A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger Proverbs 15:1

How we respond to someone sets the tone for how your interaction is going to go. We have all probably done it, someone says something and catches you at the wrong time, and you respond harshly. What happened next? Either this started a whole argument or that person left with their feelings hurt. We need to remember to stop and think before we respond to someone

This is a great principle that can be applied to social media. How many useless arguments do people get into just because people have different opinions. Guess what, its ok to have a different opinion, its ok to think a little differently, why cant everyone have respectful discussions? The reason is because most people don’t really care what you have to say, they just want you to agree with them. This is why the majority of “discussions” on social media are pointless. Nobody is actually listening to each other

This principle should also be applied to your marriage or relationships. How many arguments could have been avoided , if we just stopped , thought about what your spouse was actually saying, before we responded. I know its not always easy, but we need to get into the practice of slowing down when it comes to conversations. Words are powerful, they can bless or curse someone

The Apostle James said “Let everyone be Quick to Hear and Slow to Speak” (James 1:9) This is the principle we need to apply to our lives. Lets do more listening and less yapping. We always know that one person , who always shoots their mouth off before they think, and it always gets them in trouble. Don’t be that person, we can avoid a lot of confrontations in our lives, if we just give a soft answer or just listen.

The Answer is Jesus Christ , are you listening?

Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people. Proverbs 14:34

When we think about our nation, the first thing that comes to mind is not righteousness. What happened to our country? What happened to our entire world? Sin! It’s a word nobody wants to hear, it’s a word nobody wants to talk about, nobody wants to turn away from their sin. However we want the world to change but we ourselves don’t want to change.

What would happen if everyone turned away from their sin and turned to God? Less violence, less racism, less murders, less poverty. You might say “Well these Christians are hypocrites anyway” There are no perfect people, that’s why we need a Savior. However we have the moral foundation of God to live by. We have accountability to a higher Creator.

I don’t see any Atheist hospitals or homeless shelters being built. And why would they? From an atheistic worldview, all life is meaningless. We are nothing but random molecules in motion that evolved from nothingness. How can they say “All Lives Matter” when their own life doesn’t matter?

Righteousness exalts a nation. How do we obtain righteousness? Only through Jesus Christ “He became sin who knew no sin so we can become righteous before God” (2 Corinthians 5:21) We need to repent and turn to Christ, as our Lord and Savior. This is the only way we’ll become a righteous nation.

Apostle Paul said “We are all One In Christ” (Galatians 3:28) There is no black or white in Christ, there is no rich or poor in Christ, there is only saved Children of God in Christ Amen!

He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. Proverbs 14:31

Jesus said “ Whatever you done for the “least of these” you have done for me” (Matthew 25:40) When we look or think about people who are poor, do we think about Jesus? Often when we see a homeless person or someone begging for money, what are our first thoughts? We usually try to avoid them, however this is not what God has instructed us to do. If we viewed people as Gods creation, maybe we would treat them differently.

Now I know this is a gray area, there are some people who truly need help and there are others who exploit people generosity due to their laziness. Sometimes its difficult to discern the difference, when in doubt , have mercy on them and let God deal with their heart

We see a lot of oppression and poverty in this world, why? Because we have a lot of wicked people and governments that abuse their power and oppress the people. However when they oppress people they are actually oppressing God! Think about that! I wouldn’t want to be standing before Christ on judgement day and guilty of these sins

The world is in chaos right now, racism, oppression, violence are rampant among the nations. If people would apply this principle of seeing God in everyone, they this would be eradicated. Jesus said to Love Your Neighbor as Ourselves (Mark 12:31) If people would just listen to Christ, this world would be total different. Amen!

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. Proverbs 13:12

What makes Christianity different from all other religions or worldviews? It’s the resurrection of Jesus Christ. People will claim that “All religions lead to God” or “there are many paths to God” but is this true? If all religions lead to the same God, then why do all religions contradict each other? Christianity is the only “religion” where God became a man, died for our sins, and rose from the dead defeating sin and death. No other religion offers you grace and mercy from your sin. No other religion has a Savior who rose from the dead

As the Apostle Peter says “ We have a Living Hope through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:3) As the Proverb says When Hope is lost then it makes our heart sick, however we have a living and eternal hope because Jesus rose from the grave. That’s why the resurrection is central to Christianity.

