Proverbs 29, 30, 31

Well, I have to say that I far underestmated the quantity of time and effort that was necessary to produce a wedding ceremony. Although I fell behind this week, I am committed to finishing proverbs so I have finished thes last 3 chapters in the few quiet moments that I have left before everything gets going.

From chapter 29, verse 25 stood out to me, "fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.". Proverbs started with defining in a few different ways what it meant to fear the Lord. As I remember this, it seems appropriate to have a reminder that fear of men has no place in our lives, only Him who provides for us. I know that there are plenty of ways where it is easy to get caught up fearing men, but I have to remember that it is the Lord that s always watching over me and not someone else.

Proverbs 30:5-6 says, "every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those wh take refuge in Him. Do not add to his words, or He will rebuke you and prove you a liar.". I think this is another healthy reminder as I end this focused devotion to God as Proverbs applies to marriage, to remember what God is saying and to take care to interpret what is written correctly. It can be esy for me sometimes to work scripture into an outcome that is preferrable in my eyes, but that is not what God wants, and that is not my job as husband to Susan. I need to seek God in reading scripture so that I can present the best version of myself to God and to Susan so that I represent the purposes that God has for me well.

And finally, Proverbs 31, a fitting end to this month of prayer and reflection. Verses 10-11 stand out to me especially because as I read them I am reminded of Susan, "a wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.". This is exactly how I see Susan. She is always doing the right thing and putting God at the front. I am so pleased that God ha brought me suach a noble woman. I don't know of anything worth more in this world than having her as my wife. Once again, I am reminded that God has knitted His plans for our lives since the beginning. In retrospect, it has all worked out to be such a perfect outcome. I am grateful to God every day for how He has blessed me with Susan.

Thank you all for following along and giving me your thoughts and encouragements. I'm glad to call you all family and friends. Please continue to pray for Susan and I as we start the rest of our lives.

Warmly,
Bob
-Bob

Proverbs 28

When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers, but a man of undersanding and knowledge maintains order. (Verse 2)

One of the things that we have covered quite extensively in our church classes are the roles of men. What was presented to us was that men have a greater responsibility in the home to fulfill roles than do women. This is because both men and women are programmed with their own roles, but it is the man's responsibility to first take his roles. Then it is natural for a woman to take on her godly roles. However, if I do not do this diligently every day, we've learned that our wives will pick up where we stop and take on roles that we are not fulfilling. In this way they are providig for their own needs when we as men choose not to.

I'm aware of this and of verse 2 and I am committed to the roles that God asks of me. I am to provide, protect, initiate, and be a source of God in the home. Although proverbs 2 mentions a country, I think it is also solidifying that I must fulfill these godly roles that are asked of me, otherwise there will be rebellion, dissention, argument, and a feeling of distance between Susan and I. Of course I don't always know how to fulfill these roles for every circumstance and every occassion, but I trust God to lead me as long as I am open to the paths and roles that He puts before me. I Love Susan and want to provide for her, protect her, initiate where needed in any matter, and finally be a source of God in our marriage. I ask god to lead me in the ways that will help me to fulfill these roles.

-Bob

Proverbs 27

He is is full loathes honey, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man that strays from his home. (Verses 7-8)

I can honestly say that I am truly excited to marry Susan. However I think that there is a warning in these verses. No matter how excited I am and how strongly I commit today, I think I would be a fool to think that the devil will not try to attack me and attempt to undermine my committment wherever he could. I think the warning here is to 1) remember how green the grass is on my side of the fence, especially since I am just now starting marriage and experiencing a life together with susan, and 2) to be wary of straying. A nest for a bird offers protection and provision. I kow how that the Lord is pleased with me marrying Susan, but I also know that He is free to lift His protection and provision if I am not fulfilling my committment at home with Susan. I am resolved to take heed to this warning and to not stray but also to remember how sweet the honey is that God gave me.
-Bob

Proverbs 26

Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. (verse 12)

Proverbs 26 is all about identifying the bahaviors of the fool, so that, in my opinion, we can learn and be better by it. Nothing is worse than a man that thinks more highly of himself than he should. In that regard, I am to make sure that I have a humble heart and that my actions are not haughty. Proverbs 26 syas that there is a rod for the backs of fools and that I will dig a pit or move a rock only to fall in or have it roll back.

