More on Speech from Proverbs and other Bible Books

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/28/2013 9:19 PM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  Speech Is an Awesome Gift from God

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We looked at the introduction to the ninth chapter from Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Proverbs which is entitled “A Matter of Life or Death (Human Speech).  In today’s SD we will look at the fact that speech is a gift of God so that we can communicate with Him, but most of all so that He can communicate with us.

            Professor Steven Pinker states “The ability [to speak] comes so naturally that we are apt to forget what a miracle it is.  Language is not a cultural artifact that we learn to tell time of how the federal government works.  Instead, it is a distinct piece of the biological makeup of our brains.”  And I suppose that we need to remember that it was God who designed us and therefore made our brains to enable us to speak.  After creating Adam God communicated with him, and so when Eve was created Adam was able to communicate with her through speech.  I have to agree whole-heartily with Professor Pinker that speech does come naturally and therefore we tend to take it for granted and do not praise the Lord for our ability to be able to speak. Proverbs 16:1 states, “The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.”

            We will now look at some different images that the book of Proverbs gives us for human speech.  First we will look at speech as compared to jewels, and gold and silver.  Proverbs 10:20 “The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver, The heart of the wicked is worth little.”  Here we see that the wise person uses his speech for good use, while the wicked uses it for different reasons.  Now we will look at Proverbs 25:11-12, “11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver Is a word spoken in right circumstances. 12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise reprover to a listening ear.”  Balancing our words so that they can be like gold or silver is the way we should use them.  “9 In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. 10 The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. 11 The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd (Eccl. 12:9-11).”

            Next we look at words being like refreshing water:  “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence (Pr. 10:11).”  Next Proverbs 18:4, “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; The fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.”  When we go to church and the Pastor speaks wonderful words from his sermon then it is like taking a good drink from a refreshing well.  “The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death (Pr. 14:27 NKJV).”  We must listen and really hear when the wise speak to us, “Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it, But the discipline of fools is folly (Pr. 16:22).”  I have been praying for the salvation of my oldest daughter for many years and one of the things that I pray for is that the soil of her heart will be prepared to hear and accept the gospel.

            Next we look at right words being like nourishing, health-giving food.  “A soothing tongue is a tree of life, But perversion in it crushes the spirit (Pr.15:4).”  It is wonderful to be able to say the right words to someone who is down and in need of hearing some encouraging words that will enable them to get over the problem that they are facing.  I want to quote an endnote that speaks of the “tree of life.”  “According to Genesis 3:1-7, Satan tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden tree so she would become like God, ‘knowing good and evil.’  But it isn’t necessary to disobey God to develop discernment; His divine wisdom instructs us concerning good and evil, and is our ‘tree of life’ (see Proverbs 3:18).”  “She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast.”  Now let us look at Proverbs 10:21, “The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of understanding.”  Now Proverbs 16:24, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”  Now Proverbs 12:18 “There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

            Now I want to quote on something that the Apostle Paul spoke of when he wrote to Timothy about “healthy doctrine or sound doctrine.”  “The Greek word translated ‘sound’ (hugiaino) gives us the English word ‘hygiene,’ and means, ‘to be sound in health.”  We can then say that sound doctrine is healthy doctrine which will nourish us spiritually and even sometimes will help us in our health.  Paul writes to Timothy in the last letter that he penned stating that in the end days people will not endure healthy doctrine (2 Timothy 4:3).  Paul writes of those who belong to the cults “17 For their teachings are as dangerous as blood-poisoning to the body, and spread like sepsis from a wound. Hymenaeus and Philetus are responsible for this sort of thing, and 18  they are men who are palpable traitors to the truth, for they say that the resurrection has already happened and, of course, badly upset some people’s faith (2Timothy 2:17-18 Phillips).”

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes with the following words, “The Christian who recognizes how awesome is the gift of speech will not abuse that gift but will dedicate it to the glory of God.  The New Testament scholar Bishop B. F. Westcott wrote, ‘Every year makes me tremble at the daring with which people speak of spiritual things.’  We all need to heed the words of Solomon:  ‘Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God.  For God is in heaven, and you on earth; therefore let your words be few’ (Eccl. 5:2 NKJV).”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to say that the words that Solomon writes in Eccl. 5:2 have to be what I desire to obey, and not just today.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Heed the words of Solomon.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-4

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer. Selah.

