Hello again everyone! I hope you all are enjoying your Bible study thus far. I pray that God reveals his will clearly in your lives and fills you with His joy and peace through the Holy Spirit.

God, please bless us to receive your word. Witness to our spirits, and draw us close to you Lord. Please give us a spirit of compassion and wisdom to bring more souls to your kingdom. We ask this in Jesus name and have faith that it will come to pass.

Book of Proverbs, Chapter 11

Pro 11:1 A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is his delight.
Pro 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.
Pro 11:3 The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.
Pro 11:4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
Pro 11:5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.
Pro 11:6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.
Pro 11:7 When the wicked dies, his hope will perish, and the expectation of wealth perishes too.
Pro 11:8 The righteous is delivered from trouble, and the wicked walks into it instead.
Pro 11:9 With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.
Pro 11:10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.
Pro 11:11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.
Pro 11:12 Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.
Pro 11:13 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
Pro 11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
Pro 11:15 Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.
Pro 11:16 A gracious woman gets honor, and violent men get riches.
Pro 11:17 A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.
Pro 11:18 The wicked earns deceptive wages, but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.
Pro 11:19 Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live, but he who pursues evil will die.
Pro 11:20 Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight.
Pro 11:21 Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
Pro 11:22 Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.
Pro 11:23 The desire of the righteous ends only in good; the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
Pro 11:24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Pro 11:25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.
Pro 11:26 The people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
Pro 11:27 Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it.
Pro 11:28 Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
Pro 11:29 Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
Pro 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.
Pro 11:31 If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!

Notes on Proverbs 11

11) Here’s one for us, people of business. We must be honest in our dealings with others. This applies to certain governmental agencies that handle thing like… oh, I don’t know… taxes, maybe? Just because we can’t put a face on the end user doesn’t mean that it isn’t stealing.

2) Why does want us to be humble? God is humble. Think about the life of Jesus - he died for the people that treated him the worst. He walked around transforming lives with the powers of God, and what happened? People cursed him and tried kill him. God will raise us up in time if we are obedient and humble. God deserves the glory and praise and passes it down to us as he sees fit. It works out much better for us this way. Remember all those movies about the rock star who gets too much too quick and loses it all? Well the same things happen to us in our lives. We just don’t notice when it is a promotion that we force ourselves into but are not prepared for, or build ourselves up in front of others only to be discovered a fraud later.

4) It has been a big struggle to keep love of money separated from my passion for Internet Marketing. After all, money is the scorecard of how good of a businessman that you are, right? Maybe not… am I impacting lives. Are people’s lives better because my business opened its doors? As of yet, probably not, but I hope to continue.

5) Obey God’s commands and he will work things out for us. If we do it our own way (not God’s) we are left to our own strength. Compare the strength and ability to that of the creator of the Universe who trancends space and time. Who do you think will come out ahead : )

9) Another one where we are to keep our mouths shut. I have a tendency to blabber to fill uncomfortable silences. Since I am fairly recently delivered from a life of sin I find I have little to talk about with people who do not know God that does deal with sin. It is amazing what a year or two makes. I now feel like an alien when I walk around the earth. God said that we would be like this, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. Hopefully God will show me what I am to talk about. Until then, I’ll just have to be a mute - hasn’t worked yet, but God does amazing things.

10) This provides some hope. It seems like the whole world is chasing evil - gulping it down as fast as they can. Those trying to do right are often oppressed, and most people sit by the wayside as it takes place

BUT….

God tells us that the cities will rejoice when the righteous are victorious. This might be a silly example, but have you noticed how popular the TV shows Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Three Wishes are?

12) We should not be criticizing anyone, anytime. Derides means to “show contempt openly”. I have a huge problem with this - my temper is like a fiery thorn in my side sometimes, but I pray daily for God to give me the strength to lay aside my pride and hostility. Still tough though…

13) Attention all gossipers - God doesn’t like it. This is more of a temptation for the ladies, but both sexes face this problem. Anything you wouldn’t talk about to the person whom you are talking about - that is gossip.

