PROVERBS PROJECT:
1 Chapter of Proverbs a day for 31 days...
Proverbs 5:21-23
21
For your ways are in full view of the Lord,
and he examines all your paths.
22
The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;
the cords of their sins hold them fast.
23
For lack of discipline they will die,
led astray by their own great folly.
****************************
You might be wondering what this Proverb has to do with berry pie.
PIE! Such a scrumptious treat, isn't it? In our effort to eat more
healthfully, certain beloved treats like PIE have gotten far less
attention...sigh...
This particular berry pie was baked as an entry for the local county
fair. Clearly, it never made it out of our kitchen! Pinching pastry
was taking place right and left around here, as everyone was savoring
the "forbidden goodness." We couldn't stop ourselves, and soon the
whole pie was gone!
I think that's how we are sometimes with sin...
We try to convince ourselves that "a little pinch of this" and "a
little pinch of that" isn't really indulging in a whole slice of the
SIN. It seems like a scrumptious treat sometimes...but before long, we
see the effects. Just as in overdoing a treat we might get sluggish in
our energy, sipping on sin makes our souls slog.
What can we do?
There are plenty of other alternatives for eating berries that can be
not only healthier, but nourishing and enriching to our bodies! Like
this *amazingly delicious* strawberry salad I enjoyed recently!
So it is with life. So many things have the appearance of godliness, but lead us astray and ensnare us!
2 Timothy 3:1-7 says~
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People
will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud,
abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without
love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers
of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather
than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm
their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are
loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7
always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth."
May we not be "gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are
swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to
come to a knowledge of the truth." MAY IT NEVER BE SO OF US!
We
must be faithful students of God's Word! God has provided us with Armor (Ephesians 6), but God's Word is the one and only
weapon we have to fight back in our spiritual battles. Reading 1 chapter of
Proverbs a day is a great start, if you don't already have a plan in
place for your own Bible study time. One thing I have been doing is a
fairly simple plan, but it's do-able and it works for me:
1 Chapter from the Old Testament
1 Chapter from Psalms
1 Chapter from Proverbs
1 Chapter from the New Testament
Lord, please help us to love you with all of our heart, soul, mind, and
strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. Please help us to be a
faithful student of your Word, and not to be gullible, loaded down with
sins, or swayed by all kinds of evil desires. Help me to learn and come
to a knowledge of Your Truth!
~Blessings and Peace to you!
P.S. Disclaimer: I am in NO WAY condemning the eating of PIE or
comparing pie to SIN in a literal way...it was just handy for this
particular metaphor! I will still always love and eat pie!
