Read Pro. 15:25-26
The proud is contrasted with the widow. My mother is a widow and she has told me that she is not looked on the same way as when she was married. Being a widow is very humbling and lowly. God said that he would destroy the house of the wicked. A house is a symbol of a person so everyone is responsible for their own salvation and if you are wicked you will be destroyed. But, he will establish the border of the widow. A border speaks of your line of inheritance. For the humble, God will establish your family to come. Acts 16:31 says that if you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved and your house. The word "house" there means "family". That is what gives us the authority to claim our families for salvation.
The next verse says that the "thoughts" of the wicked are abominable but the "words" of the pure are pleasant. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks so you can imagine what the wicked say. We were watching tv last night and Dave was surfing the channels. Every channel he paused the people were saying the most vulgar things. If these are their words then their hearts are far from pure. (We landed on a John Wayne movie.) Satan can bring impure thoughts to our minds but it is up to us to flee these thoughts and choose to think on things that are lovely, honest, of good report, and pure. (Eph. 4:8)
Lord, be with the widow and the humble people of the earth. Lift their hearts to you and bless them. Guard our thoughts and words that they may edify you.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
Fri.'s Devo - Be the Oracle of God
Read Pro. 15: 22-24
It is always best to seek counsel before you make a big decision. God has given each of us a different perspective on life and we bring that to the table. I know in restoring this old house that there are many ways to skin a cat or to put in hot water. I asked 3 different sources and got 3 different answers but I decided to go with the man with the most experience and he got the job done. I now have hot water! I have learned that people want to share their gifts and all you have to do is ask. The asking part is the part that we have trouble with because it deals with our pride. But the next scripture says that it gives a person joy to give you the answer and when his words come at the right time they bless everyone. We can be the answer to someone who is seeking. All we have to do is press into God, read his Word then ask God to use us. When we open our mouth we will speak a word in the right season and it will be good and bring joy to the listener. Our way of life is godly and not of this world so we can speak things that are "not of this world" that only God knows need to be spoken if we just listen and obey. I have told people things I had no idea what I was talking about, but they did and were blessed. It is hard for us to realize we can be the oracle of God...we are suppose to be the oracle of God. Lord, help us to listen to those random voices in our minds that we toss out as silly . They may be you talking to us and telling us what to say. Teach us to hear.
It is always best to seek counsel before you make a big decision. God has given each of us a different perspective on life and we bring that to the table. I know in restoring this old house that there are many ways to skin a cat or to put in hot water. I asked 3 different sources and got 3 different answers but I decided to go with the man with the most experience and he got the job done. I now have hot water! I have learned that people want to share their gifts and all you have to do is ask. The asking part is the part that we have trouble with because it deals with our pride. But the next scripture says that it gives a person joy to give you the answer and when his words come at the right time they bless everyone. We can be the answer to someone who is seeking. All we have to do is press into God, read his Word then ask God to use us. When we open our mouth we will speak a word in the right season and it will be good and bring joy to the listener. Our way of life is godly and not of this world so we can speak things that are "not of this world" that only God knows need to be spoken if we just listen and obey. I have told people things I had no idea what I was talking about, but they did and were blessed. It is hard for us to realize we can be the oracle of God...we are suppose to be the oracle of God. Lord, help us to listen to those random voices in our minds that we toss out as silly . They may be you talking to us and telling us what to say. Teach us to hear.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Thurs.'s Devo - Silliness vs. Joy
Read Pro. 15:21
"Reality TV" has become so popular because for some reason we love to think that our normal life is exciting and if we see it on TV then it verifies our importance. But, where do they find these "normal" people? I don't know anyone in my scope of friends that lives with that much drama. They seem to epitomize silliness. Today's scripture says that silliness or folly is joy to the person who has no wisdom. So silliness is the counterfeit for our joy. What a bad substitute. Silliness is a behavior that comes from a weak mind where joy is a condition that dwells in the person who has chosen wisdom. Wisdom helps you walk uprightly and with stability where silliness is destined for a fall. Joy comes from God and is the strength of those who walk with God. Silliness demands an audience but joy is a there whether you are alone or with a crowd. They are both contagious but one for destruction and one for life and healing. Joy can heal a mourning soul.
I remember one time we went to see a family who had lost their mother. When we got to the house I got overwhelmed with joy and bubbled all over these people. As we were leaving everyone was laughing and light. It hit me when I got in the car that we had gone into the house of mourning and left them laughing. I was devastated that maybe I wasn't sensitive to the situation but my husband assured me that it was just what they needed.
Lord, help us to let your joy out and let it infect those around us for You.
