Day 5

Proverbs 5

Today, I chose verse 21: "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings."

Initially when I chose this verse this morning, I figured I would relate it to the fact that no matter where we are or where we go, God is ever-present. He always knows exactly where we are...at all times. That thought can be both comforting but it can also be quite sobering. It's comforting to know He is there, watching out for us, even when we lock our keys in our car. It can be quite sobering though, especially when we are not serving Him the way we ought to our when we find ourselves in the middle of sin.

That was my initial thought on this verse, but as it swirled about in my mind this evening, it began to broaden the boundaries of my original thought.

I thought about how we, as Christians, never really have to worry about being lost because our ways are before the eyes of the Lord and we know that He will go and seek after His lost sheep.

Lost.

That word seemed to just hang in the air like a dense morning fog.

Sometimes I feel lost. Not lost in the sense that some of you might think, not lost in the sense of being a "lost" person but sometimes lost in life.

Am I really doing what God would have me to do? Is this where God wants me? Is this what God wants me to be doing right now?

I'm just going to be honest here folks, there are times when I question if I have missed major opportunities the the Lord wanted me to seize. I wonder from time to time if I made decisions contrary to what God really wanted for me.

There are some areas in my life that I don't doubt at all. I want to be sure that is clear. I am very grateful for the privilege I have to be a Sunday School teacher and I know the things I am currently doing, I am doing them because I know God wants me to but some time I just wonder if there were opportunities that I let pass by.

The answer maybe yes, that I have let opportunities pass by but I can know that no matter which way I go, it is always before the Lord. Verse 21 from today's Proverb, encourages me to be sure my ways are worthy for God to see. When He sees where I am going and what I am doing I want to please Him. So even if I have let opportunities pass by, this verse is a great reminder to remain aware of what I am doing and to touch base with God and make sure we are on the same page...or for me to make sure I am on His page!

"For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings." Proverbs 5:21

Day 4 Keep thy heart

I knew I would have days during this challenge when I would come across a chapter that is jam-packed with great verses and that I would have difficulty selecting just one verse or one thought.

Today was one of those days.

When I opened my Bible to Proverbs 4 this morning, I noticed it was a very colorful page. I have the several verses highlighted or marked. Verses like:

Verse 5-8: "Get wisdom, get understanding; forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee; love her and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee; she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her."

Verse 13-15: "Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."

Great verses!

But I knew I would have to go with verse 23, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

I'm sure I have mentioned this before but on Friday nights, my brother and his wife hold a Bible study in their home and we have spent the past few months doing an in-depth study on the tabernacle. It has been a great study and I have gotten a lot out of it and learned a lot.

One thing I learned through the study was just how very particular God is. He has a certain way He wants things done and there is nothing wrong with that because He is God!

As we were wrapping up the study, we were discussing the mercy seat and the veil and coverings. As we were studying this, my brother made the comment about how we are now currently, the temple of God. Now, I have heard messages on this subject and have read the verses about it but sitting at that table on Friday night, my mind began to click and put things together.

When they constructed the tabernacle, they were given very specific instruction about what supplies to use, how to construct it and what dimensions were to be for each piece. God was so particular about this task because it is a variation of something in Heaven. He actually dwelt in the Holy of Holies, where the mercy seat was and this was a protected area. It was protected by a 15 foot, incredibly dense veil and this room was only approached once a year.

The priest who entered this room annually had to go through a process to reach this point as well. They had to be cleansed and all their sins had to be confessed and taken care of before reaching this Holy place. This task was not taken lightly. It was very serious and very sobering, I'm sure.

With all that in mind, I began to think; since we are now the temple of God and have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us, we ought to be protecting that just as the Holy of Holies was protected. That's when verse 23 came to mind. If the Holy Spirit is dwelling inside me,let's say in my heart, than what am I doing to protect it?

God obviously thought it was important to protect the room where He and His Glory dwelt when He dwelt among Israel, why should it be any different now that He dwells within our hearts?

I've been contemplating this thought and verse since Friday night and this morning, during the preaching at church, God gave me some answers about how I can improve the protection of my heart. I have already followed through with most of them but let me ask you, reader, if you are saved and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within you, how are you protecting your heart?

