Just enough

I have some praise to share.  I'm so grateful He has given us prayer.  So, here's the story.  The doctors thought my brother had a cyst in his liver, and went in to drain it.  It turned out to be an abscess which is an infected cyst.  When they drained it, he got sepsis (bacteria).  This is deadly and goes through the blood stream shutting down vital organs.  Hope I didn't make you queazy...  The doctors identified the bacteria and stopped the sepsis.  He's out of ICU now.  His organs are good.  He's on the transplant floor of the hospital.  It turns out that if his wife hadn't taken him into the hospital when she did, the cyst could have burst at home; we might have lost him.  She said that she just knew she had to take him.  I told her, "It may have been God whispering in your ear.  He does that sometimes."


I'll keep praying for the transplant, and thank any of you that prayed too.  He has a few more procedures today.  God is good, I will trust in Him.

Proverbs is a hard book to read sometimes.  It's full of common sense in how we relate to others and God.  Sometimes it feels prickly.  The authors who wrote this book were inspired by God over 2000 years ago.  They were humans like us.  That's why it's all so familiar.  Even though the world has changed dramatically since then, man hasn't.  It's a good book to read every now and then.  Sometimes I forget.


Proverbs 30

The words of Agur the son of Jakeh, his utterance. This man declared to Ithiel—to Ithiel and Ucal:

2 Surely I am more stupid than any man,

And do not have the understanding of a man.

3 I neither learned wisdom

Nor have knowledge of the Holy One.

I felt this way more when I first became a Christian than now, after 35 years.  But I have to admit I still have my moments.  Having a relationship with Jesus does get easier with time and His grace.

4 Who has ascended into heaven, or descended?
Who has gathered the wind in His fists?

Who has bound the waters in a garment?
Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is His name, and what is His Son’s name,
If you know?
It's Jesus! Don't you love how prophecies about Jesus turn up long before He was born as a baby?  We actually don't know God's real name.  His name is so powerful we can't use it at this time.  He has given us the name of, "Jesus."  We know that Jesus is the Son of God and is God.  God has three forms:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  This verse puts us in our place doesn't it?  We can't gather the wind, bind the waters, or create an earth.  Agur is showing his humbleness before God.

5 Every word of God is pure;

He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

I can confirm this.  He is a shield, sometimes warning me in my heart not to go somewhere.  Sometimes not saying yes to my prayers.  We really don't know all that goes on around us.

6 Do not add to His words,

Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.

We write down scripture, quote it, learn about its history, listen to other peoples' thoughts, pray for the Holy Spirit to help us understand.  None of these things are adding to God's Word.  Adding to His Word means rewriting the actual Bible for selfish purposes.  That's one of the reasons I put the Bible verses in a different font, I don't want anyone to be confused between what's my thoughts and what's His Word.  God is pleased when we highlight Bible pages, and write verses on index cards to memorize.  The thing I am most proud of in my Christian walk is I wore out my first Bible.  The pages started falling out.  It was a real challenge to read it the first time.  I did it!  God used it to change my life.

7 Two things I request of You
(Deprive me not before I die):

8 Remove falsehood and lies far from me;
Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;

9 Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

NKJV
This is an awesome prayer.  It sums up what God wants for us.  When I was a child I lived in an upper middle class home.  We had a swimming pool in the backyard.  My Dad had a dune buggy.  We had all the love that money could buy.  Our house was full of anger. When I went to college I had no money.  I was broke.  I had holes in my tennis shoes.  The manager in the cafeteria where I worked told me that I needed to get new shoes.  I couldn't.  I had great friends; my faith was growing; I was on my own.  It was the perfect opportunity for me to learn about prayer : )  I don't recommend this lifestyle for the weak of heart!  Truly the best times for me are when we are doing fine.  I can be creative and enjoy living.  No worries about what to buy- just live.