My Daily Pause

Blog

  • Here For the Taking

    Here For the Taking

    Wisdom has built her house;
    she has made its seven columns.

    She has prepared her food and wine;
    she has set her table.

    She has sent out her servant girls,
    and she calls out from the highest place in the city.

    She says to those who are uneducated,
    “Come in here, you foolish people!

    Come and eat my food
    and drink the wine I have prepared.

    Stop your foolish ways, and you will live;
    take the road of understanding. – Proverbs 9:1-6 NCV

    I’ve lived in several excellent places over my lifetime. By excellent, I mean places full of beauty, rich with history and excellent quality of life. I never seemed to take full advantage of them even though they were places where people would save their money and dream of the day they get to visit.

    Getting bogged down in life without a plan does that to us.

    We could compare the Bible to that. For very little money we can buy a book that took forty men thousands of years to complete. We have access like no one else in history – a history full of war, death, hardship – because of people glad to protect it so that we can have the words that God breathed.

    God has made sure that we have access to his wisdom and plan. It is complete. It is compelling. It has never been disproven. The invitation is open and he waits for us to accept.

    Make a plan and use it regularly and grow. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

    Daily Bible reading for June 14

    Proverbs 9
    Deuteronomy 15:19-16:17
    Hosea 14
    Philemon 8-22

  • Wisdom in Person

    Wisdom in Person

    I, wisdom, was with the Lord when he began his work,
    long before he made anything else.

    I was created in the very beginning,
    even before the world began.

    I was born before there were oceans,
    or springs overflowing with water,
    before the hills were there,
    before the mountains were put in place.

    God had not made the earth or fields,
    not even the first dust of the earth.

    I was there when God put the skies in place,
    when he stretched the horizon over the oceans,
    when he made the clouds above
    and put the deep underground springs in place.

    I was there when he ordered the sea
    not to go beyond the borders he had set.

    I was there when he laid the earth’s foundation.

    I was like a child by his side.

    I was delighted every day,
    enjoying his presence all the time,
    enjoying the whole world,
    and delighted with all its people. – Proverbs 8:22-31 NCV

    Proverbs 8:22-31 is a beautiful personification of wisdom that carries overtones of Christ. It reminds me of John 1:1-5 when I read it. Whether or not the passage is actually a prophesy or is describing Christ, I’ll leave to the experts to argue, but we do know that Christ is the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24)

    To look back at the Old Testament and see indicators pointing to Christ’s coming – to confirm what we believe – is my favorite part of bible study. Throughout the Old Testament we see how God’s perfect plan was conceived from the beginning (Genesis 3:15) and praised (Psalm 90:1-2) and taught (Isaiah 53).

    What a privilege to live after Jesus willingly completed that plan by living among us and dying for us in an expression of God’s love! (John 3:16)

    Daily Bible reading for June 13

    Proverbs 8
    Deuteronomy 15:1-18
    Hosea 11:12-13:16
    Philemon 4-7

  • Dark Paths

    Dark Paths

    Now, my sons, listen to me;
    pay attention to what I say.
    Don’t let yourself be tricked by such a woman;
    don’t go where she leads you.
    She has ruined many good men,
    and many have died because of her.
    Her house is on the road to death,
    the road that leads down to the grave. – Proverbs 7:24-27 NCV

    Both Solomon and David fell to the temptation of adultery and lust and suffered because of it. Is there any wonder that Proverbs is full of warnings about these sins? In the end, neither the victim nor the guilty receives any joy from adultery. The Bible shows us over and over again how far this removes us from God.

    In A Mini-Marriage Clinic, I mentioned a few of the basics I have noticed were the core of every long lived marriage. Checking your boundaries is a critical one that deserves daily attention. The “road to the grave” (Proverbs 7:27 NCV) is littered with those that didn’t honor the limits God inferred they would keep when they said their vows.

    We spend so much time in the workplace that it becomes an excellent place to find ourselves in tempting situations. The opportunity to do normal business activities unaccompanied with a person that is not our spouse are plentiful and is often the doorway for those who stray. To avoid the temptation, a few simple rules built around the idea of checking our boundaries can go a long way:

    • No unaccompanied lunches with a member of the opposite sex
    • No traveling alone with a member of the opposite sex
    • No flirting, “cute” comments or even overly familiar conversations

    The two most important relationships in your life are with God and your spouse. When a marriage is centered on God, the bonds with both become unbreakable. Mentioning both lovingly at every opportunity keeps us off the dark path.

