By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

Proverbs 24

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. v3-4

I have indeed been blessed by God's word and I do feel that is more valuable than silver or gold. 

Proverbs echoes this sentiment.

Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 8:10-11

As does 2 Timothy.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

 

My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You are indeed a great God and You are my God!  You have blessed me beyond what I deserve with Your Son, Your Word, the Holy Spirit, the Church, etc.  Thank You Jesus.  I am not worth such love and blessings.  I am harsh with my words and actions and impatient with others.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me lead and serve my family, serve You and serve others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Proverbs 23

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but always be zealous for the fear of the Lord. There is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off. v17-18

Satan is constantly tempting us and we often fall prey to envy of others for what they have, what they may be doing (appearing to have fun, looking cool, status, etc.) and drop our focus on Jesus.  We must have endurance and maintain focus on Jesus.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2.

 

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24

 

We must also be alert.

 

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8-9 

 

We must maintain hope - see also Jeremiah 29:11.

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God full of love and compassion for me...and You are patient beyond what I deserve.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love.  I am lazy and I lack patience for others.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith. Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus so that they accept You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me lead and serve my family and serve You and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.

Proverbs 23

Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death. v13-14

On Weds this week, I posted about parenting and punishment or discipline for children. For myself, I know I must strike a balance and not bee too harsh with my discipline as harsh and highly critical words (which more often than not are unnecessary) often accompany my discipline.  I can and should discipline my kids firmly but without such harsh and highly critical words. I must demonstrate Jesus in ALL that I do as a parent.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and You are the Great Teacher, full of truth and wisdom and knowledge.  Without You I would be lost and unable to do anything good!  Thank You for how You have led me and blessed me!  Thank You also for how Your discipline has molded me and helped me be more of the man You intend for me.  I am not worth such love.  I am too quick to anger and have too often been harsh with my words.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You and have them choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me lead and serve my family and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. v4-5

Proverbs 23

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. v4-5

Last night I had a very similar conversation with Zach - that we often focus more on the here and now, including our own comfort and desires vs those of God. 

We must remember that we exist to glorify God, and that we are citizens of heaven.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. Philippians 3:20-21

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You loved me before I loved You, and You showed me love so that I could be love to others and bring others to You.  Thank You for being my God.  I hope that I am pleasing to You in some way.  I know I can be more of the man You intend for me.  I fall down and sin.  Please forgive me as I often focus too much on myself.  Help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind.  Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects of chemo. Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and that they choose You as their Lord and Savior. Help me lead and serve my family and serve You. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.

Proverbs 22

Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away. v15

Tuesday, I posted about fatherhood and parenting and once again this is our topic today.  As a parent we are train our children, most importantly in the ways of the Lord.  Part of this training includes discipline:

Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them. Proverbs 13:24

 

Discipline is something that all of us must experience, even as adults.  God continues to mold us and we experience discipline, hardship, punishment, etc. as part of God's refining process.

Yet you, Lord, are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Isaiah 64:8

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God, full of love, compassion, patience, etc. for me - Thank You Jesus!  Yet I am not worthy of such love.  I am broken and I continue to sin.  Please forgive me for my lack of patience for others.  Help me overcome my sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo.  Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You alone as their Lord and Savior.  Help me lead and serve Lisa, Zach, and Dustin...and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.

Proverbs 22

The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. v9

The Bible contains many promises and all of them are true (Luke 1:37, Psalm 12).  However God blesses us (time, treasure, talents, etc.) - it is all because of God (James 1:17) and we are to use these blessings for His glory (Parable of the Talents).

Here God promises to bless us if we are generous.  We are certainly called to be generous as well as cheerful (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

We must also be mindful that we don't know HOW God will bless us, only that He WILL bless us (Isaiah 55:8).

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, what an awesome God You are that You are SO full of grace, patience, compassion, forgiveness, etc.  You bless me well beyond what I deserve!  Thank You Jesus for the many blessings - I am not worthy of such efforts as I continue to sin.  Please forgive me for my neglect of my relationship with You and my unfaithfulness.  Help me turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind. Help me love others as You do.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure her of her cancer and the side effects of chemo.  Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and have them choose You as their Lord and Savior. Help me lead and serve my family and serve You Jesus.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. v6

I am blessed to have two sons both of whom I love very much.  It is my desire to have both of them choose Jesus as their Lord and savior.  My role is to be the earthly father that God intends for me...to teach them about Jesus and to demonstrate Jesus' love, mercies, and grace.

Demonstrating Jesus means that He must be visible in our lives...throughout our daily lives:

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (see also Deuteronomy 11:18-21)

Parents, specifically fathers, as spiritual heads of the household must avoid "exasperating" our children - as in their hearts desire to learn about a God whose love is higher and wider than we will ever know (Ephesians 3).

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.  Ephesians 6:4

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God full of love, mercies, grace, and so much more.  You suffered and died for me, knowing everything about me, including my sin.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not worth such love as I am broken and I continue to sin.  Please forgive me for my neglect of my relationship with You.  Help me turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give me strength.  Give Lisa strength.  Please heal and cure Lisa of her cancer and the side effects from chemo. Help me lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Help me lead and serve my family and serve You.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.