Today our Daily Bread Proverbs 3 ( English & Russian)

Proverbs 3
Trusting in the LORD
1 My child, never forget the things I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart, 2 for they will give you a long and satisfying life. 3 Never let loyalty and kindness get away from you! Wear them like a necklace; write them deep within your heart. 4 Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will gain a good reputation.
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths.
7 Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn your back on evil. 8 Then you will gain renewed health and vitality.
9 Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. 10 Then he will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.
11 My child, don't ignore it when the LORD disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. 12 For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
13 Happy is the person who finds wisdom and gains understanding. 14 For the profit of wisdom is better than silver, and her wages are better than gold. 15 Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. 16 She offers you life in her right hand, and riches and honor in her left. 17 She will guide you down delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying. 18 Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.
19 By wisdom the LORD founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens. 20 By his knowledge the deep fountains of the earth burst forth, and the clouds poured down rain.
21 My child, don't lose sight of good planning and insight. Hang on to them, 22 for they fill you with life and bring you honor and respect. 23 They keep you safe on your way and keep your feet from stumbling. 24 You can lie down without fear and enjoy pleasant dreams. 25 You need not be afraid of disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, 26 for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap.
27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it's in your power to help them. 28 If you can help your neighbor now, don't say, "Come back tomorrow, and then I'll help you."
29 Do not plot against your neighbors, for they trust you. 30 Don't make accusations against someone who hasn't wronged you.
31 Do not envy violent people; don't copy their ways. 32 Such wicked people are an abomination to the LORD, but he offers his friendship to the godly.
33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but his blessing is on the home of the upright.
34 The LORD mocks at mockers, but he shows favor to the humble.
35 The wise inherit honor, but fools are put to shame!
New Living Translation (NLT)

~ For Olga~
Притчи 3
1 Сын мой! наставления моего не забывай, и заповеди мои да хранит сердце твое;
2 ибо долготы дней, лет жизни и мира они приложат тебе.
3 Милость и истина да не оставляют тебя: обвяжи ими шею твою, напиши их на скрижали сердца твоего,
4 и обретешь милость и благоволение в очах Бога и людей.
5 Надейся на Господа всем сердцем твоим, и не полагайся на разум твой.
6 Во всех путях твоих познавай Его, и Он направит стези твои.
7 Не будь мудрецом в глазах твоих; бойся Господа и удаляйся от зла:
8 это будет здравием для тела твоего и питанием для костей твоих.
9 Чти Господа от имения твоего и от начатков всех прибытков твоих,
10 и наполнятся житницы твои до избытка, и точила твои будут переливаться новым вином.
11 Наказания Господня, сын мой, не отвергай, и не тяготись обличением Его;
12 ибо кого любит Господь, того наказывает и благоволит к тому, как отец к сыну своему.
13 Блажен человек, который снискал мудрость, и человек, который приобрел разум, --
14 потому что приобретение ее лучше приобретения серебра, и прибыли от нее больше, нежели от золота:
15 она дороже драгоценных камней; и ничто из желаемого тобою не сравнится с нею.
16 Долгоденствие--в правой руке ее, а в левой у нее--богатство и слава;
17 пути ее--пути приятные, и все стези ее--мирные.
18 Она--древо жизни для тех, которые приобретают ее, --и блаженны, которые сохраняют ее!
19 Господь премудростью основал землю, небеса утвердил разумом;
20 Его премудростью разверзлись бездны, и облака кропят росою.
21 Сын мой! не упускай их из глаз твоих; храни здравомыслие и рассудительность,
22 и они будут жизнью для души твоей и украшением для шеи твоей.
23 Тогда безопасно пойдешь по пути твоему, и нога твоя не споткнется.
24 Когда ляжешь спать, --не будешь бояться; и когда уснешь, --сон твой приятен будет.
25 Не убоишься внезапного страха и пагубы от нечестивых, когда она придет;
26 потому что Господь будет упованием твоим и сохранит ногу твою от уловления.
27 Не отказывай в благодеянии нуждающемуся, когда рука твоя в силе сделать его.
28 Не говори другу твоему: 'пойди и приди опять, и завтра я дам', когда ты имеешь при себе.
29 Не замышляй против ближнего твоего зла, когда он без опасения живет с тобою.
30 Не ссорься с человеком без причины, когда он не сделал зла тебе.
31 Не соревнуй человеку, поступающему насильственно, и не избирай ни одного из путей его;
32 потому что мерзость пред Господом развратный, а с праведными у Него общение.
33 Проклятие Господне на доме нечестивого, а жилище благочестивых Он благословляет.
34 Если над кощунниками Он посмевается, то смиренным дает благодать.
35 Мудрые наследуют славу, а глупые--бесславие.
Russian Synodal Version (RSV) Public Domain

