March, 2015

We really need to use some wisdom in what we accept and don’t accept as rules for our women’s ministry. When we see something that has some hard and fast rules such as “Always do this in your women’s ministry” or “You must never do this in your women’s ministry” then our antennas should go up immediately. We need to get that Spidey-sense about us.

We have to be careful where emphatics are concerned but there is one place that when we see “do this…” or “you must do that…” we know it is good advice. We know it’s from a great Source. Those are those emphatics in the Bible.

I think that the passage in Proverbs 6 is a great one for us as women’s leaders. It has some hard and fast things that God hates so we know we ought to be careful in these areas. These things come from the Bible, so we know its great advice to follow.

These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 (KJV)

God is telling us to stay away from these things. He’s saying, “don’t do this!”.

It’s really a great guideline to follow in our women’s ministries because when we get a handle on these things, we are not going to have any trouble getting along. We are not going to have any trouble getting down to business for God. I think we should adopt this passage as an important warning for our women’s groups.

Avoiding these things can keep us where we need to be spiritually and where we need to be in our relationships with each other.

These are those 6 things in Proverbs 6 that God hates. And that 7th is an abomination to Him.

1.  a proud look

We have to watch out for that pride. It can swell our heads and then it will bring us low.

2.  a lying tongue

As leaders we have to always be honest. We have to tell the truth.

3.  hands that shed innocent blood

You might not think you are capable of murder but if we look over in 1John 3:15 we see that if we hate someone it is the same as murder, so we have to be careful.

Also, sometimes we jump to conclusions too quickly and shed that “innocent” blood unnecessarily.

4.  a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations

This is basically just scheming. We need to be careful not to dream up ways to do wicked things.

5.  feet that be swift in running to mischief

We have to be careful not to get involved in and accept things that dishonor God.

6.  A false witness that speaketh lies

A false witness is someone telling lies about someone else. We have to be so careful with our tongues.

7.  he that soweth discord among brethren

Unity is so important in our women’s groups. We can’t be stirring up dissention within the body of Christ.

Copyright ©2015 Julia Bettencourt

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