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  • The Practical Provider

    Deuteronomy 11:15 “And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled.” 

    I love the verse for 11/15 for very personal reasons.  I grew up on a decent-size farm in VA where we raised cattle. We had what was called a Cow-Calf operation. For our operation to be successful our cows needed a lot of grass to eat.  In the springtime, we would put our cows with the baby calves “out to pasture.”  Instead of being in a barn to eat hay or corn silage, they were out in the fields to eat grass.  For our cattle to graze and grow we knew we needed to look to God for both rain and sunshine so the grass would grow.   We needed God to be successful.  Our verse may seem simple but it tells us that God provided the grass.  He provided what was most practical.  Without grass, there is no grass and without growth, there is no steaks!  (And I love steak!)

    Along with Deuteronomy 11:15, we also took notice of verses like:
    Job 5:10  He gives rain on the earth, and sends waters on the fields.
    Psalms 147:5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. 7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God, 8  Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.  9  He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry.”
    Isaiah 55:10  “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
    Hebrews 6:7  For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs and grass useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
    James 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

    These verses reminded us that we needed God to provide sunshine and rain.  We needed God and you need God for whatever you are doing.  Are you looking to God to provide what you need?  In the Lord’s prayer, we are to ask Him to provide our daily bread. 

    We should not miss the last part of the verse.  What we took care of took care of us.  What we fed would eventually feed us.  (And I believe I ate the best steaks)

    How might Deuteronomy 11:15 apply to what you are doing?

    Continue Strong being thankful for God’s provisions (Psalms 147:7)
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • Wisdom Says, “The Best Advice Is To Get The Best Advice”

    Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

    A summarization of Proverbs 11:14 would be that the best advice wisdom can give is to get the best advice! I am a believer that each person should have a personal “board of directors” to go to for advice.  This group will be those who have your best interest in mind!  You can ask questions of them, and they can ask questions of you.  Godly counselors can help prevent you from making a bad decision and provide insights for making the best decision.  They can help you move from making a good decision to making a great decision! 

    Please be sure to heed the warning of this verse. It warns us, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall.”  I know it is hard to hear but you really are not smart enough to figure out life’s decisions by yourself, especially the big ones.  Trusting your own thinking brings only what you know to the table.  Having a multitude of counselors allows for much more to be brought to the table as each one has past experiences to draw on!

    So, do you have a “multitude of counselors?”  Have you established a “board of directors?”  If not, heed the advice of Proverbs 11:14 and create this personal board. Cultivate relationships with a few godly, wise men and women that you can invite into your life so that when decisions come you can say, “What Do You Think?”

    Wisdom says the best advice is to get the best advice! Listen to the advice to get advice.

    Continue Strong with a strong personal board of directors!
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • The Truth About A Gossiper

    Proverbs 11:13 “A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy man keeps a secret.”

    The word BUT is used many times in Proverbs to provide a CONTRAST of a variety of actions. In Proverbs 11:13 you find the results of one who is a gossiper compared with one who is trustworthy.   The gossipier garners the reputation of being a BETRAYER. Nothing is safe with them.  Whereas the one who is trustworthy KEEPS even the most sensitive information secure.  

    Are you a gossiper?  

    To know if you are let’s consider a definition for a gossiper,  A gossiper is one who tells someone something about you that they would never tell that person if you were standing right beside them.  In other words, they will say something about you behind your back but not to your face.  

    Are you prone to gossip?  Does it excite you to share tasty bits of information about people?  Proverbs 18:8 says, “A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.”   This verse speaks of two types of gossipers. There is one who talks and the one who listens.  So, we should be asking not only do you enjoy spreading juicy information but are you prone to listening to someone sharing secrets, to gossip? 

    Now you should KNOW that someone who will share gossip WITH you will also share gossip ABOUT you!

    We should listen to the INSTRUCTIONS of Proverbs 20:19 as it says, “The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid someone with a big mouth.”

    In Proverbs 11:13 we have a verse that challenges us to be a TRUSTWORTHY person.  As a trustworthy person, one is careful about what information is shared and with whom what information is shared about others.  