    Daily Bible reading for June 12

    Proverbs 7
    Deuteronomy 14
    Hosea 11:1-11
    Philemon 1-3

  • A Mini-Marriage Clinic

    A Mini-Marriage Clinic

    Can a man carry fire next to his chest
    and his clothes not be burned?

    Or can one walk on hot coals
    and his feet not be scorched? – Proverbs 6:27-28

    Adultery is one of those sins that cut across several levels. From what I can tell from helping others who have dealt with it, it just isn’t very fun for either the innocent or the guilty party. Solomon says that the one who does it destroys himself, lacks sense and is despised. (Proverbs 6:20-35)

    Just from informal observation, I can say that marriages that fail did so because a few basic steps were not followed. I also see people put more maintenance into their wealth, professional networking and hobbies than into their marriages. Interesting that they know that those things need attention to grow but wonder why their marriages aren’t great! (or failed for that matter)

    While a 200 word essay and a Bible verse will not save a broken marriage, I offer you these basic building blocks that are common to all of the great, long lived marriages I’ve seen:

    • Invest time in your relationship – Date night, share a hobby, just be together often
    • Check your boundaries – Do not go anywhere unaccompanied with a member of the opposite sex
    • Remember the risks -The one who cheats hurts their spouse, the kids, their parents, the in-laws and more

    There is no quick and easy formula for a successful marriage, but working on it every day is the first step in building or rebuilding a strong and godly marriage.

    Daily Bible reading for June 11

    Proverbs 6:20-35
    Deuteronomy 13
    Hosea 10
    Titus 3:12-15

  • Can the Lord Stand You?

    Can the Lord Stand You?

    There are six things the Lord hates.
    There are seven things he cannot stand:

    a proud look,
    a lying tongue,
    hands that kill innocent people,
    a mind that thinks up evil plans,
    feet that are quick to do evil,
    a witness who lies,
    and someone who starts arguments among families

    – Proverbs 6:16-19 NCV

    One thing I really like about the Proverbs is directly they speak to us. These seven actions are involved with just about any sin we could commit – No wonder the Lord can’t stand them!

    How then, can we be certain that our actions will lead to a life full of blessings?

    Check out a few of these lists of ways:

    • Matthew 5:3-10
    • Philippians 4:4-9
    • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22
    • Galatians 5:22-23

    Daily Bible reading for June 10

    Proverbs 6:1-19
    Deuteronomy 12
    Hosea 9
    Titus 3:8b-11

  • Keep Your Distance

    Keep Your Distance

     7 Now, my sons, listen to me,
    and don’t ignore what I say.
    8 Stay away from such a woman.
    Don’t even go near the door of her house,
    9 or you will give your riches to others,
    and the best years of your life will be given to someone cruel.
    10 Strangers will enjoy your wealth,
    and what you worked so hard for will go to someone else.
    11 You will groan at the end of your life
    when your health is gone.
    12 Then you will say, “I hated being told what to do!
    I would not listen to correction!
    13 I would not listen to my teachers
    or pay attention to my instructors.
    14 I came close to being completely ruined
    in front of a whole group of people.” – Proverbs 5:7-14 NCV

    What are some things you have difficulty resisting?
    Why do you avoid them?
    Why does our resistance fail sometimes?

    Temptation is a part of life everyone faces. Jesus wrestled with it (Matthew 4:1-11) and showed us how to overcome it.

    Some situations need to be avoided at all costs. Solomon says not to even go near the door (Proverbs 5:8) and Paul says to flee from them (2 Timothy 2:22). Obeying this means making some difficult decisions – You may have to change your job, friends, sources of entertainment and maybe even dodge certain family members. Most of us tend to be like the five people we hang around the most.

    Solomon’s wisdom is to think about the end result of what we do. What habit do you need to change before it is too late?

    Daily Bible reading for June 9

    Proverbs 5
    Deuteronomy 10:12-11:32
    Hosea 8
    Titus 3:1-8a