Reflections on God's Word

by Victoria Robinson

When I was a little girl I was fascinated with movies that showed old mansions with secret passageways. Even the classic board game, Clue, has a secret passageway. Wouldn’t it be cool in your life if you had an escape passage? When sin is chasing you God has given you a way of escape. Through His very great and precious promises we are able to escape the corruption of this world.

This truth emphasizes the need to know and memorize the Word. Jesus did not have time to search His iPhone Bible for a snappy comeback when He was being tempted to sin. His escape passage was embedded in His heart. Girlfriends, we must be just as ready with the Word as our Lord is. We should be able to deftly handle the word of truth when sin is chasing us.

Dearest girlfriends, lets us run to the escape passageway of the Word when sin is chasing us.

A list of some common sins are listed below along with scripture you can use for an escape passage.

• Adultery — Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. ~ Hebrews 13:4 NIV
• Anger — A fool gives full vent to anger, but a wise person quietly holds it back. ~ Proverbs 29:11 NLT
• Bitterness — See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. ~ Hebrews 12:15 NIV
• Drunkenness — Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise. ~ Proverbs 20:1 NIV
• Envy — A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. ~ Proverbs 14:30 NIV
• Fear — Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” ~ Isaiah 53:3-4 NIV 
• Gluttony — Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags. ~ Proverbs 23:20-21 NIV
• Gossip — A gossip goes around revealing secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence. ~ Proverbs 11:13 NLT
• Greed — Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” ~ Luke 12:15 NIV 
• Laziness — Lazy people are soon poor; hard workers get rich. ~ Proverbs 10:4 NLT
• Lust — God wants you to be holy, so you should keep clear of all sexual sin. Then each of you will control your body and live in holiness and honor—not in lustful passion as the pagans do, in their ignorance of God and his ways. ~ 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 NLT
• Selfishness — Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. ~ Psalm 119:36 NIV
• Unforgiveness — Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. ~ Ephesians 4:32 NIV
• Worry — So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ~ Matthew 6:31-33 NIV

by Victoria Robinson

Shakespeare wrote, “The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part I have saved my life.” More importantly, King Solomon wrote, “Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.”

According to the Collins English Dictionary the word discretion means: The quality of behaving or speaking in such a way as to avoid social embarrassment or distress. This describes a godly lady.

Are you a lady of discretion or are you behaving like a pig with a gold ring in your snout? Doesn’t sound very beautiful yet this is how King Solomon describes a lady who does not show discretion.

A lady of discretion …

• Does not say everything that is on her mind.
• Does not speak ill of others.
• Does not spread rumors.
• Does not boast about her accomplishments.

Dearest girlfriends, let us seek to be beautiful ladies of discretion.

by Victoria Robinson

Okay girlfriends, here is what I am going to need to purchase. An eye mask, ear plugs, and a lip zip. How else do you expect me to survive in this world knowing our heavenly father tells me not to look at evil, not to listen to evil, and not to speak evil. Or, I can simply guard what I see, what I hear, and what I speak. That would look so much prettier wouldn’t it?

Some of the greatest temptations in what I view are found on television, movies, the internet and in literature. This also crosses over to my ears, as some of the language is not what I should be listening to. Then I need to avoid those who gossip. As for not speaking evil, well that really stems from what is in my heart. Which actually ties into what I view and what I listen to. These are the things I am allowing to enter my heart and therefore will eventually make their way out of my mouth.

So are you guarding your eyes, ears, and lips? Or are you carelessly allowing these to be instruments used by Satan? Dearest girlfriends, I pray we would honor our heavenly Father by seeing no evil, hearing no evil and speaking no evil.