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    Treasures from Proverbs: GEMS for You from the Book of Proverbs
    Treasures from Proverbs: GEMS for You from the Book of Proverbs
    Treasures from Proverbs: GEMS for You from the Book of Proverbs
    Ebook96 pages1 hour

    Treasures from Proverbs: GEMS for You from the Book of Proverbs

    By John Zehring

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    About this ebook

    “Treasures from Proverbs” takes the writings of Solomon and mines from them gems that apply to your daily life today – gems which sparkle from the pages to guide people of faith in their desire for a successful life, positive relationships with others, the quest for a healthy self-esteem, and for pursuing an encounter with the Divine. Coupled with the proverbs are engaging quotes, illustrations and other verses which serve as a pathway to inspire your growth, enjoyment, and fulfillment of an abundant life. The wisdom of Proverbs is immensely practical and speak to your everyday needs. To help organize the treasures by themes, four treasure chests contain the gems: Getting along with others, getting along with yourself, the words you use, and your spirit of generosity. Your life will be enriched by these gems as you capture a newfound appreciation and affection for the wisdom from the book of Proverbs. In so many ways, Proverbs lay out the pathway to successful living.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJohn Zehring
    Release dateOct 21, 2018
    ISBN9781370775606
    Treasures from Proverbs: GEMS for You from the Book of Proverbs
    Author

    John Zehring

    John Zehring has served United Church of Christ congregations as Senior Pastor in Massachusetts (Andover), Rhode Island (Kingston), and Maine (Augusta) and as an Interim Pastor in Massachusetts (Arlington, Harvard). Prior to parish ministry, he served in higher education, primarily in development and institutional advancement. He worked as a dean of students, director of career planning and placement, adjunct professor of public speaking and as a vice president at a seminary and at a college. He is the author of more than sixty books and is a regular writer for The Christian Citizen, an American Baptist social justice publication. He has taught Public Speaking, Creative Writing, Educational Psychology and Church Administration. John was the founding editor of the publication Seminary Development News, a publication for seminary presidents, vice presidents and trustees (published by the Association of Theological Schools, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment). He graduated from Eastern University and holds graduate degrees from Princeton Theological Seminary, Rider University, and the Earlham School of Religion. He is listed in Marquis' WHO'S WHO IN AMERICA and is a recipient of their Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. John and his wife Donna live in two places, in central Massachusetts and by the sea in Maine.

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      Book preview

      Treasures from Proverbs - John Zehring

      Treasures from Proverbs:

      GEMS for You from the Book of Proverbs

      Smashwords Edition, License Notes

      Thank you for downloading this eBook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

      John Zehring

      Copyright 2018 John Zehring

      Introduction

      "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom."

      (Proverbs 9:10a)

      Yogi Berra, the great baseball Hall-of-Fame superstar, is known not only for his baseball career but also for his Yogi Berra-isms, which are proverb-like sayings with a unique twist. Take a look at a few of these:

      Baseball is 90 percent mental; the other half is physical.

      A nickel isn't worth a dime anymore.

      The future ain't what it used to be.

      You can observe a lot just by watchin'.

      When you come to the fork in the road, take it.

      It's daja vu all over again.

      I usually take a two hour nap from one to four.

      Former New York Mayor Lindsay's wife said to Yogi on a hot day: You look nice and cool, Yogi. Yogi replied: You don't look so hot yourself.

      After attending an opera, Yogi mentioned that he liked it, and added, Even the music was nice.

      And one his most famous quotes: It ain't over till it's over.

      Another wise old sage known for his short, witty sayings was Will Rogers. Here are a few of his:

      The quickest way to double your money is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.

      Never miss a good chance to shut up.

      Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

      Letting the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier than putting it back.

      The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

      Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

      Long ago when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf.

      If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

      One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.

      Quotes, proverbs, and sayings can capture a life-full of wisdom scrunched into one sentence. Sometimes they are funny, witty, or ironic. Other times they are inspiring and cause you to think, to evaluate your direction, or to reconsider your goals. The problem with proverbs is that you can have too much of a good thing. One or two might inspire you. Ten or twenty could overwhelm you. Not only that, but they are mostly disconnected. That is how it is with the Old Testament Book of Proverbs: one gem of wisdom after another and not necessary related to the one before or after. So, that makes the Book of Proverbs difficult to sit down to read like you might read a gospel or an epistle.

      The key to understanding the Book of Proverbs lies within one of its most important proverbs: The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. In the Old Testament, fear does not mean fear. Words have changed over the millennia and some have come to mean the opposite of words we use today.

      There are words in the bible that mean the opposite or at least something different than what they say. This is happens with ancient languages, foreign languages and even in English, where in just the past few hundred years, the meaning of words have changed. Where I grew up, kids used to talk about something being BAAAD which really meant GOOD. That's a BAD tune meant That's an awesome song. If you tripped and fell, a kid might say That’s GOOD! Which meant, of course, that’s bad.

      Consider an example of how words have changed meanings: In 1666, a tragic fire burned down most of London. Architect Christopher Wren became instrumental in rebuilding the city. One of his rebuildings was St. Paul's Cathedral, which took thirty-five years. When it was done, the Queen of England inspected it. After the tour, he waited anxiously for her reaction.

      In typical British terseness, the Queen used three adjectives to sum up her feelings. She said:

      It is awful, it is artificial, it is amusing. Upon hearing these words Christopher Wren let out an sigh of relief, sank to his knees, and thanked Her Majesty for her graciousness. Why would such an offensive reaction make him happy? Because, then, the word awful meant awe-inspiring or awesome. The word artificial meant artistic, and the word amusing meant amazing. The Queen had paid Christopher Wren a supreme compliment, which today sounds like an insult.

      If 350 years of the English language can take a word and change it to mean the exact opposite, imagine how much has changed since the Bible was written. Actually, the bible was spoken in oral tradition for decades before it was written. And so, it is no wonder that the fear of the Lord does not mean to be afraid of God. Fear does not mean fear. Never does the bible even hint that you should be scared of God. Fear in this Proverb means to revere, to make holy, or to honor. So the key to understanding the Book of Proverbs is found in reverence, holiness, or honor. In other words, to revere God is the beginning of wisdom.

      In the same way that the ages have altered the meaning of the word "fear, so has changed the meaning of the word wisdom." In Proverbs, wisdom does not mean academic intelligence, content knowledge or the kind of wisdom that we associate with wise old sages. Rather, wisdom in the bible is always intensely practical, not theoretical. Wisdom, in the Old Testament, is more like common sense or attitude. In many ways, the biblical meaning of wisdom is the art of being successful at life. ...O LORD, we beseech thee, give us success! says Psalm 118 (25).

      Therefore, the key verse for understanding the Book of Proverbs – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom – might be understood as: The reverence of God

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