The words of the wise heard in quiet are better than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off an evil odor; so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor. A wise man’s heart inclines him toward the right, but a fools heart toward the left. Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to every one that he is a fool.
Richard Craig, Author at GraceAndWorks - Page 43 of 59
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better that silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all. A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple go on, and suffer for it. The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; he who guards himself will keep far from them.
I give thee thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing thy praise; I bow down toward thy holy temple and give thanks to thy name for the steadfast love and thy faithfulness; for thou hast exulted above everything thy name and thy word. On the day I called, thou didst answer me, my strength and soul thou didst increase.
Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Give me understanding, that I may keep thy law and observe it with my whole heart. Lead me in the path of thy commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to gain! Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; and give me life in thy ways. Confirm to thy servant thy promise, which is for those who fear thee. Turn away the reproach which I dread; for thy ordinances are good. Behold, I long for precepts; in thy righteousness give me life!
It was late June in the mid 1960’s and I was farming with my Dad. It was getting close to a mid July wheat harvest. I was about 20 miles south of home and town working in a field driving the tractor and tilling the ground. I had fueled the tractor and greased the machinery and set to go back to work. I pulled back in the field (about 1:00 pm) and about an hour later there began developing a huge bank of clouds in the west. As time went on the clouds got bigger and closer. I thought to myself, this is going to be a bad one. The wind was starting to blow and I’m about a mile from the pickup. I turned the tractor around and headed back to the pickup. By the time I got there it was starting to rain. I pulled up close to the pickup and shut the tractor down. It was raining a little harder by now and the clouds were really dark. I thought , this is getting bad!! 1st the wind, then the dark clouds, now the rain. I’m in the pickup now and the rain is REALLY coming down. BOOM–a huge clap of thunder and now the bad part was happening. HAIL!! The size, a little bigger than a pea, and it wasn’t stopping. Oh no, this is not good. When the storm had blown through and stopped, the wheat crop was gone. The hail had pounded the wheat plants to the ground and there was nothing left. What a sickening feeling to just sit there helpless and watch your wheat crop go from almost in the bin to having nothing. DEVASTATING, to say the least. Now to head home and tell Dad. HAILED OUT!!
I tell you this story because it is true and because I’ve watched peoples lives get “Hailed Out” just like the wheat. Life is going along fine, then all of a sudden you see the clouds starting to grow. The light is getting dimmer and it’s getting hard to see what is happening. Now comes the wind and you start getting tossed to and fro and listening to “Stuff” you shouldn’t be listening to and doing things that shouldn’t be done and all is getting messed up. The wind continues, the rain continues, then BOOM the hail hits. You are DEVASTATED and beaten to the ground.
The difference between you and that stock of wheat is–you can get back up. You can get up, right? Come on get up, it will be OK. 1st Corinthians chapter 10 God tells us he will put nothing more on our shoulders than we can handle and He will show us a way out. Come on, get up, and talk to God. You start talking to God and the storm starts to stop. Finally it has blown through. The sun is shining and everything is getting better. Thank you God!! The storms of life will beat you down, but, they can’t keep you down because God will help you. (If you let Him) I would say, “Good luck to you in these storms”, but it has nothing to do with luck. I will say though, “Through your Faith let God help, He will make everything good again.” I can say all this because I have experience both in farming and in the “Storms” of life.
A righteous man hates falsehood, but a wicked man acts shamefully and disgracefully. Righteousness guards him whose way is upright, but sin overthrows the wicked. One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth. The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth, but a poor man has no means of redemption.
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in thee my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of thy wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside.
Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him! For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood forth.
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