Fountains of Wisdom- Part 35—Poverty, Wealth and the Sovereignty of God

There is a lot to be said in the Bible about poverty—from the laws given to the Israelite nation, the Proverbs and the teachings of Jesus. God’s laws carried many instructions as to how to help the poor by allowing them to harvest behind the harvesters and through compassion to help those who are less fortunate. We have the sermon of Jesus noted in Luke,

“²⁰ And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.”

Then we come to Proverbs 19 where once more there is noted a lot to say about the poor. The lazy are condemned for their laziness (verses 15, 24); yet, there are those who are poor to no fault of laziness and God’s word is clear that His people are to help the poor. Look at verse 17: (GNV) He that hath mercy upon the poor, lendeth unto the Lord: and the Lord will recompense him that which he hath given.

There is a lot to say in Chapter 19 about the poor and how they are rejected by their neighbors, ignored and looked down upon; while the rich have many

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Most of the times, I have for you a new poem for our poetry Sunday; but today I am choosing from my archives of poems.  Back in 2010 I published a book titled a Broken and Contrite Heart.    I ended the final chapter of that book with this poem that I wrote in 2010.  I hope you recognize the truth of God’s Gracious Love and the relationship we have with Him.  He is our anchor and our hope.  When Satan tries to tell us we aren’t good enough and we will only fail, we can boldly say, “I know that; but, Christ died for me, paid my price and in Him, I have victory over all the evil you want to throw at me.”

The Grace in Which I Stand

 

Oh feeble heart, Oh fragile soul

Where is the hope on which you hold

With all the failures of your past

Where is the faith to make you bold

Where is the faith to make you bold

 

There was a King though blameless He

That came to pay my penalty

And in that act He set me free

To follow Him in liberty

To follow Him in liberty

 

It is His love that drew me out

And in His Grace I shall not doubt

That He who started this work in me

Will finish it with a Glorious Shout

Will finish it with a Glorious Shout

 

One day the finished work be done

That I might look then like God’s son

Sifted, shined just like pure Gold

As Glory shines forth, Glorious One

As Glory shines forth, Glorious One

 

And in this hope my faith conformed

I know my life will be transformed

I stand upon this future grace

So for His work my passion warmed

So for His work my passion warmed

 

So in this faith I firmly stand

That formed in me as God had planned

No force on earth can shake me free

My future held by God’s great hand

My future held by God’s great hand.

© 2014 Effie Darlene Barba

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to any brands, products or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides regarding the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Fountains of Wisdom A Study in Proverbs (Part 34) Choose Life

There is a choice that lies before mankind since the moment of creation.  It was the choice given to Adam.  As clear as could be presented, God had given Adam the chance to choose life or choose death and that choice is laid before each person who has been born on this earth.  Were you to ask most people, they would quickly tell you “I don’t want to die.”  Yet, at that same moment they choose death over life by rejecting the only source of real life which is found in a relationship with God.  When God created man, God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Gen 2:7)  With that act, God had given man life overflowing, abundant filled with innocence, righteousness, glory and joy.  Everything beautiful had been handed to Adam with that one choice placed before him—choose life or choose death.  If you eat of this tree you will die.  We know he chose death; whatever, the excuses given or the reasons—He chose death which was the spiritual separation from the fountain of life found in God.  Now life would be drudgery, misery, defeat and despair because of the separation from perfect love and perfect righteousness which is God. 

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Just as darkness is the absence of light, death is the absence of life.  Spiritual life comes from a relationship with God; thus, absence of a relationship with God  is eternal spiritual death.  There might be moments in everyone’s life in which they experience the exuberant joy that being Alive in Christ could bring; because God in His mercy and grace provided just enough of His beauty, majesty and glory in this fallen world so that mankind could see and experience glimpses of spiritual life and thereby have the chance to choose-life or death. Glimpses of Glory ever before us in the first cry of a baby that is born, the beauty of a sunrise, the flowers as they begin to bloom in the spring, or the exuberant joy of falling in love–all of these glimpses of life are ever present before us.

Proverbs 19: ^(AMP)16 He who keeps the commandment [of the Lord] keeps his own life, but he who despises His ways shall die.^(AMP)23 The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it rests satisfied; he cannot be visited with [actual] evil.

This choice God places before each and every person born.  He pleads, He

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Fountains of Wisdom-A Study in Proverbs (Part 33)-The Most Powerful Word of All

Throughout the book of Proverbs, Solomon keeps returning to the importance of words.  Words that give life and words that destroy are placed on display in almost every chapter.  Proverbs 18 is filled with admonitions concerning man’s tongue and speech.    Fools delight in hearing their own voices (verse 2); yet, ultimately their words and self absorption become the very snare of their eternal destruction (verse 7).  All of man’s wisdom and seeking understanding leads to eternal hell as he rejects the one truth of God’s Sovereignty, Righteousness, and Mercy.  Such fools are so caught within their own pride that they can never realize that they will be destroyed (verse 12).

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Words can bring life or they can bring destruction. They can be like torrential floods that destroy all in their path or like the bubbling gentle brooks that bring life

(verse 21 and verse 4).  They can stir up strife and contention (verses 3 and 6) or they can build up powerful friendships (verse 24).  Indeed, wise words may even be the thing that leads to finding a virtuous spouse (verse 22).  Too often we can bring our own arguments before the courts to prove that we are right until the cross examination of our hearts finds us guilty as charged (verse 17).  Too often we join a cause and speak boldly before we even know the truth of the issue (verse 13) or run about as gossips causing great harm that cuts deep within the innermost parts of another’s spirit (verse 8).

There is one word that brings life, hope, power, and joy to the soul.  That word is

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Fountains of Wisdom-A Study in Proverbs (Part 32) Laying Aside All that I might Have Christ

It seemed that my study came to a standstill when I reached Proverbs 18:1 and not because of how I originally saw it.  Instead, as I began to look at other translations and other paraphrases; I was baffled.  The more I have read, the more confusing it became.  It would appear that many have been just as baffled and that indeed people translate this into two very distinct and different ways.  I will present to you briefly the two interpretations and then I will return to that which I initially believed and found many who did concur.  Then I will leave it that you and God may need to discuss this verse and how it relates to you.

The verse as found in the King James Version is as follows:

Proverbs 18:1 Through desire a man, having separated himself, seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom.

The most popular of interpretations and commentaries is that of: “Men who withdraw themselves to seek after their own desires and thus become quarrelsome against true wisdom.”  In each of those it was that the word intermeddleth was viewed as always having a negative connotation and hence all these views hinged upon that.  However, the original Hebrew reportedly is somewhat vague and even after an exhaustive search, I have found that within the commentaries there remained this great divide.   I have prayed long and then turned to the Geneva Bible for some possible guidance.   For history sake the Geneva Bible predated the King James version by more than 50 years and is the first mass produced English translation.  It was the Bible that was brought to the United States when first settled and the one used by John Bunyon.  It was the first to be divided into chapter and verse, as well as the first with extensive marginal notes written by such reformists as John Calvin, Miles Coverdale, and William Whittingham.

Proverbs 1 (GNV): 1 “For the desire thereof he will ¹ separate himself to seek it, and occupy himself in all wisdom.” ¹He that loveth wisdom, will separate himself from all impediments, and give himself wholly to seek it.

Drawing used with written permission of Ronald Barba. © 2010 Ronald Barba and is protected under copyright laws. For copies please click on the link.

Am I  willing to count all loss for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus? Am I willing to lay aside everything else to be able to see Him in all His Glory?  Is He my greatest treasure—my fullness of Joy? 

Let’s read what Paul wrote:

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