August 17, 2015

Wise Children of God

By Jason Sneed

Proverbs 15:5

“A fool despiseth his father’s instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent.”

The Nightmare

I have one little girl that I would do absolutely anything for. I love her to death, and I only want what is best for her. There are things that, because I am older, I can see that might happen down the road in her life that she is not able to see. These things are what I want to help her avoid. Any parent understand this statement!

A true nightmare for me would be if I were to pour God’s Word into her life, and she wanted nothing to do with it or HIM and to have no part in any of the advice or wisdom that His Word gives us. This would be a nightmare! There are many people in this world that are experiencing this exact thing in their lives.  I can’t even begin to imagine what they are going through.

Don’t forget what Proverbs 10:1 says, “A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.” In other words, a wise son or daughter is going to listen to what their father has to say about God’s Word. A foolish son or daughter is going to bring much sorrow to their mother. That sorrow is what I am talking about being the nightmare that I hope none of us face.

WisdomTomato Is A Fruit

There is an assumption in this verse. The assumption is that the son has heard the instructions that the father has given him. This verse does not mention anything about understanding the instructions, but it does talk about being prudent or wise with the instructions given.

There is an old saying that goes like this, “The difference between understanding and wisdom is this – Understanding is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad”.

A wise son may not always understand the “why’s” of the instructions given, but he is wise enough to listen to the words of his father and heed them.

Let me take this a step further. As children of God, we may not always understand why God is allowing something to happen in our lives or we may not understand what God is doing, but what we must do is have the wisdom to know that God is in control and he only wants what is best for us!

Lord, help us to listen to the instructions given to each of us, and whether we understand them or not, help us to obey your commands.  Help us to be wise children of yours and listen to your counsel and advice on how we should live our lives.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Fools, Warnings, Wisdom

August 17, 2015

Wholesome Words Needed

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 15:4

“A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.”
“The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.” – NIV

Healing Words

There are so many people in this world who are sick and suffering. Their suffering is not physical, necessarily, but emotional and spiritual. The world is full of down and discouraged men and women, but a word of comfort spoken with kindness can be like life-giving medicine.

A wholesome tongue, or a tongue that brings healing, is compared to a life-giving tree. Wholesome, nurturing, healthy words are like food for the soul; food that is found on a tree with roots that run deep, all the way down to the Water of life.

The unattractive need to hear that they are beautiful in God’s eyes. The broken hearted need to hear that there is One who understands and can make all things new. The lonely need to hear that they don’t have to be alone, but that there is One who will always walk beside them, even unto the end of the world. These people need healing words.

Perverse Words

What are “perverse” words? The husband who says to his wife, “You looked better when I married you.” The mother who says, “You’ll never amount to anything.” The friend who says, “Get over it! Just move on with your life.”

Perverse words bring no healing, only destruction. They are like a “breach in the spirit,” says Proverbs. In other words, they are like a crack in a dam which leads to total collapse. They are spoken by fools imitating the wise, and they are nothing but worthless.

“Hard words indeed break no bones, but many a heart has been broken by them.” – Matthew Henry

Words of Life

How can we speak words that resemble a tree of life? Be led by the Spirit of God, and let His words speak through us. A tongue that is guided by the Spirit will bring comfort to the hurting and healing to the wounded.

We must be more like Jesus in your actions. We must lead people to Him as we love as He loved. Speak truth, but encourage; discipline, but build up, and then you will see that “tree of life” bear fruit.

Related articles

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in advice, conversation/speech, counsel

August 17, 2015

He Sees Good In Evil

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 15:3

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

There is a big fancy word that means “God sees everything” which can also be said “God knows everything”: omniscience.

God is omniscient. He can see everything going on in the world, all that we do or do not do.

Firstly, this is a reminder God knows every time evil is taking place in this world. To avoid a big theological controversy here, we will stick with He is always within reach for those undergoing the effects of evil in this world.

Secondly, God sees how each of us truly is:

“This is the evil in everything that happens under the sun: The same destiny overtakes all. The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.”
(Ecclesiastes 9:3, NIV)

Yes, we are all evil, especially when compared to God. It does not mean there is nothing good in us, as we were created by God.

Even though God is fully aware of how evil every single one of us is, he still loves us. He wants to see all the good in us there can be.

Therefore, He came to us, as a baby. That baby grew to become a man, and after a few decades of a perfect life He died on a cross to erase our guilt and rebuild the relationship lost due to our sin.

All we must do is believe this and let Him change our hearts through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit to the glory of the Father.

Then, one glorious day, we will stand before God. All He will see when He looks at us is the perfection of Jesus Christ! He will see good where once there was evil.

Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us in our rebellion, of which You are fully aware. You know every evil deed and thought we have, yet You came to get us anyway. Thank You, Lord.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Knowledge

August 17, 2015

Different Kings

By David

Proverbs 15:2

The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

Who is truly wise? Scripture tells of three wise and learned men who lived over 2,000 years ago. These men were academics who studied the stars. They are also referred to as kings. Because they had plotted out the night sky and knew where the stars and planets should be at any given time, the appearance of a never seen before star must have caused them some perplexity. As one who was trained to navigate using the sun and the stars I can well imagine their surprise to discover a new star in the sky.

