Proverbs 25:1-7

verses 4-5: “Take away the dross from the silver, And there comes out a vessel for the smith; Take away the wicked from before the king, And his throne will be established in righteousness.”

The 2 above verses are bound together by the theme of purifying. Heat silver ore to the point that the dross in the ore rises to the top and can be skimmed off, and you are left with more pure silver. Remove any hint of shady officials or less then honest workers in the king’s court, and you are left with a more righteousness, more just, more trustworthy kingdom authority.

My wife was reminded of an old hymn that she had a copy of called Rejoice in the Lord (written by Ron Hamilton, copyright 1978 by Musical Ministries).

God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man,
Give thanks to the Lord though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.

I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.

Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.

Chorus
O rejoice in the Lord, He makes no mistake.
He knoweth the end of each path that I take.
For when I am tried and purified,
I shall come forth as gold.

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

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Proverbs 24:21-34

verses 30-34: “I passed by the field of the sluggard, And by the vineyard of the man lacking sense; And behold, it was completely overgrown with thistles, Its surface was covered with nettles, And its stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked, and received instruction. “A little sleep, a little slumber, A little folding of the hands to rest,” Then your poverty will come as a robber, And your want like an armed man.”

In the sci-fi classic The Thing from Another World, the head scientist of the polar expedition, Dr. Carrington, is pleading an argument with his fellow scientists and the military supply unit; they are beset by an alien from another world that has crashed nearby. The being feeds on blood, and has killed sled dogs and 2 of the scientific team. Carrington wants to save it, despite its aggressive murderous intentions. He argues, “think of what we can learn from it”. I think the classic reply came from the reporter, Ned Scott, who tagged along with the military, when he said, “what can we learn from that thing, except a quicker way to die?”

In reading the above passage from Proverbs 24…what can we learn from the sluggard?

God made us to work, to do. There is a satisfaction gained from work and labor, even more so when it’s done for our Lord. My father, who is the foreman of our Carpenters for Christ group, once mentioned in testimony of his ability to get up without an alarm clock and get to work, no matter how early it might be. “That doesn’t normally set well with most people”, he joked. “I figure, if we’re supposed to get 8 hours of sleep…well, that’s 1/3 of your life you slept away.” His point, of course, was, when there is work to be done, it’s best to get up and do it.

This is not to say rest isn’t important, or that leisure is to be totally done away with. It is good, all in its place and time. But when it is time to work, it’s best to put our hands to the plow, and get going. So, is there work you need to do for the Lord today?

Something to think about.

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Proverbs 24:16-20

verse 16: “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.”

It’s sort of strange to consider this a classic movie, but (given the age of the movie and myself), it has to be called a classic now. I’m referring to the Rocky movies. I always enjoyed underdog movies like that. One of the things I remember most about Rocky Balboa was the fact that he always came back from the most punishing blows, no matter who was fighting him at the time. He always came back; just the look on his opponent’s face after they would deliver a bone-crunching punch, only to see Rocky recover and get right back in their face, was great! One of the best lines was in Rocky III when Apollo Creed and Paulie were in Rocky’s corner, while Rocky was getting pummeled by Clubber Lang. Apollo said, “he’s getting killed out there”; Paulie said, “no, no, no, he’s not getting killed, he’s getting mad!”

Just like the inner reserve that Rocky Balboa called upon to keep coming back, Christians have a reserve to call upon when the world and the devil knock them down. That reserve is Jesus Christ (who by the way, took a whole lot more punishment than Rocky did!) There are not so good days I thank God for the gift of His Son, who took my place on a cross. There are bad days when I don’t feel like getting back up, when God will give me a sign that He still reigns…it might be the majestic view of a hawk or the steam rising off a lake in the cold of the morning or the still quiet at the dusk of the day. There are times I wonder how non-Christians make it in this old world. Just remember this: when the devil tells us that Jesus is a “crutch”, remind him that Jesus is not a crutch…He’s my Rock.

Something to think about.

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