2.21.2011 Proverbs 21:7
Proverbs Post #37-
Today I was reading in chapter 21, ambulance and verse 7 jumped out to me today. It says:
21:3 To do righteousness and justice
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.
I need to be honest, when I first read this verse I struggled with it. The verse seemed to say that sacrifice was less important than doing the right thing! I was a little concerned that this might conflict with other verses with the concept of laying down your life and picking up your cross daily. Since I know there cannot be conflicts in the Bible, I needed to do some research.
I have to share with you that what I learned was awesome! This verse actually echoes what I have been writing about on my blog at the bible.org site. Essentially the verse says “religious acts are without value apart from righteous living.”(quoted from Net Bible notes)
The daily living implication: If we tell our kids one thing and then do another, we are setting them up to have a false view of Christianity! Going to church with our kids is worthless if we are not modeling a walk with Christ. (For anyone who is convicted, I am too while I write this!) Here are some questions to ponder: Am I spending time with Jesus daily? Do my kids see this example? Am I praying with my spouse? Am I praying with my kids?
Are you doing what you say?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
2.15.2011 Proverbs 15:1
Proverbs Post #36-
Today I was reading in chapter 15, look and verse 1 jumped out to me today. It says:
15:1 A gentle response turns away anger, helpbut a harsh word stirs up wrath.
Have you ever whispered a response to someone (probably your kids) who raised their voice with you? When it happens, viagra try whispering your reply. More than likely, you will change the dynamic of the entire situation! Observe the result of your gentle response.
Alternatively, the next time your kid raises their voice with you, speak with them in the same tone. What happens? Your response will probably spur an unwanted reaction from them! Chances are they will yell at you, their frustration might increase and the chance of disarming the problem is very minute.
I need to admit that I am far from perfect in this area. As a matter of fact, my wife will probably will laugh when she reads this. I am learning but have a long way to go. However, I have learned several important keys from my failures that I want to share with you. Our kids will watch our example and emulate us! When we respond to a problem, our kids see us and are learning how to interact with others. They watch our response when someone uses an elevated voice level with us, but also they watch our reply when we are upset with someone as well.
Are you turning away anger or stirring up wrath?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
2.14.2011 Proverbs 14:31
Proverbs Post #35-
Today I was reading in chapter 14, and verse 31 jumped out to me today. It says:
14:31 The one who oppresses the poor insults his Creator,but whoever shows favor to the needy honors Him.
Am I really using this verse on Valentine’s Day? Yes, I am. This is the day we set aside every year to honor our loved, and hopefully esteemed, spouse(if you are married). I hope you are able to spend time with your spouse as I could last night for dinner.
I find I am able to show favor to my wife, daughters, friends and family (most of the time), but I struggle with helping the needy. I am pretty sure I do not oppress anyone (my daughters are too young to disagree yet) but showing favor is difficult. I have the tendency to look the other way or “not see someone” rather than help. Am I oppressing the poor? No, but I am convicted that I am not as effective as I could be in showing favor to the needy and, therefore, not honoring God!
Are you insulting our Creator or honoring God?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
2.9.2011 Proverbs 9:6
Proverbs Post #34-
Today I was reading in chapter 9, price and verse 6 jumped out to me today. It says:
9:6 Abandon your foolish ways so that you may live, and proceed in the way of understanding.
I am not sure if we could find a better definition of parenting! One of our priorities is raising our kids from birth to the point they can leave our home and live on their own. For those of you who have young kids, and those who have older kids think back a few years, to a time when your kids were foolish. They would want to run outside in the rain with no coat or into the snow with not coat. Some of you are thinking, “When they get older they are just foolish with bigger things!” That may be the case but that is why being a parent is so important.
I have two pieces of encouragement for you and me (I am not exempt from this one either). The first encouragement is to make sure we have eliminated or significantly reduced our foolish ways. Our kids see everything we do! If we are foolish in front of them then they are sure to copy the very thing we modeled to them.
The second bit of encouragement is for the kids. Are you being intentional in how you are raising your kids? I know you probably have a general direction for your kids but are you correcting them to be more Christ-like or because they are getting on your nerves? Knowing where you are headed is crucial.
Are you helping your kids proceed in the way of understanding or wallow in foolishness?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
2.7.2011 – Proverbs 7:2,3
Proverbs Post #33-
Today I was reading in chapter 7, and verses 2 & 3 jumped out to me today. They say:
7:2 Keep my commands so that you may live, and obey my instruction as your most prized possession. 7:3 Bind them on your forearm; write them on the tablet of your heart.
Are you helping your children memorize scripture? I had a phone call today with a friend that has written a book about the importance of helping our children memorize God’s word. He has a method to assist parents in this task that is difficult but so very important!
As I was reading today, I was convicted by verse 3. (I included verse 2 for context) Have I bound God’s word on my forearm? How much of God’s word is written on the tablet of my heart? I was convicted today that parenting is mostly about the parents and not the kids! We are responsible to them to help give them a Godly foundation to live their lives on.
Are you helping your kids write God’s word on the tablet of their heart?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
2.1.2011 Proverbs 1:4
Proverbs Post #32-
Today I was reading in chapter 1, click and verse 4 jumped out to me today. It says:
1:4 To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, viagra and a discerning plan to the young person.
Are you teaching your children about money? Do you plan your purchases well? What kind of a model are you?
I usually write to parents to encourage them in instructing their children but today I want to ask you some questions! As I was reading through the chapter today, I realized that each of the descriptors, “naive, young person” is relative. I am a naive, young person relative to my grandparents!
