Topic outline
General
Becoming a Virtuous Woman of God
by Dr. Terri Krause
Enroll me Regardless of where you are now, or what happened in the past, God promises you will become a new person when you receive Jesus as your Savior and Redeemer. To redeem means to buy back, or to free from that which causes distress or harm (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/redeem). Jesus bought us back and brought us home to live in the love and protection of God's family.
Sometimes, it seems like what we think of as being virtuous is gone forever. But, as virtuous women of God, we look to the Word of God to define us, rather than to human criteria. We can rely on the love and compassion Jesus displayed toward women to understand our value to God. And, we look to the precious Holy Spirit to help us respond to the questions and accusations raised by the current culture. The Holy Spirit will always point us to Jesus—the only way, the only truth, and the only life.
Course Objectives.
Learners will be able to:
- Explain the Biblical definition of virtue.
- Describe how God views women.
- Compare the difference between the world's definition of the sources and standards of identity and the Biblical view.
- Apply God's value system of grace to one's own mistakes.
- Explain the difference between perception and reality.
- Recognize Satan's war against womanhood, and reflect on how that has manifested in one's own life.
- Analyze where a lack of personal integrity may have been the source of pain.
- Compare/contrast the characteristics of Wisdom to Foolishness.
- Be able to explain the path to personal wholeness.
- Understand the difference between humility and humiliation, and between strength and weakness in granting grace and mercy.
- Identify the barriers and burdens that inhibit one's freedom to live a virtuous life.
- Create a plan to take hold of the inheritance God has for them as Virtuous Women of God.
Assignments:
After viewing each video, please reflect on the question in the Course Forum and share your thoughts with your classmates before you move on to the next section. We never know when our own reflections can be a source of strength to others, so please post thoughtfully and read the posts of others.
To experience transformation...
To get the most benefit out of this mini-course, you will want to watch the videos in order and then take time to really reflect on the ideas and Scriptures presented. It will take approximately 30 minutes to watch one video and take time to reflect and respond to the forum questions each day.
I hope and pray that each person who takes this course will be able to find the stability and strength of basing their identity on Christ Jesus. The world's criteria for evaluating identity changes daily; but, God's promise that we can have our identity as His dearly loved Children and joint-heirs with Jesus will never change. This assurance of our value to the Creator of the Universe will hold us steady while the world tosses and turns with the "flavor of the month".
Dr. Terri- Explain the Biblical definition of virtue.
Section 1
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This course is a first step toward helping women understand and retain our identity while navigating a very confusing and ungodly world system. This course takes a holistic view of the Christian woman as a spirit and living soul within a physical human body.
We define wholeness as alignment between the spirit, soul, and body. It means unity—one part of our self is not warring with another; rather every part works together without conflicting values and goals. As Christians, when the Spirit of Christ in us wants peace and kindness but our soul wants to exercise its right to be valued, and our body agrees and shouts angry words, we may find ourselves discontent or sad and not really understand why. In is only in internal unity that there can be wholeness and peace.
What caused Eve to fall victim to Satan's lies?
She had been placed in heaven on earth. She had everything she could want and more. What happened between the day she was crafted and the day she decided to eat of the forbidden fruit? At some point along the way, she looked at that one tree out of the thousands upon thousands, and decided that something was missing in her life. She perceived lack.
The desperation people experience as they struggle with a sense of personal misalignment is tragic and can be disorienting. Unfortunately, the world's answer to the dilemma can end in deeper despair.
Reflection Questions:
1. Explain what the Bible means when it uses the term "virtue or virtuous". Does thinking of the Proverbs 31 Virtuous Woman in this way change your view of yourself (i.e., what demands you place on yourself, how you think you should act)? In what way(s)?
2. How do you view your life? Is it through the lens of lack, ingratitude, and doubt? Or, are you able to daily see all of the blessings God has placed in your life and how He has gone before you to prepare the way? In what way has the lens you use impacted your life?
