Posts Tagged ‘climate’

Proverbs 8:27 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: February 8, 2013 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Proverbs 08, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

Proverbs 8:27 I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep

How important is wisdom? God had it when He created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1). Lady Wisdom here encourages you to value wisdom highly because God does.

The modern and weak concept of Intelligent Design does not do the LORD justice, for He is infinitely wise with perfect understanding and creative genius far beyond mere intelligence or intellectual capacity. He is wise, and He calls you to be wise.

Intelligence, or fact calculation and application, falls short of wisdom. The only true God arranged and ordained every aspect of the universe when there had never been such a thing before. He also has the power of right judgment to discretely and prudently interact with other rational creatures. He inspired Solomon to write for you to get wisdom.

Who thought the earth was flat? The children of God have always known the earth was round. When the blessed and only Creator God formed the earth’s atmosphere, and when He wrapped it around the ball of water hanging in space, wisdom was there with Him. Lady Wisdom offers you wisdom today by this proverb and the rest of Gods scriptures. Will you accept her gracious offer (Pr 8:1-5,32-36; 9:1-12)?

How great is wisdom? After Lady Wisdom’s introduction and invitation (Pr 8:1-5), she described the excellence and truth of wisdom (Pr 8:6-11), the benefits that flow to those having it (Pr 8:12-21), and the presence and use of wisdom by God in the creation of the heavens and earth (Pr 8:22-31). She then concluded with a further invitation (Pr 8:32-36). Wisdom is the most precious thing you can obtain in life (Pr 3:13-20; 4:5-13; 8:10-11).

This proverb exalts wisdom by showing it was with God in the creation of the heavens and His arrangement of the heavens to circle and encompass the watery globe. God created the heavens, the earth, and light on the first day (Gen 1:1-5; Ex 20:11; 31:17). He created the earth’s atmosphere on the second day, which is the firmament of heaven that separated the water above the sky from the water covering the earth (Gen 1:6-8).

God created the universe. The interstellar and interplanetary spaces and the spherical globe of the earth were formed first (Gen 1:1). The earth was a formless ball covered with water hanging in the total darkness of space (Gen 1:2). God then added light, without light sources for three days, mind you, to complete the first day (Gen 1:3-5,14-19). The only big bang, if there was one, occurred when God said, “Let there be light:” – and there was light (Gen 1:3)! If God has given you faith, you understand it (Heb 11:3).

God created the earth’s atmosphere. He separated waters on the earth’s surface by an expanse called heaven, which we call atmosphere, in which birds and planes fly (Gen 1:6-8,20). He gathered the waters on the earth and under this atmosphere into seas on the third day (Gen 1:9). The waters above the atmosphere remained there for the 1,656 years before rain (Gen 2:5-6; 7:4; Heb 11:7). It was not until the Flood that rain appeared; it was not until after the Flood that rainbows appeared (Gen 7:11-12; 9:12-15).

The Lord compassed, or encircled, the earth with this atmospheric heaven as part of His creative work on the second day. Included in these first two days of creation was the ordination of gravity to hold the waters and the atmosphere around the earth. Though the earth spins at 1000 mph, the atmosphere that compasses the earth moves right along with the earth, so you are not blown away! From the vantage point of spacecraft, you can see the aqua blue ball suspended by nothing in the firmament of heaven. Give God the glory!

The word “compass” in this proverb describes the circle, circumference, curve, arc, ring, or round shape of the atmospheric heaven that God wrapped around the ball we call earth. He set a compass, or a circle, over the watery earth before there was land (Pr 8:29; Gen 1:3-5). Though Solomon wrote these words 1000 years before Christ, he knew the earth was round by God’s inspired revelation to him. Isaiah, writing by inspiration about 700 years before Christ, also referred to the circular or round shape of the earth (Is 40:22).

Eratosthenes (276-195 B.C.), a Greek mathematician who knew the earth was round, calculated its correct circumference and the tilt of its axis. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543), who knew the earth was round, developed and promoted proofs for heliocentricism – the earth moves around the sun. Pope Urban VIII spanked Galileo (1564-1642) for endorsing such absurdities. But Newton (1643-1727) confirmed how a ball could keep us all feeling upright with gravity. But they were just refining old news!

What is the lesson of the proverb? If wisdom was with God in His creation of the heavens and the atmospheric curtain around the earth, then it is important enough for you! If God used wisdom to create the heavens and earth, then it would be a great thing to have for your decision-making! Are you committed to pursue wisdom? Is it more important to you than anything else? When was the last time you read the Bible? Heard a real sermon?

