by Toni Thrash | Nov 25, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 11: 24-25
24 Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.
There is a saying I love. It goes like this, “You cannot out-give God!” I’ve always considered what He did for me and how freely He did it. Not just with His life, but with His words, love, and an uncanny amount of grace. There is no way I can out-give Him. None.
But no one told me I couldn’t try.
Maybe the writer of Proverbs, was merely talking about money. I sometimes think money is the easiest thing to give. No strings attached and certainly no responsibility tied to me.
The things I find the hardest to give freely are grace filled words, love without condition, and crucial conversations with those I love.
I have come to understand, that the more mature I become, the more of myself and my words must be given away without hesitation. This is how you become wealthy. Giving grace filled words, to encourage someone else, my wealth grows. Loving beyond my capability creates an opportunity for relationship and growth. Crucial conversations are difficult! Jesus, never backed away from one of these. EVER. Have one. Stand firm.
Giving these things makes us wealthy.
Withholding them, is purely self focused. This leads to selfishness and it’s “all about me”. Being stingy: we lose everything. The world does not revolve around me or you.
I don’t want to live this way. I want to give it all away….freely. cheerfully, and without hesitation.
25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.
I love this verse! The generous will prosper. Be generous with your words, grace, and mercy refreshes others. Think about it, when was the last time your gave encouragement to someone else and realized you were refreshed?
Simply breathing kind words of refreshment to someone else. Someone who’s heart was broken. Someone who was struggling with that sin.
Next time someone needs money, give it generously. Then have a crucial conversation with them that will leave them refreshed because of the words spoken, the love given, and the grace poured out in their life.
Then see, if you are not more prosperous. I guarantee it won’t look like what you expected.
It will be better than you imagined.
Photography: @mattglenn
by Lauren McPherson | Nov 24, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 11: 22-23
Have you ever had someone say to you, “I didn’t know you were a Christian?” You’re left thinking to yourself, “hum… Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I don’t know about you but I start doing a mental checklist of my attitudes, and conversations. I think to myself, “did I say something that may have turned someone off from knowing Christ?” OR “was I so thoughtful and kind that they could see Christ in me?” I’m definitely shooting for the latter part of that.
22 “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout so is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.”
I can read this two different ways and both still apply, discretion is the word that sticks out to me the most. It may as well have been written in bold letters, it’s the meat of this particular scripture. What good is a beautiful person or a Christian that spews offensive things or acts in a way that doesn’t match what we preach? The God that we so passionately want others to know about doesn’t look to appealing when those things happen.
In the Jewish culture it was a common ornament for women to wear nose rings, however they thought of pigs as unclean and filthy, so why put something that was meant for beauty on something filthy. One of these things just doesn’t belong here. Your beauty is wasted without discretion, what happened to our sense of responsibility? Beauty isn’t a bad thing, God created it. Queen Esther is a perfect example of what it means to have beauty and discretion. Because she listened to God, used integrity and made good decisions, God used her to help free her people.
23 “The godly can look forward to a reward, while the wicked can expect only judgement.”
When you desire to live a life of integrity and good decisions God rewards you. However, when you don’t live by what Christ says then it only leads to angry frustration.
It’s not always easy to be a Christ follower, but it is rewarding!
by Kristie Robertson | Nov 23, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 11: 20-21
“20Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the Lord, but those of blameless ways are his delight. 21Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.” Proverbs 11:20-21 ESV
This scripture contains something a little scary in my personal opinion. Being an abomination to the Lord? An evil person will not go unpunished? God ain’t messing around!
On a lighter note, ‘The ways of the blameless are His delight’. I read this and immediately start racking my mind for a way I can earn blameless bonuses. Pray more, do that bible study, encourage a friend… Once idealism passes, I quickly shift focus from being a blessing to just avoiding a scolding. I think we can all have that mindset from time to time. Thankfully I feel the Holy Spirit wanting to interrupt me, ‘No no no. You are counting the tallies all wrong.’
