Proverbs 29 Are you Happy?

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 29

1 Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken beyond repair.
2 When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.
3 The man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but if he hangs around with prostitutes, his wealth is wasted.
4 A just king gives stability to his nation, but one who demands bribes destroys it.
5 To flatter people is to lay a trap for their feet.
6 Evil people are trapped by sin, but the righteous escape, shouting for joy.
7 The godly know the rights of the poor; the wicked don't care to know.
8 Mockers can get a whole town agitated, but those who are wise will calm anger.
9 If a wise person takes a fool to court, there will be ranting and ridicule but no satisfaction.
10 The bloodthirsty hate the honest, but the upright seek out the honest.
11 A fool gives full vent to anger, but a wise person quietly holds it back.
12 If a ruler honors liars, all his advisers will be wicked.
13 The poor and the oppressor have this in common – the LORD gives light to the eyes of both.
14 A king who is fair to the poor will have a long reign.
15 To discipline and reprimand a child produces wisdom, but a mother is disgraced by an undisciplined child.
16 When the wicked are in authority, sin increases. But the godly will live to see the tyrant's downfall.
17 Discipline your children, and they will give you happiness and peace of mind.
18 When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is happy.
19 For a servant, mere words are not enough – discipline is needed. For the words may be understood, but they are not heeded.
20 There is more hope for a fool than for someone who speaks without thinking.
21 A servant who is pampered from childhood will later become a rebel.
22 A hot-tempered person starts fights and gets into all kinds of sin.
23 Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.
24 If you assist a thief, you are only hurting yourself. You will be punished if you report the crime, but you will be cursed if you don't.
25 Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but to trust the LORD means safety.
26 Many seek the ruler's favor, but justice comes from the LORD.
27 The godly despise the wicked; the wicked despise the godly.
The New Living Translation
Holy Bible, New Living Translation,copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.


~ Lena’s Journalin’
What makes “happiness”? Here it says wisdom, discipline, obedience, trust in God, acceptance of criticism among other instructive corrections, bring happiness. Doesn’t that sound contrary to what society and culture say happiness is?
Here is the Strong’s Hebrew Concordance definition of “happy”
to go straight, walk, go on, advance, make progress
(Qal) to go straight on, make progress
(Piel)
to go straight on, advance
to lead on (causative)
to set right, righten
to pronounce happy, call blessed
(Pual)
to be advanced, be led on
to be made happy, be blessed

Translated Words

KJV (16) - blessed, 7; go, 2; guide, 1; happy, 2; lead, 2; leaders, 1; relieve, 1;
NAS (16) - bless, 1; call him blessed, 1; call the blessed, 1; call you blessed, 1; called blessed, 1; called her blessed, 1; called me blessed, 1; direct, 1; guide, 2; guided, 1; happy, 2; proceed, 2; reprove, 1;
The difference in this definition and that of our natural worldly minded definition is that one is temporary, the other eternal. You can be assured that when we are reading God’s eternal word we are speaking of eternal effects on our lives.
When one is born again, he has now entered a life of eternity. Before the new birth we all are eternal, but we are alive here only temporarily in a state of eternal death, we are dying - naturally speaking, but our spirit being is not alive unto God and we are heading deeper and deeper into death and the judgment of hell’s fire.
In Christ eternal death is abolished in its power over us along with it purpose to send us to join the tormentor in his eternal state of agony is loosened in its death grip on our spirit man. Our thoughts need to be transformed into eternal thoughts of life rather than that of death.
As we learn more and more of eternal life and that which promotes eternal life, we grow in God’s life spirit. We grow eternally in life. Eternal life living is much different than eternal death living. Eternal death living says don’t tell me what to do, don’t ask me to serve, don’t ask me to exalt others above myself. There is rebellion in that nature. In the nature of God, there is no rebellion. There is growth because of the reception of instruction and correction to stay on the pathway of life! Correction leads me to know the way of life and so I embrace it. Discipline causes me to lay down the old nature and live in the newness of the Christ life in me. It is not at all for the sake of control, it is for willful submission to God which opposes the forces of hell which rise up in rebellion against God. I come against those evil rebellious forces with my will to do His good pleasure.
Happy? Blessed? Now and in eternity. I choose life rather than death, that’s true happiness, joy that lasts beyond the here and now. I plant eternal life seeds in others, by example of obedience and a discipline life. I do not allow death to rule me here. I change allegiances, kingdoms. Whatever that takes makes me truly eternally “happy”.
So….?The ????....

Daily Meditation/Recital/Question
Ask myself daily: “What Page Am I On?”