Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 06 February 2022 by Sarah-Grace Ramsay
This week was Chinese New
Year. At Chinese New Year events they often give each person a loonie. What we
will do for that is donate a loonie to Partners In Mission for each
person here today.
The other thing I associate
with Chinese New Year is what most of us associate with Chinese food. Fortune
Cookies. I often think it would be neat to have a Christian Chinese Food
Restaurant where instead of fortunes in the cookies there would be scriptures or
proverbs.
So today I have proverb cookies
– well proverb plastic eggs for us. Heather will hand them out. You can open
yours up and look at it. Don’t lose it. I am going to ask people to read them out.
And then we will share in a blessing from each one.
Who has Proverbs 3:5? Read it out please.
3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own
understanding
God confounds the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27); the sin of the book of judges that shows just how much trouble can come when we ‘do what is right our own eyes’. The truth is God is smarter than we are, any of us. We can all make mistakes but God doesn’t. As we trust in Him, He will bring us through everything.
Our blessing from this for us today
is this: As we all put our trust in
God, He will do amazing things. More than we can even imagine.
Who has Proverbs 3:5? Read it out please.
3:27: Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to
act.
We have heard the saying “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.” It is important that when we have the opportunity to do good for someone that we not decline that opportunity. When we fail to do good for someone, we leave the door open for harm; so then let us a do the most good for everyone we meet.
Dear God, please help us to always
to good whenever and wherever we are able. Amen
Who has Proverbs 4:27? Read it out please.
4:27: Do not turn to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil.
This is important. I think many times in our world, we realize our errors in going too far in one direction and so to correct for that we swing far too far in the other direction. It is the pendulum effect. Rather than always looking to the left or the right, we need to keep focused on the Lord; that is the way to keep us from veering off into the sins of one extreme or the other.
Dear God, please protect our
hearts from the temptations on the left and on the right. Please guide us on
your path so that we may keep our feet from evil. AMEN
Who has Proverbs 10:12?
9:10: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One
is understanding.
The Hebrew Word for fear here ‘yirah’ doesn’t mean being timid. It means more specifically feeling and showing deference, reverence, and real respect. It is the kind of respect one has when they are before a judge. You know that they are in charge. When we have this respect for the Lord, we will have all His knowledge and understanding available to us.
Lord, help us to always seek
you with reverence and fear that you may make us wise. Amen.
Who has Proverbs 10:8?
10:8: The wise in heart accept commands,
but a chattering fool comes
to ruin.
There are two parts to this.
One is about the growth and blessing we have from accepting direction. The
second is about talking too much. They are related. If we are talking, we are
not listening. If we are not listening, we come to ruin. If your voice is the
one squashing the quiet, your heart is not the wise one, learning. When we are
tempted chatter on and on, we can resist and instead be still and listen to
what God is telling us through others.
When tempted to chatter on and one, may each
and all of us close our mouths tightly so that we may open our hearts to the
commands and wisdom of the Lord.
Who has Proverbs 10:12? Read it out please.
10:12: Hatred stirs up conflict,
but love covers over all
wrongs.
Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘don’t
let anyone drag you so low as to make you hate them’. Forgiveness is key to the
whole Christian message. As we are able to love others, our adversaries and
conflicts may just melt away.
Our blessing from this proverb
is this: As we are able to accept and give the love of God, we are able to be
free of the power of hate and all the conflict it stirs up. May it be so.
Who has Proverbs 12:1?
12:1: Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction
is stupid.
And who has Proverbs 10:17? Read that one out too please.
10:17: Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,
but whoever ignores
correction leads others astray.
These two proverbs are
obviously related and very important. Discipline is so important. That is how
we learn. Proverbs speak to discipline from others and discipline from God. I do
believe that we are given lessons to learn from in all of our circumstances,
and as we learn from them, we are more prepared for everything else that comes
our way.
My prayer is this: that we
will always be open to the Lord’s correction and heed His discipline so that through
our faithfulness the Lord will show others the way of Life. Amen.
Who has Proverbs 10:19? Read it out please.
10:19: Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
but the prudent hold their
tongues.
This is similar to what we heard
about chattering bringing us to ruin. This proverb, I believe, is speaking more
specifically about when we have made an error or done something wrong. If we keep
speaking, justifying it, explaining it, and the like, it doesn’t make it
better. It makes it worse. It is best just to hold your tongue and let healing
take place.
May all of us know the peace that comes from holding our tongues.
Who has Proverbs 11:2? Read it out please
11:2: When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes
wisdom.
When we always think we are the best, our surprises will always be disappointments. We can never learn if we are filled with pride. It is only when we realize that God can speak through everyone that we can listen and hear God when He does speak to us through others. When we puff ourselves up, life will pull us down; when we are humble, God will lift us up.
God help us to be humble that
we may bring Glory unto you. Amen.
Who has Proverbs 11:2? Read it out please
14:21: It is a sin to despise one’s neighbour,
but blessed is the one who is
kind to the needy
Matthew 22:40, Jesus tells us, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself for this sums up the Law and the Prophets’. As we love God and one another and look out for each other, we will indeed experience all the blessings of the Kingdom of God. No matter what anyone does, may we never exchange the freedom that comes with love for the chains of hate.
Lord help us to always love others
and to be faithful in serving You in all that we do. Amen
Who has Proverbs 14:29?
14:29: Whoever is patient has great understanding,
but one who is quick-tempered
displays folly
People will say many things that are offensive. People will refer to others in ways you find objectionable. People will have political and religious views that are different than yours. People will do things that you do not approve of… when we react angrily and quickly to these things, we alienate others and refuse the opportunity to learn. Who knows, if we are patient rather than reactionary maybe we will discover that they were not saying what we thought they were or… we may even discover that we can learn from God through them. We can never learn if we are always angry. We can never truly show love if we are always responding in rage.
Dear God, please help us to
listen and love rather and respond and be offended. Help us to be patient with
one another. Amen.
Who has Proverbs 15:1?
15:1: A gentle answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up
anger.
This warning and blessing is similar to the previous one. Someone is going to be mad at you. Someone is going to yell at you. Someone may cry and scream at you. Someone is going to look at you in such a way to suggest that this is coming. Someone is going to say something that offends you. Someone is going to say something that upsets you. When you answer gently you will find that their wrath is turned away and terror is adverted.
May it
be so. May we always be equipped to answer rage with peace, and hate with love.
As the beatitude says, blessed be the peacemaker.
Who has Proverbs 15:17? Read it out please.
15:17: Better a small serving of vegetables with love
than a fattened calf with
hatred.
This is comfort to us all. Whatever
we have to share, let us share it. Whether it is a little or a lot, let us
share it with love. We all know what is like to have a big fancy occasion ruined
through strife. We all know what it is like to experience joy and love in the
little things. May we show, experience, and be the love of God in both
circumstances.
They will know we are Christians
by our love.
Last One!
Who has Proverbs 16:3? Read it out loud please
16:3: Commit to the Lord whatever you do,
and He will establish your
plans.
In all that we do, let us seek
the Lord. Let us seek His Face. Let us ask His direction. Let us commit to seek
His guidance in all we do, for as we do, He will establish those, His plans
that come straight from Him.
Let us pray.
Dear God,
Thank You for your
encouragement and blessings that You show us through the Scriptures, the
proverbs, and in every other way. Thank You for everything that You do for us
and through us. Please help us to faithfully serve You, love You and learn from
You in all that we do. Help us to be faithful even as you are faithful.
In Jesus’ Name Amen.
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