Proverbs - Helium

Proverbs 13:11

 Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished:

but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

Vanity is a King James word for emptiness.  Vanity describes things that may take effort and labor but there is nothing to it.  Vanity can be understood by looking at a helium balloon.   It moves around, its presence is obvious but there really is nothing of substance to it.  When we seek after money using empty means, the wealth is like that balloon – fragile and gone in what seems like an instant.  Using credit to gain things to make us feel better lasts no longer than the newness of the item.  When the bills come, the satisfaction of what we acquired diminishes.  There is no money behind it.  Accruing debt to look wealthy is vanity.  The Lord wants us to be a people who look to Him and can wait upon Him to give us the desires of our heart.  We must be hard workers who are willing to save up for things and then we will appreciate them and teach our children the value of things.  Our pursuits of any sort of things should be marked by a willingness to work for it and have the money available to purchase them.   This helps us know God’s will.  He is our provider.  If the money is not there, perhaps He does not think it a good thing at the time.

 Sister, stop getting wealth by emptiness.  Look to the Lord to provide.  Work hard.  Don’t give in to your fallen nature that cries out for immediate gratification.

 Wait on the Lord.  He will renew your strength and you will abide satisfied.

Knowing God - He Determines Approval

2 Tim 2:15

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

He Determines Approval

God is the One who decides if we have studied His Word appropriately or not.  It is not the popular Christian opinion, nor the renegade’s original theological stance, but the approval of God that warrants whether we have studied His Word the way He wants it studied.  God is watching.  God is evaluating.  It is the word of GOD.  It belongs to Him and came forth from Him.  How dare we recklessly divide His Word as if we were performing an autopsy of some sort of dead ancient writings!  The Word of God is alive and to be treated with upmost reverence, respect and recognition that it is God alone that determines whether we have handled it well.  The approval we need comes from Him alone.  All other affirmation or rejection is irrelevant when determining our proper handling of His Word!

Proverbs - Only By Pride

Proverbs 13:10

 Only by pride cometh contention:

 but with the well advised is wisdom.

The scriptures warn us about being contentious women.  When we are contentious we are hard to get along with.  We are easily annoyed.  We tend to almost want to argue or disagree.  Here is an incredible insight into the source of such an attitude - Pride. Hmmmm -  some of you are not surprised.  You know how you are in your view of yourself and others when you get like this.  “It is my way or no way”.  “I deserve this or that”.  “If they would change, I wouldn’t be like this.”  Contention involves self focus.  Oh that we would be women who humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God and seek to please Him!  This would cause the contention to cease.  The surprising thing about this verse is that the lord says that contention comes ONLY by pride – not PMS, not due to financial pressures, but ONLY by pride.  Let us come before Him now and ask Him for humility of mind so that we won’t be that contentious woman that is like a dripping faucet.  

Knowing God - The Lord's Name is to be Praised

Ps 113:3

From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the Lord's name is to be praised.

The Lord’s Name is To Be Praised

Some of us are morning people.  Others of us are night owls.  Some of us see the break of dawn as an opportunity to tackle the day and are filled with great hope and determination.  Others see the night as a time that we can do things without the needless interruptions of those on a regular schedule.  Some of us see the morning as an overwhelming moment facing the day and demands that await us.  Others see the night as a sad, lonely time quiet of human interaction that comforts and fills our lives with relationship and intimacy.  No matter what we are, God is both!  From the rising of the sun until it goes down, His name is to be praised.  He is to be praised before the day begins and He is to be praised at the end of it as well.  No matter what the day will hold or what it has held, His name is to be praised.  Perhaps we should begin our morning praising Him and His name; telling Jesus how much we love Him and trusting the day to His care.  Perhaps our last words from our lips should be praise to Jesus for taking us through the day and trusting Him to give us the wisdom to process all that has happened.  Lord, you are the Alpha and Omega and the beginning and the end. 

At the start and end of our days,

Lord, to You, we bring our praise.

Proverbs - Illuminate

Proverbs 13:8-9

 The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor heareth not rebuke.

The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall be put out.

All of our lives are like lamps or lights.  We have the potential to illuminate the lives and paths around us.  Our children, husbands, friends and co-workers, have us as examples and the way we live our lives will determine how much our lives will make their ways easier to see.  As women who choose to live righteously, our lights will rejoice.  The presence of righteousness will be shining for all those who are around us.  When we are faced with doing the right thing in the eyes of the Lord and then we choose it, our light is refreshed and shines in a way that is steady and to be relied upon.  Ladies, if we desire to influence those around us, be sensitive to what may seem like insignificant moral choices.  The Spirit of Truth will speak to you and His Word will be your lamp.  Choose righteousness and expect your lives to help others see.

Knowing God - He Determines Our Entrance

2 Peter 1:11

For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

He Determines Our Entrance

Those of us who are in Christ are promised a place in the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Our credentials for being there are wrapped up in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection.  When He said, “It is finished”, it was finished.  When He conquered the grave and rose from the dead, death was determined to be ultimately powerless in the face of a sinless and holy Savior.  But, here we learn something about the entrance itself into the everlasting kingdom.  God has set up some things, like crowns and rewards within the kingdom as well as position of rule and the entrance into the kingdom itself.  The everlasting kingdom belongs to Jesus Christ and He has the authority to determine what qualifies for entrance as well as the type of entrance one experiences.  Do I totally understand what this means? No, but I do stand back and have a healthy respect for the Lord, knowing He is watching my stewardship of such a salvation and does determine certain angles when I stand before His presence.  Let us remember that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, all that the Lord has planned for us.  Let this prioritize our lives and make us diligent within our call and election.

Proverbs - Don't Work TO BE Rich!

Proverbs 13:7

 There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing:

there is that maketh himself poor,

 yet hath great riches.

Making our self rich is never to be a pursuit or drive in a believer’s life.  Proverbs 23:4 tells us “Labour not to be rich …” (KJV) Riches and honor are from the Lord.  We find over and over again in the book of Proverbs, admonitions to work hard, uprightly and not to be slothful.  We focus on how we work and not what we receive from working.  Here we see that wealth is measured by God’s standard and His standard alone.  The riches we have in seeking first His kingdom are bountiful and never to be touched by a thief, or corrupted by moth or rust.  Sometimes we make decisions that will not financially benefit us but we find other deposits in the account of our character and frame.  Daughter of God, enjoy the riches of His grace today, praise Him for all He is to you and seek to make decisions to further His kingdom.  Ask Him to cleanse any greed for gain from your heart and to help you honor Him in your priorities and decisions.  Trust that in choosing His way – you are rich indeed!