Proverbs 4:23 tells us to protect our hearts with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. How diligent are you?

It is a great privilege and blessing to a born-again Christian, to have the Holy Spirit dwell within us and to have the access to God that we do. But we ought not to take it for granted and ought not to be flippant about it, either, Christian.

Keep your guard up. Keep your heart and be diligent about it. Ask God to examine your heart and show you where you can improve and then, most importantly, be obedient to Him. Don't resist it. Don't argue with Him about it and don't harbor things that He tells you to rid yourself of.

"Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life."

Day 3 - My confidence

I know it's only day 3 of my month-long challenge but I am really enjoying this and am seeing results in my life already. I love reading and studying the Bible and am really thankful that God has allowed me to do this blog. It causes me to read my Bible differently, with a different perspective and I love seeing God work things out and show me things out of His Word. Man, I just thrive off of it sometimes!

Well, today is Proverbs 3 and this chapter is loaded with good verses and wisdom.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes, fear the Lord and depart from evil." Proverb 3:5-7

While those are most likely the most well-known verses from this chapter, the verse that struck my today was found later in the chapter.

"When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid; ye, though shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." Proverb 3:24-26

When I read those verses, my mind immediately went to an incident that happened a few weeks ago.

There are many nights that pass, when I do not get very good sleep. A few weeks ago, I found myself awake in the middle of the night. I got up to use the bathroom and get a drink of water. On my way to the bathroom, I heard the sound of a truck driving by. I didn't think much of it and went about my tasks. I got my drink of water and on my way back to bed, I realized the sound of the truck didn't pass and fade away, it sounded as though it was right outside on the street, engine still running.

I thought it was kind of odd because it was just after 2:00 am. So I went to my living room and peeked out the window and sure enough, there was a truck parked right outside on the street - engine running but no one in the cab of the truck.

For some reason this freaked me out. My mind began to race - was someone coming to visit the people who live upstairs? Did their door open and I just missed it? Who could it be? What do they want? Why this hour of the night? Why is the engine running but no one is inside? Where are they? Where did they go?

So I grabbed my flashlight and checked every room and door in my place. Everything was fine and locked.

But the truck was still there. It's engine was still running.

I went back to my bedroom, told myself I was worried about nothing and laid down.

3 minutes later I was back up, standing by my kitchen window with my flashlight in hand.

My mind was arguing with it's self. "Amy, don't worry about it. It's nothing. If you were actually sleeping right now, you would have no idea about this truck and you wouldn't care about it."

While the other part of my brain is saying, "Yes. But I am not sleeping right now. Maybe this is the reason I'm not sleeping right now. Maybe I was supposed to wake up."

Oh. It can be an exhausting thing - knowing everything that is going on in my mind sometimes!

Just then, a verse popped into my mind.

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

I repeated it over and over and over and over and over again in my mind.

Because of that verse, my fear was distinguished.

The truck was still there (and a good 15 minutes had lapsed now) but I no longer was afraid or worried about it. God was my confidence. It actually was quite amazing. I don't recall feeling such protection so instantly before but He did it. He was my Protector that night.

He protects us, more than we can even comprehend. He has not given us the spirit of fear and just like the Bible says, "what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." That night, the Lord made my sleep sweet.

He is an amazing God. I love Him so much.

I am so happy that I can put my confidence in Him. Nowadays, there seems to be very little that we can put our confidence in, but I know that I will never, ever gone wrong by putting my confidence in Christ.

Day 2

Last week Friday, while having breakfast with my brother and sister-in-law, we were discussing salvation and how people make a decision when they come to the realization of their standing before a just and holy God. My brother recalled how he felt deceived by the teachings of our former denomination. He recalled being taught specifically that being baptized would save you and allow you to go to Heaven.

I thought about that this morning as I read Proverbs 2.

"When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee." Proverbs 2:10-11

The chapter starts out telling us that wisdom is there. It's available and verse 6 tells us where wisdom comes from:
"For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."

So we know where to get it and that we can get it but what does wisdom do for us? What shall we do with it?

That's where verse 10 and 11 struck me. When we allow the wisdom, given to us by God, to enter into our hearts, it pleases our soul and allows discretion and understanding to protect us.

Discretion.

