SOULJournal

Proverbs 31

Lyndan Coleman

Proverbs 31-10-12 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies  Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value She brings him good, not harm all the days of her life.

A wife who has great character, regardless of her outside apreance (beautiful by worldly standards or not) she is incredibly valuable. Her husband knows this and despite his flaws he has full confidence and trust in her. She cares greatly for her husband and values the promise she made to God so stay by his side through good times and bad, til death parts them.

As a married man it is very easy to take for granted all of the things your wife does. Just finding a good woman to stick by you for the rest of your life is amazing. As men, the media raises us to believe that we are superior, the boss, the bread winner and the woman is weak, and should stay home and raise the kids. We are taught that it is ok to go out every Friday for "Guys Night" while she stays home with the kids, she better not argue and say you need to stay home with the family because, society tells us she is just being a "Nag". We are brain-washed as teens into believing that it is ok to have sex before marriage, in fact if you're not having it, you need to find a girl who will. So basically we enter marriage thinking we are the boss and the wife better do as I say "ur ur ur"(I'm beating my chest). The Father has taught me to throw all of those thoughts out, it didn't happen overnight, not even over a couple of years, its a process. I have accepted my role not as the "Boss" but as the spiritual leader of my home. I thank God for giving me my wife, and giving her the patience to put up with a man who was raised by T.V. and secular music. She is my best friend and partner, til death do us part.

Proverbs 30

 

^5-6 The believer replied, "Every promise of God proves true;
   he protects everyone who runs to him for help.
So don't second-guess him;
   he might take you to task and show up your lies."

^7-9 And then he prayed, "God, I'm asking for two things
   before I die; don't refuse me—
Banish lies from my lips
   and liars from my presence.
Give me enough food to live on,
   neither too much nor too little.
If I'm too full, I might get independent,
   saying, 'God? Who needs him?'
If I'm poor, I might steal
   and dishonor the name of my God."

Not much more needs to be said about these four verses.  In fact less needs to be said and more needs to be done to live as though we believe it.  Someone who believes that God is our loving Father lives in such a way that he believes that God will take care of him.  So he is not stressed about tomorrow or what he will eat or where he will live or what he will wear - the child of God believes that God's promises of provision and protection are true and lives in such a way.

Are our lives and actions showing that we believe in God's provision and protection?

Proverbs 29

Anthony Orefice

29:15-17 "The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother.  Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul". 

God gives us clear instruction on how we are to discipline our children.  It's always to be done with love and consistency.  It's a hard job, one of the very hardest, but with God's help we can be confident it will all pay off in the end as we follow Him. 

There's a difference between discipline and punishment. I've noticed that if discipline is enforced on a consistent basis, the punishments don't seem to come as often.  God's way is always best, and He promises that if we train up our children in the way they should go, when they are old they will not turn from it. (Prov 22:6). Discipline is correction, and if your children tend to respond well to that, there won't be as many times that you need to say to your little darling's, "this is gonna hurt me more than it's gonna hurt you!".

Proverbs 28

Terry Eaves

Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his sins, does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

I find that to admit to my sin is to realize my wrong doing. When I sin I disappoint God. How can I walk in God's truth if it isn't realizing when what I am doing is not pleasing to Him? Hiding our sin means only that we are hiding it from the one who loves us most. God is a forgiving God and he asks that you recognize when you are doing what goes against his word. To love God is to want to do what is pleasing to Him. To confess your sin means to find peace in God's forgiveness. There is freedom in truth.

I show my love for the Lord by trying to live by his word. I know I need to be the example to those around me. It's hard to always do the right thing but I know that he honors my efforts. He has done so much for me that what he asks is little in comparison to what I have asked of him.

Proverbs 27

Rich Flory

Proverbs 27:19 As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man. 

I know the Journeyman men will be a little disappointed that I did not choose Proverbs 27:17 but I  felt this verse tug at my heart. One thing I strive to do daily is have my heart reflect Gods love and Gods truth in everything I do. I try to control my tongue and be careful with the words so they reflect Gods love in everything I say and  that my actions are aligned with what God would want me to do. To be a servant to others for no other reason than to serve and show Gods love. I know I will always fall short, however I do pray that I reflect Gods heart more times than I don't. 

