God's Plan for Your Prosperity

Posted by Lynsey

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The conclusion of our study in Proverbs titled "Hope for the Harried Household" ends with a collection of four-letter words. Work - Plan - Save - Rest - Give - Pray. In our time together Sunday, Pastor Tom focused on these words and what Scripture provides as guidance. In today's faithnotes, we’ll review God's plan for your prosperity and hope for your harried household.

Work. Work is God's wonderful provision for the meeting of your family's needs, and it is clear that He makes no commitment to support the lazy. Work was part of the Creator’s plan…labor was the consequence of the curse!

• "A worker's appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on." Proverbs 16:26
• "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. The getting of treasures by the lying tongue is a fleeting vapor, the pursuit/seekers of death." Proverbs 21:5-6
• "A faithful man will abound in blessings, but he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished. To show partiality is not good, because for a piece of bread a man will transgress. A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth, and does not know that want will come upon him." Proverbs 28:20-22
• "In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23

Remember, it's not wrong to have riches, but it is wrong to let riches have you.

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God's Plan for Your Prosperity is a Four-Letter Word

Posted by Lynsey

Friday, September 3, 2010

"The hand of the diligent makes rich...It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it."  Proverbs 10:4, 22

Had a coffee break this past week with the man who is tasked with taking my meager set-aside nickels and transforming them into a safety-net for that day when my life-stage has brought us to the inevitable season of reduced earnings. He laid out his recommended strategy, explained some of the other options worth contemplating, and then asked me what I wanted to do. "It is your money. I am only an adviser. I am prepared to assist you in any way I can. But it is your money so you get to decide."

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The Fear that Ends All Fear

Posted by Lynsey

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

The book of Proverbs opens with this verse: "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:"

Solomon would have read the words of his own father including this verse from the Book of Psalms, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever." Psalms 111:10

The "fear of the Lord" is an important truth that runs through the Book of Proverbs and is a truth we need to hear and take to heart! It is so easy for our lives to be filled with things that, while perhaps even good, push God to a second place in our hearts and minds, thus elevating "stuff" to "idol."

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The Fear that Ends All Fear

Posted by Lynsey

Friday, August 27, 2010

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Proverbs 9:10


Come on, give me a break. Like you have never threatened your kids on a long family trip! "If you don’t stop pestering __________, I’m going to _______!" :)

"But I digress..."

As we near the conclusion of our summer season in the book of wisdom, our "Hope for the Harried Household" study, I have been reflecting on what lessons I have personally been learning.

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A Rod + A Staff = Comfort

Posted by Lynsey

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

"A wise son accepts his father's discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke."  Proverbs 13:1
"He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him diligently."  Proverbs 13:24

Throughout the Book of Proverbs, there are many "themes" and reoccurring words & phrases, such as "discipline." In fact, within the books of Scripture referred to as "wisdom," there are 18 verses with the word "discipline" with 16 of them in Proverbs!

Discipline is best viewed not as punishment but rather as correction. Psalm 23 reminds us that the Shepherd's rod and staff are actually tools of comfort, for when we live within the Master's plan, there is honor and wisdom and understanding for us!

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A Rod + A Staff = Comfort

Posted by Lynsey

Friday, August 20, 2010

"All discipline FOR THE MOMENT seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been TRAINED by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness."  Hebrews 12:11

The Heavenly Father is still in the business of rescuing spiritual terrorists.

With the insight gained from a second season-of-life at parenting, Linda states it succinctly, "You can’t negotiate with a terrorist!"

I remember with great clarity having to coach a child’s first spanking. It was "date night" for the Rempels, and I had arrived home from the office just a little bit late. The babysitter was at our home, and Linda was ready to go. (Now this might be hard for most of you to comprehend, but back when our children were in need of a babysitter, cell phones had not yet been created!) If I had actually pulled myself free from the office as planned, we would have missed the call completely. (Imagine that…a life before answering machines had been installed as well!) But JUST as we headed out the door, the phone rang (Yup…pre-caller ID also). As Linda heard the distressed mother on the other end of the line, she indicated that I definitely ought to take the call. The crisis? Their son had run away from home. Well actually, their son WAS running away from home. He had done so earlier in the afternoon, but having traveled three blocks, he decided he needed to come back and get some clothing and a sandwich. At the time of the call, he was in his room wrapping up some clothes and the mother was desperately pleading for my intervention to prevent his leaving again as he was promising to do.

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Four Pillars of Family Stability

Posted by Lynsey

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Proverbs as "wisdom for living" provides practical spiritual applications for "real-life." It seems that the writer of Proverbs twists and turns from topic to topic at a fast pace with, at first glance, little sense of direction. But isn't that how life is? With our fast-paced world and "have to get to the next thing" schedules, it is very difficult at times to see the forest because of the trees!

But if we can step back and reflect, as Pastor Tom did this past Sunday, pillars of truth emerge...the bark of the tree gives way to a lush and beautiful forest! Proverbs has much to say regarding the family and keeping it spiritually strong in a pagan world. But first, remember this command from the Book of Deuteronomy.

"And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7

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Four Pillars for Family Stability

Posted by Lynsey

Friday, August 13, 2010

Had I not been caught in traffic at 65 miles/hour I would have snapped the image with my Droid Incredible. There in eastern Colorado was a portrait of the heart of so many "fools." The pasture all around him was his. All the green vegetation any single mount could desire surrounded him. As far as I could tell, there were absolutely no other animals present with whom he would have to share. At his feet and as far as you could see, nothing but green, green grass. So why was he pressed against the fence, leaning till the post would virtually bend, extending his neck and snout as far as he could possibly stretch...nibbling the grass on the OTHER side, just out of his pasture?

Regrettably, the horse of east Colorado is simply a dumb animal example of the hearts of too many fools. Oblivious to the blessings and delights that lie in their presence, their heart of discontent convinces them that the abandonment of what they have is worth the price of pursuing what they have convinced themselves they COULD have if they could only get to the other side of the fence.

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