Live WIth Wisdom And Understanding

Psalm 90:12-17 KJV; Proverbs 15:14-33; 21st Sunday after Pentecost; Power is back on so I rejoice for that and can blog again. But, let us continue to pray for all who have been affected by Hurricanes Helena and Milton.

Corrupt And Greedy Leaders

Proverbs 14:31-34 KJV; The Lord will expose the evildoers. But, the righteous will flourish.

Labor Day 2023

Proverbs 21:25-26 KJV; The way in which we labor ought to glorify the Lord.

Wisdom From The Beginning

The Lord possessed wisdom before anything was created; without it
not a thing would have been made that was made. 

The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.

                                                                                       (Prov 8:22-23 KJV)

Wisdom tells us that she existed from the very beginning. She is very, very old. Sometimes, it seems as though wisdom may have been evicted from the earth. Sometimes, it seems like along with wisdom went common sense! But, then again, common sense would probably mean what is the common or prevalent wisdom of the day so that would make common sense alive today; but, not necessarily wise. 

Personally, I prefer the wisdom of old. The wisdom of today somehow seems like a lot of exaggeration and even lies; stories to encourage one to do what one pleases for themselves without thought to the way that the Lord's wisdom would have us go; without thought to the consequences of not following in that way.

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (Isa 5:21)

The Lord's wisdom existed from the very beginning. It existed before any of creation. That wisdom is probably worth listening to.

God's Peace - Pr. J

In Whom Do You Place Your Confidence?

Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint. (Prov 25:19 KJV)

I recently had to have emergency dental care and am acutely aware that a bad tooth can put you down quite quickly. Proverbs tells us that trusting a person who is only faithful to their own desires is like a bad tooth. He or she will only put you down. They will do anything to lift themselves up; to look good in the eyes of others, to prosper themselves. They have no problem throwing you to the wolves if it means that it will benefit them no matter how small that benefit might be. 

Rather than trust in one who is faithful only to themselves; trust in the one who put your welfare even before his life. Trust in the Lord Jesus who lived and died and lives again for you! Rejoice! Jesus lives! Have confidence in him!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Integrity Still Lives

He Did What Was Right For Us

The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them. (Prov 11:3 KJV)

Those of you who know me personally, know that I cannot find my "stuff" on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. I spend a lot of time searching things like keys, purse, phone, money, etc.. I am fortunate that there is usually someone around who can help me. In the last few days, I have forgotten my purse on a tram and set money down and forgotten to pick it back up when I left. In the first place an older gentleman ran after me to return it. In the latter case, a security guard found me about ten minutes later and returned the money. I have misplaced or lost many things over the years. Most everything has either been found or returned.

One of the loss and found incidents that I will never forget happened at the youth correctional facility. For some reason, I had a one hundred dollar bill in my pocket. I had the radio hooked to my pocket and when I took it off the money fell out. One of the youth saw it and immediately returned it. I was very impressed as one of our main objectives was to try to instill a sense of integrity in these young men. 

Integrity is doing what is right even when no one is looking. It is doing what is right for others even if it might not seem like it's in your best interest at the moment. Jesus suffered for doing what was necessary for the benefit of the world. He did what was right for us. 

If any of these people had decided not to return what I had lost, I would not have realized that I had lost it until they were long gone. There is much dishonesty and disrespect in this world. But, it is very comforting to know that integrity is still alive and well in so very many people.

Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J