I must keep away from the behaviors in this chapter so that I don't bring on calamity for my house and also so that I set the right example for the type of behavior that our house will stand for.
-Bob

Proverbs 25

"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." (verse 2) God speaks in "that still small voice". It's hard to find where God has spoken to me by shouting or other boisterous means. It is this little treasure hunt game that He plays: He tries to give me something which requires me to stop, be still, and carefully listen and think about the clues. This is God's way of things and I think it comes back to what we see in other places; God is interested in out heart. Anyone can follow instructions when they are preceded with thunder, lightning and loud voices, but it is greatly more difficult to find a whisper amongst the other noises, to understand it, and to follow. I know that the hardest part of that equation for me is to turn down the other volumes of life and put a few things on pause so that I can distinguish the voice of the Lord. This is extremely difficult to do. my personality is to wake up early, get a running start on my day, go full-throttle all day long, and squeeze a few more things in between dinner and sleeping to top off the day. Naturally if I don't choose differently than this, my own personality will push God out from my days. After not too long the days won't be good anymore. So the challenge for me is to bring God back with the volumes turned down and the pace controlled so that when that small voice starts to speak, I can recognize it from the other noises and change my course to focus on that for the time-being. -Bob

Proverbs 24

"Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house." (verse 27) This verse puzzles me still after thinking about it, so I choose to put it out here to see if anyone else has any different thoughts. So, I'm puzzled and I start by eliminating what this is NOT saying... that work comes before family and home. It couldn't be this because it would contradict interpretations of other places in scripture. So then it must be that as we are also told elsewhere, that we are given a job to do each day. That job is ordained by the Lord and given only to us. Even though we may not know the divine plan for that job, we are still to obey. Also, it seems that God is trying to make us aware of certain time-orders of things. In a farming community, if you were late and missed the season, you had to wait until next year. So clearly time can create priorities. Then, finally we come to working on our own homes. I don't think that this means to always put home and family last. In fact, in verse 3 it says that "by wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established." So as I start a family with Susan, the challenge for me will be to understand the work that God has for me to do, to understand the critical timings that are present in work, and then have enough wisdom to know when work had gone beyond God, or timing is no longer as He had intendid, and to set work aside and elevate the home to priority #1. This way when I understand all of these things, family will always be rightfully first. If this then is the true order of things (as given by God) since Susan is prayerful in her own respects, I should not fear the times when I must choose work over family so long as I am completely confident that I am either doing a work for the Lord or a work that is critical in time for Him. She will understand these things from God as well and know that my heart is with family and home but to truly execute God's will for any given day of my life, that I have to do work. I pray for the Lord to give me the ability to see work as He does and not to be overcome with my own desire for completing objectives and makeing achievements. -Bob

Proverbs 23

The parts in Proverbs 23 that spoke to me were all about keeping modest wealth. "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches and they are surely gone. Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless." (verses 4, 5, 10) I think this is all talking about priorities in life, what really comes first, and how we go about getting those things. I can make two mistakes in this regard, I can have the wrong order to my priorities and/or I can work toward the priorities in the wrong ways. In clear statements, I am told not to work harder and harder just to get rich. There may be a day where the Lord desires that I give extra effort, but that will be His calling and not my decision just to gain more wealth. Should I choose to work harder and harder for money would mean that I am not trusting in God for His provisions over my life. The scripture then says to seek wisdom in order to show restraint. This implies to me that there will be some times where it is necessary to work harder and then it is up to me to develop judgement to know when to say stop. Secondly, then, I think verse 10 is talking about how I am supposed to go about achievements in life. So, assuming that my purposes are ordaind and that I am showing proper restraint, there are reasonable boudaries that are already established for proper behavior. It is not honorable to expand my realm at the expense of someone else. Again, expansion comes from God and if that is His desire, then He will provide that in His own ways. I read the scripture and time and again hear the same theme, although said many ways..."Play by the rules". I interpret this first to be God's rules, and then to be the rules of this world. It is not my place to judge the rules set by those in authority over me and so I must abide. In this case, but more and more in all things, I start to use that phrase as a guiding light. Am I playing by the rules? First His, and then the worlds. I'm guided by morality, of course, but I think I can fear and honor God the best when I really seek to "play by the rules". -Bob

