#242 - Let the Blessing Work

Proverbs 10:22 - The blessing of the Lord--it makes [truly] rich, and He adds no sorrow with it [neither does toiling increase it].

Proverbs 31:20 - She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind, or spirit].

This morning these words have been ringing in my mind: Be a value adder. Allow the Blessing of the Lord to work for you. 


Here in Proverbs 31:20, we see our Proverbs 31 friend doing both. Not only is she being a value adder, giving to the needy in heart, in spirit, in physical necessity, but she is allowing the Blessing of the Lord to work for her. She is allowing the Blessing that is on her life because of the Lord, to bless others. She is open to bless. She is not so caught up in her own world, life, family, circumstances, "drama" of life, that she misses the opportunity to be observant of what is going on around her. She is aware. She sees a need and fills it. She is being a Value Adder.

No sorrow is added to The Blessing. No toil is added to The Blessing. The Blessing of the Lord, is just that. It is all blessing! It is encompassed with good things, not sorrow. It is encompassed with joy.

Where can you add value today? Is it in prayer? Is it a financial gift to someone? Is it in friendship? Is it in time? Is it in babysitting and giving a friend a 'date night'? Where can you add value? Or... is it merely recognizing the BLESSING of the Lord in your life. The Blessing of the Lord that has been all around you. The Blessing of the Lord. Are you a Christian? Can you see where and how the Blessing has been working for you? Can you see it? If you took the time, could you slow down enough to recognize the Blessing?

#216 - "But I'm Not Good Enough"

Proverbs 10:6 - Blessings are upon the head of the [uncompromisingly] righteous (the upright, in right standing with God)...

Proverbs 31:29 - Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all.

Proverbs 24:16a - For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again... 

Have you ever read the Bible and come across a scripture and thought, "But, I'm not righteous. I've messed up. I guess this verse doesn't apply to me." With your head hung down a bit in defeat, you just accept that maybe the "blessings" in the Bible don't apply to you because you are just "not good enough."

As I began reading Proverbs this morning, I honestly couldn't get past Proverbs 10:6. I got a whole SIX verses into reading the Bible until I had to stop. "Blessings are upon the head of the [uncompromisingly] righteous." I sat and pondered that word, righteous. Racing into my head came all of the most recent times I've messed up. Maybe done something that I shouldn't have done, maybe having not been as patient as I should have been, maybe I said something that was 'off-color', maybe I acted out of selfishness. Immediately, the enemy wanted me to reject Proverbs 10:6 for myself, to hang my head in defeat and just accept the fact that the verse is just not talking about me.

I decided to look up "righteous" in the Hebrew to see what the original meaning was talking about. The same Hebrew word was used for both Proverbs 10:6 & Proverbs 24:16. Tsaddiyq. It's pronounced, sad-eek. Tsaddiyq in the original Hebrew means right in one's cause or righteous in conduct & character. I was interested to find that no where in the original meaning for this word did it say "PERFECT."

"But, I'm not perfect. I've messed up. How can I be considered righteous? 

How can these verses actually include me??" 

I have good news for you! Proverbs 24:16 says, For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again. The righteous. The tsaddiyq man falls. Falls. What does "falls" mean in the original Hebrew? It is the Hebrew word naphal and the definition includes "to fall short, to fail."

This righteous person, right in his/her cause, righteous in his/her character & conduct MESSES UP, FALLS SHORT, FAILS! Usually this righteous person has good intentions, but the bottom line is that he/she falls short and sins. Here is where grace & faith come in. Romans 3:24 & 28 remind us that we are justified FREELY by God's grace... man is justified by faith.

Though we may fall, we can KEEP GETTING BACK up! Though we may sin, the grace of God is there every time to forgive us and draw us back into right-standing with Him! Matthew talks about how many times you should forgive... not just 7, but 70 times 7. Forgive your brother over and over and over. If he/she is willing to come for forgiveness, forgive! And God is the same. If we are willing to come and ask for forgiveness, he will heed His own Word! He will forgive. Restoring us to a place of right-standing with Him.

What of the Proverbs 31 woman? She excels them all.... but just by knowing Romans 3:10 & 12, we know she is not perfect. "There is no one righteous, not even one... ALL have turned away...." Even the woman who appears perfect, she was not. She has also messed up! She too, needed to cling to grace & forgiveness.

