Proverbs 3:9, 10: Lionize

Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase;

So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine. Proverbs 3:9, 10

Honor: make honorable, honor, glorify

Lord: Yahweh, the proper name of the God

Possessions: wealth, sufficiency, what you have/own

Firstfruits: beginning, chief

All: the whole, entire

Increase: product, revenue

Barns: storehouse, supply

Be filled: be full, fill

Plenty: abundance, plenteous, satisfied

Overflow: burst open, break over [limits], increase

New wine: valuable product

Mine. Mine. Mine. 

All too often when the Lord gives us things, we turn into a 3-year-old... Mine! Mine! Mine! When in reality, God wants us to say, "It's yours, Lord, how do you want me to use it?" 

Honor. We hear that word often. Honor. What does it really mean? Honor according to the dictionary means to hold in honor or high respect; revere; to show a courteous regard for; to worship. But what does it MEAN to actually honor someone? 

Honor: Respect: account, adoration, adulation, aggrandizement, attention, celebration, confidence, consideration, credit, dignity, distinction, elevation, esteem, exaltation, faith, fame, fealty, glorification, glory, greatness, high standing, homage, immortalization, laud, lionization, notice, obeisance, popularity, praise, prestige, rank, recognition, renown, reputation, reverence, tribute, trust, worship.

When I first read the list of words describing Honor, the word "lionization" jumped out at me.
(Read that blog post here: http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com/2013/04/lionize.html)

Lionize. Lionization: to treat a person as a celebrity; to pursue celebrities or seek their company; to visit or exhibit the objects of interest of.

Lionization of celebrities is done every day. When we hear or see celebrities we like, we pause, we stop what we are doing to listen, we are in awe of them. 
Yet, we too often ignore God, the creator of all. Yes, we ignore God Almighty. 
How do we ignore Him? First and foremost, we ignore His Word and Truth. We choose to live our lives how we want, and ignore what He has commanded. 
And then, because ignore God, we do not give Him our possessions—rather we treat them as our own and use them for only our good. 

Lionize. Honor God Himself. For when I honor God, I will want to use all that He has given me in accordance with His purpose. The only way to be wiling to lionize God with my heart and all I have, is to have a heart that is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG). For when my heart is right with God, I'll want to use all that I have to lionize Him to the fullest! 

Proverbs 3:7, 8: Do Be. Will Be.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil.

It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones. Proverbs 3:7, 8

Do be: exist, abide, remain, continue

Not: to express with emphasis its negation (NO!!)

Wise: shrewd, crafty, cunning

Your own eyes: think best, of mental and spiritual faculties

Fear: reverence, honor

Depart: turn aside, out of one's course

Evil: ethical evil

Will be: fall out, come to pass, become, result

Health: healing

Flesh: body

Strength: drink (figurative for refreshment)

Bones: as representing entire person = one's whole being, including physical and moral

Do Be. Will Be. 

Often we see people out shopping, and we stop and say to ourselves, "Did that person even look in a mirror before they left the house?" We see one thing, and that person saw another. 

We don't always see ourselves honestly. We see ourselves in the way we want to be, not what we actually are. We tend to put ourselves the best light possible. Who wants to admit that we aren't wise, and good, and..... the list goes on. 

Yet, trying to be wise based on our own cunning crafty ways is just plain foolishness. Do Be. The fact is that we will BE, exist in someway. The question is how will be "Do Be"? Will be "Do Be" based on our own shrewd and cunning ways to get what we want and try to survive? Or will be "Do Be" based on the fear of God and His sovereign and holy wisdom? 

Do Be. We will exist. That's a fact. The choice clear—oneself or God.

Will Be. The Result is also clear. Fearing God has a greater result as it will result in healing refreshment to the body and soul. When the soul is at peace with God, then one's whole being is refreshed—pure peace from God Himself. 

If I want to enjoy the end result of refreshment from God, then my heart must first be permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Act 9:31 MSG). And as my heart is set to fear God, my "Do Be" will be in accordance with God and the end result will be peaceful refreshment.

Proverbs 3:6: Practice Being Wise

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:6

In all: the direction of the whole, every

Your ways: course of life, or action, undertakings, including moral character, good sense.

Acknowledge: learn to know, perceive with added idea of observing, taking note of, know by experience, recognize, be wise

Direct: make smooth, straight, in ethical sense

Paths: of course & fortunes of life, mode of living, or of character

Acknowledge. Take note of.  

When asked why I blog.. it's so that I can "remember" all that God has taught me. I often take time to go back and re-read blog posts. And sadly, as I read them... I realize that I have forgotten lessons God taught me, and blessings He's supplied. 

