Category: proverbs
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7 Symptoms of a Hard Heart
14Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.—Proverbs 28 Here are 7 times or seasons when my heart was more hard than soft. These are also times of hypocrisy I look back at. 1. When I fooled myself as I FACED temptation that God’s forgiveness…
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Your How is as Important as Your What
14Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.–Proverbs 27 Many of us live in this anti-social age where we might not even speak to our neighbors more than a “Hi” or a “How’s it going?” So the idea of saying anything good or bad in…
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The Sluggard’s Standard
16The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.–Proverbs 26 When you are the standard for your wisdom, you are not wise. It’s a version of “I’ve got this” that derails people from following disciplined paths. Even the secular person in recovery submits to some form of a ‘higher…
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Glory Seeker
27It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory.–Proverbs 25 The first one sounds an awful lot like something you might hear…”moderation is always best”. But it’s talking about honey. Honey was that special treat that you didn’t always have or get access to. I remember the…
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Against Your Neighbor
28Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips. 29Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”–Proverbs 24 Three basic statements here. 1. You live alongside your neighbor. Your family has…
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Truth Buyers
23Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.–Proverbs 23 This is a hard one for me. It speaks to perspective and goals. It displays how you view yourself and others. TRUTH BUYERS: Learn for the sake of growth. Seek the things they need in order to grow and change. Freely submit…
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3 Sovereign Choices
33The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.–Proverbs 16 My thoughts: They cast a lot, or a type of dice, back in the day to secure answers to questions. I grew up hearing things like, “Heads, we do this. Tails, we do that.” Same principle. But this verse…
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Ponder a Response
28The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.–Proverbs 15 I played a season on my college’s improv team. I was encouraged by friends who were current team players to try out, and I had just enough Chris Farley-esque physical comedy skills to make an…
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The Ox and the Manger
4Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.–Proverbs 14 Today’s proverb is very simple to understand. “You like all that the ox can do, but you gotta feed him. And when you do, don’t be surprised if he’s always messing up the feeding area.”…
Joel M Bradshaw 