9 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars: 2 She hath killed her beasts; she hath mingled her wine; she hath also furnished her table. 3 She hath sent forth her maidens: she crieth upon the highest places of the city, 4 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled. 6 Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.
Proverbs 9:8-10 King James Version (KJV)
8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Proverbs 9:13-18 King James Version (KJV)
13 A foolish woman is clamorous: she is simple, and knoweth nothing. 14 For she sitteth at the door of her house, on a seat in the high places of the city, 15 To call passengers who go right on their ways: 16 Whoso is simple, let him turn in hither: and as for him that wanteth understanding, she saith to him, 17 Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. 18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there; and that her guests are in the depths of hell.
I am the voice of the one calling out in the desert: “Make the road straight for the Lord.” John 1:23
The faces of the three men were solemn as the mayor informed them of the catastrophe. “The rains have washed away the bridge. During the night many cars drove over the edge and into the river.”
“What can we do?” asked one. “You must stand on the side of the road and warn the drivers not to make the left turn. Tell them to take the one-lane road that follows the side of the river.”
“But they drive so fast! How can we warn them?” “By wearing these sandwich signs,” the mayor explained, producing three wooden double-signs, hinged together to hang from one’s shoulders. “Stand at the crossroads so drivers can see these signs until I can get someone out there to fix the bridge.”
And so the men hurried out to the dangerous curve and put the signs over their shoulders. “The drivers should see me first,” spoke one. The others agreed. His sign warned, “Bridge Out!” He walked several hundred yards before the turn and took his post.
“Perhaps I should be second, so the drivers will slow down,” spoke the one whose sign declared, “Reduce Speed.” “Good idea,” agreed the third. “I’ll stand here at the curve so people will get off the wide road and onto the narrow.” His sign read simply “Take Right Road” and had a finger pointing toward the safe route.
And so the three men stood with their three signs ready to warn the travelers of the washed-out bridge. As the cars approached, the first man would stand up straight so the drivers could read, “Bridge Out.”
Then the next would gesture to his sign, telling the cars to “Reduce Speed.” And as the motorists complied, they would then see the third sign, “Right Road Only.” And though the road was narrow, the cars complied and were safe. Hundreds of lives were saved by the three sign holders. Because they did their job, many people were kept from peril.
But after a few hours they grew lax in their task. The first man got sleepy. “I’ll sit where people can read my sign as I sleep,” he decided. So he took his sign off his shoulders and propped it up against a boulder. He leaned against it and fell asleep. As he slept his arm slid over the sign, blocking one of the two words. So rather than read “Bridge Out,” his sign simply stated “Bridge.”
The second didn’t grow tired, but he did grow conceited. The longer he stood warning the people the more important he felt. A few even pulled off to the side of the road to thank him for the job well done.“We might have died had you not told us to slow down,” they applauded.
“You’re so right,” he thought to himself. “How many people would be lost were it not for me?” Presently he came to think that he was just as important as his sign. So he took it off, set it up on the ground, and stood beside it. As he did, he was unaware that he, too, was blocking one word of his warning. He was standing in front of the word “Speed.” All the drivers could read was the word “Reduce.” Most thought he was advertising a diet plan.
The third man was not tired like the first, nor self-consumed like the second. But he was concerned about the message of his sign. “Right Road Only,” it read.
It troubled him that his message was so narrow, so dogmatic. “People should be given a choice in the matter. Who am I to tell them which is the right road and which is the wrong road?”
So he decided to alter the wording of the sign. He marked out the word “Only” and changed it to “Preferred.” “Hmm,” he thought, “that’s still too strident. One is best not to moralize. So he marked our the word “Preferred” and wrote “Suggested.” That still didn’t seem right, “Might offend people if they think I’m suggesting I know something they don’t.”
So he thought and thought and finally marked through the word “Suggested” and replaced it with a more neutral phrase. “Ahh, just right,” he said to himself as he backed off and read the words: “Right Road—One of Two Equally Valid Alternatives.”
And so as the first man slept and the second stood and the third altered the message, one car after another plunged into the river.
In August 1983, Russell Stendal was taken hostage into the jungle of Columbia, by a band of guerrilla soldiers. For nearly 5 months he learned what it really means to love one’s enemies.
He wrote a letter home, saying, “I am in danger only of losing my life; they are in danger of losing their souls.”
