God made each and every single one of us. He also made us the way we are because he has a special purpose for us…we just don’t know what it is.

If we start a pattern of obeying the Lord’s commands now then in later life it will be second nature to read his word and do what it says.

It is so hard sometimes not to think differently about things that are different than I am or people who look or act different. The bottom line is that EVERYTHING is made by God and we need to treat it all as his. I like to look around and see all the different people that we live around and think about the fact that God created them and that they may be detestable in His eyes if they have not repented and put their faith in Jesus Christ. When I see people as that, it gives me a greater desire to share with them the hope that I have in this life.

Watch what you say! If you keep you’re words from being corrupt then you will avoid heaping more sin because of lies.

These are two qualities we must live with every day in order to server the Lord. We need to fear Him, therefore obeying His commands, and be humble and a servant to those around us all the time. God says humility and fear of Him are what truly pay off in the end.

Stupendous comment Laura! It is so important to always be on the look out for ourselves spiritually when we spend time with people that might not share the same faith. We need to keep ourselves from getting ensnared (v25) by following God’s perfect instructions and fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ! :D

We need to be fully relying on God! Not trusting in ourselves, other people, material things…. only trusting in our Creator. Like pastor mike said this weekend, we only get internal peace when we do not worry and trust God to provide in all our circumstances. This is so encouraging as we enter this Christmas season. We need not be afraid or stressed or worried about anything if we are trusting and hoping in the Lord!

Yes!! This is definitely something we should all be doing, listening and applying teachings that we hear!

the people we hangout with can really affect us. it’s good to have close Christian friends because you can heelp eachother out and learn from eachother. but if you’re friends have bad habbits it can ware off on you. I liked this verse a lot because it can be hard trying to not stay close to people you’ve known a long time but it’s better because you want to have the people involved in your life to help you grow as a Christian instead of making you fall back into sins.

we are so lucky to be living in the area that we are living in, and we need to be thanking God for everything and all of the wealth that He has unconditionally given us. even if we are having rough times in this economy, we need to realize that the Lord has blessed us tremendously. in the verse it says not to exploit the poor. rather we need to be helping them, because while we may be doing bad, they are worse. and,the Lord will plunder those who plunder the poor. id give away everything i had to be saved from the Lord’s wrath. thankfully we have Jesus Christ! Maranatha!

We need to guard our hearts from these thorns and snares by reading and practicing the word of God. this way we will be able to flee away from temptation when we are tempted instead of toying with it and risking falling into the sin because we will be in the habit of following God. It’s similar to why Mary was able to let go of her pride and carried Jesus before she was married: she was already in the habit of doing things for God, so she was no stranger toward sacrificing what she wanted to please God.

We are all the same no matter what the world tells us………Whether you are rich or poor it doesnt matter in God’s eyes!

Wealth honor life: as christians we usually don’t have wealth, people usually don’t like us(becasue of gospel), and people would say we don’t have a “life”(becasue of not doing fun sin). Well, it means something better, Rich in the kingdom of God, true honor, and eternal life. SO whats better?

When those who are wiser than use are counseling us we need to be listening to every word they say and giving them our full attention. Then once we have listened we can apply what they have just said to our lives if it is supported by biblical teachings. It pleases God when we treasure godly advice from others and fill His word in our hearts. And if we store them up in our hearts we will be fully equipped when questioned by others or when we /others are going through trials. And if we store them in our hearts then the things that we say will be pleasing to God and will build one another up because what we say will be from God’s word.

As for me I watch and hope for the Lord!

18 for it is pleasing when you keep them in your heart and have all of them ready on your lips.

I like how these verses express that it is beneficial to have wisdom at the ready on our hearts and our lips. It’s not enough to hear good teaching or be given good advice, we have to act on it and remember it. I can definitely do things to help keep wise teaching on my heart and lips day to day and if we do this it is pleasing because it reaps wisdom!

Excuses! That’s what these statements are! Today our excuses might not seem as extreme but they are just as lame. Think of the reasons people don’t read the Bible “too busy” or “didn’t wake up in time.” Hmm…is this really it or are we just lazy?

Here we see a distinct picture of what will happen if we turn from GOD’S commands. Always remember that the best way to go is GOD’S way. His way is the ONLY way to go for goodness and life.

