Genesis 24, 365 DAYS OF LOVE #329

MEMORY VERSE: "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being in the likeness of man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place, and gave him the name that is above every name" Philippians 2:1-9

NOTES: Marks of a Godly Woman:
1). Consumed (v.4) Part of God's family.
2). Willing to follow her husband (v.8)
-This was a topic of much discussion, as it's evident that this aspect of being a Godly woman is definitely not popular in society. There were some questions raised about this, and even though I did my best to reference the Bible and answer the questions Biblically, I know I need to study more on this myself. Notes from discussion:
-1 Timothy 2, 1 Timothy 3
-For ex: what if both the man and woman are both doctors and make the same income for the family. How is the woman supposed to 'submit' to her husband when they are financially equal?
-The word "submission" has a negative connotation. Doesn't this seem like the woman should be a 'slave' to her husband?
-What does it mean to submit to your husband?
Ultimately, the purpose of marriage from a Biblical standpoint is to mirror the picture of Christ and the church, which is the bride. So often have we distorted the concept of marriage into a selfish motive, which then results in conflict and confused gender roles. However, the role of the church is to submit to Christ and to follow Him; Christ, in turn, has sacrificed for us and became our protection and head of the body of Christ. Similarly, we are given unique but equal gender roles as man and woman to glorify the name of Jesus; the man is to take on the role as 'head of the household,' and the woman a willing to respect the husband. (Eph. 5:22-33, 1 Timothy 2:9-10, 1 Tim. 3, Prov. 31, Rev. 19:7).
3). Beauty (v.16) : Physically pure
4). Purity (v.16) : Emotionally/Mentally Pure
5). Servant's heart (v.18-20)
6). Desire to become a mother (v.60)
7). Modesty (v.65)
Conclusion: Don't focus on waiting for the right person, but on being the right person.

ACT OF LOVE: Had a sleepover with my two friends, Jackie and Crystal (since Jackie was on spring break and left for Texas today, we decided to have a sleepover for her last night in Torrance). Though there was alot of eating, laughing, and looking up stupid videos on Youtube, I also wanted to encourage the girls by having a time of Bible study and prayer. We studied Genesis 24 and what it means to be a godly woman (based on a sermon from the "Loveology" series. I couldn't find the actual sermon online, though :( ). We talked about Biblically-based roles for women and men, and had some good conversation. I showed them a short clip by John Piper on prayer, and we ended with of time of prayer for each other, the church, America, and global missions.