What the Bible Means to Me

"You make known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Psalm 16:11

                The Bible is the only book, where I get to meet Jesus face to face and I see the wonders of His grace, love and mercy for me.  The Bible shows me who I am and whom God intends for me to be. It gives me insight into the very depths of His being; all the while guiding me to take a look at my own soul so I can be gently corrected.  The Bible gives me hope when I'm feeling hopeless. It's a place where I can go for wise counsel when I am faced with a decision to make. When I am heartbroken I can open up the pages and have my soul restored by reading the loving words of Christ. The Bible is the only book I can go to when I'm weary and leave restored to the fullest. The Bible is a place where He will meet me wherever I am, whatever state I am in, and pour out His healing Words of Life on me.

                                                "Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life

                                                Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life

                                                Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty.

                                                Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life

                                                Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. " - Phillip P. Bliss

The Terrible Trio!

The Simple, The Scorner, and The Fool you will meet often throughout the book of Proverbs. In the twelve years that I have read through Proverbs I thought that these people were one in the same just called by different names. But, after reading a book commentary on Proverbs by Warren Wiersbe I realized that they are three separate categories of individuals. My thoughts then turned to “Why doesn’t the Bible talk about just the righteous?” and “Why does God teach us the ways of the ungodly?” Throughout most of Proverbs the ways of the righteous are compared to the ways of the wicked. God teaches us both characteristics, side by side, so we can make a comparison within our own lives. I like to think of them as”mirror” verses. Which part of the verse reflects who I am on the inside? Let’s look at the characteristics of these three types of ungodly people.

First, we meet the simple. The simple are naïve. They believe anything that is told to them. They don’t research the truth before acting upon it. They cannot discriminate between truth and lies. They "go where the wind blows them”. Because the simple do not take a stand for anything, they fall for everything. I like to think of them as gullible. “People everywhere enjoy believing things they know are not true. It spares them the ordeal of thinking for themselves and taking responsibility for what they know.” Brooks Atkinson. “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thoughts to his step” (Proverbs 14: 15). According to the simple, whatever may make you “feel good” is truth for you. There is no absolute truth according to the simple. How sad because Proverbs 1:32 says “For the turning away (waywardness) of the simple shall slay them.”

Secondly, we meet the Scorner a.k.a the Mocker. Scorners are the “know-it –alls”. Scorners are puffed up with pride. “Proud and haughty scorners is his name” (Proverbs 21:24). “Scorners can’t find wisdom even if they seek for it (14:6) because learning God’s truth demands a humble mind and an obedient will.” Wiersbe. When you try to teach the scorner the ways of God they will not heed it. You are just wasting your time. It can be compared to throwing pearls before swine or as my friend likes to put it: “It’s like putting lipstick on a pig.” How true!

Thirdly, met meet the Fool. Throughout Proverbs three different Hebrew words are translated “fool”. They are 1)kesyl – the dull stupid fool who is stubborn, 2)ewiyl – a corrupt fool who is unreasonable and morally corrupt, and 3)nabal – fool who is like a stubborn animal and brutish. Fools will not learn from God’s Word (1:7). They also cannot control their speech. “The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, but the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness” (15: 2). Fools may do a lot of talking but never accomplish what they talk about. They spread lies and slander and do not bring honor to their parents or God. Fools do not control their temper (12:16). “A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back” (29:11). Fools are proud and self-reliant. Their confidence lies within themselves (28:26). They will meddle and argue with others about their own “rightness”. They tend to create problems and bring sorrows to others. They do not use their money wisely (21: 20); neither can they be given responsibilities (26:1). Fools do not learn from their mistakes but goes right back to the same old mess. They are likened to a dog going right back to its vomit (26: 11). Wise people learn from their mistakes but the fool does not.

These terrible trios will die at their appointed time just as the wise will also die, however, they will die without instruction. “The wise shall inherit glory: but shame shall be the promotion of fools” (Proverbs 3:5). The only fools who are “wise fools” are those that have put their faith, hope and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians are considered “fools” to the world for Christ’s sake when they become born- again believers but that is the wisest decision anyone can make.  (1 Corinthians 4:10). When it is our time to die, whose fool will YOU be?

