God's Wisdom in like a huge security blanket!

S - Scripture     

Proverbs 2 v. 10-11 For wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you; understanding will guard you.    

 

O - Observation

Security. The wisdom of the Lord is like a huge security blanket. Look at the key words that God uses to paint the picture; pleasant, watch, guard. God did no lay down the law to punish us, but instead he gave us his instruction and wisdom to protect us, to make our lives pleasant. By allowing God's wisdom to soak into our core, it puts us at a distinct advantage. We will face challenges, but we have the confidence of knowing our God and his wisdom will be there for us.  John 16 v. 33; "I have said this to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

 

A - Application  

Am I grabbing a hold of wisdom? 

 

P - Prayer      

Jesus, Give me wisdom. Watch and Guard me.  Love Will.  

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Let Him in!!! (Part II) - And the Reward!

S - Scripture     

Proverbs 2 v. 5-6  Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

 

O - Observation

Source of Wisdom. This is the THEN part of the IF/THEN statement. If you receive God's words and treasure them, THEN  you will receive Godly wisdom. Think about King Solomon. Check out 1 Kings 3. In it, since Solomon loved the Lord and followed in his ways.  As a King, God gave Solomon a chance to ask for anything. Instead of wealth or long life, Solomon asked for Godly wisdom. This pleased God. 1 Kings 3 v. 10; "This please the Lord that Solomon asked for this." But he also gave him riches and honor. When we turn our focus towards him, he will give us wisdom.

 

A - Application  

Do I recognize the source of Wisdom? Do I pray for Godly wisdom on a daily basis? 

 

P - Prayer      

Jesus, You say ask and it will be give to me. I ask that you fill me with your Godly wisdom. Love Will.  

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Let Him in!!!

S - Scripture     

Proverbs 2 v. 1-2 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding.  

 

O - Observation

Let him in. This is the first part of a very important IF//THEN statement. Today we will do the IF statement. Tomorrow the THEN statement. But what is the value of God's word? Psalm 110 v. 105; "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path."  Its the Truth. Proverbs 30 v. 5a; "Every word of God proves true." But receiving God's word is not enough, we must treasure these words. Matthew 6 v. 21; "For where your treasure is, there will be your heart also." Think about the things we treasure. We take good care of it. We think about it. We will do anything to protect it. 

 

A - Application  

Am I treasuring up God's commandments? What am I willing to do to protect that treasure? Am I adding to the treasure?

P - Prayer      

Jesus, Help me to receive and treasure your word. Love Will.  

Dwell Securely in God's Word

S - Scripture     

Proverbs 1 v. 33  But he who listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of evil. 

O - Observation

Compelling truth. What can you say about this verse other than it's a compelling statement to be in God's word. The key word of this whole verse is - will. God did not use, may or likely, but used a firm word, WILL. Do I want security in this day and age - Heck Yeah!!! Is life better when its loose and at ease vs. tension, turmoil and conflict? - Heck Yeah!!! Its amazing, we all want what this verse offers and really is not all that complicated to get it. Listen, (Read God's word, Go to church, talk to other Christians, Go to a bible Study.)  Romans 10 v. 17; "Faith comes by hearing." Dwell. S.O.A.P. your own bible verses. Pray. Fast. These are all ways to let God's word soak into your lives.

 

A - Application  

Am I motivated for the food life of security and ease? If so what am I doing about it? 

 

P - Prayer      

Jesus, Thank you for your promise - for the Will's; security, ease, and lack of dread.  Love Will.  

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Forgotten First Love

Forgotten First Love

Guest Blog by Gary Riedel

S - SCRIPTURE: 

Revelation 2:4 Yet I hold this against you you have forsaken your first love!

O - Observation: 

Jesus isn’t talking here about our old high-school sweetheart, but rather He is talking about 

being unfaithful to Him. The church at Ephesus was praised for many of the things they did correctly, their hard work and perseverance, intolerance of wicked men they have endured hardship for the name of Jesus and have not grown weary, yet Jesus still makes this statement 

about them because they have become entwined in their orthodoxy and their attention to doing things by the man made book has taken their attention away from Him.

A - APPLICATION: What a sobering thought, we get so hung up on our habits and the way we’ve always done it that we put more effort and soul into that than in worshiping our God or remembering the great sacrifice Jesus made for us. GOD WANTS ALL OF OUR HEART ALL THE TIME!

P - PRAYER: 

Gracious Father, by the power of Your Spirit, never let us forsake JESUS, our first love above all else, for You gave us all else! In Jesus Name, Amen 

God's Discipline - A good thing!!! (Really!!!)

