Talk of JESUS .com

Tag: Proverbs

A popular saying, regarded as conveying wisdom. Scripture records a great number of didactic proverbs and also preserves some popular sayings.

Proverbs – Biblehub.com Proverbs topical index

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  • Wisdom Cries Out

    Wisdom Cries Out

    Proverbs 8: NKJV Does not wisdom cry out,
    And understanding lift up her voice?
    2 She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
    Beside the way, where the paths meet.
    3 She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
    At the entrance of the doors:

    4 “To you, O men, I call,
    And my voice is to the sons of men.
    5 O you simple ones, understand prudence,
    And you fools, be of an understanding heart.

    Wisdom cries out! She calls out from the mountaintop. She echos the Truth of the Almighty from Mount Gerizim and Mount Moriah, from Mount Sinai and the Mount of Olives.

    John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

    From the echo of the Voice of Truth, through unclean lips of the Prophet; from the highest mountain of the Law to the lowest manger of the cattle and fields of sheep: Truth is born as a Son of Man and speaks softly to those who will hear. You without deafening distraction hear what the Truth of wisdom would say to your soul.

    Proverbs 8:6 Listen, for I will speak of excellent things,
    And from the opening of my lips will come right things;
    7 For my mouth will speak truth;
    Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
    8 All the words of my mouth are with righteousness;
    Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.

    Yet we will not sit in silence before the Very Voice of wisdom and hear what Christ Jesus would instruct to our wayward and crooked paths. (Do YOU read His gospel truth before you begin your way in this day?)

    Hebrews 1: God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things…

     

    Proverbs 9:Wisdom has built her house,
    She has hewn out her seven pillars;
    2 She has slaughtered her meat,
    She has mixed her wine,
    She has also furnished her table.
    3 She has sent out her maidens,
    She cries out from the highest places of the city,
    4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”

    You with ears to hear, hear the Voice of Truth.

    Or will you yet hear the distraction of the devil, the beguiler of your soul by the lies of his snare?

    Luke 22:“For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves. But you are those who have continued with Me in My trials. And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

    And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

     

    Matthew 13:Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way…

    …at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

    If Satan had asked to sift the soul of Simon Peter as chaff, will the snarer of souls not also seek to turn you from the wisdom of Truth?

    Do YOU read your Bible?

    Do YOU hear the invitation of Christ Jesus (with ears to hear) and do you continue with Jesus as your Lord, even in the trials of this life of distraction?

    OR have you missed the invitation of the Banquet; for Wisdom will not beg your repentance and obedience.

    Proverbs 9: 6 Forsake foolishness and live,
    And go in the way of understanding.

    7 “He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
    And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
    8 Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
    Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
    9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
    Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

    10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
    And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

    Jesus IS and will return. He will judge all sin and unrighteousness with wisdom and truth. He will gather the chaff; neither will those who only claim Him while wandering the paths of wickedness be seated at the Table of His mercy and love.

    Luke 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”

    The persistent fool will not receive the cleansed robe of His righteousness.

     Matthew 22:

    The Parable of the Wedding Feast

    And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said:

    2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, 3 and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.

    4 Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.”’

    5 But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business…

    8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy…

    11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

    14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

    Though wisdom and Truth have called sinners and fools to the feast, only the humble and repentant will receive the Lord’s robe of righteousness.

    The King, in His mercy, has demonstrated much patience; that you might now accept His invitation to come among the guests.

    Revelation 19: 

    5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both[c] small and great!”

    6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

    9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”

     

    12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.

     

    He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

    KING OF KINGS AND
    LORD OF LORDS.

    You with ears to hear, hear; for our Lord will not always contend with the dust of the earth and the chaff of the harvest.

     

  • A Temporary Throne – 37

    A Temporary Throne – 37

    CHAPTER 37

    Proverbs 18: 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

     

    FROM THE WOMB ESAU HONORED HIS FATHER, BUT DID NOT HONOR HIS GOD AND CREATOR.  I AM THE LORD.

     

    Genesis 27: Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

    And he answered him, “Here I am.”
    2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death …make me savory food, such as I love… that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

     

    ESAU IS A GROWN MAN SEEKING WHAT HE EXCHANGED FOR FOOD AS A YOUNG MAN.  ISAAC IS A MAN OF HIS WORD.

     

    34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

    35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”
    36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

    Then I said to the LORD, “Esau remembered his word to his brother from years before. As You allowed Esau to be born first, You allowed Jacob to supplant him from his rightful blessing, which he disavowed.”

    HEAR ISAAC’S BLESSING AND UNDERSTAND.

     

    “… And it shall come to pass, when you become restless,
    That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

    To be continued…

    A Temporary Throne is an original work of Roger Harned,

    © Copyright 2013, All Rights Reserved by the author.

