Question: Do I need to be like the Proverbs 31 woman?   Short Answer:  Only in that she fears the Lord   What the Bible Says Proverbs 31:9-31 shows us a model of virtuous perfection. The woman in these verses is praised by her husband and blessed by her children. She cares for her household and the needy. She’s wise in words and in business. Scripture says that she surpasses all the other noble women. But when we focus on what she is, desiring to be her, we miss the heart of the passage and veer into the lane of sinful comparison ( Galatians 6:4 ). Every good work and noble trait is futile without the fear of the Lord because, without that, we can only serve ourselves. The most significant part of the passage is this: “a woman who fears the Lord.” That’s it. The Proverbs woman produced good fruit and did good works because she feared the Lord, not the other way around. Her fear of the Lord isn’t an extra detail to be spoken of as if it also describes her l...

  Short Answer: Those who are right with God have a spiritual responsibility to bring those who are walking in sinfulness before the Lord so that He might be moved to mercy on their behalf.   What the Bible Says Scripture repeatedly shows us that God calls those who are righteous to intercede for those who are not. Abraham asked that God spare Sodom if ten were found righteous (Genesis18:16-33) . Moses pleaded that God would spare the Israelites for their idol worship in the wilderness ( Numbers 14:11- 20 ). Daniel petitioned for mercy instead of disaster for Judah during their Babylonian exile ( Daniel 9:19 ). Each time, God faithfully responded. To Abraham, He promised that if just ten were found righteous, He would spare the city ( Genesis 18:32 ).   He told Moses that He would forgive the Israelites because of his words ( Numbers 14:20 ). To Daniel, He sent the angel Gabriel with a message of hope for Judah ( Daniel 9:20 – 27 ). We are not told that interces...

  Short Answer: We have to learn the difference between being prompted to speak by the Holy Spirit and a desire to speak from a lack of self-control. Not all thoughts, even what we believe to be righteous, are meant to be spoken. What the Bible Says The Apostle Paul tells us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” ( 2 Corinthians 10:5 ). We generally talk about this verse in the context of what we believe to be “bad” or sinful thoughts. However, the key word in this verse is every . Every thought, even the ones that we believe to be righteous, must come before the Lord before it comes out of our mouth. First, only God knows the true motivation of the heart – even yours. We can say that we’re speaking out of love to help our brothers and sisters in their walk with Christ, but only God knows if there are hidden motivations behind your words ( 1 Chronicles 28:9 ). Second, as we don’t know anyone else’s heart, we can’t know how our words will be received. J...

  Question: Do I need a priest to absolve my sins? Short Answer: Jesus, who is the propitiation for our sins, is your intercessor.  What the Bible Says Jesus’s life and death fulfilled all of the Old Testament ritualistic requirements for an Old Testament priest to enter God’s Temple and intercede on behalf of the people. Absolute purity and cleanliness were required to bring a sacrifice before the Lord, and Jesus was the embodiment of perfection. His death was the required unblemished sacrifice. His resurrection brings us directly to God.  Scripture teaches how all of us can be purified and made clean so that we can, “approach the throne of grace with confidence” ( Hebrews 4:16 ) - believe that Jesus’s sacrifice is enough ( John 3:16 ), confess our sins ( 1 John 1:9 ). It also teaches us how to remain in that purity and cleanliness - wash each other’s feet ( John 13 ), have a clean heart ( Matthew 15 ), be clothed in humility ( 1 Peter 5:5 ) - the spiritual equiv...

Question:  How do I approach God in prayer? Short Answer:   Approach the throne of grace boldly. Be confident that as your Father, He wants to help you, and, as your God, He can. What the Bible Says Jesus told us to begin our prayers by approaching God as our Father. The remainder of what we know as The Lord’s Prayer essentially tells us to honor the name of the Lord and trust in Him. However, our heart posture in doing so should be one that seeks an intimate relationship. Why? Because believing in God as our Father recognizes that we understand how He sees Himself in relation to us ( Jeremiah 31:9 ). When we see God for who He truly is, we’re better able to trust in Him rather than our worldly desired outcomes. What do you do with this? Scripture doesn’t tell us that we’ll get everything we want, and getting what we want is not the purpose of prayer. Prayer connects us to God as our Father, who is wholly deserving of our trust. We are to approach Him with the confid...