3. When you think of yourself, do you see a whole person? Are your body, soul (mind, will, emotions), and spirit in agreement?Or, do you find there are conflicting interests that create pain and steal your peace? Where is there misalignment, and what steps can you take to bring inner unity and peace through alignment?
Section 2
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One of the hardest things for people to do is to stop passing judgment on themselves and others. Often this judgment is based on behavior(s) that happened years in the past. Sometimes it is the result of misunderstandings or differences in the way people approach life. We may continue to beat ourselves up for mistakes we made, even decades ago. It is important to decide that the past will not be allowed to negatively impact our present or dictate our future.
We see in the Scriptures that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom". What is the fear of the Lord and how do we get it? And what does that have to do with reverence and humility?
Proverbs chapters 1 to 10 contrast wisdom and foolishness. The fact that it ascribes the feminine gender to both of these constructs is interesting. But it is the difference in motivation and the end results of each that makes it important to take a closer look.
The rest of this mini-course will be looking at the Proverbs 31 woman. While we love her and aspire to be her, we recognize that she is meant to be the ideal rather than a standard that we have to attain or die trying.
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you judge yourself or others by what you can see with the human eye? Or, do you choose to look beyond the physical to the person God loves so dearly? What is one tangible thing you can do to practice looking through eyes of love?
2. Were you ever afraid of God? What is the difference between being afraid and being in awe? Did you ever believe you had to endure humiliating things because God required it somehow? What is the difference between humility and humiliation?
3. When you look at yourself, do you see Wisdom or Foolishness? Is there anything that keeps you from being what you truly want to be as a daughter of the King? What can you do today to be more like the woman you want to be?
4. What goes through your mind as you read the qualities of a virtuous woman in Proverbs 31? Do you know in your heart that you are growing more and more like her every day? What one thing would you like God to help you begin to develop today?
Section 3
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Can you imagine being so loved that people aren't willing to see you die? We look at the story of Tabitha and the reasons God decided to extend her life through the Apostle Peter.
When we started this mini-course, we learned that the word virtue (or virtuous) actually means strength, power, valor, and courage. We have seen the courage of Abigail, intervening before King David for her husband Nabel's life. And, we saw Esther risk her life before King Xerxes to plead for the lives of her people. These and other stories of courage help remind us that God will give us courage in our moment of need.
- Sometimes life doesn't lead us into marriage and parenthood. But, God promises to be a husband to us, and that he will allow us to have more children than we could ever have physically if we allow Him to provide the best for our lives.
We have discussed what it means to be a virtuous woman of God. We've seen examples of courageous women. We've talked about Wisdom and the Woman Foolishness. Now, we bring it all together in a blessing that you might become the virtuous woman of God you desire to be, so that you can experience your share of the inheritance that Jesus purchased for you.
Reflection Questions:
1. Reflect on a person whose kindness stands out to you. Is there anything that person does that may make you wish you were like him/her? Plan an action that reflects kindness—one that you want to begin to make a regular part of your life. Post it on the discussion board and tell why you chose it. Pick a person to practice on. After you have completed showing kindness in your chosen way, post a reply to your initial post and tell us about the activity and the response.
2. Pick one of the question groups below:
Are you married? What things do you do to let your husband know you love and respect him? What would you like to begin to do to better express your love?
Are you unmarried? What are the things God has said He will do for you if you allow Him to be your husband? Are you able to trust Him for your happiness and fulfillment?
Do you have children? Do you remember how hard it was to be young and unable to make your own decisions? What are some ways you can show your children the love of Jesus by demonstrating understanding and compassion?
Have you not had children? What are the qualities of a mother that God has built into you that can benefit the entire family of God as well as children who need guidance and direction?
3. Select a woman you believe is courageous or find a story about a courageous woman. What do they do that makes you feel they act with courage? What would you do in the same situation? Do you want God to increase your ability to act courageously? Can you ask the Holy Spirit to be courageous through you?
4. Of the things we have talked about, what could you relate to most? Did this course provide you with insights you can use in your daily life? If so, can you tell us about them?