Proverbs - Watch Out!

Proverbs 1:10-19

            My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

            If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood,

 let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause:

 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave;

and whole, as those that go down into the pit:

 We shall find all precious substance,

we shall fill our houses with spoil:

            Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

            My son, walk not thou in the way with them;

 refrain thy foot from their path:

 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

             Surely in vain the net is spread in the sight of any bird.

  And they lay wait for their own blood;

 they lurk privily for their own lives.

              So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain;

which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.

                        Sometimes the enemy plants just the ‘wrong’ people into our lives.  They seem to entice us to go in directions with our lives and/or mind that are very dangerous to all that the Lord wants to do in our lives.

                        Money-making schemes are a dime a dozen and many times people will call us on the phone or appear on an infomercial or come into our home in person, via e-mail or by video or CD to get us to jump on board and get rich quick.  Sister, be careful!  The Lord warns us in 1 Tim 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” and in Prov 15:27a, “He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house...”  We must be content and seek first His kingdom and the true spiritual riches He has for us so we don’t end up caught in a trap to rob our families of the riches of a mother and wife who invest in the lives of the next generation.

Proverbs - Pause and Perceive

Proverbs 31:18

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

Pause and Perceive

When we read about the Lord creating all we enjoy, we see a pattern.  He stops at the end of the day and beholds that what He did was good.  Ladies, do you ever stop and behold what you have done and its goodness?  So often we run to the next task forgetting the sense of accomplishment in what we have just completed.  We rush to clean the next room, not stopping to take in the order we just brought to the previous.  We rush to correct our children and train them in the way they should go without soaking in the times they do go in the way they should.  Journaling can help us do this as well as a time to pray at the end of the day thanking the Lord for all He has done through us.  We will be careful not to take the credit but let us stop and enjoy the good things He does through us.  This will give us the determination and sense of purpose we need for all we have yet to do!

Proverbs - Willingly

Proverbs 31:13

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

Willingly

A virtuous woman doesn’t need everything handed to her.  She will seek for the materials she needs and doesn’t mind working with her hands.  As a matter of fact, she works willingly with her hands.  The manicure is not her priority.  She knows that using her hands to clean and cook helps her home be a place of order and her hands will help bring it about.  She knows that everything isn’t always easy and expects to spend much time looking for things and using her hands.  This modern day world tells us to love ease, but God’s design for us is to be women who willingly work with our hands.  The next time we need to hunt something down or pick something up, let us use our will to choose to do it and find that we will be shining like a ruby.

Knowing God - God Speaks

Luke 5:4

 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

Jesus had been teaching the multitudes.  He gave them wonderful instruction about their lives, the Lord and truth.  Then Jesus stopped speaking to the multitudes and spoke a directive to Simon.  The Lord loves His people and has so much to say to us as a flock, as a body and as His children, but He loves to speak to us directly as well.  Our God speaks to us about our individual lives.  He talked to Simon about Simon’s boat, Simon’s net and Simon’s profession.  Do you know that your Lord loves you and wants to speak to you about your possessions, your responsibilities and your day?  Do you ever place yourself as just one of His sheep instead of realizing that you are His individual lamb as well?  How wonderful to know that our Lord loves us and desires for us to hear Him leading our individual decisions and course!