I do not know what conversations took place between the three professor kings, but their interest in the new star was so great that they packed up their camels and began to follow that star. The star led them to a land occupied by a foreign power, where the puppet king they consulted was as perplexed about the star as his visitors. There was one subtle difference between the puppet king and the three travelling kings. The three visiting kings were men of great wisdom, while the puppet king was a fool. The three kings from the east discovered a new King by following the star, and they knelt before Him and used their tongues to worship Him. The foolish puppet king refused to worship the child King, born almost within spitting distance of his palace. Instead he used his tongue to utter words of folly, instructing his soldiers to find and kill the King.

This Christmas will you exhibit wisdom or folly when you consider the King? Can you see beyond the trees and the lights, the cards and the presents, the food and the drink? Can you see beyond the walls of your palace, whatever that may be? Can you see into the stable? Can you see the King? Will you worship Him?

Matthew 2: The Magi Visit the Messiah

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Fools, Wisdom

August 14, 2015

An Upcoming Flood

By Anthony Baker

A few of you have noticed that there have not been many new posts in the last week or two. There are several reasons for this, among being too busy to stay on top of it.

One problem that I (Anthony) have had with the republishing of some of our “thoughts” has been with the subject matter being dated. For example, those that were written around the end of December were likely to have themes centered around Christmas. As you can imagine, reading about Christmas coming up while in the middle of summer heat can be a tad confusing, if not distracting.

You see, if I had planned ahead to re-release all of our posts on Proverbs we might have done things a little differently. On the other hand, had we kept the immediacy out of it the freshness of the moment would have been lost. Oh well.

Honestly, when I first came up with the idea for Proverbial Thought it was my intention to keep things going. In other words, once the first time through was done (it took 2 years) we would start over. The idea was that Proverbial Thought would be a “running commentary.”

So, what I am going to do over the next day or two is release the rest of the “Christmas” and “new year” posts in a batch. After that we will get back to one or two a day.

Now, should I receive enough feedback wanting us to start over in the future, that might be an option. Enough time has passed and we have matured. Maybe another time through Proverbs might prove even more valuable.

God bless, and thank you for reading 🙂

Anthony Baker

proverbial thought picture

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Uncategorized

August 5, 2015

Fire Words

By Chris Jordan

Proverbs 15:1

“A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.” (KJV).
“A gentle response defuses anger, but a sharp tongue kindles a temper-fire” (The Message).

Have you ever thought about how powerful your words are? Solomon tells us that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Prov. 18:21). Think about that for a minute. Every word you speak to someone can bring life or death to them. In the above passage of Scripture, we learn that our words can diffuse the most difficult fights or arguments. If we speak gentle words, we can turn away wrath. But if we respond with harsh words, we will only stir up that other person’s anger. We also learn here that gentle words can bring life and health to someone, and negative words can crush someone’s spirit.

James gives us a great word picture to help us see the power in our words when he writes: “The tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is full of wickedness that can ruin your whole life. It can turn the entire course of your life into a blazing flame of destruction, for it is set on fire by hell itself.” (James 3:5-6).

I think it’s interesting that James uses fire to represent the power of the tongue. Fire is a tool, and it can be used for either good or evil purposes. The same fire that can be used to cook your food or warm your house can also be used to burn down a building. Likewise, our words can be used to bring encouragement or comfort, or to bring death and destruction.

In his book, The Power of Your Words, Robert Morris gives three suggestions for how we can begin the process of taming our tongue.

  • Pause: Hold on there just a minute. Before you open your mouth, pause for a minute. James exhorts us to “be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” (James 1:19). God gave us two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we talk!
  • Ponder: Let’s give that some thought. The Bible says, “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” (Eph. 4:29). If your words don’t fit into that category, then don’t say them!
  • Pray: Appeal to a higher power. If words are so powerful, then we should pray that God would give us the ability to tame our tongues. Let’s pray that God would set a guard over our mouths.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Wisdom

August 4, 2015

Carpenter King

By David

Proverbs 14:35

“The king’s favor is toward a wise servant: but his wrath is against him that causeth shame.”

I only know one King. He is not an earthly king, in fact he was born into poverty, apparently while his parents were accommodated in a stable. While He was still quite young, this King was exiled from His homeland. When He returned home this King learned a trade, and qualified as a carpenter. Some years later, but while He was still a young man, the carpenter King became an itinerant. He had no palace, in fact He had nowhere to lay His head.

Somehow the itinerant King gathered a band of followers, twelve of whom became so special to the King that He called them His disciples. These disciples weren’t exactly servants, and they struggled to understand their King at times. The King rejoiced when His disciples exhibited wisdom, but often felt frustration at their lack of understanding. While they may have let him down from time to time, only one disciple disgraced the King, and walked away from His favor.

It seems incredible that this disciple rejected his King, turning the King over to the authorities of the day for a financial reward. In a disgraceful, shameful act of betrayal this disciple led soldiers to his King. He planted a kiss on the King’s cheek to identify Him. The King was taken away, interrogated, tortured, and sentenced to death. Although the King was innocent of all charges, He was publicly executed by being nailed to a wooden cross. As He hung on that cross He accepted the wrath and the shame that should have been levied against His subjects.