    Please commit today to not being a gossiper with two actions.
    1. HOLD YOUR TONGUE!  2. GUARD YOUR EARS. Don’t listen to gossip!  Commit today to be a TRUSTWORTHY person!  

    Oh, be careful little tongue what you say, especially about others!

    A ministry/leadership note:  Occasionally someone will come to you for HELP and they start by saying, “I need to tell you something but you have to promise me that you will not tell anyone.”  Friends, don’t make that promise!!!

    Listen close!! “Never tell a person you will never tell a person.”   The only promise you make is that if you can’t help them with what they tell you is that you will only involve those who can help.  
    Listen again carefully: “Never tell a person you will never tell a person.”

    Continue Strong holding your tongue!
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • Standing On The Promises Of God

    Deuteronomy 11:12 “A land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.”

    Deuteronomy 11 talks about the “promised land.” Starting at verse 8 one reads, “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, 9 “and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD promised to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 10 “For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; 11 “but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 “a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.”

    As the passage about possessing the promised land concluded one should have noticed starting at verse 10 that something is very different about this land.  To highlight the difference let me ask and answer the question why was the Promised Land called the Promised Land?

    There are two basic reasons:
    1. because it was a land God promised.  
    2. It was a land where the people would have to believe the promises of God. This is what makes it so different!   God’s people would have to trust Him to provide as He said He would. This land would be different because it needed rain. Those living there would have to depend on God.

    The Promised Land did not make the people of God independent of Him but more dependent on Him. 

    Pause to recall the Lord’s prayer where one is to ask God to provide daily bread!  It is a prayer of dependence!

    As believers God wants us to grow in dependence on Him, to stand more firmly on the promises of God! 

    Just as He had His eye on the land, He has His eye on you.  Do you have your eyes on Him?  Are you living dependent on God?  Are you standing daily on His promises that He is always with you to guide you, lead you, provide for you, and protect you?  

    The Promised Land did not make the people of God independent of Him but more dependent on Him. 

    Continue Strong Standing On The Promises Of God
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • With God Saying It Sarah Believed It

    Hebrews 11:11 “By faith, Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”

    As God gives a promise to Abraham in Genesis 18 that in his old age, he will have a son, there is another person who is going to have to have faith.  That person is Abraham’s wife, Sarah.   You might recall her initial reaction was not belief but laughter.  She did not just doubt the idea of her having a child, she laughed at it!!  (You might want to read Genesis 18:10 – 14)

    I find myself feeling a little bad for Sarah.  She got caught laughing on the inside about what God was promising and then got caught lying about laughing.  Definitely a pretty embarrassing moment for Sarah with God.  

    This is one of those stories you would like to see fully unfold because at some point later Sarah is going to move from doubt and disbelief to belief.  At some point, Genesis 18:14 is going to grip her heart and she will believe what God has said. While we don’t have the full story laid out for us, we do have the cliff notes from Hebrews 11:11.  

    After laughing and being rebuked for laughing and lying and being confronted for lying Sarah will make a judgment call on God.  Hebrews 11:11 says she judged Him.  Other versions said she considered Him.  The idea of the word is to weigh carefully or to think through thoroughly.  

    For Sarah, it was not what was said that changed her mind but who said it. 

    Hearing that you will be having a child when both you and your husband are too old is hard to believe.  And it would have probably continued to be hard to believe if a family member or a friend or even some stranger had said It.   What moved Sarah from doubting to believing was who said it.  She evaluated God and she judged Him faithful!  

    There comes a moment Sarah said God said it and I believe Him because when God says He is going to do something He does it!  He is faithful!

    For you who are challenged to take a step of faith with something that seems absolutely undoable, you are going to have to grow in your knowledge of who is guiding you to make the decision.  Psalm 9:10 says, “And those who know Your name put their trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”

    While the what that God calls you to do may scare you and bring huge doubts you must focus on the who that is speaking, not the what.  Know His character. If He is calling you He is faithful to perform it. God provided what Sarah needed when she had faith to believe that He could! 

    Where God guides, He provides.  Believe Him.

