Posted by: pastorapbell | July 25, 2010

as we search out the hidden things of God

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable (Proverbs 25:2-3 NIV).

the Lord alone gives wisdom

Our sage King Solomon, had written over 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs (1Kngs 4:32) but not all of them could be published. So King Hezekiah arranged for his officials to seek out the best ones so that we could have one for each day. And today the king of glory wants to reveal himself and the purposes he has for your life to you so that you can become what he ordained for you to become.

For the friendship of the Lord is with them that fear him and he makes his covenant known to them (Psalm 25:14). Other older translations translate friendship as secret or something that is hidden. Because God is a spirit we will never be able to discern him by wisdom alone. We will know instinctively that something is out there, but may not know what to call him or it.

This is why we are called to be ‘born again or born anew’ as Jesus says in St. John 3 to a Jewish Rabbi; unless you are born again, that is, your thinking becomes like Jesus’ and your spirit is renewed, you will never see the kingdom of God (John 3:5). So all the things of God remain a mystery to us and we miss the mark because we are not part of the kingdom of God.

When God is revealed to us and we grow in the knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ, we can truly be led and directed by the Holy Spirit to where he wants to take us. And like the men of Issachar of old, we will understand the times we are living in and we will know what we ought to do (1Chro 12:32).

Read Proverbs 25

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 24, 2010

as we get back up after each fall

Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man’s house, do not raid his dwelling place; for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity (Proverbs 24:15-16 NIV).

don't stay down

Falling is not the issue here, since the writer tells us that though a righteous man fall seven times he gets back up again. So from this we can surmise that we will fall at one point or another. However, when we fall we should not stay down. This is not an option. We must be pragmatic in the way we act and operate. The righteous are people who do the right things for the right reasons and when he/she makes a mistake is quick to acknowledge it and repent.

Today, don’t be presumptuous, if you sin i.e. you make a mistake, come clean and confess your faults and get back on track.

Read Proverbs 24

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 23, 2010

as we chose the pragmatic course

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle (Proverbs 23:4-5).

restraint keeps you safe

One important feature about the wise is that they can show restraint as and when necessary. So even though your eyes are watering for a particular thing, be it food or an item of clothing, you can walk past it because it is not in your budget. Wisdom then gives you the ability not only to develop restraint but the ability to exercise it. This leads to a place of contentment. We become content in whatever situation we find ourselves in. So like the apostle Paul we can say “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:20-24). Paul wrote this whilst in jail waiting for judgement.

Dealing with any situation we find ourselves in, takes courage, pragmatism and reliance on the Holt Spirit. For the apostle, he could have asked to be killed so that he could be with Christ. However, if that had occurred, then we would not have all the epistles that make up 2/3rd of the New Testament.  

For us as “Christians” riches are not just a monetary thing, it is about having a revelatory knowledge of Christ so that we can do the right thing. Later in the letter to the Philippians, he writes; ‘That I may know him’ in all ways: his power, glory, richness, death, sufferings, and resurrection.

And so whatever situation you find yourself in today, deal with it but exercise restraint.

Read Proverbs 23

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 22, 2010

as we walk in integrity

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. Rich and poor have this in common: The LORD is the Maker of them all. A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honour and life (Proverbs 22:1-4 NIV).

walking in integrity

We make plans and planning is good, however if we have no integrity in the way we operate, then what we do becomes futile. Futility becomes a function of how you operate if you factor integrity out of your life. This means that whatever you do becomes useless. However this does not mean that you are useless. God says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psa 139:13), He says you are the apple of his eye (Zachariah 2:8), He also says you are his beloved (Song of Solomon 1:16). Therefore if God says this about you then why should you walk in the futility of your mind and not according to what God says?

Our sage, that is our teacher or the wise one who imparts knowledge to us, tells us that for us to develop integrity, which is walking in truth and being someone whose words can be trusted; we need the spirit of humility and the fear of the Lord. By developing these qualities we become people whose names are worth more than gold or silver.

Today develop a good name so that you can be a person of integrity and good works.

Read Proverbs 22.

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 21, 2010

as we remember that nothing is impossible for the Lord!

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases. All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart (Proverbs 21:1-2 NIV).

the all powerful God

In ancient times the king was the most powerful person in his particular country. Whatever he said, be it good or bad, would be carried out by his follower. An example of this is king Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia who reigned during the time of Daniel (Daniel 1). He had absolute sway and whatever he commanded, had to be obeyed. For Daniel to rise to a position of influence, the kind had to make an impossible demand on his wise men that only the true king of kings could make happen. We believe that king Nebuchadnezzar was converted after Yahweh, the almighty God, caused him to lose his mind and operate like an animal for 7 years until he had dealt with his pride issues (Daniel 4:34-37).

