November 24, 2007 8:19 AM
Sam wrote:
Proverbs 24, verses 13 - 14, compares Wisdom with Honey. The sweetness of wisdom is to your taste, and the sweetness of wisdom is to your soul. The process of making honey, that being done by the honey bee, is time consuming and laborious. (If you haven't had the opportunity to see "The Bee Movie", I highly recommend it....hilarously funny and tastefully (excuse the pun) well done. The bees in this movie make honey and although the process is not exactly correct, it is also very laborious.) I don't know how many hours of nectar collecting and processing, nor how many bees it takes to make a small jar of honey, BUT, I expect it to be many of each. So it is with gaining wisdom, I believe. Solomon had it good....God GAVE him wisdom as a gift...we have to 'earn ours'. Not everyone will be as wise as Solomon was, probably no one will be as wisdom is most difficult to obtain. The word 'wisdom' appears in over 215 verses in our NIV Bible, and the majority of that appears within Proverbs, describing what wisdom is. Solomon wrote initially when he started Proverbs, that these proverbs were "for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;". He described wisdom as "supreme; therefore get wisdom." He also said that 'the Lord gives Wisdom' 'for wisdom will enter your heart'. He tells us to 'Say to Wisdom, "You are my sister" because 'it is more precious than rubies' and 'gold'. He also says that 'The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...', and that 'your wisdom will reward you.' Solomon continues to urge us to seek wisdom. Much like the honey bee who must make repeated visits to thousands of nectar producing plants, so must we make repeated visits to a book of about 1000 pages (some more, some less)--the Bible. By doing so we can 'gather' information to become sweetened in our wisdom. BUT, if you simply buzz around your house doing simple, unnecessary tasks, what Godly wisdom will you obtain? Very little. If God rewards us with wisdom, He does so only if we come to him in humility and have a desire to become more wise. That was what Solomon did; and look what God gave him. It is sometimes a laborious chore to constantly seek wisdom, but when the chores don't get done, then Satan appears in an instant with a 'fog machine' and paralyzes us with confusion--the same way bees are stunned so that man can take away their honey. Don't let Satan take YOUR wisdom away....buzz around your Bible constantly and watch out for the kids with BB guns! Reply to this
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. I often keep this saying in my mind. It keeps me from thinking I am better then I really am. I am just trying to live a life for God on a daily basis. thats all. Reply to this
November 24, 2007 11:00 AM
Tony wrote:
Proverbs 24...Allot about not hooking up with evil and wicked men. I don't think we have to worry about that. But what we do need to worry about is that a sin is a sin. Evil and wicked men are obvious in their sin. The hard working, family guy, trying to do whats right, they are in sin just as much as the wicked and evil men. Just because it is not out in the open does not mean it does not exist. I am not saying I have a problem here, any ore than normal, just that we are all in sin and some are allot more obvious. Verse 7 describes how I feel most of the time when a group of people are gathered. Most intellectual conversation is above me. 1 Timothy 1-15... Paul was the worst of his time so that Gods patience could be seen. If God had the time for Paul, hopefully we will have the time to get it right also. You guys are awesome!! We all need each other more than we say (we are men, we don't need anyone!) and I am grateful to have y'all in my life! Reply to this
November 25, 2007 1:50 AM
Rich wrote:
A little late today, but better than nothing. I took a long nap today and now I am awake in the middle of the night. Everyone in the family is sick. I have some sort of ear problem (I guess inner ear infection), my son has the flu, daughter is running a fever and my wife has her normal things plus a tooth broke last night. We are being attacked, I guess.
Interestingly, I think my strength has grown (v. 10). When things like this have happened in the past I have faltered. I am not skipping around, but I am not running to sin either. I have taken care of the family as best as possible today and I feel like I am hanging in there. I was doing some work on the computer and I decided to see what everyone else wrote today. First, I was very encouraged to see Rik and Tony. Second, I got out my Bible and started reading. Third, I decided to go ahead and blog even though it is technically tomorrow! It feels good because now I want to pray, then hopefully to bed.
Tony - true intellegence comes from God's word. All human intelligence is just a lot of talk. Always remember I Cor 1:18-25. Especially the last verse: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." As we blog and share with one another and as we read God's word (especially Proverbs), we are gaining God's wisdom. Thus, we are actually more intelligent than those act like they know something. We are the ones who have the "wisdom too high for a fool" that is mentioned in Proverbs 24:7. Tony, you have much more to share than you realize.
Rik - that is a trustworthy saying. But another is that you have been saved by the blood of Jesus. You are "clothed with Christ" as Anthony preached a few weeks ago. When God looks at you (and at Mac, Tony and me) he sees Jesus! How awesome. True, you should not think of yourself as being better than you truly are, however, you should take great comfort and find confidence in who you are in Christ! All of us need to do that. We are powerful men of God. We have more wisdom, knowledge and power than the many, many non-christians we interact with every day. They may look powerful and wise by worldly standards, but we are the ones who hold the key to eternal life. We have so much more than we ever realize. Don't get over confident in yourself, but do be confident in Jesus and in the salvation that we have. Rik, you are the first one in the church who reached out to me and welcomed me into this group. I owe so much to you. You are awesome. I will always look up to you and admire you as a man of God.
