Walking in Faith

reading: Proverbs 30
what stood out: Proverbs 30:4, Proverbs 30:5-6, Proverbs 30:8-9, Proverbs 30:23, Proverbs 30:33
personal thoughts:

Proverbs 30:4
Who has established all the ends of
the earth?
What is his name, and the name of
his son?

This just struck me as I thought of the fact that, during the times of the Old Testament, they did not know that Jesus – “his son” – would be coming to free us from the bonds of sin. “What is his name, and the name of his son?” It just blows my mind at how God foretold of Jesus’ coming, yet they probably had no idea of what His Word was truly saying at the time. Mind boggling!

Proverbs 30:5-6
“Every word of God is flawless;
he is a shield to those who take
refuge in him.
Do not add to his words,
or he will rebuke you and prove you
a liar.

I am currently working on a Colossians 2:7 Bible Study right now, and one of the things that we do in that study is passage memorization. I struggle with that so much at times. I often wonder why we can’t just “basically” remember the verse – as long as we’ve got the idea of it right, do the exact words really matter? Reading this passage (and many others within the Bible) state that yes, it really does matter. Do I honestly think that my words are better than His?! Do I really want to “add to his words” and sit back as God rebukes me? Nah. I think I’ll pass on that one and go back to memorizing the Assurance of Victory now. (1 Corinthians 10:13, if you’re interested in my verse for this week. Feel free to hold me accountable on it!)

Proverbs 30:8-9
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
give me neither poverty nor riches,
but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and
disown you
and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my
God.

What a passage to pray back to God each and every day. This passage goes against every ounce of what the world tells us we should want. More money. More power. …and there’s no one to praise but myself!! The Lord has blessed our family in so many ways, and it’s only been within the past couple of years that we’ve truly realized that these blessings are not from our own works, but for His glory. We’ve been so blessed to have time to dedicate and minister at the church, to financially give back a portion of what He’s given to us – it’s truly led us to look to Him before all else. What a blessing that has been!

Proverbs 30:23
[clip]
and a maidservant who displaces
her mistress.

I have been (slowly) doing a Beth Moore study called The Patriarchs, which makes reference to this verse in the beginning of the study. It reaches back to the days of Abram and Sari and her maidservant, Hagar. Specifically, when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram when they mistakenly took it upon themselves to bring about the son that God had promised Abram and Sari. The heartache and troubles that arose from the birth (and eventual casting out) of Ishmael – the troubles and tension are still being felt from that today. It just reminds me that I must always remember “my place” and not try to take it upon myself to displace those in positions above mine. I’m not and never will be the head of house in our family, even though there are times when I want to be. Biblically, I know the position is not mine to take! (I only have to look back to the curse of Genesis 3:16 and remember why I have those feelings!) I can’t be a usurper like Hagar!

Proverbs 30:33
[clip]
so stirring up anger produces
strife.

I’ve been filled with a lot of anger lately – I’ve lost my temper for no good reason at my husband more than once in the past couple of days, the smallest little thing will send me into a raging temper, etc. Sitting here, I think to myself “Why!? Why do I let myself stir up anger like that?!” Anger, as a feeling, is okay. Jesus got angry. You only have to look at John 2:12-22 to know that he did. Jesus was angry at the same things that make God angry. There’s the difference. I don’t think that God is angry because my husband put his quiet time above my want of a date night. (boy, I really feel stupid writing that – but at least I’m being honest!) Me? No. I get huffy, mad and pout until I get my way. (which I actually didn’t get – and rightly so. Time with God should always come before time with each other.) I just pray that God will help me to curb my temper and not let anger lead to strife. It’s okay to be angry… just let it be for the right reason’s – God’s reasons – and let me use that anger not to cause strife, but to focus it on a solution. Make my whip out of cords and drive them from the temple area, so to speak.

reading: Proverbs 23
what stood out: Proverbs 23:4-5; Proverbs 23:10-11; Proverbs 23:13-16; Proverbs 23:22,25; Proverbs 23:35
personal thoughts:

Proverbs 23:4-5
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
have the wisdom to show restraint.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