All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is God in the flesh – the fullness of the Godhead in a human body (Col 2:3,9). He created all things, and without Him was not anything made that was made (John 1:3; Eph 3:9; Heb 1:2)! He has all wisdom and knowledge as a perfect King, Priest, Savior, and coming Judge. Humble yourself before Him this day! Beg Him for mercy and wisdom!

Proverbs 06:09 Wisdom for the Soul

Posted: December 6, 2012 in Acceptance, Bible Study, Encourgement, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Proverbs, Spiritual Training, trust in the Lord with all your heart, Uncategorized, Under Gods Command
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Under Gods Command

 Proverbs 6:9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?

Sleep can be a dangerous thing, if you get too much of it, or if you like it too much. It is especially hazardous for young men, whom Solomon emphasized in writing Proverbs.

When do you get up? How do you get up? The time and manner in which you rise in the morning affects your success or failure in life. Great men get a head start on the day.

They attack every day as an opportunity, rather than dreading it as a punishment. There are other factors also, but love of your bed in the morning will squander your potential.

What a practical book! Those who think the Bible is irrelevant and an old theological dust collector have never read it. Solomon, the wisest and most successful king ever, knew the folly of youth and humanity, so he warned his son and you against loving sleep and sleeping too long (Pr 6:6-11; 10:5; 19:15; 20:13; 21:17; 23:21; 24:30-34).

Young men play hard and sleep hard. Since they have not had the weight of responsibility and burden of producing for a family, they will take every minute they can get under the covers before falling out and stumbling into a day. But they are not the only ones. Some older men think they deserve extra sleep because they have already worked hard in life.

Some women think they can make the day go away by staying in bed under warm covers. Cuddling with blankets helps them procrastinate and fantasize about not working. Instead they have fewer hours, less energy, and more to do when they get up. Young women, who play much of the day in today’s world, cannot imagine why they should ever get up.

“Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” is credited to Benjamin Franklin, though it was a saying before he was born. Mark Twain, who thought that rising before 9:30 was a terrible evil, ridiculed Ben’s proverb. But God and Solomon had given the inspired rules 3000 years before. An early approach does lead to wisdom (Pr 8:17). And an early approach does lead to wealth (Pr 6:9-11; 20:13; 24:33-34).

Are you tired in the morning? Then go to bed earlier. Sleeping during prime time will not only help you rise in the morning, but it will also save you from the worst that Hollywood offers. Do you not sleep well at night? Then get on a schedule and allow yourself less sleep. All other things being equal, a laboring man will sleep very peacefully (Eccl 5:12).

Is it hard to get up in the morning? Build a habit and routine that is good for you. A strict schedule and routine help most people. Do not use a snooze button on your alarm clock. When it is time to get up, then get up, right then. Immediately take a shower or apply water to your face in some other way. Wake up! Get up! Get dressed! Get going! Life is short, why waste it in bed!  You need a sense of time urgency to attack days (Eccl 9:10)!

The world has conspired against the wisdom here. Daylight saving time provides more time for playing in the evenings and less sunshine for rising in the mornings. If saving daylight is important, why not save it in the morning by moving the clocks back an hour? Men could get a day’s work done before lunch. But men would much rather play late.

The proverb has a definite limit. Night and sleep are part of God’s plan for men. In fact, He does not want you going without pleasant sleep, thinking that success depends mainly on your efforts (Ps 127:1). He expects you to only apply this proverb within reason, for any efforts beyond that are vain and worthless; He wants you to sleep (Ps 127:2)!

Getting up early and not sleeping too long are only part of life. Once you get up, what will you do? God commands you to have a good job and be diligent at it (Rom 12:11; Eph 4:28; I Thess 4:11-12). This is the main intent here so you can follow the example of the industrious ant (Pr 6:6-8)! After work you have your other duties – marriage, children, parents, church, finances, house, neighbors, nation, exercise, and so forth.

There is a better reason to rise early. You can seek the Lord and wisdom then. You are sharper (once fully awake!). There are fewer outside or mental distractions. You will be interrupted less. It puts the priority on God and wisdom. It prepares your soul for the day. And it is Scriptural (Ps 5:3; 55:17; 119:147). Reading your Bible, praying, and meditating before anything else is the way to a successful life (Job 23:12; Ps 19:7-11; 119:103,127).