Today's reading was pretty difficult for me. I mean, Song of Solomon is a book all about love and romance and sex. How is any of that ever applicable to a relationship with the Creator? I mean really, some of it's a stretch. Even going into the Song prayerfully is tough.
Then I got over myself. God has us reading this together because He wants it that way. My misgivings just get in the way of that. Theme of the day: Let God do God. He knows what's up.
And that's a great segue into Song of Solomon 5&6! Grab your Bible, pray, read the scripture, and read along with what God said to me today :)
Song of Solomon 5:2-5- As the bride's groom came to her door, she had some initial misgivings. She was already settled in for the night. She felt unprepared for such an important visit. Yet her lover was persistent. She cast aside her hesitance and answered the door for him. God is always knocking at our hearts' doors with His great plan for us, no matter what state we are in. Our love and want for Him should overpower any insecurities we have. God will call you out of your comfort zone, so don't let some human weakness hold you back from what His greatness can do.
5:7- The bride was assaulted in her relentless pursuit of her groom. She had gotten over her misgivings and went after him, and was repaid for it by being brutally attacked. As believers, Jesus promises that we will face persecution when we pursue Him (John 15:21). This shouldn't discourage us from selling out to Him. As seen between the bride and groom in the Song, the relentless pursual is from both sides. Wasn't Jesus killed for pursuing us as far as He could? Then He came back to life to pursue us more! That is the definition of passionate, relentless pursual: love that knows no bounds.
5:9-6:1- The lover can't find her groom, so she calls to her friends for help. However, they honestly don't understand why the groom is so great. Then, the bride speaks. She weaves a picture of this beautiful, flawless, wonderful man. Her love for him gushes as she praises his looks, his form, even his posture! She says, "He is desirable in every way." All of a sudden, the friends can't wait to help search for him! He's a hot commodity! When we talk about Jesus and our relationship with Him, do we make him sound wonderful and "desirable in every way?" Do our words and lives reflect Jesus as a commodity to nonbelievers (and other believers)? Does our love for Him gush with every breath we have? It should- that is what God's job for us is.
Blessings,
Mayzie
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Song of Solomon 3&4- The Nitty Gritty
Today, we're looking at chapters 3 and 4 in Song of Solomon. This was honestly the hardest for me to study- this is where Solomon unmistakably begins to write about sex. (Random fact: In Bible times, Hebrew boys weren't allowed to read Song of Solomon because it was thought to be too steamy!) So go into these chapters prayerfully, understanding sex is an important thing for us as Christians to understand as God understands it. God created it for us, but sex can cause some problems if we aren't looking at it PRAYERFULLY.There are also several points in these chapters that relate to us and our relationship with God.
So, grab your Bibles and we'll start :)
Chapters 3-4 (overview)- These chapters are all about the consummation of the bride and groom's marriage. These two really, really delight in one another. He compares her to the finest things he can think of- pomegranates, ribbon, sheep, doves, etc- all symbols of beauty and luxury in their time. The sex they experience isn't about self-gratification like the world says it should be; it is an action that makes two people one in the eyes of God.
3:2- The bride leaves her bed in the middle of the night to search for her groom because she needs him that badly. In our walk with God, we should be so yearning for Him that we are willing to leave our comfort zones to find Him. This passionate pursual is a pillar of being a Christian.
3:3- This is just a small note. The bride here couldn't find her groom, so she asked someone for help. As Christians, we do not have to know all the answers. Never feel ashamed to ask someone wiser than you for advice/ answers when you are confused.
3:5- Once again, the author writes, "Do not awaken love until the time is right." This time, we aren't just talking about romantic love; we are talking about sex, the pinnacle of love between a man and woman. The world today says that sex is "just for fun" that we are "entitled" to it, whenever, because it feels good. THIS IS SO WRONG. Do you catch my drift? Sex is for one man and one woman to experience after marriage. It is God's gift to married couples, uniting them in His eyes. I'm not saying it's easy to hold out, and it doesn't always seem worth it, but ask and Godly person who did or didn't wait and I promise they will back up what I am saying. Do not try to force love to be there.