Today God does not want to humiliate any of us in fact he wants to be in communion with us. All of our motives are weighed by him and he can humble any of us, as he did to Nebuchadnezzar. Alternatively he can exalt any of us if we humble ourselves, like he did to Solomon, who did not ask for riches but for wisdom and understanding and became the wealthiest man in his day. And because nothing is impossible for the Lord, let us humble ourselves and remember that he will do exceedingly abundantly beyond whatever we can think or imagine, because he is God all by himself!

Read Proverbs 21

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 20, 2010

as we allow the Lord to order our steps

How can we know what will happen to us when the LORD alone decides? Our inner thoughts are a lamp from the LORD, and they search our hearts. It isn’t smart to get drunk! Drinking makes a fool of you and leads to fights (Proverbs 20:24, 27 &1 CEV).

Without some sort of a premonition, we are not promised tomorrow, however since the Lord knows what will happen to us, isn’t it prudent to ask his advice in all that we do or plan to do!

Deep down we should know what we would do in any given situation, but when the reality of the situation in upon us, many times we fail. See Samson as an example for this (Judges 16).

Today the sage is saying, our inner thoughts come from what we put into our spirits. They are a composite made up from the deposits that come from our various gates, namely our eyes, what we see, our nose, what we smell, our tongue what we taste, our fingers what we feel and our ears what we hear. We are informed from our senses but as he says in verse 1, our senses can be skewed by a variety of things. For youngsters, drink is particularly potent and can ruin their prospect. Binge drinking is a serious problem among our young people today, so the advice from the sage given over 3500 years ago is still particularly pertinent today. 

So allow the Lord to lead in all that you do and he will order your steps aright!

Read Proverbs 20

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 19, 2010

as we temper out zeal and underpin it with knowledge

The fear of the LORD leads to life: Then one rests content, untouched by trouble. It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse. Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails (Proverbs 19:23, 2,1,22 NIV).

Today our sage’s first word to us is to fear the Lord. He is not saying that we should be afraid of the Lord but that like an obedient child, we should have such a reverence for him that we wouldn’t do anything contrary to his instructions. And we include him in all that we do because we respect and trust his judgement.

Although fear can have the connotation of fright or panic, the meaning here is very different. This is fear of displeasing the one you love and not being so afraid that you do nothing. He instructs us again to get knowledge first. So knowledge become the principle thing in our lives and with knowledge come the ability to temper our zeal, place all our plans before the Lord and exercise wisdom in all that we do.

dog & bone

In essence he would say that it is better to be poor with integrity than to be rich, own the whole world and be perverse in our language.  Indeed Jesus puts it like this, “what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his one soul, or what will a man give in exchange for his one soul”[Matt 16:26].

Today don’t be so zealous like the dog on the bridge with a juicy bone in his mouth but when he saw his reflection in the water gasped at the bigger bone and lost everything!

Read Proverbs 19

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 18, 2010

as we find security and safety in the name of the Lord

The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe (Proverbs 18:10 NIV).

Today I want to encourage you with some truths from what God says about himself. Firstly he says that “he is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?” Numbers 22:19 we find security in the fact that what God say he will do, will happen. 

Secondly, to prove that Jesus was God incarnate, that is, God in the flesh, we read in Philippians 2; “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” It is only when we confess the name of Jesus now while we are alive that we can be saved.

security

And finally, we have the consolation that “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” So that whoever accepts the Lord Jesus as their friend and sage will find security, safety and strength in him. This peace is not the absence of strife but the presence of the prince of peace in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Read Proverbs 18

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 17, 2010

as we learn to wait on the Lord

Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife (Proverbs 17:1).

waiting

One who learns to wait on the Lord will enjoy the benefit that comes from him. Wisdom dictates that we learn to wait. It is in the waiting period that our faith is tested. In the wisdom literature we are encouraged to trust the Lord and wait patiently for him, for it is when we learn to wait that our circumstances are dramatically transformed. So like our sage the psalmist encourages us to wait on the Lord and to wait patiently and he will strengthen our hearts (Psalm 27:14). Throughout the writings of the Psalmist we are encouraged to wait and at the appropriate time the Lord will come.

Today let us say, come Lord Jesus we are ready!

Read Proverbs 17

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Posted by: pastorapbell | July 16, 2010

as we live to please the lord

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.  All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit. When a man’s ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps (Proverbs 15:1-2, 7&9 NASB).

plan b

We should all make plans but plans that are made without consultation tend to fail.  Our sage tells that we devise many plans in our hearts, but it the Lord’s purposes for our lives that will be established. So the Lord weighs our spirit, that is, he assesses the sum of our plans and guides us to those that are viable and those that are not. For every plan we make there are those who wants them to fail. These are the enemies who try to abort the purposes that God has for us. However, the Lord says he will establish our steps when we commit our plans and ambitions to him.

Today, be ambitious but ensure that you bring your plans and desires to the Lord so that he can make a pronouncement over them. When God breathes on your plans they will never fail.

Read Proverbs 16

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