Proverbs_12
Scripture Proverbs 12:25Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up. Observation-What does it say? In these Proverbs, King Solomon compares and contrasts wisdom with foolishness, righteousness with wickedness, liars with the trustworthy and lazy with the diligent. Understanding-What does it mean? Kindness is healing to the heart, so let us spread kindness and cheer instead of stress and anxiety. Life ApplicationBe kind.There are so many people with weighed down hearts that are anxious, depressed and broken. Let us be a beacon of light to those people and allow the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit of Kindness in us this holiday season. In a broken and darkened world, we must allow Christ’s light to shine through us.Dear Lord,Please reveal to us the areas we need to be kind to one another and to the outside world as well. I pray we would be a refreshing presence in a world that is weighed down and thirsty for You. Amen. -Michelle Gaddi
Proverbs__11
Scripture
Proverbs 11:4 NLT
“Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.”
Observation-What does it say?
Another set of proverbs King Solomon shares with the readers comparing the godly and the wicked. King Solomon reminds the readers that God looks after the wise, that true wisdom comes from God, and those who seek it/Him will surely find it/Him. And those who choose to live wickedly and trust in their own wisdom are surely doomed to fail.
Understanding-What does it mean?
At the end of the day, God will hold us all accountable for our actions here on earth.
The verse I chose this morning really stuck out to me because it reminds me of one of Pastor Gary’s sermons he taught when I first attended DSC. In that sermon, Pastor Gary talked about God holding us all accountable for our actions here on earth. God will ask us what we did with our time, gifts, talents, and finances that He had blessed us with. How did we use it to further his Kingdom? Will God really care that we used it to buy that dream house, dream car, or even put our kids through that “fancy university”?! Or did we seek God and His wisdom wholeheartedly, asking Him how we can use those things He has blessed us with, to accomplish His mission? 🤔
Life Application
You can’t buy your way out of this one!
We all heard that saying before. We usually hear it when the time comes for us to pay for our actions (usually from our own bad decisions we have made). We receive our punishment. And no matter how hard we plead and beg to get out of it, there is no escaping it...”rent is due”! But why go through with all that when you don’t have to?! King Solomon, considered to be one of the wisest kings of his time, a man who has seen it all and did it all, was granted his wish from God. That was to be blessed with wisdom, true wisdom, wisdom from God. So why not take heed and advantage of what these proverbs say? It’s not just any cheap advice you can get from a fortune cookie with lucky numbers at the end of it. It is godly advice. It comes from a man chosen by God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that can be used to bring wisdom to those who choose to follow and adhere to it. So the choice is up to us. Will we choose to be wise? Or is doom in our future from our foolish decisions? As for me, I choose to trust and follow God, and receive His infinite wisdom.
-Moses Gaddi
Acts___5
Scripture Acts 5:18-20
They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, and taking them out he said, “Go, stand and speak to the people in the temple the whole message of this Life.” Observation-What does it say? In the opening passages of Acts, the author, Luke, places an emphasis on the power that accompanied this community of Christians who were so closely knit together. After the day of pentecost, the number of believers was growing rapidly. As noted in Acts 2:40-47, the apostles were displaying signs and wonders of God’s power, which resulted in an overflow of generosity and love during their fellowship. The move of God’s love and power among the new believers rubbed the Jewish leaders the wrong way, resulting in the imprisonment of Peter and other apostles twice within the first five chapters. This second imprisonment was ordered by the high priest, who was filled with jealousy. But, almost as soon as they were imprisoned, God sent an angel to release them. God makes a way, when there seems to be no way. Understanding-What does it mean? I had a pretty horrible car accident when I was 18. It was the jaws of life and airlifted to a hospital with several specialist type of horrible. My mom was the first one to make it to the hospital and they told her the type of news no parent would ever want to hear. The doctors told her to make her peace and call who she needed to call, because it didn’t look good for me. To clarify, I don’t have any memory of this, but I know from the stories of those who were there what took place over the next few hours and days. My mom took a moment to be with me before I was wheeled into surgery, and in that time she prayed for God to heal me. Over the next few days, people poured into the waiting room at Loma Linda Hospital to be with my mom and pray. Since I am writing this, you could probably guess the end of the story, I came through and became physical evidence of the miraculous power of prayer. Throughout scripture, there are several examples of God’s miraculous power that moves when His people gather together to pray and worship. The walls of Jericho came tumbling down during an intense worship service (Joshua 6). 300 men with trumpets defeated an army of armed men (Judges 7). Through prayer and worship, Paul and Silas converted a jailer (Acts 16). We live in a time where we need to see a miraculous move of God’s spirit. While it seems there is no way, He can make a way. Let us not forsake gathering together to worship and pray for a movement of His power.
Life Application
Life Application
Jesus, help me to never take for granted the life you have given me. Help me to lay hold of every opportunity for you, encouraging those around me to call out to you. Jesus, pour out your spirit on us and let generosity flow from your people.
-Tyler Galloway