Mac - thanks for your encouragement and words of wisdom above. I am always impressed with your love for God's word. Wisdom mentioned in 215 verses in the Bible!!! And you are correct. We all need to work hard to get wisdom. But as you note, Solomon says wisdom is supreme. Thus, nothing is more important. We need to be diligent in our study to get what is supreme (more important than anything else) Reply to this
Proverbs 24, verses 13 - 14, compares Wisdom with Honey. The sweetness of wisdom is to your taste, and the sweetness of wisdom is to your soul. The process of making honey, that being done by the honey bee, is time consuming and laborious. (If you haven't had the opportunity to see "The Bee Movie", I highly recommend it....hilarously funny and tastefully (excuse the pun) well done. The bees in this movie make honey and although the process is not exactly correct, it is also very laborious.) I don't know how many hours of nectar collecting and processing, nor how many bees it takes to make a small jar of honey, BUT, I expect it to be many of each. So it is with gaining wisdom, I believe. Solomon had it good....God GAVE him wisdom as a gift...we have to 'earn ours'. Not everyone will be as wise as Solomon was, probably no one will be as wisdom is most difficult to obtain. The word 'wisdom' appears in over 215 verses in our NIV Bible, and the majority of that appears within Proverbs, describing what wisdom is. Solomon wrote initially when he started Proverbs, that these proverbs were "for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;". He described wisdom as "supreme; therefore get wisdom." He also said that 'the Lord gives Wisdom' 'for wisdom will enter your heart'. He tells us to 'Say to Wisdom, "You are my sister" because 'it is more precious than rubies' and 'gold'. He also says that 'The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom...', and that 'your wisdom will reward you.' Solomon continues to urge us to seek wisdom. Much like the honey bee who must make repeated visits to thousands of nectar producing plants, so must we make repeated visits to a book of about 1000 pages (some more, some less)--the Bible. By doing so we can 'gather' information to become sweetened in our wisdom. BUT, if you simply buzz around your house doing simple, unnecessary tasks, what Godly wisdom will you obtain? Very little. If God rewards us with wisdom, He does so only if we come to him in humility and have a desire to become more wise. That was what Solomon did; and look what God gave him. It is sometimes a laborious chore to constantly seek wisdom, but when the chores don't get done, then Satan appears in an instant with a 'fog machine' and paralyzes us with confusion--the same way bees are stunned so that man can take away their honey. Don't let Satan take YOUR wisdom away....buzz around your Bible constantly and watch out for the kids with BB guns!
Reply to this
1 Tim 1:15
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. I often keep this saying in my mind. It keeps me from thinking I am better then I really am. I am just trying to live a life for God on a daily basis. thats all.
Reply to this
Proverbs 24...Allot about not hooking up with evil and wicked men. I don't think we have to worry about that. But what we do need to worry about is that a sin is a sin. Evil and wicked men are obvious in their sin. The hard working, family guy, trying to do whats right, they are in sin just as much as the wicked and evil men. Just because it is not out in the open does not mean it does not exist. I am not saying I have a problem here, any ore than normal, just that we are all in sin and some are allot more obvious. Verse 7 describes how I feel most of the time when a group of people are gathered. Most intellectual conversation is above me.
1 Timothy 1-15... Paul was the worst of his time so that Gods patience could be seen. If God had the time for Paul, hopefully we will have the time to get it right also. You guys are awesome!! We all need each other more than we say (we are men, we don't need anyone!) and I am grateful to have y'all in my life!
Reply to this
A little late today, but better than nothing. I took a long nap today and now I am awake in the middle of the night. Everyone in the family is sick. I have some sort of ear problem (I guess inner ear infection), my son has the flu, daughter is running a fever and my wife has her normal things plus a tooth broke last night. We are being attacked, I guess.
Interestingly, I think my strength has grown (v. 10). When things like this have happened in the past I have faltered. I am not skipping around, but I am not running to sin either. I have taken care of the family as best as possible today and I feel like I am hanging in there. I was doing some work on the computer and I decided to see what everyone else wrote today. First, I was very encouraged to see Rik and Tony. Second, I got out my Bible and started reading. Third, I decided to go ahead and blog even though it is technically tomorrow! It feels good because now I want to pray, then hopefully to bed.
Tony - true intellegence comes from God's word. All human intelligence is just a lot of talk. Always remember I Cor 1:18-25. Especially the last verse: "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength." As we blog and share with one another and as we read God's word (especially Proverbs), we are gaining God's wisdom. Thus, we are actually more intelligent than those act like they know something. We are the ones who have the "wisdom too high for a fool" that is mentioned in Proverbs 24:7. Tony, you have much more to share than you realize.
Rik - that is a trustworthy saying. But another is that you have been saved by the blood of Jesus. You are "clothed with Christ" as Anthony preached a few weeks ago. When God looks at you (and at Mac, Tony and me) he sees Jesus! How awesome. True, you should not think of yourself as being better than you truly are, however, you should take great comfort and find confidence in who you are in Christ! All of us need to do that. We are powerful men of God. We have more wisdom, knowledge and power than the many, many non-christians we interact with every day. They may look powerful and wise by worldly standards, but we are the ones who hold the key to eternal life. We have so much more than we ever realize. Don't get over confident in yourself, but do be confident in Jesus and in the salvation that we have. Rik, you are the first one in the church who reached out to me and welcomed me into this group. I owe so much to you. You are awesome. I will always look up to you and admire you as a man of God.
Mac - thanks for your encouragement and words of wisdom above. I am always impressed with your love for God's word. Wisdom mentioned in 215 verses in the Bible!!! And you are correct. We all need to work hard to get wisdom. But as you note, Solomon says wisdom is supreme. Thus, nothing is more important. We need to be diligent in our study to get what is supreme (more important than anything else)
Reply to this