132nd Week, Proverbs Chapters 10-14 (Click on Title for Video Intro)

 Click on Title for Video Introduction

Monday, Proverbs Chapter 10

Proverbs 10

Verses 19-21, 31-32

Delores Little

Verses 19-21a:  When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise. The tongue of the righteous is choice silver.

Verse 21:  The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment.

Verses 31-32:  The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out. The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.

THOUGHT

Well, I noticed in this chapter much is written about our tongues. I cannot answer for any of you, but God is my witness that I have sinned so much with my mouth. Before I accepted Jesus as my Lord at age 24, I used God’s Name in vain, just something awful. That is what I heard at home, and after I married Willie, he tried to correct me on this.  I said to him, “Don’t tell me that when you were in the service you didn’t curse.”  He said that he had not. He was raised not to, and it was a choice.  He didn’t do it.  Not once in our years together did I ever hear him do so. Well, when I started reading the Word, I could hardly do so as Jesus and God’s name was all over the pages, and I felt such shame and guilt. His Word did a cleansing in my soul and heart.

But how else are we guilty?  We are guilty by putting people down, telling tales about them and lying. Let’s take a peek at James 3:5-6 where it says, “Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and itself set on fire by hell.”  Then it goes on to say how animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue.  It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.  With our tongue we praise God and curse men who are in God’s likeness.

WOW!!! Guess what everyone?  Jesus paid it all, and we can say daily as  Psalm 19:14 says, ”May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer.”

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, forgive us when we sin with our tongues. We want to speak life words to people and words from You through the power of Your Holy Spirit daily. Help us Father, every day to build the body of believers up by speaking words of wisdom and truth, in the loving ways of Christ.  Thank You for what You did for us. We praise and thank You, Father, Son & Holy Spirit.

In Jesus Name.  AMEN

Tuesday, Proverbs 11

Proverbs 11

Verses 13&30

Delores Little

Verse 13:  A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.

Verse 30:  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise.

THOUGHT:  

This chapter deals with money and many other things.  I’m just going to share the two above.  The first one on gossip really hit me years ago, as I “LOVED TO GOSSIP” before I accepted Jesus.  I didn’t even realize what I was doing. Satan really does cloud our sight and heart in these things.  I repented and with the help of God really do try my best to keep a secret when people share with me now.  That was such a blessing when Jeanie, my Stephen Minister, helped me walk through things the year after Willie died. I knew whatever I shared - stayed with her. I never shared with my children what I shared with her.  

Verse 30 is great. The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. I will break this down a little.  In John 15:4 it says, “Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”  Unless we are in Christ and remain in Him we cannot bear the fruit of His Word with others. Let’s take righteousness and read 2 Corinthians 5:21.  “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” We are righteous because He covers His righteousness around us. He is the Tree of Life. Rev. 22:14 says, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and go through the gates into the city.”

How can we win souls to Christ?  I hear a lot of people say I saved this person by sharing Jesus with them.  In John 6:44 we find, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”  John 6 went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one

can come to Me unless the Father has enabled him.”  John 14:6 declares, Jesus answered, “I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  The reason we can go out and share with others is because God is drawing them to Him, but they still have the choice to accept Him or not.  It is our job to bring the Good News to others by asking God daily to put them in our path and also to make us ready to answer to them with the hope that is in us. We are the vessels He uses in this world to share with others.  Now go forth by the power of the Holy Spirit and do it.

PRAYER

Heavenly Father, forgive us of gossip and let us learn to keep things others share to ourself and You. Help us to share Your Gospel with the unbelievers in our everyday life which can be hard to do. Use us as direction for Your Glory.  AMEN

Wednesday, Proverbs  Chapter 12

Proverbs 12 

Verse 1 

Bart Strayer

Verse 1:  (The Message) If you love learning, you love the discipline that goes with it, how shortsighted to refuse correction.

