What is Acceptable

Prov 10:32

The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

KJV

 
 

We as Christians should know what is acceptable to say. This can apply to many areas of life. We need to learn what is kind, respectful, caring, understanding, loving, and true. Jesus was the perfect example of this. He had just the right words for every situation. He was always kind and gentle to the repentant sinners. Yet, He had some very strong words for the religious hypocrites of His day. How did He do this? First, He was God. We, too, have God, the Holy Spirit, dwelling in our lives to help us know what to say. Second, He was unselfish. He cared more about the people He was dealing with than His own comfort. He wasn't worried about His reputation. He stood for what's right unconditionally. He also wanted what was best for people. He really cared about their souls. We need to do our very best with the power of the Holy Spirit to live by faith and speak what is acceptable to God.

When Pride Cometh, Then Cometh Shame

Time and again our society tells us to proud of our accomplishments, proud of our country, proud of our children and proud of our job. This is supposed to support a healthy self esteem and so on. Yet, nowhere in the Bible can I find any admonition to be proud. Instead the Bible repeatedly, and in very harsh words, condemns pride in its many forms. Instead of pride, it calls for humility. Instead of praising ourselves, we should be praising God. Instead of basking in the compliments of men, we should be giving the glory to God. After all, He's the one who gave us our money, our abilities, and our talents. Nothing that we can do merits taking any glory to ourselves. I believe that it is right to feel a sense of accomplishment in a job well done, but pride is going too far. God condemns it as an abomination, and, if we look at it, we can see why. God has done everything for us. Without Him, we are nothing. When we take praise and glory for our accomplishments, we are cheating Him out of the glory that He rightfully deserves.

 
 

Lord, help me not to be proud for any reason. Help me to give You all the glory for everything that You've done in my life. Give me the humility to serve You without praise. Help me to look forward to heaven as my reward for a life of service.

Dabbling in Witchcraft

http://www.charityministries.org/audio/4053.mp3

The Blessing of the Lord, It Maketh Rich

How wonderful it is to live in the blessing of the Lord! What would we do without it? He gives us our very life. He died to give us salvation. He's given us everything that we have. We should be giving our entire lives back to him in thankfulness.

 
 

Lord, help me to remember that without Your blessings, I am nothing. Help me to give my life in service for you. Help me to remember that everything I am and have comes from You. Help me to remember how rich I really am, living in Your blessing.

Rebuke a Wise Man and He Will Love Thee

This phrase in Proverbs 9 was a challenge to me. Am I a wise man? Do I appreciate criticism? Am I willing to learn from rebuke? It isn't easy to take a rebuke to heart, especially if it's given in a derogatory manner. I find myself bristling when I am criticized. I tend to want to criticize in return, but that's not the right way to handle it. If someone rebukes us, we should examine ourselves to see if it is true and adjust our life accordingly.

 
 

Lord, help me to be able to take rebukes humbly. Help me to use it as a stepping stone in my life and not a stumbling block. Help me not to resent the rebuke or the person who gave it.

Go to the Ant

I Proverbs 6:6, Solomon tells us to go to the ant to learn to be industrious. This is a powerful lesson from such a small creature, but I think there is a bigger lesson here. The ant is small and insignificant, yet we can learn from it. So it is throughout our entire life. We can learn much from anyone. In fact, there is no one that we cannot learn from. Sometimes the things we learn are negative lessons from people who have made mistakes. Often, we can learn good habits and traits even from bad people. So, before you throw away some piece of advice or criticism because you feel the person isn't qualified to give it, think, can I learn from this person? Does he have a valid point?

 
 

Lord, help me to look past the person who's criticizing me to the issue itself. Help me to be able to learn from anyone. Give me the humility to realize that I might be wrong and they could be right. Help me to always work to live for You.

Keep Thy Heart with all Diligence

Prov 4:23

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

KJV

 
 

What a basic, yet powerful, command! Solomon advises us to diligently keep our heart. Keep it how? Keep it from wrong thoughts, keep it from sin and keep it in love with God. First we need to guard our thoughts, because thoughts will produce actions. We also need to watch our actions to be sure that they all bring glory to God and not to ourselves. We also need to keep our hearts in tune with God by prayer, Bible reading and obedient service to God.

 
 

Lord, help me to diligently keep my heart for You. Help me, by Your Spirit's power, to remain pure and wholly devoted to You. Guard my eyes, my thoughts and my actions. Give me the strength to stand against what is wrong. Help me to allow Your power and blessing to flow from my life into the lives of those around me.