S - Scripture     

Proverbs 1 v. 23  Give heed to my reproof; behold, I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you.   

 

O - Observation

Discipline. Notice, God will discipline us. Discipline is a form of love. Its a way to correct people, animals from doing something wrong, or highlight how bad what we've done is (either to us or to others.) But, God doesn't just want to go corporal on us, no, he will take the time, POUR (not dribble) out his thoughts to us. Since he's pouring his insight on us, there will be fruits of good things that will come out of discipline. Hebrews 12 v. 11; "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." What a great God sized If/then statement. IF you are being disciplined by God, THEN you will have the Peaceful fruit of righteousness. Almost makes you want to be disciplined.

 

A - Application  

Am I taking heed to the discipline that God is giving me?

 

P - Prayer      

Jesus, I know that you correctly discipline me. Help me to respond to your discipline in a way that brings fruit of righteousness.  Love Will.  

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We need to move from Simple to Complex

 S - Scripture     

Proverbs 1 v. 20, 22  Wisdom cries aloud in the street; in the markets she raiser her voice; How long O simple ones will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge.   

 

O - Observation 

Knowledge is power, but ignorance is bliss. Wisdom calls for us to be knowledgeable. What we don't know may actually hurt us!! God's wisdom, his will for us is infinitely deep. After all, he is sovereign. 1 Corinthians 13 v. 11; "When I was a Child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways." We need to grow, mature our faith. We need to move from simple to complex. Where do we get this knowledge? 1 Samuel 2 v. 3b; " For the Lord is a God of Knowledge, and by him actions are weighed." 

 

A - Application  

Am I moving from simple to complex? Am I maturing in my faith? 

 

P - Prayer      

Jesus, Train me in your wisdom. Don't let me be a simpleton!!!   Love Will.  

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Recognize what's at stake

S - Scripture

Proverbs 1 v. 10  My son, if sinners entice you do not consent. 

O - Observation 

Duuuhhhh!!!! This is such an obvious statement for our walk with Christ. Easy to say, hard to do. 1 Corinthians 15 v. 33; "Do not be deceived; Bad company ruins good morals." This is the first and key step in Not Consenting. Don't put yourself in compromising situations. Who's your company? Recognize what's at stake. Ephesians 5 v. 5; "Be sure of this, that no fornicator, or impure man, or one who is covetous, has ANY inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God."  So recognizing what's at stake will help us to make wise choices. Ephesians 5 v. 15; "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil."

 

A - Application  

Who's my company? Do I fully realize what's at stake? Am I consenting?

 

P - Prayer      

Jesus, Help me to keep the eye on the prize when enticed.  Love Will.  

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

Give God the Resepect he deserves

 

S - Scripture     

Proverbs 1 v. 7  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.   

 

O - Observation 

Respect. God is not asking us to be afraid of him. He wants us to have our ultimate respect of him. Not only is he wise, but he is sovereign. He controls everything. Once you realize that your not in control, you can lean on him for all your

problems. We also must respect that God will judge us.  Matthew 10 v. 28; "and do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather FEAR HIM who can destroy both body and soul in hell." Remember, only one person will be making that decision. It is the Lord. So what is our response? To do his will, to follow his wisdom and instruction. That shows respect.
 
A - Application  
Am I studying your word and doing it? Or am I resisting? 
 
P - Prayer      
Jesus, Keep me from being foolish. Give me a healthy fear of you. Love Will.  

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay 

Be Complete!

S - Scripture     

Proverbs 1 v. 5 The wise man may also hear and increase in learning, and the man of understanding acquire skill.  

 

O - Observation

Complete. As the Book of Proverbs begins, it talks about why reading and studying the Proverbs is a good thing. The word that comes to mind is complete. We need not only to be book smart (man of understanding) but, common sense (acquire skill). One of my all time favorite quotes, comes from Mark Twain. "I've found common sense isn't so common." So how do we go about acquiring common sense. Study the Proverbs so that we may increase in Learning. God gave us these Proverbs so that we can be complete, both knowledge and understand and be able to apply the wisdom. 

 

A - Application  

Am I hearing the word of God and applying it in my life? 

 

P - Prayer      

Jesus, Increase my learning, help me to acquire skill so that I may be a bright light for you.  Love Will.  

