Not Always Easy

Proverbs 14

As we continue to read through Proverbs we can see the different themes that are brought up, some are ones repeated such as not being lazy, watching our mouths, and listening to wisdom. In verse 4 we read, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the oxen.” This verse caught my attention because it is different than the other ones and also it was funny to think about.  When there is no oxen in the manger to mess it up of course it will be clean but if you do not have the oxen you can not plow the field and make money.

We in America of the take it easy approach and want the get rich quick idea. The thought of hard work has gone out the window. It is a mere thought in some traditional people. What Solomon was saying was that in order for you to make it, you need to be willing to have a little “pasture patties” or “Buffalo Chip” or scrape your elbow, take a chance in this life. Work hard and you will see the fruit of the work.

Do Something for God

Looking at this, we need to look at it in a spiritual way, we can not be afraid to step out and do something for the Lord. If we are too worried about failing we are n0t trusting the Holy Spirit. When D.L. Moody was first starting out in ministry he was doing something that no one else was doing in Chicago. He was going to the poor parts of the city that no one else would go to and would invest in the lives of the kids. He would hold Sunday school every week and encourage them to grow in their faith. He was ridiculed for it, people told him he was wasting his time, or that he was crazy. The truth was God was behind it every step of the way and D.L. Moody took a step of faith and trusted in the Lord. He wanted to serve God and do ministry. He did not wait for ministry to come to him. It is the small things that matter.  He did not care that his manger was clean because he needed the oxen to harvest the field. The same good have been said about David as he faced Goliath or Gideon and his 300 men.

We need to take a step of faith. That is what we see with these men and women in the Bible. They worked hard, did not take the easy rode and God used them mightily for his kingdom. Sure it was not always easy, it was tough but you can not fear getting dirty. Instead we should be motivated to work harder for the kingdom of God as God will show himself in a mighty way. People will not always understand but when you are seeking God and obeying him, that is all that matters. When you live like this you are not afraid to try something new, you are not afraid to speak boldly, and you seek Christ in all.

Words Do Hurt

Proverbs 13

The saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt” is not really true, words do hurt and so do sticks and stones. Have you ever heard this one, “I am rubber and you are glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you.” Yeah, still not true. We can say something and it ruins someones day. We can be so hurtful with our words and can leave a scar forever. As this chapter has many other practical points besides holding our tongue, I would like to look at verse 3 which says, “Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips come to ruin.”

Guard Your Mouth

Psalm 141:3 says, “Set a guard O Lord , over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! We should really take a look at this passage and take it to heart. Why would whoever guards his mouth preserve his life? Is it because if we just talk we could end up in trouble with the wrong person? Is it because we waste time and energy when we talk? Solomon was speaking about just making sure you speak what is good and what is true. James 1:9 encourages us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.  James 3 talks about how destructive our tongues can be just like a small spark can set a whole forest on fire.

The opposite can happen too, we can make someones day by what we say. I like how David watched what he said, in Psalm 39:1 it says, “A Psalm of David. I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” We should watch what we say so we do not sin against God with our mouths. We sin against God with our mouths by cursing, gossip, hate, anger, deception etc. Do you watch what you say? Do you guard your mouth so that you do not sin against God? How you can do that is by asking God to help you watch what you say. Start by being conscious of what comes out of your mouth. What is it, is it good or bad? Also take your parents advice, “If you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything.” So, learn to be a quiet person. President Calvin Coolidge was known as “Silent Cal” and when he was asked why he spoke so little he said, “I never have regretted anything I didn’t say.” Take that advice!

And lastly, instead of bad coming out of your mouth try filling it with praise. We should have constant praise out of our mouths. Just like Paul told the Ephesian church in Ephesians 5:19-20 which says, “Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I love Discipline

Proverbs 12

As we see that these Proverbs are phrases that can be themed together. Today I would like to look at one verse, the first one. It says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates reproof is stupid.”

Do you Love Discipline?

I think this is a hard thing to do, to love discipline. I mean usually when one gets disciplined it is to be corrected of a fault. That means your pride has to be swallowed and you have to allow yourself to be corrected. That also means you have to admit you are not perfect and were wrong. When I was a teenager, I hated being disciplined. I thought it was the worst thing in the world. But you know it is love being shown when one is disciplined. Hebrews 12:6 says, “For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children. Just like God who disciplines us spiritually our parents are commanded to discipline us because they love us. My parents disciplined me because they love me not because they wanted to make my life miserable.

