Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 22:6, Grow them with the Grain
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick “Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 AMPC Proverbs 22:6 became one of my “go to” parenting principles. I discovered early on that one of the best things I could do for my children was to study them. What delighted them? How did they best learn? Proverbs 22:6 reveals that every child has a “way” or path he or she should go. This path will vary according to their God-given gifts, talents, and temperament. For example, education should be a...
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Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 31:10, Marriage Tips from Proverbs
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.” Proverbs 31:10 What does it mean to be a godly wife? As a new believer when David and I married, this question came to mind often. There were plenty of “how to” books out there, but I wanted to know what the Bible had to say. I found some practical tips on marriage tucked into the pages of Proverbs. Widely appreciated by scholars as “wisdom literature,” Proverbs contains real-life advice on everything from marriage to parenting. From finances to serving the poor. But I found a...
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Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 4:20, Training our Heart to Hear God’s Voice
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick “My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings.” Proverbs 4:20 Consider the miracle of speech. Our voice sets us apart from the animals. It allows us to communicate with each other and with God. Think of the people whose voice is familiar to you. When my husband David calls, he doesn’t have to identify himself. I know his voice because I know him so well. So it is with God. The better we get to know him, the more easily we recognize his voice. A recurring theme throughout the book of Proverbs is the importance of listening to God. Proverbs...
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Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 18:10
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10 There is power in the name of the Lord. Today’s proverb reminds us of that. The name of the Lord provides safety to all who call upon it. In the Old Testament, the Jews thought God's name was so holy they would never even utter it, but in the New Testament, all of the world comes to know that the name of the Lord is Jesus. The name that always carried such power is revealed through the life and ministry of the Son of God, who took away all the sins of the world. A...
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Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 21:1
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick “The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.” Proverbs 21:1 This proverb is a wonderful reminder about the sovereignty of God over everything in this world, even rulers and kings. He rules and reigns above everything. This verse shares a similar truth to another proverb in Proverbs 16:9, which says, “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Think about a stream of water for a moment; the way it flows, twists, and turns. Solomon declares this stream is directed by the Lord. The Lord...
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Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 22:1
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.” Proverbs 22:1 Today’s proverb focuses on the importance of having a good name and a positive reputation. In fact, terrorists and extortionists have found one of the greatest motivations for paying a large ransom is the threat to someone’s good name. Interestingly, throughout the Bible, whether for better or worse, we often see how someone’s name's meaning indicates their character. Let’s look at a few examples from Scripture. Jacob’s name means “supplanter”...
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Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 4:23
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23 Today’s proverb tells us about the importance of guarding our hearts. Out of our hearts flow the springs of all life. There is a phrase that I've lived by for many years that I want to share with you again today: “The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.” The core of everything that you have experienced, are experiencing, and will experience is a heart issue. Your heart carries the depths of your joys, pains, trials, and victories. Because of that, it must be regularly...
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Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 18:21
A Moment of Hope
by David Chadwick “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21 King Solomon is the primary author of the book of Proverbs. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at some of the simple truths and wise sayings from this book of the Bible. I pray that as you read each of these truths, your faith life will deepen and that you will grow in wisdom. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that life and death are in the tongue. If you have spent any amount of time on this broken planet, you have most likely experienced the pain of...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: Finish Strong
A Moment of Hope
by Marilynn Chadwick “Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 NIV Dad encourages me to finish my own race strong. Live a life of sacrifice and honor. Give yourself for the larger good. Put others before yourself. Don’t give up. Family is worth it. Hold onto your faith. No matter what comes your way, persevere. And always do the right thing. These are some of the messages Dad continues to teach me, even at 98. Dad has always believed in dreaming big. He encouraged our dreams. Through the years, nothing brought...
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Lessons from My 98-year-old Dad: How I Ended Up on a Submarine, Part 2
A Moment of Hope
by Harper Brame as told to Marilynn Chadwick “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart.” Col 3:3a NIV …Continued from Wednesday… After I graduated from boot camp, my superiors discussed my next steps. They asked if I would volunteer for submarine school. “No sir,” I told the officer. “I don’t want any part of that.” I had wanted to go to the Hospital Corps school, the U.S. Navy training facility that taught recruits medical skills for battlefield and shipboard service. At the last minute, it turns out we were not needed. So we were put on a S-Draft and sent on the...
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“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” Proverbs 18:21
King Solomon is the primary author of the book of Proverbs. Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at some of the simple truths and wise sayings from this book of the Bible. I pray that as you read each of these truths, your faith life will deepen and that you will grow in wisdom.
Proverbs 18:21 tells us that life and death are in the tongue. If you have spent any amount of time on this broken planet, you have most likely experienced the pain of slanderous words, gossip, and words of death. Some people are scarred for life because of destructive negative words.
An age-old phrase says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” This is such a lie! Words are incredibly powerful and can hurt deeply. However, on the other hand, words can bring great life, produce incredible results, and often have an eternal impact. Words of life exhort, encourage, bring life-giving correction, call someone to a higher standard of living like Jesus, and give strength to the soul to keep moving forward in difficult times.
In fact, James 3:3-5 tells us so much about the power of the tongue. A tiny bit in the mouth of a stallion can turn the horse one way or the other. It also tells us that a small rudder can steer a gigantic ship. A little spark from the tongue can set ablaze a forest fire. Do you get the picture? It really is sobering that such a small part of our body, the tongue, has such power.
I will never forget how my college basketball coach, Dean Smith, would huddle us together during the last minutes of an important game to speak words of encouragement to our team. Time and time again, I saw how his challenging encouragement would ignite us to play harder and often bring home a victory.
As we live in this broken world, may we seek to use our speech in ways that promote unity and victory instead of pain and destruction. May we seek to bring life to other people. Even in times of correction, may we allow the power of our tongues to produce life! In doing so, we are living like Jesus and revealing the love of the Father to those around us.