Whidbey Presbyterian Church

Proverbs Chapter 31

Read Proverbs Chapter 31 here.

 

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
      She is more precious than rubies.
 Her husband can trust her,
      and she will greatly enrich his life.
 She brings him good, not harm,
      all the days of her life.

 She finds wool and flax
      and busily spins it.
 She is like a merchant’s ship,
      bringing her food from afar.
 She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household
      and plan the day’s work for her servant girls.

 She goes to inspect a field and buys it;
      with her earnings she plants a vineyard.
 She is energetic and strong,
      a hard worker.
 She makes sure her dealings are profitable;
      her lamp burns late into the night.

Proverbs 30:10-18  (emphasis mine)

Ladies, do you get worn out when you read about this woman?  Either this woman is exhausted or she is running on super powers.  And does she ever sleep?  She gets up before dawn to fix breakfast, and then she stays up late!  How does one do this?

And in the middle of the day she is working hard.  She sews, spins textiles, and makes crafts.  She shops for food and fields!  (So, is she running a business in addition to taking care of her family?!?)  She helps the poor, cooks for her family, and makes sure they are clothed. 

Did her days consist of 24 hours?  She can’t possibly fit this in a 24 hour day.

Well, before us ladies go into panic attack mode, we have to realize that this is not a description of her in just one day.  This is a description of her characteristics. 

Imagine this woman as a caricature; portraits of people with features exaggerated for easy identification. 

Yes, she contributed to her household economically.  She was skilled in textiles, sewing, and frugal shopping

She made her home the center of her ministry.  She was generous to the poor and taught her children by example

She’s a planner.  She planned for herself and her servants so they did not waste anytime.

 She is diligent to complete her work both in the morning and night.  These verses did not mean that she never slept, but that she worked from the moment she got up until she went to bed.  This is where her planning really helped keep her organized and focused.

Is every single woman going to be able to do all these things?  No!  God gave us all different gifts to be a part of the body of Christ.  Don’t look at yourself and compare yourself to this woman.  You’ll surely see shortfalls since this is only a caricature.  Instead, how do you see yourself in this woman?  What gifts has God given to you to be effective in your ministry?

What stood out to you?  Leave a comment below!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Here are some fun activities to do during the day!

Halloween Coloring pages for kids

Print out some Halloween Paper dolls

Make some Halloween M&M cookies in a jar

Learn about "Booing" here

Proverbs Chapter 30

Read Proverbs Chapter 30 here.

 

O God, I beg two favors from you;
      let me have them before I die.
 First, help me never to tell a lie.
      Second, give me neither poverty nor riches!
      Give me just enough to satisfy my needs.
 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?”
      And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

Proverbs 30:7-9

 

This chapter is full of the saying so Agur.  We do not know who Agur is, only that he is the son of Jakeh.  His name is nowhere else in the Bible. 

 

Did you know this is the only prayer in Proverbs?  Let’s break this prayer apart. 

 

First, it is asked of God that he never become a liar.  He does not want to be a liar, nor does he want to be lied to.  Deceit is an awful, and never leaves you anywhere good.  When we say the Lord’s Prayer, we are staying this in a less simplified way, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  (Matthew 6:12)

 

Second, it is asked of God to be neither poor nor rich.  This is what the book of Proverbs has been telling us all along!  We should want wisdom and not riches.  Very few of us could handle riches carefully and still fully trust in God.  Most people would start trusting in the security of money, even though money does not provide any security at all!  He also asks God to just give him enough food to be content.  Does this sound familiar?  “Give us this day our daily bread.”  (Matthew 6:11)  When I think of this, I often think about the manna the Israelites ate for a very long time; it sustained them and was just enough for each day.  Remember if the Israelites tried to gather more of it for the next day, it would just rot? 

 

Let us pray this prayer and ask God for the wisdom in truth and contentment.

 

What stood out to you today?  Leave a comment below!

Proverbs Chapter 29

Read Proverbs Chapter 29 here.

 

Discipline your children, and they will give you peace of mind
      and will make your heart glad.

Proverbs 29:17

 

Those of you that know Jaxson know he is a pretty good little boy.  Sure, I wrote about our grocery store incident here, but overall, Justin and I were blessed with one happy little boy.

