You can never have enough Proverbs
It's amazing to me that there is always something more to learn from even the most familiar verses. It's always a mistake to feel like something is too repetitive, overused, and/or has nothing more to give us. I've noticed that any time I allow this feeling to persist, I don't learn anything new, but that if I ask God to give me a teachable spirit, He is faithful to bring out another piece of knowledge that I never could have found by my own wisdom (or lack thereof).
Proverbs 22:4
"The reward of humility and the fear (ie. reverence) of the Lord are riches, honor, and life."
22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."
22:10
"Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, even strife and dishonor will cease." (Amen! This verse came to my mind Wednesday because one boy was mocking throughout our study time and it affected how everyone else responded. We didn't want to put him out because he so obviously and desperately needed to hear God's word so we just prayed instead.)
22:15
"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far from him." (This describes my childhood for sure. My conscience is my witness of that.)
22:17-21
"Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge;
For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, that they may be ready on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, even you.
Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge,
to make you know the certainty of the words of truth that you may correctly answer him who sent you?"
23:4-5
"Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it.
When you set your eyes on it, it is gone!
For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens."
23:12, 15-16
"Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge."
"My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart also will be glad;
and my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right."
24:11-14
"Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter,
Oh hold them back!
If you say, 'See, we did not know this,'
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?
(presumably innocent people though I've seen it applied both to those who are lost and in need of Christ as well as to "unwanted" unborn children),
My son, eat honey, for it is good, yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off."
25:21-22
"If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
For you will heap burning coals on his head,
And the Lord will reward you."
(My thought on this is that if our enemy then repents, we have been an instrument of salvation to them, and if they curse us for our kindness, they only condemn themselves further to hell. It's a win/ win situation for us, but not for them. We should desire their salvation because we are called to love all people and hate all sin. It goes against our natural inclination, but it's nonetheless our duty if we love God.)
25:26
"Like a trampled spring and a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked."
26:18-19
"Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'Was I not joking?'"
27:1
"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."
27:5-6
"Better is an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful (may also read: excessive) are the kisses of an enemy."
28:4-6
"Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive with (against) them.
Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all things.
Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse though he be rich."
(Sounds alot like our country. Praise the wicked, throw true justice out the window, and get rich being perverse.)
28:9
"He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination."
(If you don't love God or care for His law, don't bother praying; He won't hear or listen to you.)
28:13-14
"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity."
(John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only (lit. unique, only one of His kind) begotten Son, that whoever believes (perfect tense: believes and keeps on believing) shall not perish, but have eternal life."
3:19-20 "This is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
Hello? Many thousands, even millions of people claim to be "christian" in some sense of the word, but most of them aren't. Maybe their parents took them to church when they were kids, maybe they like the idea of a pleasant, moral lifestyle influenced by Judeo-Christian ideals, but they don't care to acknowledge and forsake their sins, to believe that only Christ can save them from hell and eternal damnation that we all justly deserve.
It makes people uncomfortable to talk about evil and punishment and a God who hates sin more than anything else that has ever existed. They'd rather go to church on Sunday and hear about a cuddly push-over Dude in the sky who loves them and wants them to have their cake and eat it too. Don't worry about those narrow minded radicals and their talk about sin, hell, and evil, let's just have a good old time being told how good and deserving we are.
Those "churches" are not the least bit christian, don't let yourselves be lied to.
God is love, but He is also Just and so Holy no human can stand in His unveiled presence and survive the experience!
We serve an awesome, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-deciding God and should not be afraid of calling sin sin and evil evil. We have not been saved so that we can cower behind the lines of battle and "let everyone have their own truth."
There is only one truth and it's God's truth. We should love our fellow humans enough to undeceive them any and every chance we get. Has the salt become tasteless? Have we tried to hide our city on a hill? I know I've messed this up before, but by God's grace, I hope and pray that we won't give up.)
28:23
"He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favour than he who flatters with the tongue."
28:26
"He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered."
28:27
"He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who hides his eyes will have many curses."
