PROVERBS & ECCLESIASTES

Today is Thursday, and I have finished my reading in Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes, and here are some thoughts: 1) STAY AWAY!  Yes, the Bible says in Prov. 24:21 "... and meddle not with them that are given to change:"  People changing their church, their Bible, their worship, their singing, their serving, etc.  Watch out!  When someone is always changing things the Bible says don't "meddle" with those folks! 2) A WORD FITLY SPOKEN- Kind, gracious words are always a delight and well received.  We hear enough hard words, or neutral words, we need those loving, kind words from people we love.  The Bibles says in Prov. 25:11, that "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."  What a beautiful way to describe kind, loving, gracious words.  Apples of gold sitting in a picture of pure silver.  Beautiful.... and meaningful!  3) THE CURSE CAUSELESS-  Here is a though:  Prov. 26:2 "As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come."    Here what it is saying:  A bird is endangered by wandering off; a swallow is endangered every time it flies around (predator birds can see them) and a Curse without a Cause will not come.  When we are cursed, there is always a cause!  (And it almost always comes back to our actions!)  4) SHALL THE SEA SWALLOW UP THE LAND?  Eccl. 1:7 says:  "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again."  If all the ice melted.... they would only fill up the space with water that the ice once possessed.  Doesn't that make sense?  Would the hole remain where once the ice possessed?  No!  Doesn't ice take up more space than water?  Yes!  So, it the ice melted, if anything, the oceans would shrink some.  God ultimately controls all of it and tells the waters how far they can come.  He ropes them with sand and says no more to the oceans.  The waters fill the oceans, yet they are not full.  God controls it all! 5) IN HIS TIME- Eccl. 3 tells us that there is "a time for every purpose under heaven".  And then tells us all of the times.  A beautiful passage of Scripture.  After naming all of the special times needed in life, verse 11 says:  "He hath made every thing beautiful in his time:"  Yes, God works it all out.  Praise His name!  Hope you have a blessed day!   Pastor Mike Mutchler