Proverbs 25:28

"A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls." Proverbs 25:28

A city with broken down walls is subject for a takeover, it is vulnerable, something is missing. The infrastructure is broken, and people can spot that from the outside. Anyone can come on in and do what they want to.

Don't be a city waiting for siege, don't allow folks to come in and do whatever they want because you are lacking self-control. Ask God to come help you gain self-control and then put it to practice as OFTEN as possible. Sometimes you cant have the last word, sometimes you cant be petty right back to a rude person, sometimes you gotta walk away. The only person you can control is you. ‪#‎wereallstilllearning‬

Lessons from Saul

Lets read and take this step by step... We are in 1st Samuel chapter 9

1There was a wealthy, influential man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin... 2His son Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land. 

I'm assuming this is what Saul looked like with his fine self...

3One day Kish’s donkeys strayed away, and he told Saul, “Take a servant with you, and go look for the donkeys.” 4So Saul took one of the servants and traveled through the hill country ... but they couldn’t find the donkeys anywhere. 

5Finally...Saul said to his servant, “Let’s go home. By now my father will be more worried about us than about the donkeys!” 

6But the servant said, “I’ve just thought of something! There is a man of God who lives here in this town. He is held in high honor by all the people because everything he says comes true. Let’s go find him. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.”



So some would think that Saul's height and good looks would qualify him to be a king but let's look at his insides... So far we know nothing about the fact that he was a godly man but we do see that he was obedient and honorable to his earthly father and he exhausted his options in looking for the donkeys before he wanted to turn back. Also his servant is the one who suggests they go to a man of GOD to receive more guidance in finding the donkeys. Sometimes the help you receive is from people you may not expect it from and also in ways you wont expect it. Let's continue....



“But we don’t have anything to offer him,” Saul replied. “Even our food is gone, and we don’t have a thing to give him.”
8“Well,” the servant said, “I have one small silver piece. We can at least offer it to the man of God and see what happens!” ... 
“All right,” Saul agreed, “let’s try it!” So they started into the town where the man of God lived.... 
14So they entered the town, and as they passed through the gates, Samuel was coming out toward them to go up to the place of worship. 



So now they are by chance going up this road to meet and man of God named Samuel...

15Now the Lord had told Samuel the previous day,16“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him to be the leader of my people, Israel. He will rescue them from the Philistines, for I have looked down on my people in mercy and have heard their cry.”
17When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said, “That’s the man I told you about! He will rule my people.” 
18Just then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and asked, “Can you please tell me where the seer’s house is?” 

19“I am the seer!” Samuel replied. “Go up to the place of worship ahead of me. We will eat there together, and in the morning I’ll tell you what you want to know and send you on your way. 20And don’t worry about those donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have been found. And I am here to tell you that you and your family are the focus of all Israel’s hopes.”


Wow so Samuel hits Saul with a whopper at the end of that one...Saul came up out of obscurity, yes he was handsome and tall. He was obedient to his father and this ended up leading him on a path to become KING. He was certainly no perfect king but he never took the time to get his heart all the way right and turned to God....


Saul replied, “But I’m only from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe in Israel, and my family is the least important of all the families of that tribe! Why are you talking like this to me?”

22Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and placed them at the head of the table, honoring them above the thirty special guests.

                                 

The books of the BIBLE

Consider the themes of the sixty-six books:

In Genesis, He is the Creator God.
In Exodus, He is the Redeemer.
In Leviticus, He is your sanctification.
In Numbers, He is your guide.
In Deuteronomy, He is your teacher.
In Joshua, He is the mighty conqueror.
In Judges, He gives victory over enemies.
In Ruth, He is your kinsman, your lover, your redeemer.
In I Samuel, he is the root of Jesse;
In 2 Samuel, He is the Son of David.
In 1 Kings and 2 Kings, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords
In 1st and 2nd Chronicles, He is your intercessor and High Priest.
In Ezra, He is your temple, your house of worship.
In Nehemiah, He is your mighty wall, protecting you from your enemies.
In Esther, He stands in the gap to deliver you from your enemies.
In Job, He is the arbitrator who not only understands your struggles, but has the power to do something about them.
In Psalms, He is your song-and your reason to sing.
In Proverbs, He is your wisdom, helping you make sense of life and live it successfully.
In Ecclesiastes, He is your purpose, delivering you from vanity.
In the Song of Solomon, He is your lover, your Rose of Sharon.
In Isaiah, He is the mighty counselor, the prince of peace, the everlasting father, and more. In Jeremiah, He is your balm of Gilead, the soothing salve for your sin-sick soul.
In Lamentations, He is the ever-faithful one upon whom you can depend.
In Ezekiel, He is your wheel in the middle of a wheel-the one who assures that dry, dead bones will come alive again.
In Daniel, He is the ancient of days, the everlasting God who never runs out of time.
In Hosea, He is your faithful lover, always beckoning you to come back-even when you have abandoned Him.
In Joel, He is your refuge, keeping you safe in times of trouble.
In Amos, He is the husbandman, the one you can depend on to stay by your side.
In Obadiah, He is Lord of the Kingdom.
In Jonah, He is your salvation, bringing you back within His will.
In Micah, He is judge of the nation.
In Nahum, He is the jealous God.
In Habakkuk, He is the Holy One.
In Zephaniah, He is the witness.
In Haggai, He overthrows the enemies
In Zechariah, He is Lord of Hosts.
In Malachi, He is the messenger God.

