1 Samuel 1:21-2:11
"I'm filled with a hunger for God!
I'm on a pink cloud.
I'm laughing at the people who said I wouldn't amount to anything.
I'm dancing through life because I've been rescued.
Nothing and no one is sacred like God,
no Rocky Mountain like our God.
Don't even think about talking arrogantly -
not a cocky word ever!
God knows what's going on.
God is paying attention to everything that's happening.
The drones of the strong are smashed to pieces,
while the weak are given fresh strength.
The ones with full bellies are out begging on the streets for crumbs,
while the hungry are at the buffet line.
The woman who's been unable to conceive has a houseful of children,
while the woman who has countless kids is deprived.
Death and life both belong to God,
as well as going to the grave and raising back to life.
Poverty and wealth both belong to God;
the lowering cloud of depression and the elevating light of life.
The poor are put on their feet again;
Hopeless and weary lives are patched up with fresh hope,
with dignity and respect restored.
The mysterious processes of the universe belong to God;
God's operations are laid out on a foundation that lasts.
God cares for the faithful who take life one step at a time,
and lets us stumble around in the dark if we choose.
No one makes it in this life on willpower alone!
I want my enemies to be blasted out of the sky,
crashing down to earth to be made into a bonfire.
God will set things right everywhere - every nation, city, and town,
and will give strength to my son,
and will set my son on top of the world!"
Reading some Proverbs:
ReplyDeleteIt is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.
When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice.
A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all.
Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies,for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles.
Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.
I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber,a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations? When the grass is gone and the new growth appears and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered, the lambs will provide your clothing, and the goats the price of a field. There will be enough goats' milk for your food, for the food of your household and maintenance for your girls.
Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.
Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
The poor man and the oppressor meet together; the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. I applied my heart to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind. What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.
In much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Well that wasn't the way I intended to end this!