No other religion gives you a relationship with God. Because of the finished work on the cross, Jesus tore the veil. We can now be in the presence of God by the Holy Spirit, because we are declared righteous through Christ. Other religions are trying to rely on their works to get Gods approval or get them to Heaven. But its by faith alone in Christ and His works that were completed, not our own

When you understand the living hope we have through Jesus Christ, it is the Tree of Life. But when you don’t have Jesus in your life, if your not Born Again, it makes your heart sick, because you are still dead in your sins. You are still at war with your Creator. But the Living Hope of Christ will give you a new heart and eternal life , Amen!

Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression, But a good word makes it glad. Proverbs 12:25 (NKJV)

Anxiety and depression are probably two of the biggest enemies that are destroying the human race today. What makes these enemies so difficult to combat is they are internal and invisible enemies. No matter who you are, you have probably dealt with a battle of depression or anxiety. The human mind is a battle field, and this is where Satan looks to attack people.

The KJV version says “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop” , the heaviness of anxiety and depression can be overwhelming. With the world living in turmoil today , these enemies can easily make their way into our minds and hearts, and almost crush us. Don’t think that Satan isn’t using these times right now to accomplish his agenda

When we see the evilness in this world, its all part of Satans agenda to destroy the human race. By peoples sinful nature they are actually doing Satans work, destroying, stealing, and killing (John 10:10) This is what Jesus said Satan came to do, and hes doing it right before our eyes. See there is a spiritual war for your soul, Jesus wants to save it but Satan wants to destroy it. Which side of the battle do you fall on? Are you a soldier of Christ or another victim of Satan?

The scripture says then “A good word makes it glad” God has given us promises of his victory and defeat over Satan and the world. Jesus has given us promises of eternal life and a New Kingdom because of his victory at the cross. These are words to meditate on and not the issues of this world

Jesus said “I have told you these things so you would have peace, In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart or be of good cheer, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33) Meditate on these words! Rebuke Anxiety , Rebuke Depression, Rebuke Racism, Rebuke Violence, Rebuke Immorality in Jesus Name Amen!

Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish. Proverbs 12:1

How many of us love being told we are wrong? Of course none of us do, the evidence is on social media. If you disagree with someone, most likely they will come back with insults or block you. Why do we hate correction? This is part of our wicked human nature, we are prideful and arrogant. The problem is if we don’t like reproof or correction, how can we expect to continually learn anything?

Now the next part of the equation is the source of truth. As the old saying goes “Garbage in , garbage out” If our source of truth is false, then all were going to learn is false information. When we are willing and ready to learn, we need to find reputable and trusted teachers.

God has supplied some of our needs for learning. He has preserved his Word the Bible. If you compare todays translations with the manuscripts from thousands of years ago its still 99.9% the same. God has sent his Son the living Word of God Jesus Christ. He taught us and demonstrated to us the revelations of God. And of course God sent the Holy Spirit, who is our teacher, advocate, counselor, and guide

A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn. Proverbs 12:2

God loves those who are willing to humble themselves and be disciplined. The part of the gospel that most people leave out is repentance. You cant be saved unless you turn away from your sin. This is why we need a savior in the first place. When people fail to recognize their sin , there is no repentance.

Are you correctable? Are you teachable? Are you willing to examine your life and compare it against the Holiness of God? You soon realize you need a Savior, you need Jesus Christ as your Lord Amen!

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. Proverbs 11:30

Charles Spurgeon has a classic book called “The Soul Winner” which talks about evangelizing to unsaved people. I highly recommend this book to any Christian, why? Because I don’t think the modern day Church spends anytime on training or talking about evangelizing to unsaved people. The Proverb here tells us “They that win souls is wise” why? Because you are doing The Lords work, you are planting the seed, plowing the fields, for Gods harvest

Jesus said “ Go and make disciples of all the nations” (Matthew 28:19) This is known in theology as the “Great Commission” this was the marching orders Christ gave to the Church before he ascended back to Heaven. But how many Christians are doing this at all? How many people have you told the gospel message to? How many awkward conversations did you have with your family members or co workers about Christ?

Today if a celebrity even mentions they might be a Christian or believe in God, were supposed to be impressed and jump for joy. This is totally weak, most of these “celebrities” are pawning the name of Christ to sell merchandise. However none of them are preaching the cross, none of them are preaching repentance, none of them are concerned about winning souls, they are concerned with themselves

Are you concerned about winning souls? Or are you too ashamed of Christ to mention his name at work? Are you to embarrassed to tell your family that Jesus is your Master? Jesus said “Whoever confesses me before others I will confess to my Father, and whoever denies me before others I will deny before my Father” (Matthew 10:32-33)

Go and win souls, go and make disciples of Christ! As Jesus said “He will give you the words to speak” (Luke 12:11) Keep it simple, preach the gospel, make connections with people in Jesus Name Amen!