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.”  (Corrie Ten Boom).  “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the World.”  (John 16:33)

2/28/2013 10:07 PM

              

Human Speech (Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/27/2013 1:52 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Human Speech

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  I have mentioned in earlier SD’s that I follow the commentaries or “Be” books of Dr. Warren Wiersbe because his commentaries are easy to read but the give a person much information that can be used in their lives.  Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on Proverbs is different than his other commentaries that I have read so far, different because the others went in a verse by verse, section by section of the book which is the way that his commentary on Proverbs began.  However after Proverbs chapter nine his commentary became more of a topical type of commentary which is what we have been dealing with.  I can truly understand why the study of Proverbs after chapter nine is better done in a topical way because there are verses that are in it that do not seem to go tighter and so you have to take many of the verses that speak of a certain subject and put them together which is what we are doing now.  We are looking at information from the ninth chapter of Wiersbe’s book in which he entitles “A Matter of Life and Death (Human Speech).” 

            Here is a quotation from the last paragraph of Dr. Wiersbe’s introduction to this chapter:  “When you summarize what Proverbs teaches about human speech, you end up with four important propositions:  (1) speech is an awesome gift from God; (2) speech can be used to do good; (3) speech can be used to do evil; and (4) only God can help us use speech to do good.”

            Solomon writes the following in Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.”  Think about how the tongue can give life or produce death.  A judge can sentence a person to death simply by speaking.  A gossip can get on their phone and tarnish the reputation of a person just by speaking.  It is said that for every word that is written in Hitler’s book Mein Kampf that 125 people died in world war two.  The NT writer James has much to say about the tongue in James 3:5-8, “5  So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6  And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7  For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8  But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.”

            We will get into the first point from Proverbs and Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary on the fact that speech is an awesome gift from God in the next SD.  Here is something to think about until then:  When we look around at all of God’s creation we only see mankind with the ability to speak and that fact alone should make people realize that we were created by an all knowing, all powerful, all wise God.  To realize this fact is good, but to realize that the creator of this world became a man and taught on this earth that He made for three years and then died on a cruel cross so that those who realize that He did it for them and who realize the need for someone to take their place on the cross to pay for their sins is so much better yet.  If you have not done this then realize that you were born a sinner and that is why you sin, realize that your sin separates you from a Holy God.  Realize that Jesus Christ loves you enough to come to earth to take your place on the cross so that you can one day be with Him forever in heaven by accepting the payment that He paid for you on the cross.  The words that I tell you have life for this is what the Bible teaches.

2/27/2013 2:24 PM  

Friends and Neighbors (Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/26/2013 8:23 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Friends & Neighbors PT-2

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We have been looking at what the book of Proverbs has to say about friends and neighbors, and in particular we have been looking at the quality of true friendship.  We will try and finish this section in today’s Spiritual Diary.

            The quality of true friendship PT-2:  The first quality that we will look at this morning is the ability to control the tongue.  “With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor, But through knowledge the righteous will be delivered (Pr. 11:9).”  One way to remember to control the tongue is to have the ability to remember that we are not always to believe the first thing that we hear about a matter:  “The first speech in a court case is always convincing—until the cross-examination starts! (Pr. 18:17 The Message).”  “A man of understanding holds his tongue (Pr. 11:12b).”   If you realize that your neighbor is telling lies about you, then you must confront him but you are not to avenge those lies by lying yourself about him.  “28 ¶  Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, And do not deceive with your lips. 29  Do not say, "Thus I shall do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work’ (Pr. 24:28-29).”  We are also to beware of people who cause you trouble and then say to you that “I was only joking.”  “18 ¶  People who shrug off deliberate deceptions, saying, "I didn’t mean it, I was only joking," 19  Are worse than careless campers who walk away from smoldering campfires (Pr.26:18-19 The Message).”

            Next:  Friends and neighbors must be loving honest with one another.  “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy (Pr. 27:6).”  As believers we cannot build a friendship on lies for we must tell the truth, and do it in a loving way, even if the truth will hurt.  “But we are meant to speak the truth in love, and to grow up in every way into Christ, the head (Eph. 4:15 Philips).”  We know that the Spirit of God can use the truth when we speak it, but Satan uses lies and flattery to tear down relationships, “He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor Than he who flatters with the tongue (Pr. 28:3).”

