Thursday, November 15, 2012

Praise and Proverbs1:20-33

I have an amazing praise this morning! Karen posted that her daughter, Kristen, was released from the hospital yesterday, one day after she donated her kidney! And Karen is doing very well, and will probably go home this weekend! She is praising God for answered prayers. She has felt surrounded by the prayers of many, including all of you! What a miracle! Please continue to pray for her as she heals and as her body accepts this new kidney.

My sister, Jodi, is back home after a hard time in the hospital. She is weak, so please pray for her body to regain strength and for her spirit to be encouraged.

Today’s verses issue another stern warning - this one for rejecting wisdom, which is personified as a woman. She cries out a warning to fools and mockers who refuse to accept her:

“How long will you simple ones love your simple ways?

    How long will mockers delight in mockery

    and fools hate knowledge?  
If you had responded to my rebuke,

    I would have poured out my heart to you

    and made my thoughts known to you.  
But since you rejected me when I called

    and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,  
since you ignored all my advice

    and would not accept my rebuke,  
I in turn will laugh at your disaster;

    I will mock when calamity overtakes you—  
when calamity overtakes you like a storm,

    when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,

    when distress and trouble overwhelm you. (Proverbs 1:22-27)

 It seems to me that mockers of God are getting bolder. The media and entertainment industry love to make fun of God and those who believe in Him. They consider those who seek wisdom from the Bible as fools and judgmental bigots (now, maybe some actually act that way, so it may have something to do with the way we present the gospel). Nevertheless, they spurn any quote of scripture.

Proverbs calls these people fools. They will one day be overtaken by disaster and will then seek Wisdom, but she will not be found:

“Then they will call to me but I will not answer;

    they will look for me but will not find me.  
Since they hated knowledge

    and did not choose to fear the Lord,  
since they would not accept my advice

    and spurned my rebuke,  
they will eat the fruit of their ways

    and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. (vs.28-31)

There is a time limit on God’s offer of salvation. There will come a time, if we harden our hearts, when He will not be found. We don’t know when our end will come. We can’t wait, hoping to pursue our own will and carry on until we are old, then turn to God. For He may take us in an instant! We need to choose Him, to choose His Wisdom NOW! Only a fool rejects His offer.

Wow! These are powerful words to start us off in Proverbs. Solomon is saying, “Pay attention! This is important stuff!” I’m excited to see what is coming for us!  

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