Proverbs 3:1-2:
1 MY SON, forget not my law or teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you.
Remember that your heart is the combination of your born again spirit and your needing-to-be-renewed-everyday soul! Your spirit ALWAYS wants to obey the Word of God, but your soul (consisting of your mind, emotions, and will) makes the choices! We need to constantly renew our minds with the Word of God so that we can begin to think properly, which will cause us to speak properly and act properly! What is the result of that? Verse 2 above: days that are productive and filled with blessing and success; and many years of a very fulfilled life! THAT sounds like my Father God, don't you think? Then I really like verses 13-14:
13 Happy (blessed, fortunate, enviable) is the man who finds skillful and godly Wisdom, and the man who gets understanding [drawing it forth from God's Word and life's experiences], 14 For the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver, and the profit of it better than fine gold.
How important is this "skillful and godly Wisdom"? Verse 19:
19 The LORD by skillful and godly Wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding He has established the heavens.
YES, this same Wisdom is available to us by the presence of the Spirit of the Living God inside of us, and by the Word of God that we hide in our hearts! Go hard after the presence of the LORD, and go hard after His Word!
Revelation 9 continues with the judgments on a world that has rejected Jesus! Verses 7-10 describe locusts that resemble horses equipped for battle that cause great pain to the people. I have seen some pretty odd looking drawings from people trying to depict these "creatures", but one thing that could be a very real possibility is this:
Possible? Definitely, but we won't know until the time comes, and we won't be here then! Thank You, Jesus! The judgments continue, but it doesn't look as though they will have much affect on the hearts of the unbelievers. Look at verses 20-21:
20 And the rest of humanity who were not killed by these plagues even then did not repent of [the worship of] the works of their [own] hands, so as to cease paying homage to the demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which can neither w=see nor hear nor move. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their practice of magic (sorceries) or their sexual vice or their thefts.
Even after everything that they have seen, they still continue to harden their hearts and refuse HIM! Don't ever take for granted that people will have another chance after the Rapture of the church to receive Jesus as LORD and Savior. They may have, but the strong delusion to believe a lie will be even stronger then! Don't hesitate to preach the Good News NOW, while their is still time! Their eternity is as stake!
Shalom in Him!