Adah is now 7 months old and she is starting to roll over a lot. It has become a little problem when we try to change her on her changing table. The reason is because she could roll off and get hurt. We do not want her to get hurt because we love her. We have to teach her not to roll over when we are changing her. She does not like that very much. The reason why we do it is because we love her. The same is with the Father. He disciplines us spiritually (allowing us to get caught in sin) because he wants us to be a better Christian. Parents discipline you so you could be a better person.

Proverbs 13:24 says, “Whoever spars the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.” When we get into trouble and are disciplined it is love being shown in a way that we may not quite understand at that moment. When I was 13, I did not quite see the love being displayed as I was disciplined but now being 26 I can totally see it. I challenge you to learn to love discipline. Know your parents do it because they love, if they did not love you they would not care about what you did. Be thankful for the discipline and love it.

Invest in this

Proverbs 11

People are a little bit more careful with how they spend their money today than they were in the past. Some try to look at what to invest in, how much to save, and what is really worth spending money on. I love the book of Proverbs because it not only talks about money but brings into focus what is really important.

What is Worth All

In verse 4 we see what really matters in this life. It says, “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”  Verse 28 also says, “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.” What matters in this life is if we have Christ. We are righteous because of Christ. Romans 6:23 we see that we deserve death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Wealth in this life will fade away. Treasures in this life will one day burn or perish. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.” We see that if we desire the things of this world, that shows our heart If we desire the things of the Lord, that is our heart. What matters is the eternal things in Christ. What is valuable? It is our salvation in Christ. What is priceless? Jesus death and resurrection which saves. When we are judged before God, he will not look at the amount left in our bank account, how many cars we have, or how big our house was. What he will look at is our spiritual bank account, does it have Christ’s name written on it?

Not of the World

Proverbs 9

It is interesting when we see something that we are not to do we desire to do it. We see the, “Do not touch the red button” sign and we desire to want to know what happens when we touch the red button. In this chapter we see that wisdom as if “she” was speaking is inviting us to follow.

Why is folly so desirable? Folly is the act of foolishness and lack of understanding or sense. For some reason we as human beings choose the stupid choices that we know that we should not do and avoid but some how they are attractive. As it says in verse 9 and 10, “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still be wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” This is what we should be thinking, not how desirable folly (sin) is but how desirable it is to walk in the ways of the Lord.

Do not Love the World

1st John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world-the desires of the flesh, and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions-is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” What does this chapter of Proverbs show us about not choosing the things of the world? As Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The knowing of what is good and acceptable and perfect is only of Christ. When we desire to please Christ, we no longer seek to push the red button, we seek to be as far away from the red button so we do not want to push it. Do you desire to please Christ? It is not the black and white Christianity, it is do seek Christ or the world?

Through Creation

Proverbs 8

This chapter of Proverbs you will notice that wisdom now is addressed as a person or as she. Solomon is not pointing out wisdom as a person but the purpose is the glory of wisdom which reflects God’s glory.

Before the foundations of the World (22-31)

As we read the value of wisdom and to honor her (speaking about wisdom) what we truly see is that wisdom is from God. In verse 22 we see that God possessed me (wisdom) at the beginning of his works. We see that God who is infinitely wise had and used wisdom with creation. He did not just put things together and hope for things to work out. God actively and full of wisdom created! He knew what he was doing with the earth, the waters, the universe, and with us as humans. His wisdom is infinite and not created. When we look at creation it should reflect God’s wisdom. God gives us his creation as proof of his infinite wisdom.

We are to cherish and desire God’s wisdom, as it is better than jewels (vs11). We are to know true understanding (vs9). We are to hear this instruction and be wise, we are blessed and happy to follow after God’s instruction (vs32). Solomon also gives the warning if we do not follow after God’s wisdom which is perfect. The warning is what vs 36 says, “but he who fails to find me (wisdom) injures himself; all who hate me (wisdom)love death.” We should hear and listen to God’s wisdom which is perfect, not lacking in anything and through it we see true wisdom, God’s love for us demonstrated on the cross as Jesus died and rose again for our sin. Through that we have salvation, God’s wisdom is shown on the cross for us and that is where we need to start looking.