September 27, 2010

Proverbs 17:10 “Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool.”

Humans can get to the point where they have learned all they want to in this world, so instead of seeking knowledge and growing, they prefer to remain in a spiritual limbo forever. I cannot see the logic in that.

Father, help me to seek Your wisdom and knowledge, and to be receptive to Your teaching in every area of my life. In Jesus name, Amen.

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September 25, 2010

Proverbs 16:32 “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.”

I can look back over my life and see that some of the worst decisions I have ever made and some of the worst things I have done have been because I made a “snap” decision. Even my training as a Respiratory Therapist have shown me that it is far better to take even a few seconds to analyze even the most perilous and life-threatening situation in order to take the best course in correcting it.

Father, help me to stay calm in the roughest of times, so that my spirit can hear Yours. In Jesus name, Amen.

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September 24, 2010

Proverbs 13:2 “A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, but the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence.”

If you know me at all you now that I love words. There is an awesome and fearful amount of power in the written and spoken word. Most important to know, is, just as one cannot “un-ring” a bell, neither can a bitter and hurtful word, and the damage it causes, be simply undone.

Father, help me to speak only words that will bring honor and glory to your name, words that will edify and uplift those whom You have placed in my path today and everyday. In Jesus name, Amen.

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September 23, 2010

Proverbs 11:1 “Dishonest scales are an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.”

Does this passage remind you of road rage? It makes me think of times when I've been angry at folks who have “wronged” me, doing something to me that I have done to others countless times. My “scales” were rigged in my favor, in other words.

Father, help me to live my life to honor You with honesty and integrity. In Jesus name, Amen.

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September 22, 2010

Proverbs 10:3 “The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, but He casts away the desire of the wicked.”

I had to spend a bit of time with today's passage. At first glance it seems that the “wicked” were not having their “desire” cast away. Then I realized that each individual person will have their own desires. For example, just because some one is rich doesn't mean they have their most sought after prize.

Father, help me today to seek after Your righteousness and Your wisdom. Help me to be the man of God You want me to be. In Jesus name, Amen.

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September 21, 2010

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Does God really want us to be afraid of Him? “God is love,” so it says in 1 John 4:16. However, He is a just God, and that is where fear comes in.

His mercy is available to us, through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Father, help me this day to feel Your love, and to pass it on. In Jesus name. Amen.

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September 20, 2010

Proverbs 8:10,11 “Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.”

Sometimes I stop and think, wondering how many of my choices have come from wisdom. Did I seek God's thoughts before making a decision? Was I more interested in silver, gold, and rubies rather than God's instruction?

Father, help me to follow Your path today, and not to be distracted by the shiny falsehood that the world offers. In Jesus name, Amen.

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September 19, 2010

Proverbs 7:4-5 “Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your nearest kin, that they may keep you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words.”

How easy it is to be misled, especially in this day of instant news. Folks can witness an event and have it on the internet in seconds, but is it accurate? Was it filtered with wisdom and understanding first, or was it thrown out there because of its sensationalistic ability?

Look at the people who are considered the “upper crust” of American society. How many of them have a clue what wisdom and understanding is?

As for me, I choose to seek wisdom and understanding from God.

Father, help me to be the Man of God You want me to be. In Jesus name, Amen

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September 17, 2010

Proverbs 6:23 “For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life.”

What's your opinion on Spirituality? I, like many others, see it as our purpose here on earth, to grow in spirit until we have reached the stage of maturity that will allow us to move on to the next phase.

We begin by recognizing our own need for salvation, we accept that salvation which is provided by Jesus Christ with His sacrifice on the cross, then we reach out to others with His Love!

Like a diamond in the hands of an craftsman, we're subject to precise adjustments and calculated manipulation until we reach perfection. Then, God takes us to shine for Him elsewhere, maybe a stellar ring or necklace.

Wonderful!

Are you carrying a heavy burden?

September 16, 2010

Proverbs 6:16-19 “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.”

Bible references tell us that in this passage “proud” means “haughty,” arrogant, disdainful, etc. We can feel good about ourselves and still please God. It's vital that we do not take credit for His work, however. Think of it like this; If any of Michelangelo’s paintings had the ability to feel, would they take credit for painting themselves?