  • PK’s, EK’s, DK’s: Our kids; God’s kids – 2

    PK’s, EK’s, DK’s: Our kids; God’s kids – 2

    What does the Lord require of the leaders of His church?

    My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. – from the First Letter of John 2:1

    Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. – from the First Letter of Simon Peter 2:11

    Train up a child in the way he should go,
    Even when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6

    Suppose for a moment, that Jesus had been married (or living in sin as some heretics would claim). Who would we look to for example for a woman? Jesus’ wife! A woman of the flesh, imperfect though joined to our Lord. Again, NOT God’s plan.

    And suppose, further, that Jesus and a wife of the flesh had children in the way all of us have children. To whom would the world and the church look to for establishing and building Jesus’ MEGA-church to go into all the world? Again, in the traditions of ancestry: the PREACHER’S KID. Some responsibility, right? Yet in His omniscient wisdom, God the Father had no such plan.

    Jesus was not married. Jesus had no children of the flesh (as we are born as sons of a sinful man and of a sinful woman born of a sinful mother and father in adam).

    Peter, however, was married. As was the custom, there may have been sons and daughters of Mister and Missus Simon Peter: Preacher’s Kids. Yet we do not hear of these. For that matter, we hear very little about the wives of the Apostles, including Peter’s wife whose mother Jesus healed.

    We hear little of the women of the church (only occasionally of a mother or sister of the church noted for her humble service and faithfulness). For that matter, we hear little of Simon Peter, Christ-appointed successor to unify the Apostles in the Gospel through the Holy Spirit. Without Peter’s approval, without Jesus’ brother James’ approval and without the approval of the risen Christ Himself and the Holy Spirit, Paul (Saul of Tarsus) would not have been preaching to the church and writing letters to the churches, as did the other Apostles.

    Without the leadership of the Spirit, Paul could not have instructed Timothy in the leadership of the church as the Gospel takes root in the adopted souls of the generations.

    Yet understand that some of Paul’s instructions for the church are cultural, while other instructions of leadership point to the most important character of the leadership and members of the body of Christ we call ‘the church’ or the ‘saints.’

    1 Timothy 1
    English Standard Version (ESV)

     … the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

    PK fishAgainst this contrast of sin and worldliness, Paul lays out examples of leadership and the character REQUIRED of leaders of the church under constant scrutiny by the congregation they lead; a pastor, elder, bishop or deacon watched closely by a world they would lead to Christ.

    Just imagine the lives of Peter’s kids or any Preacher’s Kids in the probing eyes of others as the child of witnesses for the Lord who said, “I will make you fishers of men.”

    We learned in Acts of the Apostles that Peter and the Disciples and appointed Deacons were first and foremost servants of the church and the body of believers. By the instructions of Christ our Lord they did not lord it over one another.

    Our Lord, Christ Jesus does not suggest any arch-Apostle or Bishop over bishops. We are instructed to love and serve one another, even as Christ humbled Himself to serve sinful man.

    Yet Paul emphasizes Christ-like requirements in the leaders of Christ’s church:

     1 Timothy 3

    Therefore an overseer [episkopos or Bishop] must be above reproach,

    the husband of one wife, [Note that an unmarried man would NOT qualify; nor a woman: married or unmarried]

    sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

    • not a drunkard,
    • not violent but gentle,
    • not quarrelsome,
    • not a lover of money. [Preachers of prosperity wouldn’t qualify.]
    • He must manage his own household well…

    [The KJV states: ‘ruleth well his own house.’  We don’t cherish the idea of even a pastor ruling over us, do we?

    However as prerequisite he must rule also over his wife and his children with the love and charity of Christ Jesus. Any leader of Christ’s church must rule over people, priorities, time and money with maturity and discernment of the Spirit.]

    • … with all dignity keeping his children submissive, [Lookout, P.K’s: it means obedience.]

    for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

    [An excellent point of the Apostle Paul.

    Do you want a man without such charitable rule over those under his care at home to have authority over your church?

    For that matter, should a ‘father’ with no children instruct you and your wife and your children how to live and witness as a family in Christ Jesus? {Controversial, in these later last centuries of a broken church body.}]

    Paul continues:

    He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.  Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

    Quite a list for a leader of the church, is it not?

    Can any Bishop or Elder of the church live up to this perfection without some failing of flesh? Certainly not in his own will; yet it is the standard to which our leaders are held accountable. Certainly the Preacher’s wife and Preacher’s Kids are also viewed in the spotlight of this higher standard. May God help them.

    To this Paul adds requirements for Deacons:

    Deacons likewise must be dignified,

    They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.  And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless.

    And now Paul reiterates requirements for wives of Deacons and requirements for Deacons the same as the high standard for Pastors and for Elders:

    11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things.

    Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.

    For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

    To be continued…