Proverbs has wisdom for everyone, at any age. Each one of us needs to be shrewd with a discerning plan, no matter how old we are. Today, I want to encourage you to be prepared!
Are you helping impart shrewdness(through Proverbs) to the morally naive(yourself included)?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
1.31.2011 Proverbs 31:10
Proverbs Post #31-
Today I was reading in chapter 31, ask and verse 10 jumped out to me today. It says:
31:10 Who can find a wife of noble character? For her value is far more than rubies.
My wife and I will celebrate 17 years of marriage this summer and I have learned a thing or two about being married. The first is when to crack a joke and when not to. This is the latter.
In verse 10, doctor the question of finding a wife of noble character is a rhetorical question. The notes in the Net Bible suggest that “As with wisdom in the book of Proverbs, she has to be found.” As I read, a question popped into my mind. Why does she need to be found? Once again, the notes suggest it is because “such a noble wife is rare.”
This verse strikes home with me because I have three daughters. As you read through the rest of Proverbs 31, the woman described in these verses sets a very high standard! The reason I am writing about this verse today is that those of us who have daughters, have the ability to raise Proverbs 31 women. I want to encourage you to take a look at the rest of the chapter and ask yourself the following question.
Am I raising a Proverbs 31 daughter?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
1.26.2011 Proverbs 26:5
Proverbs Post #30-
Today I was reading in chapter 26, and verse 5 jumped out to me today. It says:
26:5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own estimation.
Proverbs 26 is a great chapter for parents! Almost every verse is about fools. No, not you, although every parent wonders once in a while, I am talking about our children. Can I get an AMEN?
Raise your hand if you have done something foolish in your life time! Ok, everyone can put their hands down now, including me. How did your parents react to your foolishness? Did they reprimand you? Did they punish you? Did they correct you or just let it go?
I believe parents are given instruction in verse five, which says “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own estimation.” I highlighted “own estimation” because this is the key point in the verse that I want you to consider. Think back to the time when you were in high school and how your parents did not know anything! They were so old, uncool and unknowledgeable. However, this opinion was in your “own estimation,” and probably as you got older, your parents became much wiser.
Here’s the bottom line. You and I probably questioned our parents because we thought they were basing the rules we had to live by from their own opinion or intelligence, not God’s word. Help your kids see that the guidance you are giving them is from God’s word, not just from the wisdom of “dad or mom!”
Are you answering a fool or creating one?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
1.20.2011 Proverbs 20:4
Proverbs Post #29- 
Today I was reading in chapter 20, treatment and verse 4 jumped out to me today. It says:
20:4 The sluggard will not plow during the planting season, try so at harvest time he looks for the crop but has nothing.I have an admission to make! I am guilty as charged. What was I charged of you ask? I am guilty of being a sluggard. I want great things for my daughters, but I struggle with following up with every way I should be preparing them for life!
Ok, my wife and I are being intentional, but we are not as successful as I know we should be. There are several areas in which I struggle with my daughters. I struggle with having regular devotions, reading to them and the list goes on. The gist of the verse above is that if we do not work or put forth the effort, we will not get results. The application to parents and kids would be something like this. If you do not teach your children biblical principles while they are in your home as adults they will live according to worldly standards and not follow God!
What about you? I noticed a great disconnect in our country when I ask parents what they want for their children and what they are actually doing for their children. They have big aspirations, but they are falling short in the application stages. I want to encourage you to look at your family and ask yourself the following question.
Are you being a sluggard?
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts
How Giving Lightens Our Load
This guest post is written by Angela Mackey.
My sweet girl, not quite eight, was sitting in church with me. She held tight to her treasure – a few coins she intended to offer to the Lord, placed in a special bag. As the offering plate passed by, she plopped her coins in the plate – a loud clinking sound. Then she turned to me and whispered, “Mommy my bag was heavy like a burden when I came in, but now it is light. You know like the burden from that book.”
“Pilgrim’s Progress?” I whisper, incredulous. 
“Yes,” she nods.
My heart began to burn and I felt as if God whispered this to me:
“That is how it happens. That is how you become a cheerful giver. Your possessions, your treasures are burdens to you when you have only this world in mind. They weigh you down and wear you out. Only by offering them to Me, can you lighten your load.”
I am still processing this gift from God, but it changes the way I look at the things God has given me.
My house: a blessing from God and the work it takes to clean it is a way of honoring God for the gift He gave me.
My van: a gift from God, the chipped paint, tornado-like appearance are signs of my children. Things to be thankful for and opportunities to train my children to learn to be responsible.
My money: our manna from heaven to provide for our family and their future. Oh and a wonderful chance to give for God’s glory and honor. That we may never aim for more money, but aim to honor God with what He provides.
Looking at our possessions, treasures, and finances this way takes the burdens out of the treasures. It lightens our load because our things our not ours, but God’s. When we give to Him and change our mindset to heavenly thinking, our treasures are no longer burdens. Instead we offer them back to Him to use as He sees fit. So our treasures can no longer weigh us down.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Matthew 6:19-20
Father God, help us to view our treasures, finances, and possessions with You in mind. May we offer them all back to You, for they come from You in the first place. As we lay our things down to Your purpose and glory, please lighten our load. Fill us with faith to trust You for all we need and with strength to do what You ask us to do cheerfully. For Your glory and honor. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Have you experienced lightening of your load through giving? If do you need to offer something to God today? Please Share your thoughts. I can’t wait to hear from you. Angela’s website is http://www.rethinkingmythinking.com
