Wisdom: Wow, what a day to be reading King Solomon's wisdom (God's): There are so many verses I want to blog about. Here's my pick for today:
"An open rebuke is better than hidden love!"
Proverbs 27:5
My best friend, from the 9th grade on, never once heard his dad express love, admiration, pride, or any positive affirmation for him. His father never beat him, never neglected him financially, never physically abandoned the family, and never got drunk or cursed him. His father went to church almost every week, but as good as religion can be (personally I think it's mostly harmful), there was little life change. He buried his father never able to talk about how much they both cared about each other.
How tragic it is when our love stays hidden. Can you think of someone you appreciate a lot that you haven't affirmed this week? Maybe you should stop reading this blog right now and do something about it. Seriously!
Today's Prayer Inventory (If you're new to my blog try going here first):
Why don't I pray more? Do I spend 10 minutes a day thinking of how thankful I am for life and all the gifts God has offered to me? Have I ever done an "I am Blessed" walk? (Try it; everything you look at takes on a different hue, shape, and perspective.)
Prayer sometimes is nothing less than practicing the art of listening. Jesus kept saying this over and over: "The one who has ears, let them hear." Got ears? Practice using them today!
2 comments:
Proverbs 27:5 does seem a good verse for your message today although I would compare and contrast it to the famous quote by Abraham Lincoln, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt". Although for people like me who feel ignored by God it doesn't seem to matter whether we remain silent OR speak out, we just feel the fool either way. And eventually we just stop putting the cookies and glass of milk out for Santa.
I will also grant that in the clutter and clang of modern society many of us have lost the ability to listen for the still small voice. You were right about the Israelites, daily visual and physical manifestations of God's direct intervention in their lives soon morphed from majestic to mundane and lost all meaning. But I wouldn't mind being lead by an actual column of fire. If only for a few days of guidance in the hopeless wilderness that is my life. I wouldn't even care about what the neighbors thought.
Be careful what you pray for you just might receive it? I'd be willing to take my chances.
Abraham L. is a very cool dude - I loved the book I read about him last year (fascinating). The quote you listed reminds me of Prov. 17:28 "Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they seem intelligent."
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