Opening Prayer

Lord thank you for the opportunities we have to serve you in love and truth. Please reveal the next part of your plan for our lives to all of the brothers and sisters that are joining with us throughout this series. We pray for wisdom, understanding, and a reverential fear of your mighty power. We also pray for the needs of those joining us today and for those of their family members. Lord, find a group of believers for each person visiting today to meet with regularly for edification and corporate worship of you.

In Jesus’ name we pray,

God’s Wisdom from Proverbs 15

Pro 15:1 A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Pro 15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
Pro 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Pro 15:4 A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
Pro 15:5 A fool despises his father’s instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
Pro 15:6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
Pro 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.
Pro 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
Pro 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
Pro 15:10 There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.
Pro 15:11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD; how much more the hearts of the children of man!
Pro 15:12 A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.
Pro 15:13 A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but by sorrow of heart the spirit is crushed.
Pro 15:14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
Pro 15:15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, but the cheerful of heart has a continual feast.
Pro 15:16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble with it.
Pro 15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
Pro 15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
Pro 15:19 The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a level highway.
Pro 15:20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
Pro 15:21 Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense, but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.
Pro 15:22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.
Pro 15:23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!
Pro 15:24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent, that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
Pro 15:25 The LORD tears down the house of the proud but maintains the widow’s boundaries.
Pro 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure.
Pro 15:27 Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.
Pro 15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
Pro 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
Pro 15:30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.
Pro 15:31 The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
Pro 15:32 Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
Pro 15:33 The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Notes about Proverbs, Chapter 15

1, 18) Gentle answers come when we wait for the Lord. I don’t mean that he isn’t there and we are impatiently tapping our watch waiting for him to show up. Waiting on the Lord is actually just submitting to his will. Our flesh is instantantaneous in its response, and that is not the one God has in mind for us. What would Jesus have accomplished if he allowed his flesh to rule?

This is a tough one and we will be learning to “walk this out” over the course of our lives. Have hope though, because the Lord is forever faithful to us.

Phi 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

We can prepare for instances where our flesh tries to rule by being proactive in prayer. At the start of the day pray to the Lord to help with our temper. Actually I went one further and asked Him to “tear it out of me”. Of couse my flesh did not like me saying that because somewhere deep down I suppose my temper has been my defense mechanism. Now God is our defense and offense.

Watch out for instances where our we may be tempted in our flesh. Rarely do I encounter a situation where I say, “Wow, that was a new one!” Call upon the Lord when these situation come close.

In the end it all comes down to humility - we will all have to “eat some humble pie,” take up our cross, and live as Jesus did. Reading the Gospels gives us more confidence that it can be done. If you haven’t read the book of Acts, give it a shot. It is a condensed “action novel” recording the events surrounding the early days of the church and its spread throughout the Meditteranean.

2) Do you participate in or even silently endorse foolish talk? I do - one of my coworkers is a young man who I would like to bring out to church. He talks about what most guys talk about who are in the world: girls, beer, and sports. The sports part I have covered, but I have some problems with the rest. It’s not that I participate, but my silence or polite smile gives approval by default. That is wrong, wrong, wrong!

As I spoke about earlier I had a serious drinking problem in my 20’s . The only problem is that when I am at work I only seem to remember the positive parts of “partying”. Also there are the remarks about the girls around the office. I am married, and am extremely happy in my marriage. I suppose it is standard for most guys (yes, even married ones) to gawk at women when they walk by, but Christ was not “most guys”. The Holy Spirit did not make me “most guys” when it came into my heart and changed me into a completely new being.

The answer to sticky situations like this? I am just going to have to redefine the relationship. I have done much better at this, but better just isn’t good enough. If you would pray with me that God might send another Christian to work who is on fire for God, I would appreciate it.

4) I had a situation like this the past few days. My wife is working through the decision about accepting a promotion at work. The only problem is that it seems that the position will come with a bunch of strings attached (i.e. a bunch of hassle), and extreme uncertainty.

I wanted to help my wife think through all the options and cover all the angles before making this decision. In the process though I spoke so many negative words about her company, the postition, and everything else related that I really just stressed her out and hurt her self-confidence.

What’s the answer, guys? Yes, God does want us to be strong leaders of our family, and our wives should come to us so we may make these decisions together. However, we need to do all this in words of faith that edify our wives. If we bring this situation before God in sincere prayer we will receive peace regarding the correct path for our family.

5, 12) Praise report on this one - I just received the Lord’s discipline regarding a financial decision and reversed my direction… for the good!

5, 20)Yes, even if our parents made mistakes. Everyone has a few gripes about their parents. Our kids will have the same about us, and their kids will have the same about them : ) This verse is about more than just mistakes, though. We are to respect the position, not the person.

