Wisdom From Proverbs

   Good advice. That is exactly what you will find in the book of Proverbs. This book of the bible is full of short sayings that show wisdom for christians or even non-christians. In this post, we will look at six verses out of Proverbs 10 and what you can learn about them and from them.
   1. Proverbs 10 : 4 - "Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth." Diligent means constant in effort to accomplish something. Lazy means averse or disinclined to work. This makes this saying more understandable and usually true, (Proverbs may describe what usually happens but it may not happen, according to God's will) but wait! What kind of wealth does this verse describe? Wealth can mean a great quantity or store of money, or it can mean an abundance or profusion of anything. A man born into a rich family may have wealth of money. On the other hand, a righteous man may constantly serve others and work diligently will earn wealth of love, respect, kindness, and others. Lazy hands make a man poor... but diligent hands bring wealth.
   2. Proverbs 10 : 12 - "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." Dissension means strong disagreement. There is alot of hatred in our world nowadays. This will surely stir up trouble and disagreement. But love covers over all wrongs. Jesus' love for us covered up all our sins. When he died on the cross for us, our sins were forgotten and "covered up!" Hatred stirs up dissension...but love covers over all wrongs.
   3. Proverbs 10 : 17 - "He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray." I instantly thought of my parents when I read this scripture. Someone once told me that your parents are strict and punish you because they love you. When I do something wrong, I will get in trouble by my parents. It teaches me a lesson and I don't make that mistake again.They are helping to shape me into a godly and responsible young lady. I cannot imagine where I would be today if they had not disciplined me properly over the last few years. He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.
   4. Proverbs 10 : 19 - "When words are many, sin is not absent. but he who holds his tongue is wise." Imagine yourself in an arguement with a person who is very different than you and tries to insult you. They may say some very mean things to you. What do you do? Do you insult them back, or do you hold your tongue and simply ignore them? If you lose your temper and say something rude back, people may question your true relationship with God and trouble will come. I have been guilty enough to do one, but in other situations I have been wise enough to do the other. Revenge is the Lord's. Be wise enough to turn the other cheek. When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
   5. Proverbs 10 : 25 - " When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever." In this verse, I imagine the "storm" as our life here on Earth. Children of God will stand firm forever. God has given us definite victory in the end. Heaven! Doesn't this verse just give you sudden hope? Hope that everything will be alright in the end? Matthew 7:24-27 says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone... but the righteous stand firm forever.
   6. Proverbs 10 : 30 - "The righteous will never be uprooted, but the wicked will not remain in the land." Plant your seed in the Lord and you will never be uprooted. The devil will try to pull you away and make you fail to do what the Lord has called you to do. Don't let him! Plant your seed and hang on to God! I know I say that a lot, but I always like to stress the importance of it. The righteous will never be uprooted.... but the wicked will not remain in the land.

A True Man Of God : Stephen

   God gives us many people and examples to study throughout the bible. Even though the humans lived thousands of years ago, we can still relate to them today.

   Stephen is first introduced in Acts 6:8. He is desired as a man full of God's grace and power. He did great wonders and miraculous  signs among the people. Members of the Synagogue of the Freedman - Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia began to argue with Stephen. They accused him of the unforgivable sin. 

Acts 6:11 says... "Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”

Luke 12:10 speaks of the unforgivable sin... "And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Mark 3:29 also speaks of it..."But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

   They then seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses and lies flew out of their mouths. The high priest then asked if there charges were true. Then, Stephen begins to tell his speech. I want to encourage you to take a moment right now and read Acts 7. Stephen sure did know his Old Testament history! He told of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and others. 

Acts 7:51-53 says... "You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! ⁵² Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— ⁵³ you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

   He told this whole speech by memorization. He stood strong by God. He was challenged by his enemies and he challenged right back. Do you know enough of your bible history and some verses so if that someone challenged you, you would be prepared?

   When the others heard this, they were furious! Then Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God. "Look," he said, " I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this they were infuriated and they drug him out of the city and began to stone him. 

Acts 7:59-60 says... "While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

   So, who had the victory in the end? Well, of course, Stephen did! He is of this Earth and now living and eternity with Jesus Christ in heaven!

   There is so much to be learned throughout the bible. What did you learn from Stephen? Do you need to change something in your life that God wants you to? When you get to heaven will you hear from Jesus, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"? (Matthew 25:21) I challenge you to notice something in your life that perhaps you should stop or change today. God will be there to help you. Talk to him about it. Talk to God about ANYTHING. He will always be there....your father....ready to listen to you.

The Devil Will Mess With You!

    I had another post ready, but I was more inspired about this post and felt the need to blog about this topic. The devil will mess with you while we are on this earth. The devil rules this world. We as christians need to take a step of faith and trust God to help us through and spread the good news!  When you get saved, the devil doesn't just give up and disappear. He is going to mess with you even more and mess with your faith and strength in God!
John 16:33 says..."I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
   The devil can and will work with and through anything. Take technology for example. It seems like every time I have tried to get on my blog in the past week and make a post, my computer just gives up. He doesn't want me telling you all the great news! This is the devil's world. He controls politics and everything else in our world. But here is the good news...He doesn't have to control you! We have hope and redemption in JESUS CHRIST, our Lord and Savior! The devil is powerful but GOD is even more powerful!! We are all sinking on a huge ship in the middle of the ocean, but we as christians know that God is sending that life boat to SAVE us. We have hope in Jesus Christ!