Coming to the Still Waters

Today's verses are Proverbs 27:13-16, which read, v.13 - Take his garment when he becomes surety for a stranger, and for an adulterous woman hold him in pledge. So someone comes to you for a loan but you have found out that they have been loaning money to strangers.  They are dealing with their resources in a haphazardly way and then come to you to bail them out.  A garment was given as collateral for repayment.  Solomon says in this situation to make sure you get that garment because that might be all that you get out of this deal.  The fool might also be lending money to those who adulterous to God.  They are foreigners of the faith and therefore unequally yoked and the fool is making deals with them.  Now he is without and comes to you and Solomon says to keep the fire to him to repay. A person who is acting foolishly needs to have tough love to get them to see the error of their ways.  Keep them to the rules and guidelines of the Scriptures.  Don't be soft on t

Today's verses are Proverbs 27:9-12, which read, v.9 - Oil and perfume make the heart glad, so a man's counsel is sweet to his friend. Oil and perfume were cherished items in the days of Solomon and actually in our day too.  There is quite a market for oils and essential oils and perfumes of many kinds.  People make a good living off of oils and perfumes.  It is the use of these that makes the heart glad.  To have oil and perfume to apply when needed brings about an uptick in how one is feeling, physically and emotionally.  Both of these where to make yourself more presentable and was enjoyed by you and those around you.  We know from the Bible that these were also very expensive at times and used sparingly to make them last.   These precious commodities are compared to the counsel of a wise man to his friend.  The counsel of those following after God is to be cherished.  It is to be applied when needed.  It makes you presentable before God and is also a help in th

Here is the latest on the study of the 10 commandments.  We look at commands number 9 & 10.  Do not lie and do not covet.  Listen is and as always the music is owned by Alathea and check out their music at www.alathea.com . Pastor Adam

Today's verses are Proverbs 27:5-8, which read, v.5, 6 - Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed.  Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. These proverbs are hard to experience but they are so true.  If I am going to be a true friend to another then there are times that I am going to have to speak the truth in love about some tough things in my friend's life.  Instead of standing around in silence like all the rest of his or her so-called friends are doing, I will have to speak up in a Biblical way if I am truly a friend and really care about them. Those wounds may leave a mark and ache deep but they are better than the destruction that will come from an enemy who is buttering me up for a fall.  Have you been wounded by a friend before?  Have you had someone tell you something that you didn't want to hear but you knew you needed to hear it?  How did you respond to that information?  Usually we try to defend ourse

Today's verses are Proverbs 27:1-4, which read, v.1 - Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth. Isn't this so true?  I didn't know that Monday I would throw my back out doing a very simple activity that I do all the time.  The day instantly changed and all the plans I had for the week started to be adjusted because I had something to deal with that was not on my schedule.  I was going to go here and there and do this and that and now I was moving a lot slower and my ability to physically do things was limited greatly.  Do you feel my pain? Tomorrow is only in the hands of our sovereign God.  I can think about it and even plan for it but the proverb is instructing us to not boast about it.  Boasting about it makes it seem like we are in control of it.  Boasting also fixes our minds and maybe our attitudes on how we respond to God's interruptions that are there to help us grow spiritually.  God has the  "what a day may

Today's devotional is an in between chapter devotional and I am drawing from an article written by  Sam Storms .  I have found myself reading almost everything that comes out under his name.  This article is called  10 Things You Should Know About Repentance.   I want to share just 5 of them this morning and help us answer that question,  "Am I really sorry or am I just saying that?" 1.  Genuine repentance begins, but by no means ends, with heartfelt  conviction  of sin. I really think we need to say with our mouths and feel in our hearts,  "This is wrong."  "I have sinned."  "God is grieved by this."   I need to recognize and not try to excuse my actions away.  A great quote cited from  J.I. Packer  from his book  Rediscovering Holiness  says, "True repentance only begins when one passes out of what the Bible sees as self-deception and modern counselors call denial, into what the Bible calls conviction of sin." I s

We are working through the New City Catechism and this Sunday focuses on commandments 6, 7 & 8.  --Pastor Adam--

Today's verses are Proverbs 26:23-28, which read, v.23, 24 - Like an earthen vessel overlaid with silver dross are burning lips and a wicked heart.  He who hates disguises it with his lips, but he lays up deceit in his heart. Solomon gives us a really good word picture here.  You have a vessel that looks like a fine silver crafted piece that the assessors of the Antique Road Show would go  "ooh"  and  "aah"  over.  But the reality is that they would scratch it a little bit and find it a fake.  It is really an earthen vessel, a clay pot, that have been overlaid with the dross of silver which is the run off of impurities from the heating of silver to get to the pure product.  It looks like silver because of its color but is very inferior and full of other materials.  It is not only a fake but it is a fake made with inferior materials. The fool is one who can use his lips and his words to cover up what is really so.  He or she can make it look good whe

Today's verses are Proverbs 26:17-22, which read, v.17 - Like one who takes a dog by the ears is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him. Solomon is going to give us 4 more  "like"  proverbs this morning.  I read in my study Bible that dogs during this time were not domesticated so to grab one by the ears would be putting yourself in a dangerous situation.  You most likely would get bit for doing so.  The fool is someone who is asking to get bit for being a busybody, meddling with strife not belonging to him.  We have this proverb again in the New Testament with Paul saying in 2 Thessalonians 3:11, "For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies." And again to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:13,  "At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things no

Today's verses are Proverbs 26:12-16, which read, v.12 - Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?  There is more hope for a fool than for him. There are fools and then there are fools.  Solomon is pointing out someone who thinks he or she is greater than the wisdom of God.  He compares this fool with the common fool who is just blindly following the crowd.  Levels of foolishness seems to be given here.  When someone gets to the point of promoting themselves above the wisdom of God it puts them in another category to be reached with the wisdom and hope of God.  Solomon will now give us a description of this type of fool in the next four verses. v.13 - The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road!  A lion is in the open square!"    There is no lion but the saying of things like this brings great attention to oneself.  It is like yelling  "fire"  in the theater or crying  "wolf"  to get others to come.  The person who thinks they are wis