Proverbs

Proverbs 18:20-21

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Proverbs 18:20 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
 
These two verses have a great impact on us today, we need to take them and really listen to what they and what we say. The first verse tells us that what comes out of our mouth should be something that is satisfying to us and something that pleases us. Also a lot of times what we say could mean the difference in a very good blessing. Next we see that the worst enemy and the best friend is in the power of the tongue. We speak blessings and curses with the tongue and we will reap the results of we speak. So these two verse show us how important it is for us to watch what we say about people an situations in our lives. We need to always speak positive things over every situation no matter how bad it is or how good it is.
Proverbs

Proverbs 18:18-19

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Proverbs 18:18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.
19 A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.
 
First here we see that casting lots can solve some problems and whatever the outcome is the matter is solved. By this being settled it means the two parties have no reason to be at enmity with one another. The next verse says if the matter is not settled and your brother or friend is offended it is harder to overcome than if you had gone to war with a city. This goes on to say if the friends or bothers stand together they are stronger than a castle. One of the hardest disagreements to resolve is between family members and these barriers are the hardest to bring down.Hence, great care should be taken to avoid such conflicts.The Bible reminds us that if we expect God to forgive us we must forgive others, how many times, 70 times 7.
Proverbs

Proverbs 18:15-17

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Proverbs 18:15 The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge.
16 A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.
17 He that is first in his own cause seemeth just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him.
 
This starts off letting us know that those who work for it gain knowledge and those that good listeners to the word seek even more knowledge. The wisdom gained her is then used to give someone insight as to what would be a good gift to give to someone that has done something for you and to let someone know how much they mean to you. A nice gift seems to soften the heart and make the way easier. The last verse to take this wisdom a little further shows us how in an argument there are always two sides to story. When we hear the first side we have a tendency to believe it is right until we hear the other side. Once all the facts are presented we can make a better judgement on who is right.The moral of this is, cross examination avoids hasty judgment.
Proverbs

Proverbs 18:13-14

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Proverbs 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
14 The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?
 
We all have seen people who think they are smarter than they are. They will answer a question before you can get it out and usually it makes them out to be a fool. Only a wise man will wait until the question is asked before he answers. Also the spirit of a man will sustain him through almost any trial. even sometimes when doctors say there is no hope and the patient says “I will not die”, to the amazement of the doctors they heal faster and live longer than the doctors ever imagined. It is called the will to live. But when you heart that is broken sometimes they lose the will to live and they usually do not live long. We need to be aware of these broken people and try to help them regain that reason to live.
Proverbs

Proverbs 18:11-12

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Proverbs 18:11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.
12 Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honour is humility.
 
The people we see here are wealthy and think this is all they need to get into heaven. They flaunt their wealth to a point where people start to ignore them and have nothing to do with them and this is like a wall being constructed between them and the rest of the world. They are very proud of their wealth, and pride goth before a fall. Verse 12 goes on to say that the speech, probably of these same people, becomes destructive which leads to their own demise. Finally though we see that if we humble ourselves before God he will have great love for us and we will also be able to reach to others.Today is the the Lord’s day rejoice and be glad in it and get up and go to church. God has something special for each person that comes to Him asks for what they need. Please attend the the church of your choice and I pray it will be one that teaches the truth of God’s word.
Proverbs

Proverbs 18:10

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Proverbs 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
 
This is a verse that is familiar to a lot of Christians but this is where we get our strength, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and protection. The name of the Lord is a place of complete safety if for those that trust in Him. We can see form this that without the Lord Jesus Christ we may not even exist. “The name of the Lord” stands for the manifest perfections of God such as faithfulness, power, mercy and wisdom, on which the righteous rely for security.
Acts 17:28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
Proverbs

Proverbs 18:8-9

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Proverbs 18:8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
9 He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
 
We see hear in these two verse people we see every day. They love to take a peace of gossip and tell it to someone who they know will eat it up and get it down pat so they can spread the gossip. The talebearer is not by himself in sinning here but the listener is also. Next we see the ones that are too lazy to accomplish anything and what he does do does not amount to anything. then you the one he he does accomplish something he destroys it before it finished. Neither one of these will never have anything or amount to much.To me these are some of the hardest people to reach because they think everyone is against them and that is where we really need to let them see the love of God in us.
A Note from Hope

Kittens again- a Note from Hope

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Do you remember last year when the cat with electric eyes had kittens? Well, they’ve all grown up and most of them are at their new ‘furever homes’; only Fonda Jr and Orange Ears still live here.

But a few months ago, we had a pretty little cat start eating with the other cats outside. She is a tuxedo cat and she’s very pretty- but when she first came here, she was in bad shape. Her back legs were bloody and scraped, and she was very thin. She wouldn’t let Dad or Mom pet her. The other cats helped take care of her and she finally got better.

Boy were we surprised when we saw she was pregnant- we thought she was a boy!  She had her kittens a few weeks ago and we finally saw them last week. They are so pretty! When Dad found them, they weren’t in a safe place so he moved them. When we saw them, Scout and I smelled of them really good, too. Tux didn’t seem to mind as long as we’re nice. And she finally lets us rub against her some instead of running.

When Tux first came, Ms Kimmie said she thought some dogs had hurt her, which is why she’s still a little afraid. But I’m glad she’s getting better and knows that we don’t want to hurt her. Even when we chase the other cats, we just want to play.

I don’t know why some animals are mean to other animals, and I really don’t understand why some people are mean to animals.  Dad says some people just don’t know that God loves animals too. I’m glad God loves us and wants us taken care of. Did you know the Bible talks about taking care of animals?

Proverbs 12:10 “Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.”

Luke 12:6 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.”

Proverbs

Proverbs 18:4-7

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Proverbs 18:4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
 
The words of a man come from the heart and one who is wise has wellspring of wisdom that gushes forth like a river but soothes like a gentle flowing brook. We see to that it is not good to allow the riches, influence, friends, or offices of a wicked man to pervert justice of the poor or of the righteous man. To listen to the ramblings of what a wicked person says is wrong. Also a fool would just assume enter into a fight rather reason with someone to solve a situation. A fool with his words causes only trouble because they are guided by his own selfish desires. His words will only bring destruction and snare his soul. We can see the contrast in these verses of how with the righteous the words are spoken to help but the words of a fool are spoken to tear down.
Proverbs

Proverbs 18:1-3

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Proverbs 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.
2 A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.
3 When the wicked cometh, then cometh also contempt, and with ignominy reproach.
 
Now we see someone who seeks self gratification, they will remove themselves from others to seek wisdom on their own. They will become a recluse trying to find what they are looking for when all God ask is that we pray and ask for wisdom. Then we see the one who is interested in only pleasing self. These people are dense and stupid and have no desire for knowledge A fool will pay a great price for knowledge but thinks he gains more from it than he paid but he did not. Finally we see the person who is wicked but even has contempt for their own kind. Even the righteous despise these and this brings disgrace which brings shame and reproach. Here again we see people who need to find the real truth and we need to be well prepared to help in any situation by keeping our eyes focused on God.