 

But coming in January Jaxson is turning two.  Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I think he is starting the terrible two’s already!  He likes to assert his own opinion into everything.  He wants things his way.  And if he had his way, he would be eating cookies and watching Elmo all day long.

 

So as parent’s do, we started the time out corner in our house.  Oh, but one Wednesday night, Jaxson surprised us.   Justin was getting ready for Youth Group and we had shown up.  Jaxson decided that he was going to act up and once I tried to correct him, it went downhill.  Plan #2 was put into place.  We needed to find a time-out corner NOW!  And luckily, the Blue House has a bunch of nooks and crannies….we found a great spot for him.  I told him he was a bad boy and that he was in trouble.  I walked away.  After a minute, I came back and asked he could “behave” now.  He agreed through his crocodile tears and he started smiling and playing again. 

 

Did I like punishing him?  No, I hate it when he cries!  I just want to fix it and make it better.  But as this verse states, if we don’t discipline our children and set boundaries, we will be in for a world of trouble when they get older.  Children need to understand that rules are in place for a reason and that we enforce them for their well being.

 

Back to Jaxson:  the good news is that Jaxson has not had another incident*** at church.  He knows what is right and wrong.  And he knows that if I catch him, (“if” being the key word!)  then he will be back in that time-out corner.

 

***Just for the record it’s only been a couple of days since he had to be in time-out.  Don’t worry, I’m not delusional, I am well aware that this is a process and I’m sure I’ll have to discipline him shortly!

 

What stood out to you today?  Leave a comment below!

 

Proverbs Chapter 28

Read Proverbs Chapter 28 here.

 

People who conceal their sins will not prosper,
      but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.

Proverbs 28:13

God’s grace is beautiful, isn’t it?  It’s not up to us to take care of our sins.  Jesus did that already.  He covered our sins, took the brunt of the pain, and for that we are forgiven.  No words can ever express how grateful I am to God for loving me that much.  I hope you all feel the same way. 

This verse reminds me of the song by Todd Agnew called “Grace like Rain.”  It’s a new twist to the hymn, Amazing Grace.  Amazing Grace is one of the most beautiful hymns written, but I sure like this new version of it.   You can listen to Todd Agnew talk about the history of the song and listen to the song here.

Grace Like Rain by Todd Agnew

 

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost but now I'm found
Was blind but now I see so clearly

Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down on me
Hallelujah, all my stains are washed away, they're washed away

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

When we've been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing Your praise
Than when we first begun

Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujuah

Hallelujah all my stains are washed away, there washed away.

 

What stood out to you today?  Leave a comment below!

Proverbs Chapter 27

Read Proverbs Chapter 27 here.

 

Wounds from a sincere friend
      are better than many kisses from an enemy.

Proverbs 27:6

 

When a friend hurts your feelings, it’s a little painful.  You think that if they are your friend, then you shouldn’t be hurt by them.  And that’s true in most cases, but in this verse, it speaks of a friend that is pointing out the truth in order to correct an action that you may be doing that is considered wrong.  In essence, a true friend is always concerned about the best interests of their friends, not in just appeasing them for the moment.

 

 A kiss from an enemy however, is very deceitful and worse than a friend hurting you.  I think the most famous kiss was from Judas Iscariot. 

 

But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss.

Luke 22:47

 

Judas greeted Jesus with a kiss.  However, this kiss was a misuse of trust and respect.  During this time, it was customary for a disciple to greet his teacher with a kiss.  It was a sign of respect and friendship.  However, here it is a sign of betrayal.  It was dark out when Judas and the temple guards were out to find Jesus.  This kiss signals to the officials the location of Jesus.

 

As we befriend each other, let’s us be concerned and caring for one another.

 

What stood out to you today?  Leave a comment below!

Proverbs Chapter 26

Read Proverbs Chapter 26 here.

 

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?
       There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 26:12

 

The fool appears here in the first twelve verses in this chapter.  We’re told if there is a repeated word or phrase in the Bible that we should pay particular attention to is, as God has put a lot of emphasis on it.

 

So, who is this fool? 

 

The fool is a person opposed to God’s covenant.  This person resists God’s forgiveness.  They are dangerous because they can influence others into their ways of thinking.  They cause despair to their family.  But they are never beyond hope.

 

A great example of a fool is the Pharisees in the New Testament.  Jesus said to them:

 

For John the Baptist came and showed you the right way to live, but you didn’t believe him, while tax collectors and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to believe him and repent of your sins.

