Recent events
Today has been a crazy day and I haven't been able to stop and think much over the past few well, weeks, actually. I run with the 'thought police' too often to let myself actually just think anything, and I miss thinking, or more especially just being. Haven't done that in a while....... . I've only missed a couple of church services in the past few months, so it isn't that I need to go to church more. I just need to see God more, I reckon. More church, with less people and less structure in it. I want to go to church every day at the moment.
I'm not really "getting" the bible study notes that I'm using nowadays, I think they're going on a bit and taking too long to say the actual point. Which probably doesn't help, but it also means I've been trying to do some other reading in the past week - just reading, with no notes.
Here are some of the points that have stood out to me in the book of Proverbs.
Chapter 1.
Relevant verses are 28-33. The "I" is Wisdom, which has been personified.
28 “I will not answer when they cry for help.
Even though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
29 For they hated knowledge
and chose not to fear the Lord.
30 They rejected my advice
and paid no attention when I corrected them.
31 That is why they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way.
They must experience the full terror of the path they have chosen.
32 For simpletons turn away from me-to death.
They are fools, and their own complacency will destroy them.
33 But all who listen to me will live in peace and safety,
unafraid of harm.”
Obviously actions have consequences, but these verses really rammed home the point to me that we can't make choices on someone else's behalf. (Unless its a parent and a child.)
It also rammed home the point that there IS a choice to be made. There's no such thing as really "going with the flow" when we're talking about actual life decisions. "Going with the flow" without thinking for yourself, about either big things or small, is actually choosing not to decide, choosing to deliberately surrender all of your power and choosing to bypass using your brain, which you have for a reason.
And it also brought home the point that although we can (and must) choose a path for ourselves for our life, we don't get to choose the consequences of each action and therefore the only way of getting different consequences is to choose a different course of action from now on. (Sounds obvious but its surprising how stubborn people can be about what they expect out of life, and what they want to put in to get it.) I also led myself in some very logical arguements along the lines of, if we could change the consequences of actions, this is akin to saying that actions do not have consequences (because the meaning of the word 'consequences' is changed), but then this is getting to the edges of my actual capacity to think in a truely logical manner and I'm not capable of taking that train of thought any further.
Also, as an aside for people who use www.biblegateway.com (online bible), biblegateway does not give exactly the same words for this passage as my actual bible does, even though they are supposedly the same translation (NLT), so that is something to watch out for if you need to quote any other portion of the text. The above is the version from my actual bible. The biblegateway version is here.
Anyway, moving on.
Chapter 2.
Relevent verses are 16-22.
16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,
from the flattery of the adulterous woman.
17 She has abandoned her husband
and ignores the covenant she made before God.
18 Entering her house leads to death;
it is the road to hell.
19 The man who visits her is doomed.
He will never reach the paths of life.
20 Follow the steps of good men instead,
and stay on the paths of the righteous.
21 For only the upright will live in the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it.
22 But the wicked will be removed from the land,
and the treacherous will be destroyed.
How rarely nowadays do we actually categorise people into "righteous/godly/upright/good" and "wicked/evil/ungodly/bad"! How popular it is to see everyone as either both good and bad, or as neither! Protestant views that not only have all sinned, but that the gospel is also for ALL will have perpetuated this.
And whilst all this is true, it doesn't change the fact that some people have more moral fibre than others, and some people are going to be worthy examples to follow, and others won't.
This follows the reading from Chapter 1 that emphasised the weight of the situation and how everyone must decide certain things for themselves. In this case, people are going to follow other peoples' examples. Yes it is saying "choose wisely" which examples you would follow, but it is also saying "Choose. Look at other people and see them. In both their decisions and the consequences they experience. Which of the consequences do you want, and, which sort of person do you want to be? You cannot leave this matter undecided!"
Of course, it also says "Follow in the steps of good men" and not just "think about it", which obviously speaks for itself.
Luke 6 verses 46-49
46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
BTW, all the same notes about biblegateway apply to the second passage too. Bible gateway version. The Luke passage is biblegateway all the way and I haven't cross referrenced it.
