Proverbs 6

Verses 10-11 "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man." I think this makes sense both for my daily life as well as for spiritual applications. It's easy to see that becoming lackadaisical in finances, work, repairs, cleaning, etc all will lead to some situation of hopelessness: an overflowing sink, an overgrown yard, a worn out car, or an empty bank account. I think this warning is more importantly a spiritual one. One day at a time, and every choice we make, we can choose to have God included or excluded. Add that dirty dish to either the sink or to the dishwasher. Constantly making the right decision not only develops good habits fir the future, but keeps the kitchen well kept. But then the 2nd and 3rd day comes and prayer is left out, devotions are forgotten, and life is too busy to recognize God, and quickly the days have become like the sink full of dirty dishes. Nothing can be done except to clear away all the clutter and start to re-build the habit once again. It's easy in concept to clear the 1 dish, or remember the 1 daily prayer, but applying it over and over is ever more important. God is there but he wants me to come to him constantly to have relationship with Him. That relationship is destroyed if I put Him off for another day, then again, and again, etc. For Susan and I this means that I have to be diligent to make sure that we pray together every day and to take time to recognize where God has interacted in our lives. He has done so many great things already, why would He abandon us now. We simply need to acknowledge Him each day. -Bob

Proverbs 5

Proverbs 5, in giving direction on adultery, is much different that Chapter 1 which gives direction on avoiding sinners. Proverbs 1:15 ...do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths Proverbs 5:18 Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house. Proverbs 5 says to take extra caution in dealing with adulterous behavior; to not only stay off of their paths, but in fact to avoid crossing them and to avoid being near to those paths altogether. I think that this is an example of God stepping in to help us where he knows that we can be too weak to help ourselves. So he gives more specific and guided isntruction. "for a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all his paths." We are human and therefore can not be perfect. God know this and so would not want us in a situation that tests our reserve in fending off attacks from the devil. I specifically think that the devil can tell if we are weak in this area and will do everything possible to make us stumble. But the Lord says to go no near the path of an adulterer. In applying this to Susan and I, I think one of the ways which we've started this relationship will help us to stay away from the adulterous path altogether. We started by writing down a set of "ground-rules" to help each other understand our expectations. After the discussion of all the topics, one of the "rules" was that we were not going to be spending time alone with anyone of the opposite sex without discussing it together first. This has been a good start to make sure that even if we don't feel that we are being tempted that we have each other to help check our own thinking to make sure that we aren't blind to any part of the situation. Still I know that this will always require thought and effort. I'll be forced to think ahead to make sure that whatever I do on a day to day basis is not leading me near to a adulterous temptation. I think the best that I can do is to continually be open with Susan about what decisions I make, where I spend time, and who is with me when she is not. That way everything is in the light and no insignificant details can turn into a temptation later. -Bob