THURSDAY, October 23rd, 2008

Hey Everyone! I enjoyed last night very much! I hope that you will look for me on TV tonight! :)

The game is on FOX at 8:30 PM

Ok, on to more important things... YOUR DEVOTIONS!!!!!!!!

Proverbs 23

1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler, Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies, For they are deceptive food.
4 Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!
5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.
6 Do not eat the bread of a miser, Nor desire his delicacies;
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “ Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up, And waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Do not remove the ancient landmark, Nor enter the fields of the fatherless;
11 For their Redeemer is mighty; He will plead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction, And your ears to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold correction from a child, For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die.
14 You shall beat him with a rod, And deliver his soul from hell.
15 My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself;
16 Yes, my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things.
17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day;
18 For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and be wise; And guide your heart in the way.
20 Do not mix with winebibbers, Or with gluttonous eaters of meat;
21 For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.
22 Listen to your father who begot you, And do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and do not sell it, Also wisdom and instruction and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart, And let your eyes observe my ways.
27 For a harlot is a deep pit, And a seductress is a narrow well.
28 She also lies in wait as for a victim, And increases the unfaithful among men.
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has contentions? Who has complaints? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who linger long at the wine, Those who go in search of mixed wine.
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red, When it sparkles in the cup, When it swirls around smoothly;
32 At the last it bites like a serpent, And stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things, And your heart will utter perverse things.
34 Yes, you will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea, Or like one who lies at the top of the mast, saying: "They have struck me, but I was not hurt; They have beaten me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake, that I may seek another drink?"

Three major lessons jump out to me in this passage:

First, I noticed how much of an emphasis Solomon (the writer) puts on how we should act during certain situations... For example... if we are in the company of people who want to hurt or destroy us we need to be so careful!

This reminds me of my life everyday... Your too... we are in a situation where the world is watching every move trying to justify their actions. The world watches us so that they can say negative things about Christians, so me must be SO CAREFUL not to make a bad decision that will cause people to look down on Christ.

SECOND, there are several references to children making their parents happy... Where do you stand in that ball park? Are your parents full of joy when they consider you as their child? Does it hurt their heart to see some of the decisions that you are making? We need to live in a way that makes our parents HAPPY AND THANKFUL FOR US!!!!

Finally, Solomon could have been a great member of the MADD coalition (that stands for mothers against drunk driving). Solomon was just flaad out against people being drunk, because He knows the destruction that it brings into your life. In fact the whole bible teaches us that we are NOT TO BE DRUNK WITH WINE (or alcoholic drinks) but instead we are supposed to be FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT!!!!

Maybe you have seen a slogan that says: FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRIVE DRUNK... I THINK EVEN BETTER IT SHOULD SAY: FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS DRINK!!!!!!

DONT DRINK!