Last night was the first night of a Titus 2 study that I have joined led by one of my dear friends, Martha.
She is in her early 50's and has a real heart for discipling younger ladies. I am in my mid 20's with a nearly 6 month old son, and am certainly feeling the need to be discipled!
So, I am very much looking forward to this study.
The Bible study will be focused on the first few verses of Titus 2 and knowing how we as believing women can encourage and equip other women in Christ. (What does it mean to be reverent? Why not be a malicious gossip? Why are addictions harmful? What is "good"?)
I will probably share my thoughts here on my blog as time allows, but I have no delusions that I will be able to share everything. Today, I thought I would just start with sharing the notes I took for the initial study.
She titled the first discussion "What is the condition of your heart?" inspired by our pastor's sermon in Mark chapter 7 last week. I missed church last week because of a sick babe, so I haven't got a chance to listen to the sermon yet. I'll let you know when it is online.
She started by posing some questions about the condition of my heart:
Is it foolish or wise?
Deceitful or Sound (stable, fixed)?
Fearful or Understanding?
Proud or Contrite?
Backsliding or Perfect?
Double or Pure?
Froward or Upright?
Perverse or Clean?
Hard or Broken?
She then went on to discuss each of the words, how they're used in scipture, and what the words in the original languages mean. I have not yet had a chance to look into any of these verses on my own, or the meanings (and spellings!) of the Greek and Hebrew words. So, please don't take this as truth! I'm mearly recopying my notes in a much neater form for future reference. I plan on studying each of these words a bit closer as the weeks go on. If you'd like to too, I'd love to hear your input on what you've learned!
Foolish: Proverbs 22:15; Romans 1:21 invehleth = silliness, foolish foollis = bellows/wind bag
unwise, indiscreet, short sighted, irresponsible
Wise: Proverbs 10:8 (receive commands); Proverbs 9:10 listening, actively searching
eagerly receiving instruction from the Lord
Martha shared that she can tell when her heart is not where it should be, when she's
not walking with Him if she takes an offense when she is confronted by another believer.
Deceitful: Jeremiah 17:9 awkobe = fraudulent, deceitful, crooked decipere = to ensnare
untrustworthy, underhanded, dishonest
Sound: Proverbs 14:30; Proverbs 15:4; 1 Timothy 4:12
marpay = wholesome, healthy, strong, sturdy
Curative to its possessor and to others, rooted in truth, firm, cannot be over thrown
A sound mind will speak truth and do it an a way that others will know it's the truth
Fearful: 1 Thes. 1:17 (I think); Job 3:25; Joshua 7:5 mawsass = easily melted
mild anxiety ----> paralyzing terror
distressed, apprehensive, panicky, anxious, worried, easily intimidated
drawn away from the Lord due to a lack of faith
Understanding: Isaiah 35:3-4 Bean = to separate mentally
Based on an understanding of who God is; the understanding of Truth overcomes fear
Seek words of encouragement from scripture; see life from God's perspective
We all have a mind, a will and emotions.
We should train our mind to tell our emotions what the truth is.
Proud: Proverbs 21:4 rawkawb = broad; large; wide; at liberty
A proud person may seek God but gives equal credibility to his own thoughts and the
thoughts of others; puffed up; reserves the right to make final decisions instead
of relying on what God's word says to do.
Contrite: 1 Sam. 15:17-19 (I think); 1 Peter 5:5; John 3:30; Matthew 11:11
dawkaw = to collapse or shrink
sorrowful, regretful, penitent, remorseful, humble
Backsliding: Proverbs 14:14; Hab. 3:19; Proverbs 25:26
Finds no pleasure in seeking the Lord
Perfect: Psalm 101:2; 2 Chron. 16:9; 1 Peter 5:10
Double: Psalm 12:2; James 1:5-8 lawbab = to enclose with fat
vacillating, unstable
Pure: James 4:8; 2 Chron. 1:12; Psalm 24 or 29:3-4 (unsure); Matthew 5:8
Godly sincerity; a transparent manner of life
Froward: Proverbs 11:20; Proverbs 6:12-14
turns away from the right course to what is forbidden
Upright: Ecc 7:29
Perverse: Proverbs 12:8 crooked -- think of a cork screw; veer from what is good
Clean: Psalm 51:10; Psalm 15 morally pure
Hard: Heb 3:7-11; Failure to deal with destructive conditions in your life; to render stubborn.
Broken: Psalm 57:17; Psalm 34:18; this is not a little crack -- means to burst or to shatter
Discipline for spiritual growth; suffering for righteousness sake
That is the end of my notes. I will try to expand on them more this week as I have a chance to study, but no promises.
She left us with the question, "What do you need to do to change your heart to the correct state?" If your heart is hard, how do you allow it to be broken? If you are backsliding, how do you become perfect?
As a word picture, she told us to think of breaking up the fallow ground -- change must go deeper than just the surface.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday!
2 comments:
Thanks for the uplifting post. God's word is great!
Wish I could join you.
Not that our Wed night text of Romans is a walk in the park.
A lot of good words to study! I'm glad you are able to be a part of a Bible study, I think it really helps to get together on a regular basis with other Christians and get into the Word. I know I have a better appreciation for it from times in life post-kids when I haven't been able to have that weekly connection. Sounds like this will be a good study! I love older women who have a heart for teaching the younger generations--they just exude with Christ's love, you know?
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