4:1-8- This passages (and ones like it) are what prohibited Hebrew school students from reading Song of Songs. The groom here describes his bride from head to toe, and how much happiness she brings him. And it's pretty detailed. He obviously loves her and everything about her. Though this is a sensual chapter, it should be noted that this can be paralleled to how absolutely God delights in us. Your nose you hate, the fact that you think you are too short or tall, the laugh of yours you think is obnoxious- whatever it is- GOD MADE YOU THAT WAY. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) by the God who created the universe. He makes no mistakes!
4:9-10- The groom sees his bride's love as all-sufficient.Even one aspect of her (her eyes, clothes, lips, etc) in enough for him. But he has all of her love. They are one in a committed relationship before God. In comparison, we as believers are one with God. He abides in us, and we are to abide in Him. Even one aspect of God should wholly captivate us (like His grace, love mercy, power), but since we as believers are one with Him, we have access to every single facet of Him!
4:12- Lastly is the part of this passage personally most important to me. The groom rejoices in the purity of his bride. He realizes she has saved herself and her virginity for him and him alone. Today, we are told that dating is a game, sex is a recreational activity, and purity is for suckers. This is all completely, totally inaccurate. Waiting on God's plan is hard, both the best and worst thing ever. I say worst because it is a daily struggle to commit to waiting on His timing; there will be temptation, frustration, and feelings of loneliness and worthlessness. What feels good is not always what is good, especially when it comes to romantic relationships. But ask anyone who has waited. They will tell you the wait is worth it, and God's plan is worth the wait.
Blessings, Mayzie
So, grab your Bibles and we'll start :)
Chapters 3-4 (overview)- These chapters are all about the consummation of the bride and groom's marriage. These two really, really delight in one another. He compares her to the finest things he can think of- pomegranates, ribbon, sheep, doves, etc- all symbols of beauty and luxury in their time. The sex they experience isn't about self-gratification like the world says it should be; it is an action that makes two people one in the eyes of God.
3:2- The bride leaves her bed in the middle of the night to search for her groom because she needs him that badly. In our walk with God, we should be so yearning for Him that we are willing to leave our comfort zones to find Him. This passionate pursual is a pillar of being a Christian.
3:3- This is just a small note. The bride here couldn't find her groom, so she asked someone for help. As Christians, we do not have to know all the answers. Never feel ashamed to ask someone wiser than you for advice/ answers when you are confused.
3:5- Once again, the author writes, "Do not awaken love until the time is right." This time, we aren't just talking about romantic love; we are talking about sex, the pinnacle of love between a man and woman. The world today says that sex is "just for fun" that we are "entitled" to it, whenever, because it feels good. THIS IS SO WRONG. Do you catch my drift? Sex is for one man and one woman to experience after marriage. It is God's gift to married couples, uniting them in His eyes. I'm not saying it's easy to hold out, and it doesn't always seem worth it, but ask and Godly person who did or didn't wait and I promise they will back up what I am saying. Do not try to force love to be there.
4:1-8- This passages (and ones like it) are what prohibited Hebrew school students from reading Song of Songs. The groom here describes his bride from head to toe, and how much happiness she brings him. And it's pretty detailed. He obviously loves her and everything about her. Though this is a sensual chapter, it should be noted that this can be paralleled to how absolutely God delights in us. Your nose you hate, the fact that you think you are too short or tall, the laugh of yours you think is obnoxious- whatever it is- GOD MADE YOU THAT WAY. You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) by the God who created the universe. He makes no mistakes!
4:9-10- The groom sees his bride's love as all-sufficient.Even one aspect of her (her eyes, clothes, lips, etc) in enough for him. But he has all of her love. They are one in a committed relationship before God. In comparison, we as believers are one with God. He abides in us, and we are to abide in Him. Even one aspect of God should wholly captivate us (like His grace, love mercy, power), but since we as believers are one with Him, we have access to every single facet of Him!
