Posts from 2022 (Page 21)

The Family Name A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold. Proverbs 22:1 In every age and in every culture, a person’s name has been important. Whether names signify characteristics of the person or the family or if they have been passed down from one generation to another, the mention of the name can stir praise or shame. For those of us who follow Christ, our names carry double meaning.…

Great is thy faithfulness Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and come down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17. In the wonderful and popular old hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, Thomas Chisholm wrote, “O God my Father, / There is no shadow of turning with Thee,/ Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,/ As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be”. Theologians tell us…

From The Root To The Fruit Honor the Lord with your wealth And with the first fruits of all your crops (income); Proverbs 3:9 The way we handle our possessions speaks volumes about the content of our hearts. There’s nothing wrong with having nice things, but there’s something terribly wrong about the greed to have more and more. The first step in honoring God with everything we own is to realize that, in fact, God owns it all – we’re…

Shifting Life’s Paradigm Evil men do not understand justice, But they who long for and seek the Lord understand it fully. Proverbs 28:5 In the heart of each person, God has instilled an innate sense of justice. At the core of our souls, our conscience tell us the difference between right and wrong. But when someone has pursued selfish ends long enough and hard enough, that sense of justice is clouded. Self-absorbed people experience a lot of disappointment and anger,…

Don’t Outsmart Yourself Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. Proverbs 3:7 We see it all the time: Federal agents arrest prominent businessmen for their part in corporate fraud, and the media broadcasts accounts of the shattered lives of celebrities who wrecked their lives with foolish decisions. When reporters interview these people, they reply, “ It seemed like the right thing to do at the…

Cause And Effect In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. Proverbs 3:6 It’s kind of amazing. We have a relationship with the most powerful, loving, and wisest being in the universe, but sometimes we live our lives as though He doesn’t exist. Because He’s invisible, we forget He is always present in all of His majesty and kindness. We need reminders to…

Convicted To Change Now when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 2 Kings 22:11 In the generations after David and Solomon, God’s people were in trouble. Some of their kings had followed God, but many had turned away from Him. They had formed alliances with unbelieving countries to save their necks, but God had allowed half the kingdom, Israel, to be overrun by the Assyrians. Noe, a boy named Josiah became…

Better Than Sliced Bread But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 Jesus compared our need for physical nourishment with our need for spiritual nourishment. Both, He said are essential for a healthy life. If we think about this parallel, the implications are quite sobering. Nightly news programs show the devastation caused by famine in remote corners…

Good Advice Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. Proverbs 3:5 Our immediate and natural instinct is to trust what we can see, touch, and feel and to rely on our ability to figure out solutions to any problem. When the chips are down, we “lean” on our ability to analyze situations and figure out what to do next. In fact, many of us become…

It Never Withers The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever. Isaiah 40:8 A few people thrive on change, but for most of us, change threatens us because it shakes the little sense of security we have. Our lives are full of stresses and expectations, and we try hard to stay one step ahead. We cherish the one restaurant we know will give us a great meal, the one vacation spot that always allows…