1 – “The wise of heart is called discerning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.” (Proverbs 16:21, ESV)

RAF: Sweetness of speech is not flattery, lying or failing to deal in complete truthfulness. It is rather the attitude in which our communication is carried out. Would we persuade, or simply hammer our view home? Would we win or keep a friend, or are we simply after stating the case? Jesus never shrunk back from delivering the whole truth – but He was no man’s enemy, even though they were His. Father, teach me this holy skill. How I would rather thunder out my way, than persuade by a heart set on blessing the other. How I want to be right, more than righteous. Deliver me. See: Verses 23 & 24.

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1 – “Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.” (Proverbs 4:5, ESV)

RAF: What becomes increasingly plain in this book is that insight and wisdom have to do with understanding how things are, and how they work – from God’s point of view. It is insight into the divine economy. It is like having sight in a world of blind men. It isn’t that we see things that aren’t there, but see them as they really are. Values are assigned by eternal standards, not temporal. Eternal justice must always be held in tension. God’s sovereignty as well as man’s responsibility have to be kept together. Man’s relationship to God must define his relationship to all others, and to the the universe itself. Heavenly Father, how we need this wisdom. how we plead to you for this insight.

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1 – ” A Maskil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old, things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.” (Psalm 78:1-4, ESV)

RAF: What a good thing it is for each generation to make known what they’ve come to know and have learned about the goodness, power and wonder of God. For parents to tell their children of their own conversion to Christ. To tell them how God rescued them in trouble, provided for them, walked with them, comforted them, sustained them and blessed them. Parents – do not be silent. Give your children the heritage of your life in Christ. Recount it. Glory in it, joy in it, and tell them of it.

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1 – “Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.” (Psalm 37:1-2, ESV)

RAF: Any joy and peace the world can give, is temporary. Those finding their joy and peace in it, will pass away with it.

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1 – 4 “The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; 5 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the Lord; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears. 7 Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations also of the mountains trembled and quaked, because he was angry. 8 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him. 9 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.” (Psalm 18:4-9, ESV)

RAF: 4 & 5- I was in trouble. 6 – I cried out to the Lord and He heard me. 7 & 8 – He did not respond dispassionately. 9 – He intervened personally.

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1 – “Then the king’s young men who attended him said, “Let beautiful young virgins be sought out for the king. And let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all the beautiful young virgins to the harem in Susa the capital, under custody of Hegai, the king’s eunuch, who is in charge of the women. Let their cosmetics be given them. And let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti.” This pleased the king, and he did so.” (Esther 2:2-4, ESV)

RAF: The Church is that virgin bride that pleases the King most. She is the one He has set His love upon. She is redeemed, blood bought, blood washed, robed in imputed righteousness, mercied and the preeminent display of His grace – His personal favor. She is His. Father, let me live in the reality of how deep your love is, how personal it is, how majestic it is, how faithful it is, how perfect it is, how divine it is, how MINE – it is. And grant that I may love you commensurately – as much as a fallen but redeemed sinner can by virtue of your Spirit.

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1 – “ Moreover, from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, neither I nor my brothers ate the food allowance of the governor. The former governors who were before me laid heavy burdens on the people and took from them for their daily ration forty shekels of silver. Even their servants lorded it over the people. But I did not do so, because of the fear of God. I also persevered in the work on this wall, and we acquired no land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work. Moreover, there were at my table 150 men, Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us. Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people. Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people.” (Nehemiah 5:14-19, ESV)

RAF: It is incumbent upon leadership to be careful not to overburden the people. Especially not to tax them for personal gain.

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1 – “ Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”” (Ezra 4:1-3, ESV)

RAF: There may be those who are sympathetic with Christianity, and who have added Christ to their other gods and ways, who are nonetheless not Christians. They are not to be evangelists. They have no part in discipleship. They cannot be part and parcel of ministry. They are not whole-hearted after God. We must make these distinctions if we are to be about the business of the Church, and not just religion. Mere religion breeds syncretism.

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1 – “And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.” (2 Chronicles 25:2, ESV)

RAF: Heavenly Father, it is in this matter of whole-heartedness that I see such failure in myself. I content myself so easily in you. To barely know you. To spend little real time with you. To be so unfamiliar with what you have taken countless lives to reveal, write, copy and preserve throughout the centuries for us. To think little of your daily graces. To live in the shadow of the Cross and virtually take it for granted at times. Oh Father – make me a whole-hearted man after you.

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In the infinite wisdom of God,

He has filled all of life with types and shadows of spiritual truth.

In marriage,

His word makes clear,

there is to be found a most wonderful and detailed portrait of the love and bond between our Lord Jesus Christ and His Bride – the Church.

Which picture paves the way

for a no less stunning parallel to be drawn between Mothers themselves,

and the nature of God’s true Church.

It is in this figure,

given to us by God’s own hand

that I have learned much of Christ’s Church

In the life and ministry of my own Mother.

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