243rd Week, Proverbs 27-31 (Click on Title for Video Introduction)

 

Click on Title for Video Introduction

Monday, Proverbs Chapter 27

Proverbs 27

Verse 19

Tanya Ruden

Verse 19:  As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man.  

THOUGHT

Enough said.  Just kidding.  Isn’t it true; our actions reflect who we are more than our name, our family tree, our job?  They explain a little about where we come from or a little about our personality, but they aren’t who we truly are.  We can break free of stereotypes due to things like our name through our actions/our heart.  We become known by our actions and the reasons behind those actions.  Are we self-serving or serving others and God?  The neat thing I like about the verse is that if Jesus lives in your heart and your heart reflects ‘the man’, then you are reflecting Jesus, in whose likeness we were made.  Neat – Enough said.  

PRAYER

Dear Jesus, You live in us and shine a light so bright no darkness can overcome it.  You live in us and through Your place in our lives we are able to reflect Your love to others through our actions.  This is a tough task to do, so give us the strength to act as You would act in all situations we encounter.  We want our heart to reflect You to the world.  When others describe who we are, we want You to be a part of that description.  We love You, Jesus, and strive to be like You – help us do that.  AMEN

Tuesday, Proverbs Chapter 28

Proverbs 28

Verse 13

Jeanie Boldt

Verse 13:  He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.  

THOUGHT

We have all tried to hide mistakes in our lives.  Our hearts are at battle with our conscience, and we feel awful inside.  It is only after we admit our wrongs to ourselves and then to the person that we need forgiveness from, that our heart can return to a peaceful, more content feeling.  

I remember reorganizing Rory’s closet after we were married a year or two.  I thought it would be a very kind thing to do.  Well, he felt it was an invasion of his things.  It took me a while to admit to myself that I had done anything wrong.  Later, it was made known to me that his clothes were his things to do as he wanted.  I admitted to myself and then to Rory with a request for forgiveness, that I had invaded his privacy by rearranging his clothing.  It took a while for my heart to return to normal, but it began healing after the confession.  

It is human nature to hide our sins or overlook our mistakes.  But it is hard to learn from a mistake you don’t acknowledge making.  And what good is a mistake if it doesn’t teach you something?  To learn from an error you need to admit it, confess it, analyze it and make adjustments so that it doesn’t happen again.  Everybody makes mistakes, but only fools repeat them.  

Something in each of us strongly resists admitting we are wrong.  That is why we admire people who openly and graciously admit their mistakes and sins.  These people have a strong self-image.  They do not always have to be right to feel good about themselves.  Be willing to reconsider – to admit you are wrong and to change your plans when necessary.  Remember, the first step toward forgiveness is confession.  

PRAYER

Father God, we praise You for giving us Your Son, our Savior, so that we have the gift of forgiveness.  May we seek confession time daily.   None of us are perfect.  We all struggle to lead Godly lives.  Keep us humble, full of mercy, and always thinking of others more than ourselves.  AMEN

Wednesday,  Proverbs Chapter 29

Proverbs 29

Verse 17

Tanya Ruden

Verse 17:  Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.  

THOUGHT

Discipline, what a concept.  Any of us have dealt with discipline at some point in our lives, whether it be as a person being disciplined or as a person disciplining.  I don’t recall ever as a child being thankful I was being disciplined.  I can’t honestly say this is one of my favorite things about being a parent either.  I also know it takes a lot of internal discipline to not eat chocolate at every meal, and again I can’t say this is something I enjoy.  But for a simple example, if I ate chocolate every meal I would feel terrible and definitely have no peace. 

On a more serious note, if I didn’t discipline my children, they would have no boundaries.  They would not understand or respect the basic Christian values we are expected to have as Christ’s followers that I am expected to teach as a parent.  Dr. Phil always says kids like boundaries.  I am not so sure most kids would agree, but setting boundaries shows you have taken an interest in their actions and are watching what they are doing.  It shows them attention, and most of the time, at least with my kids, misbehaving is an attention thing.  So maybe Dr. Phil is right – they are wanting discipline.  We learn at an early age that living in the way of ’disciplined’ actions is a much happier place to be – no timeouts, TV, privileges, etc. It is easier to sin and misbehave than live with discipline, but just as this verse says, ‘peace will follow’ – how true!  Living in the way of sin carries a heavy burden.  