Proverbs 22

"Rich and poor have this in common, the Lord is maker of them all... Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them... A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." (verses 2, 22, 23, 8) As with the last chapter I see an emphasis on how God wants us to treat the poor. The commands here are that no matter our financial position, we are equals with everyone else, and that we must remember this in our dealings so that we do not exploit another's need. He backs this up by saying that He will defend the poor. And finally, it is good to share with those that have less because as with everything, God is watching. I believe that when we share with others to help give them their basic needs, that we are fulfilling the intents of God and that He is pleased with these kinds of works. For Susan and I, we are just now going to start what I estimate as a fairly comfortable life (Praise God!). We have a house and two stable jobs, and as we start living together, our expenses will actually drop as we no longer have to pay 2 cable, electric, water, etc. bills. Susan and I have already discussed at length the roles that each one of us is planning to take as we are married. One of my main roles is the home finances. So I know that as we find a few extra dollars every month, that it also gives me extra responsibility to listen to God when He might be asking me to do something for His purposes with that money. I'm praying for the Lord to open my heart and eyes to the things that He wants me to see. This way, I don't fail in fiscal responsibility to Him because of my own blindness.

Proverbs 21

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered." (verse 13) This one is really deep and I think it is getting at a point that is deeper than just helping the poor. Yesterday in bible study we talked about how we traditionally help the poor; many times this is giving them handouts of food, money, or other goods. We examined this and it seems that it is really God's intention that in addition to helping them attain their basic needs, we also need to provide for their purpose in life by giving them something to work for. So this was the mindset that I had started with when I read this verse. Verse 13 does not give instruction on what to give to the poor or how to give it. For that matter, it doesn't say much about any exchange of food, money, job, etc. What it does talk about is if my "ears" or in this case I think it means "heart or spirit" is open to seeing and empathizing with their suffering. I think the nature of God is that He wants us to feel (by being led by the Spirit) and then have our feelings lead our actions rather than simply tell us what specifically to do. God holds the poor close, the scripture tells us this. It's easy to look past the poor and suffering, but it clearly says that if we look past, if we close our world to theirs, then God will close His to us. A bit scary!! So what does this mean to Susan and I? We both believe strongly in our giving of first fruits to the Lord. But it seems that just the check or the canned food is not as important as what he desires in both of our hearts. Susan and I need to be aware and diligent to take time to benefit the poor; to exercise what our "ears" are telling us. We get exposed to these opportunities often and probably don't act on them much to go out and serve the poor. As the song says, I pray for God to "break my (and our) heart for what breaks [His]". In this then, the spirit will convict me to go where He needs me. -Bob

Proverbs 20

"Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find...It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider his vows." (verses 6,25)


Anyone who knows Susan and I well know that we've had a bumpy road as we considered our relationship and if and how there was a future for us. It seemed that for a long time we were on "different pages" in life and always just grazed a serious path to marriage rather than actually traverse it. I can't count how many long conversations and difficult days we had as we tried to figure out the right things to do. Nevertheless, that is all behind us and here we are, but as I consider those times, I can most certainly see God working in all of those things to help keep me from making the wring choice. His timing is truly perfect. Sometimes that wrong choice would have been to push forward with marriage too soon, and at other times that wrong choice would have been to walk away entirely. The Lord never closed these doors completely. I'm thankful for these times that the Lord brought us through because it feels now that Susan and I have had so much opportunity to consider everything regarding our love and our relationship. I feel now that we are going forward with marriage on the Lord's path and on His timing. But even more so, I feel that this is a choice that both she and I are making after literally years of consideration. It could have worked the other way, as verse 25 says, and we could have married and then later considered our actions. But as I said, I am extremely happy for the timing that this all has happened on because this decision, and commitment to Susan, are not rushed. For this I know that I won't be that person who wakes up years into my marriage and decides that I made the wrong choice. Finally, although verse 6 paints a pretty bleak picture that no man can have unfailing love, I believe that the path that Susan and I have traveled to get here (by the way... here is now only 10 days away) gives us an intense love for one another that can stand up to strong trials. I only pray that we are never tested in that regard. Once again, I thank God for His timing and for mysteriously bringing all the critical pieces together in a time that truly shows His power and working in my life.
-Bob