For various reasons I also haven't been in a brilliant mood just lately (see above about needing to go to church more), but just reflecting back on Proverbs helped a bit. Now though its sleepy time, and as always, hugs are welcomed. :)
Goodnight xxx
I'm not really "getting" the bible study notes that I'm using nowadays, I think they're going on a bit and taking too long to say the actual point. Which probably doesn't help, but it also means I've been trying to do some other reading in the past week - just reading, with no notes.
Here are some of the points that have stood out to me in the book of Proverbs.
Chapter 1.
Relevant verses are 28-33. The "I" is Wisdom, which has been personified.
28 “I will not answer when they cry for help.
Even though they anxiously search for me, they will not find me.
29 For they hated knowledge
and chose not to fear the Lord.
30 They rejected my advice
and paid no attention when I corrected them.
31 That is why they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way.
They must experience the full terror of the path they have chosen.
32 For simpletons turn away from me-to death.
They are fools, and their own complacency will destroy them.
33 But all who listen to me will live in peace and safety,
unafraid of harm.”
Obviously actions have consequences, but these verses really rammed home the point to me that we can't make choices on someone else's behalf. (Unless its a parent and a child.)
It also rammed home the point that there IS a choice to be made. There's no such thing as really "going with the flow" when we're talking about actual life decisions. "Going with the flow" without thinking for yourself, about either big things or small, is actually choosing not to decide, choosing to deliberately surrender all of your power and choosing to bypass using your brain, which you have for a reason.
And it also brought home the point that although we can (and must) choose a path for ourselves for our life, we don't get to choose the consequences of each action and therefore the only way of getting different consequences is to choose a different course of action from now on. (Sounds obvious but its surprising how stubborn people can be about what they expect out of life, and what they want to put in to get it.) I also led myself in some very logical arguements along the lines of, if we could change the consequences of actions, this is akin to saying that actions do not have consequences (because the meaning of the word 'consequences' is changed), but then this is getting to the edges of my actual capacity to think in a truely logical manner and I'm not capable of taking that train of thought any further.
Also, as an aside for people who use www.biblegateway.com (online bible), biblegateway does not give exactly the same words for this passage as my actual bible does, even though they are supposedly the same translation (NLT), so that is something to watch out for if you need to quote any other portion of the text. The above is the version from my actual bible. The biblegateway version is here.
Anyway, moving on.
Chapter 2.
Relevent verses are 16-22.
16 Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman,
from the flattery of the adulterous woman.
17 She has abandoned her husband
and ignores the covenant she made before God.
18 Entering her house leads to death;
it is the road to hell.
19 The man who visits her is doomed.
He will never reach the paths of life.
20 Follow the steps of good men instead,
and stay on the paths of the righteous.
21 For only the upright will live in the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it.
22 But the wicked will be removed from the land,
and the treacherous will be destroyed.
How rarely nowadays do we actually categorise people into "righteous/godly/upright/good" and "wicked/evil/ungodly/bad"! How popular it is to see everyone as either both good and bad, or as neither! Protestant views that not only have all sinned, but that the gospel is also for ALL will have perpetuated this.
And whilst all this is true, it doesn't change the fact that some people have more moral fibre than others, and some people are going to be worthy examples to follow, and others won't.
This follows the reading from Chapter 1 that emphasised the weight of the situation and how everyone must decide certain things for themselves. In this case, people are going to follow other peoples' examples. Yes it is saying "choose wisely" which examples you would follow, but it is also saying "Choose. Look at other people and see them. In both their decisions and the consequences they experience. Which of the consequences do you want, and, which sort of person do you want to be? You cannot leave this matter undecided!"
Of course, it also says "Follow in the steps of good men" and not just "think about it", which obviously speaks for itself.
Luke 6 verses 46-49
46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."
BTW, all the same notes about biblegateway apply to the second passage too. Bible gateway version. The Luke passage is biblegateway all the way and I haven't cross referrenced it.
For various reasons I also haven't been in a brilliant mood just lately (see above about needing to go to church more), but just reflecting back on Proverbs helped a bit. Now though its sleepy time, and as always, hugs are welcomed. :)
Goodnight xxx