At the time I wrote this, I had neglected my morning devotional for some time.

9/13/2020

I could say I have an excuse. I have woken up to wet carpet and other things going on, unpleasant things, that take my attention. Well, I guess I have reasons, not really excuses. Anyway this morning I have decided to back up a bit, to my 9/11 scriptures and start from there.

A good relationship with another human, like one's spouse, and one's relationship with God is based on at least three things, Faith, Hope, and Trust. There is also joy. We are supposed to learn how to have faith, where to place our hope, and what good things are worth having that can provide joy. We should learn these things when we are children. If you are like me you learned them by taking instructions from your parents. Both my Mom and Dad instructed me on what the proper path is to take thru the forest of life. They introduced me to Instruction at a very young age.

There is a song, about little children. Diane, who if she hears a song one time never forgets it, sang it to me this morning when I asked if she remembered it.

O be careful little eyes what you see

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little eyes what you see

O be careful little ears what you hear

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little ears what you hear

O be careful little hands what you do

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little hands what you do

O be careful little feet where you go

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little feet where you go

O be careful little mouth what you say

There's a Father up above

And He's looking down in love

So, be careful little mouth what you say

There is a phrase about being a child, that goes along with this song, Be careful little hands what you do, because if you are sent to bed I have to go to. In my case, it was my mouth that sent me to bed (imagine that, me saying something that gets me in trouble)

I needed to learn at an early age to take instruction. The Book of Proverbs says that having instruction in your life is as important as a relationship with a person, to listen to her, let her guide you towards God and Righteousness and away from evil. I think that just maybe, a lot of the world’s problems at the moment are due to too many folks not having a relationship with instruction.

Proverbs 4: 13-27

13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go!

Guard wisdom, because she is your life!

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked,

or go along the way of evil men.

15 Avoid it! Don’t travel on it!

Turn away from it, and pass on by.

16 For they cannot sleep unless they are doing evil,

and they are robbed of their sleep unless they cause someone to stumble.

17 For they eat the bread of wickedness,

and they drink the wine of violence.

18 The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn

that grows brighter until the full light of day.

19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness,

and they do not know what they are stumbling over.

20 My son, pay attention to my words,

and listen closely to what I say.

21 Do not let them out of your sight;

keep them within your heart.

22 For they are life to those who find them,

and healing to their whole body.

23 Above everything else guard your heart,

because from it flow the springs of life.

24 Never talk deceptively

and don’t keep company with people whose speech is corrupt.

25 Let your eyes look directly ahead;

fix your gaze straight in front of you.

26 Carefully measure the paths for your feet,

and all your ways will be established.

27 Do not turn to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.

Derrick

Be Careful What You Say

These two should be together as well as apart.

9/16/2020

When Diane and I still had a wood and brick house, and it was a good one, there was an antique plate that Diane hung over the back door in our kitchen. It had these words printed on it:

Be careful of the words you say. Keep them soft and sweet. You will never know from day to day which ones you will have to eat.

This plate was a reminder of how we were to treat others. If something made anyone in the household mad, and ugly words starting flowing, someone would quote that plate. That might makes someone's pride flare up for a second, but then they would settle down and the tone coming from them would too. Being in business, and dealing with customer complaints (I did not have many complaints) I learned very fast that you catch more flies with honey than salt, that a soft answer turns away trouble. I learned that being soft spoken and polite is not a sign of weakness, just the opposite actually and my customers trusted me sooner to fix a problem if I were calm even if they were not. I had a couple that could be quite caustic at times, but I still treated them the way I would want to be treated if the shoe were on the other foot. My partner Mike was a master at this, "You fix the phones, and I will take care of them" he used to say. The system would be down, I would go to the phone closet, Mike would go to the owner's office, and before long I would hear pleasant talk and sometimes laughter coming down the hall.

My devotional for today, which again, hits close to home, says that we have two types of relationships, a Vertical one and a Horizontal one. The Vertical one that goes up is with God, the one that goes Horizontal is with those around us. Those around us include our family members, our friends and neighbors, workers, schoolmates, and even strangers. The most important thing to remember is that our Horizontal relationship is a reflection of our Vertical one. The way we treat others is a sure sign of how we treat God. Do we love him or are we just giving Him lip service? Many may think that if we give them lip. My Mom used to say that when I was not paying her the respect she was entitled to and deserved.

Don't give me lip young man..

Do we talk the talk as well as walk the walk? One really can't do one without the other. So we, and that means me, who claim to be Christians, should all ask ourselves these questions,

How do we look at others?

How do we talk to them?

How do we talk about them?

How do we threat them?

The way we treat them and the way we talk about them should and does exhibit, it advertises, our walk with God.

Proverbs 6: 1-19

1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,

if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,

2 you have been trapped by what you said,

ensnared by the words of your mouth.

3 So do this, my son, to free yourself,

since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:

Go—to the point of exhaustion—

and give your neighbor no rest!

4 Allow no sleep to your eyes,

no slumber to your eyelids.

5 Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,

like a bird from the snare of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, you sluggard;

consider its ways and be wise!

7 It has no commander,

no overseer or ruler,

8 yet it stores its provisions in summer

and gathers its food at harvest.

9 How long will you lie there, you sluggard?

When will you get up from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber,

a little folding of the hands to rest—

11 and poverty will come on you like a thief

and scarcity like an armed man.

12 A troublemaker and a villain,

who goes about with a corrupt mouth,

13 who winks maliciously with his eye,

signals with his feet

and motions with his fingers,

14 who plots evil with deceit in his heart—

he always stirs up conflict.

15 Therefore disaster will overtake him in an instant;

he will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy.

16 There are six things the Lord hates,

seven that are detestable to him:

17 haughty eyes,

a lying tongue,

hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked schemes,

feet that are quick to rush into evil,

19 a false witness who pours out lies

and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.

Derrick