Category: Sword Fighting Class

Sword Fighting Class – Life!

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We are memorizing Proverbs 3 together.  So many great promises from God!

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace. “Proverbs 3 to verse 25

Great job!  Here is the next verse:

“She is a tree of life to those who embrace her – those who lay hold of her will be blessed.”

Embracing wisdom = life.

Embracing wisdom = blessings.

And we know where wisdom comes from.  Our Father God.

When we seek him, call out for insight, cry aloud for understanding, search for it as for hidden treasure – God gives us wisdom.

As we take hold of wisdom by memorizing God’s word, we are being blessed.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

 

Sword Fighting Class – Pleasant peace

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What an awesome thing God is doing as we memorize his word!  There is no way I could do this if God wasn’t helping me.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies, nothing you desire compares with her.

This section describing wisdom as a woman is really interesting to memorize.   It is easy to picture her in my mind.  Here’s the next verses:

‘Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all of her paths are peace.’

Long life…

riches and honor as defined by God…..

pleasant ways…..

peace.

All very good things that I want in my life.

And I know where I can get wisdom.

From God.

Thank you, Abba Father.

 

 

Sword Fighting Class- Nothing Compares

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We are memorizing Proverbs 3 together.  Yes, it’s a long chapter.  But that’s ok, we have this discipline of memorizing scripture going in our lives and we’re not going to stop.  So we have time 🙂Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.Proverbs 3 to verse 25

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. ”

Such awesome wisdom from God!  As we soak in your word, dear Father, please change us, renew us, make us wise.

“Nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor.”

Nothing we desire compares to having wisdom.

And we get it for free from God who gives generously to all who ask .

This is the nugget of truth that just keeps repeating within God’s word.

Over and over.

And we’re soaking this in as we memorize his word.

We’re asking for your wisdom, Father.

We only want a long life if it’s lived well with you at the center.

We only want riches and honor if they are the right ones for us because they come from you.

You have promised in James 1 that you generously give wisdom to us when we ask.  But when we ask, we must believe and not doubt.  We believe it, please help us live it out.

In the precious name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Audio file:

Sword Fighting Class – Wisdom and Understanding

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It still amazes me how God helps us memorize big sections of his scripture when we do our part!  Here’s where we are in Proverbs 3:

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the site of God and man. Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruit of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. My child, do not despise the Lords discipline and do no resent his rebuke because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father, the daughter he delights in.”

Thank you, God, for helping us to memorize all of this!  Here are the next verses:Proverbs 3 to verse 25

‘Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, who gains understanding. For she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. ‘

God’s ways are definitely not our ways.  His thoughts are not our thoughts.  In the world we live in, it looks like success = a lot of money.

Not so – says God.  Having Godly wisdom and understanding is much more profitable.  It will yield better returns in our lives than gold.

In theory, this makes sense to us.  Living it out is not as easy.

This is one of the reasons why I am loving this process of memorizing whole chunks of God’s word.  God is using his scripture to transform some of these deep-bedded ideas and thoughts in my mind.  He is replacing that wrong-thinking with his truth as I repeat his words out loud and in my head over and over and over each day.

Which is why he commands us to memorize his word. 🙂

We understand now, Abba Father.

Here is my audio file of Proverbs 3: 1-16:

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Sword Fighting Class – Overflowing

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

Great job!  We are memorizing Proverbs 3 together and we’re seeing God’s faithfulness as he writes his words on our hearts and minds.”

My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all of your might and lean not on your own undertanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and shun evil.”

Here are the next couple of verses:

“Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruit of all of your crops.  Then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.”

God has an abundance of blessings waiting for us when we are wise with our wealth.

We just read in Malachi God’s epic promise to open the floodgates of heaven’s blessings when we bring our entire tithe into his house.

What does it look like when our barns are filled to overflowing?  Have you been there?  Do you want to be there?  I’m there and it’s worth the struggle and adjustements and recommittments.

What does it feel like to have our vats brim over with new wine?  I have to smile at this one because I love a good glass of wine :).  And I know how it feels to have my life overflowing with new blessings from God.  I’ve been there….I’m not always there.

Please guide us to this place where you are overflowing our lives, Abba Father.

Sword Fighting Class – In Your Own Eyes

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

We’re being blessed as we memorize Proverbs 3 together:

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all of your might and lean not on your own undertanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

As we add this next verse, its interesting to me to see how it relates to last week’s verse:

“Do not be wise in your own eyes.  Fear the Lord and shun evil.”

If I had to tell you one thing that I’ve learned as I’m memorizing God’s word is that my past thinking and judgement had some big holes in it.  Not all of it, but enough that taking this verse literally is very wise for me.  I needed to realize that my thinking was not always in line with God and that I should depend more on God for my wisdom.  Not myself.

