Stability

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 28

Key Verse: Verse 1 - “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

Key Words: the righteous are bold as a lion 

      There are two things about the righteous man which produces stability.

      First of all, his courage produces stability, the courage to stay rather than flee when things are going awry. (Verse 1)

Secondly, his understanding produces stability. If I fail to understand what is happening around me, I’m prone to flee. (Verse2)

      David McCullough’s biography of Teddy Roosevelt, Mornings on Horseback, includes this story of young Teddy as a child in New York City: “Mittie (his mother) had found he was so afraid of the Madison Square Church that he refused to set foot inside if alone. He was terrified, she discovered, of something called the “zeal.”  It was crouched in the dark corners of the church ready to jump at him, he said. When she asked what zeal might be, he said he was not sure, but thought it was probably a large animal like an alligator or a dragon.  He had heard the minister read about in the Bible.  Using a concordance, she read him those passages containing the word “zeal” until, very excited, he told her to stop.  The line was from the Gospel of John 2:17: “And his disciples remembered that it was written, ‘The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.’”

      His lack of stability came from fear because of failure to understand.

      Now, let me ask you “Are you standing or fleeing today?”  I hope you’re standing.

                                                                                 Dr. Mike Rouse

What to do:

      ✞Be courageous and seek understanding. If not, you’ll flee through all your life 

Procrastination

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 27Key Verse: Verse 1 - “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

Key Words: Boast not thyself of tomorrow 

From time to time, we all procrastinate; but when procrastination is a way of life for us it is a glaring fault that hinders our testimony as a believer.  But even worse is the putting off of salvation.  We are told in II Corinthians 6:2, (“For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time, behold, now is the day of salvation.”)

There is an old fable that I remember from years ago that goes something like this, Satan gathered all of his demons together for the purpose of keeping the lost from being saved.  Satan said, “Now what lie can I tell them that would cause the unbeliever to put off becoming a Christian?”  One demon suggested, “Let’s tell them that the Bible is not true and you can’t trust it.”  Satan responded, “That won’t work, anyone with common sense knows the Bible is true.”  Then another demon spoke up and said, “Let’s tell them that God isn’t real and that He is a figment of man’s imagination.”  Satan again retorted, “Man knows God is real, that won’t work either.”  Then another demon said, “Let’s tell them that Jesus doesn’t exist.”  Again that met with this response from Satan, “All men know that Jesus lived and is alive today.  That won’t work either.” Then one of the smarter demons responded, “Satan let’s tell them that the Bible is real, and that Jesus does exist, and they can be saved. But why do it today when you’ve got tomorrow?”  “Great idea!” said Satan. And so it’s gone on down through the years, “You can get saved, just don’t do it today.”

Well, I say, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”

                                                                                         

What to do:

      ✞Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can and should do today.

      ✞Remember, procrastination is a glaring fault that will damage your testimony.

Slothfulness

Bible Reading: Proverbs 26

Key Verse: Verse 16 - “The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.”

Key Words: The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit 

      Daniel Webster was a great orator with a quick mind.  In his early years, Webster’s father left specific instructions for Daniel and his older brother, Ezekiel.  When the elder Webster returned from his trip, the job was still unfinished.  He questioned the boys about their slothfulness, “What have you been doing Ezekiel?”  “Nothing, sir,” was the reply.  The father then turned to the younger Daniel and asked, “Well what have you been doing, Son?”  Webster never batted an eye, “Helping Zeke, sir.”  Slothfulness.

      The retired husband was in his usual position of lying on the couch.  When he awoke from his nap, he looked at his watch..The second hand was no longer moving, and the time was obviously wrong.  He called out to his wife who was working in the kitchen.  He said, “This watch doesn’t work anymore.”  She immediately shot back, “At least it’s in good company!”  Slothfulness…

The CEO of a large company was asked, “How many people work in your company?”  The dry-witted CEO replied, “Not many!”  Slothfulness…

Where there is a will not to work, you’ll always find an excuse!!

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse

 What to do:

      ✞Be a worker.

      ✞Don’t make excuses.

Our Words

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 25

Key Verse: Verse 11 - “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

Key Words: A word fitly spoken 

In Proverbs 25:11-15, Solomon gives us five different types of words.

Verse 11:  Our words should be fitting (not out of line or improper).

Verse 12:  Our words should be wise.  (A person who knows how to properly correct with words is a rarity).

Verse 13:  Our words should be refreshing. (In ancient times, snow was used very much as ice is today.  In winter it was carefully put away so as to be available for cooling drinks in the heat of summer.  The simile, therefore, is very easy to understand.  As the cold snow refreshes the reapers in the hot days of harvest, so does the dependable messenger refresh the soul of those who place their confidence in him to deliver a message).

Verse 14:  Our words should not be boastful.  (A boastful person can talk up a hefty cloud and a good puff of wind, but they never produce anything of any substance).

Verse 15:  Our words should be soft.  (We are reminded of Proverbs 15:1a, “A soft answer turneth away wrath.”)

I recently read about a woman who committed suicide.  She left an unfinished not that simply read, “They said…”  She never finished her final thought, but whatever “they said” was painful enough for her to extinguish her own life.  We say “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt us.” Oh, how untrue!  In this case, words literally killed. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse  

What to do: 

      ✞Make your words 1) fitting, 2) wise, 3) refreshing, 4) not boastful, and 5) soft.  Some good points to          remember, don’t you think?