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September 15, 2010

Proverbs 5:3-5 “For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edge sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold on hell.”

The trap here is obvious. The “mouse” in this case is not only men, but the virtue of mankind. The “trap,” the “lips of an immoral woman,” are not only the obvious, but are also the tools Satan will use to divert our attention away from God.

Father, help me to always remember that Jesus died on the cross to break the bonds of the devil and death, and that Your will for me is so much better than I could imagine for myself. In Jesus name, Amen.

Are you carrying a heavy burden?

September 14, 2010

Proverbs 4:26, 27 “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil.”

Just think of all the ads we get hit with during the average day. From billboards to TV commercials, people want us to follow their advice and take/buy their pills/furniture/hamburgers/vehicles/soap. Our brains are set to follow such dribble because of our human nature- we want to be told what to do!

When we as humans truly “ponder the path of” our feet, we will see how we're being reeled in like fish by people who care nothing for us once our bank accounts are empty. Let's, instead, ponder and seek the path God has for us. He, after all, does not need our cash.

Are you carrying a heavy burden?

September 13, 2010

Proverbs 4:13 Do you have a prayer need? “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is your life.”

In today's passage “fast” means “securely,” or “to secure,” not to do so quickly. Instructions are everywhere, right? Signs along the highway, those little booklets that come with new electronics or toys that need to be assembled. How much better is life when we follow them? “She IS your life,” the verse says.

But, only if we follow it, or “her.” The Bible is the Instruction Book to start with, every day. Believe me, it works.

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September 11, 2010

Proverbs 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”

I's sure that there aren't many folks that over the history of humanity have been thankful for the correction given to them by their parents while it was being given. And certainly no child ever believed the words “you'll thank me later” while sitting in time out!

God loves us, and wants to help us out of trouble. It's my firm belief that He wants, much more, tyo keep us out of trouble to begin with. That's where the lessons come in.

Allowing a child to experience a mild inconvenience so that he or she will learn to avoid a major catastrophe seems wise to me!

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September 10, 2010

Proverbs 3:3,4 “Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so you will find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man.” NKJV

I can remember many times during my life that I would be fishing with one of the old style drum-type reels, the kind where it was up to the angler to control the speed at which the line came off the reel when cast into the water. If too slow, the bait would not go very far, if too fast the line would twist and double back on itself, resulting in what is known as a “bird nest.” The line would be so tangled sometimes that the only way to fix it was to cut every inch off and put new line on the spool.

That is how I see mercy. God can clean up our lives if we allow Him to, giving us His mercy to take away the knotted and useless stuff and replace it with new.

Truth is what will allow us to see our need for mercy. Regardless of how clean out lives seem to be, just like how clean and shiny a matted mess of fishing line is, the truth is we cannot untangle our own snarled and non-functional lives.

Mercy and truth. Where would we be without them?

We’re looking forward to seeing you!

September 9, 2010

Proverbs 2:10-13 “When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things, from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness;”

As a Registered Respiratory Therapist, my job description included being an integral member of a “Code” team. This is a group of highly trained and experienced people who would respond to a call for help when a patient has stopped breathing, a Respiratory Arrest, or when their heart has stopped beating enough to keep them alive, a Cardiac Arrest.

I can assure you that, because of my experiences, that it is much, much preferred to have fellow team members in the room who knows his or her stuff. Doctors and nurses and Respiratory Therapists who have wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of the ever-changing code environment will have the best outcomes, you can be sure.

Isn't it wonderful that God will give this to us? The real question is- Are we willing to seek it from Him?

Come and seek His Knowledge with us!

September 8, 2010

Proverbs 2:6-7 “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;”

Wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Wisdom is the proper use of knowledge, and understanding is

the ability to overlook apparent inefficiencies and find agreement. The three together are like fire, not only in their ability to warm and give light, but in the fact that if any one is removed the other two are reduced to their simplest and least impressive form.

Heavenly Father, please send us, (me), Your Wisdom, Knowledge, and the Understanding necessary to use them for Your Glory. In Jesus Name, amen.

Come and seek His Knowledge with us!

September 7, 2010

Proverbs 1:5 “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.”

And so will a wise woman!

