4th Week, Proverbs Intro - 4

 

Week Four, Proverbs 

Monday, Proverbs Intro

Proverbs Intro

Tanya Ruden

Written by Solomon to teach people how to attain wisdom, discipline, a prudent life, and how to do what is right, just and fair.

THOUGHT

Can you imagine writing a book with all your wisdom in it? I love to give advice and talk about my experiences.  That is where I think many of us gain true wisdom.  It is from our own learning. I think that older people with more experiences have lots of wisdom to share. I think it is so important to listen to them and learn from them. They have so much to teach us. I believe there is a time in our lives when we think it a waste of time to listen to them.  I pray we are wiser now and listen to our parents and elders in our lives.

I liked the definition of knowledge - having facts, as compared to wisdom - applying those facts to life.  My dad always said we go to college to learn how to think, and I think this intro explains that a little bit. We learn the

knowledge we need to apply to our life, experiences and challenges we incur. I am anxious to see what Solomon has to say about doing right. It seems if I were to write a book about that, it would be - ‘Love your neighbor as yourself, and Love Jesus with all your being’ (short book: the perfect kind for a working mom).

Enjoy Proverbs and don’t just read the chapters - LIVE THEM!!

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, open our hearts and minds to Solomon’s words in Proverbs. Help us to listen and understand what he is telling us and apply it to our daily lives and experiences. Help this study to improve our actions and lives as Christians in Your world! AMEN

Tuesday, Proverbs 1

Verses 7,8,&10

Tanya Ruden

Verse 7:  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Verse 8:  Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.

Verse 10:  My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.

THOUGHT

I think verse 7 is telling us that we all are capable of knowledge. We all have minds given us by God which allow us to learn. Many of our minds are eager to learn, but fools do not use that knowledge to apply it to life and therefore, do not live in wisdom. We must be disciplined by the knowledge we have and use it to further God’s kingdom and gain the wisdom He has in store for us.

Verse 8 is describing God’s rolls for us as fathers and mothers. I do believe the father is often the one to give the instruction. He is to be the head of the household and set the rules/tone of the family. The mother is more of a teacher, and I think shows the children how to ‘obey’ if you will the father’s teaching through her example.  By respecting the father and ‘obeying’ the ‘rules’, she teaches her children valuable lessons which should not be ignored.

Lastly, verse 10 is very easy to understand.  We don’t want to sin.  We don’t want to hang with the ‘wrong’ crowd or those not following Jesus, but yet it is so easy to sin with greed, fame and wealth.  All of these things often cloud our vision.  We have been told/reminded to not give into sin, hum....

PRAYER

Lord, guide our lives.  Teach us to take the knowledge we have learned and through Your instruction, become wise.  Help us grow in our faith and lead us away from evil.  May we turn our backs to sin and those who are trying to lead us from You. Open our hearts to teaching and the wisdom You have to give us. AMEN

Wednesday, Proverbs 2

Verse 10

Tanys Ruden

Verse 10:  For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

THOUGHT

I read this chapter 3 times, and each time I paused at this verse.  I will be honest and admit that I am not sure what to discuss about it. I think this verse just gives me a calming feeling. Does anyone ever make a decision just because it ‘feels’ right?  Love I guess is like that, but so are decisions we make about jobs or homes or even what friends to hang out with. If Jesus lives in your heart, wisdom will be there too.  Consulting Him will give you the insight to make decisions. (Does that make sense?) I think that is why

decisions ‘feel’ right, because Jesus approves of them or is involved in them and gives you the wisdom to make them.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus, we are so thankful You live in our hearts. We pray You impart wisdom in our lives so that we are bold to share this wisdom with others. We pray our decisions bring a peace to our lives as we consult You in making them.  Help us this day to have a GREAT attitude at our place of employment as it would be so easy to be ‘blah’.  May we be different and shine a light so that people will say, “Why are they that way; what do they have that I want?”  AMEN

Thursday, Proverbs 3

Verse 3

Jane Jones

Written July 5, 2005 (Post 4th of July)

Verse 3

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

   bind them around your neck,

      write them on the tablet of your heart.”

THOUGHT

This verse tells us how we must truly possess love and faithfulness in our heart at all times.  Both involve actions and attitudes.  How would you judge your actions and attitudes from the 4th of July weekend?  Were they loving and faithful to both God and mankind?  This weekend is a perfect

example of it.  Bart and Mindy gave up their free weekend to show their love and faithfulness to TJ and me.  How wonderful that was.  It has been a great weekend full of just what the Salt Shakers read about today.  We are so blessed.

PRAYER

Thank You, Lord, for this beautiful day.  Please be with all of us today as we display love and faithfulness in our attitudes and walk. AMEN

Friday, Proverbs 4

Jane Jones

Verse 23

The chapter talked about sons listening to fathers to acquire understanding that leads to wisdom. This is one of the greatest responsibilities of parents...to encourage their children to become wise. The chapter encourages us to go after it, to embrace, and hold tight to it.

Verse 23:  “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

THOUGHT

The heart is our feelings of love and desire. Solomon tells us to guard our heart above all else, making sure we concentrate on those desires that will keep us on the right path. We must make sure that our affections push us

in the right direction. We must put boundaries on our desires and not go after everything. We must not fall in love and desire ‘things’. Look straight ahead; keep your eyes fixed on your goal, on your target, and don’t let

yourselves get sidetracked by sin.  Vacations, houses, cars, clothing, toys are great to have, but we must be careful not to desire them above the wisdom of the Lord. 

The Bible is telling us we cannot go after all these at the same time. We must stay focused on our goal, on one thing at a time, the mission He has for us to do today.  Some of us know exactly what our mission is right now. Some of us are searching and some of us are uncertain.  That is okay. Just guard your heart. Hold fast to the wisdom He has given you. Stay fixed on the target, the bulls-eye. When doing so, you will find the wellspring of life, and that is what He wants from you and for you today.

PRAYER

Father, we have all failed You in some way. We have taken wrong paths and made wrong choices. We know Your law, yet we choose to ignore it. We strive to impress others with our knowledge of You when our hearts are far from You. Forgive us, Father. Guide us into a truer, deeper relationship with You. Thank You, Jesus. You are the greatest! AMEN