Archives: Pastors' Corner

Where Does “Your Way” Lead? One of the proverbs that has stuck in my head over the years is found in the section below:  The heart of the wise teaches his mouth,
And adds learning to his lips.  24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.  25 There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.  26  The person who labors, labors for himself,
For his hungry mouth drives him on. The verse that has stuck with me is verse 25.  There really is a way that seems right […]

Let’s read Proverbs 16:17-22 The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who keeps his way preserves his soul.  18 Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.  19 Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly,
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.  20 He who heeds the word wisely will find good,
And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.  21 The wise in heart will be called prudent,
And sweetness of the lips increases learning.  22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it.
But the correction of fools is folly. There are several different […]

Really?? Just one verse today, Proverbs 16:16: How much better to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver. Do you think this verse is really true?  I suppose whether you really believe this statement can be seen by how you choose to live your life.  How do you spend your time and energy regarding wisdom and riches?  It seems to me that most people are focused more on the gold and silver instead of the wisdom and understanding.  I suppose it’s fair to say that they don’t really believe this verse. This verse […]

The King Being a king is a good job if you can get it.  Of course, it’s pretty hard to get the job of “king”.  As far as I know there are no majors in college titled, “royalty planning” or “king preparation”.  We believe that King Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs, at least most of the proverbs that we have recorded.  In Proverbs 16:10-15 he writes a little about what it is like to be king: Divination is on the lips of the king;
His mouth must not transgress in judgment.  11  Honest weights and scales are the Lord’s;
All the […]

Let’s read Proverbs 16:4-6:  The Lord has made all for Himself,
Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.  5 Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.  6 In mercy and truth
Atonement is provided for iniquity;
And by the fear of the Lord one departs from evil.  The word of God is very clear that the wicked will suffer punishment.  God is holy and righteous and will not allow sin to go unchecked.  This is a big problem for many in our world today.  Verse 4 raises that issue.  Yes, God clearly knows […]

Plans… We are halfway through the book of Proverbs.  I hope you are enjoying walking through this book with me.  I have always wanted to read a Proverb each day for an entire year and this blog is helping me with that goal…so “Thank You”.  The first three verses of chapter 16 have a common theme, the idea of a “way” or a “plan”.  Let’s read them now: The preparations of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
But the Lord weighs the […]

Which comes first? is a popular expression.  I suppose the phrase, “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” is the most popular expression of this phrase.  Of course, for me that’s an easy one…the chicken came first…I think that’s how God created it.  But anyway….there is an interesting verse that speaks to this in verse 33 of chapter 15.  Let’s wrap up chapter 15 of the book of Proverbs: The Lord is far from the wicked,
But He hears the prayer of the righteous.  30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
And a good report makes the bones healthy.  31 The […]

Proverbs has a lot to say about words and how beneficial and how damaging they can be.  In fact, the Bible has a lot to say about words and illustrates the positive and negative side of words.  The old saying, “sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me” could not be farther from the truth.  In Proverbs 15:23-28 we see two verses which are focused on the mouth, verses 23 and 28: A man has joy by the answer of his mouth,
And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!  24 The way of […]

Let’s just read one verse today, Proverbs 15:22: Without counsel, plans go awry,
But in the multitude of counselors they are established. There is a lot of wisdom in this verse.  I think that all of us have had times in our lives when we’ve made plans on our own and they’ve gone awry.  The problem for most of us is that we are so limited when we make plans by ourselves.   On our own we rarely know what all the options are.  On our own we can rarely think through what all the possible outcomes can be.  We just don’t […]

Take the “High”way As we continue in Proverbs 15 we read a few more contrasts between two different kinds of people.  Let’s read verses 18-21 and think about them for a minute:  A wrathful man stirs up strife,
But he who is slow to anger allays contention.  19  The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns,
But the way of the upright is a highway.  20 A wise son makes a father glad,
But a foolish man despises his mother.  21 Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment,
But a man of understanding walks uprightly.   Vs 18:  An […]