Day 28

"He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." Proverb 28:26

You can't base everything off of your feelings. Feelings change. Your heart can change. It's not wise to trust in your heart.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9

I know we have discussed the heart earlier this month, but I found this verse interesting today when I read it. I'm thankful for verses like this. They remind me that on days when I don't feel close to God, when I don't feel like a Christian, when I don't feel like I am living an abundant life, I can turn to His Word. It is consistent. He is consistent.

I appreciate that. I need that. I need Him to be consistent because I can be all over the board some days and He is there...my steady Rock.

"He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered." Proverb 28:26

I can't always trust and depend on my heart, but I can ALWAYS trust and depend on God!

Day 27

"Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Proverb 27:1

Proverbs 27.

I love this Proverb. There are so many great verses.

"Let another man praise thee and not thine own mouth: a stranger and not thine own lips." verse 2

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend: but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." verse 6

"Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel." verse 9

"He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him." verse 14
"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." verse 17

"As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man." verse 19

"Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied." verse 20

But the verse that always gets me is verse one: "Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

Each morning when we wake, God has provided us with a blank canvas. We can spend our day however we chose. We can serve Him as much or as little as we want. We can read His Word as much or as little as we want. We can spend as much time with Him in prayer as we want. We can tell everyone we see in a day about what He has done for us, and what He has done for them. We can give Him our all.

Or....

We can get up and go about our own business. We can make our own decisions. We can keep quiet about what He has done for us and keep it "just between me and God" because "it's personal. We can hoard our time and waste our time and we can ignore His calling.

We can choose each day whom we want to serve: self or God?

"But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15b

There is no guarantee of tomorrow. That person you saw at the gas station, you know, the one that God told you to give a tract to but you didn't feel like it, you didn't want to seem awkward or interrupt them...you may never get a chance to see them or hand them a tract ever again. God made your paths cross for a reason. He gave you an opportunity to serve Him. You may never get that opportunity again.

This verse is pounded down deep in me. I think of it almost everyday. Which is a good thing, because I need the daily reminder that it is a new day, full of opportunity...I just need to be willing to follow Him and not set my own path.

Day 26

"He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears."
Proverb 26:17

Social networking is the playground for gossipers. But that is still no excuse for Christians to be meddling in things that don't pertain to them. God doesn't like gossiping and this verse is a great reminder that if you meddle in the business of others, you are asking for it.

Day 25

"Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer."

This is a great attitude to have. The attitude and desire to have God take away our faults and sins (dross) and improve us that we may be a cleaner vessel for Him to use.

It isn't always easy to go through those stages of having the dross cleared away from our lives but it is necessary.

"But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy; for I am holy." - 1 Peter 1:16

Day 24 - God's perspective

"The thought of foolishness is sin; and the scorner is an abomination to men." Proverb 24:9

There seems to be so many things that we are expected to be tolerant of nowadays. It doesn't take much to be labeled as intolerant. All you have to do is stand on a street corner with a Bible verse sign or simply speak up against homosexuality or fornication and say that it is Biblical (and the right thing to do) to wait until marriage before being sexually active. Those are just a few examples.

But our society is constantly trying to blur the lines of what is right and what is wrong.

"Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." Isaiah 5:20

One way that we can combat this in our own lives is to try to get God's perspective on things. We can do this by studying God's Word (such as reading a Proverb a day). This helps us understand God and according to Him, even the thought of foolishness is sin.

I remember the first time I read this verse. I was floored! The very thought, not even the action but simply the thought of foolishness is sin! Oh if I could really truly see my sin the way God sees it. If I could hate sin the way that God hates it - my oh my how my life would be different.

"Lord, help me to see the sin in my life. Help me to be uncomfortable with it. Help me to hate it the way You hate it. Help me to be more like You."

Day 23

"Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes?

They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. " Proverb 23:29-30

I used to get invited out for drinks after work. Nothing big, just a few coworkers going to a local restaurant, not a bar, to have a few drinks and unwind a bit. I always declined the invite. They would still try to get me to come by changing the location or advising that not everyone was going to drink, others were only going to have water. They'd say it's not about what beverage you had, they just wanted to get together.

I understand that. But I still declined.

