Proverbs chapter 2, verses 1 through 22, deal with the power and rewards of wisdom.
It starts by telling the reader to search for wisdom as if you were looking for hidden treasures. Dig and dig for it. Wisdom will protect you, and will shape the way you live your life. It will teach you to live a life of integrity and fairness.
It will prevent you from doing wrong, if you seek out God's wisdom.
Wisdom will also be able to protect you from temptations. Verses 16 through 19 gives an explicit account of resisting immoral women, those who will try to seduce you into doing unlawful acts. Bottom line in this is that once one goes down that road, there is no turning back.
Put your trust and faith in God for protection.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Psalms 6 - helping those who are troubled
Psalms 6 is a short piece, only 10 verses, and it is very much on point from the point-of-view of one who is troubled.
Ever loose a loved one?
Ever take a beating financially or emotionally?
Ever feel a time when you are so overwhelmed and helpless?
This Psalm is for you.
The first seven verses, the speaker tells God that he's completely exhausted, pleading to be rescued from death. He is worn out with grief and weeps every night on his pillow.
The last three verses, the speaker turns on those doing the hurting and tells them that God is answering his prayers and to stay away, that his enemies will know defeat at last.
Ever loose a loved one?
Ever take a beating financially or emotionally?
Ever feel a time when you are so overwhelmed and helpless?
This Psalm is for you.
The first seven verses, the speaker tells God that he's completely exhausted, pleading to be rescued from death. He is worn out with grief and weeps every night on his pillow.
The last three verses, the speaker turns on those doing the hurting and tells them that God is answering his prayers and to stay away, that his enemies will know defeat at last.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
When are you ever satisfied?
From Exodus chapter 15, verse 22 through the end of chapter 16, the Israelites complained to Moses and the Lord constantly.
Even though they just came out of slavery, they complained about not having water.
They complained about not having food.
They complained about being led out of slavery into the desert.
They never seemed to be satisfied.
It reminds me of a theatrical scene in Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption when Morgan Freeman's character Red tells Tim Robbins's character about living life outside of prison. He said that after a time, prisoners get used to the walls, even to the point where they rely on them.
The Lord, in answering the Israelites' complaints, provided food every morning, six days a week. He gave very explicit instructions on how much to gather. Some broke the rules, and God wasn't very happy with them. Then, for the next forty years, they wandered around the desert until they reached the land of Canaan, their new home.
Even though they just came out of slavery, they complained about not having water.
They complained about not having food.
They complained about being led out of slavery into the desert.
They never seemed to be satisfied.
It reminds me of a theatrical scene in Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption when Morgan Freeman's character Red tells Tim Robbins's character about living life outside of prison. He said that after a time, prisoners get used to the walls, even to the point where they rely on them.
The Lord, in answering the Israelites' complaints, provided food every morning, six days a week. He gave very explicit instructions on how much to gather. Some broke the rules, and God wasn't very happy with them. Then, for the next forty years, they wandered around the desert until they reached the land of Canaan, their new home.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
The Power Of Wisdom
Proverbs Chapter 1, verses 20-33 deals with God's Wisdom upon us.
In blatant terms, we are called foolish people for making fun of knowledge the Lord is passing down onto us. He has told us what to do many times, but in our arrogance we ignore Him.
Then, when we get in trouble and ask for His wisdom, we hear nothing.
Those who accept His wisdom have nothing to be afraid of, for the Lord is with them. Without God, we have no security.
In blatant terms, we are called foolish people for making fun of knowledge the Lord is passing down onto us. He has told us what to do many times, but in our arrogance we ignore Him.
Then, when we get in trouble and ask for His wisdom, we hear nothing.
Those who accept His wisdom have nothing to be afraid of, for the Lord is with them. Without God, we have no security.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
How Passover got its name
Exodus chapter 12 starts with God describing the Passover Festival with his people.
Passover got its name because at the time, each household had to kill an animal (either a one-year old goat or sheet) and roast it. The blood from the animal would be smeared on the outside door as a sign to the Angel of Death to "pass over" this house and go on to the next one. The purpose of this was because God told the Egyptian king that if he did not let his people go out into the desert and worship Him, He would kill the first-born of every Egyptian family, even the king himself.
God also told His people to bake unleavened bread--meaning, bread without yeast. This may seem mind-boggling at the time, but as the Israelites travelled out into the desert, leaving Egypt behind forever, they did not have time to properly prepare leavened dough. God knew this and thereby ordered His peope to not waste their time with their usual bread dough.
Through chapter 14, it tells of how the Israelites crossed the Red Sea--parted by God--and the destruction of the Egyptian soldiers who pursued them. God did this in order for His people to remember the tough journey getting out of Egypt. They also got to witness God's power and were in awe of it.
