Brown's Daily Word 5-10-10

Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the gift of family, the gift of moms, the gift of the church and above all for Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. He is the reason for our gathering , for our serving, for our celebrations, and for our worship. The Lord blessed us with an abundant weekend. We gathered for our banquet in celebration of Christian home. Krista and Cameron, culinary students from Johnson and Wales University, Rhode Island, prepared a sumptuous meal with much love. Our youth waited tables for the event and the Valley Four, a men's quartet, blessed with beautiful music.
We gathered for worship yesterday. Each woman and daughter was given a book by Ashley Smith "An Unlikely Angel". My wife, Alice, and our friend, Seanne McPherson, brought the message during the morning worship services. Two moms spoke on Mother's Day and it was a great blessing. Proverbs 31:10-31 (KJV), was part of the reading for yesterday. This passage is an acrostic poem; that is to say, each of the twenty-two (22) verses begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet! The opening words of our Scripture text, "Who can find a virtuous woman?" indicates to us that this Word from the Lord is telling us what Almighty God views as the "ideal" woman - the epitome (so-to-speak) of womanhood! The words "virtuous woman" speak to us of excellence, moral worth, ability, and nobility, not just marital fidelity! Such a woman, is the role model of "Wisdom in Action"! This passage of Scripture emphasizes both the hard work and the skill that a woman enjoys doing - bringing fulfillment to her life as she goes about employed in her many varied tasks!
The words "she riseth also while it is night" describes her concern for others! She gives of herself to care for her family! "She considers a field" says that she buys and sells and builds her own resources, remarkable words to describe a woman of the day, considering that many restrictions were placed on women in the ancient world ! The virtuous woman works not to get rich, but to give "to the poor" and help "the needy."
The virtuous woman is enabled to be concerned for others because she has provided for her family! The virtuous woman is a Godly woman and our Scripture text paints her portrait as a woman shaded in strength, colored with intelligence, high-lighted in competence, radiating business acumen and industriousness, glowing with glory and beauty! The virtuous woman is an example, I believe, of what Almighty God intended when he created "Eve" to walk alongside and with the first Adam!
The virtuous woman, the Godly woman, is clearly a partner and a companion to her husband, not his inferior, not at his "beck and call"! This description that Almighty God gives to us of a virtuous woman is designed to show us what kind of wives the women should become and what kind of wives the men should choose!
An abbreviated version of our Scripture text, for today, can be found in 1 Timothy 2:9-10 (KJV) and 1 Peter 3:1-6 (KJV), both of which agree with Proverbs 31:10-31 (KJV). The virtuous woman is a woman of strength, and though she is the weaker vessel, yet she is made strong by wisdom and grace, and the fear of Almighty God. The Apostle Paul, in his second letter to the young preacher, Timothy, (2 Timothy 1:5 KJV), told him, "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother, Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." A devout Jewish woman, Lois instructed both her daughter, Eunice, and her grandson, Timothy, in the Scriptures! Eunice, also a devout Jewish woman, with a Gentile husband, assisted her mother, Lois, in the spiritual instruction afforded to her son, Timothy!
In the words of Marianne Williamson, "There is nothing Madison Avenue can give us that will make us more beautiful women. We are beautiful because God created us that way."
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) said, "No man is poor who has a Godly Mother."
"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8 (KJV)
In Christ our Lord,
Brown

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