Matthew 21:32

 

Our greatest sin is to refusing to acknowledge our sins.  These twelve verses in this chapter should teach us to be humble and to be willing to be taught by God.  We shouldn’t be led away from Him due to our own pride or knowledge.  Those who refuse to repent are foolish, indeed.

 

What stood out to you today?  Leave a comment below!

Proverbs Chapter 25

 

Photo credit:  www.oneyearbibleblog.com

This is a colored woodcut from Henry VIII's Bible from 1538.  King Hezekiah is buring the pagan idols. 

Read Proverbs Chapter 25 here.

These are more proverbs of Solomon, collected by the advisers of King Hezekiah of

Judah.

Proverbs 25:1

 I started to wonder who this King Hezekiah was.  And why he was collecting proverbs of Solomon.  So I dug into my Bible.

Hezekiah son of Ahaz began to rule over Judah in the third year of King Hoshea’s reign in Israel.  He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.  He removed the pagan shrines, smashed the sacred pillars, and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke up the bronze serpent that Moses had made, because the people of Israel had been offering sacrifices to it. The bronze serpent was called Nehushtan.

 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time.  He remained faithful to the Lord in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the Lord had given Moses.  So the Lord was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute.

2 Kings 1-7

 This third section of the book of Proverbs was found in the reign of Hezekiah.  (715-686 B.C.)  He was credited for reviving the traditions and following God.  And did you know he was also a poet?

 When King Hezekiah was well again, he wrote this poem:

  I said, “In the prime of my life,
      must I now enter the place of the dead?
      Am I to be robbed of the rest of my years?”
  I said, “Never again will I see the Lord God
      while still in the land of the living.
   Never again will I see my friends
      or be with those who live in this world.
  My life has been blown away
      like a shepherd’s tent in a storm.
   It has been cut short,
      as when a weaver cuts cloth from a loom.
      Suddenly, my life was over.

Isaiah 38:9-12

Can you imagine how exciting it would be to discover these additional proverbs from Solomon?  No wonder he wanted to preserve these and share with future generations!

 What stood out to you today?  Leave a comment below!

 

Proverbs Chapter 24

Read Proverbs Chapter 24 here.

 If you fail under pressure,
      your strength is too small.

Proverbs 24:10

 Well, duh.  Doesn’t that seem like an obvious statement? 

 Even Job had issues when he was under pressure.  He lost his house, his children, and his health.  (Is it just me or is this sounding like a country song?)  He finally breaks down and curses the day he was born. 

 Remember what Eliphaz said to Job during his sufferings?

“In the past you have encouraged many people;
      you have strengthened those who were weak.
 Your words have supported those who were falling;
      you encouraged those with shaky knees.
 But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart.
      You are terrified when it touches you.”

Job 4:3-5

 And while Job’s friends weren’t the most sympathetic to him, Eliphaz did have a point.  Job encourages others during trial, but then when he is exposed to it, he is upset.  Eliphaz then goes on to say,

 “Doesn’t your reverence for God give you confidence?  Doesn’t your life of integrity give you hope?”

 Look at this Proverb verse as advice.  Be strong in adversity.  Look to God for strength.  Pray for his guidance.  And know you are not alone.

 What stood out to you today?  Leave a comment below!

 

Proverbs Chapter 23

Read Proverbs Chapter 23 here.

 

Don’t envy sinners,
      but always continue to fear the Lord.
  You will be rewarded for this;
      your hope will not be disappointed.

Proverbs 23:17-18

 

Christians may struggle in their daily life, but find that people who don’t follow God seem to be doing just fine.  In fact, they may have all the material possessions they need plus more!  They may have their health.  In fact, for not following God, they seem to be doing well in their life.

 

But these verses in Proverbs claim just the opposite.  Yes, they may be doing great now, but Christians have a great reward coming.  Heaven!  We have a God that loves us and cares for us.  We have a God that gave us grace.  And while we may be struggling in this life, we won’t be in heaven.  In fact, it’s just he opposite.  We’ll be with Jesus.

 

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

1 John 5:11-12

 

As long as we have Jesus, we have life.  This life we have on earth is very short, compared to eternity we have in Heaven.  So we shouldn’t to look at others and compare lives, but to focus on Jesus and our eternal reward.

 

What stood out to you today?  Leave a comment below!