Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Our Daily Bread TODAY Proverbs 22 ++

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

If the e-mail text you receive is encrypted at all, just scroll down to the end of all of the text and click on Lena’s Journalin’ , which will take you directly to the web-page where you will be able to read the text quite clearly in it’s purposed form.

Proverbs 22:1-29
1Choose a good reputation over great riches, for being held in high esteem is better than having silver or gold.
2The rich and the poor have this in common: The LORD made them both.
3A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
4True humility and fear of the LORD lead to riches, honor, and long life.
5The deceitful walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will stay away.
6Teach your children to choose the right path, and when they are older, they will remain upon it.
7Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.
8Those who plant seeds of injustice will harvest disaster, and their reign of terror will end.
9Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor.
10Throw out the mocker, and fighting, quarrels, and insults will disappear.
11Anyone who loves a pure heart and gracious speech is the king's friend.
12The LORD preserves knowledge, but he ruins the plans of the deceitful.
13The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, "If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!"
14The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit; those living under the LORD's displeasure will fall into it.
15A youngster's heart is filled with foolishness, but discipline will drive it away.
16A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.
Thirty Sayings of the Wise
17Listen to the words of the wise; apply your heart to my instruction. 18For it is good to keep these sayings deep within yourself, always ready on your lips. 19I am teaching you today—yes, you—so you will trust in the LORD. 20I have written thirty sayings for you, filled with advice and knowledge. 21In this way, you may know the truth and bring an accurate report to those who sent you.
22Do not rob the poor because they are poor or exploit the needy in court. 23For the LORD is their defender. He will injure anyone who injures them.
24Keep away from angry, short-tempered people, 25or you will learn to be like them and endanger your soul.
26Do not co-sign another person's note or put up a guarantee for someone else's loan. 27If you can't pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you.
28Do not steal your neighbor's property by moving the ancient boundary markers set up by your ancestors.
29Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than ordinary people.

~ Lena’s Journalin’ ~ Today
That good reputation that we’re choosing, who is it before? Men? Or God? Good question, huh?
Men may accept our behaviors as ok, fine, good enough, common, excused and even justified, but would God and the Spirit of God in us say it is fine, good and ok? Would He justify it?
No matter the society we live in, we stand before God and His word is our image to mirror. Our holiness (defined as doing what we know to do before God) is before His standard, and not that of any peer group. We need to see this as worth our time, worth our love relationship with God, worth giving anything we have over. What is the “danger to come”? Simply put – hell’s fire.
Does your life have the appearance of one who belongs to God and should be a part of God’s heavenly realm? We do not know when our time to go to one of two eternal places will be, we should always overestimate, rather than underestimate its requirement.
There is only one valid thing that will decide, that is, is Jesus your Lord? Has His blood covered your sin? If your sin has been forgiven and covered up, does it still live and show its face daily or is it repented of and staying under the cover of the blood.
When God reveals a sin to us, after we receive Him into our lives, He expects us to run to His mercy and receive forgiveness, and change. We’re deceived if we think we can stay the same and live under the mercy of His blood! That is mocking God and the work He did for us. So a man foresees danger and prepares, he prepares Himself daily as if today is the day he’d meet His maker face to face in the heavenlies.
Humility will keep us in the continual state of repentance, humility will say, You’re right, as always, wow Lord, thank You for showing me, is there anything else I should know about that might be keeping you and I apart in any way? What do we love? Who do we love? Ourselves? That can be good, because we’re commanded to love others and the Bible says we can’t do that well if we don’t love ourselves. Do we love God? Really love God? Enough to show it by obedience to His words and actions? If we love Him, it will be displayed in our obedient nature.
Maybe we’re young in our faith, have not grown a whole lot, because we’ve not come into the exercise of obeying a lot. If we bring ourselves under discipline, we will experience growth. In the NT it says discipline does not seem all that fun, but will bring forth fruits of right living. It would be good to endure some grief of heart to become disciplined. It also says those who will do that before the Lord, are called Sons’ of God, that means grown up ones. It’s time for all of us to grow up to another level of love and discipleship, to endure hardship of the soul, that the kingdom of God would increase and God would use us to do it!
A competent worker will serve kings, rather than just ordinary people. Were you thinking that that was about a job, an earthly job? It can be, but what about our heavenly Co-mission – GO into all of the world and be preachers of the good news of the salvation of Jesus Christ? Do you know every person has that Co-mission or job with God? Even if they have not yet received Him. That’s the job of every human. We should hire a few and show them the ropes, before its too late, for some it is the last hour and they have not worked the fields at all yet. They’re missing out big time on raises and benefits and eternal treasure and securities!
Then if we go back to the Genesis mandate, be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, rule it and have dominion over every living thing. That is our main job, no matter where we work, that is our job.
So he who is a competent worker, he’ll stand before kings. He’ll be crowned a king, before the king of Kings and the Lord of lords. Amen
I’m gonna print here a story from the NT about field workers, remember that’s all of us whether we know it or not. The wages are our eternal security. If they do not come and work they’ll not have any, not even a penny. Be a co-missioner with God, Go get workers, go pray for workers, go hire workers, the fields are more than ready and the time is oh so short. We do not have any idea when one’s 11th or 12th hour will be upon them. He is Lord of the harvest, stand before Him and ask for laborers! You’ll have what you ask for.
A Story About Workers Matt 20:1-16
1"God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work.3"Later, about nine o'clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. 4He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. 5They went."He did the same thing at noon, and again at three o'clock. 6At five o'clock he went back and found still others standing around. He said, "Why are you standing around all day doing nothing? 7'"They said, "Because no one hired us.'"He told them to go to work in his vineyard.8"When the day's work was over, the owner of the vineyard instructed his foreman, "Call the workers in and pay them their wages. Start with the last hired and go on to the first.'9"Those hired at five o'clock came up and were each given a dollar. 10When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more. But they got the same, each of them one dollar. 11Taking the dollar, they groused angrily to the manager, 12"These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us, who slaved all day under a scorching sun.'13"He replied to the one speaking for the rest, "Friend, I haven't been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn't we? 14So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. 15Can't I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?'16"Here it is again, the Great Reversal: many of the first ending up last, and the last first."

Proverbs 27:17-19
17 You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. 18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored. 19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.
Psalm 122:1
1 When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.