For more information, read [Christian-Path]

3. A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple go on, and suffer for it.
4. The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
6. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
7. The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
24. Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,
25. lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
29. Do you see a man skilful in his work? he will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Verse 4 of Proverbs 22 is particularly interesting for it says the reward for humility and reverence of the Lord is riches, honor and life. This is so true in all aspects of life. Even in terms of blogging, I need to watch out what I write for the whole world is reading my blogs. I would like to portray myself as someone positive, diligent, kind and easygoing. Not one who is out to get somebody for some errors done in the past. Also, verse 24 says make no friendship with a man given to anger, for fear you learn of his bad habit and get yourself ensnared. So, who you mix with and are in close contact may influence your behavior and temperament. Be careful who you mingle with and choose your friends wisely.

5. The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but every one who is hasty comes only to want.
6. The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.
9. It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious woman. 17. He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
19. It is better to live in a desert land than with a contentious and fretful woman.
20. Precious treasure remains in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.
21. He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor.
23. He who keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
25. The desire of the sluggard kills him for his hands refuse to labor.

These verses are taken from BibleLookup.com using the RSV version. Verse 5 of Proverbs 21 is particularly interesting. It says the plans of the diligent surely lead to abundance which is so true today. God has destined us to work with our hands and not to be slothful after Adam’s fall. Verse 17 also strikes out to me. He who loves pleasure will be poor and one who is frivolous and enjoys the good things in live but do not continue to work will surely come to poverty. All the money will be spent.

1. Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife.
19. He who loves transgression loves strife; he who makes his door high seeks destruction.
20. A man of crooked mind does not prosper, and one with a perverse tongue falls into calamity.
21. A stupid son is a grief to a father; and the father of a fool has no joy.
22. A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.
23. A wicked man accepts a bribe from the bosom to pervert the ways of justice.
24. A man of understanding sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
25. A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him
28. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.

Verse 20 strikes out to me this morning as I read Proverbs 17 from the Old Testament. It says a man of crooked mind does not prosper, and one with a perverse tongue falls into calamity. This is so true and I have seen it happened over and over again. If an employee is dishonest and cheats his boss, surely he will be given the sack. Same too with backbiting for what goes around, comes around. Finally I need to apply verse 22 all the time, for it says a cheerful heart is a good medicine and therefore health to all my bones, my organs, kidneys, lungs, eyes, fingers, etc. So be happy each day and take pride in my work for my heavenly Father watches over me.

1. Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful! Your eyes are doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats, moving down the slopes of Gilead.
2. Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes that have come up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and not one among them is bereaved.
3. Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your mouth is lovely. Your cheeks are like halves of a pomegranate behind your veil.
4. Your neck is like the tower of David, built for an arsenal, whereon hang a thousand bucklers, all of them shields of warriors.
5. Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, that feed among the lilies.
6. Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, I will hie me to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.
7. You are all fair, my love; there is no flaw in you.
8. Come with me from Lebanon, my bride; come with me from Lebanon. Depart from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.
9. You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride, you have ravished my heart with a glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace.
10. How sweet is your love, my sister, my bride! how much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than any spice!
11. Your lips distil nectar, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue; the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon.
12. A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a garden locked, a fountain sealed.
13. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with all choicest fruits, henna with nard,
14. nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all chief spices –
15. a garden fountain, a well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon.
16. Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden, let its fragrance be wafted abroad. Let my beloved come to his garden, and eat its choicest fruits.

5. Every word of God [is] pure: he [is] a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
8. Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
9. Lest I be full, and deny [thee], and say, Who [is] the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God [in vain].
25. The ants [are] a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

The ants are one of the most diligent creatures in the animal kingdom. They work constantly gathering food and store them up for winter. Hence they will never go hungry. We ought to be like the ants, working hard and not to expect handouts from other people or even the government unless we are handicapped and disabled.

3. He who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but one who keeps company with harlots squanders his substance.

11. A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

17. Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart.

23. A man’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

25. The fear of man lays a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord is safe.

In the Book of Proverbs, many times we have been reminded to remain humble and not to let pride get in the way. As stated in verse 23, A man’s pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. As they say, pride goes before a fall. The above are some of the selected good verses for today’ reading from Proverbs written by King Solomon, the richest man who ever lived.

6. Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is perverse in his ways.

14. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord always; but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

20. A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.

24. He who robs his father or his mother and says, “That is no transgression,” is the companion of a man who destroys.

25. A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the Lord will be enriched.

In verse 14, it says blessed is the man who fears the Lord. In this context, the word fear means giving reverential honor to the Lord. As I honor the Lord and his word, I will not fall into calamity or disaster. More importantly, I need to keep my pride in check and to remain humble if possible. Prosperity comes to those who are humble and not deceitful and it comes from God the Father. Our heavenly Father has established tithing as a way to be prosperous.

Proverbs 25:17-18

17. Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he become weary of you and hate you.

18. A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow.

And another one here in verses 21 – 22.

21. If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

22. for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

And finally the last verse

28. A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.

In another version, it says that a patient man is greater than a warrior who builds a city. We need to control our temper for it is written a patient man with self-control is greater than a warrior who builds a city.

When Israel was outnumbered and enemies were coming from the north, south, east and west to fight them by the dozens of thousands, God Most High told the Jews to bring musical instruments as their weapons. So when the day of war came, the Israelites gathered on a hill and started praising God and playing their musical instruments. When the different camps of enemies saw this, they got confused who the enemy is and instead fought amongst themselves and killed each other! They thought the Jews who were playing the musical instruments and praising God were in their team and fought their own compatriots instead! This is so funny! God is really mighty. His ways are not our ways, His thought are not our thoughts. We just need to humbly obey and be victorious.

12. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also [do] ye.
14. And above all these things [put on] charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

It is written to apply kindness, humbleness of mind and meekness in our daily lives as we mingle with people, our families, colleagues and even fellow bloggers. The non-Christians will perceive this as weakness, but God knows better and tells us to forgive our enemies so that you don’s carry the hurt and fester into a disease later on. Many illnesses are borne due to unforgiveness and bitterness in the heart. But when you forgive and forget, you move on and don’t harbor bitterness anymore. This is good for you and ensures healthy longevity.

Here are the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit listed one right after the other in a bullet point format:

Now here is the specific verse from Scripture where these 9 fruits are being given to us by the Lord:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

Let us meditate on God’s word and apply the fruits of the holy spirit in our lives not only during Christmas in the spirit of giving, magnanimity and forgiveness. And let us not conform to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of the mind each day by reading the Bible faithfully. I read my Bible each morning as I wake up for my spiritual food or taking bread from heaven, do you?

Elvis Presley had everything he wanted – money, fame, a beautiful wife, a kid, big house, nice car, etc. Yet he was feeling empty inside. When he approached his pastor, he was crying and shared this with his pastor. Fast forward to another famous personality many years later, Leslie Cheung, a Hong Kong actor and musician who suffered from clinical depression also followed suit. Known affectionately as “Gorgor,” Leslie Cheung, 46, committed suicide on April 1, 2003 by jumping from the 24th floor of Central Hong Kong’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel.

And you read in the newspapers of people committing suicide even though they have everything that we desire, the fame and money that we envy. It is very true as written in the first book of the New Testament of Matthew in chapter 4, verse 4 which says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Do you place God first in your lives or do you put temporal tangible things and unreliable human relationships first in your lives? Let God the Heavenly Father be the master of your lives and He will guide you to health, wealth and prosperity.

Another verse from Proverbs 22 that speaks out to me today is verse 24 which says “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25. lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.” When I was working in Singapore, I used to be hot tempered and having pride. That’s because I was in close association with someone I know who easily gives in to anger and extremely jealous. Inadvertently, I learnt of her ways and got myself ensnared and could not get along with people. I also think too highly of myself. When I realized my mistake, I decided not to be closely associated with this person as it was to my disadvantage than a blessing from past experiences.

When I tithe to church, God has led me to know the right people at the right time and doing the right things without me knowing it initially and later on to realize about the benefit. Even my boss is a converted Christian and we go to the same church. Everything falls in place smoothly for me. I don’t have to struggle hard or persevere hard, yet the blessings are more. If you like to know more about tithing, check out this site by New Creation Church which is where I got my spiritual food from. Note that I don’t get any referral commission from here but this is the MOST ANNOINTED CHURCH that I have ever attended!

I spend my mornings reading God’s Word, the Bible. My routine is reading a chapter of Proverbs each day that commensurate with the day of the month, a chapter of Psalms 91 for protection, Colossians 3:12 to be gentle and to forgive and Psalms chapter 1 on blessings. I don’t consider this a drudgery but sometime that comes naturally to me.