Bible Study About Anna

Anna is the woman I read about this week in my devotional.

Her story is found in the book of Luke.

There are not many words about Anna in the Bible, but the few words that are mentioned are powerful. Here is what the Bible says happened when Anna met Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus at the temple.

Luke 2:36-38
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.
Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

Anna was only with her husband for seven years when he died. Losing her husband after so few years of marriage must have been devastating, but her faith remained strong. After suffering through that tremendous loss, she devoted her life only to God. That's humbling to me, because in my life my faith has been shaken many times by much less traumatic circumstances. But she did not let the loss of her husband change her faith or her love for the Lord.

What touched me most about Anna is that Scripture says she never left the temple. It also says she worshiped night and day, and as if that wasn't enough, she did that while fasting.

I don't know about you, but by the time I get out of church on Sunday, I am starving! I love my time at church, but come 12:00 I am ready to go home, put on my pajama pants, and eat lunch. I only go to church one morning a week, but Anna lived at the temple every single day!

It is hard to imagine living a life so devoted to God. So many times in my own life, I am sorry to say, I have to try to squeeze in my quiet time with God. I scurry around trying to get all of my "chores" done, then, if I still have time, I will spend time with God. I am working on changing that in my life, but I will humbly tell you that it does not come naturally to me. I have been ashamed many times when I get out my devotionals to read and I realize that I haven't read them in the last two days. It makes me sad to think of the time that I have wasted in my life on meaningless things. Time spent with God is never meaningless or wasted. Time with God should always be my first priority.

God was Anna's first priority. She didn't just "know" He was first in her life, she "showed" it by her actions. Once again, I am humbled as I think about her walk with God.

Romans 12:11
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Scripture also tells us that Anna recognized who Christ was when she first laid eyes on Him. She knew who He was. Even though He was a tiny infant, she knew He was the Savior she had been waiting for. She had finally seen the Promised Child.

The Bible says that she "spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem." We don't know the exact words that she said, but the Bible does tell us that she was a prophetess, so the words she spoke would have been true about Jesus and His life. I wonder what her exact words were, and did the people she spoke to believe her?........

I'm sure then just like now, some people would have thought she was just a crazy old lady, but some would have recognized the truths she spoke and held on to her every word.

The devotional posed a question for us to think about regarding prophesy and our own lives.
"If an Anna were to have spoken (prophesied)about you when you were six weeks old, what would she have said?"

That question has given me a lot to think about.
As far as I've come in my walk with God, I've got so much farther to go.

I want to pray for my own life to mirror Anna's. I don't mean living at the church and skipping lunch for the rest of my life, but I do mean a life that puts God first.
A life devoted to Him.
A life that honors Him above all.
A heart completely surrendered to God.

Jeremiah 7:23
Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you.

Thank You, Lord for sharing the story of Anna. Her devotion to You encourages me.

Bible Study About The Shulammite Woman

The woman I read about this week in my devotional is the Shulammite woman.

Her story is found in the Song of Songs.

The authors of this devotional book point out many things about her story, but two of the points they made stood out the most to me.

The first point is that God does not promise every one of us that our marriage will play out like the words in Song of Songs. Marriage, romance, and love were all designed by God, but not all of us will experience the kind of passion with our spouse that is shared between the Lover and his Beloved. Many marriages are blessed with it, but it is not promised to everybody.

The second thing they point out is that although not all marriage relationships experience this kind of passion, God promises to love each and every one of us with the all consuming love written about in Song of Songs. We can all have this love relationship with our Creator, even if we never experience it in our marriages.

God is the true Lover of our soul.
We are all God's Beloved.
He longs for our company.
He loves to spend time with us.
He cares more for us than we care for ourselves.
He delights in us.
He never tires of us.

Lamentations 3:22-23
"Because of the LORD'S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

He loves us!

Jeremiah 31:3
"I have loved you with an everlasting love."

I recently attended a Shannon Ethridge conference and she said, "God gets giddy over us!" Giddy! Let that sink in. She told us all to say out loud, "God gets giddy over me!" Make it personal.....because it is. God loves you!

Our Sunday school class did a Song of Songs study by Tommy Nelson. It is a video series. It is one of the most amazing Bible studies that we have ever done. He is a wonderful teacher, and he is able to make the words in Song of Songs come to life. If you haven't done this study, I highly recommend it. God didn't create marriage for us to fumble our way through. He gave us all the information that we would need to have a fulfilling life and marriage. We just have to open up His Word and see what He says.

Shannon and I have a favorite verse from Song of Songs. It is engraved on our wedding bands.

Song of Songs 6:3
I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine.

You are God's Beloved. Nothing will ever change that.

Romans 8:38-39
"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Monday.....all day long!

Monday always seems like the most challenging day of the week to me.

Yesterday was no exception.

It was Monday all day long.

I overslept.

As I was getting my first cup of coffee, the dog threw up in the living room floor.

I woke both of the boys up to discover they were both sick.

The sink was full of dishes that I was too exhausted to do the night before. (Sorry, FlyLady!)

The laundry was piled up.

I had a very large stack of school papers to grade and record from the previous week.

I don't even want to discuss the dust on everything!

Now, I realize in the big scheme of things, none of this is really important...but it sure can overwhelm me....... on Mondays.

Instead of trying to tackle all of my To Do List, I decided to first sit down and read my daily devotionals. Here is one of the verses I read.

James 4:8a
Come near to God and he will come near to you.

I'm so thankful for those words. They encouraged my overwhelmed soul.

I came across another verse that I had written in the back of my Bible.

1 Corinthians 14:40
But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.

It's funny how many times I hurry around trying to get everything done before I spend time with God, and seem to get absolutely nothing accomplished. But, when I spend time with God first, everything else seems to fall into place.

Mark 1:35
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place where he prayed.

Jesus knew that He needed time alone with His Father before facing all the demands that would be placed on Him throughout the day.
I try to remember that Scripture when I get my priorities confused, which unfortunately happens a lot, especially on Mondays.
If Jesus needed that time alone with God, I need it so much more.

After my quiet time with God, I started tackling the day. One chore step at a time. I didn't even start crying get overwhelmed when Matthew informed me that he had accidentally stepped in another pile of dog throw up in the hall........

Now, if that doesn't prove God was near to me, nothing will.:)

Bible Study About Esther

I am reading an amazing devotional book for women.click here The woman that I am reading about this week is Esther.It points out how God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary. He uses the most unlikely people to fulfill His purposes. He doesn't need us to be perfect or talented or any number of things; He only wants us to be willing. It encourages me so much to be reminded that God can use me right where I am, just like I am. I don't have to go through some special training for my life to matter for God. Here is one of the verses the book points out.

2 Corinthians 8:12
"For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have."

It's comforting to think that where I am in my life and relationships today is exactly where God wants to and can use me. He can use you too.