"Reality TV" has become so popular because for some reason we love to think that our normal life is exciting and if we see it on TV then it verifies our importance. But, where do they find these "normal" people? I don't know anyone in my scope of friends that lives with that much drama. They seem to epitomize silliness. Today's scripture says that silliness or folly is joy to the person who has no wisdom. So silliness is the counterfeit for our joy. What a bad substitute. Silliness is a behavior that comes from a weak mind where joy is a condition that dwells in the person who has chosen wisdom. Wisdom helps you walk uprightly and with stability where silliness is destined for a fall. Joy comes from God and is the strength of those who walk with God. Silliness demands an audience but joy is a there whether you are alone or with a crowd. They are both contagious but one for destruction and one for life and healing. Joy can heal a mourning soul.
I remember one time we went to see a family who had lost their mother. When we got to the house I got overwhelmed with joy and bubbled all over these people. As we were leaving everyone was laughing and light. It hit me when I got in the car that we had gone into the house of mourning and left them laughing. I was devastated that maybe I wasn't sensitive to the situation but my husband assured me that it was just what they needed.
Lord, help us to let your joy out and let it infect those around us for You.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Wed.'s Devo - I Love You, Mom
Read Pro. 15:20
Dave and I respond so differently to news about our boys. If something is going bad for them at work, Dave feels responsible and feels a weight of guilt. When they make good decisions Dave feels so proud and relieved. So I understand fully the first part of this verse. The next part is questionable. I don't know if it means if you despise your mother you are a fool or that all fools despise their mother. Either way, it is just best if you love and honor your mother. Your mother is the source of your existence. She is the one that carried you 9 months and raised you while your dad went to work. The mother is the one who cares for you when you are sick, drives you to most of your activities, and plans your schedule. The mother is the nurturing part of your family and you need her whether she is the ideal mother or not...she is your mother. God placed us in the families he wanted us to be in and we are to thrive in these families and learn principles that we will need for the rest of our lives. If the circumstances of home are not good then we might learn patience and endurance. If they are good then we should learn gratitude and compassion. God knows just what we need for the ministry he has for us.
Lord, we honor our moms and dads and all authority you have placed over us. May the path we have been given to walk be filled with lessons that make us more like you.
Dave and I respond so differently to news about our boys. If something is going bad for them at work, Dave feels responsible and feels a weight of guilt. When they make good decisions Dave feels so proud and relieved. So I understand fully the first part of this verse. The next part is questionable. I don't know if it means if you despise your mother you are a fool or that all fools despise their mother. Either way, it is just best if you love and honor your mother. Your mother is the source of your existence. She is the one that carried you 9 months and raised you while your dad went to work. The mother is the one who cares for you when you are sick, drives you to most of your activities, and plans your schedule. The mother is the nurturing part of your family and you need her whether she is the ideal mother or not...she is your mother. God placed us in the families he wanted us to be in and we are to thrive in these families and learn principles that we will need for the rest of our lives. If the circumstances of home are not good then we might learn patience and endurance. If they are good then we should learn gratitude and compassion. God knows just what we need for the ministry he has for us.
Lord, we honor our moms and dads and all authority you have placed over us. May the path we have been given to walk be filled with lessons that make us more like you.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Tues.'s Devo - Exorcising the Thorns
Read Pro. 15:19
The lazy slacker wakes up to face a wall of thorns. "Thorns" in the Bible are symbolic for curses. The slothful man's ways are surrounded by curses. These people have trouble after trouble until it snowballs into a pit they can't get out of....except for Jesus. The way of the godly man is straight and full of provision and abundance. Proverbs 26:2 says that you can't have a curse without a cause. In other words, curses have to be invited by us or our family in order to land on us. We, or someone in our family has to have opened a door for it to come in. Curses look like lack, sickness, early deaths, miscarriages, divorce, accident proneness, etc. The way we get rid of curses is to pray out loud, call the curse by name, cast it out and cover it with the blood of Jesus. Whenever you cast something out you must replace it with something else or that spirit you cast out will come back with 7 other spirits worse than the one you cast out. So if you cast out a spirit of infirmity you must orally replace it with a spirit of healing and health. It is really very easy to do and so simple that we often miss it. The key to keeping yourself "clean" is to constantly speak the Word of God over you and your family. Speaking it out loud is one of the most powerful ways you can pray. When you pray out loud the devil has to obey. Greater is he in us than he in the world.
Lord, help us to clean up our garden of the thorns that have grown up. Open our eyes to see them for what the really are and get rid of them. Thank you for the blood of Jesus.