This reminds me of a lot of lame excuses I have made for not doing things. Like Max and Mike said, we need to stop being lazy and serve others. When dawdle playing video games or whatever, we end up regretting it and feel like we’ve wasted so much time. We need to obey what we’re told and do what we have to right away without excuses. But even if there is a lion outside or some excuse we think is legitimate, we should check our hearts and ask what God wants us to do, because He can protect us from the lion and make provide the means for whatever we need to do.

If we actually desire to follow God and to maintain a pure heart we will succeed. God is both loving and just and if we truely try our hardest to live for Him He will bless us with eternal life and knowledge. In return though we must help to further His kingdom with all the skills and blessings He has given us.

Like Mike said, excuses are excuses. We shouldn’t just make up some excuse for us not to do things. Just because we have some crafty excuse doesn’t get us out of everything. The excuses here in this verse are probably excuses justifying the sluggard not doing anything. But even if there are lions or murderers in the street, that doesn’t mean we can’t go outside and do what we are supposed to do. We should be serving others, even though it’s vacation. We don’t have an excuse to be lazy.

“Apply your heart to what I teach” As we read through Proverbs we should make sure that we are actually acting upon what we have read. There is no point reading the Bible if you don’t let it impress upon your life. In James 1:22 it says “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” We should store God’s word inside us living it out every for everyone to see and give God the glory. I also agree with Brooke in that we should graciously share the wisdom and truth of God’s word, and not be afraid because we have been given the Holy Spirit inside us who will inspire upon us the words to speak.

We should also be praying for a Revival in SOTD!

I really like these verses. As Christians, we need to apply all teachings to our lives and always be stepping it up for God. We need to take God’s word seriously and pay attention to it. It is pleasing to the Lord when we go out and share the truth with everyone! We need to not be afraid, for he will give us the words to say.

These may sound like lame excuses to us, but how often do we use excuses that are just as lame to get out of doing things? We usually don’t even have a reason for not wanting to do whatever it is that we are asked to, other than we are too lazy to stop what we are doing. And even if we do have a legitimate excuse, we need to examine our hearts; are we eager and willing to serve others, or are we self-centered and desiring to please only ourselves? Let us look for opportunities to serve others this Christmas, no matter what it may cost us personally!

I actually found this verse interesting. This is a verse for parents, but also can apply to us for our little brothers or sisters. To lead them in the way of the Lord, to the way of salvation! To lead them also away from this world that leds to punishment and the second death. If we do this, then they will not turn from it. Kinda of reminds of the Micah 7:7 song like when it says “we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever”

This verse stood out to me because I am faced with disciplining my daughter on a daily basis. As a parent I do not want Dani to grow up to be foolish so I must disciplpne her consistently to drive the foolishness out of her heart. I am reminded of Hebrews 12:11, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Discipline is painful for me to give Dani and painful for Dani to receive. However, if I am consistent and wise in doling out the discipline and if Dani has a heart that desires to be obedient to me and to God then as she grows I will see less foolishness in her life, which is a great thing.

This reminds me of what I was told about my great grandmother. She lived in New York during the Great Depression and was a widow trying to raise four children off the little work she could get. She was dirt poor, but every time someone came to her door begging, she would always give them a bowl of soup and let them come inside to warm up. I can’t imagine how big of a sacrifice that must of been for her, but she was generous and helped people with a cheerful heart, and God took care of her and her family. I think even today we could learn a lot from that :]

People who are rich may be tempted to think that they have everything and have no need for God. Although we might not think of ourselves as rich, compared to the rest of the world we ARE rich indeed (80% of people in the world lives on about one dollar per day). A natural consequence of living in the OC is to rely on ourselves and our things. However, we need to realize that as created beings we are totally dependent on God who gives us life, breath, and everything else (Acts17:25).

This is true in all things: in the use of money, over use of credit makes the borrower a slave to the lender. But even deeper than that is the relationship one has to righteousness and sin. We can be a slave to Jesus, joyfully doing the work of Christ because of His great gift in payment for our sins OR we can be enslaved to sin. Being trapped, and that is a great description, by in the sins of immorality, drug and alcohol use, greed, the pursuit of comfort or pleasure, enslave us to Satan and prevent us from being used by God for His purpose in our lives. The result is described in the rest of the Proverb and in all the previous chapters. And while, for a time, those sins may feel good, they eat away at us until God gets fed up and executes judgment. And the lake of fire really SUCKS FOREVER! The only way out is humble repentance and a total reliance on Christ. Tell someone today!