THOUGHT “The Perpetual Pursuit of Knowledge”

This verse has been my life from about age 5. It seems like I have gone from one educational experience to the next all my life. Looking back, I can see that life experiences and schooling have helped shape me into the disciple I am today. God has plans for each of us, and in those plans are

growth of knowledge and wisdom. We must examine why it is that we pursue experiences and degrees. If not for the glory and honor to God, all else is futility. Are we striving to learn and pass tests for ourselves, or are we doing it for God? If we are doing it for ourselves, I can tell you first hand, we will want to quit long before it is finished. God gives us the strength, concentration, and most important, the reason to learn.

As you all know, one year ago God called me into the CFA Program. Entering into the program was something that took a lot of prayer and guidance from God.  God told me, (I will paraphrase) “Bart, I want to use you to do great things, but frankly, you’re ignorant.” It’s hard to serve God ignorant. However, after a year of studying 16 textbooks, I am not comfortable with the knowledge of the material, thus I do not expect to pass the exam I took.  So, starting the week following the exam, I started with my studies once again. God called me to this program to increase my knowledge and the size of my ‘tool chest’, not to pass exams. The secondary benefit of increased knowledge will be passing the exam, the primary benefit being - Serving God More Effectively.

PRAYER

Dear God in Heaven, we thank You for giving us guidance and discernment.  Help bring us back into service this day and be our guiding light throughout the week. Speak to us through the reading of Your Word. We ask that You help mold us into the people You want us to be through the disciplined learning of Your Word. Help us to be obedient in Your Ways.  In Jesus Name. AMEN

Thursday, Proverbs Chapter 13

Proverbs 13

Verse 13

Bart Strayer

Verse 13:  (The Message) He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded.

THOUGHT “Sorry, God, I would, but I am kind of busy.”  Remember, God wants to do wonderful things with us and through us. It only makes sense then that we listen to Him for guidance. Through God’s guidance and the gifts He gives us, we can do amazing things with the time we are given here on Earth. Be forewarned, the devil is afraid of what we might become when we are disciplined and obedient in the ways of our Lord.  The road will at times be difficult.  When it seems all hope is lost,

and the goodness of God seems far out of reach, we will have but one reason to go on, because it is God’s instruction. 

As many of you know, it has been a very difficult past few months with the project I am working on. It is easy to become frustrated and want to quit. But there would be no victory for God in that - only the devil’s rejoicing. There have been several occasions where it has been hard to get out of bed in the morning and pursue the high expectations that God has for me. God has looked down at me during those moments and said, “Bart, you’re going to get up, and keep going because I said so.” And that’s all the instruction we need.

PRAYER

Dear God in Heaven, we want to thank You for all of your guidance in our lives.  We pray that You would continue to guide us in every aspect of our daily living.  Put on our hearts the relationships You want us to pursue, the work You want us to accomplish, and what You want us to do with our finances. Guide us in every moment and help us to trust You more each day.  In Jesus Name. AMEN

Friday, Proverbs Chapter 14

Proverbs 14 

Verse 23

Bart Strayer

July 19, 200

Verse 23:  (The Message) Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table.

THOUGHT “Talk won’t feed the chickens”

Talking about your plans does not further your work. Diligent work will be rewarded. So does that mean that God doesn’t want us to talk about what He is doing in our lives? No. Giving God the glory for the great things He is doing in our lives is in essence the purpose of living. Giving God glory is the greatest purpose for talking about anything. However, excessive talk leads to idle hands and can lead to sinful chatter. 

We have read many couplets throughout Proverbs about unwise chatter. Mindy has heard me joke before, “Those who have time to talk and gossip, have too much spare time.” God wants us to be productive in furthering His kingdom. To me, this verse seems closely tied to the concept of discipleship. Discipleship requires us to combine our words of faith with action.

PRAYER

Dear Jesus, we thank You for this time of fellowship. Help us today put our words to action in our service to You. Give us the direction and discernment to accomplish the plans You have for us. Keep the words of our mouths pure and pleasing to You. We thank You for the overwhelming love

that You have for us. In Jesus Name. AMEN