Do you know some mean girls? I’m not asking you to think back to high school or junior high; I mean right now. Are you a mean girl? (I’m not excluding guys here, but based on comments, it’s the girls that hang out here at The Littlest Way. If you’re a guy and hang out here, welcome and let me know in the comments.) Back to mean girls…are you wondering how I’m going to work the topic of mean girls into my 31 Days Writing Challenge where I’m reading the book of Sirach? You’ll be surprised…let’s get to it.
What is Religion
St James, in James 1:27 states, “What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.” We’re going to focus on the part about not being corrupted by the world.
A Man of Understanding
I’m reading the book of Sirach for 31 Days. Today, let’s consider a man of understanding as found in Sirach 10:25. “…and a man of understanding will not grumble.” Let’s look at what a man of understanding is and why he does not grumble. Understanding is one of the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit, listed in Isaiah 11:2-3. And in this passage we find out a little about a man of understanding. “…he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears…”
31 Days: Sirach 27
I’m reading and writing about spending 31 Days reading the book of Sirach. Here’s a printable for you with a scripture quote from Sirach 27.
Positive Affirmations
You know I’m going to quote from The 4:8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life, one of my all time favorite books, next to the Bible. Chapter 4, the author states, “Too many people resign themselves to lives far below what God intended. They don’t see themselves as worthy…Much discouragement and underachievement result from dwelling on the failings of our human nature. A mediocre self concept does not come from God but from the stains of the world. It comes from seeing ourselves different from how God sees us.” So how does God see us?
According to Ephesians 2:10 we are God’s accomplishment, His workmanship, His masterpiece. Wow. Let that sit a bit. Now say out loud, “I am God’s masterpiece.” Powerful isn’t it? What if we started our day first with an act of gratitude for the day and then put both feet on the floor with the words, “I am God’s masterpiece.” What if some time during the morning we told our children they were God’s masterpiece before we sent them on their way?
Philippians 4 and Sirach 17
There is a powerful verse in Philippians 4, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” that matches up perfectly with a verse from the book of Sirach. “…he turned him back into earth again, but clothed him in strength like his own.” †Sirach 17:2 Let’s start unpacking these beauties found in Philippians 4 and Sirach 17 as a part of my 31 Days of reading the book of Sirach.