4:12- Lastly is the part of this passage personally most important to me. The groom rejoices in the purity of his bride. He realizes she has saved herself and her virginity for him and him alone. Today, we are told that dating is a game, sex is a recreational activity, and purity is for suckers. This is all completely, totally inaccurate. Waiting on God's plan is hard, both the best and worst thing ever. I say worst because it is a daily struggle to commit to waiting on His timing; there will be temptation, frustration, and feelings of loneliness and worthlessness. What feels good is not always what is good, especially when it comes to romantic relationships. But ask anyone who has waited. They will tell you the wait is worth it, and God's plan is worth the wait.
Blessings, Mayzie
Friday, November 4, 2011
Song of Solomon 2: Falling Madly in Love (with God)
Hey again! Same deal as yesterday- we are going thorugh Song of Solomon chapter 2 this time. Please read the actual Scripture along with my commentary. Again, what God reveals to/ teaches us is pointless if we don't tie it back to His Word.
This chapter deals a lot with the romantic aspects of love- the flirting, the wooing, the weak-at-the-knees feelings. Though it may seem that these are not applicable to our relationships with God, I promise they so, so, so are!
So let's jump in :)
2:2- The groom calls his bride a "lily among thistles." She's his needle in a haystack, the one God created for him to love and serve with. This is important to remember in our human romantic relationships- God created man and woman to love eache other, serve each other, and love and serve Him. He created a patner for each of us to do that with, and we shouldn't force someone to be that partner. (But I digress. We address that later!) Back on track, I do say that GOD SEES US THAT SAME WAY. He sees us as lillies, precious stones, needles, in a haystack world of sin and perversion and corruption. We are beings created solely to love Him. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7) We are the Creator's beloved!
2:3-6- This bride is living in the romantic aspect of her love-relationship. She's practically swooning; she tells her beloved to strengthen her with food, because she is weak with love, so we can see from that that she's definitely getting her flirt on. She states that it is 'obvious' how much her groom loves her. She is head over heels. This is how we should feel in the presence of our Beloved, God. Not the flirting part (for those that would try to make that an issue), but the head over heels, cant-get-enough-of-You feeling. We should be giddy and beside ourselves that the One who created absolutely everything, who can have whatever He wants, would see us as worthy to pursue and want as we are. Think about that for a second. It should make you weak with love.
2:7- This is my favorite verse in this whole chapter. "Do not awaken love until the time is right." This solely applies to earthly romantic relatioships. God created us as humans to love love. We should want to love, we should desire to be loved, we should ooze love from our pores. However, oftentimes we forget that romantic love is risky business. We get so caught up in the idea of love that we forget 1) God should be our first Love and 2) That He gives us romantic love when we are ready for it. When we try to rush love (awaken it before it is ready), we end up with hurt hearts and cynicism about the beauty that is romantic love. Not saying relatioships are bad, but I AM saying that if you are forcing something God doesn't want to happen to happen, it will end badly. Keep that in mind.
2:8-14- The groom is wooing his bride in these verses. He's still head over heels and trying to impress her, remind her of why she loves Him. God does the same for us, only in greater ways. Did you wake up this morning? Have you seen a sunrise, heard a bird sing, or laughed recently? Are these things good? Then they are from God! Every good and perfect thing comes from Him (James 1:17) with the sole purpose of reminding us how He loves us! God is always wooing us, we just have to be open to it. I promise it is the most beautiful experience one could have. It is proof of His relentless, all-encompassing love for us.
2:15- The bride is very, very aware that problems (the 'foxes') will occur in her relationship. Despite being crazy in love, she doesn't let reality get away. We should be the same way in our relationship with God. When things are strong in our relationship, it's harder to be on guard against Satan's attacks, for me at least, becasue I think, "I'm strong enough that Satan won't get me. I got this!" And that's about when I fall. We should always be on guard against stumbling blocks. God has our back, but we have to be able to identify what is happening.
Blessings, Mayzie
This chapter deals a lot with the romantic aspects of love- the flirting, the wooing, the weak-at-the-knees feelings. Though it may seem that these are not applicable to our relationships with God, I promise they so, so, so are!
