is He in you?

Have you ever just sat down and read through the book of Proverbs? I suggest you do it sometime. I got so much out of it, I'm not done yet with the whole book, but I am just learning so much. It's really interesting for me to read through these Proverbs and get to one that totally relates to my life situation right now. Like...

"One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination."

do you have people in your life you really care about who are aware that they're living in sin, but just keep doing it? have you ever done that before? i know i have before many times, since I am no where close to being perfect, and reading that proverb just hits me hard and helps me to want to get back on track with God. and for people i love who do it, i just want to pray for them even more than before. that word 'abomination' just gets to me!

oh i love this one...

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

I remember talking about something along these lines in Barnabus Team last year sometime... about how we sharpen each other as Christians, and how important it is to hold each other accountable, because otherwise we will just be dull and weak. but by sharpening each other, we are stronger and less susceptible to evil.

I think this one is so, so true in our daily lives:

"The beginning of strife is like releasing water; therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts."

This one helps encourage me to pick my close companions very carefully:

"The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray."

This one makes me think of the difference between how humans think and how God thinks:

"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts."

This one just confuses me in a way that... i just cant fathom it, i dont know:

"A man's steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?"

This one is something I have known of since I was very little, it's a verse my parents taught me I think, or it's written on something we have had in our house since I was little, yeah thats right:

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Here is a great one:

"Evil men do not understand justive, but those who seek the LORD understand all."

Ok, well, I have just been very enlightened tonight and thought I would share what stood out to me. I don't have a daily devotional or weekly devotional book, or whatever. I learned when I was very young that I didn't learn well in a structured format, but rather when I feel convicted or prompted by the Holy Spirit to dig into the Word. THat may sound like the wrong way to do it, but, the important thing is that I developed a habit of doing it. I dont think there are right or wrong ways to spend time with God alone, or meditate on His Word, or do a devotional (whatever you choose to call it, it's all the same). I think as long as you do it habitually, and are getting a consistent filling of the Word, then you are ok. Pastor Dan Wentworth said it best one hot morning during a group devotional in Belize in Summer 2005... we are like oranges. when we are squeezed, whatever is inside of us will come out. If we fill ourselves with God's Word, when we are squeezed, God will come out of us. That way, we show others the love of Jesus Christ. That's why it's important to get a consistent filling from the best book out there- The Bible.

I don't know why I have written so much lately, I suppose I am just having one of my inspired impulses... after all, that's what my ENFP type says about me! haha. :-)

oh and sorry I didn't put any of the references after the proverbs, maybe I will come back and edit this post with all the references at a later time. but right now... i'm too lazy and want to go to bed. :-)