All Blog Posts Tagged 'proverbs03' (36)

What will you inherit?

“The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.” -Proverbs 3:35 Today I’ve been thinking a little about what the world puts up as wisdom. And, honestly, the line of thoughts on this subject makes me very sad. I see people in the grocery store looking at the magazines, trying to find the sage advice that will fix their lives. I see people flocking to Oprah and Dr. Phil, hoping they will say something that will mend the mistakes. We turn to politicians, the great wise leaders of this… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on July 20, 2009 at 8:56pm — No Comments

I need to get through that door!

“Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.” -Proverbs 3:34 It’s one of my pet peeves – those people who try to bully their way into everything. If there’s anything they want, anything they want to be a part of, they will shove and push and complain until they get it. Half the time, they succeed, but everyone gets annoyed when they do. Everyone sees the injustice of it, and it just grates on you. It’s so much different when someone comes in humility – those p… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on July 15, 2009 at 10:01pm — No Comments

Don’t do evil over nothing

“Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.” -Proverbs 3:30 First reaction when reading this verse was this – what in the world am I going to talk about here? Am I going to try to encourage people to not get into battles when there is nothing to fight over? Do we really do that? Surely we don’t really wage wars over nothing, do we? Then I thought about it, and my second reaction was this – how in the world am I going to write about all the wars we wage over n… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on July 3, 2009 at 2:58pm — No Comments

Don’t do evil

“Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you.” -Proverbs 3:29 For a few months while in college, I had a neighbor right above me. Every Saturday and Sunday mornings, starting at about 7:00 or 8:00, he would start playing country music really loud. I doubt that would be a problem for me today, since I am an early riser, but at the time, I was working on Friday and Saturday nights until after midnight. In addition, I absolutely loath modern country music, so th… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on July 1, 2009 at 11:42am — 1 Comment

Doing good when you can do it

“Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it’ – when you have it with you.” -Proverbs 3:28 Not long ago, we had a terrible flood in the Houston area, and the parking lot in my apartment complex was filled with water. Almost every car parked there was a little flooded. It wasn’t bad, but everyone’s floorboards were pretty well soaked. A lot of people helped one another out. A lot of people didn’t. Obviously, there was a difference in the results. For those w… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 26, 2009 at 9:20pm — No Comments

Doing good

“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.” -Proverbs 3:27 This verse really got me thinking. I wonder if I can say that I really do this. I try to be helpful and considerate at work or at home, but am I withholding good at times? In fact, I can name a hundred times when I do. There have been many times when I’ve been caught up at work, and I use my extra time to get a little ahead rather than help someone else catch up. At home, I jump into a… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 24, 2009 at 8:09pm — No Comments

One step forward, two steps back

“for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.” -Proverbs 3:26 We spend so much time in our lives trying to fix things that we messed up. We spend so much time looking back and trying to figure out what went wrong. From the very simple to the complex, we are always trying to put out metaphorical fires and retrace steps. There’s not an important relationship in my life that I haven’t had to mend at some point or another. And the cracks in those relations… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 20, 2009 at 9:50am — No Comments

Will we mourn?

“Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,” -Proverbs 3:25 There is a fear, I must confess, that lingers in my heart. It is a fear for those I love who do not know Jesus. I have wondered on this quite a lot, and have prayed on it as much. I fear sometimes because the ruin of the wicked will come. Judgment Day will come, when Jesus judges the righteous and unrighteous and separates us for eternity. For there is a heaven, and those who believe in Him w… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 17, 2009 at 7:55pm — 2 Comments

So much to fear, so little time!

“Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes,” -Proverbs 3:25 I usually don’t watch the news. I will glance through the news stories every day online to keep up, but I just can’t take thirty minutes of reporting that says the sky is falling. Which is usually what it is. There is so much we could fear in this world, and the media latch onto every bit of it to keep us watching. In the last couple of years it has been global warming, swine flu, SARS, reces… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 12, 2009 at 7:00am — No Comments

By His strength

[A lost blog post. This was supposed to be uploaded last week, but instead I uploaded the one for verse 22 twice. Alas! I’ll try to keep the order right in the future.] “Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble.” -Proverbs 3:23 A couple of times a day, I try to take a walk around my office building, if only to get the juices flowing a little. We have a large parking lot, and there’s a sidewalk that runs around the entire thing, and so I’m usually not walki… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 11, 2009 at 7:10am — No Comments

Now I lay me down to sleep . . .