I know many people think that it is okay to be Christian and okay to drink. If you read the Bible, you will see God's strong disdain for alcohol. Yes, I have heard the argument, "well, Jesus drank wine." It's always the line that gets brought up on this topic but when you actually study the type of beverage it was when Jesus turned the water into wine, it was new wine, as in non-fermented, as in not alcoholic.

God called us Christians to "be ye separate" and to "come out from among them". I realize it is not the norm to be in my 20s and not drinking. I'm not saying that it isn't tempting at times but it's not worth it to me. I know I would disappoint God and I've learned from Proverbs 23 what happens to those that "tarry long at the wine" and I want nothing to do with it.

Proverbs 20:1 tells us, "Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise." We've spent all month looking at proverbs and trying to obtain more wisdom, what sense would it make to wash that wisdom away with a few drinks.

I don't drink. Proverbs 23 is on my list of reasons why.

Who hath woe? Who hath contentions?

Life is stressful and hectic enough. I do not need another vice that opens the door to more woe, more contentions, more affliction.

Day 22 - The financial proverb

"The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverb 22:7

I've always thought of this chapter as the financial proverb. There are so many verses about money and debts and agreements.

"Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?" Proverb 22:26-27

As I read through this chapter and thought about the verses today, I can't help but think back to the time in my life when finances were a heavy burden and struggle for me. They still are somewhat, here and there but I specifically remember seeing God work and provide for me and thought I'd share it with you.

At the time, I was living in an apartment with my sister and I had been using my credit card for almost everything. I had managed to rack up a few thousand dollars in debt and now they were coming to collect and I didn't have anything. It was to the point where I was eating one meal a day, if I could afford it, a sandwich from Subway - back then the "sub of the day" was $2.50. I remember combing through my vehicle to find enough change to make $2.50. But I was scared and ashamed and didn't want to tell anyone just how bad it was.

But God knew.

I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a Thursday. Pay day. I got my check that morning and knew my account was overdrawn so on my lunch break, I went to the bank and deposited my check. I came back to the office and tried to balance my funds. That's when it hit me.

My account was overdrawn more than what my entire paycheck was.

My mind began to race.

"Well, looks like I'll be fasting for the next 2 weeks."
"How am I going to afford gas to get to work?"

"Lord, what am I going to do?!?"

I was discouraged. I was ashamed. I was worried. I was scared. I was mad at myself. I was at a loss.

So I prayed. I finally let go of the reigns and gave my checkbook and bank accounts over to God. Just like when I got saved, I gave my mess to God and asked Him to fix it. I knew I had made a mess of everything He had given me and I knew He was the only One who could fix it.

I could hardly focus the rest of the day.

I drove home that day feeling defeated and pleading out to God.

I walked from my car to the door with heaviness. I unlocked the door and walked into the apartment and as I turned to close the door behind me, I realized I had stepped on something. I looked down and saw that it was an envelope with my name on it. There was no stamp, no address. It had apparently just been slipped under the door.

As I stood there, my sister came out of the bathroom after finishing a shower. I asked her if she had seen it or dropped it. She said she had just gotten home and took a shower and didn't see it before. So I opened up the envelope and inside was a cashier's check, in my name, for $100.00. In the corner of the check, by MEMO is simply said: God bless.

I was stunned.

That check felt like a million bucks to me that day! I began to weep. I was overwhelmed.

God had answered my prayer. I believe He answered it before I had even prayed it. I have an idea of who possibly slid that check under my door that night but I have never asked them about it. I figure they were being obedient to God and for that I am thankful. I'm thankful that God took care of me and allowed me to go through that time because I remember that experience when I read about how the borrower is servant to the lender.

It is so very true.

God has taught me a lot about finances and I am happy to say that I have lived the last 4-5 years without a credit card and I have no plan on obtaining one in the near future. I no longer live outside of my means. God has even brought funds across my path that have enabled me to give more to a ministry, missionary or fellow Christian when He lays it upon my heart to do so.

It is not always easy to go through those "trials' or lessons from God but I am thankful for them. That experience was very crisp and clear in my life and mind and now when finances begin to become a struggle, I think back to that day. I know I can trust in Him. I know He will protect me. I know He will provide for me because He did it then.

This lesson and experience taught more about more than just finances, it brought me to another level of faith in Him.

He is the only One I ever want to be indebted to.