It still amazes me how the people that are, and have been, in my life, that I consider to be smart, are the ones who continually seek after knowledge. Every one of them have people that they themselves turn to for help. And, these folks have others who they consider to be smarter than themselves to turn to.

On the other hand, I have seen people who see themselves as always being the “smartest” people in the room, so full of knowledge that they dare not even try to learn anything, not wanting their heads to explode from “intelligence overload.”

The most interesting part? I, myself, have been both of them …

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September 6, 2010

Proverbs 1:22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.” NKJV

So, what's wrong with being simple? It seems to me that some of the best plans are the simplest ones, right? Certainly they are the easiest ones- but are they?

I love that new show on the History Channel called “Swamp People.” These folks live near or in the swamp and hunt for a living, literally. They sell some to pay bills and to buy stuff they can't get in the wild, but mostly they live off the land and call themselves “simple.”

Not hardly! Watching the show, I marvel at the complexity of hunting down and taking an alligator, not to mention the danger and the teamwork required. There are a few that hunt on their own, but even they have friends and family that throw in to bring the 'gators to market.

What today's passage means by “simple” is stupid- people who refuse to learn, refuse to take instruction and learn from it, or refuse knowledge. Do you know anyone like that? Are you like that? Not likely, or you would not be reading this.

I would like to someday visit the Swamp People and learn from them. Their knowledge base would never send a rocket into the sky, but their ability to turn knowledge into wisdom, wisdom likely refuted by the “learned” of the world, fascinates me. These folks take what God has given them and they use it, and respect it.

If only the government and the “Wall Streets” and the “Madoffs'” and the “Enrons” did the same.

Children turning knowledge into wisdom

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September 5, 2010

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fool despise wisdom and instruction.”

I feel led to concentrate my Daily Devotionals to the book of Proverbs. So much wisdom in one book!

The passage for today is a great example. With scientists all over the world trying to understand how the universe works, you might think that there would be no atheists in the bunch. How can anyone study the earth and sky without seeing God? And, when you do, how can you try to put an evolutionary spin on the results?

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September 4, 2010

Luke 16:10 “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”

Have you ever had someone, a close friend—a BEST friend-- someone who you enjoyed activities with, who you broke bread with, and, who you enjoyed gossiping about others with?

I have. Until one fine day when I began to wonder if they talked about me to others. Then it got even worse. I wondered if they wondered the same about me! At that point I asked God for forgiveness, and to help me not to ever gossip again. I have faltered from time to time, however. I am still a human, after all.

But my heart breaks whenever I do. Why? Gossiping is destroying someone in an ambush, someone that likely trusts you in some way.

It is my goal to be “faithful also in much.”

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September 3, 2010

2 Kings 24:4 “And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the Lord would not pardon.”

Manasseh was a king of Judah who did evil in the sight of God, just one of many, it seems. His reckless rebuke of God caused many innocent lives to be lost. For this, as had happened many times before and since, God caused the enemy to come in and rule over them.

Israel just doesn’t want to obey God for too long at a time, kind of like the United States. Their propensity to quickly worship other gods, even sacrificing their children at times, just to be in line with the elite, would never sit well with God.

How many times do we humans need to learn the same lesson over again?

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September 2, 2010

Luke 15:10 “Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.”

What a sight that must be, such an explosion of Joy in the beings that stand in the presence of God, happy, celebrating the arrival of another soul into God's Holy Love! Repentance- te gift that keeps on giving!

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September 1, 2010

Luke 14:28 “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Here Jesus seems to be discussing my front porch. There it sits, sizable at 10 X 30, horrifically hot from morning until late afternoon when the shadow of the house covers it and, along with the delicious breeze we constantly have here, makes for a wonderful opportunity to sit out and enjoy our yard.

The original, and the “current,” plan is to enclose the entire porch in with a solid roof and screening to keep the bugs out. Since the handrails were to be temporary, not a lot of thought and effort was put into them- and it shows.

And now it seems to “mock” me. Why? I didn't count the cost beforehand. I built it in stages, (during which I did get literally mocked- visitors remarking with glee “Look! Progress,” as it did take quite some time!), whenever I could find the time and a few bucks for lumber. When I do get it finished it will be an awesome place to relax, cool and enjoyable any time of day. Then, no one will mock me too much.

Had I counted the cost, and properly prepared, it would be finished right now.

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