One-a-Day
I don't know if you have noticed yet that we live in a very health conscious society. Everyone wants to look like Johnny Bravo (well, maybe not the girls). We are constantly bombarded with ads of healthy foods, supplements and vitamins. Well this post is not about vitamins or anything like that. It is about the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament.
Have you ever noticed that there are 31 chapters in Proverbs? And that some months have 31 days (I hope you all answered "yes" to the last question)? So what if we read one chapter of proverbs each day for the next month?
So read on, be blessed and share your thoughts here. We'd love to hear what God is teaching you!
posted by Katie&Roddy @ 12:19 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Well, I guess I will start. "The fear of the Lord is the begining of knowledge...". I pray that I would lead a life of knowledge and wisdom (the application of knowledge) in all that I do. For me to do that, I need to have a reverence for God that a)causes me to believe His Word at all times, b)makes me desire to seek after my King, c) would give me a passion for telling others about Him.
Roddy,
Its funny that you posted on that verse because that is the one I have been meditating on this week. To add to what you already posted, I would like to contribute this quote by Oswald Chambers...
"Obey God in the thing HE shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know already."
I have been praying for the Lord to bless me with the same WISDOM you mentioned above. And I'm realizing that that wisdom is given when I am obedient and faithful in the things He has already taught and shown me. Wisdom will come to those who's heart is not only overflowing with LOVE for our Lord, but also DELIGHTS in obediance to Him!:)
Roddy,
I'm visiting your blog for the first time and what a WONDERFUL read!!! I look forward to keeping up with you guys!
Vickie
PS. Please tell your mom I said hello!!! :)
Two verses that stuck out to me in Ch.1 were v.8 and 9. He tells us to listen to our parents, and then that their teachings will be a garland to grace our heads and a chain to adorn our necks. As a teenager I don't always agree with my parents. But, God is telling us here that one way to wisdom is to listen to your parent's teaching. God tells us to honor our parents and we do that by obeying them.
Speaking of not being wise in your own eyes (from Chapter 3), check out I Need You a song I wrote a few years back.
After patting myself on the back while reading Proverbs 3:28, "Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back later; I'll give it to you tomorrow'-- when you now have it with you," because of a "good deed" I did the day before, I was blindsided with a thought while I was cleaning my house, not thinking about anything. I was stressing out a little bit about giving a ride to the Family Rafting Weekend to some guys whose parents were not coming on the trip. Not that I was worried about giving them a ride, I was worried about packing all of our stuff PLUS their stuff into our van. We have very little trunk space, but we can fold the 3rd seat down into the floor and make room for a lot more stuff. But having 2 more people meant that the seat had to remain up. Those of you who really know me, Roddy especially, know that I am a little bit freakish about being prepared. (I blame my mother. :-)) I want everything to be perfect in my bag, with about a month's supply of everything in there just in case. BUT, in trying to be prepared, I lost sight of the most important thing--being a follower of Christ. He puts following HIM and sharing HIM front of having things. Duh. Matthew 4:18-20 says, "As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 'Come, follow me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed him." Wow. They were fishermen, yet they left the one thing that was going to provide for their needs. Yet they left them for THE Provider. There are Walmarts in NC in case I need something out of the ordinary. Thank you Jesus for letting these guys ride with us and teaching me an important lesson about who you are. Hope that makes sense. I have a hard time completing thoughts. :-)
I'm a few days behind on reading a chapter a day but Proverbs 3:5-6 are a couple of verses that stick out to me. These two verses say to, "Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
My mom has been going through some hard times lately and I have been finding some verses to keep her eyes on God. On our way to the Family Rafting Trip last weekend I prayed that I would be able to find some passages that would speak to my mom. Then I closed my eyes and just opened to a random page in my bible. The first passage I found was psalm 31 which basically was incredible because it is about trusting in the Lord. And the next passage that I randomly found was, you guessed it, Proverbs 3:5-6.
These verses have been engraved into my mind because I saw them every other day on my marketing teacher's board, but I never really got the full meaning of them until last Sunday. Travelling home after a weekend of rafting and camping. I realized that in much the same way our river guide led us down the river safely, so does God lead us through life in the same way.
On the river there were calm spots and rapids. During the slow parts of our "adventure" down the Nantahala, I talked to my guide and got to know a lot about his past, present situation, and his future goals. In other words I got to know him. In the same way we are able to talk with God and get to know Him through praver and reading His word.
When we got to the rapids in the river, our guide called out commands that brought us safely to the quiet water. In our times of trouble God is there to guide us. All we need do is listen and obey. If we had not obeyed our river guide's commands immediately and without questioning his authority, we would likely have run into an even worse problem than the rapids. But in trusting in his decisions we were able to be led to safety at the end of our ride.
God desires for us to trust in all He does. In doing so we can know that we will be safe even in times of fear or despair. And just as John says, "We know that we have come to know him if we obey His commands" (1 John 2:3). Life is similar to a river. There will always be "quiet waters" and there will always be "rapids." But praise God that He has sent us Jesus Christ as our guide and shepherd. "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father, and I lay my life down for the sheep"(John 10:14-15).
Wowsers. Thanks Nick. :) God has been teaching Roddy and me about trusting him with some specific issues too. We have to lay it down and allow Him to do His thing. I always want what God wants and never what I want. He is so faithful to lead His children!!! Your words definitely encouraged me (Roddy too, he says).
I have been reading Proverbs for around a month now, with a devotion book. I have been seeking wisdom "like a hidden treasure" and I am seeing God help me use it in my life. One thing that I read, that I think is really important for anyone seeking a righteousness, was in Proverbs 5:3-6. It talks about how "the lips of an adulteress drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil;..."
Smooth music, movies, t.v. shows, magazines, commercials, people...
Smooth looks good, it feels your senses.
"...but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths are crooked, but she knows it not."
Turning away from those things (movies music t.v....) are tough!!It is much easier to go with the flow...what everyone else is doing.
But God says: "Keep a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house,"-Prov. 5:8
That path leads to death; to the grave.
But the path God had laid out for us leads upward (Psalm 23:3); leads to righteousness
(Prov. 15:24).
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