    Continue Strong Considering Him Faithful
    And remember to DATE The Word

    To our veterans reading this please know of our gratitude for your service!  Happy Veterans’ Day

  • Righteous Living Brings Rejoicing While The Exit Of The Wicked Brings Relief

    Proverbs 11:10 “When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.”

    Proverbs is famous for giving us a variety of subjects to contrast.  A frequent contrast is that of the righteous and the wicked.   Here we find both bringing joy to a city but for totally different reasons.  When the righteous are doing well the city rejoices.  Even those who are not righteous benefit from the prosperity and peace that righteous living brings.  Those who are described as “the righteous” are those who themselves do what is right. They are law-abiding citizens. They are hard workers who provide for their needs and are generous to help those in need.  They look out for the best interest of others. The righteous have an eye on the future and seek to make decisions that bring about a better future for the next generation.  (These are but a few characteristics found throughout the Book of Proverbs). I think it is sufficient to say that life is better with “the righteous” living around you!

    On the other hand, when “the wicked” perishes there is a sense of relief.  As the wicked live their wicked lifestyle they don’t just bring pain to themselves but also to all who are around them.  They damage and destroy themselves and they damage and destroy others. 

    While the righteous brings pleasure to a city, the wicked brings pain to the city.

    One feels safe around the righteous while one feels fearful and unsafe around the wicked.  No wonder the verse says there is gladness when they are no longer around.  

    It is worth noting that God responds to both the righteous and the wicked. In understanding God’s response to the righteous and the wicked we look at Proverbs 3:33.  It says, “The LORD’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.”

    I hope it is sobering to you to think that the way you live can be bringing God’s blessings to your neighborhood or it could be bringing God’s curse to your neighborhood,   I trust you want to be a blessing to your family, friends, and neighbors. Doing what is right will open the windows of heaven for Him to pour out blessings on those around you!  

    Let us bring pleasure to our fellow citizens and not pain!  

    Continue Strong being a blessing to others by living right and doing right!
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • Wisdom Says Enjoy Your Youth With An Eye On Eternity

    Ecclesiastes 11:9 “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; But know (REMEMBER) that for all these God will bring you into judgment.”

    Being YOUNG is such a WONDERFUL time, yet so many young people WISH to RUSH through their youth. Remember how you could not wait to be a certain age?  

    Ecclesiastes 11:9 tells us not to RUSH through our youth but REJOICE in our days of being young! While it can be STRESSFUL it really is a most WONDERFUL time of life!  A young person should ENJOY these days!  They should not wish them away. And definitely, they should not WASTE them!

    Many of you reading this are either parents or grandparents of a YOUTH and/or you minister to those who are YOUTH. You should have Ecclesiastes 11:9 as one of your go-to verses for advising, yes, discipling your youth.  It is one of the best ways to remind a young person of the tremendous opportunities they have to dream and explore possibilities for their life.  It also is one of the best verses to remind them that choices have consequences. I do not know how many times I have said you make your choices and then your choices make you!  Young people need to know this. A young person needs to know the law of sowing and reaping.   

    Placing Ecclesiastes 11:9 before your youth helps them to KNOW they will ANSWER for their ACTIONS. While they are free to choose their activities and actions, they are not free to choose who they answer to for their actions.  Each young person has a variety of AUTHORITY to answer to their lives like parents, grandparents, guardians, teachers, coaches, and even local authorities like police (and I would include pastors). As well, they need to be taught that the authority of authorities they answer to is God!  

    Yes, a young person is to REJOICE in their youth.  But they are also to REMEMBER in their youth who they answer to.  They are to enjoy their youth with an eye toward eternity. 

    If you are young, make wise choices!  If you have responsibilities with young people, help them to make wise choices that they will be glad they made when standing before God!

    Along with using Ecclesiastes 11:9 for training and discipling your youth be sure to keep before them 1 Timothy 4:12 as it teaches the right actions to take.  In case you do not remember it: 1 Timothy 4:12 “Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

    Continue Strong for Him enjoying every day with an eye toward eternity
    And remember to DATE The Word!

