Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Walking through Proverbs

The Bible says,
My child, listen when your father corrects you.  Don't neglect your mother's instruction.  What you learn from them will crown you with grace and be a chain of honor around your neck.  (Proverbs 1:8,9  New Living Translation)

A cry has gone out all around America.  Where are the parents?  Most children today are orphans.  Either they don't have one parent or the other, or they are neglected by their parents.  The parents feel their children will not listen and they abandon teaching to other. 

God intended instruction to be passed down from parents to their children.  Just because we have schools does not mean we leave all the teaching to them.  There are some things that still need to be taught by parents.  One of those things is love.  Why we love, how to love, who we love, are just a few examples that parents need to teach their children.

It is not too late to pass on to our children the real lessons they need to learn.  We need to remember their future depends on it.

Lord God,
Help us hide your word in our hearts, so we will not sin.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Walking through Proverbs

The Bible says,
Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.  (Proverbs 1:7  New Living Translation)

I would rather not use the word "fear" and "God" in the same sentence, but I did not write the book.  Fear in this sentence though has more to do with respect than fear.  In our search for knowledge and truth, many want to leave God out.  They refuse to believe that God has anything to do with it.  God has everything to do with it.

As a believer, I should know that real truth and knowledge come from God.  If I am going to find the answers, I need to go to God first.  So many times we go to God last.  We wait until all other sources fail us before we ask Him for the answers.  Let's stop ignoring God in our search for knowledge.  Let's stop being foolish.

Lord God,
Help us hide Your word in our hearts, so we will not sin.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Walking through Proverbs

The Bible says,
Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser.  Let those with understanding receive guidance by exploring the meaning in the proverbs and parables, the words of the wise and their riddles.  (Proverbs 1:5, 6   New Living Translation)

There is no such thing as learning it all.  Every time I read the Bible there is always something new that seems to reach out to me.  I believe the more we experience life, the more certain parts of the Bible become clear.  We are able to take our experience and see where God's word gives us wisdom.

The sad part of life is that many believe since they have read the Bible once or twice they know everything.  The writer here tells us we should never stop learning.  There is always a new mystery or parable to discover.  We can take the knowledge of our experience and the wisdom of those who have gone before and become even wiser.  The older I get the more I understand the need of the wisdom of others.  Let us never stop learning.

Lord God,
Let us hide Your word in our hearts, so we will not sin.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Walking through Proverbs

The Bible says,
A manual for living, for learning what's right and just and fair; to teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality.   Proverbs 1:3,4   The Message by Peterson

Today we live in a nation where most of our youth have a hard time establishing the differnece between what is real and what is not.  The video game mentality causes them to think that no matter what happens, they can hit the restart button and try again.  This is not the case in real life.  We know by experience that there are no restarts and there are always consequences to our actions; good or bad.

The Bible, as Proverbs says, gives us a manual for living that not only shows us the right way to live, but also how to deal with the realities of life and our actions.  Real living is not easy and we are luckly to have a guide like the Bible to help us live right.  We need to make a greater effort to show our youth how the Bible can help them deal with the harsh realities of life. 

Lord God,
Help us to hide Your words in our hearts, so we will not sin.