The lazy slacker wakes up to face a wall of thorns. "Thorns" in the Bible are symbolic for curses. The slothful man's ways are surrounded by curses. These people have trouble after trouble until it snowballs into a pit they can't get out of....except for Jesus. The way of the godly man is straight and full of provision and abundance. Proverbs 26:2 says that you can't have a curse without a cause. In other words, curses have to be invited by us or our family in order to land on us. We, or someone in our family has to have opened a door for it to come in. Curses look like lack, sickness, early deaths, miscarriages, divorce, accident proneness, etc. The way we get rid of curses is to pray out loud, call the curse by name, cast it out and cover it with the blood of Jesus. Whenever you cast something out you must replace it with something else or that spirit you cast out will come back with 7 other spirits worse than the one you cast out. So if you cast out a spirit of infirmity you must orally replace it with a spirit of healing and health. It is really very easy to do and so simple that we often miss it. The key to keeping yourself "clean" is to constantly speak the Word of God over you and your family. Speaking it out loud is one of the most powerful ways you can pray. When you pray out loud the devil has to obey. Greater is he in us than he in the world.
Lord, help us to clean up our garden of the thorns that have grown up. Open our eyes to see them for what the really are and get rid of them. Thank you for the blood of Jesus.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Mon.'s Devo - What really matters?
Read Pro. 15:14-18
Solomon spent his life looking for pleasure and what really mattered on earth and he realized it all boiled down to fear God and keep his commandments. This is better than riches, food, pleasure and the only thing that gives us life. We live in a fallen world as regenerated people that need to live like we are the head and not the tail. We are to seek knowledge that comes from the Bible and be joyful and satisfied. This world is temporal and will one day be destroyed but we will live eternally. Love is eternal and has to be our highest goal not only to God but to others. There is nothing that gets our priorities right than a weak economy. But because of Christ's love inside us, I see the body of Christ reaching out and helping those in worse need than themselves and I know this blesses God. We can't take any of this "stuff" with us so why not share it. Why not share patience and peace in the midst of strife. When we seek God first he illumines our path and makes it straight. He will lead us to those we need to bless. These are the things that really matter.
Lord, let us live our life today for eternity.
Solomon spent his life looking for pleasure and what really mattered on earth and he realized it all boiled down to fear God and keep his commandments. This is better than riches, food, pleasure and the only thing that gives us life. We live in a fallen world as regenerated people that need to live like we are the head and not the tail. We are to seek knowledge that comes from the Bible and be joyful and satisfied. This world is temporal and will one day be destroyed but we will live eternally. Love is eternal and has to be our highest goal not only to God but to others. There is nothing that gets our priorities right than a weak economy. But because of Christ's love inside us, I see the body of Christ reaching out and helping those in worse need than themselves and I know this blesses God. We can't take any of this "stuff" with us so why not share it. Why not share patience and peace in the midst of strife. When we seek God first he illumines our path and makes it straight. He will lead us to those we need to bless. These are the things that really matter.
Lord, let us live our life today for eternity.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Fri.'s Devo - Cheers!
Read Pro. 15:13
It seems like the world is full of melancholy people. I love to find a person who is full of life and fun. We are suppose to be carefree and full of glee and joy because everything in our life is in the hands of a loving father who watches over us and loves to lavish us with his goodness. If our hearts are joyful, our countenance will portray it. I was in the grocery store one time and I knew the sacker because he went to my church. We started laughing about something when one of the other sackers a few aisles away came running over to us saying, "I want to laugh too." I was so impressed at this guys desire an opportunity to laugh. We have the spirit of God residing in our hearts and when we realize it and let it flow out of us in a joyful manner it draws people to us. Everyone wants to laugh and feel good inside but some people don't even think that is possible. How sad. Why don't we look for these people and let our countenance change theirs. It is amazing what a smile will do for someone. It is not just a smile, it is an acknowledgment that they matter on the earth. When we engage a person face to face our spirit goes out to them and touches their spirit and it can change them without them knowing what hit them.
Lord, may we live every moment "on purpose". Let our merry heart and cheerful countenance heal a broken spirit.
It seems like the world is full of melancholy people. I love to find a person who is full of life and fun. We are suppose to be carefree and full of glee and joy because everything in our life is in the hands of a loving father who watches over us and loves to lavish us with his goodness. If our hearts are joyful, our countenance will portray it. I was in the grocery store one time and I knew the sacker because he went to my church. We started laughing about something when one of the other sackers a few aisles away came running over to us saying, "I want to laugh too." I was so impressed at this guys desire an opportunity to laugh. We have the spirit of God residing in our hearts and when we realize it and let it flow out of us in a joyful manner it draws people to us. Everyone wants to laugh and feel good inside but some people don't even think that is possible. How sad. Why don't we look for these people and let our countenance change theirs. It is amazing what a smile will do for someone. It is not just a smile, it is an acknowledgment that they matter on the earth. When we engage a person face to face our spirit goes out to them and touches their spirit and it can change them without them knowing what hit them.
Lord, may we live every moment "on purpose". Let our merry heart and cheerful countenance heal a broken spirit.
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