In Matthew, He is king of the Jews.
In Mark, He is the servant.
In Luke, He is the Son of Man, feeling what you feel.
In John, He is the Son of God.
In Acts, He is Saviour of the world.
In Romans, He is the righteousness of God.
In I Corinthians, He is the rock that followed Israel.
In II Corinthians, He is the triumphant one, giving victory.
In Galatians, He is your liberty; He sets you free.
In Ephesians, He is head of the Church.
In Philippians, He is your joy.
In Colossians, He is your completeness.
In I Thessalonians, He is your hope.
In II Thessalonians, He is your patience and discipline.
In I Timothy, He is your faith.
In II Timothy, He is your stability.
In Titus, He is the truth.
In Philemon, He is your benefactor.
In Hebrews, He is your perfection.
In James, He is the power behind your faith.
In I Peter, He is your example.
In II Peter, He is your purity.
In I John, He is your life.
In II John, He is your pattern.
In III John, He is your motivation.
In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith.
In the Revelation, He is your coming King.

Solomon's Temple

1st Kings 8 and so on...

So I am currently on the Chronological Bible reading plan which is AWESOME! I did it last year and it was the first time I REALLY read the bible from cover-to-cover. I like it because it enables you to read the Bible in order of how things actually happened and it gives you a little more historical insight and understanding. Now that I'm doing it a second time I have even MORE insight because of additional bible studies and books and sermons so it really is awesome because every time I read a passage I know a little more and I get something different but anyways...

I used to think the Bible was extra boring especially the long parts about "So and so begot so and so" and Solomon's Temple... I was like "Why I gotta know how much gold he used and how he decorated the walls????" . Around this time last year when I was reading it I really just sped through it so I could say I read it... but TODAY, ohhhh today, I asked God to stir up some revelation for me and make this word speak to me.

For those who don't know the story I will give it to you in short. King David (yes same David from David in Goliath) grows up and has a son named Solomon. Now David was supposed to build a temple for the Lord but in the end he doesn't get to do it and the task is passed down to his son Solomon. Solomon grows up to be the wise king and he begins building this intricate, extravagant and beautiful temple for the Lord. It took him 7 years, help from others (craftsmen, artists, laborers etc), and alot alot alot of fine materials (cedar, gold, bronze etc.) He took his time to oversee, pray on it and make sure it was done right.

God spoke to me in this story today, and he pretty much told me I NEED TO BUILD A TEMPLE in my heart for the Lord like Solomon. I need to make this special place for us. Lately I have not been honoring our relationship properly. This is right on time because my pastor gave a great bible study on Thursday about Relationship and it bothered me (in a good way). Solomon did it right, he did it just the way God asked him to do it, he did it with honor, he used the finest materials, he enlisted the proper help, he prayed over it and even though he couldn't do it overnight he still worked at it daily, for seven whole years. He made SURE it was done and he didn't take any short cuts in work or finances because he knew the value of the temple, and why he was executing/performing this task. Excellent food for thought.

Like I said, I used to just skip and skim over these chapters in my BIBLE but EVERYTHING in the word applies to you if you let it and ask the Lord to HELP you. Today I read with intention, sat with it and changed my attitude to be open to hearing from God about what I was reading. We get so "busy" with life that we don't build upon our personal relationship with God. This is not just about going to church every once and awhile, your relationship is yours, its PERSONAL. Only you can praise God for you, he wants to know you and hear from you.

I CAN BUILD A TEMPLE. Yesssss its gonna take time, but its gonna be beautiful and worth it.

I can take my blueprint from good ole Solomon. I'm getting the best materials (gold, bronze,cedar/ time, discipline, effort), resources (craftsmen, artists, laborers = pastors, friends,mature Christians & books ) (y'all know I love a good book ;) ) and the BEST GOD!

As I keep plugging away and pushing this relationship with God :)

Youversion is the bomb...

As some of y'all know I am using Youversion.com to do my bible reading for the year.

When I was younger, in church, we were assigned to read the ENTIRE Bible in three years and I thought this was way too hard. I was so nervous yall, but eventually I did it (I think?) But I did not absorb ANYTHING AT ALL. Now I'M glad I'm grown and really re-reading because the Bible is fun. Right now IM LOVINGGG the story of David and his son Solomon.

Honestly think about it... David came from a normal farming and herding family and he was the baby. Literally like 8 years old when he defeated Goliath, a 9 foot MAN!
I keep asking God to show me his plan for my life and he keeps telling me to wait. (I'm working on my patience y'all) BUT I have to imagine what if I was David... If God would have told me that I was gonna fight a giant and win, become KING, have the WISEST and most rich son for a KING; I would not have believed it or I would have probably found a way to screw it up.

But thats the point, things come in due time, specifically Gods time. He doesn't have to reveal it all to you because he has it under control. Who am I to think I deserve to know now? I need to sit back and enjoy the ride and keep pursuing GOD! David didn't lose the faith even when his situation looked dire. (Saul's MULTIPLE attempts to kill him) He even was kind to his enemies. I want to be like David. That is all, hope this helps someone as it helped me :)

Like David did...

A while ago, in church our pastor asked us to ask God who we were in the bible... I totally forgot to do that, so the following week when people were saying names like Moses, Esther, and Abraham, I had no answer.

I then came up with Ruth... which I still agree with cuz she has a great story but now I think God is leading me somewhere else.

to good ole .......DAVID...and No I don't feel like a man :)

David's story is really all about TRUST, and stepping into your destiny. Can you imagine, being the SMALLEST one in your family but then you are selected as King, he was a mere boy when he defeated Goliath. I keep thinking about the kids I babysit killing a nine foot giant. WOW! David then went n t have many triumphs and deep dark struggling moments and he kept crying out to GOD for help.I feel like this alot, sometimes I wonder if the plan GOD has for me will work, or if it is even feasible but then I HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT my GOD made this whooooooole universe and everything in it. He is bigger than my problems, bigger than my fears, bigger than my worries and bigger than my small mind and ego. THEREFORE anything that he says will happen certainly can and will happen. Sometimes you just need to get out of your own small mind and let God do the work through you.