Proverbs 16:12-15 (Friday and the weekend)

Proverbs 16:12-15(KJV):
12 It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness.

13 Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him that speaketh right.

14 The wrath of a king is as messengers of death: but a wise man will pacify it.

15 In the light of the king's countenance is life; and his favour is as a cloud of the latter rain.

Thoughts for the Day

These verses in Proverbs tell us what the role of a king should be, and how a king has the authority to rule. According to verse 12 God calls it an abomination for a king or a ruler to commit wickedness. Any leader who is wicked will cause those under his rule to suffer. It is usually difficult for a wicked king to hold his position, as those around him plot as how to over throw him. On the other hand, a good and righteous leader is able to establish his rule or throne by his virtuous leadership. He finds favor with his subjects, as all people respond positively to goodness. People honor a good king as his righteousness will affect the whole land.

Verse 13 tell us that from the king's perspective, he too, appreciates righteous people around him. A good king or leader delights in the kind and righteous words that he hears from his subjects, and he loves those who speak correctly. Leaders favor those who speak good words of wisdom. These are the kind of people who will be chosen to help them rule. Those who rebel against the king's authority will bring the king's wrath against themselves. According to verse 14 it is not wise to stir the wrath of a king, as a man who does this could even be in danger of losing his life. If a man hears the king is angry with him, it would come as a message of death. It would be wise for this man to humble himself and try to pacify the king's anger.

According to verse 15 a wise man should seek to please the king, as in doing so, he will find that the king's countenance will reflect a smile upon him. He will then find favor with the king that will be like a cloud that brings the spring rain. Looking at these verses, we can also apply a spiritual application to them. Since Jesus is our king, we should strive to please Him and not rebel against Him and in doing so, we will find favor with God. The way we pacify our King, is to approach Him with an humble attitude and a repentive heart if we have sinned. When we do this, He will forgive us and accept us and show us His favor.

Proverbs 16:5-7 (Thursday)

Proverbs 16:5-7(KJV): 5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. 6 By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. 7 When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Thoughts for the Day These verses in Proverbs reveal to us how the Lord deals with the wicked and proud, as well as His dealings with the righteous. Verse 5 states that those who are proud in their hearts are very offensive to the Lord. This kind of pride is an attitude of arrogance. It is opposed to the heart attitude of humility which the Bible says is of great price before God. Verse 5 also states that even though two people might be joined together hand in hand, they will be judged separately. If a righteous person is joined with a wicked one in marriage, the one who is wicked will not go unpunished because of the righteous one. Yes, the prayers and love of a righteous person will prolong judgement on the wicked, but there is a day coming when all men must stand before the Lord and each will give an account for his or her deeds. When a man's space of time for repentance runs out, then no man can prolong the judgement of God. God is very merciful and desires that all men come to repentance. However, God is also a just God, and punishment and judgement must come on all sin and sinners. That is why the Bible says , "...behold now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthian 6:2: "(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)" Time is running out for many people. We need to make our decision to serve Christ today while there is time to do so. Verse 6 tells us that the Lord, by His mercy and truth, can free us of our sin and iniquity. Our part is to line up with the truth of God and receive His mercy and He will purge our hearts of evil. The other part of this verse tells us that by the fear of the Lord we will depart from evil. This kind of fear is a holy respect for God and His Word. If we really believe when God says in His Word that sinners will go to hell, this holy respect for God's Word will drive us to God and we will depart from evil. Verse 7 tells us that when our ways please the Lord, He will even make our enemies to be at peace with us. What a wonderful promise of the Lord! God will fight for us and will take care of us. He does not want us to be in strife with men. Our enemy is not other men, but rather the devil who uses men for his evil work. If we take authority over the real enemy and pray for those who are pawns in his hand, we can experience not only our deliverance but theirs as well. The Lord told us to overcome evil with good. When we obey God in that commandment, He will take care of our enemies and cause them to be at peace with us.

Proverbs 16:3 (Wednesday)

Proverbs 16:3(KJV):

3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

Proverbs 16:3 tells us to give our works to the Lord and to commit and trust them wholly to Him. As we do this, He will cause our thoughts to become agreeable to His will. When we obey and do the will of God, our plans will be established and succeed, because they are the plans of God. When I am in doubt about what I should do in a certain situation, I ask the Lord, if what I am thinking and feeling is from Him, to put it stronger in my spirit. However, if those thoughts are not of Him, I ask Him to remove them from my mind and let me have His thoughts and plans. We must not be led by circumstances, nor should we be led by our minds or emotions without the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If our minds and emotions have not been cleansed from carnal thinking, the devil can deceive us, causing us to miss the will of God. The Bible says that as the sons of God, we should be led by the Spirit of God. Our circumstances, thinking and emotions should then line up with what the Spirit of God has revealed to us. He leads, they follow.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, we are promised that whatever we do will be successful. Our Father in heaven is all wise and He will not allow us, as His sons and daughters to be defeated. If we follow the ways of the Lord and strive to please Him, we will not live to please our flesh.

Proverbs 16:2

Proverbs 16:2(KJV):

2 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.

