"If you insult your father or mother, your light will be snuffed out in total darkness." - Proverbs 20:20 (NLT)
I still cannot get over how so many parents allow their children to talk to them however they please without disciplining them in some way. I will hear kids screaming in the store and not hear a word from their parents. When I see their kids hit their parent, I really want to snatch them up myself and say something BUT, that would cause a big scene. Then you have those who take it too far and are too harsh for something that the child done that they honestly didn't know was wrong. I don't have kids of my own, so I can't speak from any sort of experience. I do want to honor all the moms and dads who are doing their best to raise (or have raised) great kids! In the book of Deuteronomy, there's a law that was issued regarding rebellious children. It says, "If a man has a stubborn, rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they punish him, then his father and mother shall take him before the elders of the city and declare, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and won't obey; he is a worthless drunkard. Then the men of the city shall stone him to death. In this way you shall put away this evil from among you, and all the young men of Israel will hear about what happened and will be afraid (21:18-23)." How many of you would have been stoned to death as a child had you lived back then? How many would be stoned to death today? The numbers would be out of this world! Wouldn't you agree? Here are some other verses I want to include: "A father grieves over the foolishness of his child, and bitter sorrow fills his mother." (Proverbs 17:25 TPT) "Punishment and discipline can make children wise, but children who are never corrected will bring shame to their mother. (Proverbs 29:15 ERV) Reflect back to the verses about the words you speak. Words have power. They can build up or tear down. It's your choice. And once more, you reap what you sow. Make sure you're sowing good seeds. Again, for all the loving parents who are making a difference (or have already done so) in the world, you're awesome, and I love you. I'm SO thankful for mine.
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"Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler." - Proverbs 20:19 (ESV)
I wish I could say that I've never been convicted of this before, but sadly, I have. I had a lot of rebellion in me that was caused by a lot of the bullying that I encountered back in my younger days. Because of that, I was easily offended and would lash out, not to mention going around and "bashing" people I didn't like. When such habits are not broken, they carry on into adulthood, which is then carried into the work environment, the church, the family, and many other places. Do you know how many people are losing their jobs because of their bad attitudes? How many churches are divided due to someone who is always gossiping about someone. If it's not someone on the worship team, it's the pastor. If it's not him, it's his wife. On and on and on it goes. Wherever quarrels enter, so does the devil! James 3:16 says that wherever you find jealousy and selfishness, you will also find other kinds of evil. You may have reasons why you act the way you do, but you cannot keep using them as excuses. At some point, you need to change. No more self-pity. No more excuses. Face the truth about yourself, not everyone else, and say, "I NEED TO CHANGE!". God will heal you, but you have to let Him. One last thing, be careful who you associate with. There are many people who have a listening ear, but they also have a running mouth. Some people will only want you to open up to them so they can open their mouths to other people. Pray for discernment. Pray for God to send you someone that you can confide in and open up to. EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE LIKE THAT! If you're guilty of being a gossip, you need to stop! You cannot get mad when you find out someone is gossiping about you if you are doing the same thing! I'm going to keep saying this over and over: You reap what you sow! I love you! Make today count. "Plans succeed through good counsel; don't go to war without wise advice." - Proverbs 20:18 (NLT)
This can be applied to many different things. I believe the best practical example I can use is confrontation. When I think on an offense for too long, I will think to myself, and even tell someone, a script of what I'm going to say and all other sort of nonsense. It never fails that when my emotions are skyrocketing, the Holy Spirit is telling me to keep quiet and that all the things I'm saying are not the things I will say because it will start a war. The Holy Spirit is our comforter, counselor, wisdom, and much more. If we "listen" and obey the commands of our flesh, we are asking for wars to start. Once they start, we often complain about how something is always going on in our lives and we can't catch at break. We want to feel sorry for ourselves when in reality it was our own fault to begin with. The Bible says that man's mind plans his way, but it's the Lord who directs our steps (Proverbs 16:9). Are you allowing the Lord to direct your steps, or are you trying to order His steps? The Lord leads and we are to follow... not the other way around. He knows what lies ahead, we don't. The more you learn and apply God's Word, the more sensitive you will be to HIs voice. You will then start making decisions based on wisdom rather than feelings. Other people will also begin to notice the changes in you, which is a good feeling too. Keep studying. Keep growing. Don't settle where you are! "What you obtain dishonestly may seem sweet at first, but sooner or later you'll live to regret it." - Proverbs 20:17 (TPT)
Many translations of this verse say that stolen bread tastes sweet, but soon your mouth is full of gravel. For many, that may not make sense, so that's why I encourage you to refer to other translations or commentaries to help clarify anything you don't understand. The Amplified Bible says it this way at the end for extra clarification: "[just as sin may be sweet at first, but later its consequences bring despair]." Regarding this verse, I want you to remember that anything you have to do with wrong intentions will lead to regret AND a bad harvest. Don't ever forget that every action DOES have a reaction. God will NEVER bless dishonesty. If you have to lie about it, there's something wrong with it. Lying covers sins and causes you to sin more. DO NOT SOCIALIZE WITH DISHONEST PEOPLE! You become like the people you hang around. What kind of person are you becoming? "Ears to hear and eyes to see - both are gifts from the Lord."
