So True

Proverbs 16:8-9

8  Better is a little with righteousness,

    Than vast revenues without justice.

Not according to Demas who tries to entice Christian and Hopeful with dreams of silver and gold in The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.

9 A man's heart plans his way,

   But the LORD directs his steps.

I grieve for the current leadership of this country. 
They think they are soooo smart.  
They are in for such a rude awakening...

Commonalities

Rachel and Leah;
Hannah and Penninah;
Sarah and Hagar (therefore Issac and Ishmael);
Ahinoam, Maachah, Bathsheba (therefore Amnon, Absalom, Solomon (therefore 300/700)
...ad nauseum right up to the present.
Primary and secondary (even tertiary) families do not mix, do they?
They surely make chaos out of already challenging primary families, don't they?

Psalm 10:1-11

A Psalm of confidence in God's triumph over evil.

1 Why do you stand afar off, O LORD?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
{Have we as Christians not asked that over and over the last several decades, as we have seen both the church and our country "going down the tubes"?}

2 The wicked in his pride, persecutes the poor;
{We see that daily.}
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
{I pray for their salvation first and being "caught in the plots which they have devised" second. Bernie Madoff is a good example of being caught in his own greedy plot.}

3 For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire;
He blesses the greedy and renouces the LORD.
{ Renouncing the LORD is the current national pastime.}

4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
God is in none of his thoughts.
{"The fool has said in his heart, there is no God." Psalm 14:1, Psalm 53:1}

5 His [the wicked] ways are always propering;
{At least for the time being.}
Your [God's] judgments are far above, out of his [the wicked's] sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
{He certainly does!}

6 He [the wicked] has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved;
I shall never be in adversity."
{Talk about delusional!}

7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.
{All we ever hear today is filthy language, cheating and trying to get ahead of the other guy.}

8 He [the wicked] sits in the lurking places in the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
{Abortion.}
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
{TV/Internet scams of all kinds.}

9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
{New senator in the old lion's seat, PTL.}
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
{Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac.)

10 So he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his strength.
{"Bailouts" that make matters worse.}


11 He [the wicked] has said in his heart,
"God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see."
{Na na na na na na...}

Next ~~ Psalm 10:12-18

worldly riches

Job 28

1 Surely there is a mine for silver,
And a place where gold is refined.

2 Iron is taken from the earth,
And copper is smelted from ore.

3 Man puts an end to darkness,
And searches every recess for ore,
In the darkness and and the shadow of death.

4 He breaks open a shaft away from people;
In places forgotten by feet
They hang far away from men;
They swing to and fro.

5 As for the earth, from it comes bread,
But underneath it is turned up as by fire;

6 Its stones are the source of sapphires,
And it contains gold dust.

7 That path no bird knows,
Nor has the falcon's eye seen it.

8 The proud lions have not trodden it,
Nor has the fierce lion passed over it.

9 He puts his hand on the flint;
He overturns the mountains at the roots.

10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
And his eye sees every precious thing.

11 He dams up the streams from trickling;
What is hidden he brings forth to light.

fallen world

Job 21
7 Why do the wicked live and become old,
Yes, become mighty in power?

8 Their descendants are established with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes.

9 Their houses are safe from fear,
Neither is the rod of God upon them.

10 Their bull breeds without failure;
Their cow calves without miscarriage.

11 They send forth their little ones like a flock,
And their children dance.

12 They sing to the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice to the sound of the flute.

13 They spend their days in wealth,
And in a moment go down to the grave.

14 Yet they say to God, ‘Depart from us,
For we do not desire the knowledge of Your ways.

15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him?
And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?’

not on the same wave length

More on conversations from Scripture ~~

Romans 8
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh,
but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

It is no wonder we can't 'hear' each other, is it?