            Don’t take advantage of a friend by thinking that they will immediately forgive our offences even though it is the right thing to do as a believer.  “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a citadel (Pr. 18:19).”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “It’s strange but true that some of God’s people will forgive offenses from unbelievers that they would never forgive if a Christian friend committed them.  It takes a diamond to cut a diamond, and some Christians have a way of putting up defenses that even the church can’t break through.  Matthew 18:15-35 give us the steps to take when such things happen, and our Lord warns us that an unforgiving spirit only puts us into prison!”  2/26/2013 9:19 AM

            2/26/2013 1:16 PM

            Faithful friends and neighbors counsel and encourage each other:  I would suppose that this is a good place to say that the reason that I had to stop and start this SD was because that I was getting some counsel from our Pastor and so it kind of fits right into the conclusion of this Spiritual Diary.  “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend Proverbs 27:9).”  This probably speaks of when times when the subject of the counseling is without any problems or strife, but when there is trouble we can look at Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.”  Again we must follow Ephesians 4;15b, “speaking the truth in love.”

            Friends and neighbors must exercise tact and be sensitive to each other’s feelings:  We cannot spend too much time with each other as far as friends and relatives are concerned or we will wear out our welcome:  “Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house, Or he will become weary of you and hate you.”  Friendship can be like trees, if we plant them to close together we will have a problem with their growth, and if we are to grow as a believer we need some space.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Even husbands and wives must respect each other’s privacy and not be constantly together if their love is to mature.”

            “He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, It will be reckoned a curse to him (Pr. 27:14).”  We have to beware of our friends who just continually say good things about us even to the point that they wake us up early to talk to us.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Love is sensitive to other people’s feelings and needs, and true friends try to say the right things at the right time in the right way.”  “Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda, Is he who sings songs to a troubled heart Pr. 25:20).” 

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes “A happy family, encouraging friends and good neighbors:  What blessings these are from the Lord!  Let’s be sure we do our part to make these blessings a reality in our lives and the lives of others.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that it is so wonderful that the Bible has such wisdom for situations like this, for it teaches us the right way to treat other people and how to make good friends and how to keep them and encourage them.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Follow the things that I have learned from this subject and also from the counseling that I have received today from our Pastor.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-4

            1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away like the fever heat of summer.  Selah.

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “You are in His hands, and He is Lord.”  (David Jeremiah)  “Your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”  (Psalm 139:10)

2/26/2013 1:40 PM

           

Parents and Children (various verses from Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/23/2013 9:15 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Parents & Children

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We will begin the next section in our study on “Family, Friends, and Neighbors” in today’s SD.

            In our society today we do not think of children in the same way that the Jewish people did during the time when the Bible was written.  Jewish parents would no more want to abort their unborn children than they would want to kill each other.  Their children were gifts from the Lord:  “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward (Ps. 127:3).”  As the verse says children were a reward and not a punishment or an opportunity or an obstacle.  They are not burdens; they’re investments that produce dividends.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “Along with the basic necessities of physical life, what should the godly home provide for the children?”

            Example:  “The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him (Pr. 20:7 NIV).”  In our previous SD we looked at the example of the godly mother when it came to caring for her children and being a wonderful example for them.  The very first examples that children get are from their parents, and when one looks at the way parents live in our society today it is no wonder that children turn out the way that they do.  Think about our welfare system which encourages unmarried women and in some cases just girls to have children so that they can receive more welfare.  This is not good example for children, in fact it is a terrible an ungodly example for our children to follow.

            I have read a story about Jonathan Edwards, the early American Pastor who is famous for his sermon “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God.”  The story tells of his children and his children’s children and so on and what they turned out to be.  There were college professors and US senators and preachers, all good people and it can be attributed to the good example of godly parents.  The story compared another man who was evil and his children became bank robbers, murderers and the like because they did not have a good example to follow.   A good example for children is the first step in a successful life, a life where they will walk with the Lord.  “He who fears the LORD has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge (Pr. 14:27 NIV).” 

            Instruction:  “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction And do not forsake your mother’s teaching.”  “My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother (Pr. 1:8 & 6:20).”  Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs primarily to give instructions to his children, instructions that they were to listen to and to heed all of their lives, “Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge (Pr. 19:27).”  “My son, keep my words And treasure my commandments within you (Pr. 7:1).”

            We have learned in our studies of Proverbs that the man who walked into the prostitute ignored what his parents had taught him, “12  And you say, "How I have hated instruction! And my heart spurned reproof! 13  "I have not listened to the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to my instructors! (Pr. 5:12-13).”  When children grow up they can look back and see how smart their parents really are.  Life comes in stages it seems and when we are children that is the first stage, then we have children and that is the next phase, and then we see our children with their own children which is the next phase. 