Proverbs 20:12 Some translations don't say that the ears and eyes are gifts from God, but I think we should see it this way. It's easy to think about what we don't have and what we can't do, yet forget two things we can do, which are to see and hear. For some, your vision and hearing may not be what it once was. There are some who are deaf, but not blind. Then you have some who aren't deaf, but they're blind. I'm sure there are many who are deaf and blind. If you can see and hear very well, you are blessed. Do you thank God that you can hear and see His Creation? The birds of the air, the ocean waves, music, Christmas lights, mountains, the beach, and more... do you thank Him for those things? We take so much for granted and then live with regret one they're gone. Enjoy what you have, who you have in your life, and what you can do while you can. The time will come when those things or people will be around, and you won't be able to do many of the things you once could. Live a life of gratitude! "Who can say, 'I have cleansed my heart; I am pure and free from sin"? (Proverbs 20:9)
This is a very humbling verse. Jesus had not come when Proverbs was written, so the removal of sins wasn't quick and easy as it is today through the Blood of Jesus. When I read this verse, I think of what Jesus said to the people who were trying to stone the prostitute, "Any of you without sin, cast the first stone". Jesus was the ONLY person who could've stoned her, but He didn't. Instead, He showed her love and mercy, but He did command her to not sin anymore. Yes, we should thank Him for His endless love and mercy, but we should also thank Him when we're convicted of our sinful behavior. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. Staying in a sinful lifestyle is our choice, not His. We all sin. We all need Jesus, and each other. We need to stop always finding fault in others when we have plenty of our own (Read the beginning of Matthew 7). You can know the whole Bible and not really know Jesus! Paul had to have a "come to Jesus meeting" in his letter to the Corinthians regarding eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols. He said, "... But although being a 'know-it-all' makes us feel important, what is really needed to build the church is love. If anyone thinks he knows all the answers, he is just showing his ignorance. But the person who truly loves God is the one who is open to God's knowledge" (1 Corinthians 8:1-3). Some translations use "puffs up", or as the King James version says, "puffeth up". Do you ever feel that "puffeth up" feeling whenever you can quickly answer a question about what's in God's Word? You better use the fruit of self-control and remain humble or else God WILL humble you! Walk in love, not in arrogance! Make sure you're using the Bible as a mirror for yourself and not as a magnifying glass for others. Since this proverb was written many years ago, I guess it goes to show that finding someone who is true to their word is hard to find. If it was hard then, how much harder is it now? VERY HARD! BUT just because they're hard to find doesn't mean they don't exist.
When you get disappointed and hurt by someone, it's easy to have a sour attitude, causing you to say things like, "You can't trust NO ONE these days." Saying such things will cause you to become overly suspicious, which will only push people away, causing you to remain alone and bitter. Sometimes we have unrealistic expectations for imperfect people. Having such expectations will always cause disappointment. I know from my own life that this is true. Remember that you are human, and you make mistakes too. Just because people don't tell you your mistakes, or what bothers them, doesn't mean you don't have faults. Keep your word. Don't be full of excuses. Excuses are reasons stuffed with a lie. What kind of person would people describe you as? Treat others how you'd want to be treated. It is never okay to mistreat other people. You can't expect anything if you don't do anything.
I don't know much about planting, but I do know that the harvest usually doesn't happen overnight. It is a process. A lot of people don't have the patience to work or are too lazy to do the sowing. In such cases, they'd rather feast off other people's harvests and live off everyone else's hard work. Slackers are: - negative - offended at those who confront them about their behavior - full of excuses - lazy Don't complain about the results you don't have when you're not taking action and doing what needs to be done. Don't envy the harvest of other people. Many people love to get in the last word. Why is that? Does the last word, huff, or eye roll indicate a sign of victory? Instead of getting in the last word, why not be the one to get in the first apology? It's saying "I'm sorry. I forgive you. Let's make this right" that helps put out the fire rather than, "Whatever!"; "Shut up!"; "That's right! I can't do nothing right!", etc.
I'm not saying that it's wrong to confront; however, it is wrong to nag and put down. Are you someone who only wants to tell people how you feel, but never allowing others to tell you how you make them feel? Remember, you're not perfect. You may say, "I know I'm not perfect", but do your actions say that? Being a nag and an accuser is not godly. Such actions are of the devil. Does your mouth need to be saved? If you're always getting into arguments, there are some poisonous roots in your soul that need to be dug up. You need to spend some time with God and allow Him to get to the root. Don't always spend your time crying to God about what others are doing to you. Be bold and ask, "Lord, what do I need to change?". In Psalm 26:2, David prayed, "Look closely at me, Lord, and test me. Judge my deepest thoughts and emotions". He prayed a similar thing in Psalm 139:23. Have you been a fool lately? If so, make a change today. Being foolish isn't wise, nor is it godly. I get annoyed with people who constantly complain about how life is so unfair, yet they never want to accept responsibility for their actions, which is what caused a lot of their problems. When you continue to gossip, envy people, lash out on your social media, run back to people who done you wrong or who are bad influences, get into everyone else's business, and so many other things, you're the one to blame, NOT LIFE!
I've had to unfollow (not unfriend) SO MANY people because of their negativity and "poor pitiful me" mindset. Always posting about how people ALWAYS do them wrong, and they're ALWAYS the one who's trying to make things right, or no one appreciates anything they do, and on and on and on and oooonnnnn. If you're having the same issues over and over again, at some point you have to realize that YOU are the common denominator in all the issues. Maybe you lack wisdom in choosing who you are friends with. Perhaps you're trying to be 12 different people other than the real you in order to fit in. It could be that you keep disappointing yourself because you expect everyone to do for you what you would do for them. Wakey wakey, everyone is not like you. I'm sharing with you some of the things that I've done wrong in order to help you! If you avoid the good influences that God has put in your path or stop studying God's Word, your life is not going to be blessed. You're going to keep going around the same mountain and falling into the same pit over and over and over again. You're not alone. You're not hopeless. You can begin again, but you have to grow up. |
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