Image by Willi Heidelbach from Pixabay 

 

Praise the Lord

S - Scripture
Psalm 150 v. 6 Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

O - Observation
Praising the Lord. Everything. More than just you and I. The animals, praise the Lord. So many species, so many different families, birds that fly. Built differently than horses and oxen which were build to work. Fishes in the sea, completely different than everything else. All unique-  all point out just how creative and amazing our God is. Humans are no different. There are those that are built for athletics - Sing thy praise. There are those that are wired for music - Sing thy praise. Still, others have been given optimal brains to think and develop - Sing thy praise. Every breath that we take is a gift. We need to be thankful for this gift.

A - Application
Am I praising the Lord?

P - Prayer
Jesus, You are Awesome!!  Love Will

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Faithful Unto Death

 Faithful Unto Death

Guest Blog By Gary Riedel

S - SCRIPTURE: 

NIV, Revelation 2:10b Be faithful even to the point of death and I will give you a crown of life.

O - OBSERVATION: 

For me, this is another case where more is revealed each time you read a scripture. This is my

Confirmation Verse, it’s 

special to me, because it’s always been in the back of my mind. I memorized it out of the KJV which simply says “faithful unto death.” As I read the portion preceding this verse, it comes as a gift for staying true to God even under threat of prison or worse. That’s the part I didn’t pick up on before, it’s why I chose the NIV version,”even unto death.” I think of today’s Christians in Afghanistan, who are forced to choose between Jesus and earthly death, but, a Crown of Eternal Life awaits those who chose to not deny God!

A - APPLICATION: 

So what about you and I, are we ready to suffer all even earthly death rather than deny Jesus? It’s actually a choice we make each day! A choice between choosing the ways of satan or the ways of Jesus, it’s a choice between death and life eternal.

Thank God for the Grace He shows me when I make bad choices. You see, because of what Jesus did for us, when we repent, He restores us, makes us new again; 2 Corinthians 5:17.

P - PRAYER: 

Aw Father, it’s so amazing to read of the love You have for us, as I think of how You’ve figured everything out, it’s not very smart of me to worry about tomorrow or anything for that matter. You hold us in Your hand forever if we but remain faithful to You. Grant us that faithfulness Lord, and forgive us when we trespass against You. In Jesus Name, Amen 

Go "All in" to praise God

S - Scripture

Psalm 150 v. 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds, praise him according to his exceeding greatness!

 

O - Observation

Equal proportion? The last half of this verse is very convicting to me. Praise him ACCORDING to his exceeding greatness. I interpret according to mean equal to. Webster defines it as, "Agreement. In a way that agrees with something that was said." So am I praising him with exceeding greatness? Psalm 150 v. 3-5 gives a list of things to help in our accordance. I love this list. Trumpets, lute, harp trimble and Dance. (What?? Dance?? - Yep!!) strings, pipe, cymbals, and just to make sure, LOUD CLASHING cymbals. Everything you got, sing praise to the Lord. Sometimes God's is amazing in subtle ways. Praise him in private. Sometimes God's amazing in Big ways - Go all out!!!

 

A - Application

Is my praise to God equally proportionate to his Greatness?

 

P - Prayer

Jesus, Help me to praise you according to your greatness. Love Will

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Make God Happy!

S - Scripture
Psalm 147 v. 10-11 His delight is not in the strength of his horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man; but the Lord takes his pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
 
O - Observation
His pleasure. Ever wanted to know what makes God happy? It's not how strong you are. God does not gain joy in your status. God does not say "Wow" Great Job, you're the CEO or Doctor, or manager. You must of worked really hard on that. Nope - all these things are gifts from him. Psalm 24 v. 1a, "The earth is the Lords, and the FULLNESS THEREOF."  God does not take joy in how physically fit you are, even if you train hard. 1 Timothy 4 v. 8a, "for while bodily training is of some value, Godliness is of value in every way." So what makes God Happy? A committed relationship with him.

A - Application
How am I trying to make God happy?

P - Prayer
Jesus, My hope is in your steadfast love. Love Will

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Remember! The Lord is Gracious

S - Scripture
Psalm 145 v. 8 The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

O - Observation
What a great description of my God. Here's some more detail from Webster. Gracious = Kind and considerate. Mercy = Willingness to forgive or not to punish.  Slow = Not Fast. (I like that word in front of anger. ) This is not a description of an impartial God, or a God that likes to smote or smite or condemn. NO this is a description of love. 1 John 4 v. 18, " There is NO FEAR in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with the punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.  My God is willing to give Grace chips for when I fail him. Lamentations 3 v. 22-23, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to and end, THEY ARE NEW every morning, great is thy faithfulness."

A - Application
Is there any other adjectives I can add to describe my God?

P - Prayer
Jesus, You're awesome!!! Love Will

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