Thoughts from Proverbs 21

Hope everyone has been engaging in those BASIC SPIRITUAL GROWTH BUILDERS  of prayer and reading of the word.  Remember, don't just read it, study it, memorize it and meditate on it!.

Speaking of memorizing - do you have our verse down for the week? 
ASSURANCE OF ANSWERED PRAYER:



 

"Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." John 16:24

Now, hopefully for some spiritual food to meditate on, from the 21st chapter of Proverbs.  Here are 4-6 verses I found most challenging today:

1) File this under "How we should live:"
v.3 - "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice..."  God is more pleased with us when we do the right thing and the just thing to our friends and family, then when we play church or go to church just to look good, (that is what is meant by "more acceptable...than sacrifice.)   We need to process this away and remember it always - God cares about the heart more than he cares about your outward appearance with other people.

 2) File this under: "How we treat our spouses:"
vv. 9&19 say this - "9 - It is BETTER (everyone say better), to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife..." and then "19 - It is BETTER, (there's that word again - think God means this...), to live in a desert land than with a quarrelsome and fretful woman..."   These verses aren't meant to make us think - "poor you, you've got it rough..."  NO!  ever hear the phrase - "it takes two to tango..."  that's not about dancing to a Latin song, but about fighting and quarreling.  Your home should and must be a place of peace!  Husbands, as you learn to LOVE your wife, remember, you don't always have to be right in everything.  And you don't have to always argue your point.  Solomon give great graphic imagery here - constant quarreling is like being in a desert land or the rooftop of your home.  Middle-Eastern homes were constructed so as to have a place of cool rest and relaxation at the end of a hot day, and that place was on the roof top.  They were basically flat.  Today we call it the back porch.  Now, i don't know about you, but living on my deck or back porch in August isn't what I find exciting, when I know I have a comfortable bed inside and a air conditioner to keep me cool.  But, and we all know it's true, marital relations that are strained because one or both parties can not forgive and move on - well now all of a sudden - sleeping on the porch might seem better to avoid the strife.  Question - Is that really the Love described in 1 Corinthians 13  - "patient, kind, forgiving one another..."

3) File this at the TOP of the LIST in BOLD LETTERS under: "I BETTER FIGURE THIS OUT QUICKLY OR MY LIFE WILL SEEM TO BE FULL OF TROUBLE!"  (or just file it under "DUH!")
vv. 2&30-31 say about the same thing - see if you can figure it out ok?!
"2 - Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the heart..."
"vv30-31 - No wisdom, now understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.  The horse is made ready of the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD."
Solomon is trying to instill in us this principle - You can have your thoughts and ways and plans, but unless you have them all prayed up and blessed by the LORD - you thoughts and schemes and ways and plans may go down as a big zero!  God loves to invite us into his sovereign rule and reign of our world.  As things come to mind that may seem like a great idea, don't be afraid to pray through that with the Lord and seek His wisdom and the guidance of the Holy Spirit in all that you are doing.  WE HAVE TO GET THIS CHURCH -  Jesus said the same thing as Solomon said, but he put it this way: "apart from me you can do nothing..."

4) Lastly, File this under that increasingly used, and quite full file called:  "What should I say and how should I say it?"
v.23 - "Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble..."
"keeping" is the Hebrew word "shaw-mar'" and is the idea of "guarding, to observe, give heed, have charge of, keep watch and ward, protect, save life."  So by its meaning, the verse is a great reminder to have watch over what spews out of your mouth.  "Will this glorify God?" "Will I embarrass my wife or family by saying this? And "is it really important that I win this arguement?"  Guard your mouth and guard your tongue and life will be better for you and your family.

Have a great day and meditate often today on what God is saying to you THROUGH HIS WORD.

You are Loved