Through kindness, Russell befriended his guards. One day the commander told him, “We can’t kill you face to face; we like you. So we will have to kill you in your sleep.”
God enabled Russell to forgive, but for the next 10 days and nights he couldn’t sleep. A submachine gun was repeatedly thrust in his face under his mosquito net, but the guards couldn’t bring themselves to pull the trigger.
On January 3, 1984, Russell was released. When he said goodbye, tears fill the eyes of some of his captors.
You can love as God, not in quantity, but in quality, because God’s own nature has been begotten in you, and awaits the opportunity of approving itself before men and angels.
8 All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them. 9 They are all plain to him that understandeth, and right to them that find knowledge. 10 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. 11 For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. 12 I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions. 13 The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. 14 Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
Proverbs 8:17-21 King James Version (KJV)
17 I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. 18 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness. 19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver. 20 I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: 21 That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.
💫 *I will carry you* When you are weary and cannot seem to find a way to connect to my presence, reach for me, and I will carry you. When all you can do is bow low and whisper with faint surrender, I am there. I never dismiss your cries for help.
I hear every movement of your heart toward me. I’m here, beloved. Lean back into my arms and give me every care, every worry, all of your pain. I am here, and I will continue to carry you in my presence.
*In your weakness, I am strong*. I don’t fault you for being affected by these trials that have sought to destroy you. Instead, I smother your weakness with my strength and draw you near. I hold hope in my hands and will massage it ever so gently into your heart.
In my presence, you will find relief. In my arms, you will find comfort. *I will pour out my love so profusely, you will be consumed with peace again*. I will carry you beyond the threshold of pain into a beautiful place of victory.
– Brian Simmons and G Rodriguez 💖 *Stay Blessed My Friend* 😊 🌹
Value Wisdom! Proverbs 2:1-11 King James Version (KJV)
1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; 2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; 4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; 5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. 8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. 9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. 10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; 11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3).
The word translated, “Shine” in the scripture above is “zahar” in Hebrew, and it means, “to admonish, teach, inspire, or send out light.” These all connote leadership, and light gives leadership; it gives guidance.
It parallels what Jesus implied when He said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). “Go and teach all nations” means go and shine to all nations; inspire all nations. 🙇
This is our calling as God’s people: we make students or pupils of the nations. We show the world the true life. We show them true happiness and joy. We show them what the love of God is as we unveil the Gospel to them. We’re the light in a dark world, to lead men into Christ and His priceless inheritance. 😇
When you arrive, illumination comes; there’s direction; darkness is dispelled and the light and righteousness of God are established. You’re like Paul, whom the Lord commissioned to open the eyes of the unsaved, and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God (Acts 26:18). 🙇♀
Proverbs 11:30 says, “…he that winneth souls is wise”; put that together with our opening verse and see that, indeed, we’re luminaries. We take the light of the Gospel everywhere we go. We give direction and show the way; we bring fulfilment and joy. These are qualities of light, and we’re the light of the world. 🙇
In John 8:12, Jesus said, “…I am the light of the world. If anybody follows me, he shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” 1 John 4:17 declares, “…as he is, so are we in this world.” We have the light of life, and dispense the same to our world. 😇
Sickness, poverty, discouragement, death and all other works of darkness and evil can’t, and should never find a place in your life. You’re a shining light; walk in this reality. 🌞
PRAY : Thank you, holy Father, for enlisting me in your army of soul winners; and now, I illuminate my world, and the hearts of sinners are open to receive the message of your saving grace today, in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Excerpts from Rhapsody of Realities -Pastor Chris 🎊 *Have a Blessed Day Guys* 😊 🌹
1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; 2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; 4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
Proverbs 1:7-8 King James Version (KJV)
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. 8 My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Proverbs 1:10-11 King James Version (KJV)
10 My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.
Proverbs 1:20-22 King James Version (KJV)
20 Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: 21 She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, 22 How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?
Proverbs 1:32-33 King James Version (KJV)
32 For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. 33 But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.
PROUD PEOPLE V/S BROKEN PEOPLE (By Nancy Leigh DeMoss) I want you to know that I struggle with pride! So Lord please take my pride!
Proud people focus on the failures of others, but broken people are overwhelmed with a sense of their own spiritual need. Proud people are self-righteous. They have a critical, fault-finding spirit. They look at everyone else’s faults with a microscope but their own with a telescope, and they look down on others.