So let's jump in :)
2:2- The groom calls his bride a "lily among thistles." She's his needle in a haystack, the one God created for him to love and serve with. This is important to remember in our human romantic relationships- God created man and woman to love eache other, serve each other, and love and serve Him. He created a patner for each of us to do that with, and we shouldn't force someone to be that partner. (But I digress. We address that later!) Back on track, I do say that GOD SEES US THAT SAME WAY. He sees us as lillies, precious stones, needles, in a haystack world of sin and perversion and corruption. We are beings created solely to love Him. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7) We are the Creator's beloved!
2:3-6- This bride is living in the romantic aspect of her love-relationship. She's practically swooning; she tells her beloved to strengthen her with food, because she is weak with love, so we can see from that that she's definitely getting her flirt on. She states that it is 'obvious' how much her groom loves her. She is head over heels. This is how we should feel in the presence of our Beloved, God. Not the flirting part (for those that would try to make that an issue), but the head over heels, cant-get-enough-of-You feeling. We should be giddy and beside ourselves that the One who created absolutely everything, who can have whatever He wants, would see us as worthy to pursue and want as we are. Think about that for a second. It should make you weak with love.
2:7- This is my favorite verse in this whole chapter. "Do not awaken love until the time is right." This solely applies to earthly romantic relatioships. God created us as humans to love love. We should want to love, we should desire to be loved, we should ooze love from our pores. However, oftentimes we forget that romantic love is risky business. We get so caught up in the idea of love that we forget 1) God should be our first Love and 2) That He gives us romantic love when we are ready for it. When we try to rush love (awaken it before it is ready), we end up with hurt hearts and cynicism about the beauty that is romantic love. Not saying relatioships are bad, but I AM saying that if you are forcing something God doesn't want to happen to happen, it will end badly. Keep that in mind.
2:8-14- The groom is wooing his bride in these verses. He's still head over heels and trying to impress her, remind her of why she loves Him. God does the same for us, only in greater ways. Did you wake up this morning? Have you seen a sunrise, heard a bird sing, or laughed recently? Are these things good? Then they are from God! Every good and perfect thing comes from Him (James 1:17) with the sole purpose of reminding us how He loves us! God is always wooing us, we just have to be open to it. I promise it is the most beautiful experience one could have. It is proof of His relentless, all-encompassing love for us.
2:15- The bride is very, very aware that problems (the 'foxes') will occur in her relationship. Despite being crazy in love, she doesn't let reality get away. We should be the same way in our relationship with God. When things are strong in our relationship, it's harder to be on guard against Satan's attacks, for me at least, becasue I think, "I'm strong enough that Satan won't get me. I got this!" And that's about when I fall. We should always be on guard against stumbling blocks. God has our back, but we have to be able to identify what is happening.
Blessings, Mayzie
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Song of Solomon 1: How a Godly Relationship Works
This post is looking over Song of Solomon 1 (just in case you didn't read the title!). Before reading further here, make sure you're ACTUALLY READING your Bible along with my commentary. What I'm writing is pointless without God's Word backing it up.
*It's important to note that the Song of Solomon is indeed about the love between a man and woman; however, many of the points made in the Song are applicable to our relationship with God. Though I will make note of some of the human aspects of the book, my main focus is our relationship with our heavenly Beloved. He, after all, is what it is all about.*
With that said, here we go:
1:1- The author here (King Solomon, inspired by God) makes a point in the first verse of the whole book to say that this song is, "more wonderful than any other." A love between man and woman is a picture of what God's love for us looks like- all consuming, intimate, and fulfilling. It's the love we should seek first! Truly the greatest song!
1:5-6- In these verses, we get a glimpse of the bride's insecurities. She is 'dark' from working in her brothers' vineyards. She was so busy taking care if them that she could not even care for herself. We see her fear here- she doesn't look right, so she tells people to look away. She was mistreated, so her self-worth is low. Yet, despite how she feels about herself, the king finds her incomparably beautiful (v. 8-11, 15). He values her despite what she thinks of herself. A true godly man (and woman!) will look for the inner beauty of those they love, not their past or physical appearance. Even more than that, God does that here and now for those He loves. He sees past our sins, misgivings, and doubts to the soul He created to love and serve Him.