PRAYER

Lord, there are so many areas in our lives that require discipline.  We, as Your followers, must have discipline in our actions, by not committing sins (restraint).  We are also expected to discipline those around us, our children, our fellow believers, others in our family.  I believe You call us to discipline each other, holding us accountable to right and wrong.  I truly believe a disciplined person does live in peace and has happiness deep in their soul.  Give all of us this peace.  AMEN

Thursday, Proverbs Chapter 30

Proverbs 30

Verse 5

Tanya Ruden

Verse 5:  “Every word of God is flawless…..”

THOUGHT

I focused on verse 5 because it caught my eye when it said every word is flawless.  WOW!!  Wouldn’t I love to have this quality.  I have had one of those weeks where I have lacked the right thing to say on several occasions.  I have also had those times when I have said something at the wrong time to Sierra and caused a meltdown.  Sometimes not knowing what to say is as bad as saying the wrong thing.  

This verse just reminded me that what we say is probably one of those sins we commit every day not even thinking about it.  Yes, there are those times when we say something and immediately we feel like we have been kicked in the gut and know we shouldn’t have said it.  Then there are so many other times when what we said may have hurt someone’s feelings or impacted their life somehow, and we don’t even know it.  Let’s think about our words today and attempt to be like Jesus in this perfect aspect that we often forget.  

PRAYER

Jesus, we know You were perfect in everything You did, but often we forget how hard being perfect with our mouth is.  Being perfect with our words is a tough action to perform every day, and we can’t do it without Your help.  Help us, we pray, to attempt to think before we speak and strive to have each sound be pleasing to You and ‘flawless’.  What a neat reminder, Lord, of Your awesomeness and power and once again being the One True God we believe in.  AMEN

Friday, Proverbs Chapter 31

Proverbs 31

Verses 11, 23, 30

Tanya Ruden

Verse 11:  Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.

Verse 23:  Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.  

Verse 30:  Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.  

THOUGHT

There were so many great verses in this chapter.  I loved the Epilogue – wife of Noble character.  I believe this chapter outlines what we as wives and mothers are called to do.  God calls us to do all of the things the chapter talks about, but I wanted to focus on Verses 11 and 23 (I threw 30 in just because it is a great verse, but I don’t want to focus on it.)  Anyway…we as wives have so many things to do it seems like, and if we work full time (which they didn’t do in Bible time), God still holds us to do all of those things.  But, I do believe when we complete the things the chapter discussed, our husbands will be satisfied.  I think verse 11 talks about more than tangible things. I think the “nothing of value” can also mean our husbands will be full of love and respect for us along with happiness.   All of these feelings increase their love for us, and he feels he lacks nothing.  

I also like verse 23 as a reminder to us as wives that we are a part of who our husband is.  What we do, not only reflects on our character, but also that of our husband’s.  How often do you hear people gossip about a man because of his wife’s actions?  (Example, did you see Jack was here alone?  I saw his wife doing… I think you get the picture.)  I like to think that when my husband enters the ‘city gate’ I am right beside him, and he is proud to state he and I belong together.  I hope my actions as a wife earn him the ‘respect’ spoken about here.  

PRAYER

Lord, You made woman to be with man, and You hold us wives to a high standard.  We are to help run a household and use our strengths to provide for our families.  We are to do it with such love and care that everyone in our household feels loved.  Lord, help us to live up to this high standard.  Help us to provide for our families with love, not for praise.  Also, Lord, help us always remember we are part of a family and what we do not only reflects on Jesus and Christianity, but also our family.  Help our actions to never show disrespect to any member of our family, but especially our husbands.  We Love You, Jesus.  AMEN