A Moment of Hope

by David Chadwick "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels." Proverbs 31:10 "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." Proverbs 31:30 Let's wrap up our week by looking at two verses from Proverbs 31 that describe a godly wife. As you may know, Proverbs 31 is an entire chapter dedicated to describing a godly woman, or as t...

by David Chadwick "House and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord." Proverbs 19:14 Today's proverb makes it very clear that prudence is a characteristic of a godly wife. The word "prudent" means "to act with or show care, wisdom, and thought for the future, particularly in managing practical affairs or avoiding risks." The verse starts off acknowledging that a hom...

by David Chadwick "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." Proverbs 18:22 Today's proverb is found in Proverbs 18:22. It says finding a good wife finds favor from the Lord. First, take note how God calls marriage "a good thing" in his Word! As the Creator of the universe, God has intentionally woven his goodness throughout all of creation, marriage being one of tho...

by David Chadwick "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones." Proverbs 12:4 Excellent is defined as "something possessing outstanding quality, superior merit, or being remarkably good." Shame, on the other hand, is "a painful emotion driven by the belief that you are fundamentally flawed or unworthy." In this verse, God lays out two op...

by David Chadwick "Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth." Proverbs 5:18 This week, as we continue to look at some of the many proverbs that teach us how to live a righteous, godly, and successful life, we are going to focus specifically on some of the qualities of a godly wife. Proverbs 5:18 says, "Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth."...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Who can find a woman of valor..." Proverbs 31:10 OJB "The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor." Judges 6:12 ESV In this series, we caught a glimpse into the heart of the Queen Mother (Proverbs 31:1-9) as she fervently prayed for her son who would one day be king. We saw this same heart displayed by Queen Margaret of Scotland as she prayed for and trained her own children,...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8,9 NIV Continued from yesterday… Just as the Queen Mother in Proverbs 31 diligently instructed and prayed for her son that would be king, Queen Margaret of Scotland taught her own sons in 11th century Sc...

by Marilynn Chadwick In Proverbs 31, we catch a glimpse into the heart of the Queen Mother who had prayed for her son and devoted him to the Lord. Clearly the Queen Mother saw the potential dangers of royalty even more clearly than her son. She also knew she was raising a world changer. Let's continue our look into the teachings that were foremost in her mind as she trained the son who would be ki...

by Marilynn Chadwick Proverbs 31:1-9 was technically recorded by the unknown King Lemuel, but it is explicitly identified as an oracle, or "inspired message," taught to him by his mother. Therefore, the content and wisdom within these verses are traditionally believed by many scholars to be Bathsheba teaching her son, Solomon. We catch a glimpse into the heart of this mother who had prayed for her...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb! Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!" Proverbs 31:2 NIV For centuries, people have been fascinated by royalty. The Bible is filled with stories of men and women of noble birth whose lives had eternal impact. While we are exploring the world of kings and queens, let's go back and take another look at Proverbs 31. We have been discus...

by David Chadwick "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise." Proverbs 11:30 Do you know what the word "righteous" means? It is defined as "someone acting in accordance with divine or moral law, free from guilt or sin; being morally justified, upright, or virtuous." When a righteous person lives righteously, the fruit of that person is a tree of life. Not on...

by David Chadwick "One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered." Proverbs 11:24-25 Our verses from Proverbs today perfectly describe the spiritual law of reciprocity: whatever you give out, you get back. Much like the physical law of gravity, this law is...

by David Chadwick "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion." Proverbs 11:22 For a moment, can you picture a gold ring in a pig's snout? It's a sight that looks and sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? Well, that's because it is! In Proverbs 11:22, Solomon says, "Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion." What a dramatic illustration! But...

by David Chadwick Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered." Proverbs 11:21 "Be assured…" is how today's proverb starts out. Let's take a look at it together. "Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished, but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered" (Proverbs 11:21). According to these words, we should be absolutely assu...

by David Chadwick "Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." Proverbs 11:4 When God pours out his wrath, and that day will surely come, your wealth will mean nothing. When it comes to eternal salvation, the amount of money you have accumulated will not impress God at all. When you die and face the One who owns all the world and everything in it, he is not go...

by Marilynn Chadwick "She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong." Proverbs 31:17 ESV The two Hebrew words describing the Proverbs 31 woman, eshet chayil , are translated "woman of valor" (Proverbs 31:10 OJB). From the beginning, God created the woman to be part nurturer and part warrior. Valor means showing courage in the face of danger. So naturally, valor requires a measure of...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6 AMPC Education should be a delight, not drudgery. It's the same with spiritual training. Children learn differently. Research has shown that some of what were previously thought to be learning disabilities are often just di...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Who can find a woman of valor?" Proverbs 31:10a OJB A woman of valor is a warrior at heart. She fights for her faith, her family, and her community. But sometimes, her toughest battles are for her God-given dreams. I wonder if some wars are harder than others because the enemy knows the stakes are so high. I think back to our long years of infertility and my fierce fight to h...

by Marilynn Chadwick "A woman of valor, who can find? Her children rise up and call her blessed." Proverbs 31:10, 28 JPS The Proverbs 31 "woman of valor" must have had some warrior in her. After all, the Hebrew term chayil , translated "valor," is a military term. I once asked my husband how he saw me as a fighter. David thought for a minute and said: "You have fought so hard for our children's dr...

by Marilynn Chadwick "Who can find a woman of valor?" Proverbs 31:10 OJB I agree with Indiana Jones: "I hate snakes!' Or maybe I don't actually hate them…I'm just not thrilled about having them near our home. Some time ago, I saw a very large snake trying to get into the crawl space under our house. A short time earlier, our older son had found a copperhead while cleaning out our garage. My first...

by David Chadwick "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22 What great truths are found in Proverbs 17:22! Let's take a look at them today. The first truth is that a joyful heart is good medicine. Other translations say a cheerful heart is good medicine. What is the primary lesson here? Choose joy! Seek to focus on what is positive. Raise your faith...

by David Chadwick "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17 God has a high value for strong, biblical, refining relationships all throughout Scripture. Look at the many times God commands what has been referred to by many pastors as "the one anothers." James 5:16 says to confess to and pray for one another. John 13:34 says to love one another. Galatians 5:1...

by David Chadwick "Those who justify the wicked and condemn the righteous are an abomination of the Lord." Proverbs 17:15 The standard of truth and righteousness are obvious in God's eyes. The lines are not blurred. And his ways must always be kept apart from the ways of the world. People and cultures, over time, have moved away more and more from God and his truth. This has happened throughout th...

by David Chadwick "The beginning of strife is like letting out water, so quit before the quarrel breaks out." Proverbs 17:14 Strife is powerfully destructive and like a forceful burst of water, able to bust through the strongest of dams. Like water building up behind a barrier, when strife is set free, it's awfully hard to stop it. And it's terribly destructive. Today, we will address the problem...

by David Chadwick "If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house." Proverbs 17:13 My kids used to listen to a Scripture memory song from Romans 12:21 when they were younger that said, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Do not be overcome by evil. With good. With good. Overcome evil with good." Hearing them singing this verse will be forever etched in m...