Proverbs 26

Bob Beasley

Proverbs 26

To say that Solomon had a low tolerance for foolishness or for the fool mouthing it, would be an understatement. It’s clear in these passages that when we allow ourselves to sink to a level of foolishness, we not only elevate the one being foolish, but we also diminish ourselves. The Bible teaches us that the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. Our focus must be kept on God’s kingdom, and not wasted on the folly of this world.

How often as Christians do we let ourselves get drawn into meaningless squabbles that do nothing to advance the kingdom of God, but quite to the contrary, polarize situations or relationships, so that any godly wisdom that we might otherwise have brought to a given set of circumstances ends up being blocked.

Bottom line here is that some things (foolish things) are just not worthy of our attention.

Proverbs 25

Robin Orefice

Proverbs 25:2, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter..."

Wow, did this Scripture speak out to me!  There have been many times after I have prayed and released a situation up to God when I knew He had heard, but it was His choice to conceal what He was doing as I was in the waiting mode.  Sometimes He chooses to give me glimmers of hope along the way, other times I see nothing and just have to go on sheer trust, knowing that He is in the process of working it all out.  How grateful I have been when the answer to a long awaited prayer has finally come!  Many times after the fact, I was able to look back and see how He had moved to orchestrate certain things to happen in order to bring about the final answer! Over the years I have learned that whether God chooses to convey certain things along the way or totally conceal the matter till the end, it truly is ALL to the Glory of God!

Proverbs 24

DeLaine Khan

    17- Do not gloat when your enemy falls, when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,18- or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him. 

    29- Do not say, I’ll do to him as he has done to me, I’ll pay that man back for what he did.

 The Message:  Don’t talk about your neighbors behind their backs- no slander or gossip, please.  Don’t say to anyone, I’ll get back at you for what did to me.  I’ll make you pay for what you did!

As I read these verses it makes me ask God to forgive me for my thoughts.  I usually don’t take action but in my mind I make them pay for hurting me or my family.  I’m realizing that I need to take my mind captive, so that I don’t sin.  God is in control.  I don’t have to defend myself or try to get even and if I do try then God will have to set me straight.  Verse 16 helps me to be obedient to verses 17-19 and 29.  In The Message it says...

Don’t interfere with good people’s lives, don’t try to get the best of them.  No matter how many times you trip them up, God-loyal people don’t stay down long, soon they’re up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their face. 

or as the NIV says... ¹⁶ for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
       but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

So once again I realize that if I do what I need to do then God will do the rest.  It all comes back to me trusting God and knowing that he wants the best for me and all his people.  It seems easy, but it is hard to do.

Proverbs 23

Jessica Souther

Proverbs 23:17-18  Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.  Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

As Christians our faith requires us to live life differently than others.  We must live in the fear of the Lord.  The "fear of the Lord" is not about being afraid that God is going to strike us down at any moment, but I see it as a demonstration of faith in Christ and trusting that what is written in His Word is true.  Therefore, we should keep in our minds that what we strive for is to know Christ and to be used to make him known to others.  Sinners live in the moment for themselves.  We should not envy them because this is all they have, and we have hope and the promise of eternity in heaven .  At times it is hard to go against the "mainstream", but if we fear God and believe His Word it is a must.

 A very specific example in my life is what I watch on TV.  There is one show in particular that I need to delete from my dvr.  I really enjoy this show but I believe I need to give it up.  I know many other people who watch and enjoy this tv show...so why can't I?  Because I have a future and hope that this show does not contribute to it at all. 

Proverbs 22

Yesenia Federico

Proverbs 22:2 The Message  The rich and the poor shake hands as equals, God made them both!

This verse helps me remember that yes, God loves everyone and just because I have a relationship with Him  it doesn't mean He loves me more than my neighbor and/or co-worker.

My prayer for myself is for God to remind me daily to love on people regardless of who, what, where and how they live their lives. I pray that God would give me His eyes for just for one second.

Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath (click on link to listen to song)

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide what's underneath
There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
All those people going somewhere
Why have I never cared?

I've Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all along