A couple recent tidbits
George, Doug, Paul, and I were reading Proverbs 9 one morning recently, and George asked a good question. I actually don't remember exactly what the question was, but it had to do with verses 7, 8, and 9. It appears that we are being commanded to not rebuke unwise people, yet it seems from other scripture they ought to be rebuked. So what is going on? Well, there are probably a lot of things going on, but Paul had a good answer. Perhaps the emphasis is more on the importance of wisdom than on who we should instruct or rebuke.
In looking further at it, I think he's right. Although the mocker is the object of the sentence instead of the subject, I think he's the main idea. We should be the wise man and seek wisdom, and should not be the mocker who rejects wisdom. I don't know if I'm smart enough (ok, I know that I'm not) to make a formula for when to apply this principle, but at least now I can keep in mind that grammatical subject is not necessarily the actual subject. Kinda neat. George and I have been reading Psalms and Proverbs together lately, so maybe we'll see more of the results of that here.
The other night Dan and I read Philippians 3 and 4. The reason we went there is because we had been talking about the Philippians 4:13, which says "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength". To me this used to actually be kind of a discouraging verse, because I knew I could not do all things, so I had doubts as to whether I actually had His strength in me. Looking at the context of it, though, is helpful. Paul is talking about how he has gotten through all sorts of different circumstances because of his faith and Christ's strength. So, not to worry if we cannot lift 2000 pound boulders, or become the president of the United States, be a straight-A student, or whatever. This verse isn't really talking about that. It shows that we have the power, from God, to be content in any circumstances. And that's pretty cool.
In looking further at it, I think he's right. Although the mocker is the object of the sentence instead of the subject, I think he's the main idea. We should be the wise man and seek wisdom, and should not be the mocker who rejects wisdom. I don't know if I'm smart enough (ok, I know that I'm not) to make a formula for when to apply this principle, but at least now I can keep in mind that grammatical subject is not necessarily the actual subject. Kinda neat. George and I have been reading Psalms and Proverbs together lately, so maybe we'll see more of the results of that here.
The other night Dan and I read Philippians 3 and 4. The reason we went there is because we had been talking about the Philippians 4:13, which says "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength". To me this used to actually be kind of a discouraging verse, because I knew I could not do all things, so I had doubts as to whether I actually had His strength in me. Looking at the context of it, though, is helpful. Paul is talking about how he has gotten through all sorts of different circumstances because of his faith and Christ's strength. So, not to worry if we cannot lift 2000 pound boulders, or become the president of the United States, be a straight-A student, or whatever. This verse isn't really talking about that. It shows that we have the power, from God, to be content in any circumstances. And that's pretty cool.
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2 Comments:
Thanks, I needed to hear that right now. You know how I have a hard time being content in _any_ circumstance, but especially in contrary situations. I am struggling with whether or not to make a current situation contrary, and I thik I'm procrastinating doing that becuase I'm scared of what my life will look like afterwards. Have you made any progress on your procrastination project?
Well, while I am generally known for contentedness (outwardly), events over the last several weeks have shown me that much of my contentedness has been due to rather pleasant circumstances. So it was good for me too. As for the procrastination project, yes, much progress! My tendency is to look at my list of things that need to be done, and be so overwhelmed that I do none of them. Lately I've been making sure I accomplish something of significance each day, and its amazing what gets done.
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