19:1 Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity
than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool.
2 Desire without knowledge is not good,
and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
3 When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin,
his heart rages against the Lord.
4 Wealth brings many new friends,
but a poor man is deserted by his friend.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who breathes out lies will not escape.
6 Many seek the favor of a generous man,
and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
7 All a poor man’s brothers hate him;
how much more do his friends go far from him!
He pursues them with words, but does not have them.
8 Whoever gets sense loves his own soul;
he who keeps understanding will discover good.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished,
and he who breathes out lies will perish.
10 It is not fitting for a fool to live in luxury,
much less for a slave to rule over princes.
11 Good sense makes one slow to anger,
and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
12 A king’s wrath is like the growling of a lion,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13 A foolish son is ruin to his father,
and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.
14 House and wealth are inherited from fathers,
but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,
and an idle person will suffer hunger.
16 Whoever keeps the commandment keeps his life;
he who despises his ways will die.
17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will repay him for his deed.
18 Discipline your son, for there is hope;
do not set your heart on putting him to death.
19 A man of great wrath will pay the penalty,
for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future.
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
22 What is desired in a man is steadfast love,
and a poor man is better than a liar.
23 The fear of the Lord leads to life,
and whoever has it rests satisfied;
he will not be visited by harm.
24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish
and will not even bring it back to his mouth.
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
26 He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother
is a son who brings shame and reproach.
27 Cease to hear instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
28 A worthless witness mocks at justice,
and the mouth of the wicked devours iniquity.
29 Condemnation is ready for scoffers,
and beating for the backs of fools.
(ESV)
Acts 3
Acts 2
Acts 1
Luke 24
Luke 23
Luke 22
Luke 21
Luke 20
Luke 19
Luke 18
21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
We can plan and scheme and attempt to do our own thing in life but here we see that ultimately God’s plan and purpose are going to prevail. We cannot thwart God’s ultimate purpose and plan! We should be constantly seeking Him and getting wisdom in order to make wise choices and follow His lead.
3 A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
This is the tendency of our world today. Whenever something bad happens, people use it as an excuse to blame God. But as Christians, we need to accept trials with joy, and as the guest speaker in main service said last week, we need to stop asking God “Why?” and start asking Him “What would you have me do?” Anger and bitterness have no place in our hearts, and definitely not directed against the LORD. Instead, we need to be humble and live to bring glory to God no matter what situation we find ourselves in.
17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
This verse is so cool! everytime we show compassion to those in need this verse says that we are lending to God and glorifying His name. This verse should give us all the motivation we will ever need to share and be kind to others that are not as fortunate as us. And the best part is that we will be rewarded for what we do, wether it is big or small; this could also be a warning though, becasue “we reap what we sow”.
21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
This a thing that myself and Im sure many people struggle with. It is so easy to make plans about what youre going to do tomorrow or the next day. We plan so many things these days and we dont even put God into the picture when were planning them. God already has our life planned out, so we need to ask Him what He wants us to do next. God’s plans always prevail.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
This verse shows how we need to stay plugged into God’s Word and the importance of listening as we have 2 ears and only one mouth
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.
When we sin or mess up or just make a mistake, we always need to be open for advice. We also need to be open to punishment because we will never learn if we go unpunished. (=
3 A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
Like what we read yesterday, we know that wisdom is very important because it keeps us from going down the wrong paths. In this verse it tells us that our own foolisheness will ruin our lives. But it also says that if we are foolish, we are acting as if we hate the Lord. This is because God gives us wisdom and if we turn it down we would be hateful to God for not accepting a gift that will help us dearly. We need to be clear that our actions are wise so we don’t screw up big time by being foolish.
27 Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
This verse reminds me of the fact that if we stop listening to the instruction of the Bible (or stop reading consistently), we will stray from God’s Word of knowledge. When we stop reading scripture or just start becoming inconsistent–God’s commands won’t be as fresh, they won’t be on our minds as much, and we will stray from obeying Him.
2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.
This is a good reminder to not just be excited, but excited about seeking God. If we just get caught up in the excitement at some camp, we’ll end up missing the point, but if we are fervent about seeking God, our hearts will be where they are supposed to be and we will be bringing glory to God. We shouldn’t be looking for some experience, but instead be eagerly praying and meditating on God’s word, knowing that that is how we grow close to God, not just having some hyped up feeling.
I’d like to ditto what Vanessa said! This has proved very true in my life. I had plans to do a certain thing, but the Lord closed a door that I wasn’t expecting. And the plans of the Lord are ALWAYS better that the plans that I come up with. When I graduated from high school my theme verse was Proverbs 16:9 “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” I had no idea how true that would end up being in my life. Seek counsel and make decisions to the best of your ability – but be flexible… the Lord may have something much better planned for your your life!
3 A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD.
I have seen this in other people and myself. We do something wrong and when we suffer consequences for it we think that it is God’s fault. Let us make sure that we are not blaming God for our own problems.
Friday night slump is coming up…let’s keep encouraging people to get on here throughout the rest of the evening!
21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
This verse really amazes me. SO often we have plans of what WE want to do…we don’t take into what God might want for us or what His will is. In the end, the Lord’s plan is dominant over ours. We need to always think of what God wants before our own.
:)
8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.
Wisdom and understanding are so highly praised in Proverbs that it has really motivated me to be more diligent in pursuing wisdom from God’s word. Do not slack off in your quiet times like I found myself doing this summer! Instead realize that you will prosper if you actively seek God and His will by learning from HIs word. Pick a specific time and stick to it, for the rewards of wisdom are forever.
17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
This verse reminds me of Matthew 25:31-46. The verses talk about Christ seperating the believers from the non-believers. When the “sheep” ask when they ever gave him something to drink, clothes, or visit him when he was sick or in prison. His response was, ” I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” The righteous went away to eternal life, and that was their reward.
1 Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse.
it is better to be poor than to be foolish. in hte Bible ther are many instances where the poor are said to “first” one is in Proverbs, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, and how the rich man cant enter the kingdom of heaven. so it is better to be poor than foolish
27.) Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
I was thinking the same thing as Jeff, we need to constantly be diving into God’s Word and as he said, this verse stresses the importance of listening to instruction and how it ties in with knowledge.
20 Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.
THis verse is great becasue it tells us that we don’t only need to listen. Whe need to REMEMBER IT LATER ON so that we can obey it. (its not enough just listening)
MMMM another great chapter. I really liked verse 17.
17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
This is so cool. Like if we are giving and lending to the poor we are lending to the LORD himself. And it goes on and says that we will be rewarded for this by him.. I just thought that this was really cool.
21 Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
We can plan all we want, but it is God’s plan and purpose that matters and will prevail. The Lord’s will is what will guide you, and that will succeed. Im guessing many people struggle with this! We should be seeking him, and following him with what we do. I have learned that what ever the Lord’s will for me is, that I have to be ok with it.