Inspiration Archives - Page 4 of 11 -

14Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 14

Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Flourish in Wisdom and Knowledge” Read Proverbs 14 - We have all probably seen the movie “Forrest Gump” and heard his phrase “stupid is as stupid does.” That saying can have many meanings. On the surface, it is easy to understand it to mean that stupid people do stupid things. The fact to remember is that everyone has done some unwise things during a number of years here on earth. I am sure that we would all agree that as you have more years in the rearview mirror, you can see the number of unwise (maybe truly stupid) things that you have done. The most important point to take away from Proverbs, life and even movie characters like Forrest Gump…

13Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 13

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Work Hard and Prosper” Read Proverbs 13 - We have an interesting focal point to consider for today. Do you know people who work two or more jobs just to be able to survive? It certainly sounds like that person is truly working hard and not prospering, financially at least. You may even know people who have worked hard for an entire lifetime and regretted not making time for God. When we see so many references to hard work, prospering, laziness and starvation we have to consider the situation to which the scripture refers - spiritual or physical? I recently heard a sermon on how to apply the word “lazy” which is mentioned so often in scripture. The point was…

12Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 12

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “The Benefits of Wise Words” Read Proverbs 12 - Pop quiz time - have you ever looked back at a decision and thought “I should have listened to my mother when she told me not to do it?” This could be something as simple as the scar that remains when you grabbed something burning hot or it could be a serious legal infraction that either put you in jail or affected the rest of your life. That is what the focus of today’s reading in Proverbs 12 is all about - listening to and heeding the advice of those who have “been there and done that.” Okay, what has Solomon, the author of most of the chapters in Proverbs, done…

11Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 11

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Earthly Treasures Contribute Nothing Toward Eternity” Read Proverbs 11 - We tend to read our own physical needs into the statements made in God’s Word. Consider Proverbs 10:3a - “The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry.” It is a good guess that you have many Christian friends, those who could be called righteous. Have they, in your knowledge, ever been physically hungry? It is likely that we have all been hungry at some point for some reason. Take a few minutes now to read Matthew 4. Aside from the temptations of Jesus you will see that He was fasting for forty days “and was hungry.” Why should we expect to be permanently exempt from physical hunger when Jesus…

10Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 10

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Tainted Wealth Versus Right Living” Read Proverbs 10 - Before proceeding we need to define tainted wealth and right living. Based on your own studies throughout the year, how would you define these two terms? Have your life experiences led you to describe wealth achieved through cheating others as tainted? If so, we are in agreement. Now for “right living.” Can someone who doesn’t know Christ as Savior have a life of right living? I would say so because many are “good people” even though they refuse to believe in the Grace of God. Because these “good people” don’t know God, their acts of goodness can widely miss the mark of providing peace in troubled times. We can follow this…

09Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 9

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Good Judgment” Read Proverbs 9 - It’s time for a bit of introspection - how many times in life have you failed to exercise good judgment? Five, ten, maybe 7x70? Since we are being honest with ourselves (and God already knows the answer anyway), I would have to say that mine is much closer to the last of those three answers. I have made job decisions, life decisions and maybe even church deacon decisions without consulting God. We have been given excellent news in today’s scripture reading - correcting the wise results in great gain. Have you accepted self-correction, correction from a counselor, maybe even correction which seems to have come from God Himself? If so, put these things behind…

08Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 8

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Wisdom and Truth Are Offered To All” Read Proverbs 8 - If you have read Proverbs 8 in the NLT, CEV or GNT translations a noticeable difference from most others may have been obvious - the W in wisdom is capitalized. Many may wonder what this means or why it is important. You may have noticed in the past week of reading that words referring to God and His Word begin with capital letters. That is the case here, Wisdom is referring to Jesus. He is calling out to those who have accepted His free gift of grace. He is even knocking at the door of those who have not accepted Him but are in great need of comfort. Take…

07Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 7

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Sin is the Den of Death” Read Proverbs 7 - During times of trial, have you ever wondered to yourself - “I am a Christian and believe that God has power over all things, so why are we suffering so much in this world?” Well, that question was phrased that way intentionally. The key phrase is “in this world.” We are all sinners saved by Grace, and that doesn’t necessarily make life easier for us here on earth. But in some ways, it will make life “easier.” Think about this, in early 2020 the entire world is engulfed in a pandemic caused by the coronavirus. Is this pandemic a direct result of sin? I certainly am not in the all-knowing…

06Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 6

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Correction and Instruction” Read Proverbs 6 - A big part of the guidance seen in Proverbs 6 relates to commitment, along with learning from the occasional punishments. Commitment comes in many forms, such as keeping your promises to do something. Other examples of commitment include avoiding a slothful approach while working toward those commitments and fidelity in your marriage. So far today we have looked at the instruction side of the focal point, but the correction side can be experienced as easily as flipping over a coin. What happens when you make a promise to your boss and fail to keep it? The same would go for being unreliable in your friendships and marital relationship - some negative circumstances are…

05Mar 2021 by Slinkwords No Comments

Wisdom of Proverbs – Day 5

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Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today's reading is entitled "Flee From the Evil Woman" Read Proverbs 5 - “For the lips of an immoral woman …” Yes, you read this correctly. Regardless of what version of scripture you are reading, all that I could find refer to a woman in verse 3. It is likely that we have all said things just to see what kind of reaction is evoked. Here is one that has been used multiple times, just to see how much trouble I can get into - “It is all Eve’s fault.” We can exercise a literal interpretation of some scriptures and come to the conclusion that our world wouldn’t be in such a mess if Eve had been strong enough to resist. We can carry…

Category: Inspiration