Lift up your eyes to the cross of the King! While He is long gone from that cross, the cross reminds us that our shame has been replaced by His favor, because He took the shame and made it His. That is His gift to you. Favor instead of shame. Are you a wise servant? Will you accept this gift from the King?

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Faithfulness, Love, Mercy

August 3, 2015

Righteous or Disgraceful?

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 14:34

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”

America the Beautiful

The United States of America has been a pretty great place.

Many other nations have been defended with her military. Many freedoms have been advanced and celebrated. Many have come to the land of freedom with virtually nothing only to become wealthy and prosperous. More aid and missionaries have been sent out into the world than pretty much any other nation.

Because of all of these great things and more, millions of people try to get into the USA every year. These are amazing things, and others want a part of it!

The Great Satan

The United States of America has also become a nuisance.

Religious zealots around the world (primarily among Muslim extremist groups) have declared the USA “The Great Satan”. With all of our freedoms and accomplishments, they have been used to exploit each other and others. Moral superiority is claimed, yet those freedoms and accomplishments have become a log in the eye and a stumbling block. This “Christian nation” (as most other countries see it) also produces the most pornography and bigotry, exploits other nations for profit, and has some pretty backward laws and judicial decisions that create a culture the requires “Caution: Contents Hot” to be printed on coffee cups!

While greatly loved, the USA is also a bit of a global laughing-stock!

The Christian

Have you ever wondered why it seems the world is once again turning against the Church?

Christians have been called to a higher moral standard and a dedication to serving God by loving this fallen and hurting world. We are to be Christ to the nations.

The Western World has done a rather fantastic job of portraying a bunch of stuck-up, whiny, entitled hate-mongers who only love themselves and take advantage of others.

Fortunately, God always has a remnant of faithful followers (Romans 11).

And the funny thing about this remnant: they rarely have time to feel embarrassed or ashamed of those who make the Bride of Christ look bad. They are too busy loving everyone … including those who make the Bride of Christ look bad!

Choose today how you will live. Will it be as one who is righteous or disgraceful?

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your grace and love. Thank You for saving us from our disgrace. Thank You for Your Word and Your Holy Spirit who guides us in all righteousness. Help us to choose You and walk in Your ways.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in pride/humility, sin, The Righteous

August 2, 2015

Don’t Speak Too Soon

By Anthony Baker

Proverbs 14:33 

“Wisdom resteth in the heart of him that hath understanding: but that which is in the midst of fools is made known.”

Keep Quiet

One thing I learned from my father was to keep my mouth shut. No, not in the way that you may think…he didn’t tell me to be quiet…he just told me to watch my number of words.

My dad used to say, “You always appear smarter when you don’t tell all you know.” In other words, as long as your mouth is shut, people will never know how much or how little you actually know. They may just assume you are the wisest in the room. The one who runs off at the mouth is the one who exposes his ignorance.

Exposing One’s Ignorance

This proverb is about being quiet and letting things settle. It’s about knowing you have an answer, but waiting for others to share their mind. It’s about patience.

The man with understanding knows that the longer he listens to an argument, the better the response he can make when the moment is right. The fool jumps into the fray before he knows all the facts, exposing his ignorance too soon.

Watching Words

Did your parents ever tell you to “watch your mouth?” Mine did. They would also tell me to “think before you speak.” I can’t tell you how many times I have stood in the middle of a group of people without saying a word. When it did come time to say something, what I said stood out as something worth hearing, as opposed to more of the same.

Lord, help us to be prudent with our words, and may they always be a reflection of godly wisdom.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in conversation/speech, Uncategorized

August 1, 2015

Hope Springs Eternal

By David

Proverbs 14:32

The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

The word ‘hope’ leaps out at me from the above verse, and I have had to stop and consider where my hope lies. At the time of writing I am on the opposite side of the Atlantic to home, but hoping to be back home in about thirty-six hours time. I hope that I can find some time to spend with my family this Christmas despite the intense pressure of my workload.

As Christmas approaches many people will be hoping they receive gifts they desire. In our consumer driven western society advertisements shout loudly about the things we can have. We easily forget those who have little hope. Equally, it is easy to ignore the wickedness we see plastered across our television screens be it wrong lifestyles, victims of conflict, big business acting fraudulently, dishonest politicians, etc.

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who chose to ignore the wickedness of society that left a starving diseased beggar outside his house. The beggar possessed one thing the rich man did not have. The beggar had hope. It was probably his only possession. You can read the story in Luke 16:19-31.

My worry is that we can become blind like the rich man to the extent that our possessions become more important than our hope, and the promise of eternal life in exchange for a life surrendered to our Father in Heaven. The danger increases at Christmas to the extent that we may not even notice the starving diseased beggar, whoever or whatever he or she may be.

What are you hoping for this Christmas?

Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
Man never Is, but always To be blest:
The soul, uneasy and confin’d from home,
Rests and expatiates in a life to come.

– Alexander Pope, An Essay on Man

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in advice, The Wicked, Warnings