1:7- We see the bride pursues her beloved wherever he goes. We should have that same fervor in pursuing God- whenever, however, wherever!
1:11- The king desires to bless his bride for loving him. He not only deeply loves her back, but he wants to give her more than that- tangible proof of his love. God works the same way .Salvation in His Son, His love, grace, and mercy, are all just the tip of the iceberg. Like Jesus says in John 10:10, "I have come to give them life and life more abundant." As we go deeper in our relationship with God, we see more and more of that iceberg of life He has for us.
1:12-14,16-17- The bride doesn't just sit back and let herself be the recipient of the amazing blessings of love. She actively participates in the relationship as well. She thanks her beloved, praises him (not in a idolater way, in a complimentary way!), and gives to him in turn. A relationship with God is not a one-way thing. We are to CONSTANTLY be loving and pursuing God as He loves and pursues us. That is how we come to abide in Him!
Blessings,
Mayzie
*It's important to note that the Song of Solomon is indeed about the love between a man and woman; however, many of the points made in the Song are applicable to our relationship with God. Though I will make note of some of the human aspects of the book, my main focus is our relationship with our heavenly Beloved. He, after all, is what it is all about.*
With that said, here we go:
1:1- The author here (King Solomon, inspired by God) makes a point in the first verse of the whole book to say that this song is, "more wonderful than any other." A love between man and woman is a picture of what God's love for us looks like- all consuming, intimate, and fulfilling. It's the love we should seek first! Truly the greatest song!
1:5-6- In these verses, we get a glimpse of the bride's insecurities. She is 'dark' from working in her brothers' vineyards. She was so busy taking care if them that she could not even care for herself. We see her fear here- she doesn't look right, so she tells people to look away. She was mistreated, so her self-worth is low. Yet, despite how she feels about herself, the king finds her incomparably beautiful (v. 8-11, 15). He values her despite what she thinks of herself. A true godly man (and woman!) will look for the inner beauty of those they love, not their past or physical appearance. Even more than that, God does that here and now for those He loves. He sees past our sins, misgivings, and doubts to the soul He created to love and serve Him.
1:7- We see the bride pursues her beloved wherever he goes. We should have that same fervor in pursuing God- whenever, however, wherever!
1:11- The king desires to bless his bride for loving him. He not only deeply loves her back, but he wants to give her more than that- tangible proof of his love. God works the same way .Salvation in His Son, His love, grace, and mercy, are all just the tip of the iceberg. Like Jesus says in John 10:10, "I have come to give them life and life more abundant." As we go deeper in our relationship with God, we see more and more of that iceberg of life He has for us.
1:12-14,16-17- The bride doesn't just sit back and let herself be the recipient of the amazing blessings of love. She actively participates in the relationship as well. She thanks her beloved, praises him (not in a idolater way, in a complimentary way!), and gives to him in turn. A relationship with God is not a one-way thing. We are to CONSTANTLY be loving and pursuing God as He loves and pursues us. That is how we come to abide in Him!
Blessings,
Mayzie
First Post!
SO... I can't believe I'm a blogger now! If y'all can be patient and let me ramble a bit on this post, we'll get to the good stuff on the next one, promise! I never really intended to ever blog... Facebook is enough for me. But I felt like God was leading me to put something out here so I could connect with my brothers and sisters in a more God-centered way. So how this is going ot work... I'll post a blog every so often, always on what I've read from the Bible that day, my thoughts on it, how I think it applies to our lives as believers, etc. THEN, I want whoever happens to read it to put their thoughts/ideas/comments also. RIght now, I'm reading Song of Solomon (yikes!), so we're going to go through that and see how the love described there parallels with the love God has for us, and what it means for us as His children! See you on the blog!
Love, Mayzie
Love, Mayzie
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