~Lena’s Comments~
Obviously if one is concentrating on being loyal, that one should also concentrate on being kind. It appears that if these two characteristics are not working together their effectiveness alone is weak. It says NEVER let these characteristics get away from you! Never? Never. Why? To have favor with God, and then to also have favor with men. Why do we want favor? To be an effective worker in God’s kingdom, of course.
Do we like toiling all day long? Do we like "fishing all night?" No one does, yet we so often do when we only let one of these characteristics develop in us at once. We have got to have favor or we will have no effect for Christ in the earth. It is not only our personal reputation that is at stake here. It is the reputation of Christ.
Ever had a wrong thought about God? Where do you think it came from? A reputation someone who says they are His created for us. We also create this for others as we walk in what we have called His light.
My own wisdom will try to reason out God’s word. My own wisdom will try to figure God and His will out, if I feel it is reasonable then I will choose to follow it. What if it is unreasonable!?
Why is our relationship with God not healthy? Because we reason His word out and do not simply trust Him at His word. God’s will is rarely reasonable, It cannot be naturally figured out. Forget the figures, He’s infinite!
How do we honor the Lord with out income? I was thinking, of what we’ve recently begun to understand more – that I can work, work, work for more and more money and then end up working more and more for money, or I can work for God and make money. It is all about my thoughts on the matters. Where I work for money, do I do the work of Christ? Am I displaying God’s fruit and planting good seeds, using the opportunities given me, by simply being in a field with other people? Do I use it as a platform to launch relationships of an eternal nature? Maybe I don’t "witness" on my job, in the way of talking about God, but my life is a witness of the character of God and it invites others into a relationship with me that would give room for the truth to be built upon.
So, what if we are feeling corrected by God’s word right now in these passages? If I were a ship’s captain, I would want my course to be corrected if I were off or else I might crash. Why in America do we love to crash first, then figure it all out ourselves later on , then get ourselves back on course without anyone else’s help? That’s craziness and a waste of time.
God has set us in a family and has surrounded us with directioneers who are gracious enough to steer us towards safety and goals and to tell us if we are veering off course. It is a waste of our life’s time, which is only a brief season while we are here, and we ARE here to reach specific goals, Why would we waste time in meeting them? If we were a sea-bound freight company (is about money again or is it about working for God?) and we had a destination to make in order to get our money and satisfy our consumers, would be not do all that was in us to find out how to deliver the goods in a timely safe, expedient form? Then after we have met the "goal" we immediately go on to the next goal, studying how to get that one accomplished even more efficiently. We would not even consider being slack or doing it the way we thought it should be done, in fact we’d follow those who went before us and created a manual for us to follow. Are you catching on?
The goal is Christ. You can be anywhere on any part of the planet at any job or involved in any ministry or activity at any time and be Christ’s representative, making a reputation for Him or not. This is not about where we live or what job we have or what ministry call we are working towards fulfiling. It is about Christ in us which is the hope they have of ever entering glory in the here and now and the ever later.
A good sailor even takes orders and without question does the order, if he needs correction, he stands corrected and makes the necessary change so that the whole ship can stay on course. God does not correct us to reject us, He corrects us to head us on a straight path towards our goals. Wisdom is taking the correction as an action to be applied, apply it and go on.
The best help any of us can give another is to display Christ, set up an atmosphere for God’s spirit to move in for change. Helping others would be to obtain favor with people, because when we do we set them up to be eternally helped by God. Even giving a person a natural piece of bread will only help them right now in this temporary realm, where giving them the word of God will become both bread and water to their souls. If we demonstrate Christ to people we are doing them a great service, an eternal service. We’ve got to lay aside that which hinders Christ’s impression on them. So what if they don’t look like us, agree with us or act like us! That is not the goal, Christ is the goal. What would encourage the planting of Christ in them? Would winning that argument? Or proving your point? No, proving Him would encourage His being planted in their own lives.