almighty name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, we pray. Amen.
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Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 11, Genesis 20-23
“Abraham said, ‘I did it because I thought, “There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.”‘”
– Genesis 20:11 ESV
How ironic that Abraham said “there is no fear of God at all in this place” when he deceived Abimelech! Wasn’t Abraham himself failing to fear God when he chose to deceive Abimelech and risk his own wife’s safety, saying that Sarah was only his sister, rather than confessing that she was his wife?
Fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Like Proverbs 8:13 ESV says, “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” Or like we read today in Psalm 11:4-5 ESV, “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.”
Yet, moments later we read Abraham does indeed trust God, going so far as to obey the Lord’s command to offer Isaac, believing that “God was able even to raise him from the dead,” (Hebrews 11:19)
Just as Abraham is about to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac, the Lord’s messenger says, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” (Genesis 22:12 ESV)
It reminds me of Jesus’s words about proper fear,
“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!”
Luke 12:4-5 ESV
Followed by,
“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
-Luke 12:6-7 ESV
Don’t fear man because they can only kill your body. Rather, fear God who has authority to cast you into hell, followed by …. FEAR NOT! You are way more valuable to God than many sparrows!”
Friends, God’s children don’t need to fear because He will protect them from His wrath by the blood of His Son, but whoever continues to turn away from Him better be afraid because He is a just and righteous judge.
Let us not “presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance.” (Romans 2:4)
Pray with me.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for sending Your Son, Your only Son, the Son You love, Christ Jesus, to be the propitation for my sins.
Let me not presume on the riches of Your kindness and patience. I humbly bow before You in reverence, seeing my need for a Savior. I was bound like Isaac, unable to escape from my sins, and Jesus was that perfect Lamb that was offered in our place.
I pray for a right fear of You, Holy God, that I would not be afraid of man nor of whatever daily circumstances that can indeed be scary. Let me not fear anything that is frightening because our trust is in You who judges justly. Help me to trust that You will provide whatever I need for today.
In the Name of my Gracious Savior and Lord Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.
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Teach What is Good 
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