Bible Studies

Our Motives are Important

Proverbs 22:26-27
Do not be one of those who give pledges,
who become surety for debts.
If you have nothing with which to pay,
why should your bed be taken from under you?

God is just as concerned (perhaps more so) about why we do something than about what we do. Behavior which appears righteous on the outside may be sinful if done for the wrong reasons. Paul wrote an interesting description to Timothy:

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Sound Doctrine

2 Timothy 4:2-5 NRSV
Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

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Proving Our Love to Others

Proverbs 22:16, 22-23 NRSV
Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss. Do not rob the poor because they are poor, or crush the afflicted at the gate; for the Lord pleads their cause and despoils of life those who despoil them.

Francis Schaeffer was a theologian in the mid 1900’s. In one of the books he wrote, How Then Shall We Live, he talks about the legacies of the Reformation. While the Reformers brought great freedom to the Church, they also, unfortunately, left us with the idea of accumulating wealth without considering those around us.

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Spare the Rod?

Proverbs 22:15
Folly is bound up in the heart of a boy,
but the rod of discipline drives it far away.

I just read a book that talked about this verse. The author—with whom I agreed about a great many things—insisted that this verse spoke of corporal punishment (spanking) and that every child (until a certain age) needs spanking to “get rid of the foolishness.”

I’m not so sure I agree.

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Stop Talking and Start Praying

Proverbs 22:10-14 NRSV
Drive out a scoffer, and strife goes out;
quarreling and abuse will cease.
Those who love a pure heart and are gracious in speech
will have the king as a friend.
The eyes of the Lord keep watch over knowledge,
but he overthrows the words of the faithless.
The lazy person says,
“There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”
The mouth of a loose woman is a deep pit;
he with whom the Lord is angry falls into it.

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Sharing Our Treasures

Proverbs 22:9 NRSV
Those who are generous are blessed,
for they share their bread with the poor.

Robert Fulghum wrote, in his book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, “share everything.” For the Christian, sharing should be second nature. We should never fail to reach out our hand to someone, even when we think they are undeserving.

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How Do I Stop Being a Jealous Wife?

Ask Angie: How do I stop being a jealous wife?

Marriage Guidance: Jealousy is a strong, negative emotion that can create sin in our lives. Our heavy-laden emotions literally keep us away from God because we’re so wrapped up within our feelings that we are living for them instead of for God.

I know this first hand because I’ve been there and done that already. I used to be addicted to my emotions. I kept myself depressed and resent-filled within my own little world. I talk about this in my personal testimony Journey on the Roads Less Traveled.

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