Verse 2 of Proverbs 16 in our devotional tells us that men think that they are pure in their own sight. Without God's light, men do not realize they are deceived by the devil in the things they choose to do, so they do not perceive their doings as wrong. The Lord weighs the spirits of men. He reveals Himself to those who are searching for the truth, because He sees the thoughts and intents of men's hearts. Those without God walk in a way that seems right to them; however, it will lead to death unless they give their lives to God and follow Him.

Proverbs Week 7/23-7/27, 2007 - Proverbs 16:1

Proverbs 16:1(KJV):
1 The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.

Thoughts for the Day

The book of Proverbs reveals the source of true wisdom which comes from the Lord, as He establishes the thoughts of those who commit their works unto Him. Verse 1 tells us that when a man has the heart of the Father, he will prepare his speech and answers to reflect the Lord's advice which comes by the Holy Spirit. As God's children, we should prepare our hearts to receive from the Lord, by keeping a submitted and committed attitude before Him. The other preparation that we should make is to fill our minds and hearts with the Word of God. As we read the Bible, God's Holy Word, it will renew our minds and our thinking so that we change our carnal thinking to think the thoughts of God.

We are cleansed by the Word of God. It is like water washing away the dirt from our minds. We must not only receive it in our minds, but ask the Lord to help us to apply it to our lives by faith. As we line up with the Word of God, our lives will be changed so that we can walk in victory over sin in our lives. The Word of God is full of power and it is able to change us, when we call on God in faith to help us to walk in the commandments of God.

Who Keeps you Going "A Poem"

BE KIND TO EVERYONE YOU MEET...
FOR EVERYONE IS CARRYING A HEAVY BURDEN OF SOME KIND.


Happiness keeps You Sweet,
Trials keep You Strong,
Sorrows keep You Human,
Failures keeps You Humble,
Success keeps You Glowing,
But Only God keeps You Going!

You are so special!

THE BELL

I KNOW WHO I AM


I am God's child (John 1:12 )
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17 )
I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19 -20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27 )
I am free forever from condemnation (Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18 )
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separ ated from the love of God(Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28 )
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13 )
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16 ). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship(Eph. 2:10 )
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col. 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child(Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
who you are!?


Keep this bell ringing...pass it on by sending a link to this blog to your friends:)

"The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you
and give you peace."
Numbers 6:24-26

Choose to receive God's grace

We can face life with a confident attitude, knowing that where God guides, He provides. God gives us grace one day at a time just as He gave the Israelites manna one day at a time.

Every time you realize you are dreading something, make a decision to stop dreading and just believe that you can do whatever you need to do with joy because God is with you.

Say This:

"I refuse to dread. I choose to receive God's grace to help me accomplish all that I need to do today."

Have a Magnificent Monday in the Lord!

Good Fruit

The Bible says a good tree will bear good fruit, and a rotten tree will bear rotten fruit. Likewise, the “fruit” of our lives comes from the “root” within us. If you're rooted in shame, guilt, inferiority, rejection, lack of love and acceptance, etc., the fruit of your relationships will suffer. However, once you have a revelation of God’s unconditional love for you and begin to accept yourself and others, eventually these new roots will produce good fruit, and your relationships will thrive.


Put your Jesus on and allow everyone that comes in contact with you to see it, feel it and want it.

A river of life

Are you tired of your life being dry, confused and without direction? Are you weary of having to strive for everything in life? Just remember, until you're able to get your well cleared out and unplugged, everything will be difficult, disappointing and unfulfilled. No matter what you try, you'll be unable to taste the water from that river. And that water satisfies like nothing else.

Remember, God put a river of life inside each of us. We just need to tap into that stream by clearing up what blocks its flow. God can help you forgive, see the needs of those around you, and let go of past hurts or wrongs. He wants to help you deal with the “stones” and “debris” that are stopping up your well.

Make a choice today to stop spending your life fighting, struggling and trudging through the mud with every step. Stop taking inventory of what you've lost, and take a good look at what you've got left. Ask God to help you clear out the debris. Then enjoy the satisfying flow of the river of life!


Have a Terrific Tuesday.

Be encouraged today!

TAKE IT PERSONALLY!

I remember several years ago someone criticizing me and then saying, “Don’t take it
personally.” I looked amazed, I’m sure, and explained, “How can I not take it personally when
you are talking about me!” Then we both laughed!

So don’t criticize someone and not expect them to take it personally. There are 100 ways to say
the same thing, so be careful what you say and how you say it. You can be candid which is
good, instead of blunt, which usually isn’t.

In all areas I think it is irresponsible not to take things personally. I think it makes a huge
difference in life and work if you care! You will do more, go out of your way for a customer,
work harder, and be easier to be around if you care and take it personally!
Success takes a lot of hard work. But more importantly, success takes a lot of “heart” work.
Whatever you are doing at work, at home, and in the community take it personally.

“If a man is called to be a streetsweeper,
he should sweep streets
even as Michelangelo painted,
or Beethoven composed music,
or Shakespeare wrote poetry.
He should sweep streets so well
that all the hosts of heaven and earth
will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper
who did his job well.”

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Whatever your goals and dreams, throw yourself into them and take it personally.