PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; neither go into thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: for better is a neighbour that is near than a brother far off” (Proverbs 27:10).

I am reading this thinking in context, okay? So, apparently you have a calamity in your life. You have family that lives far away. Your brother lives 100 miles away, and you are going to have to move to live with him in the day of your calamity. Well, the fact is, it speaks there in verse 10, of “a neighbour that is near.” I reckon that neighbor is the friend he's talking about, okay? Maybe you are better off moving in, and letting your friend; your neighbor help you, then to go to family or a brother.

“A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17).

A friend loves at all times, and it has to be understood in balance. I liken it in this verse that the brother and the friend are the same guy, brothers in the Lord. Right? Well, “a brother is born for adversity,” we were we were born for fellowship; we were born to go through some stuff together. I do believe that when you get saved you get baptized into the body of Christ, whether you are a Methodist or whatever, as long as you are trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ upon the cross, you are saved and you are baptized into the body of Christ. There is something very important about a local church. That local church is supposed to be tightly bound and close because you are going to go through stuff together. That is the problem with the free agent. He goes through stuff without being accountable to anybody else, and there is nobody to help him when he needs a brother that is born for adversity.

Daily Bible study is necessary if we are going to begin our day with the right attitude and the right spiritual diet. Proverbs has 31 chapters, and most months have 31 days, so let's read a chapter of Proverbs a day and see what God might have for us. As the Lord leads, share with us what God has shown you in a special way and by His grace let us build up a devotional repository. Let's keep our knives and forks handy for some daily bread! Ideally, a chapter or two of Proverbs will fit in nicely with a good plan of reading our Bibles through each year.

If anyone would like to be added to the ping list, please let me know either by post or by p.m.

For more books on all topics of the Bible, visit my web site at:

BAPTIST BIBLE BELIEVERS WEBSITE

BEGGARS AT A CAMP MEETING - KING JAMES BIBLE PREACHIN'

WHERE'S YOUR NAME?

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.