Is God drawing you in?

Psalms 1/ Matthew 1-2/ Proverbs 1

Psalms 1: 1-6 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, 2 but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. 3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.”

Psalms 1:1 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers” So what does Walk In Step with the wicked mean? To walk in step means to walk in the same rhythm as someone; to take on their actions in manner and movement so that they become second nature. So walking in step with the wicked would entail copying their beliefs and actions to the point in which they are second nature. God wants us to delight (find great pleasure) in His law, the Word. He wants us to take on His actions and have them become second nature. By walking with the wicked, standing with sinners and sitting in the company of mockers we are being indoctrinated with their beliefs and their actions. God wants us to surround ourselves with Him. His Word, His people, His supporters. However that does not mean we are to shun all non-believers. Jesus shows us how to surround ourselves with faith filled believers (Disciples) and yet still minister to non-believers. Teaching them not conforming to their ways. Mark 2:13-17.

God is also encouraging us to meditate on His Word not just daily but in the morning and evening, to receive His full blessings. He is comparing our relationship with that of a tree by a stream. Well watered with the Word we will prosper and never wither but most importantly we will always produce His fruit. God wants to walk beside us every minute of our day, guiding and directing our steps so that we can have the best (blessed) life that He intends for us.

Lord, help me to saturate my life with you and only you. Shield me from the influence of non-believers and guide every interaction I may have with those around me. Show me how to integrate your love, life and message into my everyday life so that those (non-believers) around me see You and are drawn to You.

Matthew 1: 1-25 “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham: 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa, 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram, Jehoram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon. 12 After the exile to Babylon: Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Akim, Akim the father of Elihud, 15 Elihud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah. 17 Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah. 18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about : His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.”

Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah was written 700 years before Jesus’s birth. I love how God proves his faithfulness time and time again. Not only was Jesus’s birth prophesized about, it was written about and carried out in the exact manner in which God intended. Amazing!

Matthew 2:1-23 “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: 6 “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” 9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” 19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.”

After reading in Psalms about how God wants us to seek Him and His guidance in all things these are very fitting examples of people who did just that. Joseph listened in Matthew 1:19-24 and “did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” He did this in direct contradiction to what was customary during those times, which was death by stoning. Joseph also listened in Matthew 2:12-15 and “got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod.” Saving his son from the slaughter. If Joseph had not been so in tune with God, listening to His every word, his child Jesus would have been killed. And Mankind would have been left with the old ways and Jewish law to atone for sin instead of the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. Its crazy to think that God knew all of this. He knew who Joseph was and what he would do before it ever came to pass and He knows me just as intimately.

Proverbs 1:1-33 “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: 2 for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; 3 for receiving instruction in prudent (future thinking) behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; 4 for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion (speaking in such a way to avoid causing offense or revealing private info) to the young— 5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— 6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Prologue: Exhortations to Embrace Wisdom Warning Against the Invitation of Sinful Men

8 Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. 9 They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. 10 My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them. 11 If they say, “Come along with us; let’s lie in wait for innocent blood, let’s ambush some harmless soul; 12 let’s swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; 13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder; 14 cast lots with us; we will all share the loot”— 15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; 16 for their feet rush into evil, they are swift to shed blood. 17 How useless to spread a net where every bird can see it! 18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they ambush only themselves! 19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill-gotten (immoral) gain; it takes away the life of those who get it.

Wisdom’s Rebuke

20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square; 21 on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech: 22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? 23 Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. 24 But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, 25 since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke, 26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you— 27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. 28 “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, 29 since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the LORD. 30 Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, 31 they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. 32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Prior to becoming a believer, when I would pick up the Bible and search for answers the words always seemed random and fable-like but God teaches us to “Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.” Proverbs 1: 23 After accepting Jesus into my life and asking Him to forgive my sins the Bible no longer held secrets I could not grasp, but held answers. His teachings became clear and His instructions plain as day. When I was in the middle of my mess searching for answers, God was watching and waiting for me to turn to Him. When I faltered and turned away rejecting Him, He took His hands off my life and stood back watching from afar. It was during that time that I began to struggle in college (with who I was and what I wanted to do). I struggled with friendships (those closest to me began to move into different phases of life, specifically motherhood) and I struggled within my own family (with bitterness and anger over the past). I didn’t realize that this was all apart of Gods plan to nudge me in His direction. He was letting me “eat the fruit of {my} ways and be filled with the fruit of {my} schemes.” Proverbs 1:31 He began surrounding me with faith filled Christians and filling me with curiosity towards the faith. Slowly I began to read the Word and ask my new Christian friends questions. The more I read the more I understood who God was and who He wanted me to be and the person He wanted me to be was GOOD. I never felt uneasy about the changes I was making in my life. It was like I was finally able to be me. I didn’t have to be someone else, act like someone else, seek others approval, or do things to fit in that didn’t sit right with me. He wanted me to be good, do good. Not hate, not judge, not condemn. Just be good and love others. It wasn’t always easy and God knows I faltered at times, but I have never regretted the decision to follow Him and live a life for Jesus. He has truly given me a life of ease, safe without fear from harm. Proverbs 1:33.

Well I’ve tried to make this a bible study that anyone can pull up and read. My hope is that you will read the scripture and find new meaning in the verses placed in front of you. I also pray that you would be brave and bold enough to share them with myself and the rest of the world here on my page. Just drop a comment down below, with the scripture reference and what the Holy Spirit is speaking into your heart. Because God speaks to each and every one of us through His Word and there is a lot we can learn from one another. ———>Walking in Grace, Teresa.