When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom. Proverbs 11:2

One of our greatest enemies can be Pride. Pride can make us ignore truth, pride can make us separate from others, pride can lead to our own destruction. There is one thing to be proud of yourself, its another thing to be full of pride. Many people are too proud to admit they are wrong, many people are too proud to help others, many people are too proud to admit they need a Savior

This is why when your full of pride, then comes shame. Because when we believe we can save ourselves we have already failed. Many people fail to see their flaws because they are full of too much pride. The Bible says “To Humble ourselves before The Lord and He will lift us up “ (James 4:10) You see the process of repentance comes with humility. When your too full of pride, you often are too blind to see your own sin

With the lowly or humble comes Wisdom. Often times in life, we set ourselves up for a great fall until we realize that we are wrong. God sometimes allows us to fall so we can humble ourselves and learn a lesson. Often when your too full of Pride, you don’t listen to anyone. You believe you have all the answers, and this is a grave mistake. Humility comes wisdom, ask God for wisdom and he will give it to you (James 1:5)

Jesus said “Unless we humble or change ourselves like a child, we will never see the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3) God doesn’t want puffed up prideful arrogant people. Gods wants humble and teachable children. Be like that child in the classroom that asks a million questions, others roll their eyes at them, but they want to learn, they aren’t afraid to be taught something new

Many of us don’t grow in our relationship with Christ, because we are to full of pride. We believe we know it all, we have all the answers, we know the beginning and the end. Its total foolishness to believe this, humble yourself before God and obtain wisdom in Jesus name Amen!

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. Proverbs 10:12

Hatred, we see a lot of it today. In the streets, on social media, maybe even in your own home. What does hatred accomplish? Why cant we allow people to have their own opinions and thoughts? Its human nature we want everyone to think like us, to act like us, to look like us, but this is not reality. The reason we have a hatred problem is because we have a sin problem. If we would follow the words of Christ to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31) and to even “Love your enemy” (Matthew 5:44) Then we wouldn’t have all these hatred problems, however the root of hatred comes within ourselves

Its our human fallen nature to want to hate, if you don’t believe try loving your enemy. Its difficult! Love is not always easy but its always right. You might say “How can we love these people”? Well Jesus could have said the same thing for us! How can we die for us wicked sinners, because He loved us. And if Christ can love us, why cant we love others?

Love covers all sins, this was demonstrated at the cross. The reason Jesus layed down his life for you , was simply because of love. Christ wasn’t obligated to die for you, he could have sent us all to Hell , and it would have been justified. But because of Love, Christ died for your sins and gave us eternal life.

So now knowing this, knowing that God had mercy on you because he loved you, you are now expected to love others also. Even the ones who don’t agree with you, even the ones who hate God. Yes this is difficult, but its not impossible because of what Christ has done for us! Amen!

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. Proverbs 9:6

People can be very influential, this is why its important who we associate with. As the Apostle Paul said “Bad company corrupts good character or morals” (1 Corinthians 15:33) When the Proverb talks about “Forsaking Foolishness” what does it mean? Its basically meaning the same thing as Repent. Turn away from the destructive things in your life. As the old saying goes “Fool me once, shame on You, fool me twice shame on me”

Many people have a simple, temporary perspective. They think your born, you have some fun, work a little, and then you die. This is a life of a fool. We were born for a purpose, we were made to be eternal. When you have an eternal perspective on life, it carries much more weight. Why? Because all of your actions have consequences for the future. Everything you do today is in preparation for eternity

Jesus promised us eternal life by the works he completed on the cross and having faith in him. Jesus is The Way (John 14:6) If you want the way of understanding , follow Christ! There are two paths in life, the one that leads to death and the one that leads to life, choose Jesus and choose Life

He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot. Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee. Proverbs 9:7-8

Its very simple, those who want to seek truth, those who want to obtain understand and are teachable, love to be rebuked or corrected. Are you willing to be corrected? Many of us it bruises our egos when somebody disagrees with you, how are you being open minded or teachable with this mentality?

We see this a lot on social media, most people don’t want to have an open conversation or learn from others points of view. They just want to argue and be an echo chamber. This is foolishness and isn’t a way to learn.

God has sent the Holy Spirit to be our Teacher and Guide, will you listen to him. Are you willing to rebuke yourself to obtain truth? As Jesus said “Unless we become like children , we will not see the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 18:3) Amen!