Day 4, Proverbs Chapter 4

Proverbs 4:

Our heart belongs to God.

We are to be conscious of WHO our heart "belongs" to. For it is written that we are to love our God with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength.

Therefore we are to "guard" it, even from the influences and demands of our loved ones. Unless God is "first" in our hearts we cannot even BEGIN to love our loved ones as we should.

God comes first. After that precedent is established, everyone and everything else falls into place.

“When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble” (Pro 4:12 KJV).

In 2008, Ryan Kennelly broke the world record for bench-pressing at 1075 lbs. Now, I guarantee you that he did not do this two days after he picked up the hobby of weightlifting. He had practiced his sport for years by increasing a little more each day until he had trained his body to overcome the obstacles and win the record.

In 2018 Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya set the world record for running a 26-mile marathon in 2:01:39. This did not happen a week after he picked up the sport of distance running. He was 33 when this happened.

Just so, a man does not generally become a Paul just days after he is saved. Often it takes a few years of disciplined Christian living, and most of the time it happens to the man that has grown up in a strong, vibrant Christian home where he had a faithful father and mother that trained him up from a child. Timothy had his mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois, which brought him up to the point where he became the companion and yokefellow of Paul, pastored churches, and strengthened the faith of young converts.

“It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth” (Lam 3:27 KJV). For, when he becomes an adult, the weight of life is not overwhelming. Many well-meaning men saved late in life just do not have the stamina and moral courage to face the challenges of full-time Christian service and many fall by the wayside. It does not have to be that way, it just takes a total commitment that not all men possess.

This is a true challenge to parents to live the life, walk the walk, and talk the talk. It is a warning not to live one life in the church among other believers, and quite the different behind the closed doors of your castle. The greatest investment you can make in this life is that of our children.

Young man, as Timothy, from a child, you must begin to bear the weight of responsibility, and you’ll find strength that will amaze you as you step out to serve the Lord whether in the ministry or as a Christian businessman. Learn as a youth to tap into the only true strength you will ever know, for through Christ we can truly do all things.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Is 40:29-31 KJV).

Father, You truly give strength to the weary and make it possible to succeed where so many have failed before us. We truly need clarity of thought in our service for You, but more than anything we need Your Spirit to fill us so that the desires of our fleshly nature would not have any victories over us. Amen.

Proverbs 4:

Be Wise.
AKA: Guarding our hearts.

We are admonished to be wise. Especially when it comes to what "captures" our hearts and/or attention, lest we become enamored and/or ensnared by it, whether it be man or "things" of this world. This would include anything that competes with the living God.

We are reminded and admonished that we all, all of mankind bears this weakness, a "fickleness", if you will, getting distracted just like sheep, and wandering off to our own demise. The Prodigal son comes to mind. He became enamored with the world, and all that he thought he was "missing out" on. And he rannnnnnnn to it, getting all encumbered in it, with all the gusto he had. It got so bad he was eating the leftovers from the pigs. What he found was that the world, that he was so feverishly enamored with, chewed him up and spit him out. The wisest thing he did was to stumble on back to his father, who was a very gracious, kind, merciful, and forgiving man who LOVED him.

This father represents our heavenly Father, Who is ready to grant mercy and forgiveness to US, no matter how muddied we are from wallowing with the pigs. We need to just GO TO Him and seek the forgiveness that He is chomping at the bit to grant us.

At least the Prodigal son "woke up". Thank GOD he did. And we can do the same.

We need only to wake up and smell the coffee and GO TO our heavenly Father with our muddied-beaten-up-by-the-world selves, and spill it all out to Him.

In the meantime, let's learn to heed our Father's warning to "guard our hearts".

Amen?

Proverbs 4:

Guarding Our Hearts.
AKA: Being Wise.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." ~Pr 4:23

Our hearts are "foolish" above all things, and easily "swayed" like sheep, who are their own WORST "enemies". Without a shepherd, they would wander to their own self-imposed destruction, i mean in zillions of ways.

It's alarming.



Good grief, do they desperately need a shepherd. And just like sheep, so do we.

That's why Jesus called us "sheep".

Cuz that's "US", when we do not "guard" our foolish hearts.

Sheep.

We're "sheep-hearted".



Thank God we have a Shepherd we can turn to. May God grant us the wisdom to do just that.

Amen?

Proverbs 4:

Guarding our hearts.

When we Love God with all that is in us, He ALREADY has our heart, and therefore our hearts are in very capable and good hands, are safe, and "well-guarded".

Let's trust our hearts to God.

Amen?

Proverbs 4:

Are We "Teach-a-ble"?

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." ~Pr 9:10

The bottom line, is that God's Holy Spirit can not "teach" us if we do not "fear" God, for we are "un-teach-a-ble" if we are bereft of "wisdom". And as it is written, the "beginning" of wisdom is the "fear of the Lord":

"My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." ~Pr 4:20-22

Proverbs 4:

He Lights Our Way Before Us.
AKA: We do not walk in darkness.

"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." ~Pr 4:18

Proverbs 4:

Plotting Evil.

These verse in particular loom from the page for me:

14 Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men.
15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.
16 For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall.
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
19 The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.

In particular, verses 16 and 17, where the wicked are described as "plotting" the demise and harm and destruction of the innocent, and not being able to sleep until they have plotted evil against the innocent.

Tragic. The pit they dig for the innocent, they fall in themselves, and as it is written, there is no remedy in that moment that they fall into the very destruction that they have dug for someone else.

How terrifyingly tragic.

Proverbs 4:

Healing.

We sooooo need it. Not only this country, but the entire world. We need grace, and mercy and forgiveness and healing. It's been too toxic with hate and viciousness thrown all about like we've been in a contest to see who can spew and throw the most hateful slings. It's almost like an addiction. May God free us from this snare and entrapment that we've gotten ourselves enmeshed in. Father YOU are our ONLY Hope. Intervene as only You can. Forgive us, and through us, may Your grace and mercy and forgiveness commence in this country and the entire world. Set prisoners free as only You can do, and release ALL of us from those snares that we so easily get entangled in, in the name of Jesus, amen. (((hug)))

"The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight" Prov 4:7 ESV

Proverbs 4:

This is so PROFOUND. It's a bottom line component of wisdom "heard" and welcomed into one's heart, as if it's written right into one's heart and mind. One's heart should literally be under "lock and key", so to speak, and "guarded" from all that would lead it astray.

Amen.

Proverbs 4:
(This is spot on for this 4th day of November, 2020, and bears/warrants repeating. Amen.)
Guarding Our Hearts.
AKA: Being Wise.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." ~Pr 4:23

Our hearts are "foolish" above all things, and easily "swayed" like sheep, who are their own WORST "enemies". Without a shepherd, they would wander to their own self-imposed destruction, i mean in zillions of ways.

It's alarming.



Good grief, do they desperately need a shepherd. And just like sheep, so do we.

That's why Jesus called us "sheep".

Cuz that's "US", when we do not "guard" our foolish hearts.

Sheep.

We're "sheep-hearted".



Thank God we have a Shepherd we can turn to. May God grant us the wisdom to do just that.

Amen?

proverbs 4:1 Listen, kids, to a father's instruction. Pay attention and know understanding.

"Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them." Prov 4:5 NIV

Double yup.

SWIll said:

"The beginning of wisdom is this: get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight" Prov 4:7 ESV

Click to expand...

Yup.

I'm actually a little uncomfortable saying that wisdom is the most important thing, but there we are