by Lauren McPherson | Oct 22, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 8:22-36
Want to live a better life? Do you want to be successful in the things that you do and say? Wouldn’t it be nice to gain some wisdom before giving an opinion? Wisdom and righteous living brings a long life, and in these next few verses Solomon describes it to us, it reads almost like a poem of praise. He wants us to know the depth and the seriousness of it.
Proverbs 8:22-31
In these verses Solomon is telling us about wisdom, and how it came to be. When God established the heavens it was there (27), before mountains have been shaped (25), when he marked out the foundations of Earth (29) and when he made the skies above (28). God’s wisdom has been around since the beginning, it is the code of moral conduct. Solomon wants us to understand that since the beginning of time there has been a way in which to live, and has been clearly defined.
Proverbs 8:32-36
This is where we get called to make a decision. I love this about God, he gives us a choice to either follow him and live by his wisdom or hate him and find death (36). He wants us to know that wisdom only matures the individual that follows it, Solomon tells us all of this in a practical way, wisdom calls to those who will listen and do what it says, it’s the source of God’s delight.
See, wisdom can bring healing, and a new perception about whatever you are searching for, perhaps a new look at worldly views? Wisdom helps you to align your thinking to God’s thinking. If the bible is your main guide on how you live your life (and I pray it is), all you need to do is ask. Our God really isn’t complicated, it’s either ask and know, or don’t ask and look like a fool. He loves us and has a plan for us, we just need to believe that he does. 🙂
Photography: @amyhulstforpresident
by Lauren McPherson | Oct 8, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 3: 9-10
Honor the Lord with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats brim over (Proverbs 3:9, 10). Why is this so hard for some of us? It was easy for the Israelites to honor God with their best and the first of their harvest; after all they had been walking around in the wilderness for 40 years. The word Honor also means privilege, they gladly gave the best of their grains and barley because they had the privilege to do it, and God had answered their prayers and did what he promised. To better put it into perspective, the “firsts” could have fed the farmer and two other people in his house for a week.
Why do we give God the best of us, the first of us? Because we are nothing without him. He has always kept his promises to us. If he isn’t the first thing that we run to when the sky is falling, then we should check our priorities. He says right there in verse 10 your barns will burst! I want all that God has for me.
You may also know this passage when people talk about tithing. We hold our earthly riches so close and are afraid to let them go, or scared that we won’t be able to pay an important bill. I have watched what it means to give your firsts, and watched the amount of blessings and earthly riches be poured out to where storehouses were full. I have also prayed through a steady stream of tears and wondered what was going to happen next, how God was going to provide. Why do we worry about these things so much, why do they consume us? Anything the devil can do to get our eyes off of Christ, is a win for him.
My favorite saying I’ve deemed my “reality check” is, none of what we have is ours anyways, it’s all God’s. So if this is the case then he can have all of my firsts because he was the one who gave them to me. Christ died for us so that we can live with him forever, so why would I want to give him any less then my best!
Photography: @brandon_nalley
by Lauren McPherson | Sep 26, 2015 | James
James 5:7-8
Patience and endurance, those two words are like being hungry while on a diet; none of which sound very fun. The very thought of these two words is enough to bring me to my knees in absolute surrender to Christ! Without him I couldn’t endure let alone be patient. We as a society are focused on the right now, and how can I get what I want faster. Have you ever prayed for someone or a situation and it seems as if nothing has changed?
In James 5:7 he refers to the farmers waiting patiently for the rains to fall, so that their valuable harvest will ripen. Then he proceeds to tell us in verse 8, you too, must be patient, take courage for the coming of the Lord is near.
Ok, so we may not be planting fields of crops but we are praying without ceasing (1Thes 5:16), we continue to be faithful even when we can’t see a change. As I’m patiently enduring the answers, I pray his words. Jesus wants us to rejoice when we run into trials, because it develops endurance and endurance, character (Rom5:3, 4).
Satan wants us to become weary and doubtful of what we have planted, it’s easy to lose hope and feel like you did something wrong, when you’re waiting and waiting, with what seems like no end in sight. I find it comforting that we are to take courage, because Jesus is coming! So until that time comes I will consider myself the farmer and wait for all the things that God has promised me.
Photography: @mattglenn
by Lauren McPherson | Sep 13, 2015 | James
James 2: 25-26
You may have heard about her, she is what the bible has referred to as, a “harlot.” However she is a part of the lineage of Christ? Yes! That’s right Christ! Her name is Rahab, she was a prostitute from Canaan. The actual Greek word translated “prostitute” in (2:25) is porne. Rahab was known for all of the wrong things, a continuous pattern of bad decisions after another. God still loved her! But when she decided something needed to happen she sought after meaning, perhaps a purpose. Rahab believed in God and then did something about it. Rahab helps protect two spies sent by Joshua to spy on the city of Jerhico. By hiding them and cleverly telling the king’s messengers that she didn’t know where the men were from, helps get the people of Israel to a safe place. Rahab told the spies, please swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you show kindness to my family and save all of our lives. She had faith and because of that, her actions backed it up.
God has the ability to change hearts and minds, not us. But one thing is for sure, when I pray that people see Christ in me I pray that my actions show it as well. You see, my faith for God is what brings about my action, because I choose to have a relationship with him and not a “religion” he can work through me and you. Faith and works go together like Oreo cookies and milk, you can’t have one without the other, or as James puts it; “the very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing” (James 2:26). Paul says it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved (Romans 10:10). Do you have faith, and do you have actions? Rahab did, God saw her for what she would be.
I think Beth Moore sums it up the best…
“You and I are free from the law. But if we are “free” to live continually and completely absent of all signs of Christ’s spirit in us, Something is dead wrong.”
Photography: @jacobnnorris
by Lauren McPherson | Sep 1, 2015 | James
James 1:1
Have you ever been skeptical, possibly saying whatever just to fit in, scared that if you said something wrong you would be mocked? Well, you’re not alone, just like me and a lot of other people, including James, have done these things. The most ironic part is that James was Jesus’s half-brother, and James was the first born son after Jesus (Matthew 13:55). James grew up in the same house, they probably wrestled, chased, and climbed trees together, there wasn’t any doubt that he didn’t know all about his brother. Yet James wasn’t the first one sticking up for Jesus when he was being persecuted, he sat towards the back and watched, he didn’t believe Jesus was the Savior (John 7:5).
It wasn’t until just before Christ died that James came to his senses and realized, “you know what, mybother isn’t crazy. He is who he says he is!” Jesus forgave him and from then on James goes on to tell about Jesus, he calls himself “a servant of God” (James 1:1).
In only five short chapters, James gives us a guide for practical spiritual living, it’s the “cliff notes” for how to think and live like Christ. The theme is how to be a doer of the word, having an outward expression of your inward convictions. I like to think of it as my “check list”, and ask myself am I living the way God desires me to, are what I say and my actions matching his? Would I stick up for my Heavenly Father? After all, I am his daughter (2 Corinthians 6:18).
James is encouraging us as believers to stay strong, and live right. Jesus is coming soon!
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Photography: @mattglenn
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