Memorize:
Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. (Proverbs 19:20)

Dear Father, It is my prayer this morning that you keep my feet on the path of the righteous. Lord I pray to I always listen to advice, to godly counsel. It is my prayer this morning to always accept and learn from your loving discipline because I know that You chastise those whom belong to You and whom You love. Teach me Lord so that I too may be counted among the wise.

Characteristics of the Wicked

“A troublemaker and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks maliciously with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers, who plots evil with deceit in his heart— he always stirs up conflict. Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant; he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community” Proverbs 6: 12-19.

This passage in Proverbs seems to sum up the characteristics that wicked people possess. The wicked is unproductive. The schemes of the wicked are detestable and evil in the sight of the Lord. Even the very anatomy of the wicked is doing wickedness by winking of the eyes, shuffling of the feet, feet that are swift to do evil and motioning of the fingers. The use of evil anatomy in movies is common in portraying the bad guy. You know right away who the bad guys are by the way they wink their eyes, their posture, and the fingers motioning evil schemes forward and so on. The message is clear. The plot of the wicked is about to unfold.

This passage also states seven characteristics of the wicked in which the Lord hates and is detestable to Him.

First of all, the Lord hates haughty eyes. Haughty means disdainfully proud or snobbish. Haughty also means scornfully arrogant. A person with haughty eyes is showing great pride in his/herself. They scorn others and hold them in contempt. Pride is usually the motivation for all other sin.

God also hates a lying tongue. When we lie, we are opening ourselves up to do the devil’s work. When we tell the truth, we are opening ourselves up to the Spirit so he can move through us. God also hates “hands that shed innocent blood”. Murder. God permits capital punishment to be exercised by governments to impart justice but nowhere in the Bible is murder allowed of innocent people.

Fourthly, God hates “a heart that devises wicked schemes”. God gives us our imaginations but he wants us to use it for good and not for evil. Our imaginations need to be kept pure and clean so God can work through us to do mighty things that bring glory and honor to Him instead of bring destruction and heartache upon people.

God also hates “feet that are quick to rush into evil”. The feet of the wicked are ugly, impure, unprepared to do service for God, and disobedient. The feet of the righteous are in sharp contrast to those of the wicked. The feet of the righteous are beautiful (Isaiah 52:7), pure (1 John 1:9, John 13:1-17), prepared (Ephesians 6:15), and obedient (Genesis 13:17).

A wicked person is also “a false witness who pours out lies”. This harms the innocent and can even be deadly to the person. Without truth, everything starts falling apart. God is truth and he detests lies.

Finally, God hates “a person who stirs up conflict in the community”. Sowing seeds of discord cause division. These seeds are pride, gossip, anger, hatred, a quarrelsome spirit and foolish questions. The wicked do not want there to be unity and pleasantness among God’s people. Those who stir up conflict hate unity and peace. Discord among church members is terrible and is contrary to the spirit of unity that Jesus prayed for. Proverbs 22:10 says “Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife, quarrels and insults are ended.” Troublemakers wreck unity among the church, the community and individual families. Drive them out to achieve peace and unity once again.

Throughout Proverbs God gives wisdom for us to use to recognize the people the righteous should not hang around with. “A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26). Over one hundred times in Proverbs the wicked is contrasted with the righteous. We must learn to recognize wickedness and wicked people so we are not led astray by them.

Memorize:
“A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26).

Dear Father in heaven help me to recognize my enemies so I can stay far from their paths. Help me to choose my friends carefully so I can keep being an open vessel in which would allow You to work through me. Help me to stay on the path that the righteous are on and please do not allow the devil to tempt me to sway to the right or the left but keep me on the straight and narrow path.

Raising Homemakers

http://raisinghomemakers.com/2011/31-days-to-clean-having-a-martha-house-the-mary-way-plus-big-bundle-giveaway/comment-page-1/#comment-16522

I can't wait to dive in! Hope everyone is blessed by the E-book!

Characteristics of the Wise

The entire book of Proverbs is a guide to attaining wisdom. But what good is all the wisdom in the world if you do not use it? Today I want to look at applying wisdom to your life. What are the important characteristics that wise people display according to God? How can we use this information and apply it to our own lives?