            In the Jewish home the Bible was the main text book in the teaching of their children.  Their children had to memorize the book of Leviticus when they were young, and by doing this they would understand the holiness of God and who He is.  Many people today have trouble just reading through that wonderful book let alone trying to memorize it.  I have on my computer in the Online Bible program early McGuffey Readers which were taught to children a long time ago.  Many of the readings are based on the Bible, something that is against the law to teach in today’s society. 

            Parents should teach their children what is in the Bible, they should pray with them and take them to Sunday school and church.  They should also try and send them to a school that reinforces what they are being taught at home.  Home schools are popular in the Christian community in today’s society, for this is a good way to teach the children the things of God by the parents. 

            We will pick up on this subject in our next SD by looking at loving discipline.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Going over the responsibilities of raising children is a good review course for helping out with our grandchildren. 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord with my visit to my nephew today so that I can be a godly influence on his life.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-3

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and whose spirit is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “Pray the largest prayers.  You cannot think a prayer so large that God in answering it will not wish you had made it larger.  Pray not for crutches by wings.”  (Phillips Brooks)  “You will pray to Him and He will hear you, and you will fulfill your vows.  What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.”  (Job 22:27-28)  2/23/2013 10:19 AM

             

           

PT-2 "Study of Wives from Prov. 31)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/22/2013 12:06 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Husbands & Wives PT-4

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Proverbs 31

            Message of the verses:  We will continue looking at Proverb’s 31 in today’s Spiritual Diary.

            She is a woman who isn’t afraid to work (Proverbs 31:13-22, 24):  “13 She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight. 14 She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar. 15 She rises also while it is still night, gives food to her household And portions to her maidens. 16 She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong. 18 She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night. 19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle. 20 She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.-- 24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.”

            I know when I read these verses that I stop and wonder about how much energy that this woman has.  I wonder how in the world this woman can do all of the things that are described in these verses, but I suppose that they are not all done in one day.  It seems that she must have a list of things that she wants to accomplish and then she goes about doing them, she probably sets down the night before and decides what it is that she will do the next day and then goes out and does it the next day.  This is probably a summary of the things that she accomplishes throughout the year. 

            We see for sure in this section that she is a very hard working woman, but we also see that she is a very generous woman in verse twenty.  Proverbs 14:21 states, “He who despises his neighbor sins, But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.”  Proverbs 19:17 tells us that nothing that is given to the Lord will ever be lost, “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed.”

            The next thing that this woman is seen to do is found in verse 23 and it is there that we discover that she makes it easy for her husband to do his work.  “Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.”  From my study on the book of Ruth and in chapter four we find that the business of that day was done at the city gate, and the husband of this woman can be found doing his business there for he does not have to be concerned about what his wife is doing unlike the woman we meet earlier in the book of Proverbs who was out in the night looking for someone else to bed down with.  This man has no worries about that and so he can conduct his business without any fear of what his wife is doing.

            Dr. Wiersbe writes the following, “A husband and wife should complement each other as they each seek to fulfill their roles in the will of God.  Wise is that husband who recognizes his wife’s strengths and lets her compensate for his weaknesses.  Doing this isn’t a sign of personal failure, nor is it rebellion against the divine order (1 Cor. 11:3).  Both leadership and submission in a home are evidences of love and obedience, and the one doesn’t nullify the other.”

            Next we see that this woman is confident as she faces the future, “Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future (Pr. 31:25).”  Let’s look at the highlighted part of this verse, clothed.  This is an interesting phrase found in the Word of God: “9 ¶  Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, 10  but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness (1 Tim. 2:9-10)  “We see from this verse that to be clothed with something means that it is a part of your life and reveals itself in your character.”

            Next we see that this woman is a capable teacher of wisdom from Proverbs 31:26:  “She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”  We can realize that this woman is a wonderful teacher of her children and I would suspect that her children are willing learners because of the way that she is able to teach them because of her wisdom. 

            We see in Proverbs 31:27 that she is an attentive overseer of the household.  “She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.”  How could one ever think that this woman ever ate the bread of idleness?  That would be the farthest thing from my mind as I look at what this woman accomplishes with her life.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Any husband and father who thinks that his wife has it easy should take her responsibilities for a week or two and discover how wrong he is!”

            Next we see in verses 28-29 that this woman is worthy of praise:  “28  Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: 29  ‘Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all.’” We can be assured that the praise that this woman receives from her husband and children was not something that was spontaneously or just on special occasions, but this was something that was regular in this household.   Dr. Wiersbe writes “It’s tragic when the members of a family take each other for granted and fail to show sincere appreciation.”

