Today is my wife’s birthday, and I cannot think of a more fitting text on this day than Proverbs 31.

I think everyone who knows her would agree with me that she is an incredibly caring, faithful, loving, inspiring and disciplined lady. I am blessed to have her as my partner, and our children are blessed to have her as their mother.

Proverbs, 31:10-31 is a wonderful description that makes me think of her.

Verses 10-12
Who can find a virtuous and capable wife?
She is more precious than rubies.
11 Her husband can trust her, and she will greatly enrich his life.
12 She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.

Verses 28-31
Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:
“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise”

Happy Birthday Liz! We love you!

It’s my brother’s birthday too, Happy Birthday Matt!

Dear Lord, You have incredibly blessed our family through Liz’s faithful Christian life. She has been an amazing inspiration and example to us and everyone she encounters. Give her your blessing with strength, peace, and joy in her life. Bless Matt and his family on his birthday also, send peace and joy to their home. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Have you ever been driving in heavy traffic, and realized, too late, that your exit was coming up. Traffic was too heavy for you to make it across the lanes and you miss your exit? Or have you been in a sports stadium or concert venue walking in a large crowd, and realize that you walked right past your section because you were moving along with the crowd.

In some ways life can be like this. We get so wrapped up in things of this world, chasing earthly things we think will make us satisfied, money, power, experiences, that we neglect our relationship with God and fall away. When we neglect our faith, we become more vulnerable to temptation and can be easier led astray. In Matthew 7:13,14 Jesus says, “For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

It is essential that we keep our eye on that “small gate and narrow road” Jesus describes by maintaining our faithful relationship with God.

John writes in 1 John 5:21, “Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.”

Dear Lord help us keep our focus on you and put the energy into maintaining our faith so that we don’t end up blindly following the easy path to destruction. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

One of CS Lewis’ great quotes is, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” This is an insightful way to look at humility, without tearing ourselves down.

Paul tells us in Philipians 2:3-5, ”
Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
” he goes on to tell us in verses 8-9, “H
e [Jesus] humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names.”

If we are like Jesus, we put our focus outside of ourselves, on serving others, and God will do the work of watching out for and taking care of us.

Dear Lord, Thank you for Jesus’ perfect example of a life of service to others. Like Jesus, who rose in glory after humble service, we too know we don’t have to selfishly promote ourselves, because you will watch over us while we serve others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I have written in the past about Pride being the root of all sins, because sin is by definition self centered. For the same reason, Pride is also the cause of conflict in our lives with other people.

Proverbs 13:10 says, “Pride leads to conflict; those who take advice are wise.”

If you think about it, when we have conflict with another person, it is usually because we want something our way, and the other person has a different idea. The resistance to our self centered position causes the conflict. We may know our idea is better, based on experience, or we may be afraid of being being considered less intelligent if someone else’s idea is discussed, but most of the time being patient and listening before pushing our idea will be perceived as more intelligent and helpful. Proverbs 15:28 says, “The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking.”

The Proverb contrasts pride with taking advice. Taking advice requires putting our opinion aside and listening to someone else’s. When two people are open to listen to the other, conflict can be softened, making room for collaboration, and solutions that work for both.

Dear Lord, it is so easy for us to push our own ideas and wants above other peoples, but help us remember that the wise are confident not out of selfish pride, but out of faith in you. Help us live with this type of confidence. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Psalm 73 tells a story to which many of us could relate. It deals with envy and how the author, started down the path to envy, but realized the mistake.

Verse 3, “For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives, their bodies are so healthy and strong.” Isn’t it difficult sometimes to see people who are obviously not living godly lives, and everything seems to be just fine and dandy for them. At the same time we are doing our best to follow God’s will, but scratching and scrimping to get by. His questions, just like ours, verse 11, “Does God realize what is going on?” and 13, “Have I been wasting my time? Why take the trouble to be pure?”

Then he stops and realizes how wrong this line of thought is. verse 21, “Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was torn up inside…but even so, you love me! you are holding my right hand! You will keep on guiding me all my life with your wisdom and counsel…..Whom have I in heaven but you? And I desire no one on earth as much as you!”

How silly it is for us to worry about the prosperity of others. God gives us all that we need if we trust him. Finally in verse 26 he says, “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.”

Earthly prosperity will never satisfy the longing God built into us that can only be satisfied by our relationship with him. Our true joy comes from being connected to God and keeping our life anchored in him and his teaching.

Dear Lord, Thank you for being there for us when we need to be reminded of what is important. Help us keep our focus on you and you will give us the things we need in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.