But broken people are compassionate. They can forgive much because they know how much they have been forgiven. They think the best of others, and they esteem all others better than themselves.
Proud people have an independent, self-sufficient spirit, but broken people have a dependent spirit and recognize their need for others. Proud people have to prove that they’re right, but broken people are willing to yield the right to be right.
Proud people claim rights and have a demanding spirit, but broken people yield their rights and have a meek spirit. Proud people are self-protective of their time, their rights, and their reputation, but broken people are self-denying.
Proud people desire to be served, but broken people are motivated to serve others. Proud people desire to be a success, but broken people are motivated to be faithful and to make others a success.Proud people desire for self-advancement, but broken people desire to promote others.
Proud people have a drive to be recognized, to be appreciated. They’re wounded when others are promoted and they are overlooked. Broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness. They’re thrilled that God would use them at all in any ministry. They’re eager for others to get the credit, and they rejoice when others are lifted up.
Proud people have a subconscious feeling, “This ministry is privileged to have me and my gifts.” They think of what they can do for God, but broken people have that heart attitude that says, “I don’t deserve to have any part in this ministry.” They know that they have nothing to offer God except the life of Jesus flowing through their broken lives.
Proud people feel confident in how much they know, but broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn. Proud people are self-conscious, but broken people are not concerned with self at all.
Proud people keep others at arm’s length, but broken people are willing to risk getting close to others and to take the risks of loving intimately. Proud people are quick to blame others, but broken people accept personal responsibility and can see where they were wrong in the situation.
Proud people are unapproachable, but broken people are easy to be entreated. Proud people are defensive when criticized, but broken people receive criticism with a humble, open spirit. Proud people are concerned with being respectable.
They’re concerned with what others think, and they’re working to protect their own image and reputation. But broken people are concerned with being real. What they care about and what matters to them is not what others think but what God knows, and they’re willing to die to their own reputation.
Proud people find it difficult to share their spiritual needs with others, but broken people are willing to be open and transparent with others as God directs. Proud people, when they have sinned, want to be sure that no one finds out. Their instinct is to cover up, but broken people, once they’ve been broken, they don’t care who knows or who finds out. They are willing to be exposed because they have nothing to lose.
Proud people have a hard time saying, “I was wrong. Will you please forgive me?” But broken people are quick to admit their failure and to seek forgiveness when necessary. When confessing their sin, proud people tend to deal in generalities, but broken people are able to deal under the conviction of God’s Spirit to acknowledge specifics.
Proud people are concerned about the consequences of their sin, but broken people are grieved over the cause, the root of their sin. Proud people are remorseful over their sin, sorry that they got found out or caught. But broken people are truly, genuinely repentant over their sin, which is evidenced in the fact that they forsake that sin.
When there’s a misunderstanding or conflict in relationships, proud people wait for the other to come and ask forgiveness, but broken people take the initiative to be reconciled. They race to the cross. They see if they can get there first, no matter how wrong the other may have been.
Proud people compare themselves with others and feel worthy of honor, but broken people compare themselves to the holiness of God and feel a desperate need for His mercy. Proud people are blind to their real heart condition, but broken people walk in the light. Proud people don’t think they have anything to repent of, but broken people realize that they have need of a continual heart attitude of repentance.
Proud, unbroken people don’t think they need revival, but they’re sure that everyone else does. Whereas humble, broken people continually sense their need for a fresh encounter with God, for a fresh filling of His Holy Spirit
This old story was first recorded by Harry C. Mabry. It seems this person had just arrived in Heaven, was telling St. Peter what a glorious place it was, and asked Peter for just one glimpse into hell. This way the newcomer would appreciate heaven all the more.
Peter obliged the neophyte with a snap of the finger. In hell they saw a long table extending as far the eye could reach, laden down with the most delicious of all varieties of foods. But everyone around the table was starving to death.
When asked for an explanation, Peter said, “Everyone is required to take food from the table only with four-foot long chopsticks. They’re so long that no one can reach the food from the table to his or her mouth, and everyone is dying of starvation.”
Quickly they returned to heaven, and behold, the new arrival saw an identical table, laden down with identical foods. But everyone around the table was happy and well fed.
Then the newcomer said to Peter: “How do they take the food from the table?” Peter answered, “Only with four-foot long chopsticks.” At that the new arrival inquired: “Then why are all those in hell starving to death while all those up here are so well fed and happy?”