A Fool

Bible Reading: Proverbs 24

Key Verse: Verse 7 - “Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.”

Key Words: Wisdom is too high for a fool 

Solomon warns us against listening to the advice of three kinds of fools: the silent fool (verse7) the sinful fook (verse 8), and the scornful fool (verse 9).

But it is verse 7 I want us to see.  “Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his moth in the gate.”  The point being, this man has been promoted beyond his level of competence.  He has a position amoung the mighty, but he is completely incompetent to speak with wisdom on the matters under discussion.

I read the following from An Atlas and Text of Ulta Structural Pathology.

“In the liver biopsy of a 21-day-old patient with Jeune syndrome (Asphyxiating Thoracic Dystrophe) who had marked hyperbilirubinemia, intense bile ductular proliferation associated with poital febrosis, inflammation and edema was found.  The hepatic ultrastructure revealed lysosomal rentention of bile pigment…  Other changes included proliferation of the membranes of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum with glycogen body formation, mildly dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum.”

What!!  I felt as if I were reading a foreign language.  No doubt, I was in over my head.

So it is with a fool when it comes to wisdom.  He is in over his head.  He cannot comprehend words which are wise.  Therefore, he cannot take part in the conversation.

There is an old saying that goes like this, “It is better to

Say nothing and appear to be a fool than to speak up and reveal that you are a fool.”

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do:

      ✞Be wise in your conversations.

✞Always remember silence may leave people wondering about your wisdom -  speaking removes all doubt.

Ouch!!

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 23

Key Verse: Verse 32 - “At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.”

Key Words: it biteth like a serpent 

According to Russell Ash in his book, The Top Ten of Everything, the number one reason for arrests in the United States, id driving under the influence.  Each year more Americans are arrested for that reason than any other, larceny and theft being the second highest volume of arrests while drug abuse violence comes in third.

Did you know that alcoholic beverages are a product of amazing versatility?  It will remove stains from clothes, but it will also remove clothes off your back.  If by chance it is used in sufficient quantity, alcohol will remove furniture from the home, rugs from the floor, food from the table, lining from the stomach, vision from the eyes, and judgment from the mind.  Alcohol will also remove good reputations, good jobs, good friends, happiness from children’s hearts, sanity, freedom, spouses, relationships, man’s ability to adjust and live with his fellow man, and even life itself.  A a remover of things, alcohol has not equal.

Also a recent survey found that the average college student drinks thirty-four gallons of alcoholic beverages a year.  Freshmen drink the most, followed by sophomores, then juniors, and seniors drink the least.

Grade point averages show the same hierarchy of ranking.  Those who drink the most have grade point averages of less than 2.0.  Those who have 3.0 rank second in their alcohol consumption, and those who make A’s drink noe t all on an average.

Now , the moral of all this appears to be; the smarter you are, the less you drink.

As believers, we should abstain from drinking.  This can be accomplished by being filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18).

                                                                           Dr. Mike Rouse 

What to do: 

            ✞If you drink alcoholic beverages, stop.

✞If you are addicted, seek help.

            ✞As believers, be filled with the Spirit. (See Ephesians 5)

Influencing Your CHild

Bible Reading:  Proverbs 22

Key Verse: Verse 6 - “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Key Words: Train up 

Discipline is not a list of “do’s” and “do not’s.”  Discipline is control.  The reason we discipline our children is because they refuse to control their own behavior;; so we attempt through punishment to give them the right desire to bring their behavior under control. But years of experience have taught me that proper discipline in our children is not just taught, it also caught by children from parents who live a Christ-centered life.  We as parents cannot lead beyond our own example.  We often hear the motto, “Christ is the Head of this house.” But as Christian parents this should also be the motto of our hearts. As parents our “self-control” should be to let Christ rule in our hearts, and then we can lead our children to a proper code of conduct for their lives.  The following are ways which we can influence children for Christ.

1.       Be honest.  If we are not hones in our daily tasks, how can we expect our children to be honest?  You should not expect your children to be honest with you and others if you lie and cover for your children’s absences, or if you attempt to cover for them when they misbehave.  Be honest. You cannot expect your children to be honest unless you lead the way (Ephesians 4:25).

2.      Be consistent.  You cannot expect your children to put God first in their lives if you do not put God first in your life.  Lead the way (Matthew 6:33).

3.      Be respectful.  When my granddaughter, Audra, was fourteen months old she was in the room (unbeknownst to me) while I was working.  I was admiring my work and simply let out a loud “ooh-wee.”  From the corner of the room I heard this loud cry, “Ooh-wee, PaPa.”  Children repeat what they hear.  You can’t expect your children to give proper respect unless you lead the way in it (Hebrews 13:17).

4.      Be realistic.  Don’t expect perfection from your children.  Believe me, they see your mistakes, and when you require them to be what you are not, lit leads to misbehavior. The key is not perfection, but a 100% effort on both the parents’ and the child’s part.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Remember, discipline is not just taught, it is caught!  God bless you as your children catch what you have got.

                                                                                    Dr. Mike Rouse                                                                            

What to do:

            ✞Apply the principles outlined in this definition.