What do we need to do to be closer to God? I find myself asking this on a somewhat daily basis. The book of Proverbs three describes several ways in which we can become closer to God and gain spiritual wisdom. In Proverbs three, there are thirty-five verses that can be analyzed in depth and discussed thoroughly; I however, will only be discussing the first twelve.
Proverbs 3:1 states “do not forget my teaching,” and “let your heart keep my commandments,” these are two very bold statements both firm commands from the script of Proverbs himself. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown states, “law and commandments—all divine instructions / let thine heart keep—or sincerely observe” (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, www.biblehub.com, par. 5). This implies that we should think of all the divine teachings in our daily lives and sincerely observe God’s instruction. In Proverbs 3:2 the ESV’s wording was a bit peculiar so I went to the NIV and it articulated it rather well for me. The ESV said, “for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.” but the NIV said, “for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.” The NIV introduced a more straightforward interpretation of the verse and made it easy to understand that if we recall what God has taught us, we will live long and prosperous lives.
The significance of Proverbs 3:3 is very unequivocal, the NIV states “let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.” Clarke’s commentary states that, “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee - Let these be thy constant companions through life. / Bind them about thy neck - Keep them constantly in view. Write them upon the table of thine heart - let them be thy movin...
... middle of paper ...
...m, par. 2). This is personally one of my favorite verses in the Bible because of the everlasting comfort it provides. Even though sometimes things don’t work out in our favor, God still loves us and always will because we are his children.
Though there are 35 verses in the Book of Proverbs, the first 12 have always captured my interest because of the requests the script of the book makes of the people. If I did not know God, why would I want to tithe? I would not, because I would not recognize the benefits. If I did not know God, why would I leave my future in the hands of someone else? I would not, because I do not recognize the benefits. I think if every person were to read, even listen to, Proverbs 3:1-12, it might spark their interest in getting to know God better. My hope is for as many people as possible to find as much inspiration as I did in these verses.
“How do people come up with a date and time to take life from another man? Who made them God?” – Grant (Page 157)
The Bible shows God constantly pursuing His people and man rejecting him over and over again. This passage displays this ongoing struggle by showing all Jesus did for us and how the people still shunned and rejected him. However, this passage also gives reassurance that it is never too late to repent and accept the Lord. This passage displays some important themes of the Bible: man’s redemption, God’s forgiveness and grace, and the blessing of a relationship with God. This passage is essentially the message of the Bible in one small
An instructive and stirring string of verses, this passage from the Bible holds great relevance not only for the Ancient Israelites to whom it was spoken, but also acts as a herald to Christians today. This passage forms part of Moses great oration; his instructive teaching, advice and counsel narrated to the second generation of Israelites who required redirection before moving forward into what God had for them. Similarly, it is also relevant for all Christians as we remember what our faithful, loving and powerful God has done in the past, and what he requires of us to move forward.
A man of noble birth, living in the time before the Common Era, preached a way to extinguish the fire of self-centered delusion. This state of Nirvana can be achieved by understanding The Four Noble Truths, suffering in life, he explains can be avoided by following an Eightfold Path. Sounds simple? This must have been an awaking for people of his time seeking a more personal religion, away from the rigidities of a priest-dominated Hinduism of India. The man, the Buddha, spent the rest of his life teaching the religion he discovered and its doctrine based upon his Dharma (cosmic law and order). The first written evidence of the existence of Buddhism is found over 400 years ago after the life of the Buddha. (Kozak) Historians pose the
Arnot, William. "Proverbs 31." Studies in Proverbs: Laws from Heaven for Life on Earth. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1978. 570-83. Print.
“3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Phil 2:3-7)
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and useful for teaching, for conviction, for correction and for disciplined training in righteousness in order to fit and fully equip the man from God for every good task. (2 Timothy 3:16,17)”16,17
People who are able find joy in their faith and trust in God are less likely to abandon it in the face of trouble. That is why the overarching tone of the letter is one of encouragement. Thus, in many ways Paul’s message climaxes when he proclaims, “I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me” (Phil 4:13). This verse has become one of the most commonly shared among the modern Christian community, as its message of unwavering trust and an omnipotent God comforts those in times of hardship. At the writing of this letter, Paul is conscious that he appears weak. Yet in this moment of weakness, he becomes fully aware of Christ’s power resting upon him. At Paul’s weakest, he was actually at his strongest due to Christ. Christians in similar situations can look to Paul’s steadfastness in Christ during his time of hardship as an example for their own action. The letter insinuates that God will not give his children more than they can handle. Servants were intended to go through struggles, but they will be rewarded for believing in the strength of the Lord with eternal
The psalms in the wisdom category are so identified because they mirror language and form more common to the “wisdom” literature of the Hebrew Scriptures such as in Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. They generally depict the retribution principle in the lives of people: those who are righteous will prosper, and those who are wicked will suffer. These help us in our devotional life because they stand as reminders of how to conduct our lives and bring us back to a point of acknowledging God as the true source of all the blessings (material, spiritual, emotional, etc) we possess.
2 Timothy 3:16 upholds that the Bible produces valuable direction in living a Christian life. Living one’s life based on the authority, inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible brings about transformation. Without the Scripture being a God given absolute, truth erodes and man risks becoming god by interpreting the Bible according to his knowledge, which is limited.
The bible has teachings that can be applied to any situation in life. The book of Galatians, found in the New Testament, houses just a few of these teachings. Galatians...
Proverbs 16:9: The mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.
First and foremost, I will always be focused on the fact that it is my responsibility as a teacher to “cause my students to learn”. I cannot teach my students content unless I have prayed and asked God for illumination and for an “appliers heart”. It is important that I understand the content and application before I teach this to my students which should result in a life change for them. Application is the main reason for God’s revelation and it is my responsibility to share this with my students. My ultimate goal is to illustrate how scripture can be used in daily
I’d like to state the most obvious observation that I’ve made about spiritual formation; that is that I will always need to be seeking for ways to nurture my personal spirituality throughout my life. I know that to most people this may sound like a “duh” statement, but for me it has truly become a reality and one that I must admit I have been struggling to embrace. I was brought up in a church that, like most traditional churches, stayed happy living in the “comfort zone” of their Christianity. They took everything that the Bible said at face value without digging in to find out why they believed what they believed. I had never been challenged to look deeper into the text. In the past few years I have felt the need to tunnel out of this cave of what I feel is best labeled “Christian ignorance”. In the process though, I have had to come to terms with letting go of the things that brought me comfort and provided me with what I thought it took to have a close relationship with God. Some of those things were tangible. Most were not. The things that were the least tangible actually ended up being the hardest to let go of.
Proverbs are not promises (as Ecclesiastes and Job emphasize) but are a call to action…wise living.