Proverbs 22:4
"The reward of humility and the fear (ie. reverence) of the Lord are riches, honor, and life."
22:6
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it."
22:10
"Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, even strife and dishonor will cease." (Amen! This verse came to my mind Wednesday because one boy was mocking throughout our study time and it affected how everyone else responded. We didn't want to put him out because he so obviously and desperately needed to hear God's word so we just prayed instead.)
22:15
"Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far from him." (This describes my childhood for sure. My conscience is my witness of that.)
22:17-21
"Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, and apply your mind to my knowledge;
For it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, that they may be ready on your lips.
So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, even you.
Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge,
to make you know the certainty of the words of truth that you may correctly answer him who sent you?"
23:4-5
"Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it.
When you set your eyes on it, it is gone!
For wealth certainly makes itself wings like an eagle that flies toward the heavens."
23:12, 15-16
"Apply your heart to discipline and your ears to words of knowledge."
"My son, if your heart is wise, my own heart also will be glad;
and my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right."
24:11-14
"Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter,
Oh hold them back!
If you say, 'See, we did not know this,'
Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts?
And does He not know it who keeps your soul?
And will He not render to man according to his work?
(presumably innocent people though I've seen it applied both to those who are lost and in need of Christ as well as to "unwanted" unborn children),
My son, eat honey, for it is good, yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste;
Know that wisdom is thus for your soul;
If you find it, then there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off."
25:21-22
"If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;
And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;
For you will heap burning coals on his head,
And the Lord will reward you."
(My thought on this is that if our enemy then repents, we have been an instrument of salvation to them, and if they curse us for our kindness, they only condemn themselves further to hell. It's a win/ win situation for us, but not for them. We should desire their salvation because we are called to love all people and hate all sin. It goes against our natural inclination, but it's nonetheless our duty if we love God.)
25:26
"Like a trampled spring and a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked."
26:18-19
"Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death,
so is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, 'Was I not joking?'"
27:1
"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth."
27:5-6
"Better is an open rebuke than love that is concealed.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful (may also read: excessive) are the kisses of an enemy."
28:4-6
"Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive with (against) them.
Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand all things.
Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse though he be rich."
(Sounds alot like our country. Praise the wicked, throw true justice out the window, and get rich being perverse.)
28:9
"He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, even his prayer is an abomination."
(If you don't love God or care for His law, don't bother praying; He won't hear or listen to you.)
28:13-14
"He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. How blessed is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity."
(John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only (lit. unique, only one of His kind) begotten Son, that whoever believes (perfect tense: believes and keeps on believing) shall not perish, but have eternal life."
3:19-20 "This is the judgement, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed."
Hello? Many thousands, even millions of people claim to be "christian" in some sense of the word, but most of them aren't. Maybe their parents took them to church when they were kids, maybe they like the idea of a pleasant, moral lifestyle influenced by Judeo-Christian ideals, but they don't care to acknowledge and forsake their sins, to believe that only Christ can save them from hell and eternal damnation that we all justly deserve.
It makes people uncomfortable to talk about evil and punishment and a God who hates sin more than anything else that has ever existed. They'd rather go to church on Sunday and hear about a cuddly push-over Dude in the sky who loves them and wants them to have their cake and eat it too. Don't worry about those narrow minded radicals and their talk about sin, hell, and evil, let's just have a good old time being told how good and deserving we are.
Those "churches" are not the least bit christian, don't let yourselves be lied to.
God is love, but He is also Just and so Holy no human can stand in His unveiled presence and survive the experience!
We serve an awesome, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-deciding God and should not be afraid of calling sin sin and evil evil. We have not been saved so that we can cower behind the lines of battle and "let everyone have their own truth."
There is only one truth and it's God's truth. We should love our fellow humans enough to undeceive them any and every chance we get. Has the salt become tasteless? Have we tried to hide our city on a hill? I know I've messed this up before, but by God's grace, I hope and pray that we won't give up.)
28:23
"He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favour than he who flatters with the tongue."
28:26
"He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered."
28:27
"He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who hides his eyes will have many curses."