Hello! Warm wishes for a wonderful day. Let's begin today back in Proverbs, this time Proverbs 30:4-9.

"4 Who has ascended to heaven and then descended? Who has gathered the wind in the palms of both hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name and the name of his son—if you know? 5 Every saying of God is refined. He is a shield to those taking refuge in him. 6 Add nothing to his words, Or he will reprove you, And you will be proved a liar. 7 Two things I ask of you. Do not withhold them from me before I die. 8 Remove untruth and lies far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches. Just let me consume my portion of food, 9 So that I do not become satisfied and deny you and say, “Who is Jehovah?” Nor let me become poor and steal and dishonor the name of my God."

Prov 30:4 Clearly referring to God Jehovah, similar to expressions of God describing himself to Job in Job 38. How great and mighty is our God Jehovah! And how insightful is the reference to God's son, as a separate person.

Prov 30:5 God's word contains the refined sayings of God. As Jesus declared in prayer at John 17:17 "Sanctify them (Christ's disciples) by means of the truth; your word is truth." May we appreciate God's preservation of truth, and accordingly seek to live by it, loving truth and rejecting lies. One lie can cause great harm to persons. May we steer clear of close association with intentional liars and other such wrongdoers as we endeavor to preserve truth and righteousness in our lives, pleasing God and loving others as God does. (1Cor 15:33).

Prov 30:6 We must be careful not to take God's words out of context, and misapply them. We do need to understand the context of verses, and make proper application of the principles to our modern personal life. Just be careful, as such misapplication is common even among religious teachers today.

Prov 30:7-9 The first, remove untruth and lies far from me. Once again, we need to keep our distance from intentional liars and those twisting truth, that our hearts are not affected or inclined to such a way. Prov 15:29 says "Jehovah is far away from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous." Yet we should try to encourage wrongdoers to repent of their error and turn to God, appreciating His goodness in their lives, to want to please Him. Most can be reformed with God's blessing and His help, especially when such ones learn to distance themselves from bad associates.

The second request was to be given neither poverty nor riches. Not riches, that he not trust in them and deny God. Not poverty, that he might not steal and thus bring dishonor or reproach on the name of God.

Psal 71 (Book 2, 30th psalm) includes David's prayerful plea: "O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust oppressor. For you are my hope, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah; I have trusted in you since my youth." Whether we came to know the truth about God and serve Him from a young age, or it took some time before this, nevertheless God wants to support us as we trust in Him. Psal 71:3 pleads: "Become for me a rock fortress where I can always enter. Give the command to save me, for you are my crag and my stronghold." Especially can we trust in God for protection of our spirit, as we turn to Him in prayer. Phil 4:6,7 says "Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus."

Titu 2:11-14 reveals God's will to bring salvation to people of all sorts, and shows this involves a pursuit of what is right, and not simply a forgiveness of sin without repentance. Ungodly desires are to be rejected as we pursue what is right with devotion to God, seeking a close relationship with Him.

It reads: "For the undeserved kindness of God has been manifested, bringing salvation to all sorts of people. 12 It trains us to reject ungodliness and worldly desires and to live with soundness of mind and righteousness and godly devotion amid this present system of things, 13 while we wait for the happy hope and glorious manifestation of the great God and of our Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to set us free from every sort of lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people who are his own special possession, zealous for fine works."

May we likewise seek to acquire and maintain the spirit of a sound mind--having a good sense of priorities in life, and seek righteousness--adherence to God's way--the framework of a happy and successful life and family, now and everlastingly.