Like myself, you might find your good tallies in the list I stated previously. You may find your bad tallies in forms of problems, stresses, relationships gone mislead and life’s direction undecided and unknown. But I want you to read this scripture not solely focused on the cause and effect statements but also another theme. That even the righteous find themselves in need of deliverance. The promise isn’t so much that life is going to be effortless, we all know better than that, but the promise instead is that we won’t be fighting our battles alone when we choose to walk in God’s way. Next time you are tempted to evaluate your life based on circumstance or good and bad tallies, refocus, and remember that it’s the heart that the Lord looks at. When our hearts seek His way, we can rest trusting that we will also find His deliverance.
by Alyssa Shelby | Nov 22, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 10:17-18
Growing up, I rarely ever got into trouble. And in those moments when I would, it was easy to push the blame onto my triplet brothers (who seemed to always be getting out of line). When I moved to college, however, I soon realized that correction is necessary for a healthy life. I no longer got my way, but was challenged and critiqued.
I learned that those who accept correction are people who are always growing and moving forward. Being disciplined is an essential part of life. Without it, we would be left alone with our (sometimes all too strong) sin nature. Can you imagine a world with no discipline? It would be utter chaos. And God knows this.
The Lord loves those he disciplines (Proverbs 3:12; Hebrews 12:6-11). A good father leads his children by training them in the right way, and God is the same with us. If he did not, then he wouldn’t really love us. God’s way and law is for our benefit. He prunes us to make and conform us into his likeness, not only for us but also for God’s glory to be seen throughout the world.
Disciplined people are on a path that leads to a full life. They welcome correction and seek out people who will challenge them. They are not intimidated to be vulnerable and open. They recognize their mistakes and learn from them. They consistently examine themselves and what they need to work on in their inner life. A disciplined person is intentional in their personal growth. They, in turn, build up others rather than tearing them down. They are close to the Father’s heart, knowing and longing to please him and serving him in all that they do. A disciplined person is on the pathway to life.
Photography: @sefisawkward
by Christian Ross | Nov 21, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 11:16-17
16 A kindhearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth.
Who do you think of when you read the term “kindhearted woman”? Maybe you think of your mother or grandmother, a sister or friend, the greeters at church, the greeters at Wal-Mart. Many of us probably thought immediately of Mother Teresa. Some people are born kindhearted, but for others of us, it’s a learned trait as we continue in our walk with Christ. Honor, however, is not something we’re born with but something we earn. Honor could be defined as a good reputation or character as judged by other people. We gain honor from each decision we make throughout our days. True, some decisions carry more weight than others, but none-the-less, each decision ultimately amounts to the quality of our character which is measured by honor or lack thereof.
In light of all this, it’s obvious then that ruthlessness might not be such a great trait in the pursuit of honor in this life and right standing with God. Matthew 6:21 (NIV) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Ruthless men gain ONLY wealth, because their ruthlessness is blinding to the good purposes of God. Without a heart after God we lack and lose sight of the wonderfully important things in this life. Ruthlessness might lead to a mansion filled with people, but devoid of love or lead to lacking nothing materially but living like an empty tomb on the inside emotionally and spiritually. Where does your fulfillment come from?
17 Those who are kind benefit themselves, but the cruel bring ruin on themselves.
We’ve all heard the saying that it’s better to give than to receive. It’s no surprise that this is more than a saying but rather a timeless truth rooted in scripture, straight out of the mouth of Christ. Acts 20:35 “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.” There’s something so satisfactory when we give of ourselves to someone in need. Money, gifts, time; It doesn’t matter because giving benefits the giver in a way that lines up with scripture making it edifying to our spirits, and maybe even as an act of worship.
The opposite can be said about us when we are cruel. Think about it. Have you ever spoken short to someone out of frustration and felt terrible about it for an extended period of time? Cruelty, in any capacity, makes us rotten from the inside out where as giving is edifying to our spirits and all those around us.
For more reasons than one, be kindhearted with a giving heart. Jesus is our great example. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Secondly, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31
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