Throughout Scripture, God tells people to build monuments, or do certain things to remember things God has done. It's important to remember. Take note of what God has done and is doing. Take note of what God says in the Bible. Take note of what God is teaching. Take note of. 

Acknowledge. Take not of. Know by experience. 

Do. Experience helps cement the "knowing". Book knowledge is good, but actual hands-on experience cements that knowledge into our hearts and mind. Think about it for a minute. Which surgeon would you rather have: 1. Who has read all the books on the subject, but has NEVR performed any surgeries. 2. One who has read the books, and has gone through resident training, spent time practicing surgeries (usually on cadavers), and has performed the surgery on live people. Book knowledge vs Experience.

Acknowledge. Take not of. Know by experience. Be wise. 

Sadly, so often we take note of, learned by experience..... only to act foolishly. The key is to learn, know, experience and put all that into use—be wise. Just because you KNOW something doesn't mean that you'll make wise choices or act wisely. For there has to be follow-through. Practice being wise. 

Acknowledge. Take note of. Know by experience. Be wise. Then God can easily direct you on the path of life He has chosen for you. 

The very first aspect of Acknowledging God is to fear Him (Proverbs 1:7). When a heart is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG), then it is ready to accept God's Wisdom and then one can take note of and practice being wise. 

Proverbs 3:5b: Support Yourself

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;  Proverbs 3:5

Heart: the inner man, indefinite, soul, comprehending mind, affections and will

Lean: support oneself

Not: to express with emphasis its negation

Own understanding: faculties, one of the powers of the mind, as memory, reason, or speech.

Yesterday, we looked at the word Trust. Now that we know that God is trustworthy, let's look at the extent to which we are to trust and what other words of wisdom are found in these verses. 

Trust the Lord with all your heart. With all, entirety, your mind, affections, and will. It's one thing to say or think of trusting, it's another to set aside your will and trust in what God is doing! 

Don't try to support yourself on what you remember or think you know. "But I do know what's best!" Oh, really? I have to think back to this past Summer, when God was directing me as I was looking for a place to buy.

(You can read about how God directed me here: http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com/2015/05/announcement-part-1-im-moving.html) 

One home which we put an offer on, seemed "perfect" in my mind. It had wood floors, access to a pool, nice location, and the right price. Yes, it only had 2 bedrooms, BUT in my reasoning and understanding it was "perfect". 

God knew that He had something far better in mind. But at that moment, I could only see "this house and pool" and couldn't imaging anything better. Thankfully, God slammed that door shut keeping me from buying that home. For in his Wisdom, He was working on something far better. I had to learn to TRUST God and rely on God's Wisdom, not my own. 

Do not support myself on what I think I know or can reason. It may come as a great surprise, but I do not know it all! That seems unbelievable... right? Of course I do not know it all.... but sadly, too often I act like I do. 

Trust God. Do even try to support yourself. God in His Wisdom will teach and instruct and guide you...... but you need to Trust and rely on Him. Trusting Him begins with having a heart that is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG). For when one respects God, one can fully trust God. 

Proverbs 3:5a: Trust

Trust in the Lord ...... Proverbs 3:5a

Trust: rely upon

In: denoting motion towards

Lord: Yahweh

Trust. Dependence. Reliance. Sureness. Confidence. 

To be honest, I have trust issues. I tend to be self-reliant, after all, I can "do it myself". I know that 3-year-old mentality appearing again. BUT, if I do it myself, I know that it will get done. I know that it will be done right (or at least right according to me). I know that ....... the list goes on. 

Trust. The key to trusting is not the act of trust itself, but the WHOM. Who do I trust? We all, at one point in our lives, trusted someone who in our minds, let us down. But, we are NOT putting our trust, reliance, in a person. We are to TRUST GOD, the Creator of all. 

First, God is trustworthy simply because HE IS GOD. Period. 

Let's look at this fact for a moment. He is the one who holds each star in place. He is the one who keeps the earth tilted at just the right angle so that the tides work, and so that the weather isn't too hot or too cold. He is in charge of the sunrise and sunsets. He is in charge of the vast galaxies. 

I'd say that the One who controls and takes care of all those details, is worthy of trust. 

But if you need more than that, God is trustworthy because He has PROVEN Himself trustworthy! God keeps His Word. Read through the Bible, and take note of each promise that God made, and how He kept that promise. 

And if you STILL need another reason to trust God.... well, I'd say look into your own heart. For if your heart is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG), then you'll understand that God is trustworthy. 

Trust. Not just in someone—but in God Himself.