2 Things From Proverbs 30

Here are a few things that stood out to me in my readings in Proverbs 30.

| “Two things I ask of you, O Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, “Who is the LORD? Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” | Proverbs 30: 7-9 [NIV]

That my life would be…

1) Truthful

2) Dependant on God for our daily needs. **Francis Chan had an awesome interpretation of this scripture that is well worth watching, Click here to view I Dare You To Pray This

| “For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.” | Proverbs 30: 33 [NIV]

The more you entertain anger you change the original substance from just being angry to a more violent conflict. We must not entertain our anger but have to deal with it in a positive way in order to relieve the conflict. We must resolve to not allow it to escalate to a point of superiority, where we lord our position or point over another person but must consider others better than ourselves.

Sometimes I Act The Part Of A Fool

Sometimes I have the habit of acting the part of a fool and it’s not a good thing. This morning as I was reading Proverbs I was pricked just a bit. At times pressure gets to me and I can fly off the handle. For example, take the trip up to Sumter and an experience I had with a cup of coffee. Long story short, my wife brought me out a cup of coffee from the store, It wasn’t the right size. They failed to fix it the way I asked for it, and they put a frozen drink lid on the cup of to go coffee. I was hot, I get a little ticked when someone asks me what I want, I tell them, then they proceed to get it completely wrong. (BTW…I wasn’t angry at my wife, but the people fixing the drink who failed to fix it how she asked..) But, we all make mistakes don’t we… I REALLY need to remember this.

So, in the parking lot I expressed my dissatisfaction about the coffee in a rant in which one of the individuals that were with us asked the question… “do you think if there were non-Christians around, a positive example would have been set, and could it have opened up to conversation about Christ.” OUCH… Okay I was wrong, I eventually apologized to those that were around me when I blew up because of a wrong lid, and failed order….STUPID thing to get upset about in the first place. Luckily we were in the parking lot my little outburst was only around the people in my party and not directed at any of the staff to their face, but really does it matter who our outburst are around, if it’s your friends or strangers.

Don’t act the part of a fool. Thanks God for the reminder…

“A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control…” – Proverbs 29:11

You’ve Been In The Sun

The signs are all over Peyton’s face that he was out in the sun yesterday. His cheeks aren’t burnt but they are a little red. His face shows the effect of being exposed to the sun if even but for a short period of time. There is a spiritual implication in this. The exposure to God and Jesus Christ through His word has the same effect. The longer you are exposed to him the more it will show. I firmly believe that your face will show it as well. It doesn’t matter the circumstances around you, or what situation you find yourself in. Exposure to God will shine through you. Your face will show it. I wonder at times if my face is a sure indicator of how often I spend time with God. Can others see via my look, that I have been alone with Him. I want others to see that God is working in and through me and that I have spent time with Him when they come into contact with me.

Blast the Tune

There is something great about volume control.  You can turn down what you don’t want to listen to and blast the tunes that really make you move. You’ve been there, driving down the road, and all of a sudden the song that brings back so many memories and good times starts playing, and the first instinct is to blast the tune. You may roll down the windows beat on the steering wheel even bob your head a little. There’s nothing better than blasting your favorite tune.

We tend to do the same thing with God. He begins to play the tune to our life, and if what he plays takes us back then we turn up the volume with our lives, and live out the song he plays. The opposite is true if we don’t want to hear the tune, that he plays for our life, we turn down the volume or either turn off the signal completely. The truth is that there is nothing better than blasting the tune he has for our life. Agree with it or not, fearful or joyful, to journey in the direction that God is moving you is blasting the tune with your life.

The Scripture: Hebrews 11:1

The Challenge: It doesn’t take much faith to know that when you turn the volume up on your music device that the tune will get louder. Following God however, is all about faith.

In your journey with Christ what is the tune that is being played? What is demanding faith and action out of you? Are we blasting out the tune or turning it down?