Proverbs for Daily Life

The Book of Proverbs Chapter 19
(Please read the entire chapter of these lovely proverbs. I will comment on a few with the help of my NLT Bible.)

Verse 1: It is better to be poor and honest than to be a fool and dishonest.
(A blameless life is far more valuable than wealth, but many people don't believe this because they are afraid of not getting everything they want. They will pay any price to increase their wealth.)

Verse 4: Wealth makes many "friends"; poverty drives them away.
(Wealth attracts people who want to be your friend only so long as you have riches. When you lose everything, you find out who your true friends are.)

Verse 17: If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord- and he will repay you! ( God values us all, whether rich or poor. When we help the poor, we honor both the Creator and his creation. God accepts our help as if we had offered it directly to him.)

Verse 23: Fear of the Lord gives life, security, and protection from harm.
(Those who fear the Lord receive protection from harm because of their healthy habits, beneficial lifestyle and sometimes through God's direct intervention. Fear of the Lord does not always protect us from trouble in this life. Evil things still happen to people who love God.)

HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO US TODAY? This chapter teaches us about how people can ruin their lives with foolishness and talks about false friends. Verse 18 tells parents to discipline their children, and if they don't, it will ruin their lives. Fear of God is stressed heavily in this chapter and yet we are told that just because we fear him, we are not exempt from trouble. This concept of good people getting bad treatment is hard to accept at times, but faithful believers know that God loves them and that they always have the promise of heaven.

Yours in Christ,
Mary

Prayer Requests are needed for:
HEALTH: Pray for Gabe.
Pray for Janice Long’s parents, especially her mother who faces another round of chemotherapy and her father with Alzheimer’s and now her mother in law also with Alzheimer’s. Their family is feeling the strain both emotionally and financially. Pray for them. Update on this family: Her mother-in-law is being taken to Oklahoma to live with an aunt who will care for her.
Pray for Arlene’s nephew David and for my neighbor Al who is nearing the end of his life.
Pray for Carolyn’s brother Ronald who has cancer.
Pray for our friend Michelle who was diagnosed with MS.
UPDATE on Barb who went in for back surgery and had a heart attack and stroke, she has her speech back and is home , but continues to have a problem with one arm and hand. Thanks to your prayers, she is able to hobble without a cane and has been granted disability. She still has surgery scheduled on her hand, but I saw her recently and her attitude is fantastic.
Pray for Robert Sargent who is quite ill with lung cancer.
Pray for Gary Summers, my friend from church, who has cancer.
Pray for Judy’s husband who was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. Pray for her too, that she can deal with the side effects of his illness.
Pray too for Charly’s husband Robert who is undergoing chemo for his prostate cancer. Update on Robert: he has one more treatment and then three months of waiting for his psat test to come back clean.
Pray for John’s recovery from a heart attack and for the doctors who have difficulty diagnosing his other symptoms.
Pray for James’s sister Cynthia whose chemo has lost its effect as the cancer grows powerful.
Pray for another friend named Carolyn whose faith remains strong, but is lost and confused about where and how to spend her elder years.
SPIRITUAL UPLIFTING: Gail, Mary
RESTORATION OF FAITH: Al, John
LOVE AND SUPPORT: Claire, Hunter, Brian
SUPPORT: Haiti, Chile, survivors of Japan’s earthquake, survivors of the devastating tornadoes in our southernmost states and Joplin, Missouri. Pray too, for our country’s leaders and our military people who die each day for our freedom.