I must start off with what I believe to be the most important characteristic of a truly wise person. He is a born-again believer and disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. “My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”(Colossians 2:2-3). Jesus Christ is the Wisdom of God. One can have all the training and knowledge in the world but without Christ it is worthless. He may make a “good” living but apart from Christ he will never be able to succeed in making a good life that brings glory and honor to the Father. The wise put their trust and hope in Christ and live obediently to Him.

Wise people listen to wise instruction and gain knowledge constantly. “A wise man will hear and increase his learning” (Proverbs 1:5). “Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge” (19: 27). “Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding” (23:23). Wise people diligently seek God’s Word. Knowledge and wisdom is not something that is gained haphazardly. It is work, diligent work. In order for us to gain wisdom, we too must spend time in God’s Word soaking up wisdom and applying its commands to our lives.

The wise fear the Lord. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7). They respect God, seek to obey His will and honor His name. The fear of the Lord is “a fountain of life” (14:27), leads to life (19:23), gives security (14:26), gives hope (23:17-18), and gives the promise of long life (10:27).

Wise people associate with other wise people. “He who walks with wise men, will be wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed” (Proverbs 13:20). “A righteous man is cautious in friendships, but the way of the wicked leads them astray” (12:26).

The wise will preserve the knowledge they have gained and apply it to their lives. “Wise people store up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction (Proverbs 10:14). “The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent man prizes his possessions” ( 12:27). A truly wise person will treasure up the knowledge and skills they have worked diligently for and use their wealth of knowledge to bring honor and glory to God instead of puffing themselves up. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (16:18).

A wise person flees from sin instead of running head strong into it. “To fear the Lord is to hate evil” (Proverbs 8:13). “A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident” (14:16). The wise do not take unnecessary chances nor play in the devil’s playground. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7).

The wise discipline their speech. “A wise man’s heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction” (Proverbs 16:23). “In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, but he who restrains his lips are wise” (10:19).

Wise people are diligent in their work. “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth…” (Proverbs 10:4) Throughout Proverbs God tells us that lazy people are disgraceful. Wise people work hard, making the most of every opportunity God blesses them with.

Wise people influence other people. The wise person influences wayward people so they put their trust and hope in Christ also. “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise” (Proverbs 11:30). Wise Christians are “fishers of men” (Luke 5:10). Wisdom leads to righteousness, and righteousness produces fruit which entices others to partake in it. The wise want their words and actions to be an example for others to follow and lead them into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Christians should want to follow in the ways of the wise because this will bring glory and honor to Christ. Wisdom leads to an everlasting life with our Father in heaven. The wise person is promised to inherit glory (Proverbs 3:35), bring joy to others (10:1), bring help from God (12:18), never be in want (21:10), and have the strength to wage war in both the spiritual and physical realms (24:5-6). The wise has great power and strength that is coupled with the desire to bring glory to God and God alone.

Memorize:
“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning.” Proverbs 1:5.

Dear Father in heaven I seek today to gain more understanding from You. I diligently seek wisdom because it is like a precious stone more valuable to me than anything else in the world. Lord I want to seek Your ways and not my own for my ways are foolish. Lord open my ears so I can hear Your instructions. Open my eyes so I may see what Your perfect will for my life is. Open my heart so I can search for You and Your ways with all of my heart and apply it to the very depths of my soul.

The Crafty Harlot

Proverbs five, six and seven have much to say about the enticing ways of the harlot and how the Christian is supposed to deal with her; but it all boils down to this: RUN!

God invented sex and sex was intended to be fulfilling within the walls of marriage alone. “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral” Hebrews 13:4.

Sexual sins have many consequences that you will not be able to escape. Sexual sins will ultimately lead to disappointments, destruction and death.

When God’s children disobey His commandments they will be heartily disappointed. It would be wise for us to look ahead and see where our disobedience will lead us but often too many times we are caught up in the moment and newness of the sin that we cannot see that far down the road. We have our blinders on, blinding us to the reality of our sin which leads to a stronger bondage between us and that sin. Satan’s temptations always look promising. The lie he crafts up about sin allows the sinner to bask in the false assurances that the sin will be a pleasant experience. But sin, no matter how great or small, has a price tag to it. That price is death (Romans 6:23). Sexual sins have that same price tag. Sexual improprieties leave the marriage bed defiled. Purity will give way to pollution.