I can think back to just a few short years ago (if even that much), when the pursuit of money and possessions was pretty much my goal. Not to say that I always wanted more, more, more (I’ve had too many things happen in the past that have deterred me from that pursuit); but I’d certainly bought into the thought of “money can buy happiness”. Our money bought us a new car – I’m happy, because it’s reliable and looks pretty. That’s okay. Our money bought us a bigger house – I’m happy because now there’s plenty of room for everyone in the family to live and play. That’s okay, too. Money buys us food – there’s nothing wrong with a nice steak dinner, right? But, casting my eyes back upon all of those things, they’re meaningless when viewed with an eternal perspective. A steak dinner is very nice, but I can get by on my daily bread supplied by the Lord. The house that God has given us? We’ve opened the doors not only to our own family, but to God’s family each week as well. The riches that God gives us here on earth are not ours to sprout wings and fly away like an eagle – they are given to us to sustain us, the support each other and to further His kingdom here on earth.

Proverbs 23:10-11
10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone
or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their Defender is strong;
he will take up their case against you.

How often do people encroach upon each other in this world? I think of the government seizing property to build a new road, people being forced from their family homes because they are unable to pay the taxes levied against their property, people fighting over a property line, an adulterous affair encroaching upon a family’s boundaries. Who defends the defenseless? Who will come to their aid? Thank God, because He will. He is our Defender, our Provider – even if not in this world, He is preparing a place for us in His heavenly kingdom. The lost who encroach and oppress in this life will have no defender to support them in their judgment. I thank Him with every ounce of my being that He is my defender.

Proverbs 23:13-16
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
14 Punish him with the rod
and save his soul from death.
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
then my heart will be glad;
16 my inmost being will rejoice
when your lips speak what is right.

I’m actually sitting here laughing to myself at how many times in the past few days the Lord has shown me verses like these. Verses that I have been so desperately needing to hear again. It’s not that I’m looking for an excuse to spank my kids – of course I’m not. In fact, half that time, I’m hoping and praying that I never have to use that as part of our punishment. It’s so hard to stay true to Biblical teachings when the rest of the world is condemning you when you follow it. Almost every time I go to the pediatrician’s office for a routine checkup, they send home a little packet that tells you about the challenges, goals, expectations and recommendations of a child X age. Almost every time, there is a section about why you shouldn’t spank. “It teaches children that violence is an acceptable reaction”, “you teach them that hitting is okay”, etc etc. For the longest time as a new parent, I felt that physical discipline was for someone who had lost control of their emotions and didn’t know how to handle their own child. Pretty damned naive and worldly of me, now that I look back upon it. The difference – and it’s a HUGE one – between physical discipline and hitting your child is all about how you, as a the parent, approach the situation. If you’re in control of your emotions and not lashing out at your child with your hands (or heaven forbid, anything else that could hurt them), that is not discipline. That is crossing a border into abuse. That is not what God is telling us to do – he is telling us not to withhold discipline. You’ve seen a child who has been withheld from discipline – they’re the ones who rule their house, not their parents. It’s the ones who will scream when told no, and continue until they get their way. Imagine the terror that child will feel when one day, his/her judgment comes and they find that no amount of childish tantrums (or, as I see it in an undisciplined adult – no amount of withholding, bribery, ignoring the situation) will open the gates of Heaven to them. Each and every time my children are disciplined, it is out of respect and the deepest of love for them. To train them, to teach them, to see them grow wise and speak what is right. How my heart rejoices!!

Proverbs 23:22,25
22 Listen to your father, who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
…
25 May your father and mother be glad;
may she who gave you birth rejoice!

Personally, I think that this goes hand in hand with Proverbs 23:13-16. It reminds me, as I so often need to be reminded, that my days as a child are not over. I will always be my mom and dad’s little girl. Ephesians 6:1 says “children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. My children can quote that verse for you at the drop of a hat. They know exactly what it means to obey mommy and daddy. What I don’t think about for myself, is that I am still a child. Do I obey my parents still? I also know that Genesis 2:24 says that “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife…”, but I honestly don’t think that anywhere in there does it say that we are still not our parents children. We must always listen to the father who gave life to us – both our Father in heaven and our father here on earth. Selfishly, I love verse 25, because I do want my parents to be proud of me. Proud of the choices that I have made, proud of the life that I lead, proud of the family that I am, in turn, raising with my husband. I want them to have that reason to rejoice, as God wants them to do for me!