            Next we see that this woman fears the Lord and oh how very important this quality is:  “30  Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.”  Let’s look at how Peter writes about this in 1Peter 3:1-6, “1 ¶  In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2  as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. 3  Your adornment must not be merely external-braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4  but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 5  For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; 6  just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”  We see from Proverbs 31:30 that this woman must have been a sight to behold, but the most important things was found in her character, and that she loved and walked with the Lord.  I am reminded of the story of Jacob when he was forced to leave home because of the trick he had played on his brother who is said would have killed him if he stayed there.  He went to his uncle Labon’s house and upon arrival he saw what would be his cousin Rachel, and when he saw her he fell in love with her right away.  He had to work for his uncle for seven years in order to marry Rachel, but his uncle played a trick on the trickster as he put Rachel’s sister Leah in the tent where Rachel was suppose to be.  Jacob was very upset at this trick and then he had to work another seven years for this new bride.  The point in all of this is that it was through the children that came from Jacob and Leah that the Messiah would come, and when Rachel died she was buried near Bethlehem while Leah was buried in the cave that Abraham bought and was buried in.  Leah may have not been the best looking woman, but it seems to me that she was the one who was more used by the Lord and in the end I think that Jacob realized it too.

            Finally we see that her life is a testimony to others.  I suppose that this is not too hard to figure out as most of Proverbs 31 is dedicated to her.  “31  Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.”  Let’s look at another verse in Proverbs “A gracious woman attains honor, And ruthless men attain riches.”  We are only looking at the first part of this verse and we see that a woman who is gracious, which is surely true of the woman in Proverbs 31, will attain honor, and we can see that honor being bestowed upon her in verse thirty-one.

            In conclusion Dr. Wiersbe writes, “This beautiful tribute to the godly wife and mother tells every Christian woman what she can become if she follows the Lord.  It also describes for every Christian man the kind of wife for whom he ought to be looking and praying.  But it also reminds the prospective husband that he’d better be walking with the Lord and growing in his spiritual life so that he will be worthy of such a wife if and when God brings her to him.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the things that I came from the ten suggestions for a husband to follow in honoring his wife was that praise should be given to her on a regular basis and that is also what is seen here.  Not to take for granted what someone does for you is a hard thing to do, but it should not be a hard thing to do.  Only by the grace of God will I be able to do it better.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Praise the Lord for my hard working wife.

Memory verses for the week: Psalm 32:1-3

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! 3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “God’s promises are like stars; the darker the night the brighter they shine.”  (David Nicholas)  “For all the promises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.”  (2 Corinthians 1:20)

2/22/2013 2:01 PM    

              

PT-1 "Wives" (Study in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/21/2013 12:12 PM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  Husband & Wives PT-3

Bible Reading & Meditation                                     Reference:  Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We will begin to look at what Proverbs thirty-one has to say about the wife in today’s Spiritual Diary.  Chapter thirty-one of Proverbs is probably the most extensive portion of Scripture that speaks to the wife.  We also find references that speak of the wife in the books of Ephesians, Colossians, and also in First Peter.  We looked at some things that Peter wrote about the husband in yesterday’s Spiritual Diary from chapter three and verse seven of First Peter.  The first six verses of that chapter deal with the wife and so we may take a look at some of those verses along with the verses in Proverbs thirty-one.

            Let us first take a look at Proverbs 14: “The wise woman builds her house, But the foolish tears it down with her own hands.”  We can say from looking at this verse that there seems to be two kinds of wives, and I would suppose that we could also say this about husbands.  One builds up the house and one tears it down.  How do we build up the house?  The first thing we have to realize is that we can build up our household by knowing and following the Lord, for it was the Lord who designed the home and therefore it is the Lord who can give us the direction to make it the best that it can be.  If both the wife and the husband follow what the Lord has written in His Word then the home will be happy and fulfilled.  We have to remember that there are times in our lives when we want to do things our way.  There is a popular song of years gone by that was written for Frank Sinatra entitled “I Did it My Way.”  I believe it was written by Paul Anka and when you listen to the words of that song your realize that as believers in Jesus Christ we cannot do things our ways and that is the problem with many marriages today, the couples are trying to do it their way and not God’s way.  Many people think that what is written in the Bible is going to stop our fun, but that is not true, we will be fulfilled by following the Word of God.

