The Proverbs Challenge - Day 30

Today's Proverbs change authors. Instead of Solomon, we are hearing from a guy named Agur. He was speaking these proverbs to Ithiel and Ucal. Nothing else is known about them (according to the footnotes in my fancy study Bible) But the ones who compiled the book of Proverbs obviously found the words of Agur to be on par with those of Solomon since they are included.

Verses 5-6
5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. 6 Don't add to His words, or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar. Holman Christian Standard

The New American Standard Bible (NASB) translates v. 5 this way "Every word of God is tested"The NIV says, "flawless."

I think that has the same meaning when you think of pure metals and how they are tested with fire and made pure.

Either way, Agur is reminding us that we can totally trust in God's word because it is pure, tested, flawless.

There has been a consistent attack on the Word of God over the past 30-40 years. Many who want to justify their personal sins will say something like "Well. That just applied to people of the time when the Bible was written. Times have changed. Paul wouldn't say that now."

These people should heed the warning found in v.6 "Don't add to His words, or He will rebuke you, and you will be proved a liar."

The Apostle John in Revelation gave this warning.
22:18 I testify to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. 19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this prophetic book, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, written in this book.

God is serious about His Word. We should be too.

The Proverbs Challenge - Day 29 - and an old song

Someone asked about Proverbs 31. Good question. In many months you can read a Proverb a day and it works out just fine. But if you know the song ♪ ♫ Thirty days has September, April, June and November, But who needs to remember? My days belong to you. ♫ ♪ Then you know there are several months where you don't have enough days to get all the way through the book.



So... you have two options. Read chapter 31 on the 20th or read it on the 1st of the next month. (No. Just totally skipping it is not an option.) I'm going to blog about Proverbs 31 on July 1.

I read through this chapter several times in a couple of different translations. The verse that keeps standing out to me today is verse 7

7 The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor, The wicked does not understand such concern.

Poor people often don't have access to lawyers or other advocates. They can be taken advantage of by landlords or loan sharks or others. Sometimes they are poor from their own bad choices in life. Sometimes they are poor because of their upbringing or lack of education. But no matter how they got there, all through scripture we see that God is concerned for the poor and expects us to be also.

Other verses form Proverbs 29 to consider:

Rand McNally (the map people) and USA Today are on a road trip to find the most patriotic city in America. Article from USA Today and Rand McNally

Clarksville is one of the finalists! Here's a note from their team that's scouting out the "most patriotic" cities.

" It's Tawny and Chris (aka Captain and Clark) from Rand McNally and USA Today's Road Rally.

We wanted to give you a heads up to our schedule for the next three weeks so that you'll have a rough estimate as to when we'll be arriving in your patriotic towns. We're currently in Williamsburg, Virginia and if the other contestants have anywhere near the enthusiasm that we've experienced so far, we'll burst in air with excitement. It's been a great start to our trip. "

Captain and Clark's Website

They'll be in Clarksville THIS weekend and even more exciting than that !!! They are going to be in our service Sunday morning and are going to video the entire service so they can show everyone how our church is helping make Clarksville the most patriotic city in the USA.

How cool is that?

So….. We need everyone who has ever sung, thought about singing, sings in the shower or with the car radio to sing with us Sunday morning. Call your friends who used to sing in choir and tell them we really need them. The orchestra sounds fantastic and we need to match that with the choir. Don't forget your teenagers and older children can join us too.

Help spread the word. We need you in choir Wednesday night and Sunday morning. The music is easy to learn. We'll use our books so you don't have to memorize anything.

Hope to see you all tomorrow night! (Bring more singers with you!)

The Proverbs Challange - Day 28

Have you ever been talking to someone - maybe even a group of people  - and you mention something that happened and someone quickly says, "It wasn't me!" or something to that effect, and you weren't even thinking about how that person was involved or "guilty" of anything? It happens a lot with children talking to their parents or parishoners talking to a pastor, so I've heard it a lot.

I always love to quote Proverbs 28:1 in those instances.

The wicked flee when no one is pursuing them,
but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

Hahaha. Then the person looks at you and says, "What does that mean?" to which I reply, "You're running and I wasn't even chasing you. You must be guilty of something. haha."

But the verse I want to choose for today is verse 6.

Better a poor man who lives in integrity
than a rich man who distorts right and wrong.

I heard a conversation between a 20 something y ear old and an older person and they were talking about signing contracts. The 20+ year old said people his age just signed contracts to get a job, that they didn't ever intend to actually follow it if they didn't want to. Oh my! This is from the Christian 20+ year olds.

Is that really the case? Have we as a nation really raised a generation that has zero integrity? Well, why wouldn't we have? The Baby Boomers starting it and perfected it in their children and now it is being passed on to the next generation. We should consider more of the proverbs in this chapter.

18 The one who lives with integrity will be helped,
but one who distorts right and wrong will suddenly fall.

20 A faithful man will have many blessings,
but one in a hurry to get rich will not go unpunished.

The Proverbs Challenge - Wounds from a Friend - Day 27

Yesterday's chapter in Proverbs had several verses that talked about fools. Today's chapter has several verses that talk about friends and how they help make you a better person (and I think you can logically conclude keep you from being a "fool").

5 Better is open rebuke

Than love that is concealed.

6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,

So a man’s counsel is sweet to his friend.

10 Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,

And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;

Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

17 Iron sharpens iron,

So one man sharpens another.

We all need friends in our lives who we will allow to be totally honest with us and tell us when we are messing up our lives. To have that kind of friend you have to be that kind of friend. You must be able to tell your friend the truth when he needs correction. I suppose we all would prefer a kind and gentle correction, but if correcting with kindness doesn't work we sometimes have to be more forceful. (look again at vs. 5-6)
 
If you don't have an iron sharpening iron relationship with anyone, let me encourage you to pray and ask God to send someone your way (and don't forget that you must be willing to be that kind of friend yourself.)
 

The Proverbs Challenge - Day 26

Proverbs 26 is pretty hard on the fools. Verse after verse (10 of the first 11) give various comparisons that make it very plain to all that a fool is not something you want to be or someone you want to spend any time with.

But look at verse 12

12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?

There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Wow! A fool returning to folly is compared to a dog returning to his vomit but there is more hope for a fool than a man who is wise in his own eyes! I'm not even sure what I can say as further commentary. Perhaps that is because someone who is wise in his own eyes can't be taught anything, can't be bothered with facts or truth, doesn't listen to reason. He already has all of life figured out (in his own mind) and  because of that, there is more hope for a fool.

The Proverbs Challenge - Day 25

Once again in this Proverb there are many verses that have to do with what we say. If you think about it, I guess most of the conflict in your life is probably because of something you said to someone or something they said to you.

11 A word spoken at the right time is like golden apples on a silver tray.

12 A wise correction to a receptive ear is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.

13 To those who send him, a trustworthy messenger is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day; he refreshes the life of his masters.

14 The man who boasts about a gift that does not exist is like clouds and wind without rain.

15 A ruler can be persuaded through patience, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.