Proverbs 23:35
35 “They hit me,” you will say, “but I’m not hurt!
They beat me, but I don’t feel it!
When will I wake up
so I can find another drink?”

I’m not a drinker. I never have been. (go ahead, sing along with me… “Don’t drink, don’t smoke… what do you do?!” Who cares if I just aged myself! *grin*) But this verse (and the supporting verses before it) speak to me of more than just being drunk on food/drink. It’s indulging ourselves and being a glutton with anything of this world! So what if I sat on the couch watching the television – again – and wasted another night numbing my mind instead of taking just a little bit of time out to spend with God? Does it really matter that I’ve over extended myself with seemingly never-ending list of tasks that just have to be done today, when the truly important tasks get overlooked, again?? (for those who have read Tyranny of the Urgent – yes, this is where my diatribe is coming from!) I just find that so many times, verses like these are used as nothing more than a zealot’s reason for telling you that you shouldn’t EVER drink because it’s a sin. I don’t think that’s true (and thank goodness that’s a grey area and doesn’t affect my salvation what-so-ever! ). I think it speaks to us about so much more – just the every day pitfalls that we continuously fall into and take us away from Him. Until we stop, analyze and consciously turn to God to make a change in our life, we will wake up each day, looking for another drink.

reading: Proverbs 22
what stood out: Proverbs 22:6, Proverbs 22:7, Proverbs 22:9, Proverbs 22:11, Proverbs 22:15, Proverbs 22:17-21, Proverbs 22:24
personal thoughts:

This just impacted me in so many ways tonight. It never ceases to amaze me how on any certain day, I may pick up my Bible and read a section that is so relevant to my life in so many different ways. Today, being the 22nd, was the day that I read Proverbs 22. Amazing how much it speaks to me tonight. Some areas that I felt drawn to today:

Proverbs 22:6
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

An amazing verse for me as a parent. I struggle everyday to raise three daughters who will be strong enough in their faith to face the challenges that this world will present to them when they are no longer “under our wings”. Right or wrong, one of the biggest reasons that I felt compelled to homeschool our children really boils down to this one verse in the entire Bible. We must be the ones training our children – not other kids on the playground, not a school where my daughter might be taught about things that our faith does not believe in, not the Dora, Blue or JoJo. We need to – no, we must – build the foundation that cannot be shaken by the outside world. I yern for the confidence that when they are older, they will not turn from their faith.

Jeremiah 22:7
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Glad to see that some things don’t change. (dripping in sarcasm) It amazes me how little we have socially advanced in the past three thousand (or so) years. Rich vs. Poor – let the games begin! The part that really struck me is that the borrower is servant to the lender. Anyone with any kind of debt knows that this statement is painfully true. We’ve been in and out of debt during our married life – never so much that we were missing payments or anything like that (praise God!), but we’ve certainly always had a credit card that we were paying down, a car payment that couldn’t be missed and a mortgage that I don’t even like to think about. Do I feel like a servant to Citibank? To the credit union who holds the title to our car? To our mortgage holders? You betcha I do. Reading this just reminds me that I want to make the time to take the Financial Peace classes at our church. To really stop using our credit cards this time. Oh, but the incentives and sparkly things that these people dangle in front of our faces to keep us coming back to them. Lower rates, low payments, cash back for your purcahses- we’re paying you to shop! And we fall for it every time.

Proverbs 22:9
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.

After having spent years never opening my pockets to others (going so far as to discourage and criticize others for having “handouts” to a homeless person on the side of the road), I find lately that the Lord has turned my heart 180 degrees in this area. I have always wanted to help people close to me in any way that I financially/physically could, but I now feel a pull to help many people that I have never even met before. I am quick to listen to those times when the Lord prompts me to empty my pockets for a lost soul on the side of the road, to give them the lunch I had just purchased because they are hungry. But I have even felt more of a draw toward those around me. In the past year, we were financially blessed and able to help a few friends in their time of need. We felt that God was asking us to go beyond our normal help and really dig deep to help them out. I have felt so incredibly blessed during the times when I’m able to do that. Imagine how much more blessed the world would be if people read, meditated and listened to the Lord speaking to us through that verse.