What do we do if we are surrounded by gossips? My first job out of school was with mostly women who were working for relatively low wages, and were primarily there to “bring in a few bucks, and have great benefits”. Any place where people are not there because they chose that profession above all others is a fertile ground for gossip.

What if people around you are a bunch of gossips? Get away from them. It is tough to do this without looking rude, but they eventually get the picture. Trust me, it is worth it over the long run. If you miss out on promotions or raises because you do not listen to gossip, then God has a different plan for you. God will never let us down.

15) Some posts ago I spoke about bailing someone out of jail, then my wife and I nearly got stuck when they did not show up in court. We are not supposed to place ourselves in other people’s hands. We are supposed to love them and leave our lives in God’s hands. People will fail us - that is not being cynical, the Bible tells us that time and time again.

16-17) God prompted me once to “err on the side of kindness.” I like that!

18) More for the business people. I work in Internet marketing so the temptations are especially obvious. I don’t even see or talk to customers. There are many using the Internet for despicable gains. Most are from Asia or Eastern Europe, but there are plenty in the US. We need to look deeper than scams or porn though. Does your business prey on the poor? Do you get people “over a barrel”?

There are opportunities for deception in every job from President of the United States to the person cleaning toilets for a living. Pray that God will show you any ways you can clean up your conduct in the workplace.

21) It doesn’t seem like it sometimes, but remember that time flies by like the blink of an eye. God has tremendous patience for our sins. The quicker we wish for someone to be judged, the more trouble we put ourselves in (what if he judged us too at that time?)

22) I love this verse - who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?

24-26) God blesses us to pour out into the lives of others. That’s why we only have two hands, and that’s it. Suppose God gives us a bananna to hold in each hand. Both hands are full, we have to give the contents of one hand to a person whose hands are empty. Guess what happens next? God fills our hand right back up. The problem comes when we lose faith that God will not fill us and we stop giving.

29) We are held accountable for those we influence. Our families are the ones who we have the closest relations with, so they are both the most likely to be blessed as we are, and the most likely to be punished when we do evil.

30) This is God’s commission to us - to go into the world and preach redemption through Jesus Christ. If our primary focus is material wealth, pleasure, or even our families, then we have gone astray. The wise remember why we are really here.

Gospel of John, Chapter 11

Joh 11:1 Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Joh 11:2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill.
Joh 11:3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.”
Joh 11:4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Joh 11:5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
Joh 11:6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
Joh 11:7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”
Joh 11:8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?”
Joh 11:9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.
Joh 11:10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
Joh 11:11 After saying these things, he said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.”
Joh 11:12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
Joh 11:13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he meant taking rest in sleep.
Joh 11:14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,
Joh 11:15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”
Joh 11:16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Joh 11:17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
Joh 11:18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
Joh 11:19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
Joh 11:20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house.
Joh 11:21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
Joh 11:22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.”
Joh 11:23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”
Joh 11:24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”
Joh 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
Joh 11:26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Joh 11:27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
Joh 11:28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”
Joh 11:29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.
Joh 11:30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.
Joh 11:31 When the Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
Joh 11:32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Joh 11:33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.
Joh 11:34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.”
Joh 11:35 Jesus wept.
Joh 11:36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
Joh 11:37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”
Joh 11:38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
Joh 11:39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”
Joh 11:40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”
Joh 11:41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.
Joh 11:42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.”
Joh 11:43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.”
Joh 11:44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Joh 11:45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him,
Joh 11:46 but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done.
Joh 11:47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs.
Joh 11:48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”
Joh 11:49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all.
Joh 11:50 Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.”
Joh 11:51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
Joh 11:52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
Joh 11:53 So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
Joh 11:54 Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.
Joh 11:55 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves.
Joh 11:56 They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?”
Joh 11:57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

Thanks for dropping by. Feel free to share whatever the Lord is dropping in your heart by leaving a comment below. If you missed any old posts check them out below or in the “wisdom” category on the right.

See you tomorrow - have a blessed day!

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