Proverbs and Ecclesiastes

It was a great day yesterday at church.  What a great day with people saved, reports of the special outreach on Saturday, etc.  So many wanted to know about my visit to see my Father and Mother.  It was great to be home!  I wish everyone could enjoy a church like ours. I had two cups of coffee and read my twenty chapters, but then I had an early meeting at church.  Now, that's over so I'm in my office in a sofa chair with my laptop in my lap and another cup of coffee right beside me.  Here are some thoughts I gleaned from the last ten chapters of Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes: 1) Prov. 23:22- "Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old."  God teaches to honor our parents.  I spoke on that in one point of my message on Sunday evenings as we went through Ephesians 6:1-9.  Honor is something we never outgrow.  Love you Mom and Dad! 2) WINE- (I'm against it, because the Bible is against it!) Prov. 23:29-35 describes the man given to wine and the consequences of it.  You will clearly see the Bible's position on wine in these verses.... against it! 3) NOT FOR COALS OF FIRE- Prov. 25:21 says: "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: (vs. 22) For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head,..."  We are to be kind to our enemies, we are to be gracious to them, we are to help them in their time of need, but... not for the purpose of heaping the coals of fire upon their heads...I know... that WILL happen because the Bible says so, but the verse goes on to say: "and the LORD shall reward thee."  There it is!!  We do these things so that God will reward us, not to heap more coals of fire upon their heads!!  God rewards the actions of a kind heart!!  Good truth to remember. 4) OPEN AND HONEST WITH GOD  Prov. 28:13- "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy."  Does God know we sin and are sinners?  Yes, of course!  So what is the deal about covering our sins when it's impossible to do so?  We fool only ourselves.  Here is the key:  God wants us to be open and honest with Him.  When you sin, don't just go through your day like nothing happened.  Get alone with God and tell him how sorry you are and how bad you feel about it.  If you don't, you are not being open and honest with God, but living like you can cover it up by ignoring your sin.  Be sin sensitive, confession orientated, and Savior pleasing!! 5) WARNING  Prov. 31:1-5, King Lemuel gives a warning to abstain from everything that King Solomon fell prey to:  Women, Wealth, and Wine. 6) GRIEF AND SORROW  In Eccl. 1:18, much wisdom brings grief and sorrow.  Solomon found that out. 7) TIME FOR EVERYTHING Eccl. 3:1 says there is a time for everything under heaven and then goes on to list the different times there are purposes for.  Timing, that is a great secret to joy and success in life.  Knowing when and where to act and when and where not to do so.  Wisdom and discretion is greatly needed. 8) A LITTLE FOLLY  Eccl. 10:1 - Like a dead fly in medicine, so is "a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour."  Solomon was the wisest man ever!  Why do we think of him acting so dumb?  A little folly!  Folks, don't live your whole life for Christ only to let a "little folly" train wreck your testimony and influence for Christ!!  In the "evil day", stand, having done all to stand!  Don't give in to "a little folly".  Well, that's all for now, sorry to write so much, but there is so much to pass over and so much to write about.  God's Word is so FULL of live changing truth.  Read it yourself today.  Blessings upon you!   Dr. Mike Mutchler, Pastor, Grand View Baptist Church.