  • Abraham Went By Faith

    Hebrews 11:8 “By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

    The Hall of Fame of Faith in Hebrews 11 has Abel worshipping by faith! Enoch walking by faith! Noah working by faith! And now we read of Abraham, and Abraham WENT by faith!

    If you have gone on a long, (and even a short) road trip with children, you almost always get the question of WHERE ARE WE GOING? HOW MUCH LONGER TILL WE GET THERE?  And the classic, ARE WE THERE YET? Well, imagine what it would be like to travel with Abraham. The Bible says he WENT out NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS GOING.  When he is asked “Where we are going” he only could say, “I don’t know.”  Can you imagine the question ARE WE THERE YET being asked multiple times and Abraham shaking his head and saying “NO!!”  How about the classic HOW MUCH LONGER ABRAHAM and hearing “I DON’T KNOW!”   

    So let me ask you, how much information do you have to have to obey God? 

    Friends, when it comes to living a life of FAITH, you are going to have to work through the challenge of NOT KNOWING ALL THE DETAILS. Matter of fact there might only be very few details.  All Abraham had was God had said GO. He did not know the details of the exact location he was to go to.  He did not get the details of how long it would take to get there.  He did not get the details of what he would do when he got there.  

    All Abraham had was God said GO!  Hearing GO he WENT!

    I do want you to consider Abraham’s faith.  Even though Abraham DID NOT KNOW WHERE HE WAS GOING, he DID KNOW that GOD KNEW where he was to go. With the knowledge that GOD KNEW Abraham then BY FAITH went!

    Is your spiritual journey having moments of knowing but not knowing?  You KNOW God has told you to do something but the details are really fuzzy.  You find yourself having to say I don’t know to a whole of questions. The faith you will need is to say I DO KNOW WHO DOES KNOW!   Recall at that moment that Abraham WENT!

    When you GO and DO what He has said in these moments you will be able to say BY FAITH you WENT!

    My prayer for you is that when God says GO your testimony will be you WENT!

    Continue Strong,
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • By Faith Noah Worked

    Hebrews 11:7 “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”

    Hearing from God, Noah went to work.  Noah’s actions of faith came from a divine warning which then motivated him as he had a godly fear.   He had a reverence for God.  As God spoke Noah listened because of His view of God having supreme authority over his life!  As God spoke Noah obeyed!

    How impressive was his obedience? Let’s remember he obeyed in preparing an ARK for an event that the world had never heard of as God said it was going to RAIN and there would be a flood.  Noah, by faith, obeyed to do something never heard of before! 

    As we think of Noah’s example of faith it is ultimately a faith Noah worked. As James says, “Faith without works is dead!” (James 2:26) Noah heard what God said and by faith obeyed and went to work doing what God said! 

    Does your faith work?  When God speaks to you do you obey and by faith do the work that He has called you to do? Does your faith work?

    Know that God may call you to do something that has never been heard of! Be like Noah and by faith go to work!

    Continue Strong with a FAITH THAT WORKS!
    And remember to DATE The Word

  • An Essential For Life Is Faith

    Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

    We learn from Hebrews 11:6 that one of the greatest essentials for living life is faith. Let us be clear that God expects us to live by faith. You cannot please God without living by faith.  The writer says it is impossible to please God without faith. God is looking for faith! There is to be faith for salvation (Eph. 2:8) but also faith for living as we walk by faith, not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), and faith for service!

    Hebrews 11 is faith’s Hall of Fame. People of faith believe the evidence of things not seen which means that He is! This is our firm conviction!  We believe that He is even though we have not seen Him!  And we have a hope, a steadfast confidence that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. 

    May I ask you what steps of faith are you taking today?  What are you attempting for God?

    Let us be pleasing God in attempting what He is putting in our hearts to do!!  Move forward by faith!  

    You may need to pray and ask the Lord to increase your faith!  For inspiration to take steps of faith I encourage you to read Hebrews 11 at least 11 times during November!! Take 5 minutes and FUEL your faith for 2025 dreams!

    Continue Strong serving God By Faith!
    And remember to DATE The Word