Saturday, January 12, 2013

Proverbs 27:23–27

"Know the state of your flocks,
and put your heart into caring for your herds,
for riches don't last forever,
and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears
and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
your sheep will provide wool for clothing,
and your goats will provide the price of a field.
And you will have enough goats' milk for yourself,
your family, and your servant girls."

 

Who or what is your "flock," the source of your wealth? Is it your skills, the people you know, or your knowledge? Whatever it is, tend it well. Keep adding to it. Realize that external events such as economics and politics will change, but you will be protected from the vagaries of outside changes if you have a solid source of provision. Note also that your attention to your source of wealth affects your family and others who depend on you. Know the state of your flocks, and tend them well—with heart!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Psalm 127:2–3

"It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.

Children are a gift from the LORD;
they are a reward from him."

 

Ever wonder why verse 3 follows on the heels of a verse about not toiling night and day for food to eat? Many adults work so hard to provide for their families. So, lest we resent our children, here are two reminders. First, we don't need to work so hard, but we do need to trust God. Second, children are a gift from God, not a burden

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Psalm 127:1–2

"Unless the LORD builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the LORD protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones."

 

Do you regularly feel rested, at ease as you go through your day? Or are you anxiously trying to "make ends meet," "get caught up," and "keep all the balls in the air"? This verse suggests that if we're harried and hurried, perhaps we're doing things that we don't necessarily need to do. Only the things of God matter anyway. Today, claim God's rest. Pray about what he wants you to do, and do only that. Trust him, not your own anxious, toiling efforts, to provide for your needs..

Monday, January 7, 2013

Proverbs 27:20

"Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied,
so human desire is never satisfied"

 

If human desire is never satisfied, how might this truth affect our attitudes toward, say, spending money? Realizing that our desires will never be satisfied means we can say "no" to spending past a sensible point. What about the area of disciplining children? Acknowledging that their material desires will never be satisfied, we don't have to attempt to please them so much in that area. We can accept, and teach our children to accept, that at some point we need to say no. The lie that our desires can be satisfied keeps us lusting. Counter it with this truth, and you curtail lust.