            Let’s take a look at another verse from Proverbs about the wife, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.”  “A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.”  (Both verses are Proverbs 12:4, one from the NASB, and one from the NIV.)  There is a big choice again seen in this verse for the wife to make.  When God created Adam and told him to go around His creation and name the animals Adam saw that there was both male and females in all of the species that he had to name, and I suppose that Adam felt like there was something missing in his life and so the Lord put Adam to sleep and did an operation on him.  God formed Eve out of one of the ribs that He took from Adam and I think that I would have liked to have been there when Adam woke up for Eve was the completion to Adam and he realized it for we hear these famous words come from his lips, “"This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." Next we see these Words from God, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.”  Jesus repeated these verses in the Gospel of Matthew when the Pharisees were trying to trick Him about what Moses wrote when Moses spoke about giving a wife a certificate of divorce.  Jesus said that God had made man and woman to live together being one and that the only reason Moses wrote that was because of the hardness of men’s hearts. 

            We know that husbands can also make troubles for their wives, but Solomon does not mention this in Proverbs.  However he does mention some problems that a woman can make for a husband in Proverbs 19:13b, “the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping.”  These kinds of problems that a wife can make can tempt a man to look for attention elsewhere.  “It is better to live in a desert land Than with a contentious and vexing woman (Pr. 21:19).”  “It is better to live in a corner of a roof Than in a house shared with a contentious woman (PR. 21:9).”  Dr. Wiersbe writes, “But let’s be fair and admit that the situation might be reversed and the husband be the culprit.  God hates family discord (6:19), and we should do everything we can to practice in the home the kind of love that produces unity and harmony.”

            Now we will begin to look at Proverbs 31:10-31 to see what the author of this chapter in Proverbs had to say about the ideal wife.  It is worth noting that this poem was written in an acrostic with the initial words of the twenty-two verses all beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet which is similar to Psalm 119.  This may have been done this way in order to make it easier for people to memorize this portion of Scripture.  It would be important for both men and women to memorize it because the woman cans see what God desires for her and the men can know what God desires for woman and so when looking for his wife he would realize what it is that God desires her to be.

            First of all, she is a woman of character: (Proverbs 31:10-12):  “10 An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.”

            We know that a person’s character is most important, more important than jewels as verse ten expresses.  Proverbs 3:15 shows us that character is more important than wealth, “13   How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. 14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her (Pr. 3:13-15).”

            Here are some important words from Dr. Wiersbe’s commentary, “Marriage doesn’t change a person’s character.  If there are character weaknesses in either the husband or the wife, marriage will only reveal and accentuate them.  A husband or wife who hopes to change his or her spouse after the honeymoon is destined for disappointment.” 

            We can see from the section in Proverbs 31:11 that the faithful woman, the woman of God can be trusted by her husband, and when there is trust in a marriage there is harmony in the marriage. 

            We will continue looking at Proverbs 31 in the next Spiritual Diary.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One of the ingredients of a happy marriage is love and so let me give some words about what true love is from a message that was given at our church service last night as our senior’s Pastor began a series on the fruit of the Spirit.

            We know that the word love in the Greek that is found in the Scriptures for the kind of love that God has is “agape” or unconditional love. We could describe it as “one way loving.”  “Love is the pulsating principle of biblical Christianity.” “Agape is taking the initiative to build up and meet the needs of others, without expecting anything in return.”  “Agape-Treat others better or more important than yourself,” and this is not an easy thing to do. 

            “Agape is (1) A divine capacity to love.  Love is a decision of the will.  (2) More a response than a feeling. (3) Fueled by the needs of others.”

            I believe that agape love is very important and perhaps the most important element of marriage and as seen above it has to come from the Spirit of God to work.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to learn more about agape kind of love and pray that the Spirit of God will give me the desire and the will to love in that way.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-3

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! 3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.   

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.”  (Abraham Lincoln)  “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.”  (Proverbs 21:1)

2/21/2013 1:20 PM

Husbands (Study in Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/20/2013 11:06 AM

My Worship Time                                                                          Focus:  PT-2 Husband & Wives

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Proverbs

            Message of the verses:  We will continue to look at what the book of Proverbs and other parts of the Bible have to say about Husbands and Wives.  I must say that this will not be an exhausted study on what the Bible has to say about husbands and wives, but hopefully it will help those of us who need to look at this type of study. 

            Husbands:  I first want to begin by gleaming from what Dr. Wiersbe has in his commentary on the book of Proverbs and then I want to look at some things that I have learned from a message from the church that I attend on what our Pastor said from one verse in the book of First Peter on the husband.