Proverbs 22:11
He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.

Most of the time, that’s so not me. But Lord, I want it to be me in such a big way!! My tongue is so often out of control. I think of the people around me that I can characterize as having a pure heart, gracious tongue – people like Kathy Box come to mind. Quick to praise you, Lord. Softly spoken and generous. I want to be like that!!

Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him.

Doesn’t this just go along with Jeremiah 22:6? Training and discipline, to me, go hand in hand. Kids are just naturally silly. They like to play, they like to act up. Why not?! It’s fun!! But when not trained to control themselves, kids will not understand that there is a time and a place for folly in their lives. If their hearts are bound in folly, where is there room for Jesus within their heart?? The rod of discipline (be it a physical discipline, verbal discipline or some other means to teach and train) must never be forgotten when raising a child of God. Having 3 strong willed girls has certainly driven that home in this house!! ….we’re still in the “drive it far from him (her)” stage. I just wish the folly-car would go a little faster when driving away!

Proverbs 22:17-21
Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach, 18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips. 19 So that your trust may be in the Lord, I teach you today, even you. 20 Have I not written thirty sayings for you, sayings of counsel and knowledge, 21 teaching you true and reliable words, so that you can give sound answers to him who sent you?

Grab your Bible. Go open up Proverbs 22 and read it. The whole thing. Then answer me this – do these 5 verses seem oddly out of place? Perhaps they should have opened the book of Proverbs: “I’m about to give you 30 sayings that I want you to remember. Remember it so that you can tell others about it. Answer their questions, share your knowledge, give them counsel. Listen to what I’m saying here… I really mean it!!”
These 5 verses speak volumes about what the Bible (not just the book of Proverbs) is telling us; what it should be used for. Apply the lessons learned to our own lives. How happy it makes the Lord when we remember exactly what He has told us (which reminds me of how happy it makes me when I know that my own children have listened to me and can recite back to me exactly what I’ve just told them). In a nutshell, He tells us to use His word to give answers to the lost so that they can find Him. Who am I to ignore what just might be 5 of the most important verses in the Bible!? What a shame it would be for the eternal souls that might be lost just because I choose to mince God’s words and mess up His message? Yikes!!

Proverbs 22:24-25
Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, 25 or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared.

This one hits just a weeeee bit to close for my liking. I am a very hot-tempered person; losing my patience quickly and fiercely. I wonder two things – was I ensnared by my own upbrining (I’m a bit too much like my dad in this way), and secondly, am I passing these horrid ways on to my own children? Are they becoming ensnared by no fault of their own, only that they have a mom who tends to get a bit more mad than need be? It’s something that I’ve always known about myself, but something that I’ve never directly actually asked God for help with yet. This just might be one of those times when praying His Word back to him might be the best plan.

My prayer:
Lord, I pray that you will give our family the strength to train our children in your ways. Help us to guide them to Your Word, to spend time with You, to listen to You. We are only their trainers here on the earth – you are their path and their light. Give us the strength to discipline them in love and in Your word.
I pray that you will guide us to financial peace. Let us serve no lender other than You who loaned this time to us here on earth.
I pray that you will always bless my life by letting me showing your Grace to others. Give me the means to share my food with the poor; to never be a lender, but always a giver.
Lord, I want you, my king and salvation, as my very own friend. Give me a pure heart to love. Make my speech gracious. Be my friend and my king.
Lord, sometimes I am my own worst friend. I am often hot-tempered and easily angered. Please help me to turn to your council during those times so that I will not ensnare those around me to my ways.
Lord, make me attentive to your Word. Help me to remember exactly the Word that you have given to us. There are so many times that I struggle with memorization of scripture, but it is one of the most important tools that you give us in our witness. Help me to be a better witness for your Glory!
Amen!!