I AM... ABOVE ALL...CREATOR...LIVING GOD...SAVIOR

MEDITATION

MONDAY

Most of the readers of this blog are women...not always mothers. There are a few regulars who are husbands, daddies, and sons. Look around you, there are two distinctly different genders. God created it so! He created MAN! He created WOMAN! Genesis 2 tells the story, including the fact that God said, "She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."

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God has created a world full of contrasts...differences:

• man and woman
• ant and elephant
• light and dark
• summer and winter
• springtime and harvest
• mountains and valleys
• joy and sorrow
• work and rest
• physical and spiritual

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There are a multitude of differences in this world, yet there are many similarities. Today, as we begin this Summer Series entitled THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN: Separating Truth from Tale, I ask you to meditate on a few things that apply to both man and woman. Often, in the Bible, when it uses the word "man", it is referring to MANKIND...these are statements that can be applied to MANKIND...all of HUMANITY... So, today, let's make sure that as we read and meditate on the scriptures below to notice how the word "man" is used.

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Actually, each of these words as you read along:

1. Man / men
2. God created
3. Image
4. Blessed
5. Heart
6. Blessed Life
7. Treasures in Heaven
8. Godliness
9. Living God
10. Savior

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• "And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over...every living thing that moves on the earth...every green plant for food...And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." Genesis 1:27-31
  

In the Old Testament, in I Samuel 16, God said to Samuel,

• "...for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." I Samuel 16

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In the New Testament, while Jesus was on the earth, He spoke to a large crowd in Matthew 5-7 on how to live THE BLESSED LIFE. We call it His Sermon on the Mount. In one part of the sermon, He said,

• "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-21

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Later, in the New Testament, after Jesus had returned to heaven ... the apostle Paul told Timothy,

• "...have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the LIVING GOD, who is the SAVIOR of all men, especially of believers." I Timothy 4:7-10

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For those of you joining us at the Pitman church of Christ, Pitman, NJ:

• We'll begin our study of THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN: Separating Truth from Tale, tomorrow from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. Babysitting is available, as well as classes for pre-school through elementary: Alpha-Omega Kids.

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For those of you joining us for the study on this blog, I invite you to return here each day. If you haven't had a chance to watch the videoes that I posted yesterday, I encourage you to do so. See you tomorrow!

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