            Proverbs 19:14 states “House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the LORD.”  Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD.”  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Blessed is the marriage in which the husband acknowledges God’s goodness to him in giving him his wife!  When a husband takes her for granted, he grieves both her and the Lord.  He should love her and be loyal to her all the days of his life.”

            In the book of Proverbs we find out that it teaches that the husband is placed with the responsibility of guiding the home in the manner of how God desires it to be run, but when we look at the 31^st chapter of Proverbs we see also that the wife plays and important part.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Where two people love the Lord and love each other, God can guide and bless them.  It’s not a ‘fifty-fifty’ arrangement, because ‘two become one.’  Rather, it’s a 100 percent devotion to each other and to the Lord.”

            Now I want to give ten things that a husband should do from the sermon that I spoke of earlier on First Peter 3:7 “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.” 

            What does it mean when we see that husbands should live with their wives in an understanding way?  Well we first have to realize that men and women are different.  I don’t suppose that this is something that needs to be said, but it is true.  We see in the Bible that a husband is suppose to love his wife in the same way that Christ loves the Church, and Christ died for those who are true members of the Church, so that is seen as a sacrificial kind of love.  We never see anything in the Bible where a wife is to love her husband, but we do see that a wife is supposed to show respect to her husband.  What we see from this is that a wife responds well when she is loved by her husband, and a husband responds well when his wife respects him.  I have attended a marriage session which speaks to these very issues.  The major text from the marriage seminar comes from Ephesians 5:33 (NIV) “However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”  If anyone is interested in looking at the website for the “Love & Respect” marriage seminar it is www.loveandrespect.com

            I want to go back to what we were talking about from 1 Peter 3:7 when Peter writes that we are to be understanding to our wives.  There are times when a wife just wants to talk to her husband and just have him listen to her.  And when she is done talking to him she does not (for the most part) want him to solve the problem that she is talking about.  Men like to solve problems, it is something that seems to be a part of them, but women just want them to listen.  Now there may be times when wives want to get advice from their husband on a certain issue and then we have to give them our input on that issue.

            Husbands are to make a study of what makes our their wife happy, and that is part of what Peter is writing about when he speaks about understanding your wife. A good thing that a husband can say to his wife is “I don’t understand, but I am trying to be understanding.”

Peter also calls the wife a weaker vessel, and that does not mean anything but weaker physically, for most men are stronger than their wives.

Peter goes on to say that men should show honor to their wives as someone who is “a fellow heir of the grace of life.”  The word honor comes from a military situation where one is awarded for something that they have done, and this is the way that we should honor our wives.

In the sermon our Pastor gives ten different ways in which we can give honor to our wives:

1.       Always treat your wife as an equal that she is.  (We touched on this earlier.)

2.       Never demand submission from your wife. 

3.      Make her second only to the LORD in your life.  (Your job, or hobby, or anything else should not come before your wife.”

4.      Value and seek her opinion for husbands need this.

5.      Encourage her.  Do something that you know will light up her eyes and make her feel like she is on top of the world.

6.      Show non-sexual affection.

7.      Speak softly at all times to your wife:  “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger Proverbs 15:1).”

8.      Take time to express to your wife what is going on inside of your heart.  (This one can be a tough one.)

9.      Actively listen and at times just listen. (We talked about this earlier.)

10.   DATE!  Remember how it was when you were dating your wife before you were married?  Sometimes we men act like hunters when it comes to getting a wife, and once we get her we stop doing the things that we did that made her happy when we were dating her, trying to make her happy by going out of our way.

Now I want to look at the last phrase in 1 Peter 3:7, “as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”  When Peter says fellow heirs it is probably speaking of marriage as a gift. Grace means that we are given something that we do not deserve and God has given us this gift of marriage in grace, something we do not deserve.  When we look at other passages, like in Ephesians that speak of marriage they are seen as a picture of the godhead, and so marriage is a gift from God.  We may have a hard time understanding this, but think about how unhappy we would be if we were not married, and if God had not given the girt of marriage.  When you think about the most important relationship that believers have, and that is the relationship with the LORD, and then think about the second most important relationship that God has given to us and that is marriage.  Peter concludes this verse by stating that if a husband is not treating his wife in the way that God had designed for her to be treated then the husband’s prayers will not be answered.  Think about all the important things that we as men want God to answer in our lives, and then think about not having that open fellowship with the Lord because of the way we treat our wives causing it to stop.  What shall we do about it?  Confession to the Lord and to our wives is the first step and then perhaps get some counseling from our Pastors to help us out could be next in line.  How about memorizing some verses of Scriptures that we can fill our minds with to help us in our relationship with our wife.  These kinds of things will be the best investment we can make to have our marriage be the best it can be.