You are deserving. Jesus went to the cross for YOU. You are the child of the Most High God! Being a child of the Most High God, makes you an HEIR! Have you ever thought about the rights of an Heir? Not just ANY heir, but the heir of Jesus. A "co-heir with Christ" as it says in Romans 8:17. Because of the grace of God, you ARE good enough! Receive the blessings that are yours today. And if you mess up, go to the throne of grace & receive the forgiveness that God is waiting to give you. He desires your humility to Him. Your humble spirit. He desires to forgive no matter how great or small the sin. Don't let Satan talk you into thinking you are not good enough! Because of Jesus, YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH! Go out today and be blessed!

#181 - A Way of Life for Others

Good morning! I pray you are blessed today! We are excited about a blessed day, being led and directed by the Lord and being in the right place at the right time! God has great things for you too today, are you ready? 


Let's get in the Word...

Proverbs 10:4 - He becomes poor who works with a slack and idle hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

Proverbs 10:16a-17 - The earnings of the righteous (the upright, in right standing with God) lead to life....¹⁷ He who heeds instruction and correction is [not only himself] in the way of life [but also] is a way of life for others. And he who neglects or refuses reproof [not only himself] goes astray [but also] causes to err and is a path toward ruin for others.

Proverbs 31:20 - She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind, or spirit]. 

Wow... this morning I was reminded of what continued to bring me to tears just over a week ago. I had the opportunity to attend a conference where I witnessed about one thousand people on a Sunday morning give their life to Christ. To watch as young and old made their way down coliseum steps to make a bold proclamation that they were committing their life to Jesus was enough to make tears roll down my eyes... but that was just the icing on the cake that morning. Earlier an offering was taken up for several different ministries, one of those ministries was for a music group called Day One. Day One introduced a new project they were working on called Operation Haiti. We watched a video that brought me to tears, and the tears kept coming for the next several days... even just thinking about it brings tears. The video showed children after the earthquake wandering the streets of Haiti for food. On the screen flashed a child, maybe 1 year old, or 18 months old, wandering the streets for food. No home, no family, no care, nothing. As I sat there thinking about my almost 18 month old son, Tyler Junior, I could help but picture my son there. Roaming for food, putting anything in his mouth hoping that it would be something good. It was amazing to me. I just couldn't help but think, these kids are special too. Just like Tyler Jr is so precious and special to me, these children are also special. They also deserve a chance. 


I cried further as an offering was taken up, not being able to give the amount of money that I wanted. I just wanted it to be for more. I wanted to give more, to do more, to help more, to make more of an impact, to provide food & shelter for these children roaming the streets. 

The verses this morning provide us with HOPE, that when we are diligent, it does matter! 

The hand of the diligent makes rich.... The earnings of the righteous lead to life.... He who heeds instruction is not only himself in the way of life, but is also a way of life for others...

We look at the life of the Proverbs 31 woman, she opens up FILLED hands to the poor, she is helping the needy in a variety of ways. Be it with food or shelter, emotional support, love, she is a beacon of light to the poor. 


It reminds me of other verses, "The Lord give us POWER TO GET WEALTH." "The wealth of the wicked is stored up for the just." The list could go on. I feel like we, as believers have a RESPONSIBILITY. A responsibility to be more and do more, to achieve more. God has ideas just WAITING for a believer who will take hold of it and run with it. Ideas, inventions, business' that will create great wealth and in turn will allow US, Children of God to give to the needy, to help the poor. It should not be up to the government to tax us on this or that to raise money, but in the Bible the body of Christ did it! They were not mandated to pay money into a program, they supported children and widows, poor and needy who could not provide for themselves. The BODY did that. I'm just reminded of the great opportunities that we have here in the U.S. Opportunities to make ideas a reality. There are not a shortage of Million Dollar Ideas.... they are there! There is not a shortage of talent.... there are cooks and bakers, seamstresses & designers who have not been discovered yet.... who are sitting in a cubicle somewhere entering data into a spreadsheet and doing something COMPLETELY unfulfilling with their life. Not operating in their gift, but just making a dollar bill. There is not a shortage of Million Dollar Business', business ideas are out there! Business' that are going to succeed! Business' that people need, that is going to provide a great service or product! The ideas are out there, there is no shortage. 


I'm reminded of a verse in Isaiah 6:8 that says, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Sure, there are people needed to GO. Missionaries needed to GO. But... there are also people who are equally important on that mission field, sure they may be in the comfort of their own home, but they are the people that are PROVIDING! SUPPLYING the funds! SUPPORTING! There are people equally important who maybe aren't called to work in an orphanage in Haiti, but you are called to fund it. You are called to create wealth with the talents God has given you. YOU can be a way of life to others!


Receive your idea! Receive your invention! Receive your business! Now, take hold, have faith, pray, listen and GO!