I see that I skipped right over Proverbs 16 to talk about Proverbs 17 yesterday! So I will go back and cover 16 today! I love verse 7 and I count on Him for it in my life!
7When a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
I like the Message Bible for this, too:
7 When God approves of your life,
even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.
even your enemies will end up shaking your hand.
Don't fight with your enemies! Don't even try so HARD get along with them! Just obey God's plan for your life and God Himself will change their hearts! Now if the problem you're having with another person is because of something wrong YOU have done, you can be very confident that God will make that VERY clear to you, too! AMEN! I also count on verse 9 ALWAYS!
9A man's mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.
It is SO MUCH BETTER to put your hand to something and trust that God will fine tune for you than to never do anything until you "hear" some special calling! I have always found that it is when I am fulfilling my obligations in a certain area, that I will receive direction from the Lord on something else that concerns me! Be about Your Father's business trusting that HE wants you to succeed even more than you do! What a GOOD God we love and serve! AMEN! And I can't possibly leave out verse 31 for all of the "hoary heads" I know!
31The hoary head is a crown of beauty and glory if it is found in the way of righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation).
Notice it says that gray hair (that's what a hoary head means) is a crown of "glory", the Hebrew word, "tiph`arah", which means: beauty, splendor, glory, honor, rank (renown)! But it is only that WHEN it is found to be on a righteous person! Who is righteous? Everyone who has believed in their heart that Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross for them and rose from the dead, accepted and received Jesus of Nazareth as their Lord and personal Saviour and confessed Him as Lord over their lives, has (already) been made the righteousness of God! They have right standing with God through the blood of Jesus of Nazareth. So if THEY have gray hair, it IS a crown of honor to them!
In Galatians 6 we MUST look at verse 6!
6Let him who receives instruction in the Word [of God] share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his support].
The Amplified Bible has the very best translation of this verse! If you are being taught the Word of God by your Pastor, then you need to be contributing to his support! This is talking about even beyond the tithe that goes for the running of the church! Are you taught? APPRECIATE your teachers! Love them, pray for them, bless them with gifts (especially money to be spent on themselves!), honor them, speak well of them and encourage them! How well have YOU been doing in this area? I plan to do better! AMEN!
Verse 7 goes right along with verse 6!
7Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap.
You just can't say it any better than that! Make sure you are sowing the right kind of seeds for the Harvest you need! AMEN! It is a total joy to see someone's face light up when God blesses them and allows you the privilege of being the vessel of blessing! That kind of sounds like the "man with a pitcher in his hand", doesn't it? Let's be him! AMEN!
I used to wonder at what David did to the descendants of Saul in 2 Samuel 21, but I have a better understanding of it now. In verse 1 we see this:
1THERE WAS a three-year famine in the days of David, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord replied, It is on account of Saul and his bloody house, for he put to death the Gibeonites.
It was the LORD who told David what had caused the drought. What David did next sounds so merciless and cold-blooded that you might be tempted to wonder how God could have intended that to happen! The thing we need to realize is that under our New Covenant, based on better promises, we are told to forgive and to walk in love. But remember that this situation took place under the Law. Remember when Joshua was fooled by the Gibeonites who pretended to come from very far away? Well Joshua made a pact with them at that time and the nation of Israel was bound by that promise to protect the Gibeonites! Saul, for whatever reason, had killed some of them. This is the reason the drought came without relief. Under the Law, this was a proper retribution for what had occurred at the hands of Saul. When we study the Bible we have to always be aware of three things:
- Who is doing the speaking.
- Who are they speaking to.
- In what time period is this being spoken.
Next we see Goliath's descendants popping up and being dealt with properly! Chapter 22 is David's song of deliverance! Can you sing it? How about allowing the Holy Spirit to give you your very own song of deliverance? He will! Now sing it and rejoice, for the Lord your God has indeed done very great things for YOU and you need to celebrate them and HIM! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
