Proverbs 17

Proverbs 17:17 states “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” How very true is that! I’m sure everyone has had those “friends” who are with you when times are good, but desert you when things get tough. It hurts to have trusted someone, only to have them hurt you, leave you, disappoint you in your time of need. It can cause you to be bitter, untrusting, and afraid to let anyone close. But, fortunately, that is not the only type of person in this world.

This passage speaks of a true friend, and how you can recognize them. Someone who loves you all the time, someone who is there when times get rough, not only there, but also there to support and help. As Christians, that is who we are supposed to be to one another, a true friend “through thick and thin”.

I am very fortunate to have true friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, ones who are there with me through it all, good times and bad. I know and can trust, when adversity strikes, they show up to help me through. Thank the Lord for friends such as these, it would be a dreary world without them. God bless and keep you all!

Proverbs 16

I’ve been struggling a lot with failure, forgotten dreams, unfinished goals; all of which had me questioning my abilities, experience, and life. However, upon further scrutiny, I looked at those goals and searched for the Lord, they were not His, but mine!

Proverbs 16:3 states, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” If I’m tired of failure, then I need to seek the Lord for His plan for my life, seek His will and direction, commit my actions and efforts to Him and His glory, only then will I succeed, and success will be all the sweeter, for it will be God working through me, not me alone. Now that’s success on a whole higher level!? Right?

Remember, God loves you and wants the very best for you, commit your life and plans to Him, and succeed with beaming confidence that you allowed Him to be glorified and shine to the world, and He will be very pleased!

Proverbs 12 - Lies

Lies are hurtful, deceitful, and can cause great misery. I’m sure, if we are honest, we can admit that we all have lied, right? I know I have, many, many times. If you say “no”, then you have, you’re lying right now! :D I’m sure we have all been hurt by lies too, right? We never have trouble admitting that one. In fact, I’m sure we could speak for hours on times when someone else’s lies have hurt us deeply, caused misery, built resentment, destroyed relationships, etc.

Eventhough it has happened to us, we still lie ourselves, why? I think it’s because, when you’re on the “giving end” of a lie, it appears as the “easy way out”. If I tell the truth, I’ll get in trouble or they will hate me or it’s tough. You see, we’re focusing on OUR OWN feelings when we lie, not the feelings of others, we only care about US not those whom the lie might hurt. But what we miss, is that lying also destroys us in the end.

The truth will come out, eventually, and I think we all can attest to how bad it is then. You usually get in more trouble, are disliked even more and find it’s a lot tougher when you are caught in a lie than if you would have told the truth from the beginning, right? If you don’t think so, if you think “it doesn’t hurt anyone”, then look at the American Idol tryouts for an example. Look at all those people totally shocked that the panel, particularly Simon, thinks they sound horrible. They know they sound good, people have told them that all their life. How innocent is that little lie now?

We know lying hurts, then why do we do it? Moment of stupidity? Maybe. Maybe this lie won’t turn out badly like the others? Possibly. That no one will know? Now we’re hitting the truth. We think that no one will know or find out that we are lying, that we’ve “gotten away with it” before, and we can again. That’s why I believe we continue to lie. However, we’re wrong there too, God knows. He knows everything about us, so He knows when we lie and the Bible says God DETESTS it! ²² “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful”. God the Creator of all, the One who loves us so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us detests lying. I don’t know about you, but that strikes a nerve today. I don’t want to do things that God detests, especially not after all He has done for me, but that is exactly what I do when I lie. He knows, He sees, the lie hurts others and God too. I can imagine the pained expression on Gods face when I lie, the hurt and disgust He feels, I don’t want to do that to Him, and I’m sure you don’t either. I want to bring God joy, see His smiling face, know that I have done well in His sight, as I’m sure you do too. So join with me today in speaking only truth, in which God delights, it may be a tough change for us, but it is a start and we won’t be alone, God will be with us.

Dear Lord, please forgive me for my lies, how they hurt you and others, and please give me the strength and courage to tell the truth today, to bring delight to You and others, so You will be glorified. Amen.

Explaination and Checking In

Hey guys, I know it has been a while since I posted here on the blog. If any of you were wondering, quite honestly, the blog became something I did because I felt i "had to" not necessarily because I "wanted to". I've been focusing on reading the Bible and discussing it with my sons during our daily devotions and listening to the intruction from my ARSOM (AR School of Ministry) text to learn to read the Bible joyfully and eagerly, and am trying to do so, and am really pleased with the results so far. It's not an excuse, there is no excuse, just a statement to inform :D.

With what I am learning, I am pondering over taking this blog to a new level. It might be a while, but I am interested and feeling led to make this more than a place for people to come to read my long posts. Any ideas about what you would like to see or do would be greatly appreciated. I am sorry if i let any of you down and I look forward to hearing your ideas.

The Lord bless and keep you,

Rick

Romans 13 - Respect Authority

“ 1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.”

This is an excellent verse to remember in society today. There is much talk about leadership and “what is right”, about following one’s own agenda and rebelling against authority out of lack of respect for leaders. Parents often quote one of the Ten Commandments to children, “Honor thy father and mother”, but adults quickly forget we are also to honor our leaders and respect authority as well.

As it says in these verses, the governing authorities are there only because God has established them, therefore, we are to respect that authority. Whether it be church, local, state or federal authority, we are to follow the rules governing us, with respect for the authority and position, if not for the individual person. Therefore, regardless of your political outlook, disrespect for authority is disrespect to God, who established that authority. Not a popular message, but one we all need to hear and remember.

Romans 12 - What to do with One of Those Days

“2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Do you have those times when all seems to go wrong, when you’re frustrated for no reason, when you just feel like you’re “at the end of your rope”? Sure, we all do. We look at the day and say “I just don’t understand what is happening and I don’t see how any good can come of it.” That is where verse 2 comes in.

We live in this world and are affected by what goes on within it. It is very easy, if we allow it, to be overcome and overwhelmed by this world and try to conform to it. When we do, we loose sight of God’s will and become easily dazed and confused, lost and bewildered, frustrated and hopeless, but that is not the end. By following the verse’s instructions, we can get in tune with God. Pray and worship Him, spend some time conversing with Him, allow God to transform us through renewing our minds. That is when we will see God’s infinite love and wisdom, understand that (even if we don’t know His will) His will is “good, pleasing and perfect”.

Simply, God is in control if we let Him. We get distracted by the world, so at times we need to remove that distraction by going to the Source of all that is good and holy, God. So if you are facing “one of those days”, get alone with God, renew and be transformed, seek God’s will, for He will never disappoint. Blessings.

Romans 11 - "I" trouble

“ 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

Simple, true, and powerful. All things are under God’s watchful eye, all the gifts and “fortune” you believe “you” “earned” have come from Him. Your talents, abilities, etc. are gifts from God and they will be used to His purpose or returned to Him. If we can grasp the concept that we are not the “owners” of anything, but rather are using them on “loan” from God, then greed, petty arguments, selfishness, apathy can all be conquered. It would not be so painful to give, since it is not ours anyway. It would be easier to give God glory for achievements, since it was talent given from Him anyway. Do you see my point? When we realize that all we are, can be, have and can have come from God, through His will and for His purpose, the better we can be used for His purpose and fulfill our own. And by aligning with God’s will, allowing Him to bless others through us, we enrich our lives and remove the “stumbling blocks” like greed and etc. To God be the glory forever! Amen.