John knew

John 1:4 “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.” If you have a choice of walking, running or living in darkness or walking, running or living in light—which would you choose?There couldn’t be a more obvious answer, yet many choose the obviously wrong answer.  Study your Bible, develop a close relationship with your Heavenly Father and enjoy the wonderful daily and eternal joy of walking, running and living in the fabulous light gifted to us by our Savior.  There is no greater joy!

Very interesting

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.” This is a phenomenal verse.  This verse begins with the exact 3 words of the beginning of the Bible.  The Word–Jesus–was present when God created our universe.  If that is true, and it is true, this verse not only states Jesus is God, but it is also the beginning of Christmas.  John loved his Savior.  He is bringing us to the beginning to show each of us the magnificence of everything he is going to tell us in the rest of his book. 

True value

Proverbs 31:30 “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Youth and energy and beauty which come while being young are wonderful blessings.  Maturity and age steal these youthful attributes.  Walking and exercising become more difficult while youthful beauty slowly fades.  However, faith becomes stronger, more in depth and wisdom becomes solid like a boulder.  God reminds each of us to praise especially women who portray a faith of strength and the wonderful personality of faithfully serving their Creator. Have a great weekend.

Is this you?

Proverbs 31:26 “She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.” The attributes of an outstanding wife, mother and grandmother are to bring excellence to her family and to those she comes in contact with.  The same is true of a husband, father and grandfather.  We all share in the responsibility of not only attaining wisdom, but also passing that wisdom on to future generations.  God, in this verse, wants us all to know the high value He places on women who serve Him courageously and faithfully.

Traits admired

Proverbs 31:25a “She is clothed with strength and dignity…” Proverbs 31, the second half, should be studied by every teenager who has thoughts of ever getting married.  Parents should set their children down and teach the characteristics of an outstanding wife.  And children should learn by example.  Their mother, if she has the traits God describes in this chapter is to be cherished by her children and by her husband.  She is a blessing to all.  Sincerely thank God if you have such a mother, grandmother or wife.

Finding treasure

Proverbs 31;10 “A wife of noble character who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies.” Which would you rather have–(think about this for a little while) –a never ending balance on your debit card or a loyal, faithful, God-fearing and wise spouse?The one allows you earthly pleasures which we seemingly work hard to gain and the other is a gift which one could never work hard enough to buy.  One produces friends so abundantly that life is one party after another and the other is contentedness and peace creating a home of character, honor and love.  All of us would/should conclude the spouse is a far more valuable treasure.  What is your choice?

Speak up

Proverbs 8a “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves…” The largest group of individuals who cannot speak for themselves are children–little children–very little children–children in the womb.  How can they represent themselves?  They can’t.  You and I have an obligation to represent them–or should we ignore both them and this passage?  

What do you want?

Proverbs 30:8b-9 “…give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father is the most important, most valuable and the most meaningful possession you and I cherish.  We never want our earthly wealth, or our earthly lack of possessions to affect this relationship.  Our strength is our Savior, and we all want to be as strong as possible with no interference or distractions. Have a great weekend.

A most important truth

Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” Some view God’s Word as being a book which can be interpreted as one pleases and parts can even be eliminated if one so chooses.  Those attitudes are totally flawed.  All of us who value God’s Word as His exposure of Himself and His instruction for living a life of contentedness, peace, faithfulness, wisdom and understanding have to value every word He has written.  We can neither add nor discard any word or thought which seemingly makes our opinions valid.  This passage is absolute truth and can be interpreted only one way.  

Fear motivates

Proverbs 29:25 “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.” This might not be a usual thought, but we all live in fear.  We all want to–fit in–and not be singled out as the odd ball in the crowd.  That thinking is very detrimental to our well-being and detrimental to our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  We should never be concerned about the conclusions of seemingly accepted society thought and conclusions and therefore live in fear of compliance, but we should rather live in the loving respect and therefore of the absolute truths of our magnificent God.  That fear is not only honorable but will gain an eternity of joy.

Pride or humility–which is better?

Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.” The first step in addiction recovery recognizes the fact one needs to place his life in God’s hands.  One must totally remove everything else including his own pride.  There is no such thing as pride either in addiction recovery or in living a successful life.  All of us do well in realizing we are not our own.  We have all been bought by our precious Savior with His precious blood.  Humility carries a treasure house of rewards and who of us doesn’t want to live in a house full of treasure?

Keep reading and studying

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” If you and I allow ourselves to ignore reading, studying and discussing God’s Word we will find ourselves relying on the dangerous concepts of our own imagination in regard to living a successful and abundant life.  When we do read, study and discuss God’s absolute truths we will find ourselves blessed, content and living lives with a deep relationship having our Heavenly Father walking by our side.  This brings each of us true peace.