I know I can always use more discretion. Discretion with my words, discretion with my actions, discretion with my attitude, discretion with my relationships, discretion with my time, discretion with my thoughts and so on and so on. I could easily keep going but I think you catch my drift.

The more I study out God's Word and seek out wisdom from Him (not my own wisdom or ask other's for their wisdom) but wisdom from God, the more discretion I can obtain and discretion can preserve me and protect me.

My brother found discretion from the Word of God and as a result, he shared it with the rest of our family. I'm very thankful he did and that he showed me, out of the Bible, my need for Christ.

Have you seeked out God's wisdom today?

And we're off...

It's March!

March is going to be the month of my first ever blogging challenge. Since there are 31 days in the month of March and 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs, I thought it'd be a perfect fit to challenge myself to get something each and every day from the Bible. Not only do I want to get something everyday but I want to share it. If we don't use and share the things God teaches us, what good is it to learn it in the first place, right?

So I hope you will join me this month and please feel free to comment and interact with me on this challenge. Read Proverbs along with me - who knows, we may end up picking the same verse to meditate on!

Well, without further ado...

Proverbs 1. Proverbs seems to be all about wisdom. Rightfully so, considering that the book is written by Solomon, the wisest man, apart from Christ. Proverbs 1 sets a solid foundation of the importance of wisdom, as described in verse 7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

I love how wisdom is personified in this chapter and how it seems to just lay it all out there, plain and simple, right from chapter 1.

"How long ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning? and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded." Proverb 1:22-24

Wisdom is there...free for the taking. The question is: are you seeking it?

Leap Day

The opportunity to write a blog post on February 29th comes around only once every 4 years, so of course, I have to take advantage of it!

I know that today isn't actually an "extra" day but it sure feels like it and I like to think of it as an extra day. If you think of it as an extra day, then you can think of it as a gift...the gift of time ( and who wouldn't like some extra time these days?)

I have been thinking of this "extra" day for awhile and how I should mark the occasion. Well, God gave me plenty of suggestions through my Bible reading this week. He pulled out verses like Proverbs 27:1 "Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth" and Ephesians 5:16 "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

I think of Leap Day as like a coupon. We've been given this day but in order to receive the true gift of it, we must redeem it, just like you have to do with a coupon. I have coupons for 10 cents off per gallon of gas but those coupons are worth nothing until I redeem them with the gas station that sent them out. Same with today and everyday for that matter. God has given us today. Proverbs 27:1 tells us we can't depend on tomorrow, we must take today and in order to redeem it, we must give it back to God. We can do this by starting our days out with Him, asking Him what He would gave you do today, rather than going about our own business and schedule. If we neglect to "redeem" our day with God from the very beginning, we may miss out on opportunities He has for us.

Ephesians 5 continues to tell us in verse 17 that we ought not be unwise, but we need to understand what the will of the Lord is, and we can accomplish that by giving Him our days, our time and attention.

I encourage you to redeem today, Christian! Spend extra time with Him in prayer today, spend extra time in His word, take some time to praise Him, thank Him, tell someone about Him!

This is the day that the Lord hath made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

When it rains...

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. And said, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:20-21

These verses really struck a cord with me, especially in light of the recent news of 3 separate but equally tragic car accidents. Unfortunately, tomorrow, 3 families will bury a loved one and to them, my heart and prayers go out on their behalf.

I didn't know any of them personally but hearing of the news of one accident right after the other - it sure help put some things into perspective for me. I needed the reminder to not take things or (and most importantly) people for granted. I have been blessed to not have to endure a lot of loss in my life but I know people who have and they do have a different perspective on things.

My mother has endured a lot of loss in her family and one of the many things she taught us while growing up is to never take each other for granted. Whenever we leave or hang up the phone, the last words are usually always "I love you" and that is a habit she instilled in us because she has experienced the haunting desire to be able to tell someone "I love you" just one more time.

So, to those who may read this who are grieving a loss, take comfort in the words and attitude of Job, who recognized that God's hand is in and above all - He gives and He can take away and for those of you readers who may not be grieving at this time, take a moment to reflect on all the things or people God has given you and know that He could taken them from you at any time.

Cherish them.

Love them.

Pray for them.