In the financial situation that I spoke of earlier, I was trying to find a good solution to extricate myself from the moral quandry. My wife suggested that we just give the money to charity. If we were “in the world” this might seem like a good solution. The problem is, that God does not need our “blood money”. He will not approve of behavior if it means a few coins get dropped in the collection plate. God owns everything on the planet. He really does not need our money to make things happen and help people - he just wants us to partner with him. It’s kind of like if you help your child financially when they get their first car. You work with them at first so they learn how to take care of it and are so pleased when they do. God gave this entire planet to take care of until his return. That includes all the people in it.

10, 31) Ah yes the discipline comes fast. Going back to this financial situation. I felt like I found a good comprimise. It wasn’t the 100% right solution, but it was one I could live with… or so I thought. I have a little confession to make - I’ve never really had much of a conscience most of my life. I have done some pretty rotten things without much remorse. Since the Lord got a hold of me it has been a different story.

I felt absolutely horrible about the decision even though I did make a comprimise to try and fix it, (OK God, I know what you think but I don’t want to go all the way - how about half). I learned first-hand that one can not comprimise with God if they are sincerely seeking him. I just felt like there was a thorn (not literal) in my side until I decided to fix it. It wasn’t good going through it, but at least now I have a good testimony for you!

13) What is your standard facial expression. Mine is pretty serious mixed with happiness. What do we do if we find ourselves drifting towards the serious (or downright dour…) side of life? Break out the book of Phillipians. Paul wrote this in prison for preaching the Gospel of Christ. In this book he teaches about the joy of the Lord. It is not constant happiness as many think. This joy is eternal rather than circumstansial. I highly recommend giving it a look. You’ll be blessed!

16, 17) Embrace humble beginnings. There are so many executives who have fallen away from the Lord chasing after financial success. As they reach retirement, they look back on their younger days when they were quite poor and newly married with great fondness - the best years of their life. If you are in the midst of humble beginnings, take the time to enjoy it.

Ecc 2:24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God,

14, 21) This is completely true. When we are not following the Lord we actually rejoice in some kind of weird pride over things that destroy us. Example: All my buddies and I joking about our hang-overs each morning.

23) If we fill our hearts to the brim with God’s word, it will surely pour out at the right time. I’ve read more of the Bible this year than I have in my entire life combined and I can see the results. I may not know the exact chapter and verse, but God’s word just pops in when situations come up. It’s one thing to hear a preacher saying it - that’s what they do all day. This is coming from a regular guy - just carve out some of the best time of the day for the Lord and we reap such a harvest. I’m still working on keeping this consistent in my life but the Lord has done some wonderful works. I look forward to hearing some good praise reports… hint, hint : )

24) We do suffer for Christ’s sake. It takes us upward in life, though. Strive always to remember that. The enemy will tell us differently. Fortunately the Lord’s voice is more powerful.

26) When we are thinking of stealing, committing adultery, or simply criticizing someone in our heads, God is there. When we do not put the grocery cart back to its assigned place in the parking lot God is watching. God is always there. I don’t mean to try and scare you… OK, well maybe I am just a bit : )

33) “Humility comes before honor”. Pretty powerful statement. That is not what we teach here in America. I was in a fraternity in college and we were in a meeting where a few guys were complaining that we didn’t get any respect. Perhaps it was because we didn’t earn it by doing the right thing, and leaving the decisions about respect up to everyone else. They just didn’t understand this. None of us do without God. Needless to say my fraternity experience was not the most positive. I highly dis-recommend it if you can meet girls on your own.

Folks, try to send your kids to Christian schooling. My wife and I have made that committment and trust the Lord to help us out with it. Some people say that Christian school is a waste, because it just delays the kids learning about “the real world”. I tell you what, they learn about the real world long before they ever even get out of elementary school. A Christian education gives them a base to build on - the rock of Christ.

Pro 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Learning more about the Lord through Jesus’ teachings - John, Chapter 15

Joh 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
Joh 15:2 Every branch of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Joh 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
Joh 15:8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
Joh 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.
Joh 15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
Joh 15:11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Joh 15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Joh 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends.
Joh 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Joh 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
Joh 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Joh 15:17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
Joh 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
Joh 15:19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Joh 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
Joh 15:21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.
Joh 15:22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
Joh 15:23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also.
Joh 15:24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.
Joh 15:25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
Joh 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
Joh 15:27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.

We hope you are enjoying this search for wisdom in the most “ordinary” of places - the Holy Bible. These days the world seeks enlightenment in many ways that only complicate life and leave us frustrated. God has given us wisdom quite plainly in a book of the Bible that only encompasses 40 or so pages. Finding the Will of God is pretty easy!

Thanks for joining us and we would be most pleased if you came back again. You may subscribe (on the right of the screen) to the feed of this blog so it will show up in your RSS reader. If you do not use an RSS reader, you may receive the feed via email. We respect your privacy, so you will not get any junk mail from us - we promise!

By the way, just saw that someone from Kenya visited yesterday - welcome in the name of Jesus, thanks for dropping by! We hope you enjoy the Bible study & let us know via the comments if there is something further we can help you with. That makes 23 countries just this month that came by for a visit. Isn’t the Internet such an amazing blessing!

See you again tomorrow - Have a blessed day!

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