“If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.” -Proverbs 3:24 When I was very young, I had a dream once that a painting in my parents house attacked me. Now, I had been rather creeped out by this painting for some time, though I cannot say why now. It is of a man sitting in a chair. There’s nothing particularly ominous about it, save only that the eyes seem to follow you wherever you go. Perhaps that was it. It hardly matters. The end result of t… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 10, 2009 at 7:13pm — No Comments

The foolish and the wise

“and they [sound wisdom and discretion] will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.” -Proverbs 3:22 Have you every known someone who was so smart he made himself into a fool? I knew a man who was undoubtedly bright, and he knew he was bright. So much so that his pride precluded him from taking any advice, wisdom, or understanding from anyone else. He usually acted very poorly in the presence of other people because he was just so impressed with himself that he took no notice… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 5, 2009 at 5:49pm — No Comments

The foolish and the wise

“and they [sound wisdom and discretion] will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck.” -Proverbs 3:22 Have you ever known someone who was so smart he made himself into a fool? Let me try to explain with an example. I knew a man who was undoubtedly bright, and he knew he was bright. So much so that his pride precluded him from taking any advice, wisdom, or understanding from anyone else. He usually acted very poorly in the presence of other people because he was just so impresse… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 3, 2009 at 9:23pm — No Comments

Focus!

“My son, do not lose sight of these – keep sound wisdom and discretion,” -Proverbs 3:21 When I was newly graduated from college, I was having trouble finding a job. There were a lot of reasons for that. The job market in the Houston area was not great at that time; there were quite a few highly qualified people looking for work. Me on the other hand – not really qualified for much. I also really didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t know where to look, and I was struggling just looking… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on June 2, 2009 at 7:04am — No Comments

Balance

“by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.” -Proverbs 3:20 Have you ever wondered at the balance of this world? Have you ever wondered at the comfort of this place? We are perfectly set at a certain distance from the sun so that the temperature is typically nice. Even in summer, though I may complain of the heat, I am still able to go outside and walk around freely with combusting. The rain, in most areas, falls enough to water plants, animals, and people a… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on May 29, 2009 at 6:52pm — No Comments

Creation by wisdom

“The LORD by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens;” -Proverbs 3:19 I had a friend point this verse out to me a year or so ago, and ever since it has not ceased to stun me. The implications of it make my mind quake with the possibilities. By wisdom He founded the earth. He measured every curve, every orbit, every weight, and every pull, set this place upon a divinely ordained path, perfectly set for His creation. Every mountain He built, without error, do… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on May 27, 2009 at 8:58pm — No Comments

The tree of life

“She [wisdom] is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.” -Proverbs 3:18 The tree of life. Do you remember this one? The tree of life only makes an appearance in three books of the Bible. It’s right at the beginning of Genesis, that is at the beginning of the Bible, and at the very end of Revelation, that is at the end of the Bible. The only other book to mention it is in Proverbs. This is the first of four times we will look at it here.… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on May 25, 2009 at 8:47am — No Comments

What ways are these?

“Her [Wisdom’s] ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” -Proverbs 3:17 I had rather mixed emotions coming into this section of Proverbs. These early Proverbs teach as general rules. You know, it’s like when you get a boss who tells you, “Come every day, work hard, and you’ll do just fine.” Well, as a general rule, that is true, but come to work wearing flip-flops and a Speedo, and you’ll quickly find that you’re the exception to the rule. So I want to come to this v… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on May 20, 2009 at 8:43pm — No Comments

True riches, true life

“Long life is in her [Wisdom’s] right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor.” -Proverbs 3:16 Sometimes you sort of wish Solomon would make up his mind. He just finished telling us that we should seek wisdom more than money, and now it seems like he is saying to seek wisdom in order to get money. These are the sorts of verses that the Prosperity Gospel latches on to, and we can see why. It seems to be saying to follow God and you’ll get rich, doesn’t it? That’s pretty much what the… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on May 18, 2009 at 8:21am — No Comments

It’s not worth it

“She [wisdom] is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.” -Proverbs 3:15 It would be difficult for me to explain the last twelve hours of my life. Last night, I was convicted suddenly by some things I had done recently that hurt my wife very badly. She is extraordinarily gracious, and she forgave me immediately, and I was immediately sorry for the whole thing. That was a few weeks ago, but last night everything came back to me. I really couldn’t tell you w… Continue

Added by Paul Lytle on May 15, 2009 at 8:34am — No Comments