Sexual sins are also highly destructive. They can destruct a person financially, physically, emotionally and spiritually. People who commit sexual sins will lose the Word of God, wealth, enjoyment, their good sense and their peace of mind. Numerous times adultery results in scandals, lawsuits, divorce, depression, sexually transmitted diseases and even death. Christians must not forget that they are not their own: “Ye are not your own: for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."(1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The presence of temptations and desires will never go away but we are under the authority and lordship of Christ. Therefore, whatever we do we should do as “unto the Lord” (Col. 3:23). Gratifying sinful sexual desires will be a Christian’s downfall and you can never undo the mistake you have made. The consequences of your sins will follow you for the rest of your life here on earth.

Sexual sins are ultimately deadly. Sin is a result of a heart problem. You have it and I have it:”For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our hearts are not right with God. Sin separates us from God. God is holy. God is just. God cannot look upon sin. He must judge our sin. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life” (Romans 6:23). We deserve death for sinning against God. While our earthly consequences of being sexually defiled may lead to a physical death because of Aids or a murder from a jealousy enraged spouse, the spiritual consequences of our sins are far worse. We lose favor with God. We lose God’s blessing upon our life, but most importantly we lose fellowship with God.

So dear ones in Christ, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8). Just because our society smiles upon sexual sins does not make it right. Wrong is still wrong and it is a stench to God’s nostrils.

Memory verse:
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” Galatians 6:7-8.

Dear Father, help me to keep my eyes focused on my spouse. Help me enjoy him and be infatuated with him as I was in the days of my youth. Help me to love my spouse unconditionally and to keep myself pure for him so our marriage bed stays undefiled.

Hear no evil, Love no evil, Speak no evil, See no evil

“Hear no evil; speak no evil; see no evil and love no evil” is not talking about a the Tendai-Buddist legend nor is it talking about the "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" [that] is commonly used to describe someone who doesn't want to be involved in a situation, or someone willfully turning a blind eye to the immorality of an act in which they are involved.” Wikipedia. Proverbs four lists four areas where the Christian needs to keep constant watch on.

First of all, the Christian should guard his ears (vs. 20). Whatever we hear directly influences our mind, our heart and ultimately our decisions. We should guard ourselves against mainstream media sources, ungodly counsel, unsound doctrine, obscenities, foolish talk, coarse joking and blasphemies against God lest we fall into sin. We should instead be able to hear God’s voice and obey His commands just as sheep follow their shepherds’ voice. (John 10:4).

Secondly, Christians should guard their hearts (vs.21). “Whatever the heart loves, the ears will hear and the eyes will see” Wiersbe, Be Skillful! If you love evil, you seek out evil things. If you love righteousness, you will seek out things that are righteous. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (vs.23). We should not pollute our heart with worldly things but keep it clean before the Lord. Our prayer should be that we ask God to search our hearts and rid us of all unrighteousness.

Thirdly, Christians should guard their lips (vs. 24). Perverse and corrupt talk should never come out of our mouths. Whatever is in our heart comes out of our mouths. “For out of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Luke 6:45). Our speech should always be seasoned with the salt of the Gospel. Our words should always be pure and honest.

Finally, Christians should guard their eyes (vs.25). The statement that our outlook determines our outcome is very true. Our vision determines our values, our actions, and our plans. We should not allow our eyes to divert from the Lord but always be transfixed on Him. We should keep our eyes focused on Him so we do not divert from the path God has set before us.

Memorize:
“I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching” Proverbs 4:2.

Dear Father, though it may cost all that I have I will faithfully gain understanding. Lord I will exalt You with my eyes, my heart, my lips and my ears. I want my whole being to glorify You Lord. I will not forsake Your wisdom. I will protect the wisdom You have bestowed upon me by guarding myself from the evil schemes of the devil who wishes to snatch away my crowns of splendor and the garland of grace that you have placed upon me head. I will keep Your commands as long as I live.