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I want to follow my own advice as written above.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Think about the things that I need to do today in order to make my marriage better than it is now and then do them.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-3

            1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whom there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “Soul surgery transpires as serenity replaces anxiety.”  (Charles Swindoll)  “Be still and know that I am God.”  (Psalm 46:10 NIV)

2/20/2013 12:30 PM

                                                                                                                   

Husbands and Wives (Proverbs)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 2/19/2013 9:05 AM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus: Husbands & Wives

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  (Proverbs)

            Message of the verses:  In today’s Spiritual Diary we will begin to look at “Family, Friends, and Neighbors,” which is the title to the eight chapter in Warren Wiersbe’s commentary on the book of Proverbs.  I have explained in previous SD’s that I follow the outline of Warren Wiersbe’s “Be” series that he has written on every book of the Bible.  In the book of Proverbs we studied the first nine chapters in a verse by verse format, but now we have moved into more of a topical type study on Proverbs. 

            Introduction:  Dr. Wiersbe writes:  “The book of Proverbs is the best manual you’ll find on people skills, because it was given to us by the God who made us, the God who can teach us what we need to know about human relationships, whether it’s marriage, the family, the neighborhood, the job, or our wider circle of friends and acquaintances.  If we learn and practice God’s wisdom as presented in Proverbs, we’ll find ourselves improving in people skills and enjoying life much more.”

1.       Husbands and Wives 

We have to go back to the first book in the Bible to see two of the human institutions that God established.  The first was marriage and the home that we see in Genesis 2:18-25.   Later on we see the human institution of human government in the ninth chapter of Genesis. The last institution is the Church which had its beginnings in Acts chapter two.  As we look at these three we can determine that the most important is the family, for as the family goes in a country so goes the government and the Church.  All we have to do is look at human history to find out that this statement is true.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The biblical views of marriage and the family have been so attacked and ridiculed in modern society that it does us good to review what the Creator of the home has to say about His wonderful gift of marriage.

Marriage:  I suppose that as we look at the life of Solomon and the 300 wives and 700 concubines that he had we would not think that he would be the best one to write something on marriage, but we do have to remember that it is the Holy Spirit of God who is the author of the Bible and He used humans to put on the pages of Scripture exactly what He wanted there.  Solomon’s personal history is also a part of the Scriptures, and we would not want to follow that history when it comes to the family.  I suppose that it was because David, Solomon’s father had some turbulent times in his family that the apple did not fall to far from the tree.  The one incident of David’s adulterous affair with Bathsheba caused many problems in David’s household, but it began when David started to multiply wives and he would then have similar problems that his forefather Jacob had when he had four wives.  In the book of Genesis we saw that God created one man and one woman and this established the blueprint for a marriage.  Marriage is under attack in this country and as we look at the things that the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans one that lead to the downfall of a nation we see that our countries view of marriage when it comes to the homosexual view that it is leaning to is one of the very last steps that happens to a nation before it completely falls.

I want to quote what Dr. Wiersbe has to say about how marriages in times past began:  “In ancient days, marriages were arranged by the parents.  Our modern ‘system’ of two people falling in love and getting married would be foreign to their thinking and their culture.  In that day, a man and woman got married and then learned to love each other; they expected to stay together for life.  Today, a man and woman learn to love each other, then get married, and everybody hopes they’ll stay together long enough to raise the children.”

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I know that the problems that we see in our country today are problems that have a lot to do with the family.  It is an old plan that Satan uses to destroy a nation, and it works as he begins to attack the family with the same lie that he told Eve in the garden, and that lie was “Did God really say,” and that lie puts into the mind of Eve that God was holding something back from her, that God was not fair.  Well we do not really want God to be fair now do we?  For if God was fair then we would all be heading to hell.  What we want is God’s grace and God’s mercy, and we have that if we know Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  That God would give me the grace and mercy each day to serve Him in a way that would please Him and that I would follow the teaching of His Word to bring honor to Him.

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 32:1-3

            1 How blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered!  2 How blessed is the man in whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.

Turning Points Wisdom for Today:  “If I take care of my character, my reputation will take core of itself.  (Dwight L. Moody)  “Don’t lose your grip on love and loyalty, tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.  Earn a reputation for living well in God’s eyes and the eyes of people.  (Proverbs 3:3-4 The Message)

 2/19/2013 10:17 AM