Reading the Book of Proverbs and searching the Word of God for practical principles to apply to situations in my present life, I found these verses and observations of truths in Proverbs 10 that spoke to me, giving spiritual food to appropriate, digest and apply to my life circumstances and what’s going on in my life right now.
VERSE 8 says that those of foolish of lips shall fall headlong. That means to me that if I jest too much, play the clown too often, at inappropriate times, or blabber on and on unnecessarily, that I will eventually “take a dive”!!
VERSE 10 reiterates the thought about foolish of lips “taking a dive” but gives an instruction that says, BUT he/she who reproves, corrects, admonishes boldly those who are taken in a fault will result in making peace. Wow! What an incentive to speak correctness and righteousness. You’re a peace maker!!
VERSE 12 tells us that which we have read and been taught by the Gospel and Epistles of John …..Love covers all transgressions. Because John in 1Jn 5:16 says,
“If any man or woman see his brother or sister sin a sin which is not unto death, that person shall ask on his brother’s behalf, and He shall give him life for them that sin .”What a merciful God we have that if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And we can pray for our brethren in Christ for them to be restored. WOW!
I thought about the Scripture that says that if we say we are not sinning we lie and the truth is not in us. “ But we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One Who will forgive us and give us life.”
VERSE 12 is so very encouraging and inspiring. It says that if I will heed instruction and correction, not only I, but those who are with me and around me, will come into the Way of Life. What a wonderful promise that the way I conduct myself correctly can help bring souls into the Kingdom of God. But there is a caveat with that. If I go astray and get off course of the straight path then I err and I cause those who are with me and around me to err . What a responsibility I have to order my “conversation aright”.
VERSE 24 says that what I fear will come upon me but if I have the reverential and awesome FEAR AND RESPECT OF THE LORD and LIVE righteously, then my desires shall be granted. Thank You God that You grant the desires of our hearts when we are obedient and willing.
VERSE 32 says that when I have wisdom and act in righteousness, then my lips know and speak what is acceptable; but if I am unwise and foolish I will speak what is obstinate and contrary. I believe that means that I speak contrary to every good common sense and spiritual principle and deny the power of the Word of God and give power to evil thoughts, imaginings, and gossip.
PROVERBS 10 is a gold mine of wisdom for those of us training our lips to speak truth, graciousness and wisdom. Thank You Lord for
thedailylily.com 
Proverbs says that Wisdom stands on the corner and calls out to those who are faint of heart, silly, foolish, weak or easily swayed. Wisdom says, “all you who are confused, anxious about life, who need skill in godly wisdom, who need an excellent mind to settle the affairs of living….turn in here. I will counsel you and direct you so that you won’t make so many mistakes, miscalculations, mis-steps and mis-speaks. Do we know Who Wisdom is? Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear My voice and open the door I will come in and dine with him/her. That is Wisdom, to eat the Word of God, digest it and then DO IT.
As I read this I see a summary of a number of the recent blogs and comments. Which is wonderful as the writer of the blog makes references as to how she has been able to see and apply Bibical principles to her life.
This says to me what I so often see that when the living of God’s Word becomes a reality it’s so big and has been written and spoken in so many places and so often that we aren’t always sure when the light came on.
Therefore, my understanding would be keep reading, writing, speaking God’s Word and the manifestation will show. Stop reading, studying, and living it and the river may dry up.
MG,
I like the way verse 8 and 10 reads, in the New Living Translation: (verse 8 “The wise are glad to be instructed, but babbling fools fall flat on their faces.” verse 10 “People who wink at wrong cause trouble, but a bold reproof promotes peace.”
One thing I see for the blog verses is that our actions don’t occur and are not contained in a bubble of isolation. They are interwoven and very much affect others’ lives. I guess that is part of the ‘responsibility’ referred to.
Needles, That translation ..fall flat on our faces… confirms, of course, the “falling headlong”. Also recall the verse that speaks of those doing evil being cast “headlong” into hell.
Debi, that really hit me,too, that no matter what I do and say I am responsible for all those around me, also. I don’t much care for that responsibility. That is a “hard saying”. But the Word says it and so I have to consider it and keep it in mind when I speak…another big goal in my spiritual life and for all of those who want to “order their conversation (speech AND walk) aright.”
In reading Dr. Charles Stanley’s devotional for today taken from Luke 22: 1 -13 he speaks of Judas and the road of destruction for him started from being a thief and getting worse. Quoting Dr. Stanley:
“That hidden sin was all Satan needed to interfere with his life. And once the Enemy stepped in, the disciple began “seeking a good opportunity” to betray Jesus (Luke 22:6).
First Peter 5:8 says the Devil is like a “roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” And in Judas, Satan found a willing victim. If we’re honest with ourselves, each of us has a natural tendency toward sin.
Daily communion with God keeps hidden sins from becoming greater problems. Left unchecked, the “roaring lion” will also come after us, no matter what our weakness may be. Ask the Lord to reveal any sins you need to confess. Deal with them today—don’t let sin lead you down the path of Judas.”
From this reading we know everyone has a weakness. As one local group ends with the Lord’s Prayer and then the wording goes. It works is you work it. So work it and keep coming back. This can be applied to our lives.
Or as Sara says keep on reading, studying, and applying the WORD.
Dr Victor from India always told us, “check up on yourself…”
Another way I have heard this said is to ask God to peel one layer at a time away from your life just like an onion. It seems there is always one more or two to peel away from your life as you try and walk with God. Asking God for forgiveness and repenting.
We do ask God for forgiveness and then we ask Him for help for the courage to change, as we hear in our meetings. If there are things which we cannot change then we must change our attitude toward those things. That is part of the serenity prayer.
If we have things in our lives about ourselves that we need to change, and we cannot do it alone then we seek the Lord and Godly, mature counsel and then we MUST FOLLOW IT, especially if we do not know or cannot identify…or put our finger on..(altho we know something is amiss)….. those traits, character flaws or habits, unhealthy ways of thinking and acting. Part of the problem is helped when we stop denying and start identifying and admitting it.
The beginning steps to change entails mustering up all your courage and intestinal fortitude to face what needs to be changed in your life. It might be something about your personality, habits, expression or actual persona that annoys others. It might be the way one expresses attitudes and assumptions that cloud the issues in the way you present them. It might be silliness, or a depressive demeanor. It might be a controlling or anxious spirit. Whatever your behavior patterns or penchants or whom they annoy, frustrate or aggravate ( and we do not want to aggravate a brother or sister or loved one) we must first consider how much it grieves the Holy Spirit when we act in a way that is ungodly in action or attitude.
That should be our first consideration. How does the Lord look upon this behavior? If we realize that He is grieved by our ways then we can with the help of the Holy Spirit muster up the courage to face it, admit it and change it (sara mullennex) for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ and then our brethren.