Proverbs 29 – Our Daily Choices
29:3 – Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, but a companion of harlots wastes his wealth. Seems pretty obvious – seek wisdom; stay away from harlots. Your father will be happy, and you’ll be wealthier. But wisdom and harlots? How often do we actually have to make that choice? Every day – and most of us regularly…
Proverbs 26 – The Sensible 7
26:16 – The lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. When I read this, my first thought was, “Hmm…am I the lazy man?” After all, my dad told me (more than once), “You always think there is a better way.” And, I do. I always think there…
Proverbs 21 – Trading Up
21: 3 – To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. We all know THAT guy (or gal). Maybe it was your parents; or it’s your kids, or a co-worker. Maybe it’s a “friend.” Every time they do something for someone else, they make sure EVERYONE knows what an imposition it was. They…
Proverbs 20 – Drawing from the Well
20:5 – Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out. We’ve heard all the arguments against “it.” We know all the reasons “it” can’t or shouldn’t be done or sought, but we do “it” anyway. “It” doesn’t work, and we persist. We meet with failure after failure,…
Proverbs 19 – Little “c” commandments
19:16 – He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of his ways will die. We no longer live in a world of distraction; we live in a world of interruption! The world today is constantly interrupting us as it screams for our attention. We open our email, and staring us in…
Proverbs 17 – The Law of Attraction
17:3 Whoever rewards evil for good, Evil will not depart from his house. I read this verse two ways. First, we should not reward evil, because then Evil sticks around. Just like the stray cat we choose to feed “just this once” that keeps coming back to our door. Evil learns quickly where our vulnerabilities are…
Proverbs 9 – Fearless Simplicity
9:3 – She [Wisdom] has sent out her maidens, She cries from the highest places of the city, 9:4 – “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 9:5 – “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. 9:6 –…
Proverbs 19 – Avoiding REAL Poverty
19:7 – All the brothers of the poor hate him; how much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet they abandon him. In one of the footnotes on the page (to a different verse), the editors referred to Christ’s perfect application of God’s principles for Christian living.…
Proverbs 3 – NOT Always Because You Fail
3:11, 12 – My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. In the book Secrets of Vine, Bruce Wilkinson makes the point that God chooses to “prune” us for different reasons. It’s always necessary, BUT (and…
Proverbs 27 – Make Hay While the Sun Shines
27:1 – Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. I didn’t realize that “boast[ing] about tomorrow” was a big problem. But, apparently, it is. After all, it’s addressed in the Bible. What is “boasting” from God’s perspective? Hmm.. The guy who proclaims all of the great things he will accomplish…