Proverbs 4 by Doug

Proverbs 4:14 (NLT) –> "Do not do as the wicked do."  And if we would get that one thing down, we'd be in good shape.  How often, though, do we copy the actions of the wicked?  Realize here that the author of Proverbs sees "the wicked" as those people living a life not centered on God.  It's not just "don't copy wicked actions" but rather "do not copy anything from those whose hearts are wicked."  We're fairly decent at the former, but so easily fall into the latter.  Otherwise, why do we have Survivor-themed church events?

Proverbs 4:14 (NLT) –>That first gleam of dawn is glorious even today, but imagine the darkness of no artificial lighting. The realization that there are things to be done, but they cannot be started without the light.  Then it begins… Another thing we don't realize is how cold the desert and wilderness can be at night.  Sure, it's screaming hot in the day, but dry air and no clouds allow for chilly nights.  You've passed into the chilly night, your fire has burned low.  It's cold and dark.  Then the first gleams break over the horizon and you recognize you've survived for another day.  Good stuff.  Then we should get brighter!!

Proverbs 4:24 (NLT) –>Generally, what we talk about becomes what we do, and what we do becomes who we are.  If we make racy jokes, we desensitize ourselves to the innuendoes and then slide into the trap…if we joke about others, we slide towards meanness.  The words of our mouths become the meditations of our hearts.

Proverbs 4:25 (NLT) –>Look straight ahead…not to the sides or behind you.  Fix your eyes on the goal, on where God is taking you.  Not the side, where other goals may be.  They are not your own.  Not behind you, you can do precious little to change the path you have taken.  Fix your eyes straight ahead.  What is it to you that another's goal is different?