Passover got its name because at the time, each household had to kill an animal (either a one-year old goat or sheet) and roast it. The blood from the animal would be smeared on the outside door as a sign to the Angel of Death to "pass over" this house and go on to the next one. The purpose of this was because God told the Egyptian king that if he did not let his people go out into the desert and worship Him, He would kill the first-born of every Egyptian family, even the king himself.
God also told His people to bake unleavened bread--meaning, bread without yeast. This may seem mind-boggling at the time, but as the Israelites travelled out into the desert, leaving Egypt behind forever, they did not have time to properly prepare leavened dough. God knew this and thereby ordered His peope to not waste their time with their usual bread dough.
Through chapter 14, it tells of how the Israelites crossed the Red Sea--parted by God--and the destruction of the Egyptian soldiers who pursued them. God did this in order for His people to remember the tough journey getting out of Egypt. They also got to witness God's power and were in awe of it.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
The Shield of God - Psalms 5
Psalms 5 is also known as a "Prayer for Protection"
It starts out with a cry for help, a pleading to the Lord for his protection. It then goes on to tell how God doesn't like sinful people, anyone who does wrongdoing, and allows no evil to be in his presence.
It describes a nature of God as one of perfection, of glory, completely unblemished by the raw, violent actions of those who wish to do others harm.
Because of God's love, those who worship him can come in His house for protection. He will protect his worshipers from their enemies, no matter what method of madness they wish to employ.
Verse 5 has a line that reads, "may their own plots cause their ruin." This means that those wicked plots will always be their undoing. This is so true in life, as we meet others are go about being deceitful to others. This shows that in the end, they always lose. Honesty is always the best policy.
The last line is "your love protects them like a shield."
But not just any shield. The shield of God.
It starts out with a cry for help, a pleading to the Lord for his protection. It then goes on to tell how God doesn't like sinful people, anyone who does wrongdoing, and allows no evil to be in his presence.
It describes a nature of God as one of perfection, of glory, completely unblemished by the raw, violent actions of those who wish to do others harm.
Because of God's love, those who worship him can come in His house for protection. He will protect his worshipers from their enemies, no matter what method of madness they wish to employ.
Verse 5 has a line that reads, "may their own plots cause their ruin." This means that those wicked plots will always be their undoing. This is so true in life, as we meet others are go about being deceitful to others. This shows that in the end, they always lose. Honesty is always the best policy.
The last line is "your love protects them like a shield."
But not just any shield. The shield of God.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Lessons learned from the Egyptian king's stubbornness
In this past Sunday's post, I talked about the Egyptian king's stubbornness towards Moses. Several times the king promised to let God's people go, but then refused once the disaster was averted.
All of us, at one point in our lives, have been struck with something tragic--maybe not to the tune of what happened to Egypt in the book of Exodus but it was tragic enough for us. How many times have we turned to God and said, "Please, God, help me get past this" or "Please, God, help _____________ get healed from their illness/accident." This is usually followed up by, "I'll do anything you ask."
But we refuse.
We remain stubborn and go back on our word.
Oddly enough, God expects this from us most of the time. We're not perfect. But if we improve this more and more, by not refusing and remaining stubborn, and not forgetting the lessons learned, we're not only going to improve our own lives but the lives of those around us.
Don't wait for a disaster to strike to do something for God. If you see someone who needs help, help them.
Since April 2011, when my wife was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), our family has been blessed with so many prayers and help from others. It's going to be a long road of recovery for us. And even though my wife's leukemia is in remission, the doctors still give a five-year window until we'll know for certain that it's going to stay in remission. However, we're not sitting down and doing nothing. We continue to pray, not only for us but also to others. We're not perfect and will forget many times, but we try to keep the vigil burning as much as possible, working to improve our own lives so that we can help others.
All of us, at one point in our lives, have been struck with something tragic--maybe not to the tune of what happened to Egypt in the book of Exodus but it was tragic enough for us. How many times have we turned to God and said, "Please, God, help me get past this" or "Please, God, help _____________ get healed from their illness/accident." This is usually followed up by, "I'll do anything you ask."
But we refuse.
We remain stubborn and go back on our word.
Oddly enough, God expects this from us most of the time. We're not perfect. But if we improve this more and more, by not refusing and remaining stubborn, and not forgetting the lessons learned, we're not only going to improve our own lives but the lives of those around us.
Don't wait for a disaster to strike to do something for God. If you see someone who needs help, help them.
Since April 2011, when my wife was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), our family has been blessed with so many prayers and help from others. It's going to be a long road of recovery for us. And even though my wife's leukemia is in remission, the doctors still give a five-year window until we'll know for certain that it's going to stay in remission. However, we're not sitting down and doing nothing. We continue to pray, not only for us but also to others. We're not perfect and will forget many times, but we try to keep the vigil burning as much as possible, working to improve our own lives so that we can help others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)