Welcome to Day 18 of our study! Please see the “About this blog” tab, if you have not already, for more information.
We are tremendously pleased to welcome our new readers from Japan, Romania, South Korea and the US! * Thank you for joining us! I welcome your comments after each post. Big Blessings to You All!
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V1 The selfish man quarrels against every sound principle of conduct by demanding his own way.
V2 A rebel doesn’t care about the facts.
V3 Sin brings disgrace.
V4 A wise man’s words express deep streams of thought.
V5 It is wrong for a judge to favor the wicked and condemn the innocent.
V6 ,7 A fool gets into constant fights. His mouth is his undoing! His words endanger him.
V8 What dainty morsels rumors are. They are eaten with great relish!
V9 A lazy man is brother to the saboteur.
V 10 The Lord is a strong fortress. The godly run to him are safe.
V 11 The rich man thinks of his wealth as an impregnable defense, a high wall of safety. What a dreamer!
V12 Pride ends in destruction; humility ends in honor.
V13 What a shame – Yes, how stupid! – to decide before knowing the facts!
V 14 A man’s courage can sustain his broken body, but when courage dies, what hope is left?
V 15 The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them.
V 16 A bribe does wonders; it will bring you before men of importance!
V 17 Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight.
V 18 A coin toss ends arguments and settles disputes between powerful opponents.
V 19 It is harder to win back the friendship of an offended brother that to capture a fortified city. His anger shuts you out like iron bars.
V20 Ability to give wise advice satisfies like a good meal!
V21 Those who love to talk will suffer the consequences. Men have died for saying the wrong thing!
V22 The man who finds a wife finds a good thing; she is a blessing to him from The LORD.
V23 The poor man pleads and the rich man answers with insults.
V24 There are “friends” who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks than a brother.
“Words Kill, Words Give Life”
Speak life and not death into any situation, for out of the mouth one speaks blessings or curses.
MSG Translation V. 1-7
Loners who care only for themselves spit on the common good.
Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth.
When wickedness arrives, shame’s not far behind; contempt for life is contemptible.
Many words rush along like rivers in flood, but deep wisdom flows up from artesian springs.
It’s not right to go easy on the guilty, or come down hard on the innocent.
The words of a fool start fights; do him a favor and gag him.
Fools are undone by their big mouths; their souls are crushed by their words.
Do we think before we speak? Do we constantly cause ourselves harm, rather than good? This is something we all need to think about. There is a tendency to blame others for our troubles. Sometimes, we trouble our own “waters” with stagnant thoughts and polluted conversation.
Right is right and wrong is wrong no matter who is doing it.
Let’s start speaking and living “life” into our situations. Rise above negativity, first within yourself. Be a strong tower in the Lord and in His time, and not our own, the rest will come into fruition. It all begins with the Lord living in you.
*Afterthoughts…..After a butterfly emerges from it’s cocoon, the beauty of its manifestation created by God is a beautiful thing to behold with the natural eye.
As we emerge from our cocoons of self-hate, doubt, and fear, we too can emerge in beauty. It’s a delicate and serious process.
Today, I speak life!!! Glory!!!