One of our favorite cousins texted me last week. She wanted me to know that she was praying Proverbs 3 verses 1-26 for all of our children. I was deeply touched by this. I responded that I would do the same. I opened up my bible and noted that the entire chapter was highlighted with notes from 1996. The verses obviously had an impact on me. Evidently I needed to revisit them. I could spend a week studying the entire chapter. Let me share with you several verses that really jumped off the page.
The familiar fifth verse:
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding”
I was reminded what a jewel this verse is. This one verse encompasses Jesus' entire ministry. Yes, He loves us. But Jesus asks us to trust Him with everything in our lives. In fact, the bible tells us to trust 182 times. He really wants us to get in the habit of trusting Him! This verse is the total antithesis of what society tells us to do. The world tells us to "trust our instincts". If you are at a loss on how to solve a problem? "Read this book” it will help you understand your spouse or your children or your messed up childhood. Not only do you not have to be accountable for your sins? Your actions are the fault of someone else who wronged you! Jesus calls us to trust Him and Him alone. Don't use your head knowledge. Do not lean on your understanding as you know it. You will fall right into the hands of the enemy. God has you covered.
Verse 6:
"In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make
your paths straight".
We are teaching our kids to be the very best. And that's not a bad thing. Unless, of course, you give the glory to yourself. Your talent. But the bible says that when we give the glory of our blessings to Him? When He receives the praise? We die to ourselves and yield to Him. That yielding sets us on the straight path. We don't get sidetracked through life's seasons and storms. His direction points us straight Him.
Next I read verse 7:
"Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and
turn away from evil."
This verse is fantastic! This a great memory verse. When we are so filled with expertise and knowledge guess what happens? We become a god to ourselves. We have no fear of anything because we've got it all figured out. Us. We have the answers. If we have no healthy fear of the Lord then we really don't need Him. If we do not need Him then we don't need Christianity. If we don’t need Jesus then evil wins...for now.
Somewhere along the line, in recent decades, our head knowledge has become far superior to our God knowledge. We have inched the Creator out of all processes in our academic, cultural, civic, and private sector arenas. We have pushed Him out of society in general. If you understand that satan, a fallen angel who was thrust from heaven, is masterfully intelligent it's pretty easy to spot where he has set up camp in our society.
Satan will do exactly the opposite of what God does. He will make you think his contrary beliefs are actually righteous thinking. Knowing that? You just have to laugh at how brazen he has become. He is fooling our society into believing we have all of the power. We can be like God. We should look out for ourselves. He even encourages us to "do good"...as long as it brings personal recognition.
As the new school year begins pray with your children. Explain to them that their talents are a gift from God. What do we do when someone gives us a gift? We thank them! When someone compliments us on the gift? We give the gift giver the praise and recognition. We should be praising God for all that He has bestowed us.
Our world is in chaos. Media outlets tickle our ears with what is wrong, who is wrong, who has been wronged. They try to tell us what was once bad is now good. What is good is now bad. As Christians we can no longer remain complacent in our lives. It's time to stand up for what is right. Voice our opinion as to what is wrong. I once heard a sermon where the Pastor said "If you are doing everything wrong in society's eyes you are probably doing everything right in the Lord's eyes". I definitely think there is some truth to that.
Take the time today and read the entire 3rd chapter of Proverbs. What a blessing you will receive!
As the new school year begins pray with your children. Explain to them that their talents are a gift from God. What do we do when someone gives us a gift? We thank them! When someone compliments us on the gift? We give the gift giver the praise and recognition. We should be praising God for all that He has bestowed us.
Our world is in chaos. Media outlets tickle our ears with what is wrong, who is wrong, who has been wronged. They try to tell us what was once bad is now good. What is good is now bad. As Christians we can no longer remain complacent in our lives. It's time to stand up for what is right. Voice our opinion as to what is wrong. I once heard a sermon where the Pastor said "If you are doing everything wrong in society's eyes you are probably doing everything right in the Lord's eyes". I definitely think there is some truth to that.
Take the time today and read the entire 3rd chapter of Proverbs. What a blessing you will receive!
