Proverbs 8:15-17: Diligently Searching

By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth. I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. Proverbs 8:15-17

Love: to have affection for , friend

Seek: with longing, long for, with the implication of earnestness, to search for painstaking

Find: Attain, acquire, take hold on, seize 

Time. 

On what do I spend my time? Each day has 24 hours. We all are given the same time each day—24 hours. 1440 minutes. 86,400 seconds. 

Out of the 25 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds—how much time is spent DILIGENTLY searching for Wisdom? 

Each DAY on AVERAGE we spend .........

• 7 hours sleeping.
• 3 hours each day watching TV. 
• 7.5 hours working. 
• 40 minutes each day on Facebook. 
• 17 minutes  exercising.
• 90 minutes communicating, socializing, talking (face to face).
• 70 minutes shopping
• 15 minutes reading books. 
• 70 minutes eating and drinking.
• 30 minutes doing housework.
• 60 minutes involved in a religious or spiritual activity.

Where does searching for wisdom fit in your daily schedule? Do you carve out a few minutes sometime in the middle of checking Facebook? Do you attempt to search for wisdom as you watch TV? Or maybe you just are waiting for wisdom to appear in your dreams. 

Long for. Search for painstakingly. With earnest. Diligently. 

If you knew that 1 million dollars was in your house somewhere–and you only had to find it—would you sit around all day "liking" random posts on Facebook? Would you sit down in front of the TV for 2 and half hours? I highly doubt it! You'd painstakingly turn your home upside down searching for $1,000,000! With earnest. Diligently. 

Throughout the first 7 chapters of Proverbs, we've read over and over how priceless wisdom is. It's a valued treasure. It's worth more than gold or silver. Yet, we simply sit and idly waste away our days. And then we wonder why we make mistakes. We wonder why we are wandering aimlessly. We wonder why we make foolish decisions. 

Wisdom is a valued treasure which we must put for a diligent effort to find and seize. And the diligent effort begins with a heart that is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Act 9:31 MSG). 

How much time will be spent diligently searching for wisdom today?

Not Even Give A Thought

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 16. Here is what I learned.

All the while the despair of many, who abandoned Your goodness for the empty promises of false gods, increases day by day. I refuse to pour out blood offerings, to utter their names from my lips. Psalm 16:4 (VOICE)

Those who quickly chase after other gods multiply their sorrows. I will not pour out their sacrificial offerings of blood or use my lips to speak their names. Psalm 16:4 (GW)

Nor take up their names into my lips - As objects of worship. That is, I will not in any way acknowledge them as gods, or render to them the homage which is due to God. The very mention of the name of any other god than the true God was solemnly forbidden by the law of Moses Exodus 23:13, "And make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of your mouth." So the apostle Paul says Ephesians 5:3, "But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not once be named among you, as becometh saints." The idea in these places seems to be, that the mere mention of these things would tend to produce dangerous familiarity with them, and by such familiarity take off something of the repugnance and horror with which they should be regarded, They were, in other words, to be utterly avoided; they were never to be thought of or named; they were to be treated as though they were not. No one can safely so familiarize himself with vice as to render it a frequent subject of conversation. Pollution will flow into the heart from words which describe pollution, even when there is no intention that the use of such words should produce contamination. No one can be familiar with stories or songs of a polluted nature, and still retain a heart of purity. "The very passage of a polluted thought through the mind leaves pollution behind it." How much more is the mind polluted when the thought is dwelt upon, and when utterance is given to it in language! Barnes' Notes on the Bible

When man turns from God, they seek other gods to worship. They are dissatisfied with themselves, and their lives yet can’t find the solution; therefore, they continue to search for satisfaction in other gods—anything but the one true God where they can find peace and contentment. 

Why do so many reject God? Perhaps because they have to realize that they are not in control, and need to surrender to One more powerful and Holy. 

Even though I believe in God, and love Him...... how often do I turn from Him because I’d rather enjoy a few moments of sin... or think I am smarter than God... or whatever the reason. Any item, thought, or action that is contrary to God’s holy standard is sin. And if I continue to follow after that sin, that is an idol. And there is to be no other god than GOD... in my life. 

To create a positive day, I need to not even give a thought to anything that is not in accordance with God and His Word.