As God is etching his Word on my mind, he writing over some old, incorrect thinking and renewing my mind.  Adding his wisdom.

It’s changing me.

Preparing me for the next season of my life.

It’s growing my respect for God’s wisdom and increasing my awareness of evil so I can avoid it.

Thank you, Abba Father.

Audio file of my memorization of Proverbs 3 so far:

 

Sword Fighting Class – A Favorite Truth

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

Its truly supernatural.  We are memorizing Proverbs 3 together and, as we faithfully review these scriptures everyday, God is writing them on our minds.  Such a great way to experience him working in our lives!

“ My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”

Today we add some very popular verses that you may have already memorized at one time.  One of the blessings I am experiencing by memorizing whole chapters is really seeing the context of verses like this – what God is saying in the verses before it and after it:

“Trust in the Lord with all of your might and lean not on your own undertanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”

This is such an awesome verse.  So much wisdom!

Trust with all my might!  What does that look like in my life?

Don’t make decisions based just on what I already know, my own wisdom and knowledge – what does that look like?

Always acknowledge him – I think that answers my last question 🙂

If I always check in with God, trusting him in all situations, constantly keeping my eyes on what he has told me and where he is leading me, I will be walking down the right path.

Thank you for how clear your directions are in your Word, Abba Father.

Audio file of my memorization of Proverbs 3 so far:

Sword Fighting Class – Love and Faithfulness

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We are just beginning our journey of memorizing Proverbs 3.  More wisdom, more understanding, more insight – thank you, dear Father!  We are counting on God to etch these words on our hearts as we review them daily.  He has commanded this so it’s in his will and he will make it happen if we do our part.  We started with the first verses last week:Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.”

And we’re adding the next verses:

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.  Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”

Let love and faithfulness never leave you……..

These words reverberate through my mind.

What a great life we will have when our thoughts and our actions are full of love and faithfulness!  Awesome!

God is telling us how to do this – we need to bind his words onto our lives and write them on your hearts.  As we do this, he is transforming our thinking which changes our behaviors.   He is promising that this will bring us a life full of love and faithfulness along with approval from others and from him.

Wow! These verses are jam-packed with fabulous promises!

Thank you, Father God!

Audio file of my verses.  I am working ahead so this is through verse 16:

Sword Fighting Class – The Best is Yet to Come

On By Judy GlasserIn Sword Fighting ClassLeave a comment

In our Sword Fighting Classes, we are memorizing God’s word together.  God commands us over and over in his Word to store his commands in our hearts, to write his words on our minds, to never forget his teachings.  We are being obedient as we review our verses daily and God does the hard part of engraving them on our minds.

With God’s help,  we have memorized James 1 and Proverbs 2 so far.  Isn’t that amazing!  God is now pointing us to Proverbs 3….more wisdom.  Let’s get started with verse 1 and 2:

“My child, do not forget my teachings but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.”Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

How appropriate that God starts out again with his command about not forgetting his teachings.  It’s really hard to forget his teaching when it’s etched on our brains.  Its part of how we think, how we feel.

God tells us that his teaching will prolong our lives many years.  I have been reading a lot about God’s teaching about food this last year and I believe, if we follow his guidance on this, it really will prolong our lives.  Lower our blood pressure.  Take us out of the danger zone for other diseases.  Help our heart to be more healthy.

God promises us that his teachings will bring us prosperity.  His form of prosperity is not the empty prosperity taught by the world where we never have enough…never content.

God’s prosperity comes in the form of things money can’t buy – peace, and purpose and love and completeness and more.

Much more.

You are more than enough, Abba Father.

Audio file of me sharing the verses I’ve memorized so far in Proverbs 3:

 

Sword Fighting Class – First Chapter Completed!

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We are finishing our memorizing Proverbs 2 today!  What a cool thing God has done!  There is sooooo much wisdom in this chapter and we really get to soak this in as we memorize each word.

My child, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will know the fear of the Lord and you will find the knowledge of God.Proverbs 2 1st page - this one

For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless.  He guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.

 Then you will understand what is right and just and fair, every good path.   For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.  Discretion will protect you and understanding will guard you. 

Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse.  Who leave straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,  whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.

It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God.  For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.  None who go to her return or attain the paths of life.

Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous.Proverbs 2 -13-3-11

Great job!  Yeah, God!  Here are our last two verses:

‘For the upright will live in the land and the blameless will remain in it but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the unfaithful will be torn from it.’

When we live our lives in sync with God, we find peace and purpose and joy here on earth and on into eternity.

Those who don’t choose God will find themselves eternally cut off from him.  The only little piece of heaven they will experience is here…..right now.  Because where they are going, there is nothing of God.  Nothing good.

Proverbs 2 ends with this sobering message about why we need God’s wisdom.

Thank you for your word, dear Father.

 

Audio file of Proverbs 2: