Morsels of Sagacity

I want to start by sharing some thoughts from an email. Don’t hurry through these, but rather consider how each statement relates to you.

• A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.
• Ideas won’t work unless you do.
• Nobody raises his reputation by lowering others.
• Feed your faith and doubt will starve to death.

Oh, yes, and on the radio I heard another tidbit:

“We seem to spend money we don’t have
on things we don’t need
to impress people we don’t like.”

While I enjoy wise sayings that people have cleverly noted, I especially appreciate bits of wisdom from the scriptures.

• You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. Psalm 18:35

• The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11

• Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

• The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Psalm 85:12

• To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. Ecclesiastes 2:26

I am struck by how many times in scripture the words “the LORD gives”(like those above) are found, and, on the other hand, the wide range of what the LORD takes:

• For what hope has the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? Job 27:8

• You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil. Psalm 5:4

• For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13

• The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and maintains his wrath against his enemies. Nahum 1:2

• Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

• And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. Revelation 22:19

Wow! That last one is at the end of the bible followed only by two short verses. Check out the words used to